Spatial learning and memory deficits in young adult mice exposed to a brief intense noise at postnatal age

Noise pollution is a major hazardous factor to human health and is likely harmful for vulnerable groups such as pre-term infants under lifesupport system in an intensive care unit. Previous studies have suggested that noise exposure impairs children’s learning ability and cognitive performance and cognitive functions in animal models in which the effect is mainly attributed to the oxidant stress of noise on the cognitive brain. The potential role of noise induced hearing loss(NIHL), rather than the oxidant stress, has also been indicated by a depression of neurogenesis in the hippocampus long after a brief noise exposure, which produces only a tentative oxidant stress. It is not clear if noise exposure and NIHL during early development exerts a long term impact on cognitive function and neurogenesis towards adulthood. In the present study, a brief noise exposure at high sound level was performed in neonatal C57BL/6J mice(15 days after birth) to produce a significant amount of permanent hearing loss as proved 2 months after the noise. At this age, the noise-exposed animals showed deteriorated spatial learning and memory abilities and a reduction of hippocampal neurogenesis as compared with the control. The averaged hearing threshold was found to be strongly correlated with the scores for spatial learning and memory. We consider the effects observed are largely due to the loss of hearing sensitivity, rather than the oxidant stress, due to the long interval between noise exposure and the observations.

Robust Spatial Filters on Three-Class Motor Imagery EEG Data Using Independent Component Analysis

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) was often used to separate movement related independent components (MRICs) from Electroencephalogram (EEG) data.?However, to obtain robust spatial filters, complex characteristic features, which were manually selected in most cases, have been commonly used. This study proposed a new simple algorithm to extract MRICs automatically, which just utilized the spatial distribution pattern of ICs. The main goal of this study was to show the relationship between spatial filters performance and designing samples. The EEG data which contain?mixed brain states (preparing, motor imagery and rest) were used to design spatial filters. Meanwhile, the single class data was also used to calculate spatial filters to assess whether the MRICs extracted on different class motor imagery spatial filters are similar. Furthermore, the spatial filters constructed on one subject’s EEG data were applied to extract the others’ MRICs. Finally, the different spatial filters were then applied to single-trial EEG to extract MRICs, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers were used to discriminate left hand、right-hand and foot imagery movements of BCI Competition IV Dataset 2a, which recorded four motor imagery data of nine subjects. The results suggested that any segment of finite motor imagery EEG samples could be used to design ICA spatial filters, and the extracted MRICs are consistent if the position of electrodes are the same, which confirmed the robustness and practicality of ICA used in the motor imagery Brain Computer Interfaces (MI-BCI) systems.

Analysis of Leaf Volatiles of Crabapple (<i>Malus</i>sp.) Individuals in Different Aphids’ Resistance

The aim of this experiment was to analyze the leaf volatiles of crabapple (Malus sp.) individuals at different aphid’s resistance, to ascertain the particular ingredients which has lure or aversion effects on aphid, and to provide reference for finding out a simple method to control effectively aphids. Volatiles of leaves from twenty-one different crabapple individuals were evaluated with the method of head space-solid phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Volatiles profiles of them were then compared. There are one hundred eighty-six kinds of volatiles were detected with varied contents found in different individuals. And all plants contain eight kinds of common components: 3-Hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)-, 4-Hexen-1-ol, (Z)-, n-Decanal, n-Tetradecane, .alpha.-Farnesene, Diethyl Phthalate, Oxime-, methoxy-phenyl- and Dibenzofuran-, wherein the relative content of higher have 3-Hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)- and 4-Hexen-1-ol, (Z)-. Specific volatile substances in high resistance plants contain 3-Hexenal, (Z)- and 2-Hexenal, (E)-. Leaf volatiles differ in twenty-one crabapple individuals. High resistance plants specific volatile substances contains 3-Hexenal, (Z)-, 2-Hexenal, (E)- and other small molecular volatile substances, and no-resistance plants all have .beta.-Farnesene.

