Search Results (4,406)

A series of 6:2 fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs) has been recently detected in human serum. Whether it has the potential to disrupt lipid metabolism in human populations remains largely unexplored. This study quantified serum concentrations of 6:2 FTEOs in 237 healthy Chinese adults, examined the gender- and age-specific differences in serum levels of 6:2 FTEOs, and investigated the associations between serum levels of 6:2 FTEOs and lipid profiles for the first time. Nine 6:2 FTEO homologues were detected in collected human serum, with detection frequencies of 22–81%. 6:2 FTEO8 and 6:2 FTEO9 were the more abundant 6:2 FTEO homologues in human serum, displaying the mean levels of 0.69 ng/mL (range < LOD–7.36 ng/mL) and 0.71 ng/mL (<LOD–8.12 ng/mL), respectively. Male participants had much higher (p < 0.05) mean serum levels of 6:2 FTEO6 (0.61 vs. 0.31 ng/mL), 6:2 FTEO7 (0.44 vs. 0.21 ng/mL), 6:2 FTEO8 (0.91 vs. 0.38 ng/mL), and 6:2 FTEO11 (0.35 vs. 0.18 ng/mL) than female subjects. Correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive relationship (p < 0.01) between the age of participants and human serum concentrations of 6:2 FTEO6–6:2 FTEO11. Multivariate linear regression identified significant positive associations between specific 6:2 FTEO homologues (e.g., 6:2 FTEO6, 6:2 FTEO8–6:2 FTEO10) and elevated total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Full article

Grafting serves as a crucial propagation technique for superior Camellia oleifera varieties, where rootstock–scion compatibility significantly determines survival and growth performance. To systematically evaluate grafting compatibility in this economically important woody oil crop, we examined 15 rootstock–scion combinations using ‘Xianglin 210’ as the scion, assessing growth traits and conducting physiological assays (enzymatic activities of SOD and POD and levels of ROS and IAA) at multiple timepoints (0–32 days post-grafting). The results demonstrated that Comb. 4 (Xianglin 27 rootstock) exhibited superior compatibility, characterized by systemic antioxidant activation (peaking at 4–8 DPG), rapid auxin accumulation (4 DPG), and efficient sugar allocation. Transcriptome sequencing and WGCNA analysis identified 3781 differentially expressed genes, with notable enrichment in stress response pathways (Hsp70, DnaJ) and auxin biosynthesis (YUCCA), while also revealing key hub genes (FKBP19) associated with graft-healing efficiency. These findings establish that successful grafting in C. oleifera depends on coordinated rapid redox regulation, auxin-mediated cell proliferation, and metabolic reprogramming, with Comb. 4 emerging as the optimal rootstock choice. The identified molecular markers not only advance our understanding of grafting mechanisms in woody plants but also provide valuable targets for future breeding programs aimed at improving grafting success rates in this important oil crop. Full article

Among the approximately 60,000 bone stick fragments unearthed from the Weiyang Palace site of the Han Dynasty, about 57,000 bear inscriptions. Most of these fragments exhibit vertical fractures, leading to a separation between the upper and lower fragments, which poses significant challenges to digital preservation and artifact restoration. Manual matching is inefficient and may cause further damage to the bone sticks. This paper proposes a novel multimodal bone stick matching approach that integrates image, inscription, and archeological information to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of matching fragmented bone stick artifacts. Unlike traditional methods that rely solely on image data, our method leverages large-scale pre-trained models, namely Vision-RWKV for visual feature extraction, RWKV for inscription analysis, and BERT for archeological metadata encoding. A dynamic cross-modal feature fusion mechanism is introduced to effectively combine these features, enabling better interaction and weighting based on the contextual relevance of each modality. This approach significantly improves matching performance, particularly in challenging cases involving fractures, corrosion, and missing sections. The novelty of this method lies in its ability to simultaneously extract and fuse multiple sources of information, addressing the limitations of traditional image-based matching methods. This paper uses Rank-N and Cumulative Match Characteristic (CMC) curves as evaluation metrics. Experimental evaluation shows that the matching accuracy reaches 94.73% at Rank-15, and the method performs significantly better than the comparative methods on the CMC evaluation curve, demonstrating outstanding performance. Overall, this approach significantly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of bone stick artifact matching, providing robust technical support for the research and restoration of bone stick cultural heritage. Full article

