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The water-rich burnt rock may threaten the safe production of coal mines. Identifying the boundaries of burnt rock and the water-rich area is of great practical significance for the ensuring the safety of mining operations. Transient electromagnetic and high-density resistivity methods are commonly employed in geophysical exploration, such as for investigating the presence of groundwater or delineating boundaries of altered rocks. These methods are non-invasive and provide detailed information about subsurface conditions without the need for drilling or excavation. The Jiangjun Gobi No. 1 open-pit coal mine is situated in the Kalamaili fault zone and is characterized by a high groundwater content. In certain mining sites within the study area, the inflow of water reaches tens of thousands of cubic meters per day, which significantly impacts production and presents major risks. To accurately determine the boundaries of burnt rock and water accumulation areas in the Jiangjun Gobi No. 1 open-pit coal mine, this paper uses different geophysical prospecting methods based on the depth of the strata. The middle and deep parts are investigated using the high-resolution transient electromagnetic method, while the shallow parts are examined using the high-accuracy high-density electric method. Through analyzing the electrical characteristics of the study area, it is inferred that the low-resistivity area in the northwest represents a shallow surface water-rich region. This area extends continuously towards the northwest, is not trapped, and is supplied by surface water. The deep low-resistivity zone primarily consists of sandstone and coarse sandstone. It is inferred that the low-resistance area in the southern part of the study area is also a shallow surface water-rich region, extending towards the east and west sides, not trapped, and supplied by surface water. The deep low-resistivity zone mainly comprises a combination of sandstone, coarse sandstone, and burnt rock, with intermittent layers of mudstone and argillaceous sandstone. The boundary line of burnt rock (coal-bearing strata) is located in the south of the study area. The resistivity of burnt rock (coal-bearing strata) is higher than that of the surrounding rocks, and the resistivity of coal seams is slightly higher than that of sandstone with larger porosity. Estimating the boundaries of groundwater and altered rocks serves to prevent geological disasters and provides valuable information for mineral development and ecological protection.

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses seriously affecting cotton yield. At present, the main cotton-producing areas in China are primarily arid and semiarid regions. Therefore, the identification of molecular markers and genes associated with cotton yield traits under drought conditions is of great importance for stabilize cotton yield under such conditions. In this study, resequencing data were used to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 8 traits of 150 cotton germplasms. Under drought stress, 18 SNPs were significantly correlated with yield traits (single-boll weight (SBW) and seed (SC)), and 8 SNPs were identified as significantly correlated with effective fruit shoot number (EFBN) traits (a trait that is positively correlated with yield). Finally, a total of 15 candidate genes were screened. The combined results of the GWAS and transcriptome data analysis showed that four genes were highly expressed after drought stress, and these genes had significantly increased expression at 10, 15 and 25 DPA of fiber development. qRT-PCR was performed on two samples with drought tolerance extremes (drought-resistant Xinluzao 45 and drought-sensitive Xinluzao 26), revealing that three of the genes had the same differential expression pattern. This study provides a theoretical basis for the genetic analysis of cotton yield traits under drought stress, and provides gene resources for improved breeding of cotton yield traits under drought stress.

Background Due to the influence of extreme weather, the environment in China’s main cotton-producing areas is prone to drought stress conditions, which affect the growth and development of cotton and lead to a decrease in cotton yield. Results In this study, 188 upland cotton germplasm resources were phenotyped for data of 8 traits (including 3 major yield traits) under drought conditions in three environments for two consecutive years. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between the three yield traits. Genetic analysis showed that the estimated heritability of the seed cotton index (SC) under drought conditions was the highest (80.81%), followed by that of boll weight (BW) (80.64%) and the lint cotton index (LC) (70.49%) With genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, a total of 75 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, including two highly credible new QTL hotspots. Three candidate genes ( Gh_D09G064400 , Gh_D10G261000 and Gh_D10G254000 ) located in the two new QTL hotspots, QTL51 and QTL55, were highly expressed in the early stage of fiber development and showed significant correlations with SC, LC and BW. The expression of three candidate genes in two extreme materials after drought stress was analyzed by qRT-PCR, and the expression of these two materials in fibers at 15, 20 and 25 DPA. The expression of these three candidate genes was significantly upregulated after drought stress and was significantly higher in drought-tolerant materials than in drought-sensitive materials. In addition, the expression levels of the three candidate genes were higher in the early stage of fiber development (15 DPA), and the expression levels in drought-tolerant germplasm were higher than those in drought-sensitive germplasm. These three candidate genes may play an important role in determining cotton yield under drought conditions. Conclusions This study is helpful for understanding the regulatory genes affecting cotton yield under drought conditions and provides germplasm and candidate gene resources for breeding high-yield cotton varieties under these conditions.

