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The accurate assessment of wound healing post‐caesarean section, especially in twin pregnancies, remains a pivotal concern in obstetrics, given its implications for maternal health and recovery. Traditional methods, including conventional abdominal ultrasonography (CU), have been challenged by the advent of transvaginal ultrasonography (TU), offering potentially enhanced sensitivity and specificity. This meta‐analysis directly compares the efficacy of TU and CU in evaluating wound healing and scar formation, crucial for optimizing postoperative care. Results indicate that TU is associated with significantly better outcomes in wound healing, demonstrated by lower REEDA scores (SMD = −20.56, 95% CI: [−27.34.20, −13.77], p < 0.01), and in scar formation reduction, evidenced by lower Manchester Scar Scale scores (SMD = −25.18, 95% CI: [−29.98, −20.39], p < 0.01). These findings underscore the potential of integrating TU into routine post‐caesarean evaluation protocols to enhance care quality and patient recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourmaline, a borosilicate, is widespread in many kinds of rocks. Due to its high boron content, tourmaline is quite suitable for in situ B isotope analysis. Tourmaline contains moderate Sr but very low Rb and recent studies show that this mineral has the potential for in situ Sr isotope analysis. Here, we present three new natural tourmaline reference materials GIGT, XJ-1 and XJ-3 for in situ B and Sr isotope measurement by LA-MC-ICP-MS. LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses for these three tourmalines show homogeneous B isotopic compositions with an average δ11B of −12.63 ± 0.51‰ (2SD, n = 74) for GIGT, −11.90 ± 0.64‰ (2SD, n = 78) for XJ-1 and −11.91 ± 0.64‰ (2SD, n = 73) for XJ-3, which agree well with results determined by solution MC-ICP-MS (−12.65 ± 0.12, −11.90 ± 0.24, −11.89 ± 0.19). XJ-1 has relatively high Sr content (∼160 μg g−1), but extremely low Rb/Sr (<0.0005). A total of 176 LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses of XJ-1 yield an average 87Sr/86Sr of 0.70827 ± 0.00021 (2SD), which is in good agreement with the result measured by solution MC-ICP-MS (0.708249 ± 0.000020, 2SD). The homogeneous B isotopes and Sr isotopes suggest that all three tourmalines presented in this study can serve as primary reference materials for in situ B isotope analysis and XJ-1 is suitable to be a monitor reference material for in situ Sr isotope analysis by LA-MC-ICP-MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 60 (9.9%) of these patients, the treatment was upgraded to antibiotics because of their serious condition, experience, or poor anti-infection treatment effect according to the drug sensitivity results (Figure 1). Ultrasonic or CT Results Of these 606 patients, 451 patients (74.4%) had a single abscess. In 75 patients (12.3%), the anti-infection treatment was effective, and these patients underwent step-down treatment. Of the 154 patients treated with antibiotics alone, 143 patients (92.9%) achieved effective outcomes, and 11 patients (7.1%) achieved ineffective outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Alcoholic liver disease is one of the diseases with the highest fatality rate worldwide. The cellular process of autophagy which recycles damaged organelles to maintain protein and organelle homeostasis is found to positively influence survival during hepatic insufficiency, although the mechanism is poorly understood. Palmatine (PLT) has a variety of biological functions, such as broad‐spectrum antibacterial action, neuroprotective, antioxidant stress, and antiviral and anti‐inflammatory activities. However, it is not known whether PLT has a protective effect against alcoholic liver injury. Here, we investigated the protective effect of PLT in a cellular model of alcohol‐induced acute liver injury and further explored its mechanism of action. In this study, we show for the first time that PLT attenuates alcohol‐induced hepatocyte injury by promoting autophagy to play an essential protective role. As PLT treatment induced a brief increase in LC3‐II conversion and p62 degradation, it also upregulated the expression of ATG5 and ATG7. The expression levels of the proapoptotic proteins Bax, Caspase 3, and Caspase 9 significantly decreased, while the antiapoptotic protein levels of Bcl‐2 upregulated after treatment with PLT. However, in presence of the autophagy inhibitor, 3‐methyladenine, the effect of PLT in inhibiting ethanol‐induced hepatocyte injury reversed significantly. Mechanistically, the protective effects of PLT may be mediated by promoting the activation of the AMP‐activated protein kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. Therefore, we believe that the development of alcoholic liver injuries may be controlled by PLT by inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis through the autophagy pathway. The study lays a solid theoretical and practical basis for future animal models and clinical studies of PLT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) can be caused by a variety of pathogens. Endocarditis due to the Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) infection is common in patients with negative blood culture results and usually occurs in patients with previous valvular heart disease, impaired immune function, and during pregnancy. The diagnosis is difficult based on the conventional diagnostic method, and serious adverse outcomes may occur in the case of delayed diagnosis. Case Report: In the present study, a case of a 43-year-old male patient with previous valvular heart disease was reported. The patient was admitted with a diagnosis of IE, but the etiology was unclear. Accurate diagnosis and treatment were achieved by combining metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) with Q fever serological antibody assay. Conclusion: Metagenomic next-generation sequencing has been increasingly applied in clinical practice in recent years to detect the DNA or RNA in samples, and this