The analysis of cetacean strandings can provide fundamental information about species diversity and composition in a particular region. The present study collected and analyzed cetacean strandings, bycatches and rescu...The analysis of cetacean strandings can provide fundamental information about species diversity and composition in a particular region. The present study collected and analyzed cetacean strandings, bycatches and rescues along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait, China, from 2010 to 2015. In total, 48 records, including 37 strandings, 8 bycatches and 3 rescues, involving 13 known species were collected. Among them, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins（Sousa chinensis） and finless porpoises（Neophocaena phocaenoides） were the most common species, consisting of 31.3% and 25%, respectively. Notably, 10 out of the 48（20.8%） records were collected from the Pingtan Island and included 3 species of Mysticeti and 4 species of Odontoceti. Finally, we compared the cetacean species composition between the western and eastern coasts of the Taiwan Strait; 31 cetacean species occurred in the Taiwan Strait, indicating a relatively high cetacean diversity in this region. Systematic field surveys are urgently needed to explore the cetacean species composition, population stock and the related habitat status in the Taiwan Strait, which may improve conservation management in the future.展开更多
Finless porpoises(FPs)serve as flagship species and key ecological indicators for assessing environmental quality.However,FPs are challenging to survey due to their elusive behavior and lack of distinctive features.St...Finless porpoises(FPs)serve as flagship species and key ecological indicators for assessing environmental quality.However,FPs are challenging to survey due to their elusive behavior and lack of distinctive features.Stranding and sighting events offer essential information on species diversity,distribution patterns,and potential threats.In this study,records from 1986 to 2023 were analyzed to assess the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of FP strandings and sightings in the Qiantang River Estuary,China.Results show an increase in the number of recorded events over time.Seasonal variations were evident,with a peak in strandings and sightings occurring in late winter.The frequency of records was higher during spring and moderate tides compared to neap tides,particularly in hydrologically normal years.Rapidly receding tides and sediment accumulation appear to restrict the activity space of FPs,thereby increasing the frequency of these events.Localized conditions associated with stranding and sighting events were classified into four categories:bifurcation zones,confluence zones,separation zones,and deep channels adjacent to concave banks.Deep channels,which are optimal for shipping,also elevate the risk of FP strandings.These findings offer valuable insights for the development and design of conservation strategies tailored to the needs of FPs in estuarine environments.展开更多
As prestressed concrete(PC)structures age,long-termeffects,e.g.,creep,shrinkage,and prestress losses,compromise their structural performance.Strengthening these aged PC beams has become a crucial matter.One effective ...As prestressed concrete(PC)structures age,long-termeffects,e.g.,creep,shrinkage,and prestress losses,compromise their structural performance.Strengthening these aged PC beams has become a crucial matter.One effective solution is to use externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP)sheets;however,limited research has been done on aged PC beams using the FRP,especially for beams with unbonded prestressing strands(UPC beams).Therefore,this research investigates the flexural strengthening efficacy of external FRP sheets on aged UPC beams with unbonded tendons.Aging minimally affected the failure modes of UPC beams,with nonstrengthened beams showing flexural failure via rebar yielding and concrete crushing,and FRP-strengthened beams failing due to FRP debonding and tensile reinforcement yielding,though tendons in the aged beams did not yield due to prestress losses,unlike the new beams.The U-wrap anchor curbed widespread debonding,leading to tensile reinforcement yielding and FRP rupture.Aging hastened crack growth and stiffness loss,increasing deflections and reducing load resistance,but FRP reinforcement mitigated these effects,enhancing cracking resistance by 14%over the unstrengthened aged beams and 7%over the new beams while boosting ultimate resistance by 9%above the non-strengthened new beams.Compared to the new FRP-strengthened beams,the aged counterparts had lower cracking resistance,stiffness and capacity—showing 20%higher deflections,7–9%lower serviceability loads,7%–17%reduced ultimate strength and 17%less deformability—due to prestress losses and premature FRP debonding.展开更多
Crosstalk between the nervous system and cancer plays an important role in tumor metastasis yet is poorly understood.Recently,Padmanaban et al.demonstrated a novel mechanism for nerve-induced metastasis.Sensory nerve-...Crosstalk between the nervous system and cancer plays an important role in tumor metastasis yet is poorly understood.Recently,Padmanaban et al.demonstrated a novel mechanism for nerve-induced metastasis.Sensory nerve-derived substance P could induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells that overexpressed tachykinin receptors.Single-stranded RNAs(ssRNAs)leaking from dying cells subsequently interact with toll-like receptor 7(TLR7)on other cancer cells and finally promoted metastasis.This notable study displays a delicate loop between the nervous system and cancer and,more importantly,amplifies the conception of apoptosis-induced metastasis.Over the past years,a mass of breakthrough studies have proven the pivotal role of the nervous system in tumorigenesis and cancer progression thereby contributing to the creation of a new disciplinecancer neuroscience[1].Hanahan and Monje discussed in detail the interactions between the nervous system and tumors based on the theoretical framework of the cancer hallmarks,focused on nerve-mediated proliferation,angiogenesis,immune evasion,cell death resistance,and metastasis[2].展开更多
