It was found that bisphenol F (BPF) could be anaerobically transformed to 4,4-dihydroxybenzophenone using nitrate as an electron acceptor by Pseudomonas sp. LS. However, BPF removal was a slow process under anaerobic conditions. In the present study, effects of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene on the anaerobic transformation of BPF were studied in detail. Results showed that GO (2-10 mg/L) and graphene (2-20 mg/L) could increase anaerobic biotransformation rate of BPF. For GO-mediated system, GO...

This is the code and online records for the paper " Global Protected Areas as refuges for amphibians and reptiles under climate change"

This is the code and online records for the paper " Global Protected Areas as refuges for amphibians and reptiles under climate change"

The role of thyroid hormones in tumors has been discussed in observational studies; however, the causal relationship between them remains controversial. Six different Mendelian randomization (MR) Methods, including Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, Simple mode, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier methods (MR-PRESSO), Weighted mode and Weighted median were used to Two-Sample MR analysis. Our research shows that hypothyroidism genetically has a protective causal association with lung cancer.

Over one billion people have received 2–3 dosages of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine for basic immunization. Whether a booster dose should be delivered to protect against the Omicron variant and its sub-lineages, remains controversial. Here, we tested different vaccine platforms targeting the ancestral or Omicron strain as a secondary booster of the ancestral inactivated vaccine in mice. We found that the Omicron-adapted inactivated viral vaccine promoted a neutralizing antibody response against Omicron in mice. Furthermore,...

Pangolins have gained increasing global attention owing to their public health significance as potential zoonotic hosts since the identification of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses in them. Moreover, these animals could carry other respiratory viruses. In this study, we investigated the virome composition of 16 pangolins that died in 2018 with symptoms of pneumonia using metagenomic approaches. A total of eight whole virus sequences belonging to the Paramyxoviridae or Pneumoviridae families were identified, including one human parainfluenza virus...

We proposed a modification of the existing approach for mapping active paddy rice fields in monsoon-dominated areas. In the existing PPPM approach, LSWI higher than EVI at the transplantation stage enables the identification of rice fields. However, it fails to recognize the fields submerged later due to monsoon floods. In the proposed approach (IPPPM), the submerged fields, at the maximum greenness time, were excluded for better estimation. Sentinel–2A/2B time-series images were used for the year...

At present, values adopted from specifications are mostly used to define the convective heat transfer coefficient ch in localized fire researches. In this paper, the specific scenario of the steel column surrounded by fire plume is selected as a typical case to explore the surface ch change rules of the steel column. This paper conducts a two-way coupling simulation analysis of the fire and the thermal models by means of CFD codes. First, the validity...

The long-term effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been rarely known. This study aimed to investigate healthy outcomes of COVID-19 survivors up to 2 years after the infection. A total of 155 COVID-19 patients, who were discharged from Shenzhen Third People's Hospital from February 2020 to April 2020, were enrolled and followed up until March 4, 2022. COVID-19 survivors received questionnaires of long COVID symptoms and psychological symptoms, pulmonary function tests, chest computed tomography...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of permanent vision loss in the elderly. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been used to treat AMD, although the underlying functional mechanisms are not understood. This study aims to predict the active ingredients through screening the chemical ingredients of anti-AMD Decoction and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. We collected the prescriptions for effective AMD treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and screened several Chinese medicines that were...

The study aimed to systematically review the existing literature and assess the effects of percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) in patients with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation (AF) as opposed to sinus rhythm (SR). Eligible studies were identified from six electronic databases before June 2021. The primary outcome was mitral valve area (MVA), and secondary outcomes were hemodynamic measurements, in-hospital complications, and long-term outcomes. Relative risks (RRs) or weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence...

Phlebotomus chinensis sandfly is a neglected insect vector in China which is well-known for carrying Leishmania. Recent studies have expanded its pathogen repertoire with two novel arthropod-borne phleboviruses capable of infecting human and animals. Despite these discoveries, our knowledge on the general pathogen diversity and overall microbiome composition of this vector species are still very limited. Here we carried out a meta-transcriptomics analysis which simultaneously revealed the actively replicating/transcribing RNA viruses, DNA viruses, bacteria and...

1. The extracellular matrix (ECM) constitutes the basal lamina and the area between follicular cells. Remodelling the ECM is believed to be a key event in follicular development, especially during selection, and plays an important role in cell migration, survival, and steroidogenesis. miR-199-3p is differentially expressed in the goose granulosa layer during follicular selection and is reported to play a primary role in inhibiting cell migration and invasion. Nevertheless, the effect of miR-199-3p on ovarian...

