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Purpose: Family history is one of the strongest risk factors for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) while studies about the clinical phenotype of familial IBD are limited. This study aimed to compare the phenotypic features of familial Crohn's disease (CD) with sporadic CD. Methods: Familial CD was defined as CD patients having one or more first, second, third, fourth degree, or above relatives with CD. Sporadic CD patients hospitalized during the same period were matched 1:3 by age and gender. Differences in clinical characteristics, phenotype distribution, extraintestinal manifestations, and complications at diagnosis, as well as treatment regimen and surgery, were compared between familial and sporadic CD. Results: The familial CD was associated with a higher rate of past appendectomy history (P = 0.009), more intestinal perforation at onset (P = 0.012), more MRI results of anal lesion (P = 0.023), and gastrointestinal perforation (P = 0.040) at diagnosis, higher rate of past intestinal surgery history (P = 0.007), more number of intestinal surgeries (P = 0.037), longer duration of follow-up (P = 0.017), lower rate of taking biologicals for current maintenance (P = 0.043), lower tendency to upgrade to biologicals during follow-up (P = 0.013), higher possibility to experience gastrointestinal obstruction (P = 0.047), and abdominal abscess during follow-up (P = 0.045). Conclusion: Familial CD is associated with a more aggressive clinical phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on empirical analysis of 113 climate disasters affecting 3563 listed firms across 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2022, as documented in the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), this study employs event study and multiple regression to explore the impact of proactive green innovation on firm climate resilience. By categorizing proactive green innovation into process and product innovation and climate resilience into short-term and long-term resilience, a proactive green innovation-firm climate resilience 2 × 2 matrix is constructed to provide innovative insights. This study reveals that proactive green innovation enhances firm climate resilience. Specifically, proactive green process innovation both enhances short-term and long-term climate resilience, while proactive green product innovation only enhances long-term rather than short-term climate resilience. Furthermore, climate disaster has inverted U-shaped interaction effect on the relationship between proactive green innovation and short-term climate resilience and U-shaped interaction effect on the relationship between proactive green innovation and long-term climate resilience. Additionally, this study also investigates the heterogeneous mechanisms of proactive green innovation enhancing short-term and long-term climate resilience based on network embeddedness theory and legitimacy theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation contributes to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) formation in patients with aSAH after endovascular treatment. The relationship between systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) as an inflammatory marker and DVT formation remains unclear. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the association between SII and aSAH-associated DVT following endovascular treatment. We enrolled 562 consecutive patients with aSAH after endovascular treatment at three centers from January 2019 to September 2021. The endovascular treatments included simple coil embolization and stent-assisted coil embolization. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was assessed by Color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to establish the model. We assessed the association of the SII, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and DVT by using restricted cubic spline (RCS). ASAH-associated DVT was found in 136 (24.20%) patients. Based on the multiple logistic regression analysis, the correlation was found between aSAH-associated DVT and elevated SII (fourth quartile) (adjusted odds ratio = 8.20 [95% confidence interval, 3.76–17.92]; p < 0.001 [p for trend < 0.001]), elevated NLR (fourth quartile) (adjusted odds ratio = 6.94 [95% confidence interval, 3.24–14.89]; p < 0.001 [p for trend < 0.001]), elevated SIRI (fourth quartile) (adjusted odds ratio = 4.82 [95% confidence interval, 2.36–9.84]; p < 0.001 [p for trend < 0.001]), and elevated PLR (fourth quartile) (adjusted odds ratio = 5.49 [95% confidence interval, 2.61–11.57]; p < 0.001 [p for trend < 0.001]). The increased SII was correlated with the formation of aSAH-associated DVT after endovascular treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: The objective was to determine if Asian racial identity was associated with the selection of surgical versus nonsurgical treatments for pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). Secondarily, we aimed to determine if there were other demographic or clinical characteristics associated with treatment selection patterns. Methods: This was a retrospective matched cohort study that examined new patient visits (NPVs) of Asian patients at an academic urogynecology practice in Chicago, IL, USA. We included NPVs with primary diagnoses of anal incontinence, mixed urinary incontinence, stress urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, or pelvic organ prolapse. We identified Asian patients with self-identified racial identity recorded in the electronic medical records. Every Asian patient was age matched to white patients in a 1:3 ratio. The primary outcome was surgical versus nonsurgical treatment selection for their primary PFD diagnosis. Comparison of demographic and clinical variables between the two groups and multivariate logistic regression models were performed. Results: A total of 53 Asian patients and 159 white patients were included in this analysis. Asian patients were less likely to be English speaking (92% vs 100%, p=0.004), endorse history of anxiety (17% vs 43%, p<0.001), and report history of any pelvic surgery (15% vs 34%, p=0.009) than white patients. When controlling for race, age, history of anxiety, depression, prior pelvic surgery, sexual activity, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory, Colorectal–Anal Distress Inventory, and Urinary Distress Inventory scores, Asian racial identity (adjusted odds ratio 0.36 [95% CI 0.14–0.85]) was independently associated with decreased likelihood of choosing surgical treatments for PFDs. Conclusions: Asian patients with PFDs were less likely than white patients to undergo surgical treatment for their PFDs despite similar demographic and