To tackle the issue of notch frequency and center frequency drift of the L(0,1)mode guided wave in ultra⁃sonic guided wave⁃based stress monitoring of prestressed steel strands,a method using higher⁃order mode plateau ...To tackle the issue of notch frequency and center frequency drift of the L(0,1)mode guided wave in ultra⁃sonic guided wave⁃based stress monitoring of prestressed steel strands,a method using higher⁃order mode plateau fre⁃quencies is adopted.First,the correlation between group velocity peaks and phase velocities at these plateau frequen⁃cies is analyzed.This analysis establishes a quantitative rela⁃tionship between phase velocity and stress in the steel strand,providing a theoretical foundation for stress monitor⁃ing.Then the two⁃dimensional Fourier transform is em⁃ployed to separate wave modes.Dynamic programming techniques are applied in the frequency⁃velocity domain to extract higher⁃order modes.By identifying the group veloc⁃ity peaks of these separated higher⁃order modes,the plateau frequencies of guided waves are determined,enabling indi⁃rect measurement of stress in the steel strand.To validate this method,finite element simulations are conducted under three scenarios.Results show that the higher⁃order modes of transient signals from three different positions can be ac⁃curately extracted,leading to successful cable stress moni⁃toring.This approach effectively circumvents the issue of guided wave frequency drift and improves stress monitoring accuracy.Consequently,it significantly improves the appli⁃cation of ultrasonic guided wave technology in structural health monitoring.展开更多
BACKGROUND Accurate preoperative T staging is essential for determining optimal treatment strategies in colorectal cancer(CRC).Low-keV virtual monoenergetic images(VMIs)have been shown to enhance lesion conspicuity.Th...BACKGROUND Accurate preoperative T staging is essential for determining optimal treatment strategies in colorectal cancer(CRC).Low-keV virtual monoenergetic images(VMIs)have been shown to enhance lesion conspicuity.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of dual-layer spectral computed tomography(CT)-derived VMIs,in combination with multiplanar reformation(MPR)and evaluation of peritumoral fat stranding(PFS),for improving the accuracy of T staging in CRC.AIM To assess the diagnostic performance of dual-layer spectral CT(DLSCT)VMIs,particularly at low energy levels,and their integration with personalized MPR for preoperative T staging of CRC.METHODS In this retrospective study,157 patients with pathologically confirmed CRC(mean age:63.5±12.1 years)underwent DLSCT within 1 week before surgery.VMIs ranging from 40 keV to 70 keV(at 10 keV intervals)and conventional polyenergetic images(PEIs)were reconstructed.Objective image quality parameters,including image noise,signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR),were quantified,alongside subjective image quality scores using a 5-point Likert scale.Interobserver agreement was evaluated usingκstatistics.Taking histopathology as the reference standard,the diagnostic accuracy of T staging(T1-2 vs T3-4)was compared across PEIs and VMIs,both with and without MPR and PFS.RESULTS Low-keV VMIs(40-70 keV)demonstrated significantly higher SNR and CNR than PEIs(all P<0.001).Notably,40-keV VMIs achieved noise levels comparable to PEIs(8.17±3.63 vs 8.53±2.90;P=0.673).Subjective image quality peaked at 40-50 keV VMIs(Likert scores 4.85-4.88 vs 3.97 for PEIs;P<0.001),supported by excellent interobserver agreement(κ=0.812-0.913).The combination of 40-50 keV VMIs with MPR yielded the highest T staging accuracy(94.27%)compared to axial PEIs(70.7%),with a sensitivity and specificity of 83.87%and 96.83%,respectively(Youden index=0.81;P<0.05).While PFS enhanced staging accuracy on PEIs(up to 77.07%with MPR),it provided no significant additional benefit for VMIs.CONCLUSION DLSCT VMIs at 40-50 keV significantly enhanced image quality and improved preoperative T staging accuracy of CRC when combined with MPR.These findings underscored the clinical value of low-keV spectral imaging in tailoring individualized treatment strategies.展开更多
Coronaviruses are single-stranded,positive-sense RNA enveloped viruses that have posed a significant threat to human health over the past few decades,particularly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus(SARS-CoV...Coronaviruses are single-stranded,positive-sense RNA enveloped viruses that have posed a significant threat to human health over the past few decades,particularly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus(SARS-CoV),Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-CoV),and SARS-CoV-2.These viruses have caused widespread infections and fatalities,with profound impacts on global economies,social life,and public health systems.Due to their broad host range in natural settings and the consequent high potential for zoonotic spillover events,a thorough investigation of the common viral mechanisms and the identification of druggable targets for pan-coronavirus antiviral development are of utmost importance.展开更多