Background Centromere protein O (CENPO) is a newly discovered constitutive centromeric protein, associated with cell death. However, little is known about how CENPO expression is associated with human cancers or immune infiltration. Here, we assessed the function of CENPO in pan-cancer and further verified the results in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Methods Sangerbox and TCGA databases were used to evaluate the CENPO expression level in different human cancer types. A subsequent evaluation of the potential role of CENPO as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in pancancer was conducted. The CENPO mutations were analyzed using the cBioPortal database and its function was analyzed using the LinkedOmics and CancerSEA databases. The TIMER2 and TISIDB websites were used to find out how CENPO affects immune infiltration. The expression level of CENPO in LUAD was revealed by TCGA database and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Targetscan, miRWalk, miRDB, miRabel, LncBase databases, and Cytoscape tool were used to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that regulate expression and construct ceRNA network. Subsequently, loss-of-function assays were performed to identify the functions of CENPO on the malignant behavior and tumor growth of LUAD in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results In most cancers, CENPO was upregulated and mutated, which predicted a poorer prognosis. Furthermore, infiltration of CENPO and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) showed a significant positive correlation, while T-cell NK infiltration showed a significant negative correlation in most cancers. CENPO was expressed at high levels in LUAD and was correlated with p-TNM stage. Furthermore, CENPO knockdown suppressed the malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells, manifested by slower proliferation, cycle in G2, increased apoptosis, decreased migration, and attenuated tumorigenesis. Furthermore, CENPO knockdown decreased CDK1/6, PIK3CA, and inhibited mTOR phosphorylation, suggesting that the mTOR signaling pathway may be involved in CENPO-mediated regulation of LUAD development. Conclusions In pan-cancer, especially LUAD, CENPO may be a potential biomarker and oncogene. Furthermore, CENPO has been implicated in immune cell infiltration in pan-cancer and represents a potential immunotherapeutic target for tumor therapy.

Near-infrared (NIR) phototheranostics (PTs) show higher tissue penetration depth, signal-to-noise ratio, and better biosafety than PTs in the ultraviolet and visible regions. However, their further advancement is severely hindered by poor performances and short-wavelength absorptions/emissions of PT agents. Among reported PT agents, conjugated small molecular nanoparticles (CSMNs) prepared from D-A-typed photoactive conjugated small molecules (CSMs) have greatly mediated this deadlock by their high photostability, distinct chemical structure, tunable absorption, intrinsic multifunctionality, and favorable biocompatibility, which endows CSMNs with more possibilities in biological applications. This review aims to introduce the recent progress of CSMNs for NIR imaging, therapy, and synergistic PTs with a comprehensive summary of their molecular structures, structure types, and optical properties. Moreover, the working principles of CSMNs are illustrated from photophysical and photochemical mechanisms and light–tissue interactions. In addition, molecular engineering and nanomodulation approaches of CSMs are discussed, with an emphasis on strategies for improving performances and extending absorption and emission wavelengths to the NIR range. Furthermore, the in vivo investigation of CSMNs is illustrated with solid examples from imaging in different scenarios, therapy in 2 modes, and synergistic PTs in combinational functionalities. This review concludes with a brief conclusion, current challenges, and future outlook of CSMNs.

Super-resolution three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy has incomparable advantages over other high-resolution microscopic technologies, such as electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, in the study of biological molecules, pathways and events in live cells and tissues. We present a novel approach of structured illumination microscopy (SIM) by using a digital micromirror device (DMD) for fringe projection and a low-coherence LED light for illumination. The lateral resolution of 90 nm and the optical sectioning depth of 120 μm were achieved. The maximum acquisition speed for 3D imaging in the optical sectioning mode was 1.6×10 7 pixels/second, which was mainly limited by the sensitivity and speed of the CCD camera. In contrast to other SIM techniques, the DMD-based LED-illumination SIM is cost-effective, ease of multi-wavelength switchable and speckle-noise-free. The 2D super-resolution and 3D optical sectioning modalities can be easily switched and applied to either fluorescent or non-fluorescent specimens.