An Amidoximated-UHMEPE Fiber for Selective and High Efficient Removal of Uranyl and Thorium from Acid Aqueous Solution

High efficient removal and recovery of uranium and thorium from nuclear waste solution are essential for environmental preservation and fuel recycle. A new polymer fiber adsorbent (UHMEPE-g-PAO fiber), prepared by amidoximation of grafted polyacrylonitrile onto Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber, was used to remove the uranyl and thorium ions from acid aqueous solutions and its performance was carefully investigated. It was found that uranyl ion can penetrate the fiber through the connected pore structures, forming (UO2) (R-C(NH2)-NO)2 chelates with the amidoxime groups within the fiber. Two amidoxime groups (U-N and U-Oeq) and two water molecules (U-Oeq2) are bound to uranyl ion in the fiber. On the contrary, thorium ions are adsorbed mainly on the fiber surface in the form of Th(OH)4 precipitate that blocks the entrance of Th4+ ion into fiber pores. The maximum included other two capacities of uranyl and thorium ions were estimated to be 262.01 mg/g and 160 mg/g at room temperature with pH 3.0, respectively. The results also indicate that the UHMWPE-g-PAO fiber has higher adsorption selectivity for uranyl ion than thorium ion. Uranium and thorium oxide particles were obtained as the ultimate product after sintering of the fiber adsorbent. This novel and environmentally friendly adsorption process is feasible to extract uranium or thorium from acidic aqueous solution.

Silencing of syndecan-binding protein enhances the inhibitory effect of tamoxifen and increases cellular sensitivity to estrogen

Objective:Tamoxifen is used as a complementary treatment for estrogen receptor(ER)-positive breast cancer(BCa),but many patients developed resistance.The aim of this study was to examine the role of syndecan-binding protein(SDCBP)silencing in ER-positive BCa cells.Methods:In MCF-7/T47D cells,the effects of SDCBP silence/overexpression on cell proliferation and estrogenic response were examined.Cell proliferation was examined using the MTT assay and cell cycle regulators were examined by Western blot.Estrogen response was examined from a luciferase activity and evaluation of transcript levels of p S2 and progesterone receptor(PR)upon estrogen administration.Samples of ER-positive BCa were stained with ERα,PR,and SDCBP antibodies,and their expression correlations were analyzed.Results:We found that SDCBP silencing inhibited the proliferation of ER-positive BCa cells and arrested a greater number of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle compared to tamoxifen alone,while SDCBP overexpression limited the anti-cancer effects of tamoxifen.SDCBP silencing and overexpression also enhanced and attenuated the estrogenic response,respectively.Expression of SDCBP was negatively correlated with PR,ERα,and the PR/ERαratio in ER-positive BCa tissue samples.Conclusions:SDCBP may be involved in tamoxifen resistance in ER-positive BCa.Tamoxifen treatment combined with SDCBP silencing may provide a novel treatment for endocrine therapy-resistant BCa.

