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With the development of big data and cloud computing, more and more data owners store their data with encrypted form in the cloud server. To retrieve some data they are interested in, an important technology called searchable encryption can be adopted. Sometimes, the encrypted data are desired to be shared to some users by the data owners without destroying the user privacy. To address this problem, many works of delegated searchable encryption (DSE) have been studied. However, in the existing DSE schemes, the delegated users can make keyword search over the encrypted data without any restrictions. In some systems such as E-health record system in which the data are sensitive, it is desired that the delegated users can only make search with some specified keywords designated by the data owners. In this work, we present an efficient solution to this problem and give a concrete construction. Then we show that our construction is efficient and practical for real applications by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms in the soil that have been contaminated with heavy metals for a long-time exhibited resistance to heavy metals. In recent years, the use of resistant microbes and heavy metal-tolerant plants to repair heavy metal-contaminated soil has become an increasingly hot subject. In this study, heavy metal-tolerant bacteria ZG7 was isolated from the mining soils and injected into Bidens pilosa L. and Medicago sativa L.. The results revealed that: (1) Compared to the non-inoculated group, inoculation with ZG7 notably increased the dry weight and chlorophyll content in plants under heavy metal stress, as well as promoted the content of several types of antioxidant chemicals; (2) Combined remediation improved soil enzyme activities, with soil catalase, sucrase, and phosphatase activities remarkably increased by 136.06%, 124.17% and 180.14% in the ZG7- Bidens pilosa L.; And soil catalase, urease, and sucrase activities promoted by 68.07%, 130.08% and 239.79% in the ZG7- Medicago sativa L.; (3) The content of Pb and Zn in the ZG7- Medicago sativa L. combination soil were considerably lower (9.28% and 6.2%, respectively) than no strain group, but there was no substantial change in soil heavy metal content when combined with the Bidens pilosa L. remediation when compared to no strain group. In summary, the combination of strain ZG7 and plants had a good effect on the remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils, and ZG7- Medicago sativa L. had the best effect, which is a reliable technique for effective control of heavy metal pollution. This study provided theoretical support for microbial-phytoremediation joint remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saliva has emerged as a promising noninvasive biofluid for the diagnosis of oral and systemic diseases, including viral infections. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a growing number of studies focused on saliva-based detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Taking advantage of the WoS core collection (WoSCC) and CiteSpace, we retrieved 1021 articles related to saliva-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 and conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis. We analyzed countries, institutions, authors, cited authors, and cited journals to summarize their contribution and influence and analyzed keywords to explore research hotspots and trends. From 2020 to 2021, research focused on viral transmission via saliva and verification of saliva as a reliable specimen, whereas from 2021 to the present, the focus of research has switched to saliva-based biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 detection. By far, saliva has been verified as a reliable specimen for SARS-CoV-2 detection, although a standardized procedure for saliva sampling and processing is needed. Studies on saliva-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 will promote the development of saliva-based diagnostics and biosensors for viral detection. Collectively, our findings could provide valuable information to help scientists perceive the basic knowledge landscapes on saliva-based detection of SARS-CoV-2, the past and current research hotspots, and future opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor, and due to its insidious onset and limited screening methods, most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease and have a poor prognosis. The circRNA in exosomes has an essential role in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, the part of hsa_circ_0014606 within exosomes in gastric cancer progression is unclear. Firstly, we extracted exosomes from the serum of gastric cancer patients and healthy individuals by ultracentrifugation and analyzed the expression of hsa_circ_0014606 in both exosomes; then knocked down hsa_circ_0014606 in vivo and in vitro, respectively, to observe its effect on the physiological function of gastric cancer cells; finally, we used bioinformatics to screen hsa_circ_0014606 targeting miRNAs and mRNAs, and experiments were performed to verify the interrelationship between the three. The results showed that the level of hsa_circ_0014606 in the serum exosomes of gastric cancer patients was significantly higher than that of the healthy population. The knockdown of hsa_circ_0014606 slowed the proliferation of gastric cancer cells, significantly reduced migration and invasion ability, accelerated apoptosis, and reduced tumor size in mice. In addition, the expression of hsa_circ_0014606 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-514b-3p and positively correlated with the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC). In conclusion, hsa_circ_0014606 exerted a pro-cancer effect indirectly through miR-514b-3p targeting gene HNRNPC, and this study provides a new potential target for treating gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of biomass energy sources is a crucial direction in the transformation of energy resources, such as cellulose to high-value chemicals. As an important platform compound, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is one of the worthwhile products from biomass. Previously, the use of Hf/ZSM-5 catalyst demonstrated excellent catalytic performance, with the yield of HMF reaching 67.50% under optimal reaction conditions (120 min, 190 °C, H2O(NaCl)/THF). Based on the previous work, the effect of a series of metal salts on the preparation of HMF from cellulose catalyzed by Hf/ZSM-5 catalyst was investigated in this paper. This result demonstrates the addition of AlCl3 promoted the production of HMF yield and AlCl3 completed with excellent performance among five metal salts. Moreover, the yield of HMF was improved to 70.95% by adjusting the optimal reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic diabetic wounds are at lifelong risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers owing to severe hypoxia, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), a complex inflammatory microenvironment, and the potential for bacterial infection. Here we develop a programmed treatment strategy employing live Haematococcus (HEA). By modulating light intensity, HEA can be programmed to perform a variety of functions, such as antibacterial activity, oxygen supply, ROS scavenging, and immune regulation, suggesting its potential for use in programmed therapy. Under high light intensity (658 nm, 0.5 W/cm2), green HEA (GHEA) with efficient photothermal conversion mediate wound surface disinfection. By decreasing the light intensity (658 nm, 0.1 W/cm2), the photosynthetic system of GHEA can continuously produce oxygen, effectively resolving the problems of hypoxia and promoting vascular regeneration. Continuous light irradiation induces astaxanthin (AST) accumulation in HEA cells, resulting in a gradual transformation from a green to red hue (RHEA). RHEA effectively scavenges excess ROS, enhances the expression of intracellular antioxidant enzymes, and directs polarization to M2 macrophages by secreting AST vesicles via exosomes. The living HEA hydrogel