A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active optical fiber sensor based on a three-dimensional sensing layer

AbstractTo fabricate a new surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active optical fiber sensor, the design and preparation of SERS-active sensing layer is one of important topics. In this study, we fabricated a highly sensitive three-dimensional (3D) SERS-active sensing layer on the optical fiber terminal via in situ polymerizing a porous polymer material on a flat optical fiber terminal through thermal-induced process, following with the photochemical silver nanoparticles growth. The polymerized polymer formed a 3D porous structure with the pore size of 0.29–0.81μm, which were afterward decorated with abundant silver nanoparticles with the size of about 100nm, allowing for higher SERS enhancement. This SERS-active optical fiber sensor was applied for the determination of 4-mercaptopyridine, crystal violet and maleic acid The enhancement factor of this SERS sensing layer can be reached as about 108. The optical fiber sensor with high sensitive SERS-active porous polymer is expected for online analysis and environment detection

Radiomics analysis of R2* maps to predict early recurrence of single hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of radiomics analysis with R2* maps in predicting early recurrence (ER) in single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following partial hepatectomy.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis involving 202 patients with surgically confirmed single HCC having undergone preoperative magnetic resonance imaging between 2018 and 2021 at two different institutions. 126 patients from Institution 1 were assigned to the training set, and 76 patients from Institution 2 were assigned to the validation set. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization was conducted to operate a logistic regression, then features were identified to construct a radiomic score (Rad-score). Uni- and multi-variable tests were used to assess the correlations of clinicopathological features and Rad-score with ER. We then established a combined model encompassing the optimal Rad-score and clinical-pathological risk factors. Additionally, we formulated and validated a predictive nomogram for predicting ER in HCC. The nomogram’s discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility were thoroughly evaluated.ResultsMultivariable logistic regression revealed the Rad-score, microvascular invasion (MVI), and α fetoprotein (AFP) level > 400 ng/mL as significant independent predictors of ER in HCC. We constructed a nomogram based on these significant factors. The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curve of the nomogram and precision-recall curve were 0.901 and 0.753, respectively, with an F1 score of 0.831 in the training set. These values in the validation set were 0.827, 0.659, and 0.808.ConclusionThe nomogram that integrates the radiomic score, MVI, and AFP demonstrates high predictive efficacy for estimating the risk of ER in HCC. It facilitates personalized risk classification and therapeutic decision-making for HCC patients

Nitrogen Fertilizer Deep Placement for Increased Grain Yield and Nitrogen Recovery Efficiency in Rice Grown in Subtropical China

Field plot experiments were conducted over 3 years (from April 2014 to November 2016) in a double-rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping system in subtropical China to evaluate the effects of N fertilizer placement on grain yield and N recovery efficiency (NRE). Different N application methods included: no N application (CK); N broadcast application (NBP); N and NPK deep placement (NDP and NPKDP, respectively). Results showed that grain yield and apparent NRE significantly increased for NDP and NPKDP as compared to NBP. The main reason was that N deep placement (NDP) increased the number of productive panicle per m-2. To further evaluate the increase, a pot experiment was conducted to understand the N supply in different soil layers in NDP during the whole rice growing stage and a 15N tracing technique was used in a field experiment to investigate the fate of urea-15N in the rice–soil system during rice growth and at maturity. The pot experiment indicated that NDP could maintain a higher N supply in deep soil layers than N broadcast for 52 days during rice growth. The 15N tracing study showed that NDP could maintain much higher fertilizer N in the 5–20 cm soil layer during rice growth and could induce plant to absorb more N from fertilizer and soil than NBP, which led to higher NRE. One important finding was that NDP and NPKDP significantly increased fertilizer NRE but did not lead to N declined in soil compared to NBP. Compared to NPK, NPKDP induced rice plants to absorb more fertilizer N rather than soil N

Nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase uses its NAD+ substrate-binding site to chaperone phosphorylated Tau.

Funder: Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003399Funder: Dr. John T. MacDonald Foundation; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010239Tau hyper-phosphorylation and deposition into neurofibrillary tangles have been found in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Molecular chaperones are involved in regulating the pathological aggregation of phosphorylated Tau (pTau) and modulating disease progression. Here, we report that nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT), a well-known NAD+ synthase, serves as a chaperone of pTau to prevent its amyloid aggregation in vitro as well as mitigate its pathology in a fly tauopathy model. By combining NMR spectroscopy, crystallography, single-molecule and computational approaches, we revealed that NMNAT adopts its enzymatic pocket to specifically bind the phosphorylated sites of pTau, which can be competitively disrupted by the enzymatic substrates of NMNAT. Moreover, we found that NMNAT serves as a co-chaperone of Hsp90 for the specific recognition of pTau over Tau. Our work uncovers a dedicated chaperone of pTau and suggests NMNAT as a key node between NAD+ metabolism and Tau homeostasis in aging and neurodegeneration

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Perceived Stress Scale in Policewomen

BACKGROUND: The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is one of most widely used instruments to measure a global level of perceived stress in a range of clinical and research settings. This study was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the Simplified Chinese version of the PSS-10 in policewomen. METHODOLOGY: A total of 240 policewomen were recruited in this study. The Simplified Chinese versions of the PSS-10, the Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were administered to all participants, and 36 of the participants were re-tested two weeks after the initial testing. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.86, and the test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.68. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) yielded 2 factors with eigenvalues of 4.76 and 1.48, accounting for 62.41% of variance. Factor 1 consisted of 6 items representing "negative feelings"; whereas Factor 2 consisted of 4 items representing "positive feelings". The item loadings ranged from 0.72 to 0.83. The Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated a very good fit of this two-factor model to this sample. The PSS-10 significantly correlated with both BDI-II and BAI, indicating an acceptable concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The Simplified Chinese version of the PSS-10 demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for evaluating stress levels. The results support its use among the Chinese population

Development of multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicles versus ground seeding and outplanting: What is more effective for improving the growth and quality of rice culture?