产前地塞米松和生后肺表面活性物质联合呼吸支持对早产兔肺液清除的作用

目的探讨产前地塞米松(dexamethasone,DEX)、生后肺表面活性物质(pulmonary surfactant,PS)及呼吸支持对胎龄25~28 d(足月31 d)早产兔出生早期肺液清除效率的影响,及其与呼吸系统动态顺应性(dynamic compliance of respiratory system,Cdyn)、肺病理形态学等参数的关系。方法本课题组已发表动物研究将早产兔依据干预分为对照组、仅PS组、仅DEX组和DEX+PS组。本研究收集上述已发表动物研究中的肺湿干重比值(wet-to-dry lung weight ratio,W/D)、Cdyn、肺泡扩张度(volume density of alveoli,Vv)等参数;并对其肺组织病理切片扫描成像,进行二次测量,计算肺血管周围袖带与血管切面面积比(ratio of perivascular sheath to vascular sectional area,S/V)和肺损伤水肿评分(lung injury scores-edema,LIS-E)。将W/D、LIS-E、S/V、Vv经出生体重(birth weight,BW)修正(除以BW,分别以W/D/BW、LIS-E/BW、S/V/BW、Vv/BW表示),Cdyn取均值(mean Cdyn,Cdyn-m)。延用上述已发表动物研究的分组,并进行新的混合干预分组(用DEX组和未用DEX组、用PS组和未用PS组),分析DEX及PS对上述参数的影响及各参数之间的相关性。采用两独立样本t检验、单因素方差分析、LSD检验、Kruskal-Wallis H检验、Mann-Whitney U检验及Pearson相关分析进行统计学分析。结果共196只生后接受机械通气的新生兔的肺病理切片及相关数据纳入本研究。(1)DEX对各指标的影响:用DEX组与未用DEX组相比,胎龄25 d时W/D/BW(489±69与421±113,t=-2.09)、LIS-E/BW(188±57与138±55,t=-2.61)和Vv/BW升高(20.1±4.9与14.2±4.7,t=-3.60),S/V(0.33±0.23与0.51±0.25,t=2.23)和S/V/W/D降低(0.05±0.03与0.07±0.04,t=2.22);胎龄26 d时W/D/BW(472±76与303±44,t=-8.75)、LIS-E/BW(189±63与106±36,t=-5.23)、Cdyn-m[(0.16±0.07)与(0.05±0.03)ml/(kg∙cmH2O),1 cmH2O=0.098 kPa,t=-7.29]和Vv/BW升高(22.4±5.0与12.2±3.8,t=-7.46),S/V(0.23±0.19与0.62±0.38,t=4.10)、S/V/BW(15.7±12.4与25.7±17.3,t=2.20)、S/V/W/D(0.03±0.03与0.08±0.05,t=3.92)和倾向性评分降低[(12.5±1.2)与(15.1±1.2)分,t=7.00];胎龄27 d时Cdyn-m升高[(0.23±0.12)与(0.16±0.07)ml/(kg∙cmH2O),t=-2.43],S/V(0.32±0.23与0.57±0.39,t=2.57)和S/V/W/D降低(0.05±0.04与0.09±0.06,t=2.55);胎龄28 d时W/D/BW(270±64与162±33,t=-8.09)、LIS-E/BW(72±32与35±20,t=-5.17)、S/V(0.90±0.60与0.59±0.48,t=-2.81)、S/V/BW(34.0±23.6与15.2±12.7,t=-3.77)和Vv/BW升高(16.9±4.3与9.2±2.9,t=-8.04);差异均有统计学意义(P值均<0.05)。(2)PS对各指标的影响:用PS组与未用PS组相比,胎龄25、26和27 d时LIS-E/BW降低,胎龄25和27 d时Cdyn-m和Vv/BW升高,胎龄25 d时倾向性评分升高,差异均有统计学意义(P值均<0.05)。(3)胎龄与各指标的相关性:胎龄与S/V呈正相关(r=0.31),与W/D/BW、LIS-E/BW均呈负相关(r值分别为-0.73和-0.63),差异均有统计学意义(P值均<0.05)。结论产前应用DEX对胎龄28 d机械通气早产兔肺液清除有促进作用,但对胎龄25~27 d兔,在应用产前DEX和/或生后PS后,生后早期呼吸功能虽得到改善,但未发现对肺液清除有明显促进作用。胎龄相关的肺成熟度对早产兔肺液清除起主要作用。

不同浸渍时间对CuO/Cu@BC电极催化CO2还原性能的影响

将具有3D网状结构的细菌纤维素(BC)膜作为催化剂载体,通过原位化学还原法制备了负载Cu和Cu O纳米复合材料的催化剂电极(Cu O/Cu@BC),并通过改变BC膜的浸渍时间实现电极结构调控以探索最佳条件。结果表明,具有3D球形结构的Cu O/Cu24h@BC电极对CO2还原表现出较好的电子传输性能和更高的电流密度。Cu O/Cu24h@BC电极的电化学比表面积最大,达12 mF/cm2。Cu O/Cu24h@BC电极可将CO2电催化转化为CO,且产生CO的法拉第效率为52%。

