Suspended sediment (SPS) triggers nitrogen retention by altering microbial network stability and electron transport behavior during the aerobic-anoxic transition.

NO-N transformation, the vital biological process, determines nitrogen removal and retention in aquatic environment. Suspended sediment (SPS) ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems can accelerate the transitions from aerobic to anoxic states, inevitably impacting NO-N transformation. To elaborate on the microbial mechanism by which SPS content affected NO-N transformation, we explored nitrogen removal and retention, microbial communities, co-occurrence networks, and electron transfer behavior under different SPS content during the aerobic-anoxic transition.

The influence of enterprise ESG performance on overseas business income - Evidence from China.

As an emerging information disclosure system, enterprise ESG performance holds substantial importance for the international expansion of Chinese enterprises. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of literature examining the relationship between the ESG performance of Chinese enterprises and their overseas business income. This research utilizes data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning from 2009 to 2022 to explore the causal link between ESG performance and overseas business income.

Removal, conversion and utilization technologies of alkali components in bayer red mud.

Bayer red mud is a highly alkaline industrial solid waste generated during alumina production, and its massive discharge and stockpiling poses significant environmental risks. The strong alkalinity of red mud is a primary challenge limiting its effective utilization. This study systematically analyzes the composition and characteristics of alkaline components in red mud, emphasizing the roles of soluble free alkali and chemically bound alkali in regulating its alkalinity.

A bimodal closed-loop neuromodulation implant integrated with ultraflexible probes to treat epilepsy.

Anti-seizure medications and deep brain stimulation are widely used therapies to treat seizures; however, both face limitations such as resistance and the unpredictable nature of seizures. Recent advancements, including responsive neural stimulation and on-demand drug release, have been developed to address these challenges. However, a gap remains, as electrical stimulation provides only transient effects while medication has a delayed onset.

Explicitly diverse visual question generation.

Visual question generation involves the generation of meaningful questions about an image. Although we have made significant progress in automatically generating a single high-quality question related to an image, existing methods often ignore the diversity and interpretability of generated questions, which are important for various daily tasks that require clear question sources. In this paper, we propose an explicitly diverse visual question generation model that aims to generate diverse questions based on interpretable question sources.

Causal contributions of cell-type-specific circuits in the posterior dorsal striatum to auditory decision-making.

In the dorsal striatum (DS), the direct- and indirect-pathway striatal projection neurons (dSPNs and iSPNs) play crucial opposing roles in controlling actions. However, it remains unclear whether and how dSPNs and iSPNs provide distinct and specific contributions to decision-making, a process transforming sensory inputs to actions. Here, we perform causal interrogations on the roles of dSPNs and iSPNs in the posterior DS (pDS) in auditory-guided decision-making.

OsPAD1, encoding a non-specific lipid transfer protein, is required for rice pollen aperture formation.

Plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are distinguished by their capacity to facilitate lipid transport in vitro between membranes. This includes the transportation of lipid constituents from the tapetum to the microspore, thereby playing a pivotal role in the synthesis and construction of the pollen wall, encompassing the formation of the pollen aperture. However, our understanding of LTPs and their role in pollen aperture formation in rice remains limited.

Flowing-water remediation simulation experiments of lead-contaminated soil using UCB technology.

The flowing-water remediation of contaminated soil was investigated. Urease combined with biochar (UCB) technology was used to handle the Pb-contaminated sand column. The results showed that with the continuous increase of pore volume, the concentration of Pb in the leachate undergoes three stages: slow growth, rapid growth, and steady state.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveal the prognostic roles of epithelial and T cells and DNA methylation-based prognostic models in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) exhibits a complex microenvironment with diverse cell populations influencing patient prognosis. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was used to identify prognosis-related cell types, and DNA methylation (DNAm)-based models were developed to predict outcomes based on their cellular characteristics.

Methods: We integrated scRNA-seq, bulk data, and clinical information to identify key cell populations associated with prognosis.

Preserving one artery shortens the surgical time and does not affect the efficacy of microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy: preliminary findings from a retrospective study.

Background: To analyze the safety and efficacy of microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy(MSV) performed with and without preservation of all testicular arteries and lymphatic system.

Methods: All of the 98 patients with varicocele who underwent MSV were included in the analysis. Fifty-eight male patients surgically underwent MSV with preservation of all testicular arteries and lymphatic system(Group 1).

Evaluation and improvement of nursing undergraduates' informatics competencies using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model.

Background: Nursing staff need to be constantly exposed to information systems at work and encounter patients who share medical data obtained from the internet; this was widely observed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Hence, nursing staff should have the necessary skills and education that can help them develop nursing students' informatics competencies. However, research on assessing and improving nursing students' informatics competencies remains scarce.

Comparative effectiveness of vitrification and slow freezing after heterotopic transplantation of human ovarian tissues.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two different vitrification methods and slow freezing in terms of the recovery of endocrine function, follicular morphology and proliferation, apoptosis of stromal cells, and angiogenesis after heterotopic transplantation of human ovarian tissue.

