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Purpose: The impacts of passive (i.e., browsing) versus active (i.e., engagement) use of social media on e-cigarette use among youth have been understudied in existing literature. This study examines how passive and active use of social media are differentially associated with e-cigarette use among youth and how risk perceptions mediate these associations., Methods: Pooled data from the 2021 and 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (N=48,704, aged 11-19) were used. Weighted structural equation models were employed to estimate the associations between passive and active social media use and youth e-cigarette use., Results: Both passive and active social media use were associated with higher odds and more days of e-cigarette use among youth. E-cigarette risk perceptions mediated the associations between active use and both the likelihood of ever using e-cigarettes and the number of days of use. Risk perceptions mediated the association between active, but not passive, use and the number of days of e-cigarette use. Compared to passive use, active use was overall associated with higher odds and more days of youth e-cigarette use., Discussion: The findings suggest that public health efforts should distinguish between passive and active social media use when designing and executing interventions. Attention and efforts should also be directed towards understanding the distinct indirect effects of passive and active social media use through risk perceptions. These findings advance our theoretical understanding of the role of different types of social media use and offer significant practical insights for interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: KPC-2-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa high-risk sequence type (ST) 463 is increasingly prevalent in China and poses severe threats to public health. In this study, we aimed to investigate within-host adaptive evolution of this clone during therapy., Methods: Using nine serial respiratory isolates from a post-lung transplantation patient undergoing multiple antibiotic treatments, we conducted genomic, transcriptomic and phenotypic analyses to uncover the adaptive mechanisms of a KPC-2-producing ST463 P. aeruginosa strain., Results: The early-course isolates exhibited low-level resistance to ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA), facilitated by the bla KPC-2 gene's presence on both chromosome and plasmid, and its overexpression. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that chromosomal integration of bla KPC-2 resulted from intracellular replicative transposition of the plasmid-derived IS26-bla KPC-2 -IS26 composite transposon. As the infection progressed, selective pressures, predominantly from antibiotic interventions and host immune response, led to significant genomic and phenotypic changes. The late-course isolates developed a Δ242-GT-243 deletion in plasmid-encoded bla KPC-2 (bla KPC-14 ) after sustained CZA exposure, conferring high-level CZA resistance. Increased expression of pili and extracellular polysaccharides boosted biofilm formation. A D143N mutation in the global regulator vfr rendered the strain aflagellate by abrogating the ability of fleQ to positively regulate flagellar gene expression. The enhancement of antibiotic resistance and immune evasion collaboratively facilitated the prolonged survival of ST463 P. aeruginosa within the host., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the remarkable capacity of ST463 P. aeruginosa in adapting to the dynamic host pressures, supporting its persistence and dissemination in healthcare., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The interval between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and surgery for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) remains controversial. At the same time, the prognostic effect of delayed surgery in patients with poor responses is currently unclear., Methods: Data was collected from patients who had poor responses to NAC and underwent modified radical surgery from January 2013 to December 2018. The interval from completion of NAC to surgery was divided into two groups: a longer (greater than four weeks) or shorter (four weeks or less) interval. The associations of these interval groups with overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were evaluated by multivariable Cox models adjusting for the existing prognostic factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to minimize election bias., Results: A total of 1,229 patients (mean age, 47.2 ± 8.9 years; median follow-up duration, 32.67 [6.57-52.63] months) were included. The 5-year OS rates were 73.2% and 60.8% in the shorter (n = 171) and longer interval group (n = 1,058), respectively, while the 3-year RFS rates were 80.8% and 71.7%, respectively. In multivariate Cox analysis, the longer interval was associated with an increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-2.02; p = 0.046) and recurrence (HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.12-1.99; p = 0.006). There was an interaction between the molecular subtype and the surgery interval for OS ( p interaction = 0.014) and RFS ( p interaction = 0.027). After PSM, no significant difference in OS ( p = 0.180) and RFS ( p = 0.069) was observed between the two groups., Conclusion: Among LABC patients with a poor response, those with a longer interval between NAC and surgery had worse OS and RFS. The results indicate that these patients should receive modified radical surgery timely, which may in turn improve their prognosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Korean Breast Cancer Society.)

Objective: Fitness technologies, such as smartphone applications and wearable tracking devices, have gained widespread popularity. This study had two main objectives: 1) to examine whether fitness technology use is associated with increased physical activity (PA) levels and 2) to investigate whether communication behaviors on social media mediated the association between fitness technology use and PA., Methods: Data were from the U.S. Health Information National Trends Survey 2022 ( N  = 6,252, weighted N  = 258,418,467). Weighted linear regressions were conducted to examine the associations between fitness technology usage, physical activities, and communication behaviors on social media. Mediations were tested using PROCESS macro, a path-analysis based tool., Results: Controlling for demographic and other known influences on PA, the findings revealed that users of fitness technology reported higher levels of both moderate PA ( β = .41, p  < 0.001) and strength training ( β = .29, p  < 0.001). Additionally, communication behaviors (i.e., sharing personal health information on social media and watching health-related videos on social media) mediated the relationship between fitness technology use and frequencies of strength training., Conclusion: The results underscored the potential of fitness technologies in enhancing PA levels through promoting communication behaviors on social media., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Background: Testicular cancer usually occurs in young adult men between the ages of 20 and 40 years, which largely coincides with the age of men's reproductive intentions. However, a serious side effect of testicular cancer therapy could reduce the fertility of patients., Purpose: To explore the experience of fertility concerns in patients with testicular cancer., Methods: A phenomenological research was conducted on 12 patients with testicular cancer. Data collection was from May 2023 to August 2023, and Colaizzi analysis method was used to analyze the data., Results: Four themes were found: (1) multiple worries and negative emotions, (2) fertility decision-making faces many challenges, (3) self-coping strategies for facing fertility concerns, (4) unmet supportive care needs., Conclusion: Medical staff should pay attention to the fertility needs of patients with testicular cancer and provide relevant interventions and support to reduce their fertility concerns., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Adipocytes, especially adipocytes within tumor tissue known as cancer-associated adipocytes, have been increasingly recognized for their pivotal role in the tumor microenvironment of gastric cancer (GC). Their influence on tumor progression and patient prognosis has sparked significant interest in recent research. The main objectives of this study were to investigate adipocyte infiltration, assess its correlation with clinical pathological features, develop a prognostic prediction model based on independent prognostic factors, evaluate the impact of adipocytes on immune cell infiltration and tumor invasiveness in GC, and identify and validate genes associated with high adipocyte expression, exploring their potential diagnostic and prognostic value., Aim: To explore the relationship between increased adipocytes within tumor tissue and prognosis in GC patients as well as the associated mechanisms and potential biomarkers, using public databases and clinical data., Methods: Using mRNA microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and clinical samples from Jiangsu Provincial Hospital, survival and regression analyses were conducted to determine the relevant prognostic factors in GC. Feature gene selection was performed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and support vector machine recursive feature elimination algorithms, followed by differential gene expression analysis, gene ontology, pathway analysis, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Immune cell infiltration was analyzed using the CIBERSORT algorithm., Results: Tumor adipocyte infiltration correlated with poor prognosis in GC, leading to the development of a highly accurate and discriminative prognostic prediction model. Key genes, ADH1B , SFRP1 , PLAC9 , and FABP4 , were identified as associated with high adipocyte expression in GC. The diagnostic and prognostic potential of these identified genes was validated using independent datasets. Downregulation of immune cells was observed in GC with high adipocyte expression., Conclusion: GC with high intratumoral adipocyte expression demonstrated aggressive tumor biology and a poorer prognosis. The genes ADH1B , SFRP1 , PLAC9 , and FABP4 have been identified as holding diagnostic and prognostic significance in GC. These findings strongly support the use of adipocyte expression as a valuable indicator of tumor invasiveness and anticipated patient outcomes in GC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the survival benefit of preoperative bone scan in asymptomatic patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods: This retrospective study included patients with radical resection for stage T1N0M0 NSCLC between March 2013 and December 2018. During postoperative follow-up, we monitored patient survival and the development of bone metastasis. We compared overall survival, bone metastasis-free survival, and recurrence-free survival in patients with or without preoperative bone scan. Propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting were used to minimize election bias., Results: A total of 868 patients (58.19 ± 9.69 years; 415 men) were included in the study. Of 87.7% (761 of 868) underwent preoperative bone scan. In the multivariable analyses, bone scan did not improve overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.49; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.91-2.42; p = 0.113), bone metastasis-free survival (HR 1.18; 95% CI 0.73-1.90; p = 0.551), and recurrence-free survival (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.58-1.39; p = 0.618). Similar results were obtained after propensity score matching (overall survival [HR 1.28; 95% CI 0.74-2.23; p = 0.379], bone metastasis-free survival [HR 1.00; 95% CI 0.58-1.72; p = 0.997], and recurrence-free survival [HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.46-1.24; p = 0.270]) and inverse probability of treatment weighting., Conclusion: There were no significant differences in overall survival, bone metastasis-free survival, and recurrence-free survival between asymptomatic patients with clinical stage IA NSCLC with or without preoperative bone scan., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Author(s) under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine.)

