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In this study, we investigated the surgical technique and endocrine assessment of pituitary function of patients with macroadenoma treated by extra-pseudocapsular transnasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETTS).Clinical data of 144 patients with pituitary macroadenomas in the same surgical group at the Department of Neurosurgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology were retrospectively analyzed from January 2019 to June 2021. Based on the results of the endocrinological evaluation and MRI examinations before and after surgery, the fluctuation of pituitary function and the extent of resection were analyzed. Multiple Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors affecting postoperative tumor residual.Among the 144 patients with pituitary macroadenomas, 72 (50.0%) were female and 72 (50.0%) were male, the median age was 50 years, 26 (18.1%) had invasiveness grade 0, 46 (31.9%) had grade I, 57 (39.6%) had grade II, and 15 (10.4%) had grade III according to Lu's classification method. Based on observation during surgery, 37 cases (25.7%) had no pseudocapsule, 54 cases (37.5%) had incomplete pseudocapsule, and 53 cases (36.8%) had intact pseudocapsule. In addition, 91 (63.2%) patients had total resection, 39 (27.1%) had subtotal resection, and 14 (9.7%) had partial resection. As for anterior pituitary function, 13 of 19 hypothyroid patients had recovery after surgery, with a remission rate of 68.4%. Eighteen of the 26 decreased cortisol patients got back to normal, with a remission rate of 69.2%. A total of 27 of 51 patients with hypogonadism improved, with a remission rate of 52.9%. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that gender, tumor size, and invasiveness were predictors of postoperative residual in patients (P0.05).The results showed that ETTS is an effective treatment modality for restoring the function of pituitary gland of the patients with macroadenomas. Tumor size and invasiveness are predictors of the extent of surgical resection and postoperative residual of macroadenomas.

Objective To elucidate the role of transsphenoidal surgery in the treatment of pituitary microprolactinoma. Methods The clinical data of 107 prolactinoma cases treated by extra-pseudocapsular transnasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETTS) for different indications in our department since 2011 was retrospectively analyzed. Results The most common indication was the ineffectiveness of oral medication (41.1%), followed by the personal willingness of the patient (35.5%), and 20.6% of the patients were young women with clear tumor boundaries. The pseudocapsule was not observed in 63 cases (58.9%), incomplete pseudocapsule was observed in 26 cases (24.3%), and complete pseudocapsule in 18 cases (16.8%). A total of 97 patients (90.7%) obtained 1-year post-operation remission. According to the relative location of the adenoma and pituitary gland on the MRI scan, 46 patients were classified into a central type, 59 a lateral type, and 2 a supra-pituitary type. Two patients developed hypogonadism, one patient developed hypocortisolism, and one patient developed post-operative hypothyroidism. Two patients were administrated with hormone replacement treatment, and the treatment was stopped within one week. There was no permanent hypopituitarism. Further investigation demonstrated that the adenoma types could affect the remission rates of hyperprolactinemia and gross total resection rate in microprolactinoma. Conclusion ETTS was an effective treatment for pituitary microprolactinomas. This could be the first choice for patients who presented enclosed adenoma on the MRI and were potentially curable in a preoperative evaluation. Maximal safe removal of the adenoma by ETTS with the aim to increase the sensitivity of the drugs was also recommended for patients with invasive dopamine agonist resistant prolactinomas and patients with difficulty in childbirth.

