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Background. Common warts are most common complaint among children and adults caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Cryotherapy and topical salicylic acid are common therapies. Objective. To compare the efficacy and safety of cryotherapy and topical salicylic acid in common warts. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing cryotherapy and topical salicylic acid treatment in patients with common warts were searched by using PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews up to Oct 20, 2021. The keywords were "common warts/verruca," "cryotherapy," and "salicylic acid." The language was restrained to English. No age or gender limitation was conducted. The outcomes were complete remission of all warts at different observation times, recurrence rates, and side effects. Study-specific effect sizes were pooled by using the fixed-effects model and the Mantel–Haenszel method. I2 was used to assess heterogeneity of studies. Results. Seven articles involving 976 patients randomized into the cryotherapy group or salicylic acid group were included. Of whom, 487 patients received cryotherapy, while 489 received salicylic acid treatment. With the fixed-effects model, the pool effect of complete clearance of warts at 12 weeks comparing cryotherapy and salicylic acid was not statistically significant (RR = 0.99 (0.84–1.17), I2 = 0%). Conclusion. Comparable efficacy of cryotherapy and topical salicylic acid was conducted in common wart treatment. More high-quality pieces of evidence with more samples are needed to confirm the results for further recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are part of the three elements of general anaesthesia (sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation), which can relax muscles and facilitate intubation and surgery. It has been reported that cancer cells are prone to invasion or metastasis during surgery, but various anaesthetics are currently used in cancer resection, particularly NMBA, and the effects on cancer cell behavior are poorly understood. Guidelines for the correct application of NMBA in cancer surgery have not been reported; therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between NMBA and cancer. Methods. Two investigators independently searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CBM for articles of NMBA and cancer. Results. The available evidence suggests that cisatracurium may be more appropriate for use in anaesthesia for cancer surgery, while rocuronium deserves further attention, particularly for breast and gastric cancer surgery, and vecuronium is suitable for breast cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer, while it is used with caution in gastric cancer. Also, the relationship between NMBA (mivacurium, succinylcholine, gantacurium, and decamethonium bromide) and cancer is unclear and deserves further study. Conclusion. The effect of different NMBAs on cancer cells varies, and the effect of some NMBAs on cancer cells is unclear, and most of the current findings are only from in vitro studies, which need to be validated by further clinical studies in the future to better guide the clinical application of NMBAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We conducted this meta-analysis to provide better evidence of the efficacy of manual therapy (MT) on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods. All RCTs of MT for the management of patients with AIS were included in the present study. The treatment difference between the experimental and control group was mainly MT. The outcomes consisted of the total effective rate, the Cobb angle, and Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire score. Electronic database searches were conducted from database inception to July 2022, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Wanfang Data, CNKI, and VIP. The pooled data were analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results. Four RCTs with 213 patients in the experimental group were finally included. There are 2 studies of standalone MT in the experimental group and 3 studies of MT with identical conservative treatments in the control group. Three trials reported total effective rate, and a statistically significant difference was found (P = 0.004). Three trials reported Cobb angle, and a statistical difference was found (P = 0.01). Then, sensitivity analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the additional MT subgroup (P < 0.00001) while not in the standalone MT subgroup (P = 0.41). Three trials reported SRS-22 scores (P = 0.55) without significant differences. Conclusion. There is insufficient data to determine the effectiveness of spinal manipulation limited by the very low quality of included studies. High-quality studies with appropriate design and follow-up periods are warranted to determine if MT may be beneficial as an adjunct therapy for AIS. Currently, there is no evidence to support spinal manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by facial erythema, papules, pustules, telangiectasia, and flushing. The Janus kinase (JAK) signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway appears to play a role in the pathogenesis of rosacea. Our study preliminarily explored the efficacy of JAK inhibitor tofacitinib in the treatment of rosacea. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 21 patients with rosacea who were treated with oral tofacitinib. Patients received oral tofacitinib 5 mg as either monotherapy or adjunctive therapy. We have observed that 15 out of 21 patients (71.4%) patients experienced significant regression of erythema on the face (IGA ≤ 1), and a mean change of −2.24 in the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score was significant improvement from baseline. Treatment with oral tofacitinib might be a potentially effective treatment to ameliorate the symptoms of rosacea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary to pay attention to and study the physical and mental health development of college students. On the basis of statistical analysis of the questionnaire, this paper studies the impact of pretest mental health intervention on college students' English test scores, summarizes the problems and characteristics of college students' mental health, and explores the reasons for psychological problems. Based on the research results and related survey data of the mental health status of college students by scholars, this paper believes that these reasons mainly include students' personal reasons, school and social environment pressure, and insufficient family support factors. The data analysis shows that in the relationship between English education and mental health in colleges and universities, the amount of mental health intervention of students' extracurricular exercise has a stable and low negative correlation with the scores of each factor of SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist 90) and is negatively correlated with the scores of each subscale. The experimental results show that there are extremely significant differences in academic performance (F = 5.084 , P < 0.01), and there is a certain linear relationship between students' mental health level and students' English exercise feeling. The lower the fatigue score, the higher the mental health level of the students, which effectively promotes the mental health development of college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a numerical investigation of unsteady surface blowing using periodic variations of jet velocity with azimuthal angle to reduce helicopter rotor blade-vortex interaction (BVI) noise. The unsteady blowing is modeled as the mass flow outlet boundary condition of time-varying jet velocity on the blade surface grid using computational fluid dynamics. The same high-resolution overset grid system and flow/noise solver are used to perform a detailed flow field simulation and noise prediction for the nonblowing baseline case and the steady/unsteady blowing cases under the rotor BVI condition, and a grid convergence study for the steady and unsteady blowing cases is carried out. The BVI noise reduction and rotor thrust coefficient results of the unsteady blowing method and the previously published steady blowing with constant jet velocity are then compared. The noise reduction level of unsteady blowing is approximately equivalent to that of steady blowing (noise reduction is more than 3 dB). However, the loss in rotor thrust coefficient caused by unsteady blowing (3.3%) is only half of that by steady blowing (6.3%); the air mass cost by unsteady blowing is only 63.7% of that by steady blowing per rotation revolution. The results show that unsteady blowing can effectively reduce BVI noise with lower cost and less thrust loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To confirm the diagnosis of a 13‐year‐old adolescent with familial diabetes and further examine his genetic pathogeny. Research Design and Methods: Clinical data were collected, and genetic examination was performed. PolyPhen‐2 and Mutation Taster were used to predict the deleterious effects of the variant. Clustal Omega software was used to confirm the conservation of amino acid substitutions. To examine changes in the expression of proteins, recombinant vectors were constructed, and the expression of wild‐type and variant target genes was detected through quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, the wild‐type and variant eukaryotic recombinant vectors were treated with a