could play a decisive role in the etiological diagnosis of some infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a simple and efficient two-stage tandem protocol for separating Cu from geological samples for accurate and precise measurement of Cu isotopic ratios employing multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). The first column utilizes Cu-selective resin to separate Cu from the matrix by employing 0.001 mol L−1 and 0.5 mol L−1 HNO3 to elute the majority of matrix elements and Cu from the resin, respectively. The second column utilizes AG50W-X12 cation exchange resin (100–200 mesh, Bio-Rad) to further purify Cu from the remaining trace elements such as Ti, V, and Fe. A two-stage tandem column setup is utilized, with the Cu eluent from the Cu-selective resin column being allowed to directly pass onto the cation exchange column without an evaporation step. The presented column protocol only requires a total of 38 mL of dilute acid and takes ∼3 h for Cu separation, generating a low analytical blank level (0.37 ± 0.05 ng; 2SD, n = 8). The instrumental mass bias of Cu isotopic measurement induced by MC-ICP-MS is corrected by applying a sample-standard bracketing method. In light of repeated measurements of NIST SRM 976, NWU-Cu-A, and NWU-Cu-B, the long-term external reproducibility is better than ±0.07‰ (2SD, n = 277) for δ65Cu. The validation of the presented protocol is confirmed by analysis of twelve geological reference materials with accurate and precise results, which are identical to the published values within uncertainty. Therefore, the presented protocol can be employed efficiently for obtaining pure Cu fractions and determining Cu stable isotopic ratios in geological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, studies have found that latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with a variety of human tumours, and a vaccine is not available in this field. In this research, RT–PCR was used to obtain BZLF1 (immediately expressed early antigen Z) and LMP2 (latent membrane protein 2) cDNA from EBV. A ZLP2 fusion gene containing a linker sequence that encoded the polypeptide (Gly4Ser)3 was obtained using the sequence splicing overlap extension method. Then, ZLP2 was inserted into pMV261 cells, and the recombinant plasmid pMV-ZLP2 was transformed into BCG competent cells. After EB virus-positive tumour cell (NPRC18) cancer models were established with C57BL/6 J mice, tumour weight, tumour formation time and mouse survival conditions were analyzed, and flow cytometry was used to analyze the quantities of CD8 + and CD4 + T cells. HE staining was used to detect and analyze lymphocyte infiltration, and statistical analysis was used to analyze the immunological effect of recombinant BCG (rBCG). Compared with the control group, rBCG could significantly prolong the survival time of mice, slow tumour growth and delay tumour formation time. Recombinant BCG exhibits an obvious immune effect in mice and an inhibitory effect on EBV-positive cancer. Key points • AZLP2 fusion gene with BZLF1 and LMP2 of EB virus was constructed. • ZLP2 fusion gene was expressed with rBCG. • rBCG with ZLP2 has an obvious effect on EBV-positive cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After surface acidity and pore modifications, the acid strength and pore distribution of composite were improved effectively. FTIR analysis showed that the acid distribution of the modified composite was more concentrated on the range of intermediate and strong acidity. This kind of modification can direct more hydrocarbons to enter into the pores to be converted and remarkably increases the possibility of gasoline forming through a cracking reaction. N adsorption-desorption analysis showed that the composite had more meso- and macro-pores with a trimodal distribution. This kind of modification can effectively reduce the mass-transfer resistance in the reaction process and accelerate the diffusion of the product molecules. A FCC catalyst for maximizing gasoline yield was prepared based on the composite. The evaluated results indicated the catalyst can decrease the excessive cracking of mediate distillate and improved the gasoline yield effectively. The gasoline yield had been increased by 2.89%, while the coke yield has been decreased by 0.71%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experiment study of the post-fire behavior of five SRC columns under combination of axial eccentrical loading and fire. The experiment phenomena and mechanical response of the SRC column specimens during experiment, specifically loading, heating, cooling and post-fire loading were observed. The residual load bearing capacity, failure modes and vertical deformation were studied. With the test program, the effects of parameters such as the load ratio, the fire duration time and the steel ratio were studied. It is shown that the effects of temperature delay become more obvious with the increase of the depth from the heated surface. Some of the SRC column specimens failed during the cooling phase. For other specimens residual deformations were observed when the furnace temperature decreased to ambient temperature. The influence of some parameters including the load ratio, the fire duration time and the steel ratio on the post-fire load bearing capacities was discussed. It can be concluded that the residual load bearing capacity of the SRC columns decreases with the increase of the fire duration time and the load ratio, and increases with the increase of the steel ratio. Finally, a finite-element analysis model was developed to simulate the behavior of the tested SRC columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some synthetic chemicals, which have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormone (TH) function, have been detected in surface waters and people have the potential to be exposed through water-drinking. Here, the presence of thyroid-active chemicals and their toxic potential in drinking water sources in Yangtze River Delta were investigated by use of instrumental analysis combined