An efficient magnetic carbon-based solid acid treatment for corncob saccharification with high selectivity of xylose and enhanced enzymatic digestibility

An effective method for corncob saccharification was investigated over a magnetic carbon-based solid acid (MMCSA) catalyst in the aqueous phase. MMCSA was synthesized through a simple and inexpensive impregnation-carbonization-sulfonation process. Under the optimal reaction conditions (150 °C, 2 h, 0.5 g corncob, 0.5 g catalyst and 50 ml deionized water), 74.9% of xylose yield was directly obtained from corncob, with 91.7% cellulose retention in the residue. After reaction, the MMCSA was easily separated from the residue by an external magnet and reused 4 times showing high stability and catalytic activity. The enzymatic digestibility of the pretreated residue reached 95.2%, with a total sugar yield of 90.4%. The morphologic and structural properties of the natural and treated corncobs were analyzed primarily through 3D X-ray microscopy to characterize the cell wall thickness, porosity, and pore surface area distribution. The increase of macropores (pore surface areas > 200 μm2) was beneficial to the accessibility of cellulose to cellulosic enzymes, so the enzymatic digestibility was enhanced immediately. Compared with other traditional hydrolysis methods, this two-step hydrolysis approach represents an environmentally friendly and sustainable saccharification of lignocellulose to produce xylose and glucose while achieving the same level of reaction efficiency

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in single-sided deafness patients

BackgroundSudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) is rare. The prognosis of the sole serviceable hearing ear is very important for these patients. However, the clinical characteristics and prognosis of SSNHL in SSD patients are not well-documented.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of SSNHL in SSD patients.MethodsClinical data of 36 SSD patients and 116 non-SSD patients with unilateral SSNHL from January 2013 to December 2022 were retrospectively investigated. The clinical characteristics of the SSD patients were analyzed. All SSD patients were treated with intratympanic steroids plus intravenous steroids. Pure-tone average (PTA) and word recognition score (WRS) before and after treatment were recorded. The hearing recovery of SSNHL in SSD patients in comparison with non-SSD patients was explored. Auditory outcomes in SSD patients with different etiologies were also compared.ResultsInitial hearing threshold showed no significant differences between the SSD group and the non-SSD group (66.41 ± 24.64 dB HL vs. 69.21 ± 31.48 dB HL, p = 0.625). The SSD group had a higher post-treatment hearing threshold (median (interquartile range, IQR) 53.13(36.56) dB HL) than the non-SSD group (median 32.50(47.5) dB HL, p < 0.01). Hearing gains (median 8.75(13.00) dB) and the rate of significant recovery (13.89%) were lower in the SSD group than in the non-SSD group (median 23.75(34.69) dB, 45.69%). The etiology of SSD was classified as SSNHL, special types of infection, chronic otitis media, and unknown causes. SSNHL accounted for the maximum proportion (38.9%) of causes of SSD in the SSD group. Hearing gains were lower in the SSNHL-SSD group than in other causes of the SSD group. A binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that SSD serves as an indicator of unfavorable hearing recovery outcomes (OR = 5.264, p < 0.01).ConclusionThe prognosis of SSNHL in SSD patients is unsatisfactory. SSNHL accounts for the maximum proportion of causes of SSD in this group of patients. For SSD patients caused by SSNHL, less hearing improvement after treatment was expected when SSNHL occurred in the contralateral ear in comparison with SSD patients with other causes

Exploration of the hypoglycemic mechanism of Fuzhuan brick tea based on integrating global metabolomics and network pharmacology analysis