Replicating SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to degrade HLA class I on target cells to evade the cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) response. HLA-I downregulation can be sensed by NK cells to unleash killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR)-mediated self-inhibition by the cognate HLA-I ligands. Here, we investigated the impact of HLA and KIR genotypes and HLA-KIR combinations on COVID-19 outcome. We found that the peptide affinities of HLA alleles were not correlated with COVID-19 severity. The predicted poor...

The role of thyroid hormones in tumors has been discussed in observational studies; however, the causal relationship between them remains controversial. Six different Mendelian randomization (MR) Methods, including Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, Simple mode, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier methods (MR-PRESSO), Weighted mode and Weighted median were used to Two-Sample MR analysis. Our research shows that hypothyroidism genetically has a protective causal association with lung cancer.

Obesity, one of the major public health problems worldwide, has attracted increasing attention. Ginsenoside Rb1 is the most abundant active component of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey (Araliaceae) and is reported to have beneficial effects on obesity and diabetes. However, the mechanisms by which Rb1 regulates obesity remain to be explored. This paper intends to further explore the mechanism of Rb1 in regulating obesity. The C57BL/6 obese mice were divided into two groups: the control (CTR) and...

In this study, expanded graphite (EG) was prepared by the oxidation and intercalation of the natural flake graphite using perchloric acid and potassium permanganate at different expansion temperatures (300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C), and were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). EG prepared at 500 °C was found to be highly effective for the mineralization of oxalic acid aqueous solution during ozonation at pH 3, which...

In this work, a PAMAM@SiO2 demulsifier was synthesized by the reaction of a hyperbranched poly (amido amine) (PAMAM) and KH570 modified SiO2. The structure, morphology and composition of PAMAM@SiO2 were characterized by FT-IR, SEM and EDS. The effect of the concentration of PAMAM@SiO2, salinity and temperature on the demulsification performance was systematically studied. The results showed that the transmittance of aqueous phase after demulsification could reach as high as 92.1% at optimal conditions, and corresponding...

Sludge-recycling enhanced flocculation (SEF) is an effective method for enhancing flocculation. In the conventional SEF process, the settled sludge is recirculated into the flocculation process without any further treatment. However, studies have shown that the efficacy of the SEF process could be improved by pre-treating the sludge. In this work, the acid activation of sludge was performed using a range of pH values (1.0 – 6.0) and charge states, with and without long-chain bridging. The...

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cannot be completely cured, mainly due to the existence of a latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 latent reservoir is not comprehensive. Here, using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 activation library screening, we identified E3 ubiquitin ligase F-box protein 34 (FBXO34) and the substrate of FBXO34, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (hnRNP U) was identified by affinity purification mass spectrometry, as new...

We identified relapsing fever (RF) Borrelia in 1.45% (145/10426) of the ticks and 1.40% (40/2850) of the wild mammals in a field investigation in China. Three RF Borrelia species, including human-pathogenic Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia persica and unclassified Babesia sp. were determined. Main species determined from ticks was B. miyamotoi (44.14%), followed by the unclassified Borrelia sp. (42.76%), and Borrelia theileri (13.10%). In wild mammals, main species found was B. persica (57.50%), followed by the unclassified...

We study optimal variance reduction solutions for count and ratio metrics in online controlled experiments. Our methods apply flexible machine learning tools to incorporate covariates that are independent from the treatment but have predictive power for the outcomes, and employ the cross-fitting technique to remove the bias in complex machine learning models. We establish CLT-type asymptotic inference based on our estimators under mild convergence conditions. Our procedures are optimal (efficient) for the corresponding targets as...

The epidemiological features of the newly emerged carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-HvKP) and its potential threat to human health are currently unknown. In this study, a total of 784 blaKPC-2-bearing CRKP strains collected from three hospitals located at different geographical locales in China during 2014-2017 were subjected to molecular typing, screening of virulence plasmid, string test and WGS (367/784 strains). The proportion of CRKP among all clinical K. pneumoniae strains increased sharply in China during...

Current medicine for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cannot effectively reverse or block nerve injury. Traditional Chinese Medicine practice and research imply Aconiti lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi) may meet this goal. Analysing the anti-AD effect of Fuzi and its potential molecular mechanism. AD model cells were treated with Fuzi in 0-300 mg/mL for 24 h in 37 °C. The cell viability (CV) and length of cell projections (LCP) for each group were observed, analysed, and standardised using...

Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian (Cadomian) magmatic rocks are abundant in Iran, but their occurrence in east-central Iran is voluminous. This paper reports, for the first time, on the Cadomian rocks of the eastern Iranian region known as Tapeh Tagh and deals with their geochemistry and uranium-lead (U-Pb) zircon ages. The Tapeh Tagh region contains masses of Cadomian meta-igneous rocks (including various types of granitic gneiss) and overlying meta-sedimentary rocks. The granitic gneisses show tectonic...