with cell-based reporter gene assay. A novel approach was developed to use Monte Carlo simulation, for evaluation of the potential risks of measured concentrations of TH agonists and antagonists and to determine the major contributors to observed thyroid receptor (TR) antagonist potency. None of the extracts exhibited TR agonist potency, while 12 of 14 water samples exhibited TR antagonistic potency. The most probable observed antagonist equivalents ranged from 1.4 to 5.6 µg di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP)/L, which posed potential risk in water sources. Based on Monte Carlo simulation related mass balance analysis, DNBP accounted for 64.4% for the entire observed antagonist toxic unit in water sources, while diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) also contributed. The most probable observed equivalent and most probable relative potency (REP) derived from Monte Carlo simulation is useful for potency comparison and responsible chemicals screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most complicated manufacturing processes, semiconductor manufacturing consists of four steps, wafer sort, wafer fabrication, assembly, and testing. Among them, wafer fabrication is the most costly, complex, and time consuming step. Its operation management and optimization are challenging modeling and scheduling researchers. To address its modeling issue, a hierarchical colored timed Petri net (HCTPN) is proposed, which can be used to describe various states, behavior and substructures of a wafer fabrication system. To address its scheduling issue, intelligent algorithms are introduced to the proposed HCTPN. An extended genetic algorithm (EGA) embedded scheduling strategy over HCTPN is studied to optimize the combination of scheduling policies. The combined approach can conduct more efficient search with better scheduling performance. At last, a real case is presented to illustrate the results. Based on comparing simulation results of different scheduling strategies, the HCTPN and EGA combined scheduling is proved to be valid and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been widely used in industrial and consumer products and frequently detected in many environmental media. Potential reproductive effects of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) have been reported in mice, rats and water birds. PFOS and PFOA were also confirmed developing toxicants towards zebrafish embryos; however, the reported effect concentrations were contradictory. Polyfluorinated alkylated phosphate ester surfactants (including FC807) are precursor of PFOS and PFOA; however, there is no published information about the effects of FC807 and PFNA on zebrafish embryos. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of these four PFCs on zebrafish embryos. Normal fertilized zebrafish embryos were selected to be exposed to several concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFOS or FC807 in 24-well cell culture plates. A digital camera was used to image morphological anomalies of embryos with a stereomicroscope. Embryos were observed through matching up to 96-h post-fertilization (hpf) and rates of survival and abnormalities recorded. PFCs caused lethality in a concentration-dependent manner with potential toxicity in the order of PFOS > FC807 > PFNA > PFOA based on 72-h LC. Forty-eight-hour post-fertilization pericardial edema and 72- or 96-hpf spine crooked malformation were all observed. PFOA, PFNA, PFOS and FC807 all caused structural abnormalities using early stages of development of zebrafish. The PFCs all retarded the development of zebrafish embryos. The toxicity of the PFCs was related to the length of the PFC chain and functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pilot study of treating the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) wastewater with the functional Strain Fhhh in the carrier activated sludge process (CASP), the ratio of COD:TN:TP and the concentrations of Cu, Mn, Se and Zn were controlled to improve the manganese peroxidase(MnP) levels for increasing the treatment efficiency. When the ratio of COD: TN: TP was 100: 0.36: 0.15 and the concentrations of Cu, Mn, Se and Zn were 0.54, 5.07, 0.00 and 0.08 mg/L, the MnP specific activity (MnP-SA) reached 689 U/L, and the sludge loading rate to COD (SLRC) was 1.09 d^{-1}, which was 4–7 fold of that in other processes reported. The data indicated that improving MnP level could enhance the degradability of Fhhh. And the potentials of Fhhh and CASP will be also discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) is widely planted for restoration in destroyed ecosystems of the Loess Plateau in China. Although soil microbial communities are important subsurface components of the terrestrial ecosystems, little is known about fungal and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of planted and natural P. tabulaeformis forests in the region. In this study, fungal and bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of P. tabulaeformis were analyzed by nested PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis). Diversity analysis revealed that the values of the Shannon-Wiener index (H) and the Simpson index (D) of fungal communities were higher in natural secondary forests than in plantations except for the 3-year-old site. Moreover, the values of species richness, H, and D of the bacterial communities were also higher in the former. Totally, 18 fungal and 19 bacterial DGGE band types were successfully retrieved and sequenced. The dominant fungi in the rhizosphere of P. tabulaeformis belonged to the phylum of Basidiomycota, while the dominant bacteria belonged to the phylum of Proteobacteria. Principal component analysis indicated that fungal and bacterial species were more unitary in plantations than in natural secondary forests, and the majority of them were more likely to appear in the latter. Correlation analysis showed no significant correlation between the fungal and bacterial community diversities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]