Search

Objective: To observe the evolution and outcomes of postoperative trigeminal neuropathy following surgery of tumor involving the trigeminal nerve. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted between October 2018 and February 2019 involving 25 patients with tumors confirmed to involve the trigeminal nerve during surgery by senior author. Pre- and postoperative trigeminal nerve function status and clinical data were recorded. Results: This study included 18 cases of meningioma and seven of trigeminal schwannoma. Among the meningioma cases, 55.6% of the patients reported facial sensory dysfunction before surgery, 33.3% presented ocular discomfort, and 5.6% had masticatory muscle atrophy. Postoperatively, all patients experienced facial paresthesia, 94.4% complained of eye dryness, and one (5.56%) exhibited keratitis. Additionally, one patient (5.56%) showed new-onset masticatory weakness. During follow-up, 50.0% of patients reported improvement in facial paresthesia, and one (5.56%) experienced deterioration. Eye dryness resolved in 35.3% of patients, and keratitis remission was observed in one patient. However, one patient (5.56%) developed neurotrophic keratitis. Overall, 55.6% of patients displayed mild masticatory weakness without muscle atrophy. In the cases of schwannoma, 28.6% of patients had facial paresthesia before surgery, 42.9% showed ocular discomfort, and one (14.3%) complained of masticatory dysfunction. Postoperatively, 85.7% of patients reported facial paresthesia and eye dryness, with one patient (16.7%) experiencing keratitis. During follow-up, 66.7% of patients demonstrated improvement in facial paresthesia, 28.6% showed eye dryness remission, and one patient (16.7%) recovered from keratitis. However, one patient (16.7%) developed new-onset neurotrophic keratitis. One patient (16.7%) experienced relief of masticatory dysfunction, but 42.9% reported mild deterioration. Another patient (14.3%) had facial anesthesia that had not improved. Conclusion: Postoperative trigeminal neuropathy is a common complication with a high incidence rate and poor recovery outcomes after surgery for tumors involving the trigeminal nerve. When trigeminal nerve damage is unavoidable, it is essential to provide a multidisciplinary and careful follow-up, along with active management strategy, to mitigate the more severe effects of postoperative trigeminal neuropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictive mapping of environment is an important means for environment assessment and management. The selection of predictor variables (or environmental covariates) is the first and key step in predictive mapping. A number of machine learning and statistical models have been developed to select what and how many environmental covariates in a wide range of predictive mapping. Nevertheless, those models require a large amount of field data for model training and calibration, which can be problematic in applying to the areas with no or very limited field data available. To overcome the shortcoming, this paper proposes the most similar case method for selecting environmental covariates for predictive mapping. First, we describe the basic idea and the development procedures of the most similar case method; second, as an experimental test, we employ the proposed method to select the topographic covariates for inputting to the predictive soil mapping; third, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method in the designed experiment using the leave-one-out cross-validation method. In total, 191 evaluation cases are included in the experimental case base and the test results show that 58.7% of the topographic covariates originally used in each evaluation case are correctly selected by the proposed method, which suggests that the proposed most-similar-case method perform reasonably well even with a relatively limited size of the case base. The future work should include the selection of other types of environmental covariates (e.g., climate, organism, etc.) and the development of an automatic method to extract the existing application cases from literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the environmental history and its responses to palaeoclimatic changes since the start of the Holocene in the eastern portion of the desert belt (sand seas and sandy lands) in northern China by comparing the aeolian sandpalaeosol sequences and their palaeoclimatic proxies. