TLR2 agonist promotes myeloid-derived suppressor cell polarization via Runx1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play a critical role in maintaining the tumor immune microenvironment; thus, the promotion of MDSC polarization will improve immunotherapies for cancers. However, the mechanisms involved in controlling MDSC polarization in hepatocellular carcinoma remain largely unclear. In this study, we found that injection of Pam3CSK4 attenuated the process of tumor growth, along with reduction of MDSC and recovery of T cell function.

Effects of micro-nano bubble with CO treated water on the growth of Amaranth green (Amaranthus viridis).

The micro and nano bubble (MNB) technology, due to its promising features and advantages, has become increasingly popular in agriculture. MNB-treated water positively impacts plant growth, especially when it is treated with a combination of gas-like carbon dioxide (CO), injected through the MNB generator. Therefore, this study used MNB water with CO that are small bubbles of nanometer and micrometer diameters having several unique physical properties that make them useful for water treatments.

A smart diagnostic tool based on deep kernel learning for on-site determination of phosphate, calcium, and magnesium concentration in a hydroponic system.

Calcium, phosphate, and magnesium are essential nutrients for plant growth. The determination of these nutrients is an important task for monitoring them in a closed hydroponic system where the nutrient elements need to be individually quantified based on ion-selective electrode (ISE) sensing. The accuracy issue of calcium ISEs due to interference, drift, and ionic strength, and the unavailability of phosphate and magnesium ISEs makes the development of these ion detecting tools hard to set up in a hydroponic system.

Feature Correlation-Steered Capsule Network for object detection.

Despite Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) based approaches have been successful in objects detection, they predominantly focus on positioning discriminative regions while overlooking the internal holistic part-whole associations within objects. This would ultimately lead to the neglect of feature relationships between object and its parts as well as among those parts, both of which are significantly helpful for detecting discriminative parts. In this paper, we propose to "look insider the objects" by digging into part-whole feature correlations and take the attempts to leverage those correlations endowed by the Capsule Network (CapsNet) for robust object detection.

Unravelling the Mechanism of Intermediate-Temperature CO Interaction with Molten-NaNO -Salt-Promoted MgO.

The optimization of MgO-based adsorbents as advanced CO -capture materials is predominantly focused on their molten-salt modification, for which theoretical and experimental contributions provide great insights for their high CO -capture performance. The underlying mechanism of the promotion effect of the molten salt on CO capture, however, is a topic of controversy. Herein, advanced experimental characterization techniques, including in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy (eTEM) and CO chemisorption by diffuse-reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), transient O-isotopic exchange, and density functional theory (DFT), are employed to elucidate the mechanism of the CO interaction with molten-salt-modified MgO in the 250-400 °C range.

Molten Salt-Promoted MgO Adsorbents for CO Capture: Transient Kinetic Studies.

Optimization of MgO adsorbents is predominantly focused on the regulation of appropriate adsorption sites for CO associated with Mg-O sites of low coordination. Here, for the first time, we conducted transient kinetic experiments to identify and characterize changes of the CO molecular path in MgO-based CO adsorbents upon the addition of molten salt modifiers. Among the optimized samples, addition of 10 mol % NaNO on the surface of MgO exhibited the highest CO uptake (15.

Assessment of spray deposition, drift and mass balance from unmanned aerial vehicle sprayer using an artificial vineyard.

Under the rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) plant protection products (PPP) application in Asian countries, the drift risk of UAV sprayer operation in orchard or vineyard is fairly high because of the much finer droplets generated and the higher height than ground sprayers, increasing threats to non-targeted crop, human and environment. However, there is few of comprehensive experimental study on the effects of UAV type and nozzle type on spray deposition and drift from UAV sprayer. The objectives of this study were to compare the spray performance of three different typical commercial UAV types (helicopter, 6-rotor and 8-rotor) with two nozzles types (hollow cone nozzle, HCN and air-injector flat fan nozzle, AIN) in vineyard.

Industrial carbon dioxide capture and utilization: state of the art and future challenges.