can sterilize and enhance cell proliferation and migration and promote neoangiogenesis, which could improve infected diabetic wound healing in female mice. The treatment of infected diabetic wounds faces obstacles of bacterial infection, hypoxia, hyperexpression of reactive oxygen species, and inflammation. Here, the authors address these issues by developing a programmed treatment strategy that utilizes live Haematococcus to promote healing of diabetic wounds in a comprehensive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a class of nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization problems, whose objective function can be split into two separable terms and one coupling term. Alternating proximal gradient methods combining with extrapolation are proposed to solve such problems. Under some assumptions, we prove that every cluster point of the sequence generated by our algorithms is a critical point. Furthermore, if the objective function satisfies Kurdyka–Łojasiewicz property, the generated sequence is globally convergent to a critical point. In order to make the algorithm more effective and flexible, we also use some strategies to update the extrapolation parameter and solve the problems with unknown Lipschitz constant. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: Given the younger age of cervical cancer patients and improved postoperative survival, postoperative quality of life should be a reason for concern, particularly given the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction. High uterosacral ligament suspension (HUS) has been deemed the more consistently successful surgery for the treatment of mid-pelvic abnormalities. HUS intraoperatively prevents pelvic floor dysfunction effectively. Methods: We demonstrate the steps of surgery using surgical video and photographs. The uterosacral ligament is fan shaped and connected to the fascial and extraosseous membranes on the surface of the anterior sacral foramen of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sacral vertebrae. Given that the uterosacral ligament was fan-shaped, the fan-shaped suture with three stitches was more compatible with the original anatomy. Results: Thirty patients with HUS who underwent thorough hysterectomy had no complications, operation time 230.82 ± 43.61 min, and blood loss 62.32 ± 37.25 ml. The urinary catheter was successfully removed 1 week after the operation, and no pelvic organ prolapse, including vaginal anterior and posterior wall prolapse, or rectocele, occurred after 3 years of follow-up. Conclusion: The uterosacral ligament fulfills the role of supporting, pulling, and suspending the uterus. We should exploit the advantage of fully exposing the uterosacral ligament in radical hysterectomy. Performing HUS to prevent pelvic organ prolapse following radical hysterectomy is a procedure worthy of investigation and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously identified a unique nucleus, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-contacting nucleus. This study aims to understand its gene architecture and preliminarily suggest its functions. The results showed that there were about 19,666 genes in this nucleus, of which 913 were distinct from the dorsal raphe nucleus (non-CSF contacting). The top 40 highly-expressed genes are mainly related to energy metabolism, protein synthesis, transport, secretion, and hydrolysis. The main neurotransmitter is 5-HT. The receptors of 5-HT and GABA are abundant. The channels for Cl–, Na+, K+, and Ca2+ are routinely expressed. The signaling molecules associated with the CaMK, JAK, and MAPK pathways were identified accurately. In particular, the channels of transient receptor potential associated with nociceptors and the solute carrier superfamily members associated with cell membrane transport were significantly expressed. The relationship between the main genes of the nucleus and life activities is preliminarily verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological dependence is the most important factor leading to relapse, few studies have examined whether in-group stereotypes exist in drug abusers, while it's helpful for drug abusers in getting rid of psychological dependence. To investigate the presence of in-group stereotypes and the neural mechanisms in drug abusers, two experiments were designed in this study. Experiment 1 used a classification–verification paradigm and Experiment 2 used The Extrinsic Affect Simon Task (EAST), simultaneous collection of EEG data from China. 18 and 17 males were analyzed respectively in Experiment 1 and 2. The results in Experiment 1 showed that (1) there was no significant difference in reaction times or N400 amplitude between the condition "Drug abusers-Negative words" and the condition "Drug abusers-Positive words". In Experiment 2, we found that (2) participants in the condition "Drug abusers-Negative words" scored higher in accuracy rates than in the condition "Drug abusers-Positive words". (3) Participants in the condition "Drug abusers-Negative words" were shorter than "Drug abusers-Positive words" in reaction times (RTs). (4) Participants in the condition "Drug abusers-Negative words" were lower than "Drug abusers-Positive words" in the peak of N400. The conclusion is that there are significant negative implicit in-group stereotypes among Chinese male drug abusers. The experimental results and the uniqueness of Chinese male drug abusers in this study were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction to: IL-17A promotes fatty acid uptake through the IL-17A/IL-17RA/ p-STAT3/FABP4 axis to fuel ovarian cancer growth in an adipocyte-rich microenvironment 3rhIL-17A increased the uptake of PA in OvCa cells via the IL-17A/IL-17RA/p-STAT3/FABP4 axis. ** p < 0.01. g The sections were prepared from the tumor tissues of WT and IL-17A -/- mice, and IHC staining was performed to determine FABP4 expression was performed. [Extracted from the article]

Aiming at recovery of uranium (U) from low-grade uranium ore with a high fluorine content, column bioleaching of uranium extraction with an indigenous mesophilic consortium was studied. The performance of the bacterial community and the effect of chemical parameters on column bioleaching of uranium were investigated. The results showed that U extraction reached a high value of 95.69%, including acid preleaching (65.53%) and bioleaching (30.16%), in a 124-day period of the leaching process. The composition and diversity of the bacterial community were found to be significantly changing in the acid preleaching and bioleaching stages; nevertheless, they existed in residue and pregnant leaching solution samples for the same stage and showed little difference. Additionally, dominant genera in the solid samples, including Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas, Brevundimonas Clostridium_sensu_stricto, Bacillus, Clostridium XI, and Acidithiobacillus, and the Acidithiobacillus genus were ubiquitous throughout the leaching column, which was in favour of U extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric corrosion is ubiquitous in China but varies a lot among different regions covering the cold, temperate, and tropical zones. Categorizing the atmospheric corrosivity and plotting precise atmospheric corrosion map remain key interest for a variety of industries. The present work proposed an atmospheric corrosion map of China for hot-dip galvanized steels, which was constructed by inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation algorithm based on both the measured corrosion rates of coupons exposed at 2393 inland test stations and calculated corrosion rates from a prevalent dose-response function in 2918 sites in coastal regions. When the corrosion category was used as the criterion, the IDW interpolation algorithm of power 2 performed best. Cross-validation results confirmed that the prediction accuracy of IDW interpolation reached 85.6%. Based on the corrosion map, the categories of atmospheric corrosivity in China could be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most projection methods, the operator of a variational