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of the aeolian sandpalaeosol sedimentary sequences and a series of palaeoenvironmental proxies show that: (1) The large-scale dune landscape currently in the Kubuqi Sand Sea was formed during the Holocene in general; and the palaeosol was generally developed during the period of 4–2 ka, indicating conditions favorable for vegetation growth, soil development, and organic carbon accumulation due to increased precipitation or effective moisture and weakened aeolian activities; the large-scale expansion of dunes in the recent 2 ka is closely linked to human activities. The variable discharge of the Yellow River with diversions for irrigation may have resulted in a more consistent supply of aeolian particles for dune field expansion. (2) The dune landscape of the Hunshandake Sandy Land was likely formed around 12 ka, and before this, the western part of the Hunshandake Sandy Land would have been covered by a single large lake; it was obviously wetter than today in the sandy land during the period of 9.6–3 ka and the palaeosols were developed at the same time. But the aeolian activities have not been completely dormant in this long-lasting wetter epoch; because the Holocene wetter period was likely time-transgressive across the region. (3) The palaeosol of the Hulunbuir Sandy Land began to develop as early as 14.5 ka, probably continuing until the last 2 ka. The palaeosol development of various dune fields in the eastern portion of the desert belt (sand seas and sandy lands) in northern China is spatially heterogeneous, and even the palaeosol development time in different locations within each sandy land is inconsistent. During the middle Holocene (especially the 7.5–3.5 ka), all the sandy lands were stabilized in general and the intensity of aeolian activities was significantly weakened. The number of palaeoenvironmental records in the eastern portion of the desert belt (sand seas and sandy lands) in northern China has increased rapidly in the past decade, but the amount of published data still does not match the vast extent of the dune fields. It does require much more in-depth palaeoenvironmental studies for a full understanding of the relationship between aeolian activities and climate change in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of medical technology in China, new difficulties are gradually emerging in traditional medicine. Cervical cancer MRI image segmentation technology based on wireless network is one of the most famous means. But the traditional technology is not strong enough for information processing and analysis. Manual data processing alone may lead to errors in data processing and so on. Therefore, this research was aimed at the MRI image segmentation technology of cervical cancer based on wireless network, using depth learning algorithm to calculate and analyze. Through this kind of wireless network and the computer algorithm form, the data processing ability can be improved and increase the data processing ability be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a tube extrusion-shear-expanding (TESE) process was proposed to develop a high-performance magnesium alloy thin-walled tube, and then a comparison was made with the direct extrusion (DE) process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy tubes under different processes were tested and analyzed. Numerical simulations were conducted by using DEFORMTM-3D software to predict the effective stresses, forming loads, and effective strains during the forming of magnesium alloy tubes. Compared with DE process, the TESE process with high effective stresses, effective strains, and forming loads generates a severe plastic deformation of the tube, leading to a more obvious grain refinement effect on the fabricated tube with a tensile strength of around 293 MPa and an elongation of around 15%. The results show that the TESE process has obvious advantages. The critical shear force and dynamic recrystallization further refine the grains and weaken the basal texture strength. The comprehensive performance of magnesium alloy tube is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is related to EGFR mutations. Although the p.L858R point mutation in exon 21 and the in-frame deletion mutation in exon 19 are well known, efficacy of EGFR-TKI in patients with more than one EGFR mutation is not well understood. 799 NSCLC patients were screened for EGFR mutations. Of the 799 patients, 443 (55.4%) had mutations, out of which 22 (2.75%) had multiple complex mutations. Most multiple mutations (20/22) harbored common mutations such as the p.L858R point mutation in exon 21 and the in-frame deletion mutation in exon 19. 11 out of 22 patients who had multiple EGFR mutations underwent TKI therapy and primary end-points of progression free and overall survival were determined. Our analysis revealed that cases with multiple mutations had similar end-point outcomes as single mutation to TKI therapy. Report of these cases will be helpful in decision making for treatment of NSCLC patients harboring multiple EGFR mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The reaction between Na and HF is a typical harpooning reaction which is of great interest due to its significance in understanding the elementary chemical reaction kinetics. This work aims to investigate the detailed reaction mechanisms of sodium with hydrogen fluoride and the adsorption of HF on the resultant NaF as well as the (NaF)4 tetramer. The results suggest that the reaction between Na and HF leads to the formation of sodium fluoride salt NaF and hydrogen gas. Na interacts with HF to form a complex HF···Na, and then the approaching of F atom of HF to Na results in a transition state H···F···Na. Accompanied by the broken of H-F bond, the bond forms between F and Na atoms as NaF, then the product NaF is yielded due to the removal of H atom. The resultant NaF can further form (NaF)4 tetramer. The interaction