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Background Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) represents a form of cerebrovascular event characterized by a notable mortality and morbidity rate. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a versatile hormone predominantly synthesized by the hepatic tissue, has emerged as a promising neuroprotective agent. Nevertheless, the precise impacts and underlying mechanisms of FGF21 in the context of SAH remain enigmatic. Methods To elucidate the role of FGF21 in inhibiting the microglial cGAS-STING pathway and providing protection against SAH-induced cerebral injury, a series of cellular and molecular techniques, including western blot analysis, real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, RNA sequencing, and behavioral assays, were employed. Results Administration of recombinant fibroblast growth factor 21 (rFGF21) effectively mitigated neural apoptosis, improved cerebral edema, and attenuated neurological impairments post-SAH. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that SAH triggered the upregulation of numerous genes linked to innate immunity, particularly those involved in the type I interferon (IFN-I) pathway and microglial function, which were notably suppressed upon adjunctive rFGF21 treatment. Mechanistically, rFGF21 intervention facilitated mitophagy in an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent manner, thereby preventing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) release into the cytoplasm and dampening the activation of the DNA-sensing cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway. Conditional knockout of STING in microglia markedly ameliorated the inflammatory response and mitigated secondary brain injuries post-SAH. Conclusion Our results present the initial evidence that FGF21 confers a protective effect against neuroinflammation-associated brain damage subsequent to SAH. Mechanistically, we have elucidated a novel pathway by which FGF21 exerts this neuroprotection through inhibition of the cGAS-STING signaling cascade.

We investigated the electrical performance and positive bias stress (PBS) stability of the amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with SiOx passivation layers after the post-annealing treatments in different atmospheres (air, N2, O2 and vacuum). Both the chamber atmospheres and the device passivation layers proved important for the post-annealing effects on a-IGZO TFTs. For the heat treatments in O2 or air, the larger threshold voltage (VTH) and off current (IOFF), smaller field-effect mobility (μFE), and slightly better PBS stability of a-IGZO TFTs were obtained. The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurement results indicated that the oxygen atoms from the ambience led to less oxygen vacancies (VO) and more oxygen-related defects in a-IGZO after the heat treatments in O2 or air. For the annealing processes in vacuum or N2, the electrical performance of the a-IGZO TFTs showed nearly no change, but their PBS stability evidently improved. After 4500 seconds’ stressing at 40 V, the VTH shift decreased to nearly 1 V. In this situation, the SiOx passivation layers were assumed to effectively prevent the oxygen diffusion, keep the VO concentration unchanged and refuse the oxygen-related defects into the a-IGZO films.

Forests have seen a strong greening trend worldwide, and previous studies have attributed this mainly to land‐use conversions such as afforestation. However, for the greening of existing forests, the role of human interventions is unclear. Here we paired neighboring natural and planted forests in Southern China to minimize the differences between the forest types and analyzed the vegetation index EVI2 from Landsat over 1987 to 2021. The EVI2 trends observed in natural forests can be seen as mainly responses to large‐scale environmental changes, whereas the difference between the forest types represents the impact caused by human interventions. We found that though the mean EVI2 of planted forests was comparable to that of natural forests, the greening trends were overall 7.0% lower in planted forests. Our results suggest that human interventions associated with planted forests did not accelerate their greening, indicating the necessity for refined policies to enhance future forest greening. Plain Language Summary General greening of forests has been reported worldwide. While previous studies have tended to attribute forest greening to land‐use conversions such as re‐ and afforestation, the role of human interventions for existing forests is still unclear. The greening trend of natural forests are mainly impacted by environmental changes, whereas those in planted forests are also influenced by human interventions. Therefore, the comparison of greening trends between the two forest types can help quantitatively distinguish the role of human interventions. Here, we paired spatially adjacent natural forests with planted forests in Southern China, and performed a pairwise comparisons of greenness and its trend between the forest types over 1987 to 2021 based on Landsat satellite series. It was found that although their mean greenness was similar, the greening trends of planted forests were 7.0% lower than the natural forests. Thus, human interventions may lead to a weakened greening trend while environmental changes were likely the main driver of greening of existing forests in Southern China. Such distinction of drivers is key for our understanding of the impact of environmental changes, land use and land use change, and for designing policies that put us on a pathway to a more sustainable future. Key Points Planted forests showed slightly lower greenness than paired natural forests in Southern China from 1987 to 2021 Over the past 40 years, the greening trends of planted forests were overall 7.0% lower than natural forests in Southern China Environmental change, and not human interventions, was likely the dominant cause of observed greening in Southern China