inequality problem is assumed to be monotone (or pseudomonotone) and Lipschitz continuous. In this paper, we present a projection-like method to solve quasimonotone variational inequality problems without Lipschitz continuity. Under some mild assumptions, we prove that the sequence generated by the proposed algorithm converges to a solution. Numerical experiments are provided to show the effectiveness of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a rising clinical problem as its occurrence has increased due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. In this work, upconversion nanoparticles@AgBiS2 core-shell were produced with enhanced photothermal transformation efficiency and ability to produce reactive oxygen species for synergistic photodynamic photothermal and photodynamic antibacterial performance. The nanoparticles exhibit good antibacterial effects in vitro and satisfactory therapeutic performance on healing MRSA-infected wounds in vivo experiments. RNA-sequencing technique has been used to investigate and reveal that photothermal-photodynamic therapy using the nanoparticles can interfere with metabolic processes such as galactose metabolism in MRSA bacteria, destroy the transport system on the surface of MRSA, and affect quorum sensing to hinder the formation of biofilms to achieve effective antibacterial efficacy. It was demonstrated that this work presents an alternative near-infrared photoactive multimodal nanostructure for antibacterial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cutaneous cosmetology surgery, local injection or coated anesthetics are generally used to provide analgesia at the treatment site to achieve painless operation. Due to the barrier of corneum, topical cream may cause uncertain dosage and delayed analgesia. Local injection has problems such as pain, infection, and misoperation. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a painless and rapid administration method for local anesthesia. Here, a lidocaine/hyaluronic acid bubble microneedle patch (Lido/HA bMNP) was prepared for rapid drug delivery and efficient analgesia. The bubble structure between microneedles (MNs) and the backing layer allowed the MNs to efficiently penetrate into the skin and remove from the backing layer under shear force to rapidly complete the administration. Drugs were quickly released with the dissolution of HA within 15 s, which immediately played an analgesic effect and lasted for 1 h. Lido/HA bMNP could deliver precise doses to the skin in an extremely short time, which had the advantages of convenient operation, high biosafety, rapid onset of analgesia, and reasonable pain relief time. This patch provided an alternative way for local anesthesia and it was a promising transdermal drug delivery method for the realization of high quality and efficiency "painless medical beauty". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is the main protein component of Lewy bodies, the major pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD). C-terminally truncated α-syn is found in the brain of PD patients, reduces cell viability and tends to form fibrils. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the role of C-terminal truncation on the cytotoxicity and aggregation of α-syn. Here, we use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to show that the truncation alters α-syn conformation, resulting in an attractive interaction of the N-terminus with membranes and molecular chaperone, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). The truncated protein is more toxic to mitochondria than full-length protein and diminishes the effect of PDI on α-syn fibrillation. Our findings reveal a modulatory role for the C-terminus in the cytotoxicity and aggregation of α-syn by interfering with the N-terminus binding to membranes and chaperone, and provide a molecular basis for the pathological role of C-terminal truncation in PD pathogenesis. C-terminal truncation of a-syn results in a more extended and exposed conformation, providing further insight into the pathological role of this truncation event in the progression of Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel self-template sacrifice strategy was reported to prepare highly ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) nanoparticles with idiographic hollow and unique groove structure. Besides, we successfully accomplished multi-morphology interconversion by simply regulating initial reaction temperature and the concentration of hydrochloric acid, and the particle sizes could be easily tuned from 700 to 190 nm. Meaningfully, a "pyrolysis-sagging" mechanism was further proposed for the comprehension of the groove structure, which provided a brand-new and oversimplified soft template principal for the synthesis of OMC with novel morphology. Moreover, the self-template sacrifice strategy was rationalized through a simplified replenishment of the nucleation and growth stages as an extension. The as synthesized materials were used as carriers for furosemide to evaluate the drug adsorption and release performance, endowing them with significant prospect in the field of biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a worldwide health problem among aging populations. However, epidemiological information on Chinese elderly people with CKD is still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological features and associated risk factors of CKD in aging population in China. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 37,533 individuals aged ≥ 65 years were enrolled in Binhai from January to December 2018. The crude and standardized prevalence of CKD were calculated. Associations of metabolism-related indicators with CKD were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The overall prevalence of CKD was 17.7% (95% confidence interval 17.3–18.1%) in this Chinese elderly population. The prevalence was 17.5% among men (95% CI 17.0–18.1%) and 17.8% among women (95% CI 17.3–18.4%). The mean eGFR was 84.22 (SD ± 12.87) mL/min/1.73 m2, with the median value higher for women than for men. Conclusion: Our study shows a high prevalence of CKD among Chinese elderly population. Aging, pre-HTN, HTN, elevated triglyceride, and FBG were associated with the risk of CKD. More attention should be paid to metabolic diseases to prevent CKD in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to high content of carbonate and sulfide in ore, precipitation of calcium compounds is blocking the in-situ leaching system at Mengqiguer sandstone type deposit. Autoclave CO2 + O2 leaching tests were conducted in respecting the blockage and uranium migration. Result shows that: Most uranium was recovered within the first hour. Calcite and dolomite precipitated in the initial stage of leaching because of high pH value. As pH decreases rapidly after CO2 injection, calcite and dolomite did not precipitate. Gypsum is not saturated during the whole test. HCO3-, pH and Eh, controlled by CO2 + O2 injection are key factors influencing uranium leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the human genome is considered as a key event in cervical carcinogenesis. Here, we perform comprehensive characterization of large-range virus-human integration events in 16 HPV16-positive cervical tumors using the Nanopore long-read sequencing technology. Four distinct integration types characterized by the integrated HPV DNA segments are identified with Type B being particularly notable as lacking E6/E7 genes. We further demonstrate that multiple clonal integration events are involved in the use of shared breakpoints, the induction of inter-chromosomal translocations and the formation of extrachromosomal circular virus-human hybrid structures. Combined with the corresponding RNA-seq data, we highlight LINC00290, LINC02500 and LENG9 as potential driver genes in cervical cancer. Finally, we reveal the spatial relationship of HPV integration and its various structural variations as well as their functional consequences in cervical cancer. These findings provide insight into HPV integration and its oncogenic progression in cervical