of NaF with HF leads to the complex NaF···HF; the form I as well as II of (NaF)4 can interact with HF to produce two complexes (i.e., (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF), but the form III of (NaF)4 can interact with HF to produce only one complex (NaF)4(III)···HF. These complexes were explored in terms of noncovalent interaction (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses. NCI analyses confirm the existences of attractive interactions in the complexes HF···Na, NaF···HF, (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF, and (NaF)4(III)···HF. QTAIM analyses suggest that the F···Na interaction forms in the HF···Na complex while the F···H hydrogen bonds form in NaF···HF, (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF, and (NaF)4(III)···HF complexes. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses were also applied to analyze the intermolecular donor-acceptor orbital interactions in these complexes. These results would provide valuable insight into the chemical reaction of Na and HF and the adsorption interaction between sodium fluoride salt and HF. Methods: The calculations were carried out at the M06-L/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory which were performed using the Gaussian16 program. Intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations were carried out at the same level of theory to confirm that the obtained transition state was true. The molecular surface electrostatic potential (MSEP) was employed to understand how the complex forms. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and noncovalent interaction (NCI) analysis was used to know the topology parameters at bond critical points (BCPs) and intermolecular interactions in the complex and intermediate. The topology parameters and the BCP plots were obtained by the Multiwfn software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expression recognition has been widely used in lots of fields such as health care and intelligent robot systems. However, recognizing facial expression in the wild is still very challenging due to variations, light intensity, occlusions and the ambiguity of human emotion. When training samples cannot include all these environments, the classification can easily lead to errors. Therefore, this paper proposes a new heuristic objective function based on the domain knowledge so as to better optimize deep neural networks for facial expression recognition. Moreover, we take the specific relationship between the facial expression and facial action units as the domain knowledge. By analyzing the mixing relationship between different expression categories and then enlarging the distance of easily confused categories, we define a new heuristic objective function which can guide deep neural network to learn better features and then improve the accuracy of facial expression recognition. The experimental results verify the effectiveness, universality and the superior performance of our methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional machine learning models have mainly been used to study geological logging data of a single sample point, ignoring the fact that logging data has a strong spatial correlation. In this study, we use convolutional neural network to extract single-point features, structural features, and multidimensional features from logging data and compare the identification effects of lithology identification models based on the three features. The identification model based on the multidimensional feature extraction achieves 77.94% correctness in the test set, which is the best result among the identification models based on CNN and the three machine learning models. Based on this feature extraction model, the feature fusion modules in U-net and feature pyramid are added respectively to build two feature fusion models to combine the features extracted from different convolutional layers and improve the effectiveness of the model. The model also introduces attention mechanism to improve the role of useful features in the model training process. The identification accuracy of the two feature fusion models, U-CNN and P-CNN, reached 79.67% and 80.02% on the test set, respectively, which verified the effectiveness of the feature fusion models for lithology identification in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most malignant head and neck carcinomas with unique epidemiological features. In this study, we aimed to identify the novel NPC-related genes and biological pathways, shedding light on the potential molecular mechanisms of NPC. Methods: Based on Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, an integrated analysis of microarrays studies was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially methylated genes (DMGs) in NPC compared to normal control. The genes which were both differentially expressed and differentially methylated were identified. Functional annotation and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction were used to uncover biological functions of DEGs. Results: Two DNA methylation and five gene expression datasets were incorporated. A total of 1074 genes were up-regulated and 939 genes were