Evaluation of groundwater quality in the Xinjiang Plain Area

Groundwater is the main source of drinking water for the urban and rural residents in the plain area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China.The quality of groundwater has a direct relationship with human health.Thus,386 groundwater samples collected from April to August in 2003 were analyzed.The samples were collected in basic evaluation units which are determined on the basis of watersheds.Total dissolved solids,total hardness,pH value,NH3–N,C6H5OH,Chemiluminescence detection of permanganate index(CODMn)and intestinal germ group were evaluated according to the guidelines of Groundwater Quality Standard(GB/T14848-93).The quality of the groundwater in each evaluation unit was classified by using the One Veto Method(a unified approach stipulated by the Ministry of Water Resources).The results indicate that the groundwater in the mainstream area of the Tarim Basin and the Yerqiang River Sub-basin belongs to Category V;the groundwater in the Wulungu River Sub-basin,the KaiduKongque River Sub-basin,the Kashgar River Sub-basin,the Cherchen River Sub-basin and the Hotan River Subbasin belongs to Category IV;the groundwater in the Aibi Lake System belongs to Category II,and the groundwater of other evaluation units belongs to Category III.The causes of water quality formation were concisely analyzed.The results can be useful for the evaluation and management of water resources in the Xinjiang Plain Area.

Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts： their roles in tumor nitiation, progression and clinical applications

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women, and the incidence of this disease has increased in recent years because of changes in diet, living environment, gestational age, and other unknown factors. Previous studies focused on cancer cells, but an increasing number of recent studies have analyzed the contribution of cancer microenvironment to the initiation and progression of breast cancer. Cancer-associated libroblasts （CAFs）, the most abundant cells in tumor stroma, secrete various active biomolecules, including extraceHular matrix components, growth factors, cytokines, proteases, and hormones. CAFs not only facilitate the initiation, growth, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis of cancer but also serve as biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of breast cancer. In this article, we reviewed the literature and summarized the research findings on CAFs in breast cancer.

Oleic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Reverse Palmitic Acid-induced Insulin Resistance in Human HepG2 Cells via the Reactive Oxygen Species/JUN Pathway

Oleic acid(OA),a monounsaturated fatty acid(MUFA),has previously been shown to reverse saturated fatty acid palmitic acid(PA)-induced hepatic insulin resistance(IR).However,its underlying molecular mechanism is unclear.In addition,previous studies have shown that eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA),aω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA),reverses PA-induced muscle IR,but whether EPA plays the same role in hepatic IR and its possible mechanism involved need to be further clarified.Here,we confirmed that EPA reversed PA-induced IR in HepG2 cells and compared the proteomic changes in HepG2 cells after treatment with different free fatty acids(FFAs).A total of 234 proteins were determined to be differentially expressed after PA+OA treatment.Their functions were mainly related to responses to stress and endogenous stimuli,lipid metabolic process,and protein binding.For PA+EPA treatment,the PA-induced expression changes of 1326 proteins could be reversed by EPA,415 of which were mitochondrial proteins,with most of the functional proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation(OXPHOS)and tricarboxylic acid(TCA)cycle.Mechanistic studies revealed that the protein encoded by JUN and reactive oxygen species(ROS)play a role in OA-and EPA-reversed PA-induced IR,respectively.EPA and OA alleviated PA-induced abnormal adenosine triphosphate(ATP)production,ROS generation,and calcium(Ca^(2+))content.Importantly,H_(2)O_(2)-activated production of ROS increased the protein expression of JUN,further resulting in IR in HepG2 cells.Taken together,we demonstrate that ROS/JUN is a common response pathway employed by HepG2 cells toward FFA-regulated IR.

Zr-doped titanium lithium ion sieve and EP-granulated composite:Superb adsorption and recycling performance

Lithium ion sieve(LIS)has attracted great attention due to its high adsorption selectivity towards Li+.Herein,a new type of Zr-doped Ti-LIS(HZrTO)was synthesized by a simple calcination method.The adsorption capacity increased from 56.3 mgg-1(before doping)to 93.2 mgg-1 after doping in LiOH solution(lithium 1.8gL-1).The adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetics of HZrTO accord with the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation,respectively.Batch experiments showed that HZrTO has good stability and selectivity.In addition,HZrTO was granulated via epoxy resin(E-12),and the obtained granular adsorbent showed good adsorption capacity,excellent stability and high selectivity towards Li+.