ObjectivesOur objective was to determine the impact of maternal HIV–hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection on pregnancy outcomes.MethodsThe current study was conducted in a county of Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China. Data were abstracted from hospitalisation records, including maternal and infant information. The seroprevalences of HIV and HBV infections and HIV–HBV coinfection were determined and the impact of maternal HIV–HBV coinfection on adverse pregnancy outcomes was assessed using logistic regression analysis. A treatment effects linear regression model was also applied to examine the effect of HBV, HIV or coinfection to quantify the absolute difference in birth weight from a reference of HBV–HIV negative participants.ResultsA total of 13 198 pregnant women were included in our study, and among them, 99.1% were Yi people and 90.8% lived in rural area. The seroprevalences of HIV and HBV infections and HIV–HBV coinfection were 3.6% (95% CI: 3.2% to 3.9%), 3.2% (95% CI: 2.9% to 3.5%) and 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1% to 0.2%) among the pregnant women, respectively. Maternal HIV–HBV coinfection was a risk factor for low birth weight (adjusted OR (aOR)=5.52, 95% CI: 1.97 to 15.40). Compared with the HIV mono-infection group, the risk of low birth weight was significantly higher in the HIV–HBV coinfection group (aOR=3.62, 95% CI: 1.24 to 10.56). Maternal HIV infection was associated with an increased risk of low birth weight (aOR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.38 to 2.60) and preterm delivery (aOR=2.84, 95% CI: 1.81 to 4.47). Perinatal death was more common when mothers were infected with HBV (aOR=2.85, 95% CI: 1.54 to 5.26).ConclusionsThe prevalence of HIV infection was high among pregnant women of the Yi region. Both HIV and HBV infections might have adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes. Maternal HIV–HBV coinfection might be a risk factor for low birth weight in the Yi region, which needs to be confirmed.

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) is one of the most important far-infrared optical candidate materials. However, it is indispensable for ZnS to improve its antireflection and protection especially under harsh environments. Compared with conventional surface antireflective films, surface sub-wavelength structures (SWSs) have some unique advantages. In this paper, dewetting nickel dots as etching mask on ZnS substrates were obtained by thermal annealing of as-sputtered Ni films on the intermediate layers of as-sputtered silicon films. ZnS SWSs were then prepared by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. Finally, HfO2 films were deposited on ZnS SWSs by atomic layer deposition. The influences of SWSs and ALD-derived HfO2 films on the transmittance and protection of ZnS were both investigated. The experimental results show that ZnS SWSs can increase both far-infrared transmittance and surface hydrophobicity. Meanwhile, ALD-derived HfO2 films can provide good protection. Compared with bare ZnS, HfO2-coated ZnS with double-sided SWS exhibits average transmittance of 79.2% other than initial 69.1% in 8–12 μm, better hydrophobicity with the wetting angle of 119.7°, and higher composite nano-hardness increased from 25.00 to 38.68 GPa. ALD derived HfO2 films on ZnS surface sub-wavelength structures have excellent application prospective for infrared optical windows.

Microstructured surfaces with spatial arrangements of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions have been widely studied in boiling heat transfer enhancement. In this study, a conceptual design of microstructured surfaces with time-varying wettability is proposed to regulate bubble dynamics and thus enhance the heat transfer performance in the nucleate boiling regime. The effectiveness of the design is examined numerically for single-bubble heat transfer on a micropillar-arrayed silicon surface using a comprehensive three-dimensional model. The intrinsic contact angle is initially set as 48°, it is subsequently reduced to 20° in the bubble growth (0.152 and 0.4 ms) or departure stage (0.60 and 0.80 ms). The simulations show that two mechanisms contribute to heat transfer enhancement. First, the time-varying wettability decreases the adhesion force on the bubble exerted by the surface, thereby increasing the bubble departure frequency. Second, it also increases the local curvatures of the bubble, leading to the formation of thin liquid films between the bubble and micropillar walls. The liquid films suppress dry spots and hence enhance the heat removal of the bubble from the surface. The simulations also show that the reduction in the intrinsic contact angle enhances the evaporation on the liquid–vapor interface but deteriorates the evaporation in the microlayer. Because the former dominates the heat transfer process of the bubble on the micropillar-arrayed surface, the time-varying wettability increases the total evaporation rate. In the meantime, the time-varying wettability reduces the time proportion of the departure stage, which shortens the weakened heat transfer period in a bubble life-cycle and thus enhances the average heat transfer rate. As compared the case with constant wettability, the average heat transfer rate for the cases with time-varying wettability increases by 38.5%, 23.1%, 19.2%, and 15.4%, respectively, when the intrinsic contact angle is reduced at 0.152, 0.40, 0.60, and 0.80 ms, indicating that earlier wettability modulation gives rise to more significant heat transfer enhancement. The optimal time for wettability modulation is exactly the same as the time at which the total evaporation rate begins to decline.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that can infect both humans and animals and cause cryptosporidiosis. We aimed to estimate the global prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection. In this study, Web of Science, Medline and PubMed were searched for relative articles, published between January 1, 1960 and January 1, 2018. Included articles were restricted to English language and that sample size of articles was not less than 50. Studies with no information on the study period, location, method of diagnosis, sample size and number of infected people were excluded. Studies about outbreak, laboratory report or immunocompromised population were excluded as well. The quality of the included publications was assessed. The prevalence of cryptosporidiosis was estimated by DerSimonian–Laird random-effects model, after converting by the Freeman–Tukey type double arcsine transformation. From 13,064 publications selected by literature search, 221 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The global pooled prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was 7.6 % (95% CI: 6.9–8.5). The highest estimated prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was in Mexico (69.6%, 95% CI 66.3–72.8), Nigeria (34.0%, 95% CI 12.4–60.0), Bangladesh (42.5%, 95% CI 36.1–49.0) and Republic of Korea (8.3%, 95% CI 4.4–13.2) among general residents, patients, school children and healthy population, respectively. The estimated prevalence was high in people from low-income country, people with gastrointestinal symptoms, people younger than 5 years old and residents not living in urban areas. These estimates indicate the substantial prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in the world, which may provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of the prevention strategy about Cryptosporidium.