down-regulated in NPC were identified. A total of 719 differential methylation CpG sites (DMCs) including 1 hypermethylated sites and 718 hypomethylated sites were identified. Among which, 11 genes were both DEGs and DMGs in NPC. Pathways in cancer, p53 signaling pathway and Epstein–Barr virus infection were three pathways significantly enriched pathways in DEmRNAs of NPC. The PPI network of top 50 DEGs were consisted of 191 nodes and 191 edges. Conclusions: Our study was helpful to elucidate the underlying mechanism of NPC and provide clues for therapeutic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to establish a non-invasive radiomics model based on computed tomography (CT), with favorable sensitivity and specificity to predict EGFR mutation status in GGO-featured lung adenocarcinoma subsequently guiding the administration of targeted therapy. Methods: Clinical-pathological information and preoperative CT images of 636 lung adenocarcinoma patients (464, 100, and 72 in the training, internal, and external validation sets, respectively) that underwent GGO lesions resection were included. A total of 1476 radiomics features were extracted with gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT). Results: The established radiomics model containing 102 selected features showed an encouraging discrimination performance of EGFR mutation status (mutant or wild type), and the predictive ability was superior to that of the clinical model (AUC: 0.838 vs. 0.674, 0.822 vs. 0.730, and 0.803 vs. 0.746 for the training, internal validation, and external validation sets, respectively). The combined radiomics plus clinical model showed no additional benefit over the radiomics model in predicting EGFR status (AUC: 0.846 vs. 0.838, 0.816 vs. 0.822, and 0.811 vs. 0.803, respectively, in three cohorts). Uniquely, this model was validated in a cohort of lung adenocarcinoma patients who have undertaken adjuvant EGFR-TKI treatment and harbored unresected GGOs during the medication, leading to a significantly improved potency of EGFR-TKIs (response rate: 25.9% vs. 53.8%, p = 0.006; before and after prediction, respectively). Conclusion: This presented radiomics model can be served as a non-invasive and time-saving approach for predicting the EGFR mutation status in lung adenocarcinoma presenting as GGO. Key Points: • We developed a GGO-specific radiomics model containing 102 radiomics features for EGFR mutation status differentiation. • An AUC of 0.822 and 0.803 in the internal and external validation cohorts, respectively, were achieved. • The radiomics model was utilized in clinical translation in an adjuvant EGFR-TKI treatment cohort with unresected GGOs. A significant improvement in the potency of EGFR-TKIs was achieved (response rate: 25.9% vs. 53.8%, p = 0.006; before and after prediction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cases of arthroscopic surgery have increased over the past two decades, and arthroscopic shaver systems have become a commonly used orthopedic tool. Nevertheless, most shavers generally have problems such as the cutting edge is not sharp enough and easy to wear. This paper aims to discuss the structural characteristics of BJKMC's (Bojin◊ Kinetic Medical) novel arthroscopic shaver, the double serrated blade. The product's design and verification process are outlined. BJKMC's articular arthroscopy shaver has a "tube in a tube" structure, comprising a stainless steel outer sleeve and a rotating hollow inner tube. The outer sleeve and inner tube have corresponding suction and cutting windows, and there are serrated teeth on the inner and outer casing. To verify the design rationality, it was compared to Dyonics◊'s equivalent product, the Incisor◊ Plus Blade. The appearance, cutting tool hardness, metal pipe roughness, cutting tool wall thickness, tooth profile, and angle, overall structure, and the key dimensions were examined and compared. Compared with Dyonics◊'s Incisor◊ Plus Blade, BJKMC's Double Serrated Blade had a smoother working surface, harder and thinner blade head. Therefore, BJKMC's product may have satisfactory performance when it comes to surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the AAPF* algorithm, an innovative approach that synergistically integrates the A-star search algorithm (A*) with the artificial potential field (APF) method. This algorithm is designed to enhance safety and ensure smoother global path planning for autonomous vehicles, particularly addressing vehicle cornering constraints. Initially, for augmenting the safety of autonomous vehicle, we implement an obstacle expansion strategy with a factor of 2 units, enhancing environmental adaptability. The study then delves into the classical A* algorithm, examining its core principles and characteristics, leading to the development of novel heuristic functions and search strategies that address the limitations inherent in the classic A* algorithm. Subsequently, we explore the APF algorithm, recognized for its excellence in obstacle avoidance in path planning. The paper culminates in the amalgamation of the APF’s repulsive field concept with the improved A* algorithm, crafting a comprehensive global planning algorithm tailored for