This study investigates the role of dynamic fear in the effectiveness of communicating health threats (i.e. fear appeals) of ground-level ozone among Chinese citizens. An online survey revealed that fear appeal messages effectively enhance the audience's risk perceptions, efficacy beliefs, and acceptance of the message. Crucially, dynamic fear reduction process positively predicts engagement in protective behaviors (i.e. danger control process) and negatively predicts engagement in fear control processes, such as message denial. Presenting severity before susceptibility resulted in a more positive attitude toward the message recommendation. These findings highlight that communicating health-threats about climate pollution is effective in raising awareness and motivating protective behaviors. Furthermore, our study underscores the importance of dynamic fear, specifically fear reduction, in increasing fear appeals' effectiveness in communicating climate issues from a health perspective.

Introduction: Social media are important venues for youth's exposure to e-cigarette content. This study examined how exposure to user-generated e-cigarette content (i.e., content created and shared by individual social media users) is associated with vulnerabilities to e-cigarette use among youth non-users., Methods: We pooled data from the 2021 and 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Youth who have never used e-cigarettes were included. Weighted linear and logistic regressions were conducted to examine how exposure to user-generated e-cigarette content (from real-life friends, online-only friends, and celebrities/influencers) on social media was associated with e-cigarette use vulnerabilities measured by perceived norms, perceived risk, and susceptibility of use, controlling for demographics, advertising exposure, and mental health conditions. Multiple imputations were performed to account for missing data., Results: Exposure to e-cigarette content on social media posted by real-life friends, online-only friends, and celebrities/influencers were associated with more positive descriptive norm (βs = 1.56, 0.37, and 0.35, respectively, all ps < .001), more positive injunctive norm (βs = 0.46, 0.19, and 0.10, respectively, all ps < .001), and higher odds of e-cigarette use susceptibility (ORs = 1.48, 1.50. 1.29, respectively, all ps < .001). Exposure to content posted by real-life and online-only friends were associated with reduced risk perception of e-cigarette use (β = -0.04, p < 0.05 and β = -0.07, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Our study highlighted that friends and celebrities/influencers are important sources on social media that can influence youth non-users' vulnerabilities to e-cigarette use. Interventional messages communicated through friends and influencers on social media may in turn help reduce e-cigarette vulnerability among youth non-users., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The Haller index (HI) is widely utilized as a quantitative indicator to assess the extent of the pectus excavatum (PE) deformity, which is the most common chest wall abnormality in children. Both preoperative correction planning and postoperative follow-up need to be based on the standard of normal thoracic growth and development. However, there is currently no established reference range for the HI in children. Consequently, the goal of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of normal HI values among children to understand thoracic developmental characteristics., Methods: Chest computed tomography images obtained from January 2012 to March 2022 were randomly selected from the imaging system of the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. We divided the images of children into a total of 19 groups: aged 0-3 months (1 group), 4-12 months (1 group) and 1 year to 17 years (17 groups), with 50 males and 50 females, totaling 100 children in each group. HI was measured in the plane where the lowest point of the anterior thoracic wall was located and statistically analysed using SPSS 26.0 software., Results: A total of 1900 patients were included in the study. Our results showed that HI, transverse diameter and anterior-posterior diameter were positively correlated with age (P < 0.05). Using age as the independent variable and HI as the dependent variable, the best-fit regression equations were HI-male = 2.047 * Age0.054(R2 = 0.276, P<0.0001) and HI-female = 2.045 * Age0.067(R2 = 0.398, P<0.0001). Males had significantly larger thoracic diameters than females, and there was little difference in the HI between the 2 sexes., Conclusions: The HI rapidly increases during the neonatal period, slowly increases during infancy and stops increasing during puberty, with no significant differences between the sexes., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) is a new option to treat KPC- and OXA-48 carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections. However, clinical evidence is limited regarding its use in treating CRKP infections, especially in solid organ transplantation (SOT) recipients. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of CAZ-AVI in treating CRKP infections in both the general population and the SOT recipients in comparison with other antibiotic regimens., Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective cohort study of patients admitted between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021 with the diagnosis of CRKP infections receiving either CAZ-AVI or other regimens ≥ 72 hours and clinical outcomes were analysed., Results: Of 200 patients with CRKP infections, 67 received CAZ-AVI, 133 received other regimens, and 50 were SOT recipients. In the SOT cohort, 30 patients received CAZ-AVI, and 20 received other regimens. The overall 30-day mortality was 38% in the SOT cohort. Compared with patients receiving other regimens, CAZ-AVI therapy resulted in lower 30-day mortality (23.3% vs. 60%, P = 0.014) and 90-day mortality (35.7% vs. 86.7%, P = 0.003), higher clinical cure (93.3% vs. 40%, P < 0.001) and microbiological clearance. Similar promising results of CAZ-AVI were also shown in the whole population cohort. Moreover, clinical outcomes of SOT recipients receiving CAZ-AVI were not inferior to those without SOT., Conclusions: CAZ-AVI therapy was associated with better clinical outcomes in CRKP infections in both the general population and SOT recipients. Considering the limitations of the present study, well-conducted RCTs are still warranted to confirm these findings., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A variety of distinct anisotropic exchange interactions commonly exist in one magnetic material due to complex crystal, magnetic and orbital symmetries. Here we investigate the effects of multiple anisotropic exchange interactions on topological magnon in a honeycomb ferromagnet, and find a chirality-selective topological magnon phase transition induced by a complicated interplay of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction and pseudo-dipolar interaction, accompanied by the bulk gap close and reopen with chiral inversion. Moreover, this novel topological phase transition involves band inversion at high symmetry points K and K ', which can be regarded as a pseudo-orbital reversal, i.e. magnon valley degree of freedom, implying a new manipulation corresponding to a sign change of the magnon thermal Hall conductivity. Indeed, it can be realized in 4 d or 5 d correlated materials with both spin-orbit coupling and orbital localized states, such as iridates and ruthenates, etc. This novel regulation may have potential applications on magnon devices and topological magnonics., (© 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

A putative β-glucosidase gene, BglAc , was amplified from Acidilobus sp. through metagenome database sampling from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. BglAc is composed of 485 amino acid residues and bioinformatics analysis showed that it belongs to the GH1 family of β-glucosidases. The gene was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli with a molecular weight of approximately 55.3 kDa. The purified recombinant enzyme showed the maximum activity using p -nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside ( p NPG) as the substrate at optimal pH 5.0 and 100 °C. BglAc exhibited extraordinary thermostability, and its half-life at 90 °C was 6 h. The specific activity, K m , V max , and K cat / K m of BglAc toward p NPG were 357.62 U mg -1 , 3.41 mM, 474.0 μmol min -1 ·mg -1 , and 122.7 s -1 mM -1 . BglAc exhibited the characteristic of glucose tolerance, and the inhibition constant K i was 180.0 mM. Furthermore, a significant ethanol tolerance was observed, retaining 96% relative activity at 10% ethanol, and even 78% at 20% ethanol, suggesting BglAc as a promising enzyme for cellulose saccharification. BglAc also had a strong ability to convert the major soybean isoflavone glycosides (daidzin, genistin, and glycitin) into their corresponding aglycones. Overall, BglAc was actually a new β-glucosidase with excellent thermostability, ethanol tolerance, and glycoside hydrolysis ability, indicating its wide prospects for applications in the food industry, animal feed, and lignocellulosic biomass degradation.

