Concurrent attention to hetero-depth surfaces in 3-D visual space is governed by theta rhythm.

When simultaneously confronted with multiple attentional targets, visual system employs a time-multiplexing approach in which each target alternates for prioritized access, a mechanism broadly known as rhythmic attentional sampling. For the past decade, rhythmic attentional sampling has received mounting support from converging behavioral and neural findings. However, so compelling are these findings that a critical test ground has been long overshadowed, namely the 3-D visual space where attention is complicated by extraction of the spatial layout of surfaces extending beyond 2-D planes.

The influence of methods of selecting concepts of an expository text on different reading representations' predictive ability.

In this study, we compared two experimental methods of selecting terms in expository text to generate reading representations and tested how well these reading representations predicted reading comprehension. The two experimental methods were the traditional method of using all terms (all keywords) to create participants' representation networks, and the terms categorization (TC) method of using only important terms (core and branch words). Representation networks were assessed using participants' adjacency scores, ratings of relatedness in pairs of terms, and using summary (summary writing) by all turms.

Chaos synchronization of VCSELs with common injection of polarization-random light.

We propose and numerically demonstrate chaos synchronization of two vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) induced by common injection of constant-amplitude random-polarization light for physical key distribution. Results show that synchronization is sensitive to polarization rotation of injection light, and synchronization coefficients larger than 0.9 can be achieved as the rotation-degree mismatch is smaller than ±10°.

A New Exopolysaccharide of Marine Coral-Associated SCAU265: Structural Characterization and Immunomodulatory Activity.

Recent studies have found that many marine microbial polysaccharides exhibit distinct immune activity. However, there is a relative scarcity of research on the immunomodulatory activity of marine fungal exopolysaccharides. A novel water-soluble fungal exopolysaccharide ASP-1 was isolated from the fermentation broths of marine coral-associated fungus SCAU265, and purified by Diethylaminoethyl-Sepharose-52 (DEAE-52) Fast Flow and Sephadex G-75.

Effect of structural stability of lipase in acetonitrile on its catalytic activity in EGCG esterification reaction: FTIR and MD simulation.

In this study, (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) esterification reaction was catalyzed by Novozym 435, Lipozyme RM, Lipozyme TLIM, and lipase Amano 30SD in acetonitrile. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were used to analyze the structural stability of different lipases in acetonitrile and their effect on EGCG esterification reaction. The results showed that conversion rate of EGCG catalyzed by Lipozyme RM was the highest, followed by Lipozyme TLIM.

Fe/Cu-AuNP nanocomposites as enzyme-like catalysts to modulate the tumor microenvironment for enhanced synergistic cancer therapy.

The intensive investigation of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for tumor eradication revealed that the therapeutic effects of this ROS-mediated therapy are limited by endogenous reductants and inefficient Fenton-like reactions. In this study, we developed a new Fe/Cu-AuNP-PEG nanocomposite to enhance CDT and provide a synergistic treatment for tumors. The Fe/Cu-AuNP-PEG nanocomposite demonstrated effective ˙OH production and high photothermal conversion efficiency under 808 nm illumination, which promoted the ˙OH production, thereby enhancing the CDT efficacy and exhibiting a synergistic treatment for cancer.

Physical exercise ameliorates age-related deterioration of skeletal muscle and mortality by activating Pten-related pathways in Drosophila on a high-salt diet.

The phosphatase and tensin congeners (Pten) gene affects cell growth, cell proliferation, and rearrangement of connections, and it is closely related to cellular senescence, but it remains unclear the role of muscle-Pten gene in exercise against age-related deterioration in skeletal muscle and mortality induced by a high-salt diet (HSD). In here, overexpression and knockdown of muscle Pten gene were constructed by building Mhc /Pten and Mhc /Pten system in flies, and flies were given exercise training and a HSD for 2 weeks. The results showed that muscle Pten knockdown significantly reduced the climbing speed, climbing endurance, GP activity, and the expression of Pten, Sirt1, PGC-1α genes, and it significantly increased the expression of Akt and ROS level, and impaired myofibril and mitochondria of aged skeletal muscle.

Inhibitory effect of tannic acid on the growth of Apiospora arundinis and 3-Nitropropionic acid production.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of tannic acid (TA) on the growth of Apiospora arundinis and 3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) production.

Methods And Results: To investigate the antifungal mechanism, the effects of TA on the hypha growth, electrical conductivity, hypha morphology, defense-related enzymes, and 3-NPA production of A. arundinis were studied.

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential.

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced and satellite-derived approaches to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands.

The effect of tibolone treatment on apolipoproteins and lipoprotein (a) concentrations in postmenopausal women: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: Tibolone is a synthetic steroid with estrogenic, androgenic and progestogenic properties that is used as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women. Treatment with tibolone has been demonstrated to lead to changes of the lipid profile, including alterations in lipoprotein (a) and apolipoprotein levels. Hence, we conducted the present meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of tibolone treatment on apolipoproteins and lipoprotein (a) values in postmenopausal women.