Strand displacement reaction is a crucial component in the assembly of diverse DNA-based nanodevices,with the toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction representing the prevailing strategy.However,the single-stran...Strand displacement reaction is a crucial component in the assembly of diverse DNA-based nanodevices,with the toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction representing the prevailing strategy.However,the single-stranded Watson-Crick sticky region that serves as the trigger for strand displacement can also cause leakage reactions by introducing crosstalk in complex DNA circuits.Here,we proposed the toeless and reversible DNA strand displacement reaction based on the Hoogsteen-bond triplex,which is compatible with most of the existing DNA circuits.We demonstrated that our proposed reaction can occur at pH 5 and can be reversed at pH 9.We also observed an approximately linear relationship between the degree of reaction and pH within the range of pH 5-6,providing the potential for precise regulation of the reaction.Meanwhile,by altering the sequence orientation,we have demonstrated that our proposed reaction can be initiated or regulated through the same toeless mechanism without the requirement for protonation in low pH conditions.Based on the proposed reaction principle,we further constructed a variety of DNA nanodevices,including two types of DNA logic gates that rely on pH 5/pH 9 changes for initiating and reversing:the AND gate and the OR gate.We also successfully constructed a DNA Walker based on our proposed reaction modes,which can move along a given track after the introduction of a programmable DNA sequence and complete a cycle after 4 steps.Our findings suggest that this innovative approach will have broad utility in the development of DNA circuits,molecular sensors,and other complex biological systems.展开更多
Dynamic DNA nanotechnology plays a significant role in nanomedicine and information science due to its high programmability based on Watson-Crick base pairing and nanoscale dimensions.Intelligent DNA machines and netw...Dynamic DNA nanotechnology plays a significant role in nanomedicine and information science due to its high programmability based on Watson-Crick base pairing and nanoscale dimensions.Intelligent DNA machines and networks have been widely used in various fields,including molecular imaging,biosensors,drug delivery,information processing,and logic operations.Encoders serve as crucial components for information compilation and transfer,allowing the conversion of information from diverse application scenarios into a format recognized and applied by DNA circuits.However,there are only a few encoder designs with DNA outputs.Moreover,the molecular priority encoder is hardly designed.In this study,we introduce allosteric DNAzyme-based encoders for information transfer.The design of the allosteric domain and the recognition arm allows the input and output to be independent of each other and freely programmable.The pre-packaged mode design achieves uniformity of baseline dynamics and dynamics controllability.We also integrated non-nucleic acid molecules into the encoder through the aptamer design of the allosteric domain.Furthermore,we developed the 2^(n)-n encoder and the EndoⅣ-assisted priority encoder inspired by immunoglobulin's molecular structure and effector patterns.To our knowledge,the proposed encoder is the first enzyme-free DNA encoder with DNA output,and the priority encoder is the first molecular priority encoder in the DNA reaction network.Our encoders avoid complex operations on a single molecule,and their simple structure facilitates their application in complex DNA circuits and biological scenarios.展开更多
Strand displacement reaction enables the construction of enzyme-free DNA reaction networks,thus has been widely applied to DNA circuit and nanotechnology.It has the characteristics of high efficiency,universality and ...Strand displacement reaction enables the construction of enzyme-free DNA reaction networks,thus has been widely applied to DNA circuit and nanotechnology.It has the characteristics of high efficiency,universality and regulatability.However,the existing regulation tools cannot enable effective control of the reaction sequence,which undoubtedly limits the construction of complex nucleic acid circuits.Herein,we developed a regulation tool,toehold lock,and achieved strict control of reaction sequence without loss of the main reaction signal output.Furthermore,we applied the tool to scenarios such as seesaw circuits,AND/OR logic gates,and entropy-driven circuits,and respectively demonstrated its significant superiority compared to the original method.We believe that the proposed toehold lock has greatly optimized the efficiency of DNA strand displacement-based networks,and we anticipate that the tool will be widely used in multiple fields.展开更多
DNA circuits are powerful tools in various applications such as logical computation,molecular diagnosis and synthetic biology.Leakage is a major problem in constructing complex DNA circuits.It directly affects the out...DNA circuits are powerful tools in various applications such as logical computation,molecular diagnosis and synthetic biology.Leakage is a major problem in constructing complex DNA circuits.It directly affects the output signal and harms the circuit’s performance significantly.In the traditional DNA circuits,the gate complex is a duplex structure.There are insufficient energy barriers to prevent spontaneous detachment of strands,resulting in a leak prone.Herein,we have developed triplex-structure based DNA circuit with ultra-low leakage and high signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).The triplex structure improves the stability in the absence of input.At the same time,the driving force of the strand displacement cascades reduces the influence of the triplex structure on the desired reaction.The SNR of the DNA circuit was increased to 695,while the desired reaction rate remained 90%of the conventional translator circuit.The triplex-structure mediated leakage prevention strategy was further tested at different temperatures and in DNA translator and seesaw circuits.We also constructed modular basic logic gates with a high efficiency and low leakage.On this basis,we further constructed triplex-structure based tertiary DNA logic circuits,and the SNR reached 295,which,to the best of our knowledge,was among the highest of the field.We believe that our scheme provides a novel,valid,and general tool for reducing leakages,and we anticipate that it will be widely adopted in DNA nanotechnology.展开更多
