Effect of Alkali Source on Crystal Regulation and Ethanol Gas Sensing Properties of Nano-ZnO.

This study investigates the ethanol gas-sensing mechanisms of ZnO nanocrystals with distinct morphologies, synthesized via a hydrothermal method using various alkali sources. Significant differences in the gas-sensing performance and morphology of ZnO samples synthesized with ammonium carbonate (NaCO), hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA), ammonia solution (NH·HO), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were observed. ZnO were confirmed to be impurity-free through XRD analysis, and their morphological features were characterized by SEM.

Mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes mitigate osteoarthritis by restoring the balance between proinflammatory Teffs and Tregs.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by chronic inflammation that damages articular cartilage. In addition to the wear and tear of joints, aberrant remodelling driven by a significant presence of inflammatory mediators within the joint is one of the key mechanisms in the pathogenesis of OA. Among these factors, hyperactivation of Teffs subsets plays a crucial role in promoting this pathological process.

Proteoglycans Enhance the Therapeutic Effect of BMSC Transplantation on Osteoarthritis.

Background: The injection of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment fails to address the disrupted extracellular microenvironment, limiting the differentiation and paracrine functions of BMSCs and resulting in suboptimal therapeutic outcomes. Proteoglycans (PGs) promote cell differentiation, tissue repair, and microenvironment remodeling. This study investigated the potential of combining PGs with BMSCs to increase the efficacy of OA treatment.

Prediction of poststroke independent walking using machine learning: a retrospective study.

Background: Accurately predicting the walking independence of stroke patients is important. Our objective was to determine and compare the performance of logistic regression (LR) and three machine learning models (eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forest (RF)) in predicting walking independence at discharge in stroke patients, as well as to explore the variables that predict prognosis.

Methods: 778 (80% for the training set and 20% for the test set) stroke patients admitted to China Rehabilitation Research Center between February 2020 and January 2023 were retrospectively included.

Exploring high-emission driving behaviors of heavy-duty diesel vehicles based on engine principles under different road grade levels.

To reveal the outstanding high-emission problems that occur when heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDV) pass uphill and downhill, this study proposes a method to depict the nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO) high-emission driving behaviors caused by slopes from the perspective of engine principles. By calculating emission and grade data of HDDV based on on-board diagnostic (OBD) data and digital elevation model (DEM) data, the 262 short trips including uphill, flat-road and downhill are firstly obtained through the rule-based short trip segmentation method, and the significant correlation between the road grade and emissions of the short trips is verified by Kendall's Tau and K-means clustering. Secondly, by comparing the distribution changes of three speed categories (acceleration state, constant speed state and deceleration state), the differences in HDDV operating states under different grade levels are discussed.

Immunoregulatory paracrine effect of mesenchymal stem cells and mechanism in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by chronic inflammation that damages articular cartilage. At present, the treatment of OA includes drug therapy to relieve symptoms and joint replacement therapy for advanced OA. However, these palliatives cannot truly block the progression of the disease from the immunological pathogenesis of OA.

An Insulin-Modified pH-Responsive Nanopipette Based on Ion Current Rectification.

The properties of nanopipettes largely rely on the materials introduced onto their inner walls, which allow for a vast extension of their sensing capabilities. The challenge of simultaneously enhancing the sensitivity and selectivity of nanopipettes for pH sensing remains, hindering their practical applications. Herein, we report insulin-modified nanopipettes with excellent pH response performances, which were prepared by introducing insulin onto their inner walls via a two-step reaction involving silanization and amidation.

Evidence that robot-assisted gait training modulates neuroplasticity after stroke: An fMRI pilot study based on graph theory analysis.

Objectives: To investigate alterations of whole-brain network after stroke and therapeutic mechanisms of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT).

Methods: 21 stroke patients and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled, with the stroke patients randomized to either control group (n = 11) or robot group (n = 10), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected. The global network metrics were obtained using graph theory analysis and compared between stroke patients and healthy subjects, and the effect of the RAGT on the whole-brain networks was explored.

Linking the assessment of ecological engineering construction with zoning management in the typical agro-pastoral area of China: A perspective from quantity, quality and function.

Combatting land damage has become a global priority, and China has adopted a series of ecological engineering measures, especially in the agro-pastoral area with fragile ecological environment. The effectiveness of ecological engineering construction (EEC), from a comprehensive recognition encompassing its quality, quantity, and function, has remained largely unknown. To this end, Zhangbei County, a typical agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China, was chosen as our focal area.

FF3D: A Rapid and Accurate 3D Fruit Detector for Robotic Harvesting.

This study presents the Fast Fruit 3D Detector (FF3D), a novel framework that contains a 3D neural network for fruit detection and an anisotropic Gaussian-based next-best view estimator. The proposed one-stage 3D detector, which utilizes an end-to-end 3D detection network, shows superior accuracy and robustness compared to traditional 2D methods. The core of the FF3D is a 3D object detection network based on a 3D convolutional neural network (3D CNN) followed by an anisotropic Gaussian-based next-best view estimation module.

A new evaluation system for drug-microbiota interactions.

The drug response phenotype is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The high clinical conversion failure rate of gene-targeted drugs might be attributed to the lack of emphasis on environmental factors and the inherent individual variability in drug response (IVDR). Current evidence suggests that environmental variables, rather than the disease itself, are the primary determinants of both gut microbiota composition and drug metabolism.

