Surface vegetation represents a link between the atmosphere, water, and human society. The quality of the ecological environment in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River (UMRYR) has a ...direct impact on the downstream basin. However, only few studies have investigated vegetation changes in the UMRYR. Therefore, we used the coefficient of variation and linear regression analyses to investigate spatiotemporal variations in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Further, we used the geographical detector model (GDM) to determine the spatial heterogeneity of the NDVI and its driving factors and then investigated the factors driving the spatial distribution of the NDVI in different climatic zones and vegetation types. The results showed that the NDVI in the UMRYR was high during the study period. The NDVI was distributed in a spatially heterogeneous manner, and it decreased from the southeast to the northwest. We observed severe degradation in the southeast, mild degradation in the northwest and the Yellow River source region, and substantial vegetation recovery in the central basin. Precipitation and vegetation type drove the spatial distribution of the NDVI. Natural factors had higher influence than that of anthropogenic factors, but the interactions between the natural and anthropogenic factors exhibited non-linear and bivariate enhancements. Inter-annual variations in precipitation were the main natural factor influencing inter-annual NDVI variations, while precipitation and anthropogenic ecological restoration projects jointly drove NDVI changes in the UMRYR. This study provides a better understanding of the current status of the NDVI and mechanisms driving vegetation restoration in the UMRYR.
To investigate the effect of caspase-1 inhibition on PANoptosis in macrophages infected with Enterococcus faecalis OG1RF. RAW264.7 cells with and without pretreatment by caspase-1 inhibitor were ...infected with E. faecalis OG1RF at multiplicities of infection (MOIs). A live cell imaging analysis system and Western blot were applied to evaluate the dynamic curve of cell death and the expression of executor proteins of PANoptosis. The mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-18 was quantified by RT-qPCR. Morphological changes were observed under scanning electron microscopy. We found that PI-positive cells emerged earlier and peaked at a faster rate in E. faecalis-infected macrophages (Ef-MPs) at higher MOIs. The expression of the N-terminal domain of the effector protein gasdermin D (GSDMD-N), cleaved caspase-3 and pMLKL were significantly upregulated at MOIs of 10:1 at 6 h and at MOI of 1:1 at 12 h postinfection. In Ef-MPs pretreated with caspase-1 inhibitor, the number of PI-positive cells was significantly reduced, and the expression of IL-1β and IL-18 genes and cleaved caspase-1/-3 and GSDMD-N proteins was significantly downregulated (p < 0.05), while pMLKL was still markedly increased (p < 0.05). Ef-MPs remained relatively intact with caspase-1 inhibitor. In conclusion, E. faecalis induced cell death in macrophages in an MOI-dependent manner. Caspase-1 inhibitor simultaneously inhibited pyroptosis and apoptosis in Ef-MPs, but necroptosis still occurred.
Online feedback systems (OFSs) are increasingly available on online shopping websites; they allow consumers to post their ratings and consumption reviews for products. We employed motivation theory ...and a goal attainment perspective to model a set of motivating and inhibiting factors that could influence a consumer's intention to contribute to an OFS. Our experiment, which involved 168 university students, showed that a consumer's intention to contribute product reviews is influenced by perceived satisfaction gained in helping other consumers, perceived satisfaction gained in influencing the merchant, perceived probability of enhancing self-image, and perceived executional costs. In addition, the presence of an economic rewarding mechanism was found to promote a contribution when a consumer's perceived probability of enhancing self-image was relatively high or when perceived cognitive cost was relatively low. Implications of our findings are discussed.
We propose and experimentally demonstrate an enhancement method on the optical fiber attenuation measurement range which only by replacing the light source by a chaotic laser in the traditional ...optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) without other special treatments. The peak value of the chaotic pulse is higher than that of the conventional pulse under the same output power of the pulsed erbium-doped fiber amplifier (P-EDFA), which is the main reason for the significant increase in monitoring distance. The effect of different injected optical power on the monitoring distance is analyzed. This scheme is totally different from the chaotic OTDR, which not only reflects in structure without a reference path but also in principle does not need the cross-correlation processing. The experimental results demonstrate that the maximum measurement distance using the chaotic laser can be up to 102 km, twice that of traditional light, which could provide a more cost-effective and practical high-performance testing device in the fiber optical cable construction, troubleshooting and maintenance.
