As a major institutional innovation in the field of environmental protection system, the supervision and law enforcement of environmental protection system in China has been transformed from the ...jurisdictional management system to a vertical management system, and its effect on improving air quality is a hot issue to be tested urgently. This paper uses regression discontinuity design model (RDD) to test the daily air quality of 321 prefecture-level cities from September 2016 to December 2019. The results show that the vertical management reform of environmental protection system can significantly improve the air quality, and has a significant long-term inhibitory and sustainable effect on air pollution. Furthermore, a series of robustness tests also further prove the reliability of the results. As a conclusion, this paper provides a basis for decision-making in deepening the vertical management reform of environmental protection system.
Morel-Lavallée lesion (MLL) is a closed soft-tissue degloving injurie resulting from shear forces. With the advent of endoscopic technology and advancements in surgical techniques, innovative ...solutions are now available. However, there are few data on mid-term results after treatment of MLL, especially regarding arthroscopic method. The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes of endoscopic debridement combined with percutaneous cutaneo-fascial suture in treating MLL.
A single-center retrospective study was conducted at a university teaching hospital investigating patients who underwent arthroscopic management of Morel-Lavallée lesion between 2014 and 2020.Patient demographics, postoperative recovery time, peri- and postoperative complications were investigated. Mid-term follow up clinical and radiological examinations were performed.
The retrospective study included 38 patients aged between 11 and 90 years, with an average age of 50.9 ± 16.9 years. These patients waited an average of 36.6±23.5days to return to work after operation. The average time to follow-up was from 3 to 9 years, averaging 5.0 ± 1.8 years. At the end of follow-up, only one complication of superficial skin necrosis occurred, accounting for 2.6%. The imaging assessment at the final follow-up indicated improvement over the postoperative period for all 38patients.
In mid-term experience, endoscopic debridement combined with percutaneous cutaneo-fascial suture for MLL management is a safe and effective option.
The miniature pig is an optimal animal model for studying nervous system disease because of its physiologic and pathologic features. However, the rete mirabile composed of arteries and veins at the ...skull base limits their application as a model of ischemic stroke by middle cerebral artery occlusion. The present study investigated the possibility of establishing an ischemic stroke model in the miniature pig by blocking the skull base retia with sodium alginate microspheres. Three Bama miniature pigs were used. Using the monitor of C-arm X-ray machine, sodium aiginate microspheres （100-300 pm）, a novel embolic material, were injected through the femoral artery, aortic arch, common carotid artery, ascending pharyngeal artery and the retia. Results were evaluated using carotid arteriography, MRI, behavior observation and histology. The unilateral rete mirabile was completely blocked, resulting in disturbance in blood supply to the basal ganglia, astasia of the dght hind limb and salivation. MRI and hematoxylin-eosin staining showed an evident infarction focus in the basal ganglia. These findings indicate that sodium alginate microspheres are a suitable embolic material for blocking the skull base retia in miniature pigs to establish an ischemic stroke models.
•The present situation is analyzed by using spatial autocorrelation and spatiotemporal feature distribution.•The entropy weight method and analytic hierarchy process are combined to calculate the ...weight of each index.•The coupling coordination degree evaluation model of WEF system in the Yellow River basin of Shandong province is established.•The coupling coordination degree of the Yellow River basin in Shandong province is about to reach a good coupling stage.•The PSO-BP model has good applicability in coupling coordination degree prediction.
Water resources, energy, and food are important basic resources for high-quality regional development. In the process of rapid development of regional economy, how to coordinate the development of basic resources has become one of the most serious challenges to the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin and even the whole Yellow River basin in Shandong province. Previous studies have produced few such analyses and evaluations for cities in the Yellow River basin, and there is a lack of research on multi-scale analysis, evaluation and prediction of urban coupling and coordinated development level. Hence, in this study, we propose an indicator system consisting of 24 indicators for the water resources, energy, and food system based on panel data for 9 cities in the Yellow River basin in Shandong Province for 2011–2020. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and temporal and spatial distribution analysis were used to determine the current state of water resources, energy, and food systems at multiple scales; combined weighting, comprehensive evaluation, and coupling coordination quantification were used to formulate the coupling coordination relationships of water resources–energy–food and identify the spatiotemporal formation and development of the water resources–energy–food system. A particle swarm optimization–back propagation model (PSO-BP) was used to predict the coupled and coordinated changes in the water resources–energy–food system for the next five years. The study results show that: (1) The composite index of the water resources–energy–food system showed an increasing trend, and the composite index of the food subsystem increased relatively quickly. (2) In 2020, the coupling coordination degree for eight of the nine cities in the Yellow River basin in Shandong Province was 0.70. Jinan, the exception, was at a critical stage of transitioning from low to moderate coupling, and the other eight cities were at the moderate stage of coupling coordination. (3) The coupling coordination of the water resources–energy–food system is increasing; it has transitioned from low to moderate and is about to transition to the stage of good coupling coordination. (4) The PSO-BP model predicted that the coupling coordination of water resources–energy–food systems in the Yellow River basin in Shandong Province will reach the stage of good coupling coordination in 2023. The research results presented in this paper can provide a theoretical basis for formulating policy recommendations in the Yellow River basin in Shandong Province.