ubiquitin degradation inhibitor (MG132) and a lysosomal degradation pathway inhibitor (CQ, 3‐mA). The expression of target proteins was detected through Western blot analysis. Results: The patient had hyperglycaemia (27 mmol/L), a high HbA1c level (13.1%), a decreased C‐peptide level (0.63 ng/ml) and no diabetes antibodies. The patient had a family history of diabetes. The novel variation of ABCC8 c.2477G>A was detected in the proband and his relatives. The mutation was predicted to be harmful. Changes in the protein structure were observed. The ABCC8 c.2477G >A variant resulted in an increase in ABCC8 expression. Furthermore, changes in the expression of the ABCC8 variant was observed after 3‐MA treatment, especially after treatment with MG132. At the follow‐up, the patient's glucose level was normal without drug therapy for more than 2 years until until he started taking Trelagliptin Succinate to control hyperglycemia within the recent 6 months. Conclusions: The diagnosis of maturity‐onset diabetes of the young (MODY)12 was confirmed in our patient. The ABCC8 variant inhibited both ubiquitination and autophagy lysosome degradation pathways, especially the ubiquitination degradation pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a self-limiting disease, and there is no specific antiviral drug at present. Purpose. Here, we analyzed the influence of lacidophilin vaginal capsules plus recombinant human interferon α-2b (rh-IFN-α2b) on efficacy, vaginal microecology, and safety of patients with HPV infection. Two hundred cases of HPV infection admitted between January 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively collected. Of them, 90 cases receiving rh-IFN-α2b intervention were assigned to the control group (CG), and 110 cases given lacidophilin vaginal capsules in addition to rh-IFN-α2b were included in the research group (RG). Baseline data, efficacy, vaginal microecology, microecological restoration recovery, and incidence of adverse events (AEs) were compared between the two groups. Results. The analyses revealed nonsignificant difference in baseline data between RG and CG, indicating comparability. In terms of efficacy, RG showed a statistically higher negative conversion ratio (NCR) than CG (57.27% vs. 47.78%), as well as an obviously higher overall response rate (ORR) (90.90% vs. 72.22%). As far as the vaginal microecology was concerned, the incidence rates of catalase-positive, sialidase-positive, abnormal microbial density, and abnormal microbial diversity of RG were significantly lower compared with CG, but no evident differences were determined in Trichomonas vaginalis-positive and Candida-positive. As for microecological restoration, RG had an obviously higher vaginal microecological recovery rate than CG (90.00% vs. 65.56%), as well as notably lower vaginal secretion pH and Nugent score. On the other hand, RG and CG showed no statistical significance in the incidence of AEs (12.73% vs. 13.33%). Conclusions. The main contributions of this study are as follows: first, it is confirmed that lacidophilin vaginal capsules plus rh-IFN-α2b has better clinical effects than rh-IFN-α2b alone in HPV-infected patients; second, it demonstrates that the combination therapy can significantly improve NCR and ORR, without increasing the incidence of AEs, and is beneficial to improve patients' vaginal microecology and promote its restoration from the multidimensional aspects of efficacy, safety, and vaginal microecology and its recovery. Our findings provide valuable clinical evidence for the drug treatment of HPV-infected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injury prediction is one of the most challenging issues in sports and is a key component of injury prevention, since successful injury prediction forms the basis for effective preventive measures. In this study, an analysis was made on the risk of physical injuries to college students to guarantee the physical safety of students in sports and improve the quality of physical education. Then, a study was carried out on the occurrences of physical injury risks through visual sensing techniques, and an investigation was conducted into the characteristics of physical injury risks in colleges. Next, the student's body shape and physical characteristics are computed using visual sensing techniques, and the risk of sports injuries is evaluated. The results show that the proposed image recognition and computation methods can accurately identify the sports injuries of college students. Furthermore, it can effectively analyze the factors affecting the risk of sports injuries, and the error of the proposed technique remains between −3 and 2. In addition, it can accurately locate the occurrence of sports injury risks and reduce the impact of those risks in time. This work provides technical support for the reduction of sports injury risks and contributes to the improvement of physical education teaching quality in colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While network technology is convenient for our daily life, the problems that are exposed are also endless. The most important thing for everyone is information security. In order to improve the security level of network information and identify and detect faces, the method used in this paper has improved compared with the traditional AdaBoost method and skin color method. AdaBoost detection is performed on the image, which reduces the probability of false detection. The experiment compares the experimental results of the AdaBoost method, the skin color method and the skin color + AdaBoost method. All operations in the KPCA and KFDA algorithms are performed by the inner product kernel function defined in the original space, and no specific non-linear mapping function is involved.The full name of KPCA is kernel principal component analysis. The full name of KFDA is kernel Fisher discriminant analysis. Combining the zero-space method kernel discriminant analysis method improves the ability of discriminant analysis to extract non-linear features. Through the secondary extraction of PCA features, a better recognition result than the PCA method is obtained. This paper also proposes a zero-space based Fisher discriminant analysis method. Experiments show that the zero-space-based method makes full use of the useful discriminant information in the zero space of the intraclass dispersion matrix, which improves the accuracy of face recognition to some extent.If you choose the polynomial kernel function, when d = 0.8, KPCA has a higher recognition ability. When d = 2, the recognition rate of KFDA and zero space-based KFDA is the largest. For polynomial functions, in general, d = 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To study the effect on infection factors and nursing care of postoperative incision in gynecological cancer patients. Method. 72 patients with gynecological malignant tumors who came to the hospital from January 2019 to December 2019 were selected as the research objects. They were divided into the study group and control group by cluster random sampling. The control group was given routine nursing mode, including matters needing attention in surgery, health education, prevention of complications, and dietary guidance. The study group implemented the high-quality nursing mode on the basis of the control group. Postoperative situation, incision infection rate, and quality of life were observed and compared between the two groups. Results. The control group's time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, and hospital stay were longer than those of the study group. The comparison of the postoperative related conditions of the two groups showed that P < 0.05 , which indicated that the difference was statistically significant. The postoperative incision infection rate in the study group was 2.78%, and in the control group, the postoperative incision infection rate was 19.44%; the postoperative incision infection rate in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group. The difference was statistically significant, P < 0.05. The factors affecting the quality of life of patients in the study group were lower than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant, P < 0.05. Time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, hospital stay, and quality of life were the main influencing factors of postoperative incision infection in gynecological tumors. Conclusion. Time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, hospital stay, and quality of life were the main influencing factors of postoperative incision infection in gynecological tumors. High-quality nursing intervention had better clinical nursing effect in preventing postoperative incision infection. It should be widely used in clinical nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We conducted this meta-analysis to provide better evidence of the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid (ZA) combined with percutaneous vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty (PVP/PKP) on osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and proposed a protocol for its application in clinical practice. Methods. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ZA combined with PVP or PKP compared to individual PVP/PKP for the management of patients with OVCFs were included in this study. Electronic database searches were conducted from database inception to November 2020, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. The pooled data were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results. Seven RCTs with 929 subjects were finally included. All included studies reported visual analog scores (VAS), and no statistically significant differences were identified at follow-ups of 3 d and 1 w (P > 0.05). In contrast, significant differences were observed at the 1 mo, 3 mo, 6 mo, and 12 mo follow-ups (P < 0.05). Two trials reported the Cobb angle and vertebral body height (VBH), including 182 subjects without significant differences at the 12 mo follow-up (P > 0.05). In addition, significant differences in the bone mineral density (BMD), β-isomerized C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTX), N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), and N-terminal molecular fragment (N-MID) levels were observed between the two groups (P < 0.05). All trials reported side effects. Significant differences in recurrent fractures, fever, flu-like symptoms, and arthralgia or myalgia were identified (P < 0.05); however, no significant difference in postoperative leakage was detected (P > 0.05). Conclusion. Compared to PVP/PKP alone, an additional ZA injection had advantages of long-term analgesic effects with improved bone metabolism indexes. Moreover, combination therapy significantly prevented complications and drug reactions were well tolerated. Overall, this systematic review revealed that ZA combined with PVP/PKP was an effective, safe, and comprehensive therapy for patients with OVCFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In order to improve the photoemission characteristics of the GaAs photocathode, GaAs nanostructures (nanoholes and nanowires) with three sublayers and Al component of gradient distribution are designed in this article. Finite element method was used to study the effects of Al component gradient interval, component range, height, diameter, and other parameters on light absorption of nanostructures. And the quantum efficiency of these nanostructures was calculated. The results show that the wide band absorption can be achieved with small gradient interval and component variation range, and the nanostructure can enhance the light capture ability with certain angle inclination. In the gradient component nanostructures, the thickness of the top most layer has a great influence on the quantum efficiency. Highlights: The nanohole and nanowire structures with three sublayers and Al component gradient distribution were designed.The effects of gradient interval, range of Al components, and geometric parameters on the optical properties of nanostructures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of ficin on biofilm formation of conditionally cariogenic Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). Biomass and metabolic activity of biofilm were assessed using crystal violet assay, colony-forming unit (CFU) counting, and MTT assay. Extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) synthesis was displayed by SEM imaging, bacteria/EPS staining, and anthrone method while acid production was revealed by lactic acid assay. Growth curve and live/dead bacterial staining were conducted to monitor bacterial growth state in both planktonic and biofilm form. Total protein and extracellular proteins of S. mutans biofilm were analyzed by protein/bacterial staining and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), severally. qRT-PCR was conducted to detect acid production, acid tolerance, and biofilm formation associated genes. Crystal violet assay, CFU counting, and MTT assay showed that the suppression effect of ficin on S. mutans biofilm formation was concentration dependent. 4 mg/mL ficin had significant inhibitory effect on S. mutans biofilm formation including biomass, metabolic activity, EPS synthesis, and lactic acid production (p < 0.05). The growth curves from 0 mg/mL to 4 mg/mL ficin were aligned with each other. There was no significant difference among different ficin groups in terms of live/dead bacterial staining result (p > 0.05). Protein/bacterial staining outcome indicated that ficin inhibit both total protein and biofilm formation during the biofilm development. There were more relatively small molecular weight protein bands in extracellular proteins of 4 mg/mL ficin group when compared with the control. Generally, ficin could inhibit biofilm formation and reduce cariogenic virulence of S. mutans effectively in vitro; thus, it could be a potential anticaries agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitiligo is associated with oxidant stress and α‐lipoic acid (ALA) is an antioxidative agent. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral ALA in combination with NB‐UVB phototherapy on nonsegmental stable vitiligo. The prospective, multi‐center, parallel controlled, double‐blind randomized clinical trial was conducted from 2012 to 2014, in seven comprehensive tertiary hospitals in China. The patients were randomized into oral ALA group or placebo group at a dose of 300 mg daily for 6 months. All of them received NB‐UVB phototherapy three times weekly. The repigmentation rate was evaluated by 4‐point grading scale of improvement: >98%, 50‐98%, 10‐49%, <10%. A total of 133 patients were enrolled in the study, including 72 cases in treatment group and 61 cases in control group. In treatment group, 2.04% (1/49) patients achieved ≥50% improvement at 1‐month after enrollment (M1), and the percentage of patients increased to 8.51% (4/47), 14.0% (6/43), and 37.8% (14/37) at M2, M3, and M6, respectively. In control group, the percentages were similar at all timepoints. No significant difference was seen between the two groups (P >.05). For elder patients, younger patients, male or female, no significant differences were found between treatment group and control group at all timepoints. ALA did not show additional benefit to NB‐UVB therapy in the treatment of nonsegmental stable vitiligo. More studies should be done to identify other protocols of ALA or other types of antioxidants for stable vitiligo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the operation of tapping mode atomic force microscope (TM-AFM), the gap between the cantilever and sample surface is very small (several nanometers to micrometers). Owing to the small gap distance and high vibration frequency, squeeze film force should be considered in TM-AFM. To explore the mechanism of squeeze film damping in TM-AFM, three theoretical microcantilever simplified models are discussed innovatively herein: tip probe, ball probe, and tipless probe. Experiments and simulations are performed to validate the theoretical models. It is of great significance to improve the image quality of atomic force microscope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), we conducted this meta-analysis, as well as proposed a protocol for its application in curative processes. Methods. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of PRP for the management of mild or moderate CTS were included in this study. Database search was conducted from study inception to July 2020, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. We used visual analogue scores (VAS) and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) as evaluation tools for primary outcomes. Second outcomes comprised cross-sectional area (ΔCSA) and electrophysiological indexes including distal motor latency (DML), sensory peak latency (SPL), motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV), compound muscle action potential (CMAP), and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP). The pooled data were analyzed using RevMan 5.3. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted with the evidence of heterogeneity. Egger' test was used to investigate publication bias. Results. 9 RCTs were finally screened out with 434 patients included. Control groups comprised corticosteroid injection in 5 trials, saline injection in 1 trial, and splint in 3 trials. At the 1st month after follow-up, only ΔCSA between the PRP group and the control group showed significant difference (P < 0.05). In the 3rd month, there were statistically significant differences in VAS, BCTQ, SPL, SNCV, and ΔCSA between two groups (P < 0.05), while no statistically significant differences were found in the remaining outcomes. In the 6th month, there were statistically significant differences at BCTQ (P < 0.05) in primary outcomes and ΔCSA (P < 0.05) in secondary outcomes between two groups. As to adverse events in PRP injection, only one study reported increased pain sensation within 48 h after injections. Conclusion. This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates that the PRP could be effective for mild to moderate CTS and superior to traditional conservative treatments in improving pain and function and reducing the swelling of the median nerve for a mid-long-term effect. To some extent, the electrophysiological indexes also improved after PRP injection compared with others conservative treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly emerged lineage 1 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs) (especially the NADC30‐like and NADC34‐like viruses) have posed a direct threat to the Chinese pig industry since 2013. The phylogenetic, epidemic, and recombinant properties of these viruses have not yet systematically analysed in China. This report presents regular surveillance and field epidemiological studies for PRRSV across China from 2007 to 2019. From over 4,000 detected clinical samples, 70 open reading frame five sequences and four complete genomes of lineage 1 viruses were successfully obtained. Combined with global data, we