This paper discusses the integrated technology of CO₂ adsorption and catalysis, which combines adsorption and catalytic conversion, simplifies the traditional process, reduces energy consumption, and improves efficiency. The traditional carbon capture technology has the problems of high energy consumption, equipment corrosion, and absorbent loss, while the integrated technology realizes the adsorption, conversion, and catalyst regeneration of CO₂ in a single reaction system, avoiding complex desorption steps. Through micropore confinement and surface electron transfer mechanism, the technology improves the reactant concentration and mass transfer efficiency, reduces the activation energy, and realizes the low-temperature and high-efficiency conversion of CO₂. In terms of materials, MOF-based composites, alkali metal modified oxides, and carbon-based hybrid materials show excellent performance, helping to efficiently adsorb and transform CO₂. However, the design and engineering of reactors still face challenges, such as the development of new moving bed reactors. This technology provides a new idea for CO₂ capture and resource utilization and has important environmental significance and broad application prospects. Full article

The genus Panax contains traditional herbs that have been widely used in traditional medicine. The active constituents, collectively known as ginsenosides, are well characterized in the most representative species, P. notoginseng. However, the major bioactive chemical constituents of P. stipuleanatus together with P. vietnamensis are relatively less studied. In this study, an untargeted metabolomic analysis was performed in P. notoginseng, P. stipuleanatus, and P. vietnamensis using root and leaf organs. Further metabolomic differences in P. stipuleanatus were compared with those of the two most prevalent species. The analysis results revealed tissue-specific qualitative and quantitative metabolic differences in each species. Several differentially accumulated metabolites were enriched in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, including the biosynthesis of ginsenosides I. The ginsenosides Rb1, Rf, Rg1, Rh1, Rh8, and notoginsenosides E, M, and N had a higher abundance level in the roots of both P. notoginseng and P. vietnamensis. In P. stipuleanatus, the accumulation of potentially important ginsenosides is mainly found in the leaf. In particular, the dammarane-type ginsenosides Rb3, Rb1, Mx, and F2 as well as the notoginsenosides A, Fe, Fa, Fd, L, and N were identified to have a higher accumulation in the leaf. The strong positive correlation network of different ginsenosides probably enhanced secondary metabolism in each species. The comparative analysis revealed a significant differential accumulation of metabolites in the leaves of both species. The various compounds of dammarane-type ginsenoside, such as Rb1, Rg1, Rg6, Rh8, Rh10, Rh14, and majoroside F2, had a significantly higher concentration level in the leaves of P. stipuleanatus. In addition, several notoginsenoside compounds such as A, R1, Fe, Fd, and Ft1 showed a higher abundance in the leaf. These results show that the abundance level of major ginsenosides is significant in P. stipuleanatus and provides an important platform to improve the ginsenoside quality of Panax species. Full article

The combination of scaffold materials and bioactive factors is a promising strategy for promoting bone defect repair in tissue engineering. Previous studies have shown that osteoglycin (OGN) is highly expressed in the bone repair process using deer antler as an animal model of bone defects. It suggests that OGN may be a key active component involved in the bone repair process. The aim of this study was to investigate whether deer OGN (dOGN) could effectively promote bone regeneration. We successfully expressed dOGN using the E. coli pET30a system and evaluated its biological activity through cell proliferation and migration assays. At a concentration of 5 μg/mL, dOGN significantly promoted cell proliferation and migration. We then incorporated dOGN onto decellularized antler cancellous bone (DACB) scaffolds and assessed their osteogenic potential both in vitro and in vivo. The results indicated that dOGN loading enhanced cell proliferation, adhesion, and osteogenic activity. In vivo experiments confirmed that the dOGN-DACB scaffold significantly improved bone regeneration compared to DACB alone. This study demonstrates that dOGN-loaded DACB scaffolds hold great potential for clinical applications in treating critical-sized bone defects by mimicking the rapid regenerative properties of deer antlers. Full article