Wide applications of nanoparticles (NPs) have raised increasing concerns about safety to humans. Oxidative stress and inflammation are extensively investigated as mechanisms for NPs-induced toxicity. ...Autophagy and lysosomal dysfunction are emerging molecular mechanisms. Inhalation is one of the main pathways of exposing humans to NPs, which has been reported to induce severe pulmonary inflammation. However, the underlying mechanisms and, more specifically, the interplays of above-mentioned mechanisms in NPs-induced pulmonary inflammation are still largely obscure. Considered that NPs exposure in modern society is often unavoidable, it is highly desirable to develop effective strategies that could help to prevent nanomaterials-induced pulmonary inflammation.
Pulmonary inflammation induced by intratracheal instillation of silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) in C57BL/6 mice was prevented by PJ34, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. In human lung bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells, exposure to SiNPs reduced cell viability, and induced ROS generation, impairment in lysosome function and autophagic flux. Inhibition of ROS generation, PARP and TRPM2 channel suppressed SiNPs-induced lysosome impairment and autophagy dysfunction and consequent inflammatory responses. Consistently, SiNPs-induced pulmonary inflammation was prevented in TRPM2 deficient mice.
The ROS/PARP/TRPM2 signaling is critical in SiNPs-induced pulmonary inflammation, providing novel mechanistic insights into NPs-induced lung injury. Our study identifies TRPM2 channel as a new target for the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies to mitigate nanomaterials-induced lung inflammation.
The present study aimed to investigate the implications of ultrasonic treatment on the conformational and functional properties of whey protein isolate (WPI). SDS-PAGE showed that ultrasonication did ...not change the molecular weight of WPI. FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated that sonication caused secondary structure alterations in WPI, with a reduction in α-helix and β-sheet, and an enhancement in β-turn, and random coil content. An increase in surface hydrophobicity was observed after ultrasound treatment, suggesting that modification in tertiary structure of WPI were induced by sonication. The sizes of aggregates in WPI were found reduced after sonication by the analysis of particle size distribution and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the foaming, emulsifying and antioxidant attributes of WPI were enhanced after treated with ultrasonication. These results suggest that ultrasonication can be used as a useful technology to modify the functional characteristics of whey proteins.
•Effects of sonication on properties of WPI was assessed.•Sonication did not change the molar masses of WPI.•Sonication caused conformational changes in WPI at secondary and tertiary structure.•Sonication reduced sizes of aggregates in WPI.•Sonication improved the foaming, emulsifying and antioxidant properties of WPI.
No specific antiviral drug has been proven effective for treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue prodrug, has inhibitory ...effects on pathogenic animal and human coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro, and inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 replication in animal models.
We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial at ten hospitals in Hubei, China. Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an interval from symptom onset to enrolment of 12 days or less, oxygen saturation of 94% or less on room air or a ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less, and radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to intravenous remdesivir (200 mg on day 1 followed by 100 mg on days 2–10 in single daily infusions) or the same volume of placebo infusions for 10 days. Patients were permitted concomitant use of lopinavir–ritonavir, interferons, and corticosteroids. The primary endpoint was time to clinical improvement up to day 28, defined as the time (in days) from randomisation to the point of a decline of two levels on a six-point ordinal scale of clinical status (from 1=discharged to 6=death) or discharged alive from hospital, whichever came first. Primary analysis was done in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population and safety analysis was done in all patients who started their assigned treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04257656.
Between Feb 6, 2020, and March 12, 2020, 237 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to a treatment group (158 to remdesivir and 79 to placebo); one patient in the placebo group who withdrew after randomisation was not included in the ITT population. Remdesivir use was not associated with a difference in time to clinical improvement (hazard ratio 1·23 95% CI 0·87–1·75). Although not statistically significant, patients receiving remdesivir had a numerically faster time to clinical improvement than those receiving placebo among patients with symptom duration of 10 days or less (hazard ratio 1·52 0·95–2·43). Adverse events were reported in 102 (66%) of 155 remdesivir recipients versus 50 (64%) of 78 placebo recipients. Remdesivir was stopped early because of adverse events in 18 (12%) patients versus four (5%) patients who stopped placebo early.