conducted an extensive and systematic molecular phylogeny analysis using a maximum likelihood tree. The Chinese lineage 1 viruses were clustered, and their temporal and spatial distribution was further explored. Multiple viral introductions of lineage 1 virus from the United States to China were detected, and some became endemic in China. There are three sub‐lineage 1 clusters: lineage 1.5 (NADC34‐like), lineage 1.6 and New Intro cluster (NADC30‐like). These viruses show high genetic diversity and a wide distribution in China, with Henan Province showing the highest diversity. Moreover, Chinese lineage 1 viruses have developed an endemic NADC30‐like cluster. The demographic feature of this cluster showed a more or less constant population expansion history with a recent decreasing trend. Moreover, the genome recombination of Chinese lineage 1 with two dominant clusters (Chinese HP‐PRRSVs: lineage 8.7 and VR2332‐like: lineage 5.1) was frequently detected, both of which have commercial vaccine strains available. Furthermore, recombination hotspots were discovered near NSP9 and ORF2‐4 regions of the genome. Overall, these findings provide important insights into the evolution and geographical diversity of Chinese lineage 1 PRRSV. These results will facilitate the development of programmes for the control and prevention of the emerging lineage 1 viruses in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the algebraic connectivity of a graph is the second small eigenvalue of its Laplacian matrix. In this paper, we mainly research the relationships between the algebraic connectivity and the disjoint vertex subsets of graphs, which are presented through some upper bounds on algebraic connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, three Ni/Al2O3 catalysts with different structure were prepared by different methods. The differences between the catalysts had been compared by H2 temperature program reduction (H2‐TPR), X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that synthesis method had significant effect on the combination of Ni particle with carrier. The method of coprecipitation could help to improve the combination of Ni and Al2O3, and the effect was further enhanced after adding polyethylene glycol (PEG). Due to the enhanced interaction between the active metal and the carrier, the NiO could be easily deoxidized and hard to sinter, which could obtain smaller and more dispersed Ni particles. Moreover, the addition of PEG improved the Ni particle size and its dispersion, and promoted the formation of the unique acicular Al2O3. The performance of guaiacol steam catalytic reforming via different catalysts was further analyzed, and the results showed the catalyst obtained by coprecipitation method with PEG exhibited best activity with 73.8% guaiacol conversion and 23.1 wt% H2 yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the author focuses on modeling and optimizing a freight routing problem in a road-rail intermodal transportation network that combines the hub-and-spoke and point-to-point structures. The operations of road transportation are time flexible, while rail transportation has fixed departure times. The reliability of the routing is improved by modeling the uncertainty of the road-rail intermodal transportation network. Parameters that are influenced by the real-time status of the network, including capacities, travel times, loading and unloading times, and container trains' fixed departure times, are considered uncertain in the routing decision-making. Based on fuzzy set theory, triangular fuzzy numbers are employed to formulate the uncertain parameters as well as resulting uncertain variables. Green routing is also discussed by treating the minimization of carbon dioxide emissions as an objective. First of all, a multiobjective fuzzy mixed integer nonlinear programming model is established for the specific reliable and green routing problem. Then, defuzzification, linearization, and weighted sum method are implemented to present a crisp linear model whose global optimum solutions can be effectively obtained by the exact solution algorithm run by mathematical programming software. Finally, a numerical case is given to demonstrate how the proposed methods work. In the case, sensitivity analysis is adopted to reveal the effects of uncertainty on the routing optimization. Fuzzy simulation is then performed to help decision makers to select the best crisp route plan by determining the best confidence level shown in the fuzzy chance constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The aim of this study is to identify possible prognostic-related immune genes in bladder urothelial carcinoma and to try to predict the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma based on these genes. Methods. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) expression profile data and corresponding clinical traits were obtained. Differential gene analysis was performed using R software. Reactome was used to analyze the pathway of immune gene participation. The differentially expressed transcription factors and differentially expressed immune-related genes were extracted from the obtained list of differentially expressed genes, and the transcription factor-immune gene network was constructed. To analyze the relationship between immune genes and clinical traits of bladder urothelial carcinoma, a multifactor Cox proportional hazards regression model based on the expression of immune genes was established and validated. Results. Fifty-eight immune genes were identified to be associated with the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma. These genes were enriched in Cytokine Signaling in Immune System, Signaling by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases, Interferon alpha/beta signaling, and other immune related pathways. Transcription factor-immune gene regulatory network was established, and EBF1, IRF4, SOX17, MEF2C, NFATC1, STAT1, ANXA6, SLIT2, and IGF1 were screened as hub genes in the network. The model calculated by the expression of 16 immune genes showed a good survival prediction ability (p < 0.05 and AUC = 0.778). Conclusion. A transcription factor-immune gene regulatory network related to the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma was established. EBF1, IRF4, SOX17, MEF2C, NFATC1, STAT1, ANXA6, SLIT2, and IGF1 were identified as hub genes in the network. The proportional hazards regression model constructed by 16 immune genes shows a good predictive ability for the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at investigating the influence of norspermidine on the formation of dual-species biofilms composed of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Streptococcus sanguinis (S. sanguinis). Crystal violet assay was conducted to assess the formation of single-species biofilms of S. mutans and S. sanguinis, and the growth curve was carefully observed to monitor the growth of these two species of bacteria. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and MTT array were used to analyze the composition and metabolic activity of the dual-species biofilms, respectively. Extracellular polysaccharides (EPS)/bacteria staining, anthrone method, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging were conducted to study the synthesis of EPS by dual-species biofilms. Lactic acid assay and pH were measured to detect dual-species biofilm acid production. We found that norspermidine had different effects on S. mutans and S. sanguinis including their growth and biofilm formation. Norspermidine regulated the composition of the dual-species biofilms, decreased the ratio of S. mutans in dual-species biofilms, and reduced the metabolic activity, EPS synthesis, and acid production of dual-species biofilms. Norspermidine regulated dual-species biofilms in an ecological way, suggesting that it may be a potent reagent for controlling dental biofilms and managing dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs) have attracted increasing attention owing to their continual high emergence and recent re‐emergence. Recently, lineage 3 PRRSVs, belonging to the type 2 viruses, with novel characteristics and increased virulence have been continuously re‐emerging in China, thereby posing a great threat to pig farming. However, available information about lineage 3 is limited. Here, we carried out molecular epidemiological investigations for PRRSV surveillance in most regions of China from 2007 to 2017. More than 3,000 samples were obtained, amounting to 73 sequences of lineage 3 viruses. The origin, demographic history and spread pattern of lineage 3 PRRSVs were investigated combining with the database globally. Phylogeography and phylodynamic analyses within a Bayesian statistical framework revealed that lineage 3 viruses originated in Taiwan. Followed by subsequent propagation to different areas and geography, it dichotomized into two endemic clusters. South China has become an epicentre for these viruses, which diffused into China's interiors in recent years. Furthermore, viral dispersal route analysis revealed the risk of viral diffusion. Overall, the origin, epidemic history and geographical evolution of lineage 3 PRRSVs were comprehensively analysed in this study. In particular, the epicentre of southern China and the diffusion routines of the viruses are highlighted in this study, and the possible continuous transmission of the novel lineages poses the biggest threat to pig farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The incidence of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) located in the colon is rare. Current studies mainly focus on case reports for colonic GISTs. Therefore, a population-based analysis was useful to guide the clinical treatment strategy. Methods. The patients were selected from 2000 to 2015 based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, incidence, treatment, and survival were retrieved for analysis. Results. 