Formate has been considered an inactive molecule and thus cannot be further reduced under CO 2 reduction conditions, which limits its widespread application as feedstock. Here we present an electrochemical redox conversion of formate to CO through the potential-dependent generation of carbon dioxide radical anions (CO 2 ⋅ - ) on Fe-Co layered double hydroxides (Fe-Co LDHs) and the subsequent reduction of CO 2 ⋅ - to CO on Au catalysts. We present an electrodeposition protocol for the synthesis of Fe-Co LDHs with precise composition control and find that Fe 1 Co 4 exhibits a promising potential window for CO 2 ⋅ - formation between 1.14 and 1.4 V and an optimized potential at 1.24 V at a neutral pH condition. We further determined the formation of CO 2 ⋅ - at 1.24 V via electron paramagnetic resonance and CO 2 at >1.4 V through differential electrochemical mass spectrometry. This work provides a redox chemistry route for converting formate into CO through a coupled slit parallel-plate electrode system., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

To monitor the moisture content of agricultural products in the drying process in real time, this study applied a model combining multi-sensor fusion and convolutional neural network (CNN) to moisture content online detection. This study built a multi-sensor data acquisition platform and established a CNN prediction model with the raw monitoring data of load sensor, air velocity sensor, temperature sensor, and the tray position as input and the weight of the material as output. The model's predictive performance was compared with that of the linear partial least squares regression (PLSR) and nonlinear support vector machine (SVM) models. A moisture content online detection system was established based on this model. Results of the model performance comparison showed that the CNN prediction model had the optimal prediction effect, with the determination coefficient ( R 2 ) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.9989 and 6.9, respectively, which were significantly better than those of the other two models. Results of validation experiments showed that the detection system met the requirements of moisture content online detection in the drying process of agricultural products. The R 2 and RMSE were 0.9901 and 1.47, respectively, indicating the good performance of the model combining multi-sensor fusion and CNN in moisture content online detection for agricultural products in the drying process. The moisture content online detection system established in this study is of great significance for researching new drying processes and realizing the intelligent development of drying equipment. It also provides a reference for online detection of other indexes in the drying process of agricultural products., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yang, Zheng, Xiao, Shan and Zhang.)

Background: Properties of functional connectivity (FC), such as network integration and segregation, are shown to be associated with various human behaviors. For example, Godwin et al. and Sun et al. found increased integration with attention allocation, whereas Cohen and D'Esposito and Shine et al. observed increased segregation with simple motor tasks. The current study investigated how viewing video clips with different valence and arousal influenced integration-segregation properties in task-based FC networks. Methods: We analyzed an open dataset collected by Kim et al. We performed a generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis paired with network analysis and community detection to investigate changes in brain network dynamics when people watched four types of videos that differed by affective valence (unpleasant or pleasant) and arousal (arousing or calm). Results: Results showed that unpleasant arousing videos produced greater FC deviation from the baseline (task-induced FC deviation [tiFCd]) and perturbed the brain into a more segregated state than other kinds of video. Increased segregation was only observed in association systems, not sensorimotor systems. Discussion: Unpleasant arousing content perturbed the brain to a functionally distinct state from the other three types of affective videos. We suggest that the change in brain state was related to people disengaging from the unpleasant arousing content or, alternatively, staying alert while exposed to unpleasant arousing stimuli. The study also added to our understanding of how combining task-based gPPI analysis with community detection methods and network segregation measures can advance our knowledge of the links between behavior and brain state changes. Impact statement Network integration and segregation is an important property of the human brain. We address the question of how affective stimuli influence brain dynamics from a functional connectivity (FC) network integration-segregation perspective. By conducting a whole-brain generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis paired with community detection methods, we found that highly aversive video content induced significant FC changes and perturbed the brain to a more segregated state.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and life-threatening complication following pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). Our study aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with AKI and evaluate the correlation between serum myoglobin (sMb) levels and postoperative AKI., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving 134 patients who underwent PEA at China-Japan Friendship Hospital. AKI was defined and staged according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria., Results: During the study period, the incidence of postoperative AKI was 57.5%, and the associated mortality rate was 6.0%. Severe AKI was found to be significantly associated with worse short-term outcomes (P<0.05). Logarithmically transformed postoperative day (POD) 0 sMb levels were significantly associated with AKI [odds ratio (OR) =5.174; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.307-11.603; P<0.001] and severe AKI (OR =4.605; 95% CI, 1.510-14.048; P=0.007), also had independent predictive value [area under the curve (AUC) =0.776 in AKI and AUC =0.737 in severe AKI]. The optimal cut-off values were 370.544 ng/mL for AKI and 419.473 ng/mL for severe AKI. Furthermore, albumin concentration was found to play a protective role in the development of severe AKI (OR =0.838; 95% CI, 0.716-0.980; P=0.027) when higher than 40.350 g/L., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a high concentration of POD0 sMb may increase the risk of developing AKI following PEA surgery. Increasing albumin concentration could serve as an effective preventive measure against AKI., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-23-1510/coif). All authors report that this study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant Nos. 82170066, 82270443, 81670275, 81670443), National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding (grant No. 2022-NHLHCRF-ZSYX-01), the International S&T cooperation program (grant No. 2013DFA31900), Major New Drug Creation Special Project (grant No. 2020ZX09201-012), and Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

The intestinal bacteria of longhorn beetles would be ideal targets for pest control and lignocellulosic resources by destroying or exploiting their cellulose-degrading function. This article aims to investigate the diversity and community structure of intestinal bacteria the oligophagous longhorn beetle Glenea cantor . Additionally, it seeks to identify the presence of lignocellulose-degrading bacteria in the gut, and explore their role in consuming host kapok trees Bombax malabaricum . In this study, the bacterial community from G. cantor was examined by Illumina sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) targeting the V3 and V4 regions. A total of 563,201 valid sequences and 814 OTUs were obtained. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria, and the dominant genera were Acinetobacter and Lactococcus. The analysis of microbial diversity revealed a high bacterial diversity in the samples, with the gut bacteria playing a crucial role in the physiological activities of the host, particularly, 9 genera of intestinal bacteria with cellulose degradation function were found, highlighting their vital role in cellulose degradation. Five strains of cellulose-degrading bacteria, belonging to the genus Pseudomonas, were obtained from the intestinal tract of G. cantor larvae using traditional isolation and culture techniques as well as 16S rDNA sequencing. Among these strains, A4 exhibited a cellulase activity of 94.42 ± 0.42 U/mL, while A5 displayed the highest filter paper enzyme activity of 127.46 ± 3.54 U/mL. These results offered valuable insights into potential targets for pest control through internal attack digestion and cellulose-degrading bacteria in longhorn beetles., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Su, Pan, Luo, Zheng, Lu and Wang.)