Micro-pillars structured surfaces have been found to enhance nucleate boiling significantly, as compared with smooth surfaces. In this study, a VOF-based (volume of fluid) numerical model is developed to investigate the single-bubble dynamics on micro-pillars structured surfaces in nucleate boiling, aiming to understand the effect of pillar height (h) on boiling enhancement. The model is solving by the commercial CFD (computational fluid dynamics) solver Fluent. The results show that increasing h modifies remarkably the bubble morphology. An interesting phenomenon is observed for larger h that the bubble bottom undergoes expansion, shrinkage, and re-expansion in gaps between micro-pillars in the growth stage, so that a mushroom-like bubble is generated, with a small root and a large head. The modified bubble morphology promotes the bubble departure, leading to a shorter departure time. Moreover, increasing h also enhances both evaporation rate in the microlayer and evaporation rate on the liquid-vapor interface, and thereby increasing bubble departure diameter. Thus, the shorter departure time and larger departure diameter are responsible for the enhanced boiling heat transfer on micro-pillar structured surfaces with larger h.

The newly discovered Banduo Pb–Zn deposit in the Somdo area of Tibet is hosted by a Late Triassic granodiorite. A combination of zircon U–Pb dating, Hf isotopic compositions, sulfide Rb–Sr dating, and whole-rock geochemistry was used to determine the age of the mineralization and characterize the metallogenesis of the deposit. The weighted-mean U–Pb ages of zircon from the granodiorite (203.8 ± 1.7 Ma, MSWD = 0.53; 206.1 ± 0.4 Ma, MSWD = 0.098) and the weighted-mean Rb–Sr isochron age of sulfides from the Pb–Zn mineralization (202.7 ± 2.3 Ma; MSWD = 1.3) suggest that the timing of mineralization was close to that of granodiorite crystallization during the Late Triassic. The average (87Sr/86Sr)i value of 0.71026 implies that the ore-forming metals were sourced from a mixture of mantle and crustal material. The weakly altered granodiorite of the deposit is characterized by SiO2 = 66.78–67.85 wt%, K2O = 2.57–3.37 wt%, Al2O3 = 13.53–15.15 wt%, and Mg# = 45.5–51.3. It is enriched in LREEs and LILEs and depleted in HREEs and HFSEs, and it exhibits a negative Eu anomaly. The granodiorite has positive and negative eHf(t) values (−2.5 to 1.7) and crustal model ages (TC DM) of 1.14–1.40 Ga. Hf isotopic analyses and whole-rock geochemistry indicate that the Late Triassic granodiorite was likely sourced from of a mixture of mantle and ancient lower-crust material that had undergone variable degrees of fractional crystallization. Based on regional data, the Banduo deposit is the oldest Pb–Zn deposit in the Gangdese belt and likely formed as a result of the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. The metallogenic epoch indicates that deposits related to the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys oceanic crust exist in this area. The Late Triassic age of granitoid-hosted mineralization provides additional prospects for exploration in the Gangdese Metallogenic Belt.