Introduction: Fuzhuan brick tea (FBT) is a worldwide popular beverage which has the appreciable potential in regulating glycometabolism. However, the reports on the hypoglycemic mechanism of FBT remain limited.Methods: In this study, the hypoglycemic effect of FBT was evaluated in a pharmacological experiment based on Kunming mice. Global metabolomics and network pharmacology were combined to discover the potential target metabolites and genes. In addition, the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis was performed for verification.Results: Seven potential target metabolites and six potential target genes were screened using the integrated approach. After RT-qPCR analysis, it was found that the mRNA expression of VEGFA, KDR, MAPK14, and PPARA showed significant differences between normal and diabetes mellitus mice, with a retracement after FBT treatment.Conclusion: These results indicated that the hypoglycemic effect of FBT was associated with its anti-inflammatory activities and regulation of lipid metabolism disorders. The exploration of the hypoglycemic mechanism of FBT would be meaningful for its further application and development

Improved PCR based methods for detecting C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions

Due to the GC-rich, repetitive nature of C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions, PCR based detection methods are challenging. Several limitations of PCR have been reported and overcoming these could help to define the pathogenic range. There is also a need to develop improved repeat-primed PCR assays which allow detection even in the presence of genomic variation around the repeat region. We have optimised PCR conditions for the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion, using betaine as a co-solvent and specific cycling conditions, including slow ramping and a high denaturation temperature. We have developed a flanking assay, and repeat-primed PCR assays for both 3′ and 5′ ends of the repeat expansion, which when used together provide a robust strategy for detecting the presence or absence of expansions greater than ∼100 repeats, even in the presence of genomic variability at the 3′ end of the repeat. Using our assays, we have detected repeat expansions in 47/442 Scottish ALS patients. Furthermore, we recommend the combined use of these assays in a clinical diagnostic setting

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

A. Palotie on työryhmän Schizophrenia Working Grp Psychiat jäsen.We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P = 1 x 10(-4)) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P = 8.4 x 10(-7)). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.Peer reviewe

Design of Double-drive Mechanism for Energy Saving Lifting Permanent Magnet

On account of great power consume of lifting electromagnet, energy-saving lifting permanent magnet has got more attention. But in the exiting design of lifting magnet, most can only lift the workpiece placed horizontally, and can’t lift the workpiece placed inclined. Aiming at this defect, the authors design the double-drive mechanism. In this design, two sets of tumble, cylindrical gear mechanism and ratchet pawl mechanism were used to ensure that at least one set of mechanisms can work properly in the inclined state. To enable the two sets of mechanisms to drive the rotating magnetic system in the same direction, reversing gear was adopted

Data from: Genetic and epigenetic changes during the invasion of a cosmopolitan species (Phragmites australis)

While many introduced invasive species can increase genetic diversity through multiple introductions and/or hybridization to colonize successfully in new environments, others with low genetic diversity have to persist by alternative mechanisms such as epigenetic variation. Given that Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan reed growing in a wide range of habitats and its invasion history, especially in North America, has been relatively well studied, it provides an ideal system for studying the role and relationship of genetic and epigenetic variation in biological invasions. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and methylation-sensitive (MS) - AFLP methods to evaluate genetic and epigenetic diversity and structure in groups of the common reed across its range in the world. Evidence from analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) based on AFLP and MS-AFLP data supported the previous conclusion that the invasive introduced populations of P. australis in North America were from European and Mediterranean regions. In the Gulf Coast region, the introduced group harboured a high level of genetic variation relative to originating group from its native location, and it showed epigenetic diversity equal to that of the native group, if not higher, while the introduced group held lower genetic diversity than the native. In the Great Lakes region, the native group displayed very low genetic and epigenetic variation, and the introduced one showed slightly lower genetic and epigenetic diversity than the original one. Unexpectedly, AMOVA and principle component analysis (PCA) did not demonstrate any epigenetic convergence between native and introduced groups before genetic convergence. Our results suggested that intertwined changes in genetic and epigenetic variation were involved in the invasion success in North America. Although our study did not provide strong evidence proving the importance of epigenetic variation prior to genetic, it implied the same similar role of stable epigenetic diversity to genetic diversity in the adaptation of P. australis to local environment