cancer. The molecular mechanisms underlying cervical carcinogenesis following integration of HPV DNA into the human genome remain elusive. Here, the authors perform long-read sequencing in 16 HPV16-positive cervical tumors and identify distinct integration types, structural variations and potential driver genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant phenology under changing climate is a critical factor controlling terrestrial vegetation productivity. However, large uncertainties exist due to different data sources and phenological parameter extraction methods. In this study, we took advantage of a suite of long-term field observational data in northern grassland of China to investigate the drivers of phenological shifts and their effect on the maximum aboveground net primary productivity (ANPPmax) across four representative grassland types during 1984–2017. Results showed that drivers of phenological events (i.e., start (SOS), end (EOS), and length (GSL) of the growing season) with warming influence dramatically differed among grassland types, indicating that the synergistic effect of temperature and precipitation should be highlighted. For temperate desert steppe and alpine meadow, GSL of dominant species was both significantly lengthened with temperature rising with averaged 0.94 days year−1 (P < 0.001) and 1.15 days year−1 (P < 0.001), respectively, while for typical temperate grassland, GSL was considerably shortened by an average of 0.58 days year−1 (P < 0.01) as a result of water deficit caused by sharp warming and precipitation decreasing in summer and autumn. For most grassland types in our study, both SOS and GSL were significantly correlated with ANPPmax under different precipitation gradients with SOS advanced and GSL extended leading to higher ANPPmax. Only the typical temperate grassland presents a relatively poor correlation between phenological events and productivity. Furthermore, compared with GSL, ANPPmax was more sensitive to the advancement of SOS for every 1-day phenological change. However, the effect of EOS on ANPPmax across the four grassland types was much weaker and unstable. There were spatial response differences between ANPPmax and phenological transition events, with the temperate meadow grassland tending to be more sensitive compared with three other grassland types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A test campaign for carrier phase timing was conducted on the BDS/GNSS Open Testing Platform (BOTP), which was established by the National Time Service Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NTSC, CAS), using communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Its purpose was a navigation technology experiment and verification platform for BDS and GNSS. The system architecture of BOTP, a novel navigation system independent of GNSS, is similar to that of traditional GNSS, with the main difference being that the communication satellite transponder without an onboard atomic clock is used as the navigation satellite. Moreover, the navigation signal generated at the ground navigation station is transmitted to the communication satellite via a large-diameter antenna and is transparently retransferred by the satellite transponder to users. BOTP uses a high-performance stable ground atomic clock group instead of an onboard satellite atomic clock, and the navigation signals work in the C-band. Based on the various merits of BOTP, a novel timing method with a single communication satellite is proposed, and the results of a performance verification test campaign conducted by NTSC in Xi’an, Beijing and Sanya during June 2020 are described. The statistics show that (1) the standard deviations of the carrier phase timing are 0.061 ns, 0.556 and 0.828 ns at Xi’an, Beijing and Sanya, respectively, and (2) the corresponding 95% confidence intervals of the carrier phase timing are 0.114 ns, 1.259 ns and 1.695 ns. These results reflect the ability and potential application of BOTP for high-precision, real-time timing based on the carrier phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the generalized Nash equilibrium problem of polynomials (GNEPP). We apply the Gauss–Seidel method and Moment-SOS relaxations to solve GNEPPs. The convergence of the Gauss–Seidel method is known for some special GNEPPs, such as generalized potential games (GPGs). We give a sufficient condition for GPGs and propose a numerical certificate, based on Putinar's Positivstellensatz. Numerical examples for both convex and nonconvex GNEPPs are given for demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Evidence about bone microarchitecture in Asian type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients is lacking. We assessed the bone microarchitecture in T1D patients versus controls and compare the differences between juvenile-onset and adult-onset T1D patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 32 Asian males with T1D and 32 age-, sex-, and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) for ultradistal nondominant radius and tibia were performed. The data were analyzed using Student's t test and analysis of covariance. Results: Among the patients, 15 had juvenile-onset T1D, with a median disease duration of 11 years, and 17 had adult-onset T1D, with a median disease duration of 7 years. At the radius, adult-onset and juvenile-onset T1D patients had lower total volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD), trabecular vBMD, trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) (p < 0.05) than the control subjects. After adjusting for BMI, disease duration, and insulin dose, juvenile-onset patients tended to have lower trabecular vBMD, BV/TV, Tb.Th, and intracortical porosity (Ct.Po) than adult-onset patients. At the tibia, adult-onset patients displayed lower total vBMD, lower Ct. vBMD, and higher Ct.Po (p < 0.05), while juvenile-onset patients had lower Tb.Th and standard deviation of trabecular number (1/Tb.N.SD) (p < 0.05) than control subjects. After adjustment for covariates, adult-onset patients tended to have higher cortical pore diameter (Ct.Po.Dm) than juvenile-onset patients. Conclusions: T1D patients were associated with compromised bone microarchitecture, adult-onset and juvenile-onset T1D patients demonstrated some differences in cortical and trabecular microarchitecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flower-like porous carbon has fascinated significant attention due to its outstanding and exceptional properties. However, controlled synthesis of porous carbon with adjustable morphology, highly active sites and cross-linked pore channels remains still a great challenge. Herein, an inimitable dissolution–reassembly anisotropic growth strategy was firstly demonstrated for the fabrication of idiographic orchid-like hierarchical porous carbon with ultra-thin multilayer carbon sheets, high specific surface area (1063 m2 g−1), large pore volume (0.82 cm3 g−1) and rich nitrogen content (7.6 wt%). Highly reactive phloroglucinol and EDA aggregated magically and SiO2 acted as a pore former. Ingeniously, acetone acted as a "surgical knife," which cut the composite of SiO2@phloroglucinol–EDA into many tiny units and further anisotropic growth into orchid-like polymers. The width and thickness of the carbon petals can be effectively controlled with the diversification of acetone concentration. Intriguingly, monodisperse hollow carbon nanospheres could be harvested with silicon-deficient system, which may offer new insight into the construction of functionalized carbon materials with hollow architecture. Owing to the unmatched superstructures, orchid-like carbon materials can be employed as an ideal drug carrier and dye adsorbent. Figure Schematic illustration of solid carbon nanosphere, hollow carbon nanosphere and OHPC-25. For the first time, a novel dissolution–reassembly route based on strong hydrogen-bonding interaction was developed to prepare unique orchid-like hierarchical porous carbon, in which phloroglucinol acted as a carbon precursor and EDA both as a base catalyst and as a nitrogen precursor. The critical step to this synthetic