The causal relationships between plasma metabolites and cholelithiasis/cholecystitis risks remain elusive. Using two-sample Mendelian randomization, we found that genetic proxied plasma campesterol level showed negative correlation with the risk of both cholelithiasis and cholecystitis. Furthermore, the increased risk of cholelithiasis is correlating with the increased level of plasma campesterol. Lastly, genetic colocalization study showed that the leading SNP, rs4299376, which residing at the ABCG5/ABCG8 gene loci, was shared by plasma campesterol level and cholelithiasis, indicating that the aberrant transportation of plant sterol/cholesterol from the blood stream to the bile duct/gut lumen might be the key in preventing cholesterol gallstone formation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Social media use is shown to be linked to youth's e-cigarette use. However, less is known about the underlying mechanisms. This study examined the mediating roles of internalizing and externalizing problems in the association between youth's social media use and e-cigarette use, and the racial differences in the mediation association., Methods: The study sample included 4913 U.S. youth from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Waves 3-5 (2015-2019). Two weighted generalized structural equation models were conducted to examine the mediation pathways between youth's social media use (Wave 3) and past-30-day e-cigarette use (Wave 5) through internalizing and externalizing problems (Wave 4), respectively. Invariance tests were conducted to examine racial group differences., Results: Youth with high social media use frequency were more likely to use e-cigarettes (total effect: OR = 1.20, p < 0.001 in both internalizing and externalizing models). Internalizing and externalizing problems mediated the aforementioned associations (mediation proportions: 5.05% and 5.66%, respectively). The invariance tests indicated a significant difference between White and non-White groups (both ps < 0.001), where a larger proportion of mediation was found in the non-White group (12.22% for internalizing and 11.99% for externalizing) compared to their White counterparts (2.46% for internalizing and 3.17% for externalizing)., Conclusions: Mental health problems following social media use served as a risk factor for e-cigarette use among youth. Interventions aiming to improve youth's mental health could in turn temper e-cigarette use among youth social media users, and implementing tailored interventions in response to racial differences is warranted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no competing interests or conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, the effects on drying time (Y 1 ), the color difference (Y 2 ), unit energy consumption (Y 3 ), polysaccharide content (Y 4 ), rehydration ratio (Y 5 ), and allantoin content (Y 6 ) of yam slices were investigated under different drying temperatures (50-70 °C), slice thicknesses (2-10 mm), and radiation distances (80-160 mm). The optimal drying conditions were determined by applying the BP neural network wolf algorithm (GWO) model based on response surface methodology (RMS). All the above indices were significantly affected by drying conditions ( p < 0.05). The drying rate and effective water diffusion coefficient of yam slices accelerated with increasing temperature and decreasing slice thickness and radiation distance. The selection of lower temperature and slice thickness helped reduce the energy consumption and color difference. The polysaccharide content increased and then decreased with drying temperature, slice thickness, and radiation distance, and it was highest at 60 °C, 6 mm, and 120 mm. At 60 °C, lower slice thickness and radiation distance favored the retention of allantoin content. Under the given constraints (minimization of drying time, unit energy consumption, color difference, and maximization of rehydration ratio, polysaccharide content, and allantoin content), BP-GWO was found to have higher coefficients of determination ( R 2 = 0.9919 to 0.9983) and lower RMSEs (reduced by 61.34% to 80.03%) than RMS. Multi-objective optimization of BP-GWO was carried out to obtain the optimal drying conditions, as follows: temperature 63.57 °C, slice thickness 4.27 mm, radiation distance 91.39 mm, corresponding to the optimal indices, as follows: Y 1 = 133.71 min, Y 2 = 7.26, Y 3 = 8.54 kJ·h·kg -1 , Y 4 = 20.73 mg/g, Y 5 = 2.84 kg/kg, and Y 6 = 3.69 μg/g. In the experimental verification of the prediction results, the relative error between the actual and predicted values was less than 5%, proving the model's reliability for other materials in the drying technology process research to provide a reference.

Wide heterogeneity exists in cancer patients' survival, ranging from a few months to several decades. To accurately predict clinical outcomes, it is vital to build an accurate predictive model that relates the patients' molecular profiles with the patients' survival. With complex relationships between survival and high-dimensional molecular predictors, it is challenging to conduct nonparametric modeling and irrelevant predictors removing simultaneously. In this article, we build a kernel Cox proportional hazards semi-parametric model and propose a novel regularized garrotized kernel machine (RegGKM) method to fit the model. We use the kernel machine method to describe the complex relationship between survival and predictors, while automatically removing irrelevant parametric and nonparametric predictors through a LASSO penalty. An efficient high-dimensional algorithm is developed for the proposed method. Comparison with other competing methods in simulation shows that the proposed method always has better predictive accuracy. We apply this method to analyze a multiple myeloma dataset and predict the patients' death burden based on their gene expressions. Our results can help classify patients into groups with different death risks, facilitating treatment for better clinical outcomes., (© 2023 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Crane usage is pervasive on construction sites, however, it is associated with a notably high accident rate. The analyzing of crane accident risks is essential for accident prevention, control, and ensuring the safety of lifting operations. Hence, significant emphasis should be placed on understanding the interaction among various risk factors. This paper proposes a quantitative coupling method for human, machine, management, and environmental risk factors in crane accidents, leveraging Bayesian networks (BN) and the N-K model. Firstly, text mining technology and fault tree analysis are employed to analyze the causes of crane accidents and categorize the associate risk factors. Secondly, the types of risk coupling resulting from human, machine, management, and environmental risk factors are defined. Thirdly, the BN model is developed based on the analysis of crane accident risksand its N-K model. Fourthly, the parameters of the risk coupling nodes in the developed BN are determined based on the calculation results of the N-K model. Finally, for the risk coupling types with high coupling values and the first-level node and second-level node, the failure probability is analyzed through posterior probability and sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that factors related to man and management significantly impact crane accidents and warrant enhanced attention. The interplay among multiple risk factors significantly influences the probability of crane accidents, necessitating careful attention., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background and Objective: Numerous previous studies have assessed the prognostic role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (18F FDG PET) in patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC), but those results were inconsistent. The present study aims to determine the predictive value of 18F FDG PET in BTC patients via a meta-analysis., Methods: The underlying studies related to 18F FDG PET and BTC patients` outcomes were searched and identified in the online databases. The interested parameters include total lesion glycolysis (TLG), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), primary tumor and metastatic lymph node (LN) maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), as well as change of SUVmax (ΔSUVmax) during treatment. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were considered as the primary endpoints. Hazard ratio (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were defined as the effective measure and calculated by a pooled analysis. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plot, Bagg's and Egger's tests., Results: Totally, 23 studies involving 1478 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. After a pooled analysis, it revealed that a high SUVmax was significantly associated with a poor OS (HR:2.07, 95%CI: 1.74-2.46, P = 0.000) and DFS (HR: 2.28, 95%CI: 1.53-3.41, P = 0.000). In addition, an increased TLG level contributed to a shorter OS (HR:1.91, 95%CI: 1.26-2.90, P = 0.002) and DFS (HR: 4.34, 95%CI: 1.42-13.27, P = 0.01). Moreover, we confirmed that an elevated MTV was significantly associated with increased mortality (HR:2.04, 95%CI:1.26-3.31, P = 0.004) and disease relapse (HR: 3.88, 95%CI:1.25-12.09, P = 0.019) risks. Besides, the present study uncovered that increased ΔSUVmax could predict poor OS (HR:1.26, 95%CI:1.06-1.50, P = 0.008) instead of PFS (HR: 1.96, 95%CI: 0.82-4.72, P = 0.280). Lastly, we found that LN SUVmax did not link to OS (HR: 1.49, 95%CI: 0.83-2.68, P = 0.178). No obvious publication bias was detected in the present study., Conclusion: 18F FDG PET parameters, including SUVmax, TLG, MTV, and ΔSUVmax, could be applied as convenient and reliable factors for predicting BTC patients` outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests that uremic toxins, in particular trimethylamine-N-oxide(TMAO), indoxyl-sulfate(IS), and p-cresyl-sulfate(PCS), may associate with increased risk of cardiovascular events(CVe). However, whether uremic toxins increase after partial nephrectomy(PN) and their correlation with risk for CVe remains unknown., Methods: 100 patients managed with PN were retrospectively reviewed. TMAO/IS/PCS levels were examined by liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry. Renal-parenchymal-volume-preservation(RPVP) was estimated from CT scans. Predicted risks for CVe were obtained using the Framingham score. Linear regression assessed association between uremic toxins, GFR and risk of CVe. Logistic regression evaluated factors associated with post-PN TMAO., Results: TMAO, IS and PCS increased from 1.7, 3.7 and 3.5 μmol/L before PN to 3.6, 5.4 and 7.4 μmol/L at latest follow-up, respectively, while GFR declined from 102 to 93 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (all p<0.001). TMAO, IS and PCS levels all negatively correlated with GFR(all p<0.001). Predicted 10-year risk of CVe increased from 1.1% pre-PN to 1.7% post-PN(p<0.001), primarily due to increased age(p<0.001), blood pressure(p = 0.002) and total cholesterol(p = 0.003). TMAO(β = 0.038) and GFR (β = -0.02) were independent predictors for predicted 10-year CVe risk on multivariable-analysis. Increased TMAO was an early and sustained finding maintained through 5 years, unlike IS, PCS and eGFR. On multivariable analysis, increased pre-PN TMAO(OR = 2.79) and decreased RPVP(OR = 3.23) were identified as independent risk factors for higher post-PN TMAO, while ischemia type/duration failed to correlate., Conclusion: Uremic toxin levels increased after PN correlating with reduced GFR. Higher TMAO independently associated with greater predicted 10-year CVe risk. Parenchymal mass preserved rather than ischemia time or type associated with increased TMAO., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We report, for the first time, merely using a small amount of (0.039% w/w) Zn(II) instead of very high concentration (25%-50% w/w) of conventional cryoprotective agents (CPAs), i.e., glycerol, during the cryopreservation of red blood cells (RBCs) can lead to a comparable post-thaw recovery rate of ∼95% while avoiding the tedious gradient washout process for the removal of CPA afterward. The result is remarkable, since Zn(II) does not have the ice-controlling ability reported to be critical for CPA. It benefits from its moderate interaction with lipid molecules, facilitating the formation of small and dynamic lipid clusters. Consequently, the membrane fluidity is maintained, and the cells are resilient to osmotic and mechanical stresses during cryopreservation. This study first reports the ion-specific effect on stabilizing the cell membrane; meanwhile, reversibly tuning the structure of biological samples against injuries during the cooling and rewarming provides a new strategy for cryopreservation.