autonomous vehicle path planning schemes. Experiments conducted in a simulated environment model validate the AAPF* algorithm’s efficacy in improving both the safety and smoothness, demonstrating its potential for real-world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of deep learning, Remote Sensing Image (RSI) semantic segmentation has produced significant advances. However, due to the sparse distribution of the objects and the high similarity between classes, the task of semantic segmentation in RSI is still extremely challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel semantic segmentation framework for RSI called HST-UNet that can overcome the shortcomings of the existing models and extract and recover the global and local features of RSI, which is a hybrid semantic segmentation model with Shunted Transformer as encoder and Multi-Scale Convolutional Attention Network (MSCAN) as decoder. Then, to better fuse the information from the Encoder and the Decoder and alleviate the ambiguity, we design a Learnable Weighted Fusion (LWF) module to effectively connect to the decoder features. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed HST-UNet outperforms the state-of-the-art methods, achieving F1 score/MIoU accuracy of 71.44%/83.00% on the ISPRS Vaihingen dataset and 77.36%/87.09% on ISPRS Potsdam dataset. The code will be available at https://github.com/HC-Zhou/HST-UNet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenol compounds can modify myofibrillar proteins to improve the quality of fish and surimi. Nevertheless, research into the precise mechanisms of interaction between phenolic substances and sea bass myofibrillar proteins is lacking. This study aimed to explore the interaction mechanism between five phenolic compounds (caffeic acid (CFA), gallic acid (GA), chlorogenic acid (CHA), resveratrol (RES), and catechin (CAT)) with sea bass myofibrillar protein (MP). The results of UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy (namely, multi-spectroscopy) showed that all five phenolic compounds could spontaneously form new complexes with MP, with a binding molar ratio of 1:1. The interaction between CFA and MP is predominantly electrostatic, while the interaction between GA and MP is mainly hydrophobic. The rest of phenolic compounds and MP are mediated by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. And molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicated that CHA-myosin had the minimum root mean square deviation, while CFA-myosin had the smallest Rg value. In addition, the amino acid Lys-179 was the key residue for the interaction between five phenolic compounds and myosin. This study contributes to a better understanding of the interaction between phenolic compounds and sea bass MP, which could develop the processing of aquatic food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of high-efficient and low-cost heterostructure photocatalyst is crucial for hydrogen production in solar driven water splitting. Herein, g-C3N4-modified TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) with confined Pt nanoparticles were prepared via a facile two-step process. The results of structure characterizations by XRD, TEM, and XPS reveal that Pt nanoparticles with the average size of 2–3 nm are embedded in the inner cavity of the TiO2 nanotube, and amorphous g-C3N4 is attached to the outer wall of anatase TNTs. The as-prepared g-C3N4/TNTs@Pt ternary composite displays an enhanced visible light-induced absorbance capacity and improved charge carrier recombination rate than that of pure TNTs. The photocatalytic performance is evaluated by hydrogen evolution from water splitting by using methanol as sacrifice agent under solar light illumination. Compared with TNTs@Pt and g-C3N4/Pt photocatalysts, the as-prepared ternary nanocomposite exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance with a H2 evolution rate of 15.36 mmol h−1 g−1. A possible mechanism of photocatalytic H2 production over the ternary g-C3N4/TNTs@Pt composite is also proposed. This work not only provides a promising low-cost heterostructure candidate for water splitting, but also paves the way to rational design high-performance photocatalysts in solar-to-fuel conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enolase is a crucial enzyme involved in the glycolytic pathway and gluconeogenesis in parasites. It also has been reported to function as a plasminogen receptor and may be involved in tissue invasion. In this study, the biochemical properties of the enolase of Spirometra mansoni (Smenolase) were investigated. The Smenolase gene was found to cluster closely with the enolase genes of Clonorchis sinensis and Echinococcus granulosus, and some functional motifs were identified as conserved. Smenolase was confirmed to be a component of the secretory/excretory products (ESPs) and a circulating antigen of spargana. Recombinant Smenolase expressed in vitro was able to bind to human plasminogen. Smenolase was detected in the eggs, testicles, and vitellaria of adult worms and the tegument of spargana. The transcription level of Smenolase was highest at the gravid proglottid stage. When spargana were cultured with