Plasma indole-3-aldehyde as a novel biomarker of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: a reanalysis using prospective metabolomic data.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication of cardiac surgery that poses significant risks for both the development of chronic kidney diseases and mortality. Our previous study illustrated that heightened expression levels of faecal and plasma indole metabolites before the operation were associated with ischemic AKI. In this study, we aimed to validate the supposition that plasma indole-3-aldehyde (I3A) could serve as a predictive biomarker for AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

High glucose enhances the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome by ambient fine particulate matter in alveolar macrophages.

Background: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that individuals with preexisting conditions, including diabetes mellitus (DM), are more susceptible to air pollution. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we proposed that a high glucose setting enhances ambient fine particulate matter (PM)-induced macrophage activation and secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine, IL-1β, through activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, altering the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs).

Analysis of respiratory virus detection in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: It is now understood that the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated containment measures have influenced the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses. This study aimed to characterize respiratory virus infections in pediatric patients hospitalized for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in East China both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We collected nasal secretions from 9782 pediatric ARI patients admitted to Shaoxing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital between January 2018 and December 2022.

Studying the evolutions, differences, and water security impacts of water demands under shared socioeconomic pathways: A SEMs-bootstrap-ANN approach applied to Sichuan Province.

In this study, a SEMs-bootstrap-ANN method was presented for constructing prediction intervals (PIs) of water demand under shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). The primary objective was to examine the evolution, disparities, and impacts on water security. Initially, a bootstrap algorithm and an artificial neural network (ANN) were combined to form a bootstrap-ANN model, which determined the centres and widths of the PIs at a specified significance level by estimating the distributions of prediction values and errors.

Priming of microglia with dysfunctional gut microbiota impairs hippocampal neurogenesis and fosters stress vulnerability of mice.

Background: Mental disorders may be involved in neuroinflammatory processes that are triggered by gut microbiota. How gut microbiota influence microglia-mediated sensitivity to stress remains unclear. Here we explored in an animal model of depression whether disruption of the gut microbiome primes hippocampal microglia, thereby impairing neurogenesis and sensitizing to stress.

Factors Influencing the Maturation and Developmental Competence of Yak () Oocytes In Vitro.

The yak () is a unique breed living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas, providing locals with a variety of vital means of living and production. However, the yak has poor sexual maturity and low fertility. High-quality mature oocytes are the basis of animal breeding technology.

Preparation and anti-tumor effects of mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with trifluoperazine.

We have developed a targeted nano-drug delivery system that effectively harnesses the anti-tumor properties of trifluoperazine (TFP), while concurrently mitigating its side effects on the central nervous system. The manufacturing process entailed the preparation of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH), followed by the loading of trifluoperazine into the pores of MSN-NH and then surface modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and anisamide (AA), resulting in the formation of TFP@MSN@PEG-AA (abbreviated as TMPA) nanoparticles. and anti-tumor activity and hemolysis experiments showed that TMPA had an excellent safety profile and a good anti-tumor effect.

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit.

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records.

Hierarchical MOF@AuNP/Hairpin Nanotheranostic for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy via O Self-Supply and Cancer-Related MicroRNA Imaging In Vivo.

Developing a nanotheranostic with a high sensing performance and efficient therapy was significant in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Herein, a Au nanoparticle and hairpin-loaded photosensitive metal-organic framework (PMOF@AuNP/hairpin) nanotheranostic was constructed by growing AuNPs on PMOF in situ and then attaching hairpins. On the one hand, the PMOF@AuNP/hairpin nanotheranostic could effectively transfer O into ROS, facilitating efficient PDT.

"Afterglow" Photodynamic Therapy Based on Carbon Dots Embedded Silica Nanoparticles for Nondestructive Teeth Whitening.

Teeth staining is a common dental health challenge in many parts of the world. Traditional teeth whitening techniques often lead to enamel damage and soft tissue toxicity due to the use of bioincompatible whitening reagents and continuous strong light irradiation. Herein, an "afterglow" photodynamic therapy (aPDT) for teeth whitening is proposed, which is realized by energy transition pathways of intersystem crossing.

Higher expression of PLEK and LY86 as the potential biomarker of carotid atherosclerosis.

Carotid atherosclerosis (AS) occurs in atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid artery, which can lead to transient ischemic attack and stroke in severe cases. However, the relationship between pleckstrin (PLEK) and lymphocyte antigen 86 (LY86) and carotid AS remains unclear. The carotid AS datasets GSE43292 and GSE125771 were downloaded from the gene expression omnibus database.

[Source Apportionment and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metals in Typical Industrial and Mining Towns in North China].

To understand the status of heavy metals in soils of typical industrial and mining towns and quantitatively analyze the potential sources, the contents of seven heavy metals (Cd, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) in 150 surface soils in Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province were collected and examined. The geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk index methods were used to evaluate the heavy metal pollution status and potential ecological risk. Principal component analysis (PCA) and the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model were used to comprehensively analyze the pollution sources of seven heavy metals, and geostatistics was used to identify the high contribution areas of potential sources.