Forecasting of COVID-19: spread with dynamic transmission rate

The COVID-19 was firstly reported in Wuhan,Hubei province,and it was brought to all over China by people travelling for Chinese New Year.The pandemic coronavirus with its catastrophic effects is now a global concern.Forecasting of COVID-19 spread has attracted a great attention for public health emergency.However,few re-searchers look into the relationship between dynamic transmission rate and preventable measures by authorities.In this paper,the SEIR(Susceptible Exposed Infectious Recovered)model is employed to investigate the spread of COVID-19.The epidemic spread is divided into two stages:before and after intervention.Before intervention,the transmission rate is assumed to be a constant since individual,community and government response has not taken into place.After intervention,the transmission rate is reduced dramatically due to the societal actions or measures to reduce and prevent the spread of disease.The transmission rate is assumed to follow an exponential function,and the removal rate is assumed to follow a power exponent function.The removal rate is increased with the evolution of the time.Using the real data,the model and parameters are optimized.The transmission rate without measure is calculated to be 0.033 and 0.030 for Hubei and outside Hubei province,respectively.After the model is established,the spread of COVID-19 in Hubei province,France and USA is predicted.From results,USA performs the worst according to the dynamic ratio.The model has provided a mathematical method to evaluate the effectiveness of the government response and can be used to forecast the spread of COVID-19 with better performance.

Structural analysis of [Bmim]_2CuCl_4 ionic liquids in the presence of water and ethanol by XAFS technique

The structure of [Bmim]2Cu Cl4 ionic liquids(Bmim: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) with different ratios of H2 O and C2H5 OH was investigated using X-ray absorption fine structure(XAFS) technique. In this study, XAFS was employed to directly probe the conformational variations of copper ions in [Bmim]2Cu Cl4 with the addition of either water or ethanol. XAFS analysis confirmed that the structure of ionic liquids gradually transformed from tetrahedral to octahedral configuration with the increase in ratio of H2 O. Our results also showed that water molecules coordinated with the copper ions of [Bmim]2Cu Cl4, leading to the conformational change in ionic liquids. However, the XAFS spectra of [Bmim]2Cu Cl4/C2H5 OH indicated no coordination of anhydrous ethanol with the copper ions of [Bmim]2Cu Cl4. The structure of [Bmim]2Cu Cl4 ionic liquids is maintained as the tetrahedral configuration in presence of ethanol. Therefore, anhydrous ethanol causes little variation in the structure of ionic liquids and it is a good solvent for the dilution of ionic liquids.

A multi-scale agent-based model of infectious disease transmission to assess the impact of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions:The COVID-19 case

Mathematical and computational models are useful tools for virtual policy experiments on infectious disease con-trol.Most models fail to provide flexible and rapid simulation of various epidemic scenarios for policy assessment.This paper establishes a multi-scale agent-based model to investigate the infectious disease propagation between cities and within a city using the knowledge from person-to-person transmission.In the model,the contact and infection of individuals at the micro scale where an agent represents a person provide insights for the interactions of agents at the meso scale where an agent refers to hundreds of individuals.Four cities with frequent population movements in China are taken as an example and actual data on traffic patterns and demographic parameters are adopted.The scenarios for dynamic propagation of infectious disease with no external measures are compared versus the scenarios with vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions.The model predicts that the peak of infections will decline by 67.37%with 80%vaccination rate,compared to a drop of 89.56%when isolation and quarantine measures are also in place.The results highlight the importance of controlling the source of infection by isolation and quarantine throughout the epidemic.We also study the effect when cities implement inconsis-tent public health interventions,which is common in practical situations.Based on our results,the model can be applied to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases according to the various needs of government agencies.