The convexity of space is essential in nonlinear analysis, variational inequalities and optimization theory because it guarantees the existence and uniqueness of solutions to a certain extent. Because of its wide variety of applications, mathematicians have extensively promoted and researched convexity. This paper reviews some representative convexity structures and discusses their relations from their definitions, unifying them in the abstract convex structure. Moreover, applications of main convexity structures including KKM theory and fixed point theory will be reviewed.

Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a severe complication of antisynthetase syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome, contributing significantly to patient mortality. Standard treatment options remain limited. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of telitacicept, a dual-target inhibitor of B-lymphocyte stimulator and a proliferation-inducing ligand, in patients with these specific ILD subtypes. Methods This prospective observational study included 18 patients with ILD associated with antisynthetase syndrome ( n  = 5), rheumatoid arthritis ( n  = 5), or Sjögren’s syndrome ( n  = 8). Participants either demonstrated resistance to standard immunosuppressive regimens or presented with other connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and complex multisystemic manifestations. All patients received subcutaneous telitacicept (160 mg weekly) combined with glucocorticoids. Primary outcomes were absolute changes in forced vital capacity percentage (FVC%) and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide percentage (DLCO%) at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included exercise capacity (6-minute walk test), radiographic changes (Warrick score), and disease activity indices. Comparisons between baseline and 24 weeks were performed using paired t -tests. Results After 24 weeks, lung function significantly improved across all groups. FVC% increased by 20.94% in antisynthetase syndrome-ILD, 10.83% in rheumatoid arthritis-ILD, and 12.19% in Sjögren’s syndrome-ILD (all P  < 0.05). Similarly, DLCO% improved by 30.61%, 8.61%, and 9.73%, respectively (all P  < 0.05). Exercise capacity significantly increased, with 6-minute walk distances improving by over 20% in all subtypes. Radiographic assessment showed a significant reduction in lung lesions, with Warrick scores decreasing by 44.73%, 27.04%, and 30.12%, respectively. Systemic disease activity also decreased significantly, and patients successfully reduced their daily prednisone dose to 5–7.5 mg. No adverse reactions were observed during the study period. Conclusions Telitacicept demonstrated significant clinical efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with ILD associated with antisynthetase syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome. These findings suggest telitacicept may be a promising therapeutic option for refractory or complex connective tissue disease-associated ILD.

The rising incidence of cancer has heightened interest in immune cell therapy, particularly the role of natural killer (NK) cells, which are essential components of the immune system. Their applications in tumor treatment have expanded significantly, especially with the incorporation of nanomaterials. This review comprehensively examines NK cell biology, encompassing aspects such as classification, distribution, receptor activation, and mechanisms of cytotoxicity. It also explores various NK cell therapies, including their sources, methods of acquisition, expansion techniques, Chimeric antigen receptor-Natural Killer cell (CAR-NK) technology, gene editing strategies, and combination therapies. Additionally, the review discusses the utilization of nanomaterials in NK cell therapy, focusing on nanoparticle-assisted immune regulation and the modulation of the tumor microenvironment. While NK cell therapy holds promise, CAR-NK technology presents certain limitations. The integration of nanomaterials offers potential strategies to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Future research should prioritize the optimization of NK cell therapy, address the limitations associated with CAR-NK technology, investigate the mechanisms of nanomaterials, and develop more effective nanomaterials to improve clinical outcomes.

Background Among the key factors influencing the prognosis of lung cancer, the primary tumor site has garnered significant attention in recent years, as it may affect the surgical difficulty and the risk of lymph node metastasis, thereby impacting overall prognosis. Numerous retrospective studies have produced conflicting conclusions, highlighting the necessity for a meta-analysis to consolidate these findings and ascertain the effects of primary tumor location in the basal versus superior segment of the lower lobe(S6) on survival outcomes. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature search up to January 2025 and identified six relevant retrospective studies. We then used the random-effects model in Stata software to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of the primary tumor location on overall survival(OS) and event-free survival(EFS), EFS was defined as an aggregate of freedom from recurrence (FFR), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (RFS). Result This study demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences in OS (S6 vs. Basal segment HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.81,2.42 I²=71.8%) and EFS(S6 vs. Basal segment HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 0.69,2.54, I²=76.6%) between patients with the tumor in the S6 segment or basal segment. Begg’s test did not find publication bias ( p  > 0.05). Subgroup analysis indicated that the year of publication, clinical stage, sample size, and both univariate and multivariate analyses did not significantly influence the results. Conclusion The direct impact of tumor location (S6 vs. Basal segment)on survival is not statistically significant.