Methods: Ovarian tissue from young women aged 29 to 40 was subjected to two vitrification methods and one slow freezing method. The thawed ovarian tissue was then transplanted into nude mice and divided into three groups (VF1 group, VF2 group, SF group) according to the different freezing methods.

Dynamic effects of fixed orthodontic treatment on oral health and oral microbiota: a prospective study.

Objective: This prospective clinical study examined the effects of fixed orthodontic appliances on oral hygiene and assessed changes in the oral microflora structure of orthodontic patients using high-throughput sequencing technology.

Methods: A total of 45 patients undergoing initial fixed orthodontic treatment were recruited from three hospitals in Beijing, China. Clinical parameters and oral hygiene habits questionnaire were recorded at pre-treatment (T0) and at a 6-month follow-up (T1).

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the unfavorable outcomes in elderly patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative disease.

Objective: Failure to understand long-term quality of life and functional outcomes hinders effective decision making and prognostication. Therefore, the study aims to predict and analyse the unfavorable outcomes (FOs) in elderly patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery.

Methods: Consecutive 382 patients who underwent lumbar fusion surgery for lumbar degenerative disease from March 2019 to July 2022 were enrolled in this study.

SYNTAX I score is associated with genetically confirmed familial hypercholesterolemia in chinese patients with coronary heart disease.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetically inherited disorder caused by monogenic mutations or polygenic deleterious variants. Patients with FH innate with significantly elevated risks for coronary heart disease (CHD). FH prevalence based on genetic testing in Chinese CHD patients is missing.

Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis reveals the role of root phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway in the salt tolerance of perennial ryegrass.

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is a widely cultivated forage and turf grass species. Salt stress can severely damage the growth of grass plants. The genome-wide molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance have not been well understood in perennial grass species.

Exploring the Prebiotic Potential of Fermented Astragalus Polysaccharides on Gut Microbiota Regulation In Vitro.

Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) are known for their prebiotic properties, and fermentation by probiotics is a promising strategy to enhance the prebiotic activity of polysaccharides. In this study, Lactobacillus rhamnosus was used to ferment APS, and response surface methodology was applied to optimize the fermentation parameters. The optimal conditions were determined as follows: 10.

Interactively Fusing Global and Local Features for Benign and Malignant Classification of Breast Ultrasound Images.

Objective: Breast ultrasound (BUS) is used to classify benign and malignant breast tumors, and its automatic classification can reduce subjectivity. However, current convolutional neural networks (CNNs) face challenges in capturing global features, while vision transformer (ViT) networks have limitations in effectively extracting local features. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a deep learning method that enables the interaction and updating of intermediate features between CNN and ViT to achieve high-accuracy BUS image classification.

Tumor-derived exosomes: unravelling the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer with liver metastases and exploring the potential for clinical translation.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most malignant solid cancers, and PC metastasis, particularly liver metastasis, is a major cause of cancer mortality. A key event in tumor metastasis is the formation of pre-metastatic niche (PMN), which provides a microenvironment conducive to tumor cells colonization and progression. Various molecules loaded in tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) contribute to PMN formation and distant tumor metastasis, by regulating immune and stromal cell function, inducing angiogenesis, and promoting metabolic reprogramming.

Pyrrhotite promote aerobic granular sludge formation in dye wastewater: pH, interfacial free energy, and microbial community evolution.

This study introduces a technique utilizing natural pyrrhotite powder as a nucleating agent in four sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) for the treatment of dye wastewater. Through analysis of various factors including pH, pyrrhotite surface free energy, sludge zeta potential, and shifts in microbial communities, the mechanism by which pyrrhotite facilitates the formation of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is elucidated. Over 140 days of continuous operation under neutral conditions, natural pyrrhotite rapidly cultivated AGS under neutral conditions.

Sesquiterpene lactones from Seriphidium transiliense and their anti-inflammation activity.

Six undescribed sesquiterpene lactones (1-6) and fifteen known compounds (7-21) were isolated from Seriphidium transiliense. The chemical structures were determined by extensive NMR spectroscopic data, HRESIMS, ECD and X-ray diffraction. Among the known compounds, twelve known compounds were isolated for the first time from this plant, including taurine (9), 11-epitaurin (10), α-santonin (11), artesin (13), 11-epiartesin (14), 1α-hydroxy-3β-acetoxyeudesm-4-en-6β, 7α, 11βH-12, 6-olide (15), 1α-hydroxy-3β-acetoxyeudesm-4-en-6β, 7α, 11αH-12, 6-olide (16), artegallin (17), 8α-hydroxytaurin (18), 8α-acetoxytaurine (19), methyl-4α-hydroxy-11(13)-eudesmen-12-oatesaniculamoid D (20), and saniculamoid D (21).

Molecular investigation of an epidemic dissemination of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium sequence type 80 in Guangdong Province, China.

Objectives: The detection rate of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) displayed a dramatically increase in Guangdong, China from 2021 to 2023, for which the molecular epidemiology and genomic characteristics remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the genetic features and epidemiology of VREfm isolates in Guangdong.

Methods: A total of 54 Guangdong VREfm isolates were collected from three tertiary hospitals in Guangdong.