PurposeMethionine is a redox-sensitive sulfur-containing amino acid and can be oxidized to sulfur compounds, including sulfoxide and other volatile sulfur compounds participating in the entire sulfur cycle. However, further definition of the kinetics and transformation pathways of methionine mediated by manganese oxide under environmental conditions is required. This study aimed to clarify the transformation mechanism of methionine mediated by birnessite to improve understanding of the important role of methionine in the sulfur cycle.MethodsThe kinetics of birnessite-mediated degradation of methionine as a function of methionine concentration, birnessite loading, pH, and co-solutes were investigated. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) were used to identify the degradation products of methionine.ResultsMethionine was rapidly degraded by birnessite. An acidic solution facilitated the degradation reaction, and metal ions and anions markedly hindered it. The initial reaction kinetics indicated that the reaction orders with respect to methionine and birnessite were 1.3 and 1.5, respectively, at a pH of 5.0 and 0.7 for H+ when pH ranged from 5.0 to 7.0. A third-order initial rate constant was determined to be (3.29 ± 0.91) × 10−4 μM−2.5 min−1. Three functional groups of methionine played dominant roles in the oxidative transformation. Birnessite activated the thioether group of methionine to trigger the transformation of amino and carboxyl groups, during which the thioether group was oxidized to sulfoxide and then gradually to sulfone. The amino group was finally converted to NH4+ and carboxyl could be removed as CO2.ConclusionsMethionine can be transformed to a wide range of products by birnessite once released into the environment. The present study demonstrates a more comprehensive transformation mechanism of methionine mediated by birnessite and further clarifies the fate of methionine in soils and sediments.

Amorphous InGaZnO thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with double-stacked channel layers (DSCL) were quite fit for ultraviolet (UV) light detection, where the best DSCL was prepared by the depositions of oxygen-rich (OR) IGZO followed by the oxygen-deficient (OD) IGZO films. We investigated the influences of oxygen partial pressure (PO) for DSCL-TFTs on their sensing abilities by experiments as well as Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) simulations. With the increase in PO values for the DSCL depositions, the sensing parameters, including photogenerated current (Iphoto), sensitivity (S), responsivity (R), and detectivity (D*) of the corresponding TFTs, apparently degraded. Compared with PO variations for the OR-IGZO films, those for the OD-IGZO depositions more strongly influenced the sensing performances of the DSCL-TFT UV light detectors. The TCAD simulations showed that the variations of the electron concentrations (or oxygen vacancy (VO) density) with PO values under UV light illuminations might account for these experimental results. Finally, some design guidelines for DSCL-TFT UV light detectors were proposed, which might benefit the potential applications of these novel semiconductor devices.

ABSTRACT Fractures in Carboniferous volcanic rocks located at Zhongguai Area (China) highly influence the accumulation and productivity of oil and gas. As such, the study of development periods and genetic mechanisms of tectonic fractures could throw useful information regarding the evaluation and development of that reservoir. Their tectonic origins caused high-angle and oblique shear fractures. The primary orientation of those fractures appears close to EW (270°±10°), NW (300°±15°), NE (45°±15°), and SN (0°±10°). At least four fracture generations can be found in Carboniferous volcanic rocks at Zhongguai Area. Combined with a tectonic evolution, they are based on the segmentation relationship of the fracture fillings, the thermometry measurement of the fracture filling inclusion, and the acoustic emission, as well. Affected by a new horizontal principal stress, the opening and permeability of nearly EW fractures are the best. In this way, a priority in the development of well's patterns should be considered close to EW fractures. The pressure change in the process of exploitation may damage the reservoir permeability of fractured volcano rocks severely. Accordingly, well patterns should be adjusted to dynamic changes of permeability happened during the oilfield development since some differences have been detected in distinct fracture sets.

Fractures in Carboniferous volcanic rocks located at Zhongguai Area (China) highly influence the accumulation and productivity of oil and gas. As such, the study of development periods and genetic mechanisms of tectonic fractures could throw useful information regarding the evaluation and development of that reservoir. Their tectonic origins caused high-angle and oblique shear fractures. The primary orientation of those fractures appears close to EW (270°±10°), NW (300°±15°), NE (45°±15°), and SN (0°±10°). At least four fracture generations can be found in Carboniferous volcanic rocks at Zhongguai Area. Combined with a tectonic evolution, they are based on the segmentation relationship of the fracture fillings, the thermometry measurement of the fracture filling inclusion, and the acoustic emission, as well. Affected by a new horizontal principal stress, the opening and permeability of nearly EW fractures are the best. In this way, a priority in the development of well's patterns should be considered close to EW fractures. The pressure change in the process of exploitation may damage the reservoir permeability of fractured volcano rocks severely. Accordingly, well patterns should be adjusted to dynamic changes of permeability happened during the oilfield development since some differences have been detected in distinct fracture sets. 