Microbial detoxification, as an environmentally friendly strategy, has been widely applied for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) degradation. Within this approach, food-derived microbial strains offer unique advantages in safety, specificity, and sustainability for detoxifying food-borne BaP. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential of such strains in BaP degradation. Bacillus mojavensis TC-5, a strain that degrades BaP, was isolated from kefir grains. Surprisingly, 12 genes encoding dehydrogenases, synthases, and oxygenases, including betB, fabHB, qdoI, cdoA, and bioI, which are related to BaP degradation, were up-regulated by 2.01-fold to 4.52-fold in TC-5. Two potential degradation pathways were deduced. In pathway I, dioxygenase, betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, and beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III FabHB act sequentially on BaP to form 4H-pyran-4-one,2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl via the phthalic acid pathway. In the presence of the cytochrome P450 enzyme, BaP progressively mediates ring cleavage via the anthracene pathway, eventually forming 3-methyl-5-propylnonane in pathway II. Notably, TC-5 achieved an impressive BaP removal efficiency of up to 63.94%, with a degradation efficiency of 32.89%. These results suggest that TC-5 has significant potential for application in addressing food-borne BaP contamination. Moreover, our findings expand the application possibilities of Xinjiang fermented milk products and add to the available green strategies for BaP degradation in food systems. Full article

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a vegetatively propagated crop of high economic and cultural value, potentially affected by viral infections that may impact its productivity. Despite Iran’s dominance in global saffron production, knowledge of its virome remains limited. In this study, we conducted the first nationwide virome survey of saffron in Iran employing a high-throughput sequencing (HTS) approach on pooled samples obtained from eleven provinces in Iran and one location in Afghanistan. Members of three virus families were detected—Potyviridae (Potyvirus), Solemoviridae (Polerovirus), and Geminiviridae (Mastrevirus)—as well as one satellite from the family Alphasatellitidae (Clecrusatellite). A novel Potyvirus, tentatively named saffron Iran virus (SaIRV) and detected in three provinces, shares less than 68% nucleotide identity with known Potyvirus species, thus meeting the ICTV criteria for designation as a new species. Genetic diversity analyses revealed substantial intrapopulation SNP variation but no clear geographical clustering. Among the two wild Crocus species sampled, only Crocus speciosus harbored turnip mosaic virus. Virome network and phylogenetic analyses confirmed widespread viral circulation likely driven by corm-mediated propagation. Our findings highlight the need for targeted certification programs and biological characterization of key viruses to mitigate potential impacts on saffron yield and quality. Full article

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide and its prevalence continues to rise. Chronic hyperglycemia exposes patients to severe complications. Among these, diabetic vascular lesions are the most destructive. Their primary driver is the synergistic interaction between hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. This review systematically elucidates how multiple pathological pathways—namely, metabolic dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and epigenetic reprogramming—cooperate to drive oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades. Confronting this complex pathological network, natural products, unlike conventional single-target synthetic drugs, exert multi-target synergistic effects, simultaneously modulating several key pathogenic networks. This enables the restoration of redox homeostasis and the suppression of inflammatory responses, thereby improving vascular function and delaying both microvascular and macrovascular disease progression. However, the clinical translation of natural products still faces multiple challenges and requires comprehensive mechanistic studies and rigorous validation to fully realize their therapeutic potential. Full article

In the context of worsening climate change and biodiversity loss, forest carbon offset projects are viewed as important nature-based solutions to mitigate these trends. However, there is limited evidence on whether these projects provide net benefits for biodiversity conservation. This study uses a staggered difference-in-differences model with balanced panel data from 128 counties in Sichuan Province, China, spanning from 2000 to 2020, to examine whether these projects bring biodiversity conservation co-benefits. The results show that the implementation of forest carbon offset projects leads to a 55.1% decrease in the ecosystem service value of forest biodiversity, with the negative impact particularly pronounced in areas facing agricultural land use and livestock pressures. The dynamic effect tests indicate that the benefits of biodiversity conservation generally begin to decline significantly 5 years after project implementation. Additional analyses show that although projects certified under biodiversity conservation standards also exhibit negative effects, the magnitude of decline is substantially smaller compared to uncertified projects, and certified projects achieve greater carbon stock gains. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that projects employing native tree species show significant positive effects. Moreover, spatial econometric results demonstrate significant negative spillover effects within an 80 km radius surrounding the project sites, with the effect attenuating over distance. To maximize the potential of forest carbon offset projects in addressing both climate change and biodiversity loss, it is important to mitigate the negative impacts on biodiversity within and beyond project boundaries and to enhance the continuous monitoring of projects that have been certified for biodiversity conservation. Full article