Few studies have investigated the spatial variation in road traffic indicators associated with lung cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between road traffic-related indicators and lung cancer risk and to estimate its spatial variability. The population-based case control study was conducted, including all the newly diagnosed lung cancer patients (cases) and colorectal cancer patients (controls) in Jiading District, Shanghai from 2014 to 2016. Traffic intensity variable (traffic intensity in a 500 m buffer), residential distance to major road or highway, and greenness exposure at the residence were estimated for each individual. We conducted unconditional logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, smoking status and NDVI values and geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR). The clustering of lung cancer risk was analyzed by Bernoulli model of the SaTScan software. This study included 1461 lung cancer patients and 954 colorectal cancer patients. In multivariate logistic regression, smoking [OR 1.25 95% CI (1.15-1.35)], living50 m from the major road [OR 1.43 95% CI (1.02-2.03)] were significantly associated with lung cancer risk. Residential Proximity to highway, residential greenness, and traffic intensity were not significantly associated with lung cancer risk. The GWLR model showed that the degree of correlation between residential proximity to major road and lung cancer risk varied geographically. The SaTScan results showed a lung cancer cluster in the southwest of Jiading District, Shanghai. Our study suggested that the distance from residence to the main road was significantly associated with lung cancer risk, which varied geographically. It is helpful to further study the traffic factors' spatial variation related to lung cancer risk and carry out reasonable regional planning.

As a successful prevention strategy for controlling the highly contagious and pathogenic disease of spring viremia of carp (SVC), DNA vaccines reported in recent years could trigger protective responses against SVC with the means of injection. However, there remains many concerns and uncertainties related to DNA vaccination as well as injection is labor intensive, costly and not suitable to vaccinate large numbers of fish. Therefore, more efficient and safe prophylactic measures should be urgently investigated. In this research, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as the candidate SWCNTs-pET32a-G subunit vaccine carrier were administrated via bath (1, 5, 10, 20, 40 mg L−1) or injection (1, 4, 8, 12, 20 μg) in common carp juvenile, and the different immune treatments to induce immunoprotective effect were analyzed. The results showed that SWCNTs-pET32a-G could enter fish body after immersion for 10 h, furthermore, compared to control groups, antibody levels, the non-specific immune parameters (complement activity, superoxide dismutase activity and alkaline phosphatase activity), and immune-related genes (especially the TNF-α and IFNg2b) in vaccinated groups were significantly enhanced in fish immunized with SWCNTs-subunit vaccine. In addition, as a promising carrier, SWCNTs can increase the immune protective effect of naked subunit vaccine by ca. 16% in bath immunization group and by ca. 23% in injection group. This study suggests that SWCNTs-vaccine may represent a potentially efficient immersion vaccine against viral pathogens of fish in the future.

Over the several decades, China has been incessantly optimizing control strategies in response to the varying epidemic situations of schistosomiasis. We evaluated continuously the changing prevalence under different control strategies of two villages, Sanlian and Guifan, in China through five phases lasting 37 years. We tested residents, calculated prevalence and discussed change causes. We found the prevalence in Sanlian did not differ significant from that of Guifan (p = 0.18) in 1981, but decreased to 2.66%, much lower than Guifan&rsquo, s 11.25%, in 1984 (p = 0). Besides, prevalence in Guifan increased to 21.25% in 1987, while in Sanlian it rose to 20.78% until 1989. Those data confirmed that praziquantel combined with snail control could better reduce the prevalence. From 1992 to 1994, the prevalence in the two villages displayed downtrends, which showed the World Bank Loan Project worked. From 1995 to 2004, repeated oscillations with no obvious change trend was seen. Since 2005, the prevalence in both villages has shown a significant downtrend (p &lt, 0.05), which suggests the integrated strategy is effective. We considered the control strategies were implemented suitably in the study area under changing social circumstances. Adjusting the strategy in consideration of social transformations is necessary and vital. The experience may be useful for policy making of other epidemic areas with an analogous situation.