Fluorescent labels are widely used in the characterizations of DNA-based reaction network operations.We systematically studied the effects of commonly used fluorescent pairs on thermal stabilities of signal-substrate ...Fluorescent labels are widely used in the characterizations of DNA-based reaction network operations.We systematically studied the effects of commonly used fluorescent pairs on thermal stabilities of signal-substrate duplex and the strand displacement kinetics.It is demonstrated that the modifications of duplex with fluorescent pairs stabilize DNA duplex by up to 3.5℃,and the kinetics of DNA strand displacement circuit is also evidently slowed down.These results highlight the importance of fluorescent pairs towards the kinetic modulation in designing nucleic acid probes and complex DNA dynamic circuits.展开更多
In 2022,Yellow Sea green tide caused by Ulva prolifera reached a historic minimum and the coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula were less affected.However,the largest amount of seaweed biomass has been washed ashore on ...In 2022,Yellow Sea green tide caused by Ulva prolifera reached a historic minimum and the coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula were less affected.However,the largest amount of seaweed biomass has been washed ashore on Lianyungang and Rizhao coasts since 2015.We studied the development pattern of Yellow Sea green tide in 2022,and analyzed the key environmental factors on the growth and drifting,then discussed the possible reasons that resulted in the massive stranding of green tide biomass in Lianyungang and Rizhao.Results show under the combined influence of the east to southeast winds and currents with shoreward anomalies,green tide drifted to the coastal waters between Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and the distribution areas located westward compared with previous years(2008–2021).Floating U.prolifera rafts from the coastal waters of Binhai and Sheyang drifted continuously into the coastal waters of Lianyungang and Rizhao,providing important supplements for Yellow Sea green tide.Because green tide in 2022 distributed close to the coastal waters,the abundant nutrients might support their continuous high growth rate.In addition,the amount of rainfall around Shandong Peninsula from late June to early July were significantly higher than in previous years,which might promote the development of green tide to some extent.展开更多
Natural enzymes,such as horseradish peroxidase(HRP),are a class of important biocatalysts with the high specificity,but their catalytic efficiency is usually unsatisfactory.Thus,the higher catalytic efficiency induced...Natural enzymes,such as horseradish peroxidase(HRP),are a class of important biocatalysts with the high specificity,but their catalytic efficiency is usually unsatisfactory.Thus,the higher catalytic efficiency induced by the confinement effect is promising in optical sensing systems.In this work,a dark-field light scattering sensing platform was fabricated by the confinement effect of HRP from hybridization chain reaction(HCR)and then released to solution by the toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction(TSDR).Then,HRP catalyzed the 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine(TMB)to TMB^(2+)with the assistance of hydrogen peroxide,which etched the gold nanorods(Au NRs)with the weakened light scattering.The single-particle assay was established based on the decreased light scattering intensity of AuNRs under dark-field microscope.The proposed assay revealed excellent analytical performance within a linear range from 25 pmol/L to 600 pmol/L,and a low limit of detection of 3.12 pmol/L.Additionally,it also manifested satisfactory recovery of mi RNA-21 in human serum samples.The high sensitivity,excellent specificity,and universal applicability make this sensing platform promising for disease diagnosis.展开更多
基金The National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China under contract No.41506164the foundation of the State Oceanic Administration of China under contract No.201105011+3 种基金the Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars of Fujian Province under contract No.2017J05062China-ASEAN maritime cooperation fund under contract No.HX150702the foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China under contract No.1070413701307the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation,Hong Kong(OPCFHK)under contract No.MM03_1617
文摘The analysis of cetacean strandings can provide fundamental information about species diversity and composition in a particular region. The present study collected and analyzed cetacean strandings, bycatches and rescues along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait, China, from 2010 to 2015. In total, 48 records, including 37 strandings, 8 bycatches and 3 rescues, involving 13 known species were collected. Among them, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins（Sousa chinensis） and finless porpoises（Neophocaena phocaenoides） were the most common species, consisting of 31.3% and 25%, respectively. Notably, 10 out of the 48（20.8%） records were collected from the Pingtan Island and included 3 species of Mysticeti and 4 species of Odontoceti. Finally, we compared the cetacean species composition between the western and eastern coasts of the Taiwan Strait; 31 cetacean species occurred in the Taiwan Strait, indicating a relatively high cetacean diversity in this region. Systematic field surveys are urgently needed to explore the cetacean species composition, population stock and the related habitat status in the Taiwan Strait, which may improve conservation management in the future.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 42176214 and 42176170the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos LZJWZ22E090002 and LZJWY22E090006the Key Program of the President of the Zhejiang Institute of Hydraulics and Estuaries under contract No.ZIHE21Z001.
