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Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a pathway designed to improve the care of surgical patients and achieve early recovery. The clinical outcomes and usage of key elements of ERAS pathways in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) need further reanalysis. This article aims to provide an overview of the latest clinical outcomes and current usage of key elements of ERAS pathways in TJA. Methods We undertook a systematic review of the PubMed, OVID, and EMBASE databases in February 2022. Studies investigating the clinical outcomes and usage of key elements of ERAS in TJA were included. The components of successful ERAS programs and their usage were further determined and discussed. Results Twenty‐four studies involving 216,708 patients assessed ERAS pathways for TJA. A total of 95.8% (23/24) of studies reported a reduced length of stay (LOS), followed by reduce overall opioid consumption or pain (87.5% [7/8]), save costs (85.7% [6/7]), improvements in patient‐reported outcomes or functional recovery (60% [6/10]), and reduced incidence of complications (50% [5/10]). In addition, preoperative patient education (79.2% [19/24]), anesthetic protocol (54.2% [13/24]), use of local anesthetics for infiltration analgesia or nerve blocks (79.2% [19/24]), perioperative oral analgesia (66.7% [16/24]), perioperative surgical factors including reduced use of tourniquets and drains (41.7% [10/24]), use of tranexamic acid (41.7% [10/24]) and early mobilization (100% [24/24]) were contemporary comparatively “active” components of ERAS. Conclusions ERAS for TJA has favorable clinical outcomes in terms of reducing LOS and overall pain, saving costs, accelerating functional recovery, and reducing complications, although the evidence is still low in quality. In the current clinical scenario, only some “active” components of the ERAS program are widely used.

Extensive studies have discussed the economic and welfare effects of social pensions worldwide, while scant attention has been paid to their nutritional effects, especially in emerging economies. Using multitopic longitudinal survey data of households and individuals in Kyrgyzstan covering four waves of 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019, this study aims to examine the impact of an old‐age pension on the nutritional outcomes of the elderly and shed light on their underlying mechanisms. Our empirical identification rests on a propensity score matching with difference‐in‐differences estimation design to address the endogeneity problem of receiving an old‐age pension. Overall, the results indicate that receiving an old‐age pension has a significant and negative impact on body mass index and the probability of being overweight for males, while no significant impact of the old‐age pension has been observed for females. Receiving an old‐age pension has no significant effect on expenditure of food consumption, calorie intake, and macronutrient intake, while it significantly reduces the ratio of protein intake to total calorie intake. We also observe significant heterogeneity in the nutritional effect of an old‐age pension across various education levels and income levels; the negative nutritional effect is more salient for elderly individuals who are relatively poor or who have lower education. Our findings provide profound implications for policies targeting improving the nutritional status of rural residents in emerging economies through the implementation of the old‐age pension [EconLit Citations: H55, I15, I38]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural production outsourcing, a new means of agricultural production, can optimise the allocation of resources, reduce agricultural production costs, and improve agricultural productivity. However, farmers' outsourcing behaviours are strongly interfered with by many factors such as economics, technology and institutions. Using a farmer-level data set from 2014 to 2018 in China, we examine the effects of the minimum wage increase on rice farmers' production outsourcing behaviours. Our study relies on a Logit regression framework and uses the control function (C.F.) approach to address potential endogeneity concerns. Results show that the minimum wage increase significantly reduces the probability of farmers conducting production outsourcing. We also examine the heterogeneous effects of the minimum wage increase, and find that compared with other outsourcing services, the adverse effects on harvesting outsourcing are the strongest; the negative effects on production outsourcing are stronger for rice farmers with higher education. Our results provide new insights into understanding how labour regulation affects labour division in agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acer L. species are well known as ornamental trees due to their colourful leaves in autumn season. Acer pictum subsp. mono (Maxim.) H. Ohashi (APM) and Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maximowicz) Wesmael (ATG) form leaves with completely different colours in autumn, yellow and red, respectively. In response to this phenomenon, we investigated the metabolic regulation of APM and ATG in different seasons by combining metabolomics, ionomics, the antioxidant system and pigment content. The results showed that the process of senescence and discolouration exists in leaves of different Acer species, and the regulatory strategy shows species specificity. Compared with green leaves, the accumulation of primary metabolites in autumn leaves of