Background: A variety of parameters and diaphragmatic ultrasound in ventilator weaning has been studied extensively, and the findings yield inconsistent conclusions. The parasternal intercostal muscle holds important substantial respiratory reserve capacity when the central drive is enhanced, the predictive value of combining parasternal intercostal muscle ultrasound parameters with P0.1(airway occlusion pressure at 100 msec) in assessing ventilator weaning outcomes is still unknown., Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the predictive efficacy of parasternal intercostal muscle ultrasound in conjunction with P0.1 in determining weaning failure., Methods: We recruited patients who had been admitted to ICU and had been receiving mechanical ventilation for over two days. All patients underwent a half-hour spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) with low-level pressure support ventilation (PSV). They were positioned semi-upright for parasternal intercostal muscle ultrasound evaluations, including parasternal intercostal muscle thickness (PIMT), and parasternal intercostal muscle thickening fraction (PIMTF); P0.1 was obtained from the ventilator. Weaning failure was defined as the need for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation or re-intubation within 48 h post-weaning., Results: Of the 56 enrolled patients with a mean age of 63.04 ± 15.80 years, 13 (23.2%) experienced weaning failure. There were differences in P0.1 (P = .001) and PIMTF (P = .017) between the two groups, but also in patients with a diaphragm thickness ≥ 2 mm. The predictive threshold values were PIMTF ≥ 13.15% and P0.1 ≥ 3.9 cmH 2 O for weaning failure. The AUROC for predicting weaning failure was 0.721 for PIMTF, 0.792 for P0.1, and 0.869 for the combination of PIMTF and P0.1., Conclusions: The parasternal intercostal muscle thickening fraction and P0.1 are independently linked to weaning failure, especially in patients with normal diaphragm thickness. The combination of parasternal intercostal muscle thickening fraction and P0.1 can serve as a valuable tool for the precise clinical prediction of weaning outcomes., Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry website (ChiCTR2200065422)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests, (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Oxidizing species or radicals generated in water are of vital importance in catalysis, the environment, and biology. In addition to several related reactive oxygen species, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), we present a nontrapping chemical transformation pathway to track water radical cation (H 2 O +• ) species, whose formation is very sensitive to the conditioning environments, such as light irradiation, mechanical action, and gas/chemical introduction. We reveal that H 2 O +• can oxidize the 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) to the crucial epoxy hydroxylamine (HDMP=O) intermediate, which further reacts with the hydroxyl radical ( • OH) for the formation of the EPR-active sextet radical (DMPO=O • ). Interestingly, we uncover that H 2 O +• can react with dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP), 5-tert-butoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (BMPO), and α-phenyl-N- tert -butylnitrone (PBN) which contain a double-bond structure to produce corresponding derivatives as well. It is thus expected that both H 2 O +• and • OH are ubiquitous in nature and in various water-containing experimental systems. These findings provide a novel perspective on radicals for water redox chemistry.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) survival rates continue to improve, but the risk of developing a second primary malignancy (SPM) has also increased. The most common type of SPM observed after CRC is lung cancer. In this study, we explored the prognostic factors and clinical management decisions of patients with second primary lung cancer after colorectal cancer (SPLC-CRC). We identified the data of 1637 patients with SPLC-CRC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2015. Cox regression modeling was used to construct a nomogram for predicting the prognosis of SPLC-CRC patients. The Fine-Gray competing risk model was used to determine the association between factors and cancer-specific mortality. After this, survival analyses were performed to assess the benefit of each treatment method on overall survival (OS). According to a multivariate analysis, age, gender, surgery, and chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors for the first primary malignancy (FPM), whereas age, primary site, TNM stage, tumor size, and treatment were independent prognostic factors for the second primary malignancy (SPM). For the training cohort column chart as well as the validation cohort column chart, using the concordance index of OS, 0.7611 and 0.7605 were calculated. A Fine-Gray competing risk model and survival analysis showed that there is a significant correlation between the treatment of FPM and the improvement in SPM survival rates, FPM-diagnosed patients who undergo surgery in different pathological stages exhibit higher overall survival rates, Patients in stages II, III, and IV benefit from combined surgery and chemotherapy. SPM surgery (P < 0.001, HR = 0.230, 95%CI 0.032-0.426) was a protective factor for lung cancer-specific mortality. Patients with local, regional, and even distant metastases may benefit more from SPM surgery (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). In patients who did not undergo SPM surgery, radiotherapy (P < 0.001) and chemotherapy (P = 0.008) improved OS. Treatment strategy for the first tumor affects the prognosis of the second tumor significantly. SPLC-CRC is treated primarily with surgery, regardless of whether the patient has metastases, as surgery may improve outcomes. In the event that a patient is unable to undergo surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy should be considered. Treatment decisions for SPLC-CRC patients may be influenced by these findings., (© 2023. Italian Society of Surgery (SIC).)