文摘Finless porpoises(FPs)serve as flagship species and key ecological indicators for assessing environmental quality.However,FPs are challenging to survey due to their elusive behavior and lack of distinctive features.Stranding and sighting events offer essential information on species diversity,distribution patterns,and potential threats.In this study,records from 1986 to 2023 were analyzed to assess the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of FP strandings and sightings in the Qiantang River Estuary,China.Results show an increase in the number of recorded events over time.Seasonal variations were evident,with a peak in strandings and sightings occurring in late winter.The frequency of records was higher during spring and moderate tides compared to neap tides,particularly in hydrologically normal years.Rapidly receding tides and sediment accumulation appear to restrict the activity space of FPs,thereby increasing the frequency of these events.Localized conditions associated with stranding and sighting events were classified into four categories:bifurcation zones,confluence zones,separation zones,and deep channels adjacent to concave banks.Deep channels,which are optimal for shipping,also elevate the risk of FP strandings.These findings offer valuable insights for the development and design of conservation strategies tailored to the needs of FPs in estuarine environments.
基金support by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam for this research,under grant no.B2023-MBS-02.
文摘As prestressed concrete(PC)structures age,long-termeffects,e.g.,creep,shrinkage,and prestress losses,compromise their structural performance.Strengthening these aged PC beams has become a crucial matter.One effective solution is to use externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP)sheets;however,limited research has been done on aged PC beams using the FRP,especially for beams with unbonded prestressing strands(UPC beams).Therefore,this research investigates the flexural strengthening efficacy of external FRP sheets on aged UPC beams with unbonded tendons.Aging minimally affected the failure modes of UPC beams,with nonstrengthened beams showing flexural failure via rebar yielding and concrete crushing,and FRP-strengthened beams failing due to FRP debonding and tensile reinforcement yielding,though tendons in the aged beams did not yield due to prestress losses,unlike the new beams.The U-wrap anchor curbed widespread debonding,leading to tensile reinforcement yielding and FRP rupture.Aging hastened crack growth and stiffness loss,increasing deflections and reducing load resistance,but FRP reinforcement mitigated these effects,enhancing cracking resistance by 14%over the unstrengthened aged beams and 7%over the new beams while boosting ultimate resistance by 9%above the non-strengthened new beams.Compared to the new FRP-strengthened beams,the aged counterparts had lower cracking resistance,stiffness and capacity—showing 20%higher deflections,7–9%lower serviceability loads,7%–17%reduced ultimate strength and 17%less deformability—due to prestress losses and premature FRP debonding.
文摘Crosstalk between the nervous system and cancer plays an important role in tumor metastasis yet is poorly understood.Recently,Padmanaban et al.demonstrated a novel mechanism for nerve-induced metastasis.Sensory nerve-derived substance P could induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells that overexpressed tachykinin receptors.Single-stranded RNAs(ssRNAs)leaking from dying cells subsequently interact with toll-like receptor 7(TLR7)on other cancer cells and finally promoted metastasis.This notable study displays a delicate loop between the nervous system and cancer and,more importantly,amplifies the conception of apoptosis-induced metastasis.Over the past years,a mass of breakthrough studies have proven the pivotal role of the nervous system in tumorigenesis and cancer progression thereby contributing to the creation of a new disciplinecancer neuroscience[1].Hanahan and Monje discussed in detail the interactions between the nervous system and tumors based on the theoretical framework of the cancer hallmarks,focused on nerve-mediated proliferation,angiogenesis,immune evasion,cell death resistance,and metastasis[2].