249 cases of colonic GISTs were collected. The male-female ratio was close to 1 : 1 (male 51.41%, female 48.59%). Most cases were Caucasians (70.28%), and African Americans accounted for 19.68%. Age of diagnosis ranged from 21 to 93 years with a median (mean) age of 67.5 (65.56). The incidence was rare, only 0.018 per 100,000. It had an annual percentage change (APC=−0.7728) without statistical significance (P=0.5127) while the incidence of other GISTs increased from 2000 to 2015, with an annual percentage change of 3.9% (P=0.0001). Surgery was associated with better prognosis whereas chemotherapy did not impact the survival rate. Conclusion. Colonic GIST is a rare solid tumor, and the incidence is stable. The entity has a poorer prognosis than other GISTs. Surgery improved the survival rate, while chemotherapy did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lineage 3 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses, which belong to North America type 2, has a long epidemic history in China. The novel lineage 3 viruses constantly emerging in recent years are characterized by a high detection rate and significant pathogenicity. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of lineage 3 in southern China and selected two isolated strains for genome and virulence analyses. A cross‐sectional epidemiology investigation indicated that the prevalence of lineage 3 antigens was 35.68% (95% CI: 27.6–44.3%) among 227 samples collected from over 100 infected farms from January 2016 to July 2017 in southern China. Two novel isolates of lineage 3 were selected. After 20 passages, Marc‐145 cells were not susceptible to those viruses. Full‐length genome analysis indicated that the two strains share 95.2% homology with each other and 95.7%–96.2% with highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (HP‐PRRSVs; JXA1‐like strain, lineage 8.7). Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary results showed that for the two isolates, HP‐PRRSV provides most of the ORF1 gene. Animal experiment revealed discrepancies in virulence between the strains. Although challenge resulted in 100% morbidity, the isolate carrying most of the HP‐PRRSV ORF1 caused severe clinical symptoms and 40% mortality, whereas the other isolate containing part of the ORF1 gene caused no mortality. Overall, these findings suggest that lineage 3 viruses might be commonly circulating in most of southern China. Frequent recombination events within HP‐PRRSVs of this lineage with changing virulence could represent potential threats to the pig industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARHGEF18 has been identified as upregulated in the lung tissues of rat models of pulmonary artery hypertension introduced by hypoxia or monocrotaline (MCT). We used online SNP function prediction tools to screen the candidate SNPs that might be associated with the regulation of the ARHGEF18 expression. The result suggested that rs3745357 located in the 3′-untranslated region of ARHGEF18 is probably a genetic modifier in the process. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association between ARHGEF18 rs3745357 polymorphism and nonidiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension susceptibility (niPAH). A total of 293 participants were included in the case-control study (117 patients and 176 healthy controls). The rs3745357 variant was discriminated by using cleaved amplification polymorphism (CAP) sequence-tagged site technology. Although the overall allele and genotype frequencies of rs3745357 in niPAH patients were close to those of the control group, significant differences have been identified when we further divided the niPAH patients into subgroups with or without coronary heart disease (CHD). Rs3745357 C allele frequency was significantly higher in niPAH patients without CHD history (p=0.001), while the frequency was significantly lower in niPAH patients with CHD history (p=0.017) when compared to control subjects. The distribution of genotype frequencies was also quite different. After adjustment by gender and age, significant differences were found between patients with CHD history and controls. The results suggest that the ARHGEF18 rs3745357 variant may be used as a marker for the genetic susceptibility to niPAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although quite a few polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients suffering from metabolic syndrome (MS) have been reported in previous studies, no reliable and early diagnostic biomarkers for MS in PCOS patients have yet been identified. To identify early and reliable diagnostic biomarkers for MS in Chinese women with PCOS, a total of 401 patients (200 PCOS patients and 201 controls) were enrolled in our present study. All of the subjects were examined for anthropometric (weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, etc.) and biochemical (fasting glucose, serum lipid indices, total testosterone, etc.) parameters. Our results showed that the prevalence of MS in the PCOS patients (20.50%) was 6.8-fold higher (P<0.05) than that in the controls (2.99%). Nearly 71.0% of the PCOS patients had at least one component of MS, of which dyslipidemia was the most prevalent. Furthermore, within the PCOS group, the prevalence of MS increased with increasing age and body mass index (BMI). Logistic analysis indicated that BMI, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hypertension, and fasting glucose were significantly associated with the presence of MS in PCOS patients. Analysis of the ability of the potential diagnostic biomarkers to indicate MS in PCOS patients showed that the PPV, NPV, specificity, sensitivity, and Youden’s index for waist circumference (WC) coupled with HDL-C were 59.68%, 97.10%, 84.28%, 90.24%, and 74.52, respectively, and those for WC coupled with TG were 93.33%, 92.35%, 98.74%, 68.29%, and 67.03%, respectively. ROC curve analysis showed that the areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for WC coupled with HDL-C and for WC coupled with TG were 0.882 and 0.901, respectively. Our present study demonstrates that WC coupled with either HDL-C or TG can be used as a relatively early and reliable diagnostic biomarker for MS in Chinese PCOS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the study of extracellular vesicles has been booming across various industries. Extracellular vesicles are considered one of the most important physiological endogenous carriers for the specific delivery of molecular information (nucleonic acid, cytokines, enzymes, etc.) between cells. It has been discovered that they perform a critical role in promoting tumor cell growth, proliferation, tumor cell invasion, and metastatic ability and regulating the tumor microenvironment to promote tumor cell communication and metastasis. In this review, we will discuss (1) the mechanism of extracellular vesicles generation, (2) their role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression (cell growth and proliferation, tumor microenvironment, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and metastasis), (3) the role of extracellular vesicles in immune therapy, (4) extracellular vesicles targeting in tumor therapy, and (5) the role of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers. It is our hope that better knowledge and understanding of the extracellular vesicles will offer a wider range of effective therapeutic targets for experimental tumor research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. To compare the surgical and oncological outcomes of rectal mucinous adenocarcinomas treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus surgery alone. Methods. A total of 167 locally advanced rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery alone between 2008 and 2014 were matched using propensity score; the surgical and oncological outcomes were compared. Results. Ninety-six patients were matched. Postoperative morbidity was similar between groups. Sphincter preservation rate was higher in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (79.2% versus 60.4%, P=0.045), especially for tumors ≥ 3 cm but ≤5 cm from the anal verge (75.0% versus 44.0%, P=0.036). With a median follow-up of 54.8 months, the 5-year overall survival rate (neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus surgery alone: 79.6% versus 67.1%; P=0.599) and disease-free survival rate (75.6% versus 64.2%; P=0.888) were similar. The 5-year local recurrence rate was lower in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (7.7% versus 26.0%, P=0.036), while no difference was observed in distant metastasis. A poor response to chemoradiation was associated with higher local recurrence (P=0.037). Conclusions. Compared with surgery alone, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was found to increase the sphincter preservation rate and reduce local recurrence, thus being beneficial for locally advanced rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore a freight routing problem wherein the aim is to assign optimal routes to move commodities through a multimodal transportation network. This problem belongs to the operational level of service