approach was the ingeniously employed acetone as a "surgical knife" to cut the composite of SiO2@phloroglucinol–EDA into many tiny units, and these units were reassembled into orchid-like polymers. After adding acetone, the morphology of carbon materials has changed from solid nanospheres to hollow nanospheres. This strategy did not use any template as the cavity, which may offer a new insight into the comprehension of synthesized functionalized carbon materials with hollow architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The recommended dose of rasburicase is quite expensive, thus limiting its use. Whether a lower dose of rasburicase would be equally effective for critically ill children, who often have more complicated situations and a higher risk of hospital death, is still unknown. Objective To explore the safety and efficacy of low-dose rasburicase in critically ill children with haematological malignancies who are at high risk of tumour lysis syndrome. Setting A single-centre retrospective cohort study. Method Children with haematological malignancies who had a history of rasburicase exposure during an intensive care unit stay were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups according to the initial dosage of rasburicase: the standard-dose group (> 0.1 mg/kg/day) and the low-dose group (≤ 0.1 mg/kg/day). The adverse events and short-term prognosis of the two groups were compared. Results Thirty-seven children were selected, 22 in the standard-dose group and 15 in the low-dose group. The most common tumour type was Burkitt's lymphoma (81%), followed by acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (11%). All patients were at high risk of tumour lysis syndrome, and 73% of them had 3 or more tumour lysis syndrome risk factors. The uric acid levels of 90% of patients with hyperuricaemia returned to the normal range within 12 h (100% in the standard-dose group and 75% in the low-dose group, P = 0.083). Eighty-four percent of patients presented serious complications, including tumour lysis syndrome (73%), acute kidney injury (59%), renal replacement treatment (24%), respiratory failure (24%), disseminated intravascular coagulation (16%) and heart failure (11%). There was no significant difference in the incidence of serious complications between the two groups. The overall 7-day and 28-day survival rates after intensive care unit admission were 86% and 84%, respectively. The average length of stay in the intensive care unit was 9.92 ± 5.13 days. Neither the short-term mortality nor the length of stay in the intensive care unit were significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion Low-dose rasburicase is effective and may be an acceptable choice for critically ill children with haematological malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing efficient and durable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with non-noble elements is particularly urgent for electrochemical water splitting. Herein, we report heterostructural Ni3S2–Fe5Ni4S8 hybrids directly grown on redox-NiFe foams (denoted as NFS/rNF) as excellent pre-catalysts for OER in 1 M KOH media. The electrochemical performance can be tuned by amount of sulfur source, and the optimized electrode only needs low overpotentials of 199 mV and 240 mV to attain 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. Moreover, the overpotential is further reduced to 231 mV to deliver 100 mA cm−2 after multi-cyclic voltammogram scans, due to the exposure of abundant in situ generated Ni(Fe)OOH species. Excellent stability with continuous 40 h operation is also demonstrated. Our study provides a new strategy for direct synthesis of self-standing integrated hybrid electrodes for efficient and durable water oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The cardiovascular efficacy of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are well documented; however, the differences in cardiovascular efficacy among subpopulations remain unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the differences in cardiovascular efficacy of long-acting GLP-1RAs among subpopulations of patients with T2DM and to assess the drug safety. Methods: Relevant studies up to March 31, 2020 were searched for in six electronic databases, namely PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Clinical Trials, Science Direct, and Web of Science. The primary outcome was three-point major adverse cardiovascular events (including cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke). Subpopulations were defined using ten selected influential factors, and the differences in cardiovascular efficacy in subpopulations stratified by different influential factors were accessed by synthesizing studies with random-effects models one by one. Results: A total of six cardiovascular outcome trials of long-acting GLP-1RAs, comprising 49,936 participants, were included. Among stratified subpopulations, no significant differences in the cardiovascular efficacy of long-acting GLP-1RAs were observed across the ten characteristics of subjects (all P for interaction > 0.05). Favorable trends were observed in the subpopulation with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to that without (P = 0.171). With regards to safety, long-acting GLP-1RAs did not significantly increase the risk of retinopathy (OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.92–1.29; P = 0.316), but increase the risk of serious gastrointestinal events (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.02–1.83; P = 0.037). Long-acting GLP-1RAs did not significantly increase the risk of serious adverse events (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.85–1.00; P = 0.039). Conclusions: Our analysis suggested no subpopulation differences in the cardiovascular efficacy of long-acting GLP-1RAs among stratified subpopulations, and favorable trends were only observed in the subpopulation with established CVD. These findings may have implications for the management of long-acting GLP-1RAs across subpopulations of patients with T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the sympathetic nervous system in childhood. NB severely threatens patient's health and life. However, more effective diagnosis and treatment methods are badly needed in clinics all over the world. MYCN is well recognized as a genetic biomarker of high risk and poor outcome in NB. miRNAs are small RNAs and miR-98 involved in the pathogenesis of various cancers. The role and mechanism of miR-98 in NB remains to be investigated. Here we found that miR-98 was decreased in human MYCN-high-expression NB tissues, and its down-regulation was associated with poor prognosis of NB. Over-expression of miR-98 inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of NB cells. The analysis by employing the software of miRanda predicted the possible binding sites of miR-98 in the 3′-UTR of MYCN, and experimental data illustrated that miR-98 directly bound to MYCN 3′-UTR and decreased MYCN expression. Over-expression of MYCN rescued the decreased malignant phenotype caused by over-expression of miR-98 in NB. N6-methyladenosine modification in 3′-UTR of MYCN promoted its interaction with miR-98. The data collectively demonstrated that RNA m6A modification was required for miR-98/MYCN axis-mediated inhibition of neuroblastoma progression, and miR-98 might be novel targets for NB detection and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a series of phosphorus-doped CoMoO4 rod bundles electrocatalysts on 3D nickel foams have been successfully synthesized and exploited as efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst in 1 M KOH. The incorporation of phosphorus into CoMoO4 can significantly promote the HER activity, and the CoMoO4 bundles phosphorized at 350 °C exhibited the optimum activity, which only required low overpotentials of 56 and 148 mV to deliver cathodic current densities of 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. This electrode also presented considerable long-term electrochemical stability with negligible delay after 30 h operation and 3000 accelerated cyclic