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52278303).
文摘To tackle the issue of notch frequency and center frequency drift of the L(0,1)mode guided wave in ultra⁃sonic guided wave⁃based stress monitoring of prestressed steel strands,a method using higher⁃order mode plateau fre⁃quencies is adopted.First,the correlation between group velocity peaks and phase velocities at these plateau frequen⁃cies is analyzed.This analysis establishes a quantitative rela⁃tionship between phase velocity and stress in the steel strand,providing a theoretical foundation for stress monitor⁃ing.Then the two⁃dimensional Fourier transform is em⁃ployed to separate wave modes.Dynamic programming techniques are applied in the frequency⁃velocity domain to extract higher⁃order modes.By identifying the group veloc⁃ity peaks of these separated higher⁃order modes,the plateau frequencies of guided waves are determined,enabling indi⁃rect measurement of stress in the steel strand.To validate this method,finite element simulations are conducted under three scenarios.Results show that the higher⁃order modes of transient signals from three different positions can be ac⁃curately extracted,leading to successful cable stress moni⁃toring.This approach effectively circumvents the issue of guided wave frequency drift and improves stress monitoring accuracy.Consequently,it significantly improves the appli⁃cation of ultrasonic guided wave technology in structural health monitoring.
基金Supported by Jiangsu Province 333 Talent Key Industry Field Talent Project,No.[2022]21Key Scientific Research Program of Jiangsu Provincial Health Committee,No.ZD2021059+2 种基金Nantong Key Laboratory Project,No.[2020]163The Project of Nantong City Health Committee,No.MS2023027Young Medical Talents Fund of Health and Family Planning Commission of Nantong,No.QA2019006 and No.QNZ2023027.
文摘BACKGROUND Accurate preoperative T staging is essential for determining optimal treatment strategies in colorectal cancer(CRC).Low-keV virtual monoenergetic images(VMIs)have been shown to enhance lesion conspicuity.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of dual-layer spectral computed tomography(CT)-derived VMIs,in combination with multiplanar reformation(MPR)and evaluation of peritumoral fat stranding(PFS),for improving the accuracy of T staging in CRC.AIM To assess the diagnostic performance of dual-layer spectral CT(DLSCT)VMIs,particularly at low energy levels,and their integration with personalized MPR for preoperative T staging of CRC.METHODS In this retrospective study,157 patients with pathologically confirmed CRC(mean age:63.5±12.1 years)underwent DLSCT within 1 week before surgery.VMIs ranging from 40 keV to 70 keV(at 10 keV intervals)and conventional polyenergetic images(PEIs)were reconstructed.Objective image quality parameters,including image noise,signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR),were quantified,alongside subjective image quality scores using a 5-point Likert scale.Interobserver agreement was evaluated usingκstatistics.Taking histopathology as the reference standard,the diagnostic accuracy of T staging(T1-2 vs T3-4)was compared across PEIs and VMIs,both with and without MPR and PFS.RESULTS Low-keV VMIs(40-70 keV)demonstrated significantly higher SNR and CNR than PEIs(all P<0.001).Notably,40-keV VMIs achieved noise levels comparable to PEIs(8.17±3.63 vs 8.53±2.90;P=0.673).Subjective image quality peaked at 40-50 keV VMIs(Likert scores 4.85-4.88 vs 3.97 for PEIs;P<0.001),supported by excellent interobserver agreement(κ=0.812-0.913).The combination of 40-50 keV VMIs with MPR yielded the highest T staging accuracy(94.27%)compared to axial PEIs(70.7%),with a sensitivity and specificity of 83.87%and 96.83%,respectively(Youden index=0.81;P<0.05).While PFS enhanced staging accuracy on PEIs(up to 77.07%with MPR),it provided no significant additional benefit for VMIs.CONCLUSION DLSCT VMIs at 40-50 keV significantly enhanced image quality and improved preoperative T staging accuracy of CRC when combined with MPR.These findings underscored the clinical value of low-keV spectral imaging in tailoring individualized treatment strategies.
基金supported by the Key Research and Development Program,Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China(Nos.2023YFC2606500,2023YFE0206500).
文摘Coronaviruses are single-stranded,positive-sense RNA enveloped viruses that have posed a significant threat to human health over the past few decades,particularly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus(SARS-CoV),Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-CoV),and SARS-CoV-2.These viruses have caused widespread infections and fatalities,with profound impacts on global economies,social life,and public health systems.Due to their broad host range in natural settings and the consequent high potential for zoonotic spillover events,a thorough investigation of the common viral mechanisms and the identification of druggable targets for pan-coronavirus antiviral development are of utmost importance.
