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Optical polarization provides important clues to the magnetic field in blazar jets. It is easy to find noteworthy patterns in the time-series data of the polarization degree (PD) and position angle (PA). On the other hand, we need to see the trajectory of the object in the Stokes Q U plane when the object has multiple polarized components. In this case, ironically, the more data we have, the more difficult it is to gain any knowledge from it. Here, we introduce TimeTubes, a new visualization scheme to explore the time-series data of polarization observed in blazars. In TimeTubes, the data is represented by tubes in 3D (Q, U, and time) space. The measurement errors of Q and U, color, and total flux of objects are expressed as the size, color, and brightness of the tubes. As a result, TimeTubes allows us to see the behavior of six variables in one view. We used TimeTubes for our data taken by the Kanata telescope between 2008 and 2014. We found that this tool facilitates the recognition of the patterns in blazar variations; for example, favored PA of flares and PA rotations associated with a series of flares.

We report on the variation in the optical polarization of the blazar PKS 1749+096 observed in 2008--2015. The degree of polarization (PD) tends to increase in short flares having a time-scale of a few days. The object favors a polarization angle (PA) of \\(40^\\circ\\)--\\(50^\\circ\\) at the flare maxima, which is close to the position angle of the jet (\\(20^\\circ\\)--\\(40^\\circ\\)). Three clear polarization rotations were detected in the negative PA direction associated with flares. In addition, a rapid and large decrease in the PA was observed in the other two flares, while another two flares showed no large PA variation. The light curve maxima of the flares possibly tend to lag behind the PD maxima and color-index minima. The PA became \\(-50^\\circ\\) to \\(-20^\\circ\\) in the decay phase of active states, which is almost perpendicular to the jet position angle. We propose a scenario to explain these observational features, where transverse shocks propagate along curved trajectories. The favored PA at the flare maxima suggests that the observed variations were governed by the variations in the Doppler factor, \\(\\delta\\). Based on this scenario, the minimum viewing angle of the source, \\(\\theta_\\mathrm{min}=4.8^\\circ\\)--\\(6.6^\\circ\\), and the location of the source, \\(\\Delta r\\gtrsim 0.1\\)pc, from the central black hole were estimated. In addition, the acceleration of electrons by the shock and synchrotron cooling would have a time-scale similar to that of the change in \\(\\delta\\). The combined effect of the variation in \\(\\delta\\) and acceleration/cooling of electrons is probably responsible for the observed diversity of the polarization variations in the flares.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease whose pathogenesis involves multiple pathways, including inflammatory responses, cartilage matrix metabolism, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Currently, effective clinical treatments are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with the pathogenesis of OA and represent potential therapeutic agents for this disease. However, issues such as miRNA instability, off-target effects, and low cellular uptake efficiency have limited their clinical application. Nanocarriers, which are widely used for targeted drug delivery, offer a convenient approach for miRNA-based OA therapy. Numerous studies have employed nanomaterials such as polymer-based, lipid-based, inorganic nanoparticles, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) to deliver miRNAs, effectively inhibiting the progression of OA and achieving therapeutic goals. This review summarizes research advances in the use of nanoparticles to deliver miRNAs for the treatment of OA, explores the associated clinical prospects and challenges, and proposes potential pathways toward intelligent, precise, and personalized therapy, with the aim of informing miRNA-mediated gene therapy for OA.

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is the major cause of life-threatening complications such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Endothelial apoptosis plays a vital role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Although a subset of microRNAs (miRs) have been identified as critical regulators of atherosclerosis, studies on their participation in endothelial apoptosis in atherosclerosis have been limited. In our study, we found that miR-26a expression was substantially reduced in the aortic intima of ApoE −/− mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). Treatment of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) suppressed miR-26a expression. Forced expression of miR-26a inhibited endothelial apoptosis as evidenced by MTT assay and TUNEL staining results. Further analysis identified TRPC6 as a target of miR-26a and TRPC6 overexpression abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of miR-26a. Moreover, the cytosolic calcium and the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway were found to mediate the beneficial effects of miR-26a on endothelial apoptosis. Taken together, our study reveals a novel role of miR-26a in endothelial apoptosis and indicates a therapeutic potential of miR-26a for atherosclerosis associated with apoptotic cell death.