Asphalt plant reclaimed powder is a common solid waste in road engineering. Reusing reclaimed powder as filler holds significant importance for environmental protection and resource conservation. The key factors affecting the feasibility of reclaimed powder reuse are its acidity/alkalinity and cleanliness. Traditional evaluation methods, such as the methylene blue test and plasticity index, can assess reclaimed powder properties to guide its recycling. However, these methods suffer from inefficiency, strong empirical dependence, and high variability. To address these limitations, this study proposes a rapid and precise evaluation method for reclaimed powder properties based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). To do so, five field-collected reclaimed powder samples and four artificial samples were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize their microphase morphology, chemical composition, and crystal structure, respectively. Subsequently, FTIR was used to establish correlations between key acidity/alkalinity, cleanliness, and multiple characteristic peak intensities. Representative infrared characteristic peaks were selected, and a quantitative functional group index (Is) was proposed to simultaneously evaluate acidity/alkalinity and cleanliness. The results indicate that reclaimed powder primarily consists of tiny, crushed stone particles and dust, with significant variations in crystal structure and chemical composition, including calcium carbonate, silicon oxide, iron oxide, and aluminum oxide. Some samples also contained clay, which critically influenced the reclaimed powder properties. Since both filler acidity/alkalinity and cleanliness are affected by clay (silicon/carbon ratio determining acidity/alkalinity and aluminosilicate content affecting cleanliness), this study calculated four functional group indices based on FTIR absorption peaks, namely the Si-O-Si stretching vibration (1000 cm⁻¹) and the CO₃²⁻ asymmetric stretching vibration (1400 cm⁻¹). These indices were correlated with conventional testing results (XRF for acidity/alkalinity, methylene blue value, and pull-off strength for cleanliness). The results show that the Is index exhibited strong correlations (R² = 0.89 with XRF, R² = 0.80 with methylene blue value, and R² = 0.96 with pull-off strength), demonstrating its effectiveness in predicting both acidity/alkalinity and cleanliness. The developed method enhances reclaimed powder detection efficiency and facilitates high-value recycling in road engineering applications. Full article

Browning significantly impacts the commercial value of luffa (luffa cylindrica) and is primarily driven by the metabolic processes of phenolic acids. Investigating changes in phenolic acids during browning aids in understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying this process and provides a basis for improving storage, processing, variety breeding, and utilization of germplasm resources. This study compared browning-resistant (‘30’) and browning-sensitive (‘256’) luffa varieties using high-throughput sequencing and metabolomics techniques. The results revealed 55 genes involved in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, including 8 phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) genes, 20 peroxidase (POD) genes, 2 polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes associated with tyrosine metabolism, and 37 peroxisome-related genes. Real-time quantitative (qPCR) was employed to validate 15 browning-related genes, revealing that the expression levels of LcPOD21 and LcPOD6 were 12.5-fold and 25-fold higher in ‘30’ compared to ‘256’, while LcPAL5 and LcPAL4 were upregulated in ‘30’. Enzyme analysis showed that catalase (CAT) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities were higher in ‘30’ than in ‘256’. Conversely, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities were reduced in ‘30’, whereas CAT activity was upregulated. The concentrations of cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, trans-5-O-(4-coumaroyl)mangiferic acid, and caffealdehyde were lower in browning-resistant luffa ‘30’ than in browning-sensitive luffa ‘256’, suggesting that their levels influence browning in luffa. These findings elucidate the mechanisms underlying browning and inform strategies for the storage, processing, and genetic improvement of luffa. Full article