APM was extensively depleted, chlorophyll content was decreased, and antioxidant enzymes and C6C3C6 type phenolic compounds synergistically enhanced the antioxidant capacity of plants to cope with senescence. Carotenoid content was raised, which together with phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, rutin) provides the leaves with a yellow colour. The response of chlorophyll and the antioxidant system in autumn leaves of ATG is consistent with that of APM, while sugar content increases. The increased anthocyanin content in autumn leaves of ATG explains the transition of leaves from green to the red colour, which may be accompanied by the combined effect of elements (Fe, Zn, Mn) and isoflavones. This study provides a reference for the study of colouration mechanism and seasonal adaptation in Acer L. species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active contour based methods are effective models for image segmentation. However, they always suffer from the limited performance due to the presence of noise and intensity inhomogeneity. To solve this problem, a kernel metric induced local image fitting (KLIF) variational model is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a kernel metric induced local fitting image (KLFI) is introduced by minimising a kernel metric based energy. The combination of the kernel metric and the local fitting image enables the model to be more robust to the noise and intensity inhomogeneity. And then, using the KLFI, a variational level set model that is a squared l2 distance between the KLFI and the original image is constructed. Two regularisation terms are employed in the model to keep the level set function to be stable during the evolution. At last, an alternating iterative algorithm combining with fixed‐point iteration and gradient descent of three‐step time‐splitting is introduced to solve the proposed model. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed model for image segmentation in the presence of noise and intensity inhomogeneity, and demonstrate the competitive performance over several state‐of‐the‐art variational models in term of accuracy and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric peroxides, especially hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), are essential oxidants. The peroxide concentration is closely related to the extent of OH radicals and the O3 cycle in the tropospheric atmospheric chemistry. However, only a few studies have investigated their atmospheric concentrations in China because of inadequacies in the measurement techniques or higher costs of analytical instruments. Therefore, it is essential to design a suitable analysis method of peroxides with higher sensitivity, lower detection limit, and low cost. In view of that, this study investigated the optimum analysis conditions of two H2O2 analytical techniques: the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection using two-enzyme catalysis of horseradishperoxidase (HRP method) and Hemin (Hemin method). Furthermore, these two analysis methods were systematically compared in terms of detection limit, calibration curve, precision, accuracy, and applicability for the first time. The findings showed that the HRP method had a lower detection limit, higher sensitivity, and better applicability for detecting H2O2 and methyl hydroperoxide (MHP) than the Hemin method. Moreover, the HRP method is better suitable for H2O2 and MHP detection, which requires low detection limits and high sensitivity. Besides this, the Hemin method is inexpensive and is more suitable for detecting hydroxyl alkyl peroxides (C ≥ 3). The atmospheric concentrations (average) of H2O2 and MHP were 0.60 ± 0.37 ppb and 0.081 ± 0.039 ppb, respectively, as determined by the HRP method. Importantly, atmospheric peroxide concentrations were higher on sunny days than on cloudy days in Beijing in September 2016. H2O2 concentrations showed a diurnal variation with the lowest value in the morning and two peaks at 13:00–17:00. In contrast, MHP concentrations were lowest in the morning and highest after 17:00. Photochemical reactions were responsible for the production of H2O2 and MHP. The reactions of O3 and olefins emitted by motor vehicles also caused H2O2 concentration to increase during the evening rush hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP), this study investigates the effects of minimum wages on labour market returns for rural migrants in China and sheds light on the potential underlying mechanisms of these effects. An instrumental variable estimation is used to address the endogeneity problem of minimum wages on labour market returns. Our empirical findings indicate that minimum wages have positive effects on migrants' wages. Specifically, we observe higher effects for women and migrants who have higher education levels. Regarding the possible mechanisms through which minimum wages influence migrants' labour market returns, we find that minimum wages tend to increase rural migrants' working time but have no significant effects on allowances related to work. We could not obtain conclusive results for social insurance due to its potential endogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstitution of control architecture creates a great challenge for distributed drive electric vehicles (DDEV), due to the emergence of a new distributed driving strategy. To this end, a novel distributed control architecture is proposed in this paper for integrated control of active front steering (AFS) system and direct yaw moment (DYC) system. First, a multi-agent