There is increasing evidence that defects such as oxygen vacancies are a double‐edged sword for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Although surface oxygen vacancies can largely improve the ...catalytic activity, their bulk counterparts may bind polarons, drag down the carrier transport, and thus degrade the PEC performance. However, it is very challenging to precisely control the spatial and energy distributions of defects. Instead, the infrared part of sunlight, normally discarded in PEC water splitting, is harvested to thermally activate the polarons. With the prototypical BiVO4 photoanode (absorbs blue–ultraviolet light), even when is undoped, a high solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of 5.3% is achieved in conjunction with a photothermal substrate (absorbs infrared light) and in tandem with a perovskite solar cell (absorbs red–green). Detailed characterizations reveal that the temperature increase of the system can not only accelerate the polaron hopping, but also activate the polarons bound by defects. This study, by demonstrating the use of the PEC‐inactive infrared part of sunlight to enhance transport kinetics at the device level, allows for panchromatic sunlight harvesting to improve the overall PEC performance.
A photoelectrode combining photothermal substrate with BiVO4 is designed to achieve full‐spectrum utilization of solar energy. The infrared part of sunlight is harnessed to heat up BiVO4 and to thermally activate the electron polaron hopping. By joining this photothermal photoelectrode in tandem with a perovskite solar cell, a self‐powered water splitting device with superior performance is realized.
Depressive symptoms have a significant impact on the quality-of-life among the oldest old (aged ≥ 80 years) in the population. Current research on the association of blood mercury with depressive ...symptoms has mainly targeted the general population. However, it is unclear whether this association is present in the oldest old. We used data from the Healthy Aging and Biomarker Cohort Study carried out in 2017–2018, with 1154 participants aged ≥ 80 years eligible for analysis. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was employed to detect blood mercury (Hg) levels, while the CES-D10 depression scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. The association between blood mercury levels and depressive symptoms was investigated using log-binomial and Poisson regression models. We also used restricted cubic splines (RCS) to assess the linear or nonlinear association of blood mercury with depressive symptoms scores. The 1154 participants ranged in age from 80 to 120 years, while the geometric mean of blood mercury concentration was 1.01 μg/L. After adjustment for covariates, log-binomial and Poisson regression analyses revealed a statistically significant, positive association of blood mercury with depressive symptoms. In comparison to the first tertile, the adjusted relative risks of blood mercury and the presence of depressive symptoms in the second and third tertiles were 1.55 (1.20–1.99) and 1.45 (1.11–1.90), respectively. The RCS model showed a linear association between blood mercury level and depressive symptoms scores. In conclusion, among the oldest old, we demonstrated that blood mercury levels were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Further surveys, especially cohort studies and clinical trials are needed to confirm these results.
•First large-scale study of blood Hg and depressive symptoms in the oldest old.•Elevated blood Hg level is associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms.•There is a linear association of blood Hg with depressive symptoms scores.
Chronic apical periodontitis (CAP) is a unique dynamic interaction between microbial invasions and host defense mechanisms, resulting in infiltration of immune cells, bone absorption, and periapical ...granuloma formation. To help to understand periapical tissue pathophysiology, we constituted a single-cell atlas for 26,737 high-quality cells from inflammatory periapical tissue and uncovered the complex cellular landscape. The eight types of cells, including nonimmune cells and immune cells, were identified in the periapical tissue of CAP. Considering the key roles of nonimmune cells in CAP, we emphasized osteo-like cells, basal/stromal cells, endothelial cells, and epithelial cells, and discovered their diversity and heterogeneity. The temporal profiling of genomic alterations from common CAP to typical periapical granuloma provided predictions for transcription factors and biological processes. Our study presented potential clues that the shift of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, proteases, and growth factors initiated polymorphic cell differentiation, lymphangiogenesis, and angiogenesis during CAP.
The separation of chiral drugs continues to pose a significant challenge. However, in recent years, the emergence of membrane‐based chiral separation has shown promising effectiveness due to its ...environmentally friendly, energy‐efficient, and cost‐effective characteristics. In this study, we prepared chiral composite membrane via interfacial polymerization (IP), utilizing β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) and piperazine (PIP) as mixed monomers in the aqueous phase. The chiral separation process was facilitated by β‐CD, serving as a chiral selective agent. The resulting membrane were characterized using SEM, FT‐IR, and XPS. Subsequently, the chiral separation performance of the membrane for DL‐tryptophan (Trp) was investigated. Lastly, the water flux, dye rejection, and stability of the membrane were also examined. The results showed that the optimized chiral PIP0.5β‐CD0.5 membrane achieved an enantiomeric excess percentage (ee%) of 43.0% for D‐Trp, with a solute flux of 66.18 nmol·cm−2·h−1, and maintained a good chiral separation stability. Additionally, the membrane demonstrated positive performance in the selective separation of mixed dyes, allowing for steady operation over a long period of time. This study offers fresh insights into membrane‐based chiral separations.