This study proposes a novel metaheuristic algorithm, Cosmic Evolution Optimization (CEO), for numerical optimization and engineering design. Inspired by the cosmic evolution process, CEO simulates physical phenomena including cosmic expansion, universal gravitation, stellar system interactions, and celestial orbital resonance.The algorithm introduces a multi-stellar framework system, which incorporates search agents into distinct subsystems to perform simultaneous exploration or exploitation behaviors, thereby enhancing diversity and parallel exploration capabilities. Specifically, the CEO algorithm was compared against ten state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms on 29 typical unconstrained benchmark problems from CEC2017 across different dimensions and 13 constrained real-world optimization problems from CEC2020. Statistical validations through the Friedman test, the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and other statistical methods have confirmed the competitiveness and effectiveness of the CEO algorithm. Notably, it achieved a comprehensive Friedman rank of 1.28/11, and the winning rate in the Wilcoxon rank-sum tests exceeded 80% in CEC2017. Furthermore, CEO demonstrated outstanding performance in practical engineering applications such as robot path planning and photovoltaic system parameter extraction, further verifying its efficiency and broad application potential in solving real-world engineering challenges. Full article

Adipose tissue inflammation contributes to obesity-induced insulin resistance. However, increasing evidence shows that high BMI (obesity) is not an accurate predictor of poor metabolic health in individuals. The molecular mechanisms regulating the metabolically activated M1 macrophage phenotype in the adipose tissues leading to insulin resistance remain largely unknown. Although the Janus Kinase (Jak)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) signaling in myeloid cells are known to promote the M2 phenotype in tumors, we demonstrate here that the Jak2/Stat3 pathway amplifies M1-mediated adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance under metabolic challenges. Ablating Jak2 in the myeloid compartment reduces insulin resistance in obese mice, which is associated with a decrease in infiltration of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs). We show that the adoptive transfer of Jak2-deficient myeloid cells improves insulin sensitivity in obese mice. Furthermore, the protection of obese mice with myeloid-specific Stat3 deficiency against insulin resistance is also associated with reduced tissue infiltration by macrophages. Jak2/Stat3 in the macrophage is required for the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that promote M1 macrophage polarization in the adipose tissues of obese mice. Moreover, free fatty acids (FFAs) activate Stat3 in macrophages, leading to the induction of M1 cytokines. Silencing the myeloid cell Stat3 with an in vivo siRNA targeted delivery approach reduces metabolically activated pro-inflammatory ATMs, thereby alleviating obesity-induced insulin resistance. These results demonstrate Jak2/Stat3 in myeloid cells is required for obesity-induced insulin resistance and inflammation. Moreover, targeting Stat3 in myeloid cells may be a novel approach to ameliorate obesity-induced insulin resistance. Full article

Soil respiration (Rt), consisting of heterotrophic (Rh) and autotrophic respiration (Ra), plays a vital role in terrestrial carbon cycling and is sensitive to soil temperature and moisture. In dryland agriculture, plastic film mulching (PM) is widely used to regulate soil hydrothermal conditions, but its effects on Rt components and their temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) across regions remain unclear. A two-year field study was conducted at two rain-fed maize sites: Anding (warmer, semi-arid) and Yuzhong (colder, drier). PM significantly increased Rt, Rh, and Ra, especially Ra, due to enhanced root biomass and improved microclimate. Yield increased by 33.6–165%. Peak respiration occurred earlier in Anding, aligned with maize growth and soil temperature. PM reduced Q₁₀ of Rt and Ra in Anding, but only Ra in Yuzhong. Rh Q₁₀ remained stable, indicating microbial respiration was less sensitive to temperature changes. Structural equation modeling revealed that Rt and Ra were mainly driven by soil temperature and root biomass, while Rh was more influenced by microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Despite increased CO₂ emissions, PM improved carbon emission efficiency (CEE), particularly in Yuzhong (+67%). The application of PM is recommended to enhance yield while optimizing carbon efficiency in dryland farming systems. Full article