Accurate identification of sludge contamination sources by classification-based PMF and machine learning with consideration of sewer network distribution differences

The application of source identification such as PMF for large-scale pollution source analysis frequently produces ambiguous outcomes. In this study, we utilized a classification-based method to accurately track key pollution sources in the sludge. In the study, we categorized the wastewater treatment plants into two groups: T1 and T2, according to the pipeline network. T1 sewage treatment plants are the main sewage plants in urban areas, covering a large area and connected to industrial wastewater treatment plants for secondary treatment. T2 sewage treatment plants are typically smaller in size and usually responsible for treating sewage in rural or township areas. The PMF analysis indicates that industrial pollution sources contribute 3.4 times more to T1 sludge than to T2 sludge, making industrial pollution the primary factor causing the disparity. The application of Random Forest and Adaboost based on pollutant concentrations for classification and fitting of sludge resulted in the identification of the main pollutants: Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cyanide, which align with characteristic pollutants from the electroplating industry. The GIS analysis shows a significant correlation between the distance of wastewater treatment plants with abnormal environmental risk and electroplating industrial parks, all within a 20 km radius. Indeed, when conducting large-scale pollution source identification studies, utilizing classification-based analysis can effectively improve the accuracy of pollution source identification, leading to more valuable analysis results.

Polymeric photothermal nanoplatform with the inhibition of aquaporin 3 for anti-metastasis therapy of breast cancer

Metastasis, as one of major challenges in the cancer treatment, is responsible for the high mortality of breast cancer. It has been reported that breast cancer cell invasion and metastasis are related to aquaporin 3 (AQP3), which is the transmembrane transport channel for H₂O₂ molecules. Moreover, there is agreement that preventing the metastasis of breast tumor cells in combination with inhibiting the tumor growth is a promising strategy for cancer chemotherapy. Herein, we constructed a flexible photothermal crosslinked polymeric nanovehicle for the delivery of the AQP3 inhibitor, [AuCl₂(phen)]⁺Cl^- (Auphen). The polymeric nanovehicle (pOMPC-Dex) is comprised of three modules: 1) pOEGMA-co-pMEO₂MA serves as the temperature-responsive segment; 2) pCyanineMA acts as the near-infrared (NIR) optical absorbing motif for photothermal therapy and is conjugated with pOEGMA-co-pMEO₂MA to obtain NIR light stimuli-responsive drug release; and 3) pPBAMA-Dex functions as an acidic tumor microenvironment-responsive unit. Auphen was encapsulated into a nanovehicle (Auphen@pOMPC-Dex) through electrostatic interactions. The designed nanoplatform showed a pH- and NIR light stimuli-responsive drug release profile and exhibited the strong inhibition of intracellular H₂O₂ uptake by breast cancer cells, which led to the inhibition of breast cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro. In a breast cancer mouse model, Auphen@pOMPC-Dex markedly reduced the number of lung metastases in tumor-bearing mice due to the combined suppression of tumor growth and metastasis. Consequently, the fabricated Auphen@pOMPC-Dex may provide a new strategy for the development of comprehensive oncotherapies. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: High mortality due to metastasis-induced breast cancer has been a key issue that needs to be addressed. It has been reported that aquaporin 3 (AQP3), a transmembrane transport channel for H₂O₂ molecules was found to have an accelerated effect on breast cancer cell migration. Hence, a flexible crosslinked polymeric nanoplatform with the inhibition of AQP3 was designed to inhibit metastasis of breast cancer cells. At the same time, we combined suppression of tumor growth with photothermal therapy to enhance the anticancer therapy effect.

miR-129-5p targets FEZ1/SCOC/ULK1/NBR1 complex to restore neuronal function in mice with post-stroke depression

Post-stroke depression (PSD) seriously affects the normal life of patients. Based on the previous sequencing results, this study selected miR-129-5p as the research object, which was significantly reduced in the PSD model by screening. To clarify the regulatory role of miR-129-5p, this study overexpressed and interfered with miR-129-5p in neuronal cells cultured in vitro, tested its effect on neuronal cell autophagy, and determined expressions of fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1), short coiled-coil protein (SCOC), unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1) and autophagy cargo receptor (NBR1) autophagy-related proteins. The dual-luciferase reporter system and immunoprecipitation were applied to detect the molecular regulatory mechanism of miR-129-5 and FEZ1, SCOC, ULK1 and NBR1. Findings of the present study revealed that the autophagy of neuronal cells was markedly decreased by overexpressing miR-129-5p (p < 0.05), and expressions of FEZ1, SCOC, ULK1 and NBR1 were substantially reduced (p < 0.05). The dual-luciferase reporter system results indicated that FEZ1, SCOC, ULK1 and NBR1 were all miR-129-5p target genes. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation assay revealed that SCOC, ULK1 and NBR1 could directly bind to the FEZ1 protein. The experiments at an animal level demonstrated that miR-129-5p could effectively alleviate the behavioral indicators of PSD model mice. Taken together, this study testified that SCOC/ULK1/NBR1 proteins could directly bind to FEZ1 to form protein complex, and all of the four proteins FEZ1/SCOC/ULK1/NBR1 were miR-129-5p target genes. miR-129-5p overexpression could effectively restore the behavioral characteristics of model mice, and reduce the autophagy-related proteins FEZ1/SCOC/ULK1/NBR1.