voltammetry cycles. Our study provides a superior earth-abundant catalyst for efficient HER in alkaline media, which also suggests that P doping engineering is an effective way to boost the HER activity of transition metal-based oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To investigate the safety of insulin lispro Mix 25 and 50 (LM25 and LM50) in hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a phase IV, randomized, crossover clinical trial in Chinese patients with T2DM switching from premixed human insulin 70/30 (PHI70/30) to LM25 or LM50. Eighty-one subjects received a two-stage crossover protocol of either LM25 or LM50 twice daily for 16 weeks. Habitual diet was taken, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) was performed throughout the study period. High-carbohydrate diet (HCD), high-fat diet (HFD) and habitual diet patterns were taken, and 72 h continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) was performed at the last 3 days of each treatment stage. Results: The frequencies of nocturnal hypoglycemia in LM50 were lower than those in LM25 under a Chinese habitual diet pattern. The related factors of hypoglycemia in patients with T2DM treated with a LM25 or LM50 regimen were the weight-based daily mean insulin dose and the type of combined oral hypoglycemic agents. Under both HCD and habitual diet patterns, the optimal cut point values of bedtime glucose predicting nocturnal hypoglycemia in LM50 were lower than those in LM25. Conclusions: The risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia in the LM50 regimen was lower than that in the LM25 regimen under the HCD pattern, and the safety range of bedtime glucose for the LM50 regimen was wider than that of the LM25 regimen in Chinese T2DM patients. Premixed insulin analogs combined with acarbose were more helpful to reduce the incidence of hypoglycemia. Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn #ChiCTR-TTRCC-12002516. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are crucial mediators of cancer development, representing potential targets for cancer therapy. The molecular mechanism of a vital pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-17A, in cancer progression and its potential use in therapy through influencing fatty acid (FA) metabolism, especially FA uptake of cancer cells, remains unknown. In the present study, we used IL-17A and ovarian cancer (OvCa), a representative of both obesity-related and inflammation-related cancers, to explore the interactions among IL-17A, cancer cells and adipocytes (which can provide FAs). We found that in the presence of palmitic acid (PA), IL-17A could directly increase the cellular uptake of PA, leading to the proliferation of OvCa cells via the IL-17A/IL-17RA/p-STAT3/FABP4 axis rather than via CD36. Moreover, in vivo experiments using an orthotopic implantation model in IL-17A-deficient mice demonstrated that endogenous IL-17A could fuel OvCa growth and metastasis with increased expression of FABP4 and p-STAT3. Furthermore, analysis of clinical specimens supported the above findings. Our data not only provide useful insights into the clinical intervention of the growth and metastasis of the tumors (such as OvCa) that are prone to growth and metastasis in an adipocyte-rich microenvironment (ARM) but also provides new insights into the roles of IL-17A in tumor progression and immunomodulatory therapy of OvCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the original publication, the authors' contribution is missing in the acknowledgment section. The correct acknowledgement is provided in this correction. Also, in Fig. 4, the second (c) after figure (d) should be read as (e). In Fig. 5 (i), the Y-axis label “Current (μA)” should be read as “Voltage”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a glucose fuel cell (GFC) were separately designed to harvest biomechanical energy from body motion and biochemical energy from glucose molecules. A hybrid energy-harvesting system (HEHS) which consisted of TENG and GFC was developed successfully, and it can simultaneously harvest biomechanical energy and biochemical energy.Various types of energy exist everywhere around us, and these energies can be harvested from multiple sources to power micro-/nanoelectronic system and even personal electronic products. In this work, we proposed a hybrid energy-harvesting system (HEHS) for potential in vivo applications. The HEHS consisted of a triboelectric nanogenerator and a glucose fuel cell for simultaneously harvesting biomechanical energy and biochemical energy in simulated body fluid. These two energy-harvesting units can work individually as a single power source or work simultaneously as an integrated system. This design strengthened the flexibility of harvesting multiple energies and enhanced corresponding electric output. Compared with any individual device, the integrated HEHS outputs a superimposed current and has a faster charging rate. Using the harvested energy, HEHS can power a calculator or a green light-emitting diode pattern. Considering the widely existed biomechanical energy and glucose molecules in the body, the developed HEHS can be a promising candidate for building in vivo self-powered healthcare monitoring system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyloid deposits are one of the hallmark pathological lesions of Alzheimer's disease (AD). They can be visualized by thioflavin-S, silver impregnation, Congo red staining, and immunohistochemical reactions. However, that amyloid deposits generate blue autofluorescence (auto-F) has been ignored. Here, we report that visible light-induced auto-F of senile plaques (SPs) was detected and validated with conventional methods. Brain slices from APP/PS1 (amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1) transgenic mice were mounted on slides, rinsed, coverslipped and observed for details of the imaging and spectral characteristics of the auto-F of SPs. Then the slices were treated with the above classic methods for comparative validation. We found that the SP auto-F was greatest under blue-violet excitation with a specific emission spectrum, and was much easier, more sensitive, and reliable than the classic methods. Because it does not damage slices, observation of auto-F can be combined with all post-staining techniques in slices and for brain-wide imaging in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize conditions for bioleaching of the high-fluorine and low-sulfur uranium ore by the test acidophilic consortiums, the central composite design method and response surface method were applied to study the relationships between pyrite addition, pulp density, temperature and uranium recovery rate, respectively. The results showed that the pulp density, pyrite addition and temperature had a significant impact on the uranium recovery rate. The predicted optimum uranium leaching conditions were 2.20% of pyrite addition, 7.69% of pulp density and 31.90 °C of temperature, respectively. The actual uranium leaching rate under the optimal conditions was 94.84%, which was consistent with the predicted values with the model (95.21%). The results were of great significance for a large-scaled bioleaching practice of the high-fluorine and low-sulfur uranium or low-grade uranium ore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citric acid and oxalic acid, the main metabolites of fungi, have different leaching effects on uranium ore. Herein, uranium leaching from a volcano-litho-type uranium ore using citric acid and oxalic acid was studied by performing soaking experiments in incubator shakers using pure water and H2SO4 as controls. The citric acid is advantageous over oxalic acid in terms of the uranium leaching rate (97% and 67%) and speed for 20 days of leaching. These findings will help optimize the isolation and cultivation conditions of organic acid-producing fungi used for uranium leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high level of fluorine and low sulfur in the ore could significantly undermine the bioleaching effectiveness. Here, a strategy to improve the bioleaching efficiency