network planning. The following formulation characteristics will be comprehensively considered: (1) multicommodity flow routing; (2) a capacitated multimodal transportation network with schedule-based rail services and time-flexible road services; (3) carbon dioxide emissions consideration; and (4) a generalized costs optimum oriented to customer demands. The specific planning of freight routing is thus defined as a capacitated time-sensitive multicommodity multimodal generalized shortest path problem. To solve this problem systematically, we first establish a node-arc-based mixed integer nonlinear programming model that combines the above formulation characteristics in a comprehensive manner. Then, we develop a linearization method to transform the proposed model into a linear one. Finally, a computational experiment from the Chinese inland container export business is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the model and linearization method. The computational results indicate that implementing the proposed model and linearization method in the mathematical programming software Lingo can effectively solve the large-scale practical multicommodity multimodal transportation routing problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under some conditions concerning the first eigenvalues corresponding to the relevant linear operator, we obtain sharp optimal criteria for the existence of positive solutions for p-Laplacian problems with integral boundary conditions. The main methods in the paper are constructing an available integral operator and combining fixed point index theory. The interesting point of the results is that the nonlinear term contains all lower-order derivatives explicitly. Finally, we give some examples to demonstrate the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 10-week trial was performed to investigate the effects of replacing fishmeal with cottonseed meal (CSM) on the growth rate, protein metabolism, and antioxidant response of Asian red-tailed catfish Hemibagrus wyckioides. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (C0, C8.5, C17.2, C25.7, and C34.4) were prepared to contain 0%, 8.5%, 17.2%, 25.7%, and 34.4% CSM replacing fishmeal, respectively. The weight gain, daily growth coefficient, pepsin, and intestinal amylase activities initially increased and then decreased with the raising dietary CSM levels; the highest values were observed in the C17.2 group (P < 0.05). However, feed cost exhibited the opposite trend. With the increasing dietary CSM levels, the protein efficiency ratio and intestinal trypsin activity decreased but feed conversion rate increased gradually; while no differences were observed among the C0, C8.5, and C17.2 groups (P > 0.05). Dietary CSM inclusion regardless of levels increased the plasma growth hormone level as well as hepatic aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activities but decreased the plasma glutamate dehydrogenase and AST activities (P < 0.05). With the increasing dietary CSM levels, the plasma alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and hepatic superoxide dismutase activities decreased but malondialdehyde content increased gradually, while no differences were observed among the C0, C8.5, and C17.2 groups (P > 0.05). The plasma immunoglobulin M content and hepatic glutathione reductase activity initially increased but then decreased with the raising dietary CSM levels; the highest values were found in the C17.2 group. These results indicated that dietary CSM inclusion level up to 17.2% improved the growth rate, feed cost, digestive enzyme activity, and protein metabolism without compromising antioxidant capacity of H. wyckioide, whereas these parameters were depressed by further inclusion of CSM. CSM is a potentially cost-effective alternative plant protein source in diet of H. wyckioide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SNP-SNP interactions have been receiving increasing attention in understanding the mechanism underlying susceptibility to complex diseases. Though many works have been done for the detection of SNP-SNP interactions, the algorithmic development is still ongoing. In this study, an improved opposition-based learning particle swarm optimization (IOBLPSO) is proposed for the detection of SNP-SNP interactions. Highlights of IOBLPSO are the introduction of three strategies, namely, opposition-based learning, dynamic inertia weight, and a postprocedure. Opposition-based learning not only enhances the global explorative ability, but also avoids premature convergence. Dynamic inertia weight allows particles to cover a wider search space when the considered SNP is likely to be a random one and converges on promising regions of the search space while capturing a highly suspected SNP. The postprocedure is used to carry out a deep search in highly suspected SNP sets. Experiments of IOBLPSO are performed on both simulation data sets and a real data set of age-related macular degeneration, results of which demonstrate that IOBLPSO is promising in detecting SNP-SNP interactions. IOBLPSO might be an alternative to existing methods for detecting SNP-SNP interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of gas hydrates in porous carbon materials is highly dependent on the potential field in the pores. The formation of ethylene hydrate from water and ethylene in carbon materials with different pore-size distributions was investigated at 303 K. The potential field in the pores was favourable for the formation of gas hydrate when the pores were less than 1.2 nm. By comparison, when the pores were larger than 6 nm, little ethylene hydrate was formed. When the pore sizes were less than 2.35 nm, the ethylene molecules occupied both the large (L) and small (S) cavities simultaneously. However, when the pore sizes were greater than 2.82 nm, only the L cavities were occupied. This was proven by measuring the molar ratio of the water to ethylene at equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), periodical sleeping scheme on sensor nodes is an effective way to save energy. However, it will hinder the capability of the network to provide real-time data reporting due to relay node being sleep. Motivated by this, we propose an adaptive scheduling and routing scheme for guaranteeing dynamic end-to-end delay requirement while minimizing the energy consumption. First of all, we utilize an optimal wake-up scheduling algorithm to achieve the initial wake-up schedules and routes and design an adaptive adjustment algorithm. When the end-to-end delay requirement of a region changes, our proposed adaptive adjustment algorithm can locally adjust the wake-up schedules or the routing tables of the nodes which are the nearest ones to the source node, so as to minimize energy consumption and the impact on other regions while guaranteeing the new end-to-end delay requirement of the region. Through experiments in a real wireless sensor network and extensive simulations, we can get that the proposed scheme can conserve at least 20% energy consumption comparing to other existing adjustment algorithms, and its performance approaches that of the optimal solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study aims at investigating the differences of clinicopathological features and postoperative prognosis in three different types of neuroendocrine differentiation-related gastric cancers. Methods. From January 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, 47 patients diagnosed with neuroendocrine differentiation-related gastric cancers were collected from 1095 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital. Patients were followed up regularly, and the last follow-up time was October 25, 2021. A total of 38 cases met the inclusion criteria and completed follow-up. The clinicopathological characters and immunohistochemical results of these three special pathological types of gastric cancer (adenocarcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma, and neuroendocrine carcinoma of the stomach) patients were compared. Tissues from these patients were tested with immunohistochemical markers synaptophysin (Syn), chromogranin A (CgA), and Ki-67. The Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were used to analyze the effect of different histological types of gastric cancer on overall survival (OS). The differences in positive rates of chromogranin A (CgA) and Ki-67 were analyzed by univariate Cox regression analysis as independent risk factors that may affect the survival of gastric cancer patients. Results. Ki-67 and N staging were significantly correlated with OS in gastric cancer patients and were independent prognostic factors affecting the survival of gastric cancer patients. There was no statistical difference in OS between the two histopathological types (adenocarcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation and mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma) of gastric cancer patients. There were no significant differences in the positive rates of immunohistochemical markers Syn, CgA, and Ki-67 in gastric cancer patients with different histological types. Conclusion. The combined detection of Syn and CgA is of great value for the diagnosis of neuroendocrine differentiation-related gastric cancers, Ki-67 is of significance for the prognosis prediction of neuroendocrine differentiation-related gastric cancers, regional lymph node metastasis has a great impact on tumor prognosis, and the N staging determines the necessity of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with