To study the reasons of natural death of Oncomelania hupensis snails by comparing the differences of the indicator days covered with water (DCW) in snail marshland and non-snail marshland around the build of Three Gorges Dam in Eastern Dongting Lake areas.Two marshlands were selected, one was a non-snail marshland (Qianliang Lake) and another was a snail marshland (Junshan Park). The measuring points were set through the mechanical sampling. The snails and elevation of the points were surveyed, and the data of the water levels from the hydrological station were collected, and then DCWs were calculated.From 1995 to 2013, DCWs of the marshland of natural death of snails were all more than that of the snail marshland (P0.01). In Qianliang Lake marshland, the difference between DCW before natural death and DCW from natural death until the dam was not significant (P = 0.23), while DCWs of the two stages both were more than that after the dam (P1 = 0.045, P2 = 0.002). Before the build of the dam, DCW of the Qianliang Lake marshland of natural death of snails was more than that after the build of the dam (P = 0.013), and there was the same situation in Junshan Park marshland (P = 0.005). The relationship between snail density and DCW was not significant in Junshan Park marshland (r(s) = 0.008, P = 0.914), and the reference range of DCW of all the measuring points was 76-251 days.In the eastern Dongting Lake district, the build of Three Gorges Dam and DCW may be not the direct factors affecting the natural death of snails and the latter may change the distribution of snails.

Background Schistosomiasis remains an important public health issue in China and worldwide. Oncomelania hupensis is the unique intermediate host of schistosoma japonicum, and its change influences the distribution of S. japonica. The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) has substantially changed the ecology and environment in the Dongting Lake region. This study investigated the impact of water level and elevation on the survival and habitat of the snails. Methods Data were collected for 16 bottomlands around 4 hydrological stations, which included water, density of living snails (form the Anxiang Station for Schistosomiasis Control) and elevation (from Google Earth). Based on the elevation, sixteen bottomlands were divided into 3 groups. ARIMA models were built to predict the density of living snails in different elevation areas. Results Before closure of TGD, 7 out of 9 years had a water level beyond the warning level at least once at Anxiang hydrological station, compared with only 3 out of 10 years after closure of TGD. There were two severe droughts that happened in 2006 and 2011, with much fewer number of flooding per year compared with other study years. Overall, there was a correlation between water level changing and density of living snails variation in all the elevations areas. The density of living snails in all elevations areas was decreasing after the TGD was built. The relationship between number of flooding per year and the density of living snails was more pronounced in the medium and high elevation areas; the density of living snails kept decreasing from 2003 to 2014. In low elevation area however, the density of living snails decreased after 2003 first and turned to increase after 2011. Our ARIMA prediction models indicated that the snails would not disappear in the Dongting Lake region in the next 7 years. In the low elevation area, the density of living snails would increase slightly, and then stabilize after the year 2017. In the medium elevation region, the change of the density of living snails would be more obvious and would increase till the year 2020. In the high elevation area, the density of living snails would remain stable after the year 2015. Conclusion The TGD influenced water levels and reduced the risk of flooding and the density of living snails in the study region. Based on our prediction models, the density of living snails in all elevations tends to be stabilized. Control of S. japonica would continue to be an important task in the study area in the coming decade., Author Summary Oncomelania hupensis, an amphibious animal, is the unique intermediate host of schistosoma japonicum. Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is a tremendous hydrological project, and it influences the survival of animals downstream. It is studied for several reasons. First, schistosomiasis is still a world-wide parasitic disease which needs to be prevented and controlled. Second, TGD causes the change of water level, and it will impact the existence of snails, but how TGD causes the change of snails and even the epidemics of schistosomiasis is not revealed. In this study, the authors explore the association between TGD and snails. The time-series data contains over 10-year water level downstream TGD and 10-year density of living snails downstream TGD in Dongting Lake Region. These can help to find out the relationship between the change of water level and the change of density of living snails. After this exploration, we attempt to predict the density of living snails 7years later using ARIMA model.