by introducing fluoride-resistant mesophilic eosinophils coupled with pyrite supplement was investigated in a bioleaching system with such ore. The results of column and heap bioleaching showed that 89.25% and 90.40% of uranium were recovered with the consortium and pyrite addition, which increased the uranium leaching rates by 13.22% and 8.96% as compared with the sulfuric acid leaching. Hence, it provides a method to improve uranium bioleaching efficiency of the high-fluorine and low-sulfur uranium ore by the consortium adding pyrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to explore the association between serum UA and cellular aging markers. Design: The current cross-sectional analysis was based on data collected within a type 2 diabetes project. Settings: Serum uric acid (UA), which has both antioxidant and pro-oxidant properties, is thought to be involved in cellular aging processes. Participants: There are 536 participants included in total, 65.3% of which are women. The average serum UA in women was 267.8 umol/l, lower than in men of 337.7 umol/l (P<0.001). Measurements: Serum UA, blood lipid profile, HbA1c, plasma glucose and insulin were determined. The peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) were assessed using a real-time PCR assay. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the associations between serum UA and cellular aging markers. Results: In Spearman's correlation analysis, there were significantly negative correlations between serum UA and LTL in both women and men (r=−0.162, P=0.006; and r=−0.232, P=0.004, respectively). The logistic regression adjusted for age, BMI, WC, daily energy intake, HbA1c, TG, and LDL-C revealed that the ORs of shorter LTL comparing the extreme serum UA quintiles was 5.52 (95% CI 1.69–18.02; P for trend =0.025) in women and 6.49 (95% CI 1.38–30.45; P for trend =0.108) in men. Furthermore, the OR (95% CI) for shorter LTL per 1 SD increment in serum UA was 1.51(1.10–2.07) in women and 1.64(1.01–2.65) in men. In regard to mtDNAcn, the association between elevated serum UA and lower mtDNAcn only reached significance in men when comparing the second and fifth quintiles with reference quintile (OR=3.73(1.07–13.04) and 3.76(1.01–14.09), separately, and P for trend=0.066). Conclusions: Our results indicate a significant negative association between serum UA and peripheral blood cellular aging markers. Serum UA might play a role in promoting cellular aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: We compared the transcriptomes of parenchymal and vascular cells of Sedum alfredii stem under Cd stress to reveal gene regulatory networks underlying Cd hyperaccumulation.Abstract: Cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulation in plants is a complex biological process controlled by gene regulatory networks. Efficient transport through vascular systems and storage by parenchymal cells are vital for Cd hyperaccumulation in the Cd hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii, but the genes involved are poorly understood. We investigated the spatial gene expression profiles of transport and storage sites in S. alfredii stem using laser-capture microdissection coupled with RNA sequencing. Gene expression patterns in response to Cd were distinct in vascular and parenchymal cells, indicating functional divisions that corresponded to Cd transportation and storage, respectively. In vascular cells, plasma membrane-related terms enriched a large number of differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) for foundational roles in Cd transportation. Parenchymal cells contained considerable DEGs specifically concentrated on vacuole-related terms associated with Cd sequestration and detoxification. In both cell types, DEGs were classified into different metabolic pathways in a similar way, indicating the role of Cd in activating a systemic stress signalling network where ATP-binding cassette transporters and Ca2+ signal pathways were probably involved. This study identified site-specific regulation of transcriptional responses to Cd stress in S. alfredii and analysed a collection of genes that possibly function in Cd transportation and detoxification, thus providing systemic information and direction for further investigation of Cd hyperaccumulation molecular mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan and enzymes have been extensively used in modification of wool, due to their non-toxic and eco-friendly characteristics, as well as to reduce pollution in textile production. In the present work, chitosan was grafted onto wool fabrics using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in order to endow wool with outstanding properties. The reaction mechanism, grafting percentage, and properties of chitosan-grafted pretreated wool fabric including wettability, dyeability, shrink resistance, and antibacterial activity were studied. P-hydroxyphenylacetamide (PHAD), as a model compound for tyrosine residues in wool, was used to study the mechanism of HRP-mediated grafting of chitosan onto wool. UV and FTIR analyses indicated that quinones, which are intermediate of HRP/H2O2-catalyzed PHAD, reacted with the amino groups of chitosan by Schiff base or Michael addition reactions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that dichloroisocyanuric acid pretreatment had an etching effect and some substances were deposited onto the wool fiber. SEM and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy further confirmed the covalent grafting of chitosan onto wool. Compared with chitosan-grafted unpretreated wool, there was an obvious improvement in grafting efficiency of chitosan onto wool fabric, physical and mechanical properties after pretreatment and chitosan grafting on the wool. For chitosan-grafted pretreated wool fabrics, there was no observable change in the thermal behavior, while the hydrophilicity, dyeability, shrinkage resistance, and antibacterial activity were remarkably improved compared to that of untreated wool. The present work offers a new ecologically acceptable process of grafting chitosan on the wool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Size-resolved particle composition, size distribution, and mixing state were characterized at the single-particle level during two air pollution episodes during 12-25 January, 2016 in a coastal city in southeast China. The two pollution episodes occurred under distinct meteorological conditions (i.e., different wind speeds, relative humidity, and backward trajectories); thus, they were assigned to stagnation and transport episodes, respectively. Single-particle data, obtained from single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry (SPAMS), showed that carbonaceous particles were the predominant particles during the whole study period, accounting for more than 60% of the total particles. However, the number fractions of carbonaceous particles and nitrate-containing particles significantly increased in the stagnation episode, while the number fractions of sulfate- and ammonium-containing particles both increased in the transport episode compared to the levels over the whole study period. The potassium-rich (K-rich) particle class was more abundant and more strongly mixed with sulfate in the transport episode, which indicates the impact of biomass burning emissions and the subsequent aging process by acquiring sulfate during transport. The particle classes (e.g., carbonaceous and K-rich classes) had a broader size distribution during the pollution episodes than during the clean episode. The diameters of the size distribution peak for all particle classes (except for dust class) were observed to be larger in the transport episode than in the stagnation episode. This suggests that the particles underwent an extensive aging process through the addition of sulfate and ammonium during transport, leading to the growth of particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is critical in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to the lack of targeted therapy for DPN. We have investigated the relationship between different stages of diabetic