Given that there is limited evidence concerning the psychometric properties of DASS-21 when applied to primary school students, the present study undertook a comprehensive exploration of the psychometric evidence supporting the use of the DASS-21 within this demographic. The research comprised three studies. In Study 1, the basic psychometric properties of internal consistency and construct validity were examined. A total of 3138 primary school students from three provinces in mainland China participated. The internal reliability of the overall scale was 0.93, and for all the subscales, it was higher than 0.80. Construct validity was partially supported. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses upheld the factorial validity of the original three-factor structure. While convergent validity was established, the results showed unsatisfactory discriminant validity. The bifactor model showed that DASS-21 raw scores predominantly indicated the general factor, evidenced by the high explained common variance and omega-hierarchical values. However, the contributions from the three specific factors were minimal, with their omega hierarchical values all below 0.15. In Study 2, a longitudinal design was adopted, tracking 1366 primary school students from Southwest China over a three-month interval. The results further confirmed that the DASS-21 exhibited scalar time-invariance. The latent mean analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the latent means of depression, anxiety, and stress between Time 1 and Time 2. In Study 3, which included 364 college students and 483 enterprise workers, the results demonstrated that the DASS-21 had measurement invariance across different populations. The latent mean analysis further confirmed that, in terms of the latent mean of all three subscales, both college students and enterprise workers had significantly higher scores than primary school students. Overall, the findings indicated that the DASS-21 is a suitable tool for screening schoolchildren for general psychological distress, but it is not suitable for discerning distinct negative mood state disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Quadrastichus mendeli Kim is one of the most important parasitoids of Leptocybe invasa Fisher et La Salle, which is an invasive gall-making pest in eucalyptus plantations in the world. Gall-inducing insects live within plant tissues and induce tumor-like growths that provide the insects with food, shelter, and protection from natural enemies. Empirical evidences showed that sensory genes play a key role in the host location of parasitoids. So far, what kind of sensory genes regulate parasitoids to locate gall-inducing insects has not been uncovered. In this study, sensory genes in the antenna and abdomen of Q. mendeli were studied using high-throughput sequencing. In total, 181,543 contigs was obtained from the antenna and abdomen transcriptome of Q. mendeli. The major sensory genes (chemosensory proteins, CSPs; gustatory receptors, GRs; ionotropic receptors, IRs; odorant binding proteins, OBPs; odorant receptors, ORs; and sensory neuron membrane proteins, SNMPs) were identified, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with these genes from Q. mendeli and other model insect species. The gene co-expression network constructed by WGCNA method is robust and reliable. There were 10,314 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and among them, 99 genes were DEGs. A comprehensive sequence resource with desirable quality was built by comparative transcriptome of the antenna and abdomen of Q. mendeli, enriching the genomic platform of Q. mendeli., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy and toxicity of nebulized polymyxin monotherapy and combined intravenous and nebulized polymyxin for the treatment of VAP caused by CR-GNB. Additionally, among patients treated with nebulized polymyxin monotherapy, we compared the clinical efficacy and toxicity of polymyxin B and polymyxin E. Methods: This study was a single-center, retrospective study. Included patients received aerosolized polymyxin for at least 72 h with or without intravenous polymyxin for the management of CR-GNB VAP. The primary endpoint was clinical cure at the end of polymyxin therapy. Secondary endpoints included AKI incidence, time of bacteria-negative conversion, duration of MV after inclusion, length of stay in ICU, and all-cause ICU mortality. Results: 39 patients treated with nebulized polymyxin monotherapy were assigned to the NL-polymyxin group. 39 patients treated with nebulized polymyxin combined with intravenous use of polymyxin were assigned to the IV-NL-polymyxin group. Among the NL-polymyxin group, 19 patients were treated with polymyxin B and 20 with polymyxin E. The clinical baseline characteristics before admission to the ICU and before nebulization of polymyxin were similar between the two groups. No differences were found between the two study groups in terms of microorganism distribution, VAP cure rate, time of bacteria-negative conversion, duration of MV after inclusion, length of stay in ICU and all-cause ICU mortality. Similarly, survival analysis did not differ between the two groups (χ 2 = 3.539, p = 0.06). AKI incidence was higher in the IV-NL-polymyxin group. When comparing the clinical efficacy and toxicity to polymyxin B and polymyxin E, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of VAP cure rate, time of bacteria-negative conversion, duration of MV after inclusion, length of stay in ICU, SOFA score, CPIS, AKI incidence and all-cause ICU mortality. Conclusion: Our study found that nebulized polymyxin monotherapy was non-inferior to combination therapy with intravenous polymyxin in treating CR-GNB-VAP. Furthermore, we observed no differences in clinical efficacy or related toxic side effects between polymyxin B and polymyxin E during nebulized polymyxin therapy as monotherapy. However, future prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these findings., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wu, Zhang, Cao, Wang, Sun and Zheng.)

Using hot air drying (HAD) and combined infrared hot air drying (IR-HAD) test devices, the drying kinetics, unit energy consumption, color difference values, rehydration rate, microstructure, and changes in polysaccharide and allantoin contents of yam slices were examined at various temperatures (50 °C, 55 °C, 60 °C, 65 °C, and 70 °C). The findings demonstrated that each of the aforementioned parameters was significantly impacted by the drying temperature. IR-HAD dries quicker and takes less time to dry than HAD. The D e ff of IR-HAD is higher than that of HAD at the same temperature and increases with the increase in temperature. The activation energy required for IR-HAD (26.35 kJ/mol) is lower than that required for HAD (32.53 kJ/mol). HAD uses more energy per unit than IR-HAD by a factor of greater than 1.3. Yam slices treated with IR-HAD had higher microscopic porosity, better rehydration, lower color difference values, and higher polysaccharide and allantoin levels than HAD-treated yam slices. The IR-HAD at 60 °C had the greatest comprehensive rating after a thorough analysis of the dried yam slices using the coefficient of variation method. Three statistical indicators were used to evaluate six thin-layer drying models, and the Weibull model was most applicable to describe the variation of drying characteristics of yam slices.

Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, gastric cancer (GC) remains a refractory disease, which limits overall survival. Therefore, it is key to identify novel targets to develop more effective and precise treatment. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) serve essential roles in the process of various human cancers. Through analyzing GSE83521 dataset, the present study identified a novel circRNA derived from ribosomal protein S19 (circRPS19), which was considered a potential treatment target for GC. Results of RT‑qPCR indicated that circRPS19 was upregulated in GC compared with normal gastric epithelial cells. Loss‑of function assays revealed that silencing of circRPS19 suppressed proliferation and aerobic glycolysis but increased apoptosis of GC cells. circRPS19 upregulated ubiquitin‑specific processing protease 7 (USP7) expression by sponging microRNA (miR)‑125a‑5p. circRPS19 stabilized hexokinase 2 (HK2) protein by USP7‑mediated deubiquitination of HK2. In vivo experiments confirmed that circRPS19 promoted GC progression and aerobic glycolysis. Taken together, circRPS19 induced aerobic glycolysis of GC cells by stabilizing HK2 protein via the miR‑125a‑5p/USP7 axis and thus promoting the progression of GC. These findings suggested that circRPS19 served a critical role in the progression of GC and may be a novel therapeutic target for GC.