system (MAS) is employed to construct a general framework, where AFS and DYC act as agents that work together to improve vehicle lateral stability and simultaneously reduce workloads of drivers during path tracking. The cooperative control strategies of two agents are obtained through Pareto-optimality theory to ensure optimal control performance of AFS and DYC. Then, on the basis of dynamic interaction between agents, terminal constraints, including terminal cost function and terminal input with local static feedback, are designed to guarantee the asymptotic stability of the close-loop system. Finally, virtual simulations are conducted to evaluate the proposed controller. The results indicate that the proposed control architecture can effectively preserve vehicle stability and reduce workloads of drivers, especially for the inexperienced driver. Furthermore, the hardware-in-loop (HIL) test results also demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To plan long-term prevention strategies and develop tailored intervention activities, it is important to understand the socio-demographic characteristics of the subpopulations at high risk of developing chronic diseases. This study aimed to examine the socio-demographic characteristics associated with multiple lifestyle risk factors and their clustering. Methods We conducted a simple random sampling survey to assess lifestyle risk factors in three districts of Hangzhou, China between 2008 and 2009. A two-step cluster analysis was used to identify different health-related lifestyle clusters based on tobacco use, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and out-of-home eating. Multinomial logistic regression was used to model the association between socio-demographic factors and lifestyle clusters. Results A total of 2016 eligible people (977 men and 1039 women, ages 18-64 years) completed the survey. Three distinct clusters were identified from the cluster analysis: an unhealthy (UH) group (25.7%), moderately healthy (MH) group (31.1%), and healthy (H) group (43.1%). UH group was characterised by a high prevalence of current daily smoking, a moderate or low level of PA, low FV consumption with regard to the frequency or servings, and more occurrences of eating out. H group was characterised by no current daily smoking, a moderate level of PA, high FV consumption, and the fewest times of eating out. MH group was characterised by no current daily smoking, a low or high level of PA, and an intermediate level of FV consumption and frequency of eating out. Men were more likely than women to have unhealthy lifestyles. Adults aged 50-64 years were more likely to live healthy lifestyles. Adults aged 40-49 years were more likely to be in the UH group. Adults whose highest level of education was junior high school or below were more likely to be in the UH group. Adults with a high asset index were more likely to be in the MH group. Conclusions This study suggests that Chinese urban people who are middle-aged, men, and less educated are most likely to be part of the cluster with a high-risk profile. Those groups will contribute the most to the future burden of major chronic disease and should be targeted for early prevention programs.

Carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a trans-membrane multifunctional cell adhesion molecule associated with tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, invasion, and migration during tumor development. In the present study, we evaluated serum CEACAM1 level in osteosarcoma patients to explore its diagnostic and prognostic value for this particular malignancy. Sera from 113 patients with primary osteosarcoma, 98 patients with benign bone tumors and 126 healthy controls were obtained. Serum CEACAM1 level was measured with ELISA and correlation with clinicopathological characteristics was further analyzed. Receiver operating curves (ROC), Kaplan-Meier curves, and log-rank analyses as well as Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate diagnostic and prognostic significance. The results revealed that serum CEACAM1 level was significantly higher in osteosarcoma patients compared to benign bone tumors and healthy controls (455.2 ± 179.9 vs 287.4 ± 103.2, 260.8 ± 109.7 pg/ml, respectively). Osteosarcoma patients with larger tumors, later-tumor stages, low tumor grades, and distant metastases had much higher CEACAM1 compared to those with smaller tumors, earlier tumor stages, high tumor grades and non-distant metastases (P < 0.05 for all). Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that high serum CEACAM1 level was an independent risk factor for distant metastases (OR = 3.02, 95%CI 1.65–4.17). To distinguish osteosarcoma patients from those with benign bone tumor and healthy controls, ROC/AUC analysis indicated an AUC of 0.81 (sensitivity 0.61; specificity 0.89) and an AUC of 0.77 (sensitivity 0.57; specificity 0.92), respectively. Osteosarcoma patients with higher CEACAM1 had relatively lower survival compared to those with low CEACAM1 (P < 0.01), and multivariate analyses for overall survival revealed that high serum CEACAM1 level was an independent prognostic factor for osteosarcoma (HR = 1.56, 95%CI 1.23–3.28). The present study suggested that elevated serum CEACAM1 level might be a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for osteosarcoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common female malignant tumor. Previous studies have suggested a big incidence disparity among different cities in China. The present work selected a typical city, Hangzhou, to study BC incidence disparity within the city. Methods: Totally, 8784 female breast cancer cases were obtained from the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the period 2008–2012. Analysis of Variance and Poisson Regression were the statistical tools implemented to compare incidence disparity in the space-time domain (reference group: township residents during 2008, area: subdistrict, town, and township, time frame: 2008–2012), space-time scan statistics was employed to detect significant spatiotemporal clusters of BC compared to the null hypothesis that the probability of cases diagnosed at a particular location was equal to the probability of cases diagnosed in the whole study area. Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to generate BC spatial distribution and cluster maps at the township level. Results: The subdistrict populations were found to have the highest and most stable BC incidence. Although town and township populations had a relatively low incidence, it displayed a significant increasing trend from 2008 to 2012. The BC incidence distribution was spatially heterogeneous and clustered with a trend-surface from the southwest low area to the northeast high area. High clusters were located in the northeastern Hangzhou area, whereas low clusters were observed in the southwestern area during the time considered. Conclusions: Better healthcare service and lifestyle changes may be responsible for the increasing BC incidence observed in towns and townships. One high incidence cluster (Linping subdistrict) and two low incidence clusters (middle Hangzhou) were detected. The low clusters may be attributable mainly to developmental level disparity, whereas the high cluster could be associated with other risk factors, such as environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Numerous studies have reported a strong inverse association between BMI and physical activity in western populations. Recently, the association between BMI and physical activity has been considered bidirectional. This study aimed to examine the associations of body mass index (BMI) with physical activity and sedentary behavior and to explore whether those associations were modified by socio-demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods: We conducted a multistage random sampling survey in three districts of Hangzhou, China, in 2012. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire long form was used to collect data regarding physical activity and sedentary behavior. A multilevel mixed-effects regression model was used to assess the associations of BMI with physical activity and sedentary behavior. Results: A total of 1362 eligible people (624 men and 738 women, ages 23-59 years) completed the survey. People who are young or middle-aged and have the highest education level are the most inactive. Significant differences in the associations between physical activity and BMI across socio-demographic groups were identified (sex*BMI, P=0.018; age*BMI, P<0.001; education level*BMI, P=0.030). Women or individuals older than 50 had a higher level of physical activity with increasing BMI. There was no statistically significant association between BMI and sedentary behavior (P=0.450). Conclusions: The associations between BMI and physical activity were modified by sex, age, and education level in Hangzhou, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Two phase inversion pathways in ethoxylated alkylamine emulsion are proposed. [•] Two pathways have the same threshold and different destinations. [•] Phase inversion is induced by the addition of acetic acid, but not exclusively. [•] Phase inversion mechanisms rely on changes in the spontaneous curvature. [•] Structural transition images help in understanding phase inversion mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To understand the changes of the nutrition labeling of packaged food in China two years after the promulgation of the Regulation for Food Nutrition Labeling, which encourages food manufacturers to identify nutrition labeling. Methods: Investigators copied out the nutrition information panel, nutrition claim and nutrient function claim of packaged food in a supermarket with prepared questionnaire and finished normative judgment in 2008 and 2010. Results: 4693 and 5526 kinds of packaged food were investigated separately. Nutrition information panel, nutrition claim and nutrient function claim were found on the food label of 27.6%, 13.0% and 1.9% of packaged food respectively in 2008, while 35.1%, 7.7% and 2.3% in 2010. The nutrition information panel which labeled energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium was 597(43.8%) and 1661(85.9%) in 2008 and 2010, only 134(9.8%) and 985(51.0%) nutrition information panel were totally normalized. Nutrition claim and nutrient function claim focused on vitamin, mineral and dietary fiber. The total qualified proportions for nutrition claim were increased significantly for most of the nutrients, except for cholesterol. There were 6 (6.4%) and 5 (3.9%) nutrient function claims with hinting of therapeutic effects on diseases separately. Conclusion: Although the voluntary regulation remarkably improved the level of normalization for nutrition labeling, its role on the prevalence was minus. It's imperative to enforce nutrition labeling for not only China but also other countries, and furthermore, health education on nutrition labeling should be initiated to support the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although rapid urbanization is often considered as one of the most important drivers for changing dietary patterns, little attention has been paid to rural areas despite the profound transformation they have undergone. Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) for the period from 2004 to 2011, this study seeks to better understand the relationship between the urbanization of rural areas and dietary transition, with the focus on nutrition intake and dietary quality. Our results suggest that with increasing urbanization, rural residents tend to have on average lower calorie intakes but higher dietary quality. Specifically, increasing urbanization consistently reduces carbohydrate consumption and reduces fat consumption after a turning point; protein consumption first decreases and then increases after the turning point with increasing urbanization. Urbanization shows a significant and positive effect on the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). In addition to sociodemographic changes, we find that changing consumer preferences and knowledge serve as important determinants in explaining the dietary transition in rural China from 2004 to 2011. In our study, urbanization appears to positively affect rural residents' healthy food preferences and dietary knowledge. This study is a first attempt for better understanding the nutrition transition resulting from accelerating urbanization in rural China; several limitations and areas for future research have been highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-level ozone is a secondary pollutant produced by photochemical reactions and it adversely affects plant and human health. Taiyuan City, a typical city on the loess plateau, is suffering from severe ozone pollution. We utilized the data from eight national environmental monitoring sites of Taiyuan, including concentrations of O3 and nitric oxide, and meteorological factors, such as air temperature and wind, to study the pollution characteristics and sources of ozone (O3) in Taiyuan in 2018. Results show that during 2018, the maximum value and 90th percentile of the maximum 8-h running average of O3 concentration were 257 μg/m3 and 192 μg/m3, respectively. There were 72 days where the O3 concentration exceeded the standard in 2018, which were mainly during April to August. The O3 concentration increased from March, reached a high level in April through August, and decreased significantly from September. The O3 concentrations displayed a typical "single peak" diurnal variation, which was high during the day with peak at around 13:00–15:00 and low at night. From April to August, the O3 concentrations at Jinyuan was the highest, followed by Xiaodian and Taoyuan, and the O3 concentrations at Shanglan and Nanzhai were the lowest. When the O3 concentration exceeded the standard value, Jinyuan contributed the most to the O3 pollution of Taiyuan, followed by Taoyuan and Xiaodian. High temperature and pressure, south and southwest winds can lead to an increase in O3 concentration. The O3 pollution in the Taiyuan urban area is caused by local generation, and the transportation of polluted air masses containing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by industries, such as the coking and steel plants in counties of Jinzhong City in southern Taiyuan, and Qingxu County, and some counties in Lyuliang City to the southwest. In addition, the mountain winds and low nitric oxide concentration are the main reasons for the increase of O3 concentration, often observed in Shanglan at night. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study globally analyzes the nonlinear relationship between cereal import dependency and total renewable water resources per capita by testing for potential thresholds in water resources. Data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and consider the years of 2002, 2007, and 2012. The results show evident ceiling effects with a threshold of 1588 m3/(capita/year) in the multiple predictor model. Above this value, the total renewable water resources per capita no longer have a considerable effect on cereal import dependency. Importantly, we found that if integrated water resource management improves, cereal import dependency will increase for countries with total renewable water resources per capita between 1588 m3/(capita/year) and 5000 m3/(capita/year), but not for countries below or equal to the threshold of 1588 m3/(capita/year). Water-scarce countries above the threshold use cereal imports as a coping strategy to save limited national water resources. This strategy might be suggested to extremely water-scarce countries below the threshold to increase their water use efficiency. Global solidarity of grain exporters with water-scarce countries is required to guarantee their food security, while water-scarce countries need to overcome their skepticism of foreign dominance through food imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important industrial material, bentonite has been widely applied in water-based drilling fluids to create mud cakes to protect boreholes. However, the common mud cake is porous, and it is difficult to reduce the filtration of a drilling fluid at high temperature. Therefore, this paper endowed bentonite with a thermo response via the insertion of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomers. The interaction between NIPAM monomers and bentonite was investigated via Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), isothermal adsorption, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) at various temperatures. The results demonstrate that chemical adsorption is involved