glucose of different concentration in vitro, it was observed that the expression levels of Smenolase in the low-glucose groups were consistent with that of Smenolase in vivo. These results indicate that Smenolase is a critical enzyme involved in supplying energy to support the development and reproduction of the parasite, and it may also play a role in sparganum invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ocular motor dysfunction is one of the most common postoperative complications of petroclival meningioma. However, its incidence, recovery rate, and independent risk factors remain poorly explored. Methods: A prospective analysis of 31 petroclival meningiomas was performed. Operative approaches were selected by utilizing a new 6-region classification of petroclival meningiomas we proposed. Two scores were used to evaluate the functions of the oculomotor and abducens nerves. Pearson correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify independent risk factors for intraoperative oculomotor and abducens nerve injury. Results: Postoperative new-onset dysfunctions in the pupillary light reflex and eye/eyelid movements as well as abducens paralysis were detected in eight (25.8%), ten (32.3%) and twelve (38.7%) cases, respectively. Their corresponding recovery rates after 6 months of follow-up were 75% (6/8), 80% (8/10), and 83.3% (10/12), respectively, and their mean times to start recovery were 4.03, 2.43, and 2.5 months, respectively. Tumor invasion into the suprasellar region/sphenoid sinus was the only risk factor for dysfunctions in both the pupillary light reflex (p = 0.001) and eye/eyelid movements (p = 0.002). Intraoperative utilization of the infratrigeminal interspace was the only risk factor for dysfunction in eyeball abduction movement (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Dysfunctions of the oculomotor and abducens nerves recovered within 6 months postoperatively. Tumor extension into the suprasellar region/sphenoid sinus was the only risk factor for oculomotor nerve paralysis. Eye/eyelid movements were more sensitive than the pupillary light reflex in reflecting nerve dysfunctions. Intraoperative utilization of the infratrigeminal interspace was the only risk factor for abducens nerve paralysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic emission signals are relevant to the process of rock failure. In this paper, acoustic emission waveform signals during rock loading are acquired through uniaxial compression test of granite in laboratory. Short-time Fourier transform is used to analyze the acoustic emission signals during rock fracture to obtain the peak frequency. Based on the peak frequency of acoustic emission, four types of acoustic emission signals are classified by using fuzzy C-means method. The parameters of different types of acoustic emission signals are analyzed, which include ring count, duration, amplitude and energy. Meanwhile, the progressive propagation of surface cracks in rock specimens is quantitatively analyzed by digital image correlation (DIC) technology. The result shows that different types of acoustic emission signals correspond to different strength of rock fracture. Before rock fracture, high-count, long-duration and high-energy precursory characteristic signals appear intensively. The event density Den t = 1 is taken as the early warning threshold of rock fracture through the quantitative analysis of acoustic emission signal. The present results of the research show the usefulness of the DIC and acoustic emission techniques in experiment of that type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic reperfusion (I/R) contributes to deleterious cardiac remodeling and heart failure. The deacetylase SIRT1 has been shown to protect the heart from I/R injury. We examined the mechanism whereby I/R injury represses SIRT1 transcription in the myocardium. There was accumulation of trimethylated histone H3K9 on the proximal SIRT1 promoter in the myocardium in mice following I/R injury and in cultured cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R). In accordance, the H3K9 trimethyltransferase SUV39H1 bound to the SIRT1 promoter and repressed SIRT1 transcription. SUV39H1 expression was up-regulated in the myocardium in mice following I/R insults and in H/R-treated cardiomyocytes paralleling SIRT1 down-regulation. Silencing SUV39H1 expression or suppression of SUV39H1 activity erased H3K9Me3 from the SIRT1 promoter and normalized SIRT1 levels in cardiomyocytes. Meanwhile, SUV39H1 deficiency or inhibition attenuated I/R-induced infarction and improved heart function in mice likely through influencing ROS levels in a SIRT1-dependent manner. Therefore, our data uncover a novel mechanism for SIRT1 trans-repression during cardiac I/R injury and present SUV39H1 as a druggable target for the development of therapeutic strategies against ischemic heart disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most aggressive central nervous system tumor in adults. Due to GBM cell invasiveness and resistance to chemotherapy, current medical interventions are not satisfactory, and the prognosis for GBM is poor. It is necessary to investigate the underlying mechanism of