Dramatically increased CO concentration from several point sources is perceived to cause severe greenhouse effect towards the serious ongoing global warming with associated climate destabilization, inducing undesirable natural calamities, melting of glaciers, and extreme weather patterns. CO capture and utilization (CCU) has received tremendous attention due to its significant role in intensifying global warming. Considering the lack of a timely review on the state-of-the-art progress of promising CCU techniques, developing an appropriate and prompt summary of such advanced techniques with a comprehensive understanding is necessary.

Combination of Multivariate Standard Addition Technique and Deep Kernel Learning Model for Determining Multi-Ion in Hydroponic Nutrient Solution.

Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have recently become the most attractive tools for the development of efficient hydroponic systems. Nevertheless, some inherent shortcomings such as signal drifts, secondary ion interferences, and effected high ionic strength make them difficult to apply in a hydroponic system. To minimize these deficiencies, we combined the multivariate standard addition (MSAM) sampling technique with the deep kernel learning (DKL) model for a six ISEs array to increase the prediction accuracy and precision of eight ions, including NO3-, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Na+, Cl-, H2PO4-, and Mg2+.

Evaluation of the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant capacity, biomass yield and quality of tomato using aeroponics, hydroponics and porous tube-vermiculite systems in bio-regenerative life support systems.

The nutrient delivery system is one of the most important hardware components in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) production in Bio-regenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) for future long-term space mission. The objective of this study was to investigate the influences of different nutrient delivery systems (aeroponics, hydroponics and porous tube-vermiculite) on the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant capacity, biomass yield and quality of tomato during its life cycle.

High Aspect Ratio Perforated Co₃O₄ Nanowires Derived from Cobalt-Carbonate-Hydroxide Nanowires with Enhanced Sensing Performance.

Herein, we report the facile synthesis of high-aspect ratio perforated Co3O4 nanowires derived from cobalt-carbonate-hydroxide (Co(CO3)0.5(OH) 0.11H2O) nanowires.

Preparation and Characterization of Highly Efficient CuFe Mixed Oxides for Total Oxidation of Toluene.

In this study, Cu/Fe type mixed oxides catalysts with different ratios of metal irons are successfully synthesized via fixed hydrothermal treatment. The prepared samples were then characterized by a combination of several techniques, such as XRD, BET, SEM, H2-TPR and FT-IR. The catalytic activity enhanced with the increasing amount of Cu in the HT-precursors, but it decreases when the ratio of Cu/Fe is above 4.

Effect of Fluoride on the Morphology and Electrochemical Property of Co₃O₄ Nanostructures for Hydrazine Detection.

In this paper, we systematically investigated the influence of fluoride on the morphology and electrochemical property of Co₃O₄ nanostructures for hydrazine detection. The results showed that with the introduction of NH₄F during the synthesis process of Co₃O₄, both Co(CO₃)(OH)·0.11H₂O and Co(OH)F precursors would be generated.

Food preferences, personality and parental rearing styles: analysis of factors influencing health of left-behind children.

Purpose: To understand the health status and problems of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China, those whose parents have moved to urban areas without them, and to focus on ways to improve their physical and mental health.

Methods: The study examined 827 children between 7 and 15 years old, selected using stratified cluster random sampling from five towns in Xiji County of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Each child was classified as either LBC or non-LBC.

SPAD-based leaf nitrogen estimation is impacted by environmental factors and crop leaf characteristics.

Chlorophyll meters are widely used to guide nitrogen (N) management by monitoring leaf N status in agricultural systems, but the effects of environmental factors and leaf characteristics on leaf N estimations are still unclear. In the present study, we estimated the relationships among SPAD readings, chlorophyll content and leaf N content per leaf area for seven species grown in multiple environments. There were similar relationships between SPAD readings and chlorophyll content per leaf area for the species groups, but the relationship between chlorophyll content and leaf N content per leaf area, and the relationship between SPAD readings and leaf N content per leaf area varied widely among the species groups.