neuroendocrine differentiation-related gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and application value of compound Phellodendron liquid (CPL) for negative-pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi) in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers by observing the improvement of diabetic foot ulcers. Methods. Sixty patients with diabetic foot ulcers who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to the Department of Peripheral Blood Vessels (Wound Repair) of Chongqing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from August 2020 to August 2021. The random number table method divided it into the CPL NPWTi group and normal saline NPWTi group, with 30 cases in each group. The experimental group adopted FufangHuangbaiye for NPWTi, and the control group used normal saline for NPWTi. The treatment effect was evaluated by baseline index, wound healing observation index, inflammatory factor index, pain scores during dressing change, and the number of days in hospital. Results. After 10 days of treatment, the symptom integration, procalcitonin (PCT), and C reactive protein (CRP) of the CPL NPWTi group were significantly reduced compared with the normal saline NPWTi group, while there was no obvious difference between wound area and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The wound area, symptom integral, PCT, ESR, and CRP of the CPL NPWTi group were significantly reduced compared with the normal saline NPWTi group after treatment for 20 days and 30 days. The positive proportion of bacterial culture in the CPL NPWTi group was significantly reduced compared with the normal saline NPWTi group after treatment for 10 days, 20 days, and 30 days. After treatment, the pain scores during dressing change and the number of days in hospital in normal saline NPWTi group were significantly lower than those in the CPL NPWTi group. Conclusion. Compound Phellodendron liquid NPWTi therapy can improve diabetic foot ulcers, providing a safe and effective method for treating diabetic foot ulcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multimedia sensor networks, there may exist simultaneously two streams: end-to-end stream and event-to-sink stream. It brings a new set of challenges for QoS guarantees in multimedia transmission. In this paper, we first present a self-adaptive QoS guarantee scheme based on two-layer feedback. In transport layer, we partition network into 10 typical states and design a transport protocol, which makes the state transition to the optimal one. Moreover, we design a revenue structure of media stream to describe the relation between QoS and multimedia capturing approaches in the application layer, thus evaluating the optimal scheme of capturing multimedia according to multimedia packet generation ratio calculated by transport layer. A series of simulation experiments using NS2 are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabinoids have been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years and their effects were proposed to occurmainly via activation of the G-protein-coupled receptor CB1/CB2 (cannabinoid receptor 1/2). Discovery of potent synthetic analogs of the natural cannabinoids as clinically useful drugs is the sustained aim of cannabinoid research. This demands that these new compounds be free of the psychotropic effects that connected with the recreational use of cannabinoids. In preclinical studies cannabinoids displayed many of the characteristics of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and it seems to be free of unwanted side effects. An increasing number of therapeutic actions of cannabinoid are being reported that do not appear to be mediated by either CB1 or CB2, and recently nuclear receptor superfamily PPARs (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors) have been suggested as the target of certain cannabinoids. This review summarizes the evidence for cannabinoid activation on PPARs and possible associated remedial potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We aimed to construct a nomogram for predicting the overall survival (OS) of patients with secondary primary malignancies (SPMs) after hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC). Methods. 613 HPC patients were included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2000 and 2018, which were divided into training and validation cohorts. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operation (LASSO) and stepwise Cox regression were used to determine the variables by which a nomogram model was established. Results. After the LASSO and stepwise Cox regression analysis, the age, year of diagnosis, sites of SPMs, SEER stage of SPMs, surgery for SPMs, and radiotherapy for SPMs were included for model establishment. The ROC curve showed good discrimination for the 3- and 5-year AUC values in the training (0.774 and 0.779, respectively) and validation (0.758 and 0.763, respectively) cohorts. The calibration curve indicated good prognostic accuracy, especially in the 5-year survival prediction for this model. The DCA also demonstrated clinical efficacy over a wide range of threshold probabilities. Lastly, the risk group classified by the individual nomogram values showed significantly different survival outcomes in both training and validation cohorts. Conclusions. We constructed a nomogram to predict the OS of SPMs after HPC with good clinical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute pharyngitis is an inflammation of the pharyngeal mucous membrane and submucous lymphoid tissues. Unsatisfactory treatment and repeated occurrences might cause chronic pharyngitis and other complications. Syringa oblata L. (S. oblata) is a traditional Chinese medicine that exhibited a significant therapeutic effect on various inflammatory diseases. Its commercial drug Yan Li Xiao (YLX) capsule is used as a cure for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as bacillary dysentery, tonsillitis, bronchitis, and acute gastroenteritis. However, studies about S. oblata relieving acute pharyngitis are rare. In this study, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the chemical profile of S. oblata, and the bioactive phytoconstituents were isolated and identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry. An ammonia-induced acute pharyngitis rat model was established to estimate the protective effect of S. oblata in vivo for the first time. The severity of pharyngitis was observed by appearance index and HE staining. The cytokines expression was performed by ELISA. Crucial proteins expression associated with TLR4/NF-κB/MAPK and NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathways were analyzed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effect of isolated compounds was evaluated by suppressing lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced NO generation and regulating the cytokines levels in RAW 264.7 cells. The results showed that S. oblata exhibited a protective effect in the ammonia-induced acute pharyngitis rat model, and the compounds exert potential anti-inflammatory properties against LPS-activated RAW 254.7 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed at exploring the impact of professional identity and psychological reward satisfaction on subjective well‐being and clarifying the effect of psychological reward satisfaction on this relationship. Background: People know little about the effect of psychological reward satisfaction on the relationship between professional identity and subjective well‐being. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was carried out on 1,009 nurses from Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province of China. Professional Identity Scale, Psychological Reward Satisfaction Scale and General Well‐Being Schedule were used to assess professional identity, psychological reward satisfaction and subjective well‐being, respectively. Associations were explored by using structural equation modelling. Results: The subjective well‐being of 436 (43.2%) nurses was at low and moderate levels. After the adjustment of potential confounding factors, professional identity was still associated with subjective well‐being (B = 3.035, β = 0.215, p <.001). Professional identity (r =.308) and psychological reward satisfaction (r =.309) were positively correlated with subjective well‐being. Psychological reward satisfaction mediated the association between professional identity and subjective well‐being (effect = 0.114, p <.001). Conclusion: This study suggested that the subjective well‐being of nurses should be improved by paying special attention to them and taking targeted support measures. Implications for Nursing Management: Nursing managers can help enhance the professional identity of nurses by organising nursing education activities, and pay more attention to psychological reward satisfaction to improve the subjective well‐being of nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Id4 is one of the inhibitors of DNA-binding proteins (Id) and involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers. The specific mechanism underlying the Id4-mediated regulation of proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells is still largely unclear. In the present study, results showed CRC cells had a lower baseline Id4 expression than normal intestinal epithelial NCM460 cells. In order to explore the role of Id4 in the tumorigenicity, CRC HCT116 cells with stable Id4 expression were used, and results showed Id4 overexpression arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, inhibited