nephropathy and DPN in an attempt to elucidate whether albuminuria can be used as an early warning signal of DPN progression.Methods: A total of 217 T2DM patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited from the Department of Endocrinology, Nanfang Hospital between January 2016 and June 2016. These patients were placed in groups based on urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Nerve conduction studies, the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test (SWMT) and the vibration perception threshold (VPT) test were conducted. Multiple linear regression analysis, multivariate logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed to investigate the relationship between different stages of diabetic nephropathy and DPN in these patients.Results: Significant differences were observed in the conduction velocity (CV) and amplitude of sensory/motor nerve potential among the T2DM patients at different stages of diabetic nephropathy (all p  < 0.05). The UAER and duration of diabetes were found to be independent factors associated with the mean CV and amplitude of sensory/motor nerve potential (all p  < 0.05). A disease duration of > 10 years (p  = 0.025) and a higher total cholesterol value (p  = 0.024) were found to be significantly associated with abnormal SWMT results. A UAER of > 300 mg/24 h (p  = 0.007) and a diastolic blood pressure of > 100 mmHg (p  = 0.042) were associated with a higher risk for abnormal VPT. A UAER  of > 300 mg/24 h (p  < 0.001) and a disease duration of > 10 years (p  = 0.02) were observed to be significantly correlated with DPN. The ROC analysis showed that the optimal cutoff values of UAER and duration as indicators of DPN were 90.5 mg/24 h and 9.5 years, respectively (both p  < 0.001).Conclusions: The results suggest that diabetic nephropathy is closely associated with the development of DPN in T2DM patients and that UAER and disease duration can be used as warning indicators of DPN progression.Chinese Clinical Trials Register Number: ChiCTR-ROC-16007701. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To investigate the relative contribution rates of basal hyperglycemia (BHG) and postprandial hyperglycemia (PPHG) to overall hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with insulin lispro mix 25 and 50 (LM25 and LM50) as evaluated by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).Methods: Eighty-one T2DM patients treated with premixed human insulin 70/30 (PHI70/30) were randomly divided into two groups and received a crossover protocol. In the first 16-week stage, one group received LM25 twice daily, the other group received LM50 twice daily. In the second 16-week stage, the two groups exchanged therapeutic regimen. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measurement and CGM were performed at enrollment and at the end of each treatment stage.Results: BHG’s contribution rate increased with increasing HbA1c (from 34.5% to 60.8%). PPHG’s contribution rates in the LM50 regimen were significantly lower than those in LM25 and PHI70/30 regimens at HbA1c levels < 7.5%. Compared with LM50, LM25 shows a significant difference in reducing HbA1c in the subgroup with baseline HbA1c ≥ 8.5% (ΔHbA1c LM25 vs. LM50 − 0.6 ± 0.1% vs. 0.3 ± 0.1%, p < 0.05).Conclusions: For T2DM patients treated with premixed insulin analogues, postprandial hyperglycemia played a major role in the subgroup of patients with HbA1c < 8.5%, while fasting hyperglycemia became the major contributor to overall hyperglycemia in the subgroup of patients with HbA1c ≥ 8.5%.Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier ChiCTR-TTRCC-12002516.Funding: Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Branch, China) and National Key Program of Clinical Science of China (WBYZ2011-873). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The balance between immunostimulation and immunoregulation in T cell immunity is achieved by maintaining specific ratios of Th1, Th2, Th3 and Tr1 cells. Here, we investigate levels of type 1 (IFN-gamma; NK1), type 2 (IL-13; NK2), type 3 (TGF-beta; NK3) and regulatory (IL-10; NKr) cytokines in peripheral blood to assess the cytokine profiles of natural killer (NK) cells following human allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). NK2 and NK3 cell expansion was observed after allo-HSCT; levels of NKr cells reached donor levels at day 15, though levels of NK1 cells were consistently lower than donor levels until day 60 after allo-HSCT. Multivariate analysis showed that a higher level of NK1 cells by day 15 was associated with a lower overall risk of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (HR 0.157, P=0.010) as well as II-IV acute GVHD (HR 0.260, P=0.059). Furthermore, higher levels of NK1 cells by day 15 were correlated with lower rates of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation (HR 0.040, 0.005-0.348, P=0.003). These results indicate that rapid reconstitution of NK cells, especially NK1 cells, can help prevent the development of GVHD as well as CMV reactivation after allogeneic transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We cloned the GbABR1 gene from highly resistant Gossypium barbadense Xinhai15 based on the candidate genes screened by transcriptome sequencing that were related to resistance to Verticillium wilt. A sequence characteristic analysis showed that GbABR1 was an ERF subfamily B4 member and was a new member of the AP2 family of sea-island cotton. The GbABR1 gene was expressed highly in roots compared with the levels in leaves and stems in cotton. Expression was enhanced significantly in cotton after infection by Verticillium dahliae, indicating that GbABR1 probably plays an important role in the response to biotic stress. The results of subcellular localisation showed that GFP:GbABR1 was localised to the nucleus. GbABR1 silencing via the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) method indicated that the incidence of disease and the disease index in VIGS-silenced plants were much higher than in the control after infection by Verticillium dahliae. The GbABR1-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants showed similar resistance to Verticillium dahliae compared to the wild type. These results indicate that the GbABR1 gene plays a positive role in resistance to Verticillium wilt. The GbABR1-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants presented dwarfism, early maturation and early bolting compared with wild-type plants, suggesting that GbABR1 also participates in growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the characteristics and sources of low molecular weight (LMW) organic acids in wet precipitation at a coastal city, Xiamen, a total of 313 rainwater samples were collected at seven different functional areas from September 2012 to August 2013. Spatiotemporal characteristics of LMW organic acids as well as pH and electrical conductivity were analyzed. Meanwhile, air mass clusters in different seasons and the positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportion model were comprehensively used to identify the sources of organic acids. In conclusion, the volume-weighted mean (VWM) concentration of formic (3.20 μmol/L), acetic (1.84 μmol/L), lactic (0.44 μmol/L), and oxalic acid (0.53 μmol/L) were obtained, which jointly contributed to 4.33% of the total free acidity (TFA). At the same time, the highest wet deposition flux of LMW organic acids and contribution of that to TFA were achieved at the forest protection area during growing season in Xiamen. In addition, biogenic emissions (77.12%), sea salts (13.77%), regional agriculture activities (3.92%), soil emissions (2.56%), biomass burning (1.47%), and secondary aerosols (1.15%) were determined as the source of LMW organic acids. Besides, the dominancy of biomass burning via long-range transport in non-growing season (NGS) and the contribution of biogenic emission in growing season (GS) were recognized. Finally, the considerable influence of sea salts on the LMW organic acids (13.77%) in Xiamen was quantified, especially for oxalic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]