基金financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2021YFC2701402)the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics,Southeast University(No.Sklb2021-k06)+1 种基金the Open Foundation of NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defect for Research and Prevention(Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital)(No.KF2020007)the Open Foundation of Translational Medicine National Science and Technology Infrastructure(Shanghai)(No.TMSK-2021-141)。
文摘Strand displacement reaction is a crucial component in the assembly of diverse DNA-based nanodevices,with the toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction representing the prevailing strategy.However,the single-stranded Watson-Crick sticky region that serves as the trigger for strand displacement can also cause leakage reactions by introducing crosstalk in complex DNA circuits.Here,we proposed the toeless and reversible DNA strand displacement reaction based on the Hoogsteen-bond triplex,which is compatible with most of the existing DNA circuits.We demonstrated that our proposed reaction can occur at pH 5 and can be reversed at pH 9.We also observed an approximately linear relationship between the degree of reaction and pH within the range of pH 5-6,providing the potential for precise regulation of the reaction.Meanwhile,by altering the sequence orientation,we have demonstrated that our proposed reaction can be initiated or regulated through the same toeless mechanism without the requirement for protonation in low pH conditions.Based on the proposed reaction principle,we further constructed a variety of DNA nanodevices,including two types of DNA logic gates that rely on pH 5/pH 9 changes for initiating and reversing:the AND gate and the OR gate.We also successfully constructed a DNA Walker based on our proposed reaction modes,which can move along a given track after the introduction of a programmable DNA sequence and complete a cycle after 4 steps.Our findings suggest that this innovative approach will have broad utility in the development of DNA circuits,molecular sensors,and other complex biological systems.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82172372)the Opening Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering(No.2023-M04)。
文摘Dynamic DNA nanotechnology plays a significant role in nanomedicine and information science due to its high programmability based on Watson-Crick base pairing and nanoscale dimensions.Intelligent DNA machines and networks have been widely used in various fields,including molecular imaging,biosensors,drug delivery,information processing,and logic operations.Encoders serve as crucial components for information compilation and transfer,allowing the conversion of information from diverse application scenarios into a format recognized and applied by DNA circuits.However,there are only a few encoder designs with DNA outputs.Moreover,the molecular priority encoder is hardly designed.In this study,we introduce allosteric DNAzyme-based encoders for information transfer.The design of the allosteric domain and the recognition arm allows the input and output to be independent of each other and freely programmable.The pre-packaged mode design achieves uniformity of baseline dynamics and dynamics controllability.We also integrated non-nucleic acid molecules into the encoder through the aptamer design of the allosteric domain.Furthermore,we developed the 2^(n)-n encoder and the EndoⅣ-assisted priority encoder inspired by immunoglobulin's molecular structure and effector patterns.To our knowledge,the proposed encoder is the first enzyme-free DNA encoder with DNA output,and the priority encoder is the first molecular priority encoder in the DNA reaction network.Our encoders avoid complex operations on a single molecule,and their simple structure facilitates their application in complex DNA circuits and biological scenarios.
基金the financial support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2021YFC2701402)the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics,Southeast University(No.Sklb2021-k06)+2 种基金the Open Foundation of NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defect for Research and Prevention(Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital)(No.KF2020007)Hunan Province Assisted Reproduction and Regenerative Medicine Clinical Demonstration Center Funded Project(No.2020SK4019)the Open Foundation of Translational Medicine National Science and Technology Infrastructure(Shanghai)(No.TMSK-2021-141)。
文摘Strand displacement reaction enables the construction of enzyme-free DNA reaction networks,thus has been widely applied to DNA circuit and nanotechnology.It has the characteristics of high efficiency,universality and regulatability.However,the existing regulation tools cannot enable effective control of the reaction sequence,which undoubtedly limits the construction of complex nucleic acid circuits.Herein,we developed a regulation tool,toehold lock,and achieved strict control of reaction sequence without loss of the main reaction signal output.Furthermore,we applied the tool to scenarios such as seesaw circuits,AND/OR logic gates,and entropy-driven circuits,and respectively demonstrated its significant superiority compared to the original method.We believe that the proposed toehold lock has greatly optimized the efficiency of DNA strand displacement-based networks,and we anticipate that the tool will be widely used in multiple fields.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81871732)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2021YFC2701402)+4 种基金the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics,southeast University(No.Sklb2021-k06)the Open Foundation of NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defect for Research and Prevention(Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital)(No.KF2020007)the Open Foundation of Translational Medicine National Science and Technology Infrastructure(Shanghai)(No.TMSK-2021-141)the Open Fund from Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology(Shanxi Medical University)Ministry of Education,China(No.CPOF202103).