Background: Aquaporins (AQPs) maintain fluid homeostasis in the colon. The role of colonic AQPs in the pathophysiology of functional constipation (FC) remains largely unknown., Aim: To explore variations in aquaporins and investigate their underlying mechanisms., Methods: Colonic biopsies were collected from patients with FC and healthy controls. The expression and localization of AQPs were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot analysis, and immunofluorescence assays. Furthermore, osmotic pressure-induced cell model was used in vitro to investigate the potential relationship between AQP8 and osmotic pressure, and to reveal the underlying mechanisms., Results: Upregulation of AQP3 and AQP8, and downregulation of AQP1, AQP7, AQP9, AQP10, and AQP11 were observed in the patients with functional constipation. Furthermore, cellular translocation of AQP8 from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane was observed in patients with FC. Mechanistically, the increase in osmotic pressure could activate the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, and subsequently promote the upregulation and translocation of AQP8., Conclusion: Upregulation of AQP8 and AQP3, and translocation of AQP8 were observed in colon biopsies from patients with FC. The p38 and JNK MAPK signaling pathways are involved in the regulation of osmotic pressure-induced AQP8 variation., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None declared., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim is to evaluate the effect of a novel 14-day fasting regimen on the balance between skeletal muscle and adipose tissue composition which might associate with inflammatory factors. Our analysis includes basic physical examinations, clinical laboratory analysis, bioelectrical impedance and biochemical analytic assessments of healthy volunteers., Methods: Eight healthy subjects were randomly selected from a pool of volunteers to undergo a continual dietary deprivation (CDD) regimen. Individuals were assigned to take Flexible Abrosia (FA, prebiotic combination) plus appropriate mineral supplement of potassium and magnesium at 3 mealtime every day to prevent potential injury from starved intestinal flora and avoid spasms of smooth muscle due to hunger. Physical and medical examinations were conducted and blood samples were collected at following timepoints: before CDD as self-control (0D), day 7 and day 14 during fasting, and 7-21days and/or 2~3mo after refeeding., Results: The combination of FA and mineral supplements significantly decreased self-reported physical response of starvation, with tolerable hunger-mediated sensations experienced during CDD. Bioelectrical and biochemical results indicated significant reduction in both muscle lean and fat mass on day 7. Meanwhile, markers related to fat composition consistently decreased during and after CDD. In addition, most biochemical marker levels, including serum proteins, reached their inflection points at the 7th day of CDD as compared to the control measurements. Levels of these factors started to show a relative plateau, or reversed direction upon the 14th day of CDD. The exceptions of above factors were myostatin and complement protein C3, which remained at lower concentrations in the blood throughout CDD, and were unable to fully recover toward baseline levels even after 3 months' refeeding., Conclusion: Our results indicated that human subjects undergoing prolonged dietary restriction were well protected by FA and mineral ions from gut injury or physical discomfort of starvation. Most factors showed a relative plateau response at the end of 14D-CDD. The muscle tissues were well preserved during prolonged fasting, and an improved protein/lipid ratio was observed. Upon refeeding, constant lower levels of myostatin and complement C3 were maintained after CDD implies a long-term beneficial effect in dealing with anti-aging and inflammation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Hao, Fu, Sun, Yu, Min, Wei, Huang, Zhao, Wang, Wang, Li, Zheng, Zhang, Xu, Wang and Lee.)

A drying temperature precision control system was studied to provide technical support for developing and further proving the superiority of the variable-temperature drying process. In this study, an improved neural network (INN) proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller (INN-PID) was designed. The dynamic performance of the PID, neural network PID (NN-PID) and INN-PID controllers was simulated with unit step signals as an input in MATLAB software. A drying temperature precision control system was set up in an air impingement dryer, and the drying temperature control experiment was carried out to verify the performance of the three controllers. Linear variable-temperature (LVT) and constant-temperature drying experiments of cantaloupe slices were carried out based on the system. Moreover, the experimental results were evaluated comprehensively with the brightness ( L value), colour difference (Δ E ), vitamin C content, chewiness, drying time and energy consumption (EC) as evaluation indexes. The simulation results show that the INN-PID controller outperforms the other two controllers in terms of control accuracy and regulation time. In the drying temperature control experiment at 50 °C-55 °C, the peak time of the INN-PID controller is 237.37 s, the regulation time is 134.91 s and the maximum overshoot is 4.74%. The INN-PID controller can quickly and effectively regulate the temperature of the inner chamber of the air impingement dryer. Compared with constant-temperature drying, LVT is a more effective drying mode as it ensures the quality of the material and reduces the drying time and EC. The drying temperature precision control system based on the INN-PID controller meets the temperature control requirements of the variable-temperature drying process. This system provides practical and effective technical support for the variable-temperature drying process and lays the foundation for further research. The LVT drying experiments of cantaloupe slices also show that variable-temperature drying is a better process than constant-temperature drying and is worthy of further study to be applied in production.

Purpose: To compare the effects of remimazolam and dexmedetomidine on early postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in aged gastric cancer patients., Methods: From June to December 2022, 104 elderly patients (aged 65-80 years) received laparoscopic radical resection of gastric cancer at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. Using the random number table approach, the patients were separated into three groups: remimazolam (Group R), dexmedetomidine (Group D), and saline (Group C). The primary outcome was the incidence of POCD, and secondary outcomes included TNF-α and S-100β protein concentrations, hemodynamics, VAS scores, anesthesia recovery indicators, and the occurrence of adverse events within 48 h postoperatively., Results: At 3 and 7 days after surgery, there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of POCD, the MMSE and MoCA scores between groups R and D ( p  > 0.05). However, compared to the saline group, both groups had higher MMSE and MoCA scores and decreased incidences of POCD. These differences were statistically significant ( p  < 0.05). Between group R and group D, there were no statistically significant changes ( p  > 0.05) in the levels of TNF-α and S-100β protein at the three time points (at the end of the surgery, 1 day later, and 3 days later). Even though neither group's concentration of the two factors was as high as that of the saline group, the differences were statistically significant ( p  < 0.05). At all three time points-following induction (T 2 ), 30 min into the operation (T 3 ), and at the conclusion of the surgery (T 4 )-the heart rate and blood pressure in group R were greater than those in groups D and C. Statistics showed that the differences were significant ( p  < 0.05). The incidence of intraoperative hypotension was highest in group D and lowest in group R ( p  < 0.05). The dose of propofol and remifentanil, group C > group R > group D. Extubation and PACU residence times did not differ statistically significantly ( p  > 0.05) between the three groups. There was no significant difference in VAS scores between groups R and D after 24 h postoperatively ( p  > 0.05), although both had lower scores than group C, and the difference was statistically significant ( p  < 0.05). The VAS scores between the three groups at 72 h (T 6 ) and 7 days (T 7 ) were not statistically significant ( p  > 0.05). Adverse reactions such as respiratory depression, hypotension, bradycardia, agitation, drowsiness, and nausea and vomiting had the lowest incidence in group R and the highest incidence in group C ( p  < 0.05)., Conclusion: Remimazolam is similarly beneficial as dexmedetomidine in lowering the incidence of early POCD in aged patients after radical gastric cancer resection, probably due to reduced inflammatory response., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Liao, Min, Wu and Hu.)

The adoption of the internet, social media, and e-cigarettes are on the rise among U.S. youth. Uses of social media and online platforms increase the probability for youth to encounter e-cigarette advertisements. Departing from this line of reasoning, we examine the underlying mechanisms of how online e-cigarettes exposure promotes youth's e-cigarette use. Drawing on insights from the social construction of risk model, this study looks at how perceived social norms and risk perception mediate the link between online e-cigarette advertisement exposure and e-cigarette use. Youth aged 12-17 from the Public Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Waves 2-4 (2014-2018) were included (N = 6,067). Controlling for demographic and other known risk factors for e-cigarette use, respondents who had been exposed to online e-cigarette ads at Wave 2 perceived higher levels of positive social norms of e-cigarette use at Wave 3 ( β  = 0.13, p < .001) which was associated with lower e-cigarette risk perception at Wave 3 ( β  = -0.22, p < .001). Lower e-cigarette risk perception at Wave 3 resulted in a higher likelihood of e-cigarette use at Wave 4 (AOR = 0.51, p < .001). Online e-cigarettes ads exposure at Wave 2 predicted e-cigarette use at Wave 4 (AOR = 1.87, p < .001). The results indicate that norm perception associated with online e-cigarettes ads may twist youth's e-cigarette risk perception that is associated with subsequent usage. Interventions to curb youth's e-cigarette use can target social norms of e-cigarette use and restrict e-cigarette advertisement exposure to youth.