In this study of adult patients admitted to hospital for severe COVID-19, remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits. However, the numerical reduction in time to clinical improvement in those treated earlier requires confirmation in larger studies.
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Emergency Project of COVID-19, National Key Research and Development Program of China, the Beijing Science and Technology Project.
Foxtail millet Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. is an excellent crop known for its superior level of drought tolerance across the world. Especially, less water is needed during its germination period ...than the other cereal crops. However, the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the abiotic stress effects on seed germination of foxtail millet is largely unknown.
The water uptake pattern of foxtail millet seeds was ploted during germination period, according to which the germination time course of millet was separated into three phases. We sequenced the transcriptome of foxtail millet seeds, which were treated by PEG during different germination phases after sowing. The transcriptional studies revealed that more DEGs were identified during the further increase in water uptake period (phase III) than during the rapid initial uptake period (phase I) and the plateau period (phase II) under PEG stress. The pathway analysis of DEGs showed that the highly enriched categories were related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction and phenylalanine metabolism during phase III. The 20 phenylpropanoids-related genes of germinating foxtail millet were found to be down-regulated during the further increase in water uptake period under PEG stress. Further expression analysis identified 4 genes of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase 3, cinnamoyl-CoA reductase 1, cationic peroxidase SPC4 in phenylpropanoids-related pathway, which played important roles in foxtail millet in response to PEG stress during different germination periods. The studies of metabolites in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway revealed that higher amount of cinnamic acid was accumulated in germinating seeds under PEG stress, while the contents of p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and sinapic acid were decreased. And the effects of five phenolic compounds on germination and growth of foxtail millet showed that 1 mM concentration of cinnamic acid inhibited shoot and root growth, especially root development. Ferulic acid, caffeic acid, sinapic acid and p-coumaric acid could increase the root length and root/sprout in lower concentration.
These findings suggest that key genes and metabolites of foxtail millet related with phenylpropanoids pathway may play prominent roles in the regulation of resistance to drought during germination. Foxtail millet can probably avoid drought by regulating the levels of endogenous allelochemicals.
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•Casein formed conjugates with pectin or arabinogalactan through Maillard reaction.•Conjugates had lower α-helix level and higher random coil level of casein.•Conjugates had lower ...surface hydrophobicity and higher absolute ζ-potential values.•Glycosylation treatment significantly improved the functional properties of casein.
The aim of this study was to prepare conjugates of casein (CA) with pectin (CP) or arabinogalactan (AG) by the Maillard reaction (wet-heating) and to investigate the effects of CP or AG on the structural and functional properties of casein. The results indicated that the highest grafting degree of CA with CP or AG was observed at 90 °C for 1.5 h or 1 h, respectively. Secondary structure showed that grafting with CP or AG reduced the α-helix level and increased the random coil level of CA. Glycosylation treatment of CA-CP and CA-AG exhibited lower surface hydrophobicity and higher absolute ζ-potential values, further significantly improving the functional properties of CA (e.g., solubility, foaming property, emulsifying property, thermal stability, and antioxidant activity). Accordingly, our results indicated that it is feasible for CP or AG to improve the functional properties of CA by the Maillard reaction.
Reducing the interfacial defects between the perovskite/electron transport layer (ETL) is the key point to improving the efficient and stable performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this ...study, two self-assembled molecules ((aminomethyl)phosphonic acid and glycine) with different functional groups (phosphonic acid (-H
PO
) and carboxylic acid (-COOH)) were mixed to form the buried bottom interface of PSCs. The synergistic effect of -H
PO
with its higher anchoring ability and -COOH with its fast carrier transport improved the performance of PSCs. Additionally, the SnO
modified by mixed self-assembly molecules (M-SAM) showed a more appropriate energy level alignment, favoring charge transport and minimizing energy loss. In addition, the amine group (-NH
) on the two small molecules effectively interacted with uncoordinated Pb
in perovskite and improved the quality of the perovskite films. Consequently, the (FAPbI
)
(MAPbBr
)
PSCs with M-SAM reached a PCE of 24.69% (0.08 cm
) and the perovskite modules achieved a champion efficiency of 18.57% (12.25 cm
aperture area). Meanwhile, it still maintained more than 91% of its initial PCE after being placed in nitrogen atmosphere at 25 °C for 1500 h, which is better than that of the single-SAM and control devices. Further reference is provided for the future commercialization of perovskite with efficient and stable characteristics.
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