GBM metastasis and drug resistance so that more effective treatments can be developed for GBM patients. sushi repeat-containing protein, X-linked 2 (SRPX2) is a prognostic biomarker in many different cancer cell lines and is associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients. SRPX2 overexpression promotes interactions between tumor and endothelial cells, leading to tumor progression and metastasis. We hypothesize that SRPX2 also contributes to GBM chemotherapy resistance and metastasis. Our results revealed that GBM tumor samples from 42 patients expressed higher levels of SRPX2 than the control normal brain tissue samples. High-SRPX2 expression levels are correlated with poor prognosis in those patients, as well as resistance to temozolomide in cultured GBM cells. Up-regulating SRPX2 expression in cultured GBM cell lines facilitated invasiveness and migration of GBM cells, while down-regulating SRPX2 through RNA interference was inhibitory. These results suggest that SRPX2 plays an important role in GBM metastasis. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the processes that facilitate GBM metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy. EMT marker expression was decreased in SRPX2 down-regulated GBM cells, and MAPK signaling pathway marker expression was also decreased when SRPX2 is knocked down in GBM-cultured cells. Blocking the MAPK signaling pathway inhibited GBM metastasis but did not inhibit cell invasion and migration in SRPX2 down-regulated cells. Our results indicate that SRPX2 facilitates GBM metastasis by enhancing the EMT process via the MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-structured Ag/MnO2-cordierite molded catalysts were prepared by hydrothermal method and applied to the catalytic oxidation of VOCs. Catalytic activities of Ag/MnO2-cordierite were evaluated by 1000 ppm of toluene, ethyl acetate and chlorobenzene degradation respectively at the air atmosphere, and their physicochemical properties were characterized through multiple techniques containing XRD, SEM, TEM, H2-TPR and XPS. It is found that nanorod Ag/MnO2-cordierite molded catalyst showed prominent catalytic activity for VOCs decomposition and the T90 for toluene, ethyl acetate and chlorobenzene are 275 °C, 217 °C and 385 °C respectively under the space velocity of 10,000 h−1. High valence manganese oxide, more active lattice oxygen proportion and superior low-temperature reducibility were the great contributors to the high activity of the catalyst with nanorod morphology. Studies of space velocity and catalytic stability over nanorod Ag/MnO2-cordierite molded catalyst have confirmed the good catalytic performance, excellent mechanical strength and satisfied anti-toxicity to Cl at higher space velocity, which indicates that this molded catalyst have promise for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was used to modify spherical silica to fabricate core-shell POSS@SiO2 microspheres. The material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared experiments, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and elemental analysis. The material was also used as a stationary phase for HPLC separation. The POSS@SiO2 column exhibits a reverse-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) retention mechanism. The column efficiency of alkylbenzenes reaches 67,200 plates·m−1. The POSS@SiO2 column was also utilized for separation of basic anilines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Compared with the commercial C8 column, the POSS@SiO2 column exhibits enhanced separation selectivity. The column was also used for the separation of synthetic cytokinins 6-benzylaminopurine and 6-furfurylaminopurine in bean sprout after extraction. In addition, the methacrylate groups on the surface of the POSS@SiO2 microsphere were further functionalized so as to facilitate the fabrication of versatile stationary phases with various separation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wastewater purification technologies consume large amounts of energy, while the abundant chemical energy and nutrient resources contained in sewage are wasted in such treatment processes. A microbial nutrient recovery cell (MNRC) has been developed to take advantage of the energy contained in wastewater, in order to simultaneously purify wastewater and recover nutrient ions. When wastewater was circulated between the anode and cathode chambers of the MNRC, the organics (COD) were removed by bacteria while ammonium and phosphate (NH4+-N and PO43−-P) were recovered by the electrical field that was produced using in situ energy in the wastewater without additional energy input. The removal efficiencies from wastewater were >82% for COD, >96% for NH4+-N, and >64% for PO43−-P in all the operational cycles. Simultaneously, the concentrations of NH4+ and PO43− in the recovery chamber increased to more than 1.5 and 2.2 times, respectively, compared with the initial concentrations in wastewater. The MNRC provides proof-of-concept as a sustainable, self-driven approach to efficient wastewater purification and nutrient recovery in a comprehensive bioelectrochemical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]