Emerging evidence has suggested the critical role of endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in fibrotic diseases. The present study was designed to examine whether EndMT is involved in arsenic trioxide (As 2 O 3 )-induced cardiac fibrosis and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Cardiac dysfunction was observed in rats after exposure to As 2 O 3 for 15 days using echocardiography and the deposition of collagen was detected by Masson’s trichrome staining and electron microscope. EndMT was indicated by the loss of endothelial cell markers (VE-cadherin and CD31) and the acquisition of mesenchymal cell markers (α-SMA and FSP1) determined by RT-PCR at the mRNA level and Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis at the protein level. In the in-vitro experiments, endothelial cells acquired a spindle-shaped morphology accompanying downregulation of the endothelial cell markers and upregulation of the mesenchymal cell markers when exposed to As 2 O 3 . As 2 O 3 activated the AKT/GSK-3β/Snail signaling pathway and blocking this pathway with PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) abolished EndMT in As 2 O 3 -treated endothelial cells. Our results highlight that As 2 O 3 is an EndMT-promoting factor during cardiac fibrosis, suggesting that targeting EndMT is beneficial for preventing As 2 O 3 -induced cardiac toxicity.

Dynamic compaction is a widely used method to strengthen the foundation, which can cause significant impacts on surrounding structures, making vibration control measures necessary. This study investigates the effectiveness of isolation trenches in reducing ground vibration caused by dynamic compaction in a typical multi-layered alluvial soil foundation adjacent to the Yangtze River. A combination of field testing and numerical simulation was employed to evaluate the vibration isolation effect of trenches at different depths and locations. The results show that trenches have a significant vibration isolation effect on the side away from the tamping point, but they can have an amplifying effect between the trench and tamping point. The effectiveness of the isolation trenches increases with deeper trenches and distance from the tamping point, but the amplification effect decreases with increasing depth. Therefore, when employing trenches, reinforcement measures must be adopted, and a suitable trench depth should be selected. The closer the isolation trench to the dike, the better the protection will be. The study provides effective guidance for designing isolation trenches in similar dynamic compaction processes, emphasizing the importance of considering spatial attenuation characteristics and selecting appropriate trench depths and locations.

A novel bacterium capable of utilizing metamitron as the sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from contaminated soil and identified as Rhodococcus sp. MET based on its morphological characteristics, BIOLOG GP2 microplate profile and 16S rDNA phylogeny. Genome sequencing and functional annotation of the isolate MET showed a 6,340,880 bp genome with a 62.47% GC content and 5,987 protein-coding genes. In total, 5,907 genes were annotated with the COG, GO, KEGG, Pfam, Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL and nr databases. The degradation rate of metamitron by the isolate MET obviously increased with increasing substrate concentrations from 1 to 10 mg/l and subsequently decreased at 100 mg/l. The optimal pH and temperature for metamitron biodegradation were 7.0 and 20–30 °C, respectively. Based on genome annotation of the metamitron degradation genes and the metabolites detected by HPLC-MS/MS, the following metamitron biodegradation pathways were proposed: 1) Metamitron was transformed into 2-(3-hydrazinyl-2-ethyl)-hydrazono-2-phenylacetic acid by triazinone ring cleavage and further mineralization; 2) Metamitron was converted into 3-methyl-4-amino-6(2-hydroxy-muconic acid)-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one by phenyl ring cleavage and further mineralization. The coexistence of diverse mineralization pathways indicates that our isolate may effectively bioremediate triazinone herbicide-contaminated soils.