文摘DNA circuits are powerful tools in various applications such as logical computation,molecular diagnosis and synthetic biology.Leakage is a major problem in constructing complex DNA circuits.It directly affects the output signal and harms the circuit’s performance significantly.In the traditional DNA circuits,the gate complex is a duplex structure.There are insufficient energy barriers to prevent spontaneous detachment of strands,resulting in a leak prone.Herein,we have developed triplex-structure based DNA circuit with ultra-low leakage and high signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).The triplex structure improves the stability in the absence of input.At the same time,the driving force of the strand displacement cascades reduces the influence of the triplex structure on the desired reaction.The SNR of the DNA circuit was increased to 695,while the desired reaction rate remained 90%of the conventional translator circuit.The triplex-structure mediated leakage prevention strategy was further tested at different temperatures and in DNA translator and seesaw circuits.We also constructed modular basic logic gates with a high efficiency and low leakage.On this basis,we further constructed triplex-structure based tertiary DNA logic circuits,and the SNR reached 295,which,to the best of our knowledge,was among the highest of the field.We believe that our scheme provides a novel,valid,and general tool for reducing leakages,and we anticipate that it will be widely adopted in DNA nanotechnology.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22073090 No.21991132,No.52021002)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2020YFA0710703)the Funds of Youth Innovation Promotion Association and the Fun damental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
文摘Fluorescent labels are widely used in the characterizations of DNA-based reaction network operations.We systematically studied the effects of commonly used fluorescent pairs on thermal stabilities of signal-substrate duplex and the strand displacement kinetics.It is demonstrated that the modifications of duplex with fluorescent pairs stabilize DNA duplex by up to 3.5℃,and the kinetics of DNA strand displacement circuit is also evidently slowed down.These results highlight the importance of fluorescent pairs towards the kinetic modulation in designing nucleic acid probes and complex DNA dynamic circuits.
基金Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2022YFC3106005)the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.ZR2021MD122)+1 种基金the MNR Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science and Technology,China(No.MEEST-2023-04)the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Environment and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation(No.201708)。
文摘In 2022,Yellow Sea green tide caused by Ulva prolifera reached a historic minimum and the coastal areas of Shandong Peninsula were less affected.However,the largest amount of seaweed biomass has been washed ashore on Lianyungang and Rizhao coasts since 2015.We studied the development pattern of Yellow Sea green tide in 2022,and analyzed the key environmental factors on the growth and drifting,then discussed the possible reasons that resulted in the massive stranding of green tide biomass in Lianyungang and Rizhao.Results show under the combined influence of the east to southeast winds and currents with shoreward anomalies,green tide drifted to the coastal waters between Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and the distribution areas located westward compared with previous years(2008–2021).Floating U.prolifera rafts from the coastal waters of Binhai and Sheyang drifted continuously into the coastal waters of Lianyungang and Rizhao,providing important supplements for Yellow Sea green tide.Because green tide in 2022 distributed close to the coastal waters,the abundant nutrients might support their continuous high growth rate.In addition,the amount of rainfall around Shandong Peninsula from late June to early July were significantly higher than in previous years,which might promote the development of green tide to some extent.
基金financial supported from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22174115)the Graduate Education and Teaching Reform Research Project of Chongqing(No.yjg223038)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.SWU-XDJH202321)。
文摘Natural enzymes,such as horseradish peroxidase(HRP),are a class of important biocatalysts with the high specificity,but their catalytic efficiency is usually unsatisfactory.Thus,the higher catalytic efficiency induced by the confinement effect is promising in optical sensing systems.In this work,a dark-field light scattering sensing platform was fabricated by the confinement effect of HRP from hybridization chain reaction(HCR)and then released to solution by the toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction(TSDR).Then,HRP catalyzed the 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine(TMB)to TMB^(2+)with the assistance of hydrogen peroxide,which etched the gold nanorods(Au NRs)with the weakened light scattering.The single-particle assay was established based on the decreased light scattering intensity of AuNRs under dark-field microscope.The proposed assay revealed excellent analytical performance within a linear range from 25 pmol/L to 600 pmol/L,and a low limit of detection of 3.12 pmol/L.Additionally,it also manifested satisfactory recovery of mi RNA-21 in human serum samples.The high sensitivity,excellent specificity,and universal applicability make this sensing platform promising for disease diagnosis.