Rethinking the urban resilience:Extension and connotation

In recent years,urban resilience has attracted increasing attention from researchers and managers from the international community at the national,regional,and urban levels.Numerous multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary investigations,campaigns,and outlines have significantly promoted the development goal of re-silience in cities worldwide.However,the existing definitions and interpretations of urban resilience still call for a more comprehensive,systematic,and exhaustive analysis as urbanization accelerates and the complex risks of various safety events increase.To this end,we rethink the extension and connotation of urban resilience based on a review and analysis of critical hotspots,realistic demand,and development trends.A conceptual classification with three aspects and three typical tiers of urban resilience is proposed,which further promotes a new definition and interpretation by incorporating the resilience extension of urban systems.In addition,the six-dimensional characteristics are extracted to furnish the urban resilience connotation,and four-stage improvement measures are introduced accordingly.In addition,the newly developed urban resilience is applied to a case analysis of a large-scale disaster,which demonstrates the necessity and significance of this study.The new extension and connotation investigation will be helpful for the improvement and implementation of urban resilience,thereby guiding the construction of resilient cities.

Identification of the high-risk residence communities and possible risk factors of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has become a public health emergency of international concern.It is important to identify high-risk residence communities and the risk factors for decision making on targeted prevention and control measures.In this paper,the number of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 in the residence communities in Wuhan,China was collected together with the characteristic variables of the residence communities and the distances between the residence communities and nearby crowded places.The correlation analysis was conducted between the number of confirmed cases and the characteristic/distance variables.Con-cerning the characteristic variables,there are significant positive correlations between the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and the construction area,covered area,total number of houses,total number of buildings,vol-ume ratio,property charge,and number of second-hand houses in the residence communities in Wuhan,while minor or no correlation is observed for the average price of houses,construction year,greening ratio,or number of sold houses.Concerning the distance variables,there are significant negative correlations between the number of confirmed cases and the distances from the residence communities to the nearest universities,business clus-ters,and railway stations,while minor or no correlation is observed for the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market,kindergartens,primary schools,middle schools,shopping malls,cinemas,subway stations,bus stops,inter-city bus stations,airport,general hospitals,or appointed hospitals for COVID-19 pandemic.Therefore,the residence communities which are newly-built,where the volume ratio or property charge is high or the construction area,covered area,or total number of houses,buildings,second-hand houses,or sold houses is large,or which are close to universities,business clusters,subway stations,or railway stations are the high-risk ones where strict measures should be taken.This study provides the authorities with a valuable reference for precise disease prevention and control on the residence community level in similar cities in the world.

Modeling the External,Internal,and Multi-Center Transmission of Infectious Diseases:The COVID-19 Case

We used the Bass model to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 taking the United States and China as examples.The Bass model was originated from business literature and initially modeled the process of new products getting adopted by the population with an external and internal influence term.First,we fit the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in 8 major cities in the United States with the Bass model.The external and internal parameters of Bass were calculated and correlation analyses were performed between the parameters and the volume of traveling across different cities and within a city.The results show that the Bass model fits the epidemics data better than the logistic distribution which only has an internal influence term and the SIR model which is a classical infectious disease model.Besides,there is a significant positive correlation between the external parameter of Bass and the number of passengers at the airport as well as between the internal parameter of Bass and the number of short-distance trips in a city.Therefore,it is closer to true circumstances considering both external and internal transmission rather than assuming a region to be isolated.The external infection rate rises as the number of enplanements rises and the internal infection rate rises as the number of short-distance trips in a city rises.Second,we put forward an adapted multi-center Bass model for the multi-chain COVID-19 transmission in China and compared it with the original Bass model.The results indicated that the accuracy of the multi-center Bass model was higher than that of the original Bass model.In conclusion,the Bass model distinguishes the external and internal effects and is suitable for simulating the spread of COVID-19 and analyzing the infection rate caused by social interactions among different regions and inside a region.The adapted multi-center Bass model commendably described disease transmission when there is more than one transmission center.Our research proves the Bass model to be a useful tool for fine-level analyses on the transmission mechanism of COVID-19.