Causal associations between platelet count, alcohol consumption, and the risk of liver hepatocellular carcinoma based on a Mendelian randomization study.

Background And Aims: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) exhibits a multifactorial etiology, insidious onset, and a significantly low 5-year survival rate. We aimed to evaluate the causal impact of exposure factors (Alzheimer's disease, platelet count, ambidextrousness, cigarettes smoked per day, alcohol consumption, and endocarditis) on the risk of LIHC using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study.

Methods: Independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease, platelet count, ambidextrousness, daily cigarette consumption, alcohol intake, and endocarditis were selected as instrumental variables (IVs) from the corresponding genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Dynamic analysis and optimal control of stochastic information cross-dissemination and variation model with random parametric perturbations.

Information dissemination has a significant impact on social development. This paper considers that there are many stochastic factors in the social system, which will result in the phenomena of information cross-dissemination and variation. The dual-system stochastic susceptible-infectious-mutant-recovered model of information cross-dissemination and variation is derived from this problem.

Temperature fluctuation in soil alters the nanoplastic sensitivity in wheat.

Despite the wide acknowledgment that plastic pollution and global warming have become serious agricultural concerns, their combined impact on crop growth remains poorly understood. Given the unabated megatrend, a simulated soil warming (SWT, +4 °C) microcosm experiment was carried out to provide a better understanding of the effects of temperature fluctuations on wheat seedlings exposed to nanoplastics (NPs, 1 g L 61.71 ± 0.

Polystyrene nanoplastics in soil impair drought priming-induced low temperature tolerance in wheat.

Drought priming is known to enhance plant low temperature tolerance, whereas polystyrene nanoplastic contamination exerts detrimental effects on plant growth. This study investigates the less-explored influence of nanoplastic contamination on cold stress tolerance in drought-primed plants. We compared the photosynthetic carbon assimilation, carbohydrate metabolism, reactive oxygen species metabolism, and grain yield between the non-primed and drought-primed wheat grown in both nanoplastic-contaminated and healthy soils.

Poly-(lactic acid) composite films comprising carvacrol and cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide with synergistic antibacterial effects.

Herein, carvacrol (CRV) and modified cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide (CNC-ZnO) were incorporated into a poly (lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to prepare a PLA-based composite film using a simple solution casting method to achieve antimicrobial effects for application in antimicrobial food packaging. Compared with films obtained from neat PLA, the PLA@CRV@CNC-ZnO composite film shows better performance in terms of mechanical properties, ultraviolet (UV) blocking, and antimicrobial effects. The PLA composites containing CRV and 3 wt% CNC-ZnO blends exhibit improved tensile strength (21.

cGAS: action in the nucleus.

As a canonical cytoplasmic DNA sensor, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) plays a key role in innate immunity. In recent years, a growing number of studies have shown that cGAS can also be located in the nucleus and plays new functions such as regulating DNA damage repair, nuclear membrane repair, chromosome fusion, DNA replication, angiogenesis and other non-canonical functions. Meanwhile, the mechanisms underlying the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and the regulation of cGAS activation have been revealed in recent years.

Protective Effect of the Polyphenol Ligustroside on Colitis Induced with Dextran Sulfate Sodium in Mice.

Dietary polyphenols are reported to alleviate colitis by interacting with gut microbiota which plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. As a type of dietary polyphenol, whether ligustroside (Lig) could alleviate colitis has not been explored yet. Here, we aimed to determine if supplementation of ligustroside could improve colitis.

Predictors of Cognitive Functions After Stroke Assessed Using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: A Retrospective Study.

Background: The mechanism(s) of cognitive impairment remains complex, making it difficult to confirm the factors influencing poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI).

Objective: This study quantitatively investigated the degree of influence and interactions of clinical indicators of PSCI.

Methods: Information from 270 patients with PSCI and their Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-RC) scores, totaling 18 indicators, were retrospectively collected.

Fecal bacteria-free filtrate transplantation is proved as an effective way for the recovery of radiation-induced individuals in mice.

Background: Ionizing radiation can cause intestinal microecological dysbiosis, resulting in changes in the composition and function of gut microbiota. Altered gut microbiota is closely related to the development and progression of radiation-induced intestinal damage. Although microbiota-oriented therapeutic options such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) have shown some efficacy in treating radiation toxicity, safety concerns endure.

"Back to the future" projections for COVID-19 surges.

We argue that information from countries who had earlier COVID-19 surges can be used to inform another country's current model, then generating what we call back-to-the-future (BTF) projections. We show that these projections can be used to accurately predict future COVID-19 surges prior to an inflection point of the daily infection curve. We show, across 12 different countries from all populated continents around the world, that our method can often predict future surges in scenarios where the traditional approaches would always predict no future surges.

and mediates the improvement of vascular endothelial dysfunction during hypertension with TaohongSiwu decoction combined with .

Background: Previous study confirmed that both TaohongSiwu decoction (THSWD) and improved hypertension-induced endothelial dysfunction. However, the mechanism of THSWD combined with remains unclear.

Purpos: e: We aimed to investigate the microecological mechanism underlying the THSWD combined with for the prevention of hypertensive vascular endothelial dysfunction.