the cell proliferation and the colony formation, as well as suppressed the migration and invasion. In the in vivo model, Id4 overexpression inhibited the tumor growth and metastasis in the nude mice. Furthermore, Id4 overexpression upregulated the expression of proteins associated with cell proliferation, inhibited the PI3K/AKT pathway, and suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCT116 cells. Moreover, Id4 significantly decreased cytokeratin 18 (CK18) expression, but CK18 overexpression in Id4 expressing HCT116-Id4 cells rescued the activation of AKT, p-AKT, MMP2, MMP7, and E-cadherin. Collectively, our study indicated Id4 may inhibit CRC growth and metastasis through inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway in a CK18-dependent manner and suppressing EMT. Id4 may become a target for the treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies of the digestive system with few genetic markers for its early detection and prevention. In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using GEO2R from GSE54129 and GSE13911 of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Then, gene enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction, and topological analysis were performed on the DEGs by the Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, STRING, and Cytoscape. Finally, we performed survival analysis of key genes through the Kaplan-Meier plotter. A total of 1034 DEGs were identified in GC. GO and KEGG results showed that DEGs mainly enriched in plasma membrane, cell adhesion, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Subsequently, the PPI network with 44 nodes and 333 edges was constructed, and 18 candidate genes in the network were focused on by centrality analysis and module analysis. Furthermore, data showed that high expressions of fibronectin 1(FN1), the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1), secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), apolipoprotein E (APOE), and versican (VCAN) were related to poor overall survivals in GC patients. In summary, this study suggests that FN1, TIMP1, SPP1, APOE, and VCAN may act as the key genes in GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at correcting the error caused by the nonlinear and power supply noise of the bridge-tied-load (BTL) power stage of the filterless digital class D power amplifier, an error correction method was proposed based on feedforward power supply noise suppression (FFPSNS) and first-order closed loop negative feedback (FCLNF) techniques. This method constructed the first-order LCLNF loop for the power stage and further reduced the impact of the power supply noise on the power amplifier output by using FFPSNS technology to introduce the power supply noise into the feedback loop at the same time. The 0.35 μm CMOS process is used for analysis and comparison in Cadence. Cadence simulation results indicate that PSRR at the power supply noise frequency of 200 Hz is improved with 36.02 dB. The power supply induced intermodulation distortion (PS-IMD) components are decreased by approximately 15.57 dB and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the power amplifier is increased by 17 dB. The total harmonic distortion + noise (THD + N) of the power amplifier is reduced to 0.02% by FCLNF + FFPSNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyroptosis, an inflammatory form of programmed cell death, is the initiating event of sepsis and results in immune imbalance by releasing IL-1β and IL-18 in the early stages. Studies show that enhancing autophagy via genetic manipulation can inhibit pyroptosis and prolong the survival of a sepsis animal model, indicating a possible therapeutic strategy against sepsis. However, almost no study so far has achieved pyroptosis inhibition via pharmacological autophagy induction in a sepsis disease model. To this end, we established an in vitro sepsis model by stimulating primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and analyzed the effect of the autophagy agonist rapamycin (RAPA) on pyroptosis. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate- (PMA-) activated human THP-1 cells were used as the positive control. LPS significantly increased the levels of the pyroptotic protein Gasdermin D (GSDMD), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase 1 (caspase-1), secreted LDH, IL-1β, and IL-18. RAPA treatment downregulated the above factors and enhanced autophagy in the LPS-stimulated HUVECs and THP-1 cells. This study shows that RAPA abrogates LPS-mediated increase in IL-1β and IL-18 by inhibiting pyroptosis and enhancing autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization and optimization of paper SERS substrate were performed in detail, in which morphologies and distribution of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the paper substrate pretreated with different concentrations of NaCl and the subsequent soaking with colloidal AgNPs for different period of time were evaluated. Our results show that both NaCl concentration and soaking time with AgNPs have a significant influence on SERS enhancement, showing that an optimal EF of 2.27 × 107 was achieved when the paper substrate was treated with 20 mM NaCl and one-hour soak with AgNPs. Moreover, seminal plasma (SP) was specifically selected to evaluate the performance of paper-based SERS substrate for potential clinical detection and diagnosis. The optimization of the paper SERS substrate demonstrates potential applications in reliable on-site detection of SP and clinical diagnosis of fertility-related diseases as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. A 3-month depot of leuprorelin acetate (LA) was introduced in China in July 2020. However, the clinical experience is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of a LA 11.25 mg 3-month depot with that of a 3.75 mg 1-month depot in suppressing pubertal development for the treatment of central precocious puberty (CPP). Subjects and Methods. A prospective study, including 78 girls with CPP treated with LA, was conducted. 31 patients were treated with a LA 3-month depot, and 47 were treated with a LA 1-month depot. Participants were interviewed at baseline and 6 months. Anthropometric, metabolic, and reproductive data were assessed at each interview. Bone age, serum endocrine hormones, maximum diameter of uterus and volume of ovary of each patient were evaluated. A pharmacoeconomic evaluation was also conducted. Results. Treatment with a 3-month depot was similar to treatment with a 1-month depot in terms of baseline characteristics. After 6 months of treatment, a suppressed level of luteinizing hormone (LH) (LH < 2.5 IU/L) was found in 100% and 95% of the 11.25 mg and 3.75 mg groups, respectively. LH decreased from 2.11 ± 1.83 and 2.82 ± 2.31 at baseline (P = 0.172) to 0.37 ± 0.39 and 0.44 ± 0.76 (P = 0.758) in the 3-month and 1-month groups, respectively. Follicle stimulating hormone and estradiol levels, bone age/chronological age (BA/CA), height velocity, maximum diameter of uterus and volume of ovary did not show any distinction between the two groups after 6 months of treatment, but both were significantly ameliorated compared with the baseline. The loss of working time of parents and study time of patients and the numbers of visits, injections and laboratory examinations obviously decreased in the 3-month depots. Conclusion. An LA 3-month depot was equally effective and safe as a 1-month depot for hormonal suppression and bone maturation inhibition, providing clinical experience in China. The 11.25 mg depot of LA is a safe, efficient, and economical treatment method for the advanced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Prior studies have shown inconsistent findings of an association between depression and epigenetic aging. DNA methylation (DNAm) age acceleration can measure biological aging. We adopted a robust co‐twin control study design to examine whether depression is associated with DNAm age acceleration after accounting for the potential confounding influences of genetics and family environment. Methods: We analyzed data on a sub‐cohort of the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. A total of 291 twins participated at baseline and 177 at follow‐up visit after a mean of 11.7 years, with 111 participants having DNA samples for both time points. Depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI‐II). Six measures of DNAm age acceleration were computed at each time point, including Horvath's DNAm age acceleration (HorvathAA), intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (IEAA), Hannum's DNAm age acceleration (HannumAA), extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA), GrimAge acceleration (GrimAA), and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA). Mixed‐effects modeling was used to assess the within‐pair association between depression and DNAm age acceleration. Results: At baseline, a 10‐unit higher BDI‐II total score was associated with HannumAA (0.73 years, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.13–1.33, p =.019) and EEAA (0.94 years, 95% CI 0.22–1.66, p =.012). At follow‐up, 10‐unit higher BDI‐II score was associated with PhenoAA (1.32 years, 95% CI 0.18–2.47, p =.027). Conclusion: We identified that depression is associated with higher levels of DNAm age acceleration. Further investigation is warranted to better understand the underlying mechanisms for the potential causal relationship between depression and accelerated aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]