A novel chiral polyamide composite membrane successfully and selectively separates tryptophan enantiomers.
xCo3O4/3DOM LSCO (x=0, 2, 5, 8, and 10wt%) are prepared using the in situ PMMA-templating strategy. The high oxygen adspecies concentration, good low-temperature reducibility, and strong interaction ...between Co3O4 and LSCO are responsible for excellent catalytic performance of 8Co3O4/3DOM LSCO.
•xCo3O4/3DOM La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 (LSCO) are prepared using in situ PMMA-templating method.•Cobalt oxide nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the surface of 3DOM LSCO.•8Co3O4/3DOM LSCO exhibits high Oads concentration and good reducibility.•xCo3O4/3DOM LSCO catalysts perform well in the combustion of toluene.•There is a strong interaction between Co3O4 and 3DOM LSCO.
Rhombohedrally crystallized three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 (LSCO)-supported Co3O4 (x wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO; x=0, 2, 5, 8, and 10) were prepared using the in situ poly(methyl methacrylate)-templating strategy. Physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of numerous analytical techniques, and their catalytic activities were evaluated for the combustion of toluene. It is shown that the x wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO samples displayed a 3DOM architecture and a high surface area of 29–32m2/g. Among the x wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO samples, the 8wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO sample possessed the highest adsorbed oxygen species concentration and the best low-temperature reducibility. The 8wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO sample showed the best catalytic performance for toluene combustion (the temperatures required for toluene conversions of 10, 50, and 90% were 158, 210, and 227°C at a space velocity of 20,000mL/(gh), respectively). The apparent activation energies (43–58kJ/mol) of the x wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO (x=0–10) samples were lower than those (59–67kJ/mol) of the 8wt% Co3O4/bulk LSCO and bulk LSCO samples. It is concluded that the excellent catalytic performance of 8wt% Co3O4/3DOM LSCO was associated with its high oxygen adspecies concentration, good low-temperature reducibility, and strong interaction between Co3O4 and LSCO as well as high-quality 3DOM structure.
Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare and aggressive disease without standardized treatment strategies. The efficacy of second-line or beyond immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has been ...proven in recent studies, whereas the evidence for first-line immunotherapy for PSC is still limited to case reports and remains poorly understood.
This was a multicenter, retrospective analysis of 21 patients with a histological diagnosis of PSC who received ICI as first-line therapy from January 2019 to March 2022. The expression of PD-L1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using the monoclonal antibody 22C3. Low and high PD-L1 expressions were defined using the tumor proportion score (TPS), with cutoffs of 1 and 50%, respectively.
All eight patients had PD-L1 positivity who underwent PD-L1 expression assessment, and six patients (6/8, 75.0%) had high PD-L1 expression. Among the 21 PSC patients, seven received tislelizumab, six received camrelizumab, four received sintilimab, three received pembrolizumab, and one received durvalumab. Among them, 18 PSCs received combination therapy, whereas another three PSCs received immunotherapy alone. Out of the 21 PSC patients, 12 (57.1%) achieved a partial response (PR), and five patients had stable disease (SD) as the best response, whereas four PSCs experienced dramatic progressive disease (PD). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.2 (95% CI 4.3, 14.1) months, and the median OS was 22.8 (95% CI 4.0, 41.5) months. Among the three treatment groups (immunotherapy alone, immunotherapy combined with anlotinib, and chemoimmunotherapy), the median PFS was 8.0, 9.4, and 9.6 months, and the median OS was 19.0, 22.8, and 30.6 months, respectively. There was no difference in PFS and OS between the three treatment regimen groups (
= 0.86 and
= 0.34, respectively) and different immunotherapies (
= 0.10 and
= 0.23, respectively). No serious adverse events (grade ≥ 3) were noted.
First-line immunotherapy has promising therapeutic potential in the treatment of PSC. More studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
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