in the adsorption process of NIPAM monomers on bentonite, and the adsorption of NIPAM monomers accords with the D–R model. With increasing temperature, more adsorption water was squeezed out of the composite when the temperature of the composite exceeded 70 °C. Based on the composite of NIPAM and bentonite, a mud cake was prepared using low-viscosity polyanionic cellulose (Lv-PAC) and initiator potassium peroxydisulfate (KPS). The change in the plugging of the mud cake was investigated via environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), contact angle testing, filtration experiments, and linear expansion of the shale at various temperatures. In the plugging of the mud cake, a self-recovery behavior was observed with increasing temperature, and resistance was observed at 110 °C. The rheology of the drilling fluid was stable in the alterative temperature zone (70–110 °C). Based on the high resistance of the basic drilling fluid, a high-density drilling fluid (ρ = 2.0 g/cm3) was prepared with weighting materials with the objective of drilling high-temperature formations. By using a high-density drilling fluid, the hydration expansion of shale was reduced by half at 110 °C in comparison with common bentonite drilling fluid. In addition, the rheology of the high-density drilling fluid tended to be stable, and a self-recovery behavior was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Harms is a perennial shrub of the Acanthopanax genus in the Araliaceae family and has a high medicinal value. The application of zinc fertilizer can improve the yield and quality of medicinal materials. However, there are limited reports on approaches to increase the content of medicinal components in A. senticosus , hindering the improvement of its medicinal quality. In this study, A. senticosus was treated with 0.1% (LZn) and 0.4% (HZn) zinc sprayed on the leaf surface. The effects of zinc treatment on the medicinal components in the roots of A. senticosus were analyzed by comprehensive metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses. A total of 316 metabolites were detected, with a prevailing occurrence of terpenoids and phenylpropanoids. We identified metabolites related to the medicinal components that were upregulated after Zn treatment, including 43 terpenoids, 19 phenylpropanoids, eight phenols, and three flavonoids. Combining differential gene expression and K-means analysis, we found 95, 65, and 25 upregulated genes related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, terpenoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis, respectively. Under different concentrations of Zn treatment, the upregulated metabolite biosynthesis-related genes and differentially expressed transcription factors varied. Pearson correlation network analysis revealed significant correlations among terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids biosynthetic genes, and several transcription factors (ERFs, WRKYs, bHLHs, NACs, and MYBs). This study lays the foundation for understanding the metabolic processes in response to varying levels of zinc foliar spray and provides a theoretical basis for enhancing the efficiency of zinc fertilizer utilization in A. senticosus ., 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 Sun, Sun, Liu, Ren, Li, Shi, Nasr, Tang and Abozeid.)

Background: There is accumulating evidence of aberrant expression of miR-143 and miR-145 and their target gene KRAS in colorectal cancer (CRC). We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within or near mRNA-microRNA (miRNA) binding sites may affect miRNA/target gene interaction, resulting in differential mRNA/protein expression and promoting the development and progression of CRC., Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 507 patients with CRC recruited from a tertiary hospital and 497 population-based controls to assess the association of genetic polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and the KRAS 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) with susceptibility to CRC and patients' survival. In addition, genetic variations of genomic regions located from 500 bp upstream to 500 bp downstream of the miR-143/miR-145 gene and the 3'UTR of KRAS were selected for analysis using the Haploview and HaploReg software., Results: Using publicly available expression profiling data, we found that miR-143/145 and KRAS expression were all reduced in rectal cancer tissue compared with adjacent non-neoplastic large intestinal mucosa. The rs74693964 C/T variant located 65 bp downstream of miR-145 genomic regions was observed to be associated with susceptibility to CRC (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.414, 95% CI: 1.385-4.206). Cumulative effects of miR-143 and miR-145 on CRC risk were observed (Ptrend=0.03). Patients having CRC carrying variant genotype TT of KRAS rs712 had poorer survival (log-rank P=0.044, adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 4.328, 95% CI: 1.236-15.147)., Conclusions: Our results indicate that miRNA-related polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and KRAS are likely to be deleterious and represent potential biomarkers for susceptibility to CRC and patients' survival., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Aims: Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a derivative of artemisinin, suppresses angiogenesis by regulating endothelial cell phenotypes. In this study, we investigated the effect of DHA on endothelial cell autophagy and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with DHA. Formation of autophagosomes in HUVECs was observed by fluorescence microscope after pcDNA3.1-green fluorescent protein (GFP)-microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) plasmids transfection. Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining was used to detect intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Western blot was performed to detect the protein levels of LC3, p62, beclin 1, autophagy-related protein (Atg) 5, p-Akt (protein kinase B), p-mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), p-4E-BP1 (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1), and p-p70S6K (p70 ribosomal S6 kinase). Results: DHA increased LC3-II and the number of fluorescent GFP-LC3 puncta in HUVECs. Silencing ATG5 by siRNA interference attenuated DHA-induced LC3-II elevation. DHA enhanced ROS production, but pretreatment with antioxidant N-acety-l-cysteine (NAC) failed to reduce DHA-induced autophagy in HUVECs. Pretreatment with PD98059, SP600125 and SB203580, the inhibitors of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK, did not reverse autophagy in DHA-treated HUVECs. DHA significantly reduced phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR, p70S6K, 4E-BP1 in HUVECs. Rapamycin, an mTOR antagonist, compromised DHA-induced autophagy. Conclusion: DHA induces autophagy in HUVECs by inhibition of the Akt/mTOR pathway., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Objective: Synovitis associated with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is responsible for several clinical symptoms. However, the mechanisms underlying synovitis and the inflammatory environment remain unclear. This study analyzed the proinflammatory mediation expression of IL-17 and Th17, which perform key functions in regulating inflammatory processes in the inflamed synovium and peripheral blood in ONFH., Methods: Synovial fluid from the hips of 23 patients and 5 controls was collected during surgery, and peripheral blood samples were obtained from 34 patients and 9 controls. The expression of IL-17 in the synovium was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the levels of Th17 and IL-17 in the blood were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. Pain assessment was performed for all the patients and controls., Results: An inflamed synovium was characterized by increased leukocyte infiltration and IL-17 expression in comparison with the control. Preoperative levels of Th17 and IL-17 were significantly higher in the peripheral blood of the ONFH group than those in the controls. The symptoms were also positively correlated with the Th17 levels of the ONFH patients., Conclusion: Th17 cells were recruited to an inflamed synovium, and inflammatory cytokine IL-17 was expressed at an increased level in the hip synovium of ONFH patients, which possibly contributed to clinical syndrome development. Overall, this study will help in identifying new therapeutic strategies for ONFH, especially the targeting of IL-17 to decrease inflammation and pain. < p > < /p >.

The effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at APE1 have been investigated in several types of cancer. However, no reports of the association of APE1 polymorphisms with osteosarcoma (OS) have been published. The present study was designed to determine whether APE1 polymorphisms (rs1130409, rs1760944, rs1760941, rs2275008, rs17111750) are associated with OS. A 2-stage case-control study was performed in a total of 378 OS patients and 616 normal controls. Individuals carrying TG and GG genotypes had significantly lower risk of developing OS than those with the WT genotype TT at rs1760944 (OR = 0.65, 95%CI 0.49-0.86; OR = 0.50, 95%CI 0.34-0.74, respectively). OS patients with allele G at rs1760944 were less susceptible to low differentiation tumor and metastasis (OR = 0.73, 95%CI 0.54-0.98; OR = 0.63, 95%CI 0.43-0.92, respectively). Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank results revealed that OS patients harboring genotype GG and G allele at rs1760944 had better survival (P < 0.001 for both). In addition, the APE1 protein was underexpressed in individuals who carried G allele at rs1760944. This study suggested that APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism is associated with decreased risk of developing OS and better survival of OS patients.

This study is to investigate the frequencies of T-helper (Th)22, Th17 and Th1 cells and the levels of related cytokines in subchondral bone marrow in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bone marrow and peripheral blood samples were collected from RA, osteoarthritis (OA) patients and healthy controls. The frequencies of Th22, Th17, and Th1 cells were examined by flow cytometry. Levels of interleukin (IL)-22, IL-17 and IFN-γ were examined by ELISA. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) of RA patients were analyzed. Bone marrow Th22, Th17 and Th1 cells in RA patients were markedly increased comparing to OA or healthy controls. Each T cell subset in bone marrow was elevated comparing with that in the peripheral blood in RA patients. Consistently, plasma levels of IL-22 and IL-17 were elevated in RA patients, and the elevation was more notable in the bone marrow than in the peripheral blood. Additionally, the percentages of Th22, Th17 and Th1 cells as well as the levels of IL-22 and IL-17 in bone marrow were positively correlated with DAS28. These results suggest that local pro-inflammatory Th cells are elevated in bone marrow, which may play an important role in situ in RA and contribute to the pathogenesis of in RA.