The agronomic processes are complex in rice production. The mechanization efficiency is low in seeding, fertilization, and pesticide application, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Currently, many kinds of research focus on the single operation of UAVs on rice, but there is a paucity of comprehensive applications for the whole process of seeding, fertilization, and pesticide application. Based on the previous research synthetically, a multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle (mUAV) was designed for rice planting management based on the intelligent operation platform, which realized three functions of seeding, fertilizer spreading, and pesticide application on the same flight platform. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used for machine design. Field trials were used to measure operating parameters. Finally, a comparative experimental analysis of the whole process was conducted by comparing the cultivation patterns of mUAV seeding (T1) with mechanical rice direct seeder (T2), and mechanical rice transplanter (T3). The comprehensive benefit of different rice management processes was evaluated. The results showed that the downwash wind field of the mUAV fluctuated widely from 0 to 1.5 m, with the spreading height of 2.5 m, and the pesticide application height of 3 m, which meet the operational requirements. There was no significant difference in yield between T1, T2, and T3 test areas, while the differences in operational efficiency and input labor costs were large. In the sowing stage, T1 had obvious advantages since the working efficiency was 2.2 times higher than T2, and the labor cost was reduced by 68.5%. The advantages were more obvious compared to T3, the working efficiency was 4 times higher than in T3, and the labor cost was reduced by 82.5%. During the pesticide application, T1 still had an advantage, but it was not a significant increase in advantage relative to the seeding stage, in which operating efficiency increased by 1.3 times and labor costs were reduced by 25%. However, the fertilization of T1 was not advantageous due to load and other limitations. Compared to T2 and T3, operational efficiency was reduced by 80% and labor costs increased by 14.3%. It is hoped that this research will provide new equipment for rice cultivation patterns in different environments, while improving rice mechanization, reducing labor inputs, and lowering costs

Gene Expression Analysis Implicates a Death Receptor Pathway in Schizophrenia Pathology

An increase in apoptotic events may underlie neuropathology in schizophrenia. By data-mining approaches, we identified significant expression changes in death receptor signaling pathways in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of patients with schizophrenia, particularly implicating the Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily member 6 (FAS) receptor and the Tumor Necrosis Factor [ligand] Superfamily member 13 (TNFSF13) in schizophrenia. We sought to confirm and replicate in an independent tissue collection the noted mRNA changes with quantitative real-time RT-PCR. To test for regional and diagnostic specificity, tissue from orbital frontal cortex (OFC) was examined and a bipolar disorder group included. In schizophrenia, we confirmed and replicated significantly increased expression of TNFSF13 mRNA in the DLPFC. Also, a significantly larger proportion of subjects in the schizophrenia group had elevated FAS receptor expression in the DLPFC relative to unaffected controls. These changes were not observed in the bipolar disorder group. In the OFC, there were no significant differences in TNFSF13 or FAS receptor mRNA expression. Decreases in BH3 interacting domain death agonist (BID) mRNA transcript levels were found in the schizophrenia and bipolar disorder groups affecting both the DLPFC and the OFC. We tested if TNFSF13 mRNA expression correlated with neuronal mRNAs in the DLPFC, and found significant negative correlations with interneuron markers, parvalbumin and somatostatin, and a positive correlation with PPP1R9B (spinophilin), but not DLG4 (PSD-95). The expression of TNFSF13 mRNA in DLPFC correlated negatively with tissue pH, but decreasing pH in cultured cells did not cause increased TNFSF13 mRNA nor did exogenous TNFSF13 decrease pH. We concluded that increased TNFSF13 expression may be one of several cell-death cytokine abnormalities that contribute to the observed brain pathology in schizophrenia, and while increased TNFSF13 may be associated with lower brain pH, the change is not necessarily causally related to brain pH

MEEMD-Based Ground Vibration Component Extraction and Response Analysis of Long Period Ground Vibration on High-Pier Large-Span Bridges

Comparing the empirical modal decomposition (EMD) method and the modified ensemble empirical modal decomposition (MEEMD) method, a response analysis of the long-period components, with the separation and reconstruction of the two methods, and the original long-period ground vibration on high-pier bridges is carried out to verify the validity of the extracted long-period components. In addition, the response characteristics of the components extracted based on the MEEMD and the original ground vibration are studied on the bridges at different points. The results show that, through the correlation of the displacement response of the bridge piers, the long-period component of the long-period ground shaking can well reflect the response characteristics of the long-period ground shaking on the long-period structure, and the MEEMD provides better results than the EMD extraction method. The long-period structure resonates during the long-period component of the long-period ground shaking, the short-period structure resonates during the short-period component, and the structural seismic response is similar to the self-resonance of the structure. The seismic response of the structures is closely related to the self-oscillation period and the spectral parameters of the ground shaking