The enrichment of phosphorus (P) in groundwater (GW) has been regarded as one of the most important sources of water eutrophication, but its sources and mechanisms have remained unclear. This study focused on hydraulic change show that drove the migration of P in an agricultural groundwater system, Jianghan Plain, Central China. Based on four rounds of field investigation over different seasons and across two consecutive years. Seasonable water table fluctuations (WLFs) reached 1.6 m and 3.8 m in GW and surface water (SW), respectively. Moreover, the concentrations of P in GW were obviously higher than those in SW where 54.1% of all GW samples presented higher content of P than the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 0.4 mg/L with the highest one arriving to 1.97 mg/L. Although the trends and amplitudes varied at different points and depths, the spatial and temporal distribution of P corresponded with the local WLFs that were responsible for the enrichment of GW P. On the one hand, WLFs changed hydraulic conditions to enhance the migration of soluble P in the unsaturated zone into the aquifer. On the other hand, WLFs resulted in changes to the redox conditions or to the GW hydrochemical compositions, which promoted the dissolution of Fe or Mn containing P. These caused the release and enrichment of P in GW. Therefore, this study helps understand the geochemical cycling of P and improves GW management in the local GW system, Jianghan Plain. Graphical abstract

We investigated the electrical performance and positive bias stress (PBS) stability of the amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with SiO passivation layers after the post-annealing treatments in different atmospheres (air, N , O and vacuum). Both the chamber atmospheres and the device passivation layers proved important for the post-annealing effects on a-IGZO TFTs. For the heat treatments in O or air, the larger threshold voltage (V ) and off current (I ), smaller field-effect mobility (μ ), and slightly better PBS stability of a-IGZO TFTs were obtained. The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurement results indicated that the oxygen atoms from the ambience led to less oxygen vacancies (V ) and more oxygen-related defects in a-IGZO after the heat treatments in O or air. For the annealing processes in vacuum or N , the electrical performance of the a-IGZO TFTs showed nearly no change, but their PBS stability evidently improved. After 4500 seconds' stressing at 40 V, the V shift decreased to nearly 1 V. In this situation, the SiO passivation layers were assumed to effectively prevent the oxygen diffusion, keep the V concentration unchanged and refuse the oxygen-related defects into the a-IGZO films.

Extensive research has demonstrated the detrimental effects of COVID-19 on maternal-fetal outcomes. However, few studies have examined the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection before and during organogenesis on human embryo implantation and subsequent development. Additionally, the influence of SARS-CoV-2 on the endometrial microenvironment, which is critical for embryo implantation, remains poorly understood. This study seeks to address these gaps in knowledge. We prospectively enrolled 971 participants undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) during the final two months of 2022, coinciding with the nationwide COVID19 outbreak following the end of China's Zero-Covid policy. Patients undergoing FET during this period were at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection before and during organogenesis. Based on self-reported symptoms and nucleic acid testing, 520 individuals were confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection, while 451 were uninfected. Consistent with existing literature, our study reinforced that SARS-CoV-2 infection negatively impacted pregnancy outcomes, as evidenced by reduced clinical pregnancy (52.69% vs. 76.50%, RR = 60.506, [95%CI, 0.259 ~ 0.452]) and live birth rates (46.54% vs. 60.09%, RR = 17.865, [95%CI, 0.448 ~ 0.746]), alongside an increase in obstetric complications (35.89% vs. 27.37%, RR = 4.380, [95%CI, 1.055 ~ 2.223]). Seven fetal congenital heart defects (CHDs) were observed in the infected group versus one in uninfected population. Bioinformatic analysis of endometrial mRNA profiles showed SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly downregulated key endometrial receptivity molecules, increased natural killer cell and mast cell infiltration, and disrupted the balance of cytokine and chemokine. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infection downregulated the transcriptional activity of endometrial SLC6A, a serotonin transporter, and ErbB-2, a mediator of serotonin-regulated differentiation in cardiac development. This disruption in serotonin signaling may underlie the pathogenesis of congenital heart disease. SARS-CoV-2 infection before and during organogenesis negatively impacts embryo implantation and development, primarily through mechanisms involving compromised endometrial receptivity and disruption of the local immune microenvironment.