Differential expression analysis of microRNAs and mRNAs in the mouse hippocampus of post-stroke depression (PSD) based on transcriptome sequencing

To clarify the differential expressions of microRNAs and mRNAs in a PSD model, this study employed PSD mice for model construction by injecting vasoconstrictor ET-1 (angioendothelin-1) into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of mice. The animals underwent elevated plus maze test, open field test, tail suspension test, and forced swimming test subsequently. Transcriptome sequencing was performed to analyze the differentially expressed mRNAs and microRNAs. The results showed that open arm entries and time of PSD mice were markedly decreased. Times of the entry to center for mice in the model group were apparently decreased. The climbing time of mice in the model group was greatly decreased. The behavior of PSD mice indicated a marked change, and several indicators of the behavioral tests were significantly lower than those of the control group. Transcriptome sequencing analysis demonstrated that expressions of 1 206 genes and 21 microRNAs were markedly upregulated in model group, whereas expressions of 2 113 genes and 32 microRNAs were markedly downregulated. GO analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in regulatory pathways of single-multicellular organism process, developmental process, cell periphery, plasma membrane, and neuron projection. Meanwhile, KEGG analysis results indicated that the differentially expressed genes mostly participated in signaling pathways of neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, calcium signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. In conclusion, differentially expressed microRNAs and mRNAs were screened, which offers a theoretical foundation for further investigation of molecular mechanisms and novel insight for the early identification, prevention, and treatment of PSD.

Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Thermal Decomposition Mechanism of 1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine

1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine (TNAZ) has a molecular formula of C₃ H₄ N₄ O₆ and the characteristics of low melting point, low impact sensitivity and good thermal stability. It is suitable for melt casting and pressed charges, and it has broad prospects for applications in low-sensitivity ammunition. In this study, the thermal decomposition of TNAZ crystals at high temperature was calculated by molecular dynamics simulation with the ReaxFF/lg reactive force field. The change in the potential energy of TNAZ, the formation of small-molecule products and clusters, and the initial reaction path of TNAZ were analysed. The kinetic parameters of different reaction stages in TNAZ thermal decomposition were obtained. The primary thermal decomposition reaction of TNAZ was found to be as follows: N-NO₂ and C-NO₂ bonds broke; a H atom on the quaternary ring was transferred to the nitro group; and the C-HNO₂ and N-HNO₂ bonds broke. The main decomposition products of TNAZ were thus NO₂ , NO, N₂ , H₂ O, CO₂ and HNO₂ , as well as macromolecular clusters. The size of the cluster structure was related to the reaction temperature, and the higher the temperature was, the smaller the cluster size was.

The development of a clinical score for the prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease using routine parameters

BACKGROUND/AIMS

To develop a clinical score for the prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) using routine parameters in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease who had abnormal liver function tests and/or fatty liver detected by ultrasonography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To identify parameters associated with the presence of NASH by evaluating anthropometric characteristics and routine biomarkers of 82 patients with histologically proven NAFLD and to develop a clinical score for predicting NASH according to the area under the curve of receiver operating characteristics (AUC) of parameters.

RESULTS

Four parameters [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and apolipoprotein B (ApoB)/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) ratio] were significantly linked to NASH. The AUROCs of ALT, GGT, CRP, and ApoB/ApoA1 ratio for the prediction of NASH were 0.829, 0.892, 0.708, and 0.712, respectively. The AUROC of the combined clinical score for the prediction of NASH was 0.904 (95% CI, 0.885-1.002) at a cut-off of 3.8 points with a sensitivity of 90.2%, specificity of 87.0%, positive predictive value of 88.3%, and negative predictive value of 91.5%.

CONCLUSION

In the present study, a clinical score was developed for the noninvasive prediction of NASH; the score was based on a combination of routine biochemical parameters and was useful in distinguishing NASH from NAFLD.

Genetically modified rice seeds accumulating GLP-1 analogue stimulate insulin secretion from a mouse pancreatic beta-cell line

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36) amide (GLP-1) is the most potent physiological insulinotropic hormone in humans. We produced large amounts of a GLP-1 analogue, [Ser8, Gln26, Asp34]-GLP-1, which is resistant to trypsin-digestion, as part of a chimeric rice seed storage protein, a 26 kDa globulin, in genetically modified rice seeds. Junction sites between GLP-1 analogue and globulin were replaced by tryptic cleavage sites. The highest level of GLP-1 analogue accumulation was approximately 20-50 microg per seed. We found that GLP-1 analogue derived from trypsin-digested genetically modified rice seeds stimulated insulin secretion from a mouse pancreatic beta-cell line, MIN6.