We report a case of pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP) in a 46-year-old woman, who previously underwent kidney transplant for chronic renal failure. She did not receive PJP prophylaxis treatment for the history of sulfonamide allergies. Four months after renal transplantation, the patient had cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Procalcitonin (PCT) (0.06 ng/mL) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (5.33 mg/L) were normal, but the level of 1, 3-[beta]- D-glucan test (G test, 193.89 pg/mL) were elevated. Metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) rapidly and accurately identified P. jiroveci. Through sulfonamide desensitization and sulfamethoxazole- trimethoprim (TMP-SMX) combined with caspofungin (CAS) treatment, PJP was controlled. However, the patients' conditions were worsen for the hospital-acquired secondary pulmonary infection. A second BALF mNGS identified Enterobacter cloacae complex and Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying carbapenem drug resistance genes, which were confirmed by subsequent culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test within 3 days. Finally, symptoms, such as chest tightness, cough, and shortness of breath, were improved and she was discharged after combined treatment with meropenem (MEM), polymyxin B (PMB), CAS, and TMP-SMX. In this case, mNGS, culture, and drug susceptibility testing were combined to monitor pathogenic microbial and adjust medication. At present, there are no case reports of mNGS use and sulfonamide desensitization in a kidney transplant recipient with sulfonamide allergies. Keywords: metagenomics next-generation sequencing, mNGS, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, PJP, sulfonamide allergies, SA, kidney transplant, KT, multiple drug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex, MDR-ECC, multiple drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MDR-PA

We report a case of pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP) in a 46-year-old woman, who previously underwent kidney transplant for chronic renal failure. She did not receive PJP prophylaxis treatment for the history of sulfonamide allergies. Four months after renal transplantation, the patient had cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Procalcitonin (PCT) (0.06 ng/mL) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (5.33 mg/L) were normal, but the level of 1, 3-[beta]- D-glucan test (G test, 193.89 pg/mL) were elevated. Metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) rapidly and accurately identified P. jiroveci. Through sulfonamide desensitization and sulfamethoxazole- trimethoprim (TMP-SMX) combined with caspofungin (CAS) treatment, PJP was controlled. However, the patients' conditions were worsen for the hospital-acquired secondary pulmonary infection. A second BALF mNGS identified Enterobacter cloacae complex and Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying carbapenem drug resistance genes, which were confirmed by subsequent culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test within 3 days. Finally, symptoms, such as chest tightness, cough, and shortness of breath, were improved and she was discharged after combined treatment with meropenem (MEM), polymyxin B (PMB), CAS, and TMP-SMX. In this case, mNGS, culture, and drug susceptibility testing were combined to monitor pathogenic microbial and adjust medication. At present, there are no case reports of mNGS use and sulfonamide desensitization in a kidney transplant recipient with sulfonamide allergies. Keywords: metagenomics next-generation sequencing, mNGS, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, PJP, sulfonamide allergies, SA, kidney transplant, KT, multiple drug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex, MDR-ECC, multiple drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MDR-PA

Existing video captioning approaches typically require to first sample video frames from a decoded video and then conduct a subsequent process (e.g., feature extraction and/or captioning model learning). In this pipeline, manual frame sampling may ignore key information in videos and thus degrade performance. Additionally, redundant information in the sampled frames may result in low efficiency in the inference of video captioning. Addressing this, we study video captioning from a different perspective in compressed domain, which brings multi-fold advantages over the existing pipeline: 1) Compared to raw images from the decoded video, the compressed video, consisting of I-frames, motion vectors and residuals, is highly distinguishable, which allows us to leverage the entire video for learning without manual sampling through a specialized model design; 2) The captioning model is more efficient in inference as smaller and less redundant information is processed. We propose a simple yet effective end-to-end transformer in the compressed domain for video captioning that enables learning from the compressed video for captioning. We show that even with a simple design, our method can achieve state-of-the-art performance on different benchmarks while running almost 2x faster than existing approaches. Code is available at https://github.com/acherstyx/CoCap.