Unsupervised Sub-Pixel Water Body Mapping with Sentinel-3 OLCI Image

Mapping land surface water bodies from satellite images is superior to conventional in situ measurements. With the mission of long-term and high-frequency water quality monitoring, the launch of the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) onboard Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B provides the best possible approach for near real-time land surface water body mapping. Sentinel-3 OLCI contains 21 bands ranging from visible to near-infrared, but the spatial resolution is limited to 300 m, which may include lots of mixed pixels around the boundaries. Sub-pixel mapping (SPM) provides a good solution for the mixed pixel problem in water body mapping. In this paper, an unsupervised sub-pixel water body mapping (USWBM) method was proposed particularly for the Sentinel-3 OLCI image, and it aims to produce a finer spatial resolution (e.g., 30 m) water body map from the multispectral image. Instead of using the fraction maps of water/non-water or multispectral images combined with endmembers of water/non-water classes as input, USWBM directly uses the spectral water index images of the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) extracted from the Sentinel-3 OLCI image as input and produces a water body map at the target finer spatial resolution. Without the collection of endmembers, USWBM accomplished the unsupervised process by developing a multi-scale spatial dependence based on an unsupervised sub-pixel Fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering algorithm. In both validations in the Tibet Plate lake and Poyang lake, USWBM produced more accurate water body maps than the other pixel and sub-pixel based water body mapping methods. The proposed USWBM, therefore, has great potential to support near real-time sub-pixel water body mapping with the Sentinel-3 OLCI image

Analysis of Coastline Extraction from Landsat-8 OLI Imagery

Coastline extraction is a fundamental work for coastal resource management, coastal environmental protection and coastal sustainable development. Due to the free access and long-term record, Landsat series images have the potential to be used for coastline extraction. However, dynamic features of different types of coastlines (e.g., rocky, sandy, artificial), caused by sea level fluctuation from tidal, storm and reclamation, make it difficult to be accurately extracted with coarse spatial resolution, e.g., 30 m, of Landsat images. To access this problem, we analyze the performance of coastline extraction by integrating downscaling, pansharpening and water index approaches in increasing the accuracy of coastline extraction from the latest Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery. In order to prove the availability of the proposed method, we designed three strategies: (1) Strategy 1 uses the traditional water index method to extract coastline directly from original 30 m Landsat-8 OLI multispectral (MS) image; (2) Strategy 2 extracts coastlines from 15 m fused MS images generated by integrating 15 m panchromatic (PAN) band and 30 m MS image with ten pansharpening algorithms; (3) Strategy 3 first downscales the PAN band to a finer spatial resolution (e.g., 7.5 m) band, and then extracts coastlines from pansharpened MS images generated by integrating downscaled spatial resolution PAN band and 30 m MS image with ten pansharpening algorithms. Using the coastline extracted from ZiYuan-3 (ZY-3) 5.8 m MS image as reference, accuracies of coastlines extracted from MS images in three strategies were validated visually and quantitatively. The results show that, compared with coastline extracted directly from 30 m Landsat-8 MS image (strategy 1), strategy 3 achieves the best accuracies with optimal mean net shoreline movement (MNSM) of −2.54 m and optimal mean absolute difference (MAD) of 11.26 m, followed by coastlines extracted in strategy 2 with optimal MNSM of −4.23 m and optimal MAD of 13.54 m. Further comparisons with single-band thresholding (Band 6), AWEI, and ISODATA also confirmed the superiority of strategy 3. For the various used pansharpening algorithms, five multiresolution analysis MRA-based pansharpening algorithms are more efficient than the component substitution CS-based pansharpening algorithms for coastline extraction from Landsat-8 OLI imagery. Among the five MRA-based fusion methods, the coastlines extracted from the fused images generated by Indusion, additive à trous wavelet transform (ATWT) and additive wavelet luminance proportional (AWLP) produced the most accurate and visually realistic representation. Therefore, pansharpening approaches can improve the accuracy of coastline extraction from Landsat-8 OLI imagery, and downscaling the PAN band to finer spatial resolution is able to further improve the coastline extraction accuracy, especially in crenulated coasts