The paper discusses the implementation of Hong Kong's tailor-made sewage surveillance programme led by the Government, which has demonstrated how an efficient and well-organized sewage surveillance system can complement conventional epidemiological surveillance to facilitate the planning of intervention strategies and actions for combating COVID-19 pandemic in real-time. This included the setting up of a comprehensive sewerage network-based SARS-CoV-2 virus surveillance programme with 154 stationary sites covering 6 million people (or 80 % of the total population), and employing an intensive monitoring programme to take samples from each stationary site every 2 days. From 1 January to 22 May 2022, the daily confirmed case count started with 17 cases per day on 1 January to a maximum of 76,991 cases on 3 March and dropped to 237 cases on 22 May. During this period, a total of 270 "Restriction-Testing Declaration" (RTD) operations at high-risk residential areas were conducted based on the sewage virus testing results, where over 26,500 confirmed cases were detected with a majority being asymptomatic. In addition, Compulsory Testing Notices (CTN) were issued to residents, and the distribution of Rapid Antigen Test kits was adopted as alternatives to RTD operations in areas of moderate risk. These measures formulated a tiered and cost-effective approach to combat the disease in the local setting. Some ongoing and future enhancement efforts to improve efficacy are discussed from the perspective of wastewater-based epidemiology. Forecast models on case counts based on sewage virus testing results were also developed with R 2 of 0.9669-0.9775, which estimated that up to 22 May 2022, around 2,000,000 people (~67 % higher than the total number of 1,200,000 reported to the health authority, due to various constraints or limitations) had potentially contracted the disease, which is believed to be reflecting the real situation occurring in a highly urbanized metropolis like Hong Kong., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: AST-3424 is a novel specific aldo-keto reductase 1C3 (AKR1C3) prodrug that releases a DNA alkylating reagent upon reduction by AKR1C3. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AST-3424 in patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) model and orthotopic model against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Materials and Method: PDTX models derived from three HCC patients and orthotopic mice models using HepG2 cells were developed. The mice were treated with AST-3424 alone or combined with other drugs (oxaliplatin, apatinib, sorafenib and elemene in PDTX models, oxaliplatin and 5- fluorouracil in orthotopic models). The tumor volume and weight, as well as the mice weight were assessed. The liver tumor and transplanted tumor were removed for histological, immunohistochemical and Western blot detection in orthotopic model experiments., Results: AST-3424 could inhibit tumor growth in HCC PDTX models and orthotopic models, with no difference in safety compared with other marketed drugs, and the drug combination did not increase toxicity. The inhibitory effect of combination treatment was more obvious than which used alone. The reduction of AKR1C3 expression was negatively correlated with AST-3424 dose., Conclusion: AST-3424 had a promising effect against HCC in PDTX model and orthotopic model with good safety. It could promote the sensitivity of other drugs without increasing toxicity. Clinical trials are warranted to further certify its antitumor effect and safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study combined an artificial neural network (ANN) with a genetic algorithm (GA) to obtain the model and optimal process parameters of drying-assisted walnut breaking. Walnuts were dried at different IR temperatures (40 °C, 45 °C, 50 °C, and 55 °C) and air velocities (1, 2, 3, and 4 m/s) to different moisture contents (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) by using air-impingement technology. Subsequently, the dried walnuts were broken in different loading directions (sutural, longitudinal, and vertical). The drying time (DT), specific energy consumption (SEC), high kernel rate (HR), whole kernel rate (WR), and shell-breaking rate (SR) were determined as response variables. An ANN optimized by a GA was applied to simulate the influence of IR temperature, air velocity, moisture content, and loading direction on the five response variables, from which the objective functions of DT, SEC, HR, WR, and SR were developed. A GA was applied for the simultaneous maximization of HR, WR, and SR and minimization of DT and SEC to determine the optimized process parameters. The ANN model had a satisfactory prediction ability, with the coefficients of determination of 0.996, 0.998, 0.990, 0.991, and 0.993 for DT, SEC, HR, WR, and SR, respectively. The optimized process parameters were found to be 54.9 °C of IR temperature, 3.66 m/s of air velocity, 10.9% of moisture content, and vertical loading direction. The model combining an ANN and a GA was proven to be an effective method for predicting and optimizing the process parameters of walnut breaking. The predicted values under optimized process parameters fitted the experimental data well, with a low relative error value of 2.51-3.96%. This study can help improve the quality of walnut breaking, processing efficiency, and energy conservation. The ANN modeling and GA multiobjective optimization method developed in this study provide references for the process optimization of walnut and other similar commodities.

As an economical and environment-friendly material, hydrothermal carbonation carbon (HTCC) has been widely used in the field of adsorption and catalysis. Previous studies mainly used glucose as raw material to prepare HTCC. Cellulose in biomass can be further hydrolyzed into carbohydrate; however, there are few reports on the direct preparation of HTCC from biomass and the relevant synthesis mechanism is unclear. In this study, HTCC with efficient photocatalytic performance was prepared from reed straw using dilute acid etching under hydrothermal conditions and was used for the degradation of tetracycline (TC). The mechanism of photodegradation of TC by HTCC was systematically elucidated through various characterization techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This study provides a new perspective on the preparation of green photocatalysts and demonstrates their promising application in environmental remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC) is a group of increasingly prevalent opportunistic pathogens that cause a variety of life-threatening nosocomial infections, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study assessed the differences between pneumonia- and non-pneumonia-related ABC bacteremia and possible independent risk factors for 30-day mortality., Methods: The clinical data of ICU patients diagnosed with ABC bacteremia at a tertiary care hospital from January 2009 to December 2020 were collected, and sorted into groups of ABC bacteremia with and without pneumonia., Results: Significant changes in the incidence of ABC bacteremia and antibiotic resistance were observed over the 12-year study. Compared with nonpneumonia-related ABC bacteremia, pneumonia-related ABC bacteremia was associated with a higher rate of hypertension, less prior tigecycline use, more carbapenem-resistant (CR) strains, and a higher 30-day mortality rate. In multivariate analysis, immunosuppression, higher APACHE II score, and SOFA score were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality. Moreover, the risk of death was 1.919 times higher in the pneumonia-related group., Conclusions: Although pneumonia-related ABC bacteremia had worse outcomes, it was not an independent risk factor for death statistically. Immunosuppression and disease severity levels increased the risks of death in ICU patients with ABC bacteremia., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A major challenge in communicating health-related information is the involvement of multiple complex systems from the creation of the information to the sources and channels of dispersion to the information users themselves. To date, public health communications approaches have often not adequately accounted for the complexities of these systems to the degree necessary to have maximum impact. The virality of COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation has brought to light the need to consider these system complexities more extensively. Unaided, it is difficult for humans to see and fully understand complex systems. Luckily, there are a range of systems approaches and methods, such as systems mapping and systems modeling, that can help better elucidate complex systems. Using these methods to better characterize the various systems involved in communicating public health-related information can lead to the development of more tailored, precise, and proactive communications. Proceeding in an iterative manner to help design, implement, and adjust such communications strategies can increase impact and leave less opportunity for misinformation and disinformation to spread.