clinical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: The objective was to evaluate whether younger age was associated with noncare-seeking behavior among Asian Americans with pelvic floor symptoms, and secondarily, to explore multilevel factors that may contribute to noncare-seeking behavior in this population. Methods: We performed a concurrent mixed methods study and heterogeneously sampled Asian Americans with urinary incontinence, urgency-frequency, vaginal bulge, or anal incontinence. We stratified the participants into two groups, care seekers vs noncare seekers. Using Anderson's model as the main framework, we administered validated questionnaires and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore factors associated with care-seeking behaviors. Results: Seventy-eight surveys and 20 interviews were completed and analyzed. Most participants reported urinary leakage (67%), followed by urinary urgency-frequency (50%), anal incontinence (18%), and vaginal bulge (17%). The mean age of the study cohort was 46.1 ± 16.2 years. We found noncare seekers to be younger and with an increased proportion of lifetime spent in the USA than care seekers. When controlling for age, proportion of lifetime spent in the USA, symptom severity, and individual-level resources, both younger age and increased proportion of lifetime spent in USA remained independently associated with noncare-seeking behavior. From qualitative data, we found that noncare seekers often experienced anti-Asian racism across workplace, neighborhoods, and health care settings. Additionally, noncare seekers also reported symptom minimization and decreased self-efficacy when coping with their pelvic floor symptoms. Conclusions: We found that one's age and proportion of lifetime spent in the USA may affect the extent of exposure to anti-Asian racism that is associated with symptom minimization, increased perceived barrier, and noncare-seeking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metals exposure has gained increasing attention in the hypertension prevention. However, previous studies have focused on the impacts of single or separated metals on hypertension, and the critical metals contributing to the prevalence of hypertension are still under discussion. We collected data from 5092 participants across three consecutive National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) circles (2011–2016). Weighted logistic regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, quantile-based g-computation (QGC), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) analyses were conducted to evaluate the combined and individual effects of 15 urinary metals, as well as to identify the critical metals on the development of hypertension. In our study, the weighted prevalence of hypertension was 37.9%, and the average age was 47.42 years. Manganese, uranium and tin were found as the independent risk factors for hypertension, while barium, lead, and thallium were found to have protective effects against hypertension. Lead, barium, tungsten, uranium, and tin were determined as critical elements for the prediction of hypertension. No significant interaction relationship was detected between multiple metals. There might be potential positive combined effects of urinary metal mixture on hypertension. Tungsten, uranium, and tin were positively associated with hypertension while lead and barium were negatively associated with hypertension. The underlying mechanisms of urinary metal exposure on the risk of hypertension deserve further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) is a well-known marker of systemic inflammation reflecting the body's inflammatory/immune state. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the SIRI on admission and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH)-associated pneumonia and compare with other currently used bio-markers. We reviewed 562 successive patients with aneurysmal SAH who underwent endovascular treatment between January 2019 and September 2021. ASAH-associated pneumonia was diagnosed using the modified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. The SIRI on admission was calculated as monocyte count × neutrophil count / lymphocyte count. Multiple logistic regression models were used for data analysis. A total of 158 (28.11%) patients developed aSAH-associated pneumonia. Using the Multiple logistic regression analysis, a notable dose–response association was found between the elevated SIRI (fourth quartile) and aSAH-associated pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio = 6.759; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.280–13.930; p < 0.001 [p for trend < 0.001]). The SIRI (0.701, 95% CI: 0.653–0.749) presented a higher area under the curve (AUC) than systemic immune- inflammation index (SII) (0.669, 95% CI: 0.620–0.718) (p = 0.089); neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (0.665, 95% CI: 0.616–0.714) (p = 0.035) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (0.587, 95% CI: 0.534–0.641) (p < 0.001). A higher SIRI on admission was associated with aSAH-associated pneumonia, which may guide further clinical trials of prophylactic antibiotic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorosis causes female reproductive dysfunction with reduced fertility without established pathogenesis. To clarify the mechanism, Sprague–Dawley female rats were selected with drinking water containing 0, 50 (low), 100 (moderate), and 150 mg/L (high) sodium fluoride (NaF) for a short (2 months), medium (4 months), and long term (6 months). The water consumption and body weight of female rats were recorded daily. The effect of NaF on the estrous cycle was examined by vaginal smears and recorded in different term treatments. Female and male rats were mated in a 2:1 ratio for 1 week at 2-, 4-, and 6-month treatment time for mating performance and fertility rate. Selected female rats were executed for tissue and blood collection at different treatment terms. Twenty-four-hour urine sample from each female rat was collected using the metabolic cage. The levels of steroid hormones and silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) in serum were measured by appropriate ELISA kits. Body weight of the high NaF group was significantly less during short-term treatment than that of other treatment groups or control group. Urinary fluoride concentration was increased linearly with treatment time. Treatment of NaF significantly decreased steroid hormone level while increased SIRT1 level in the serum. In addition, NaF treatment significantly decreased pregnancy rate. It is concluded that NaF inhibits the secretion of hormone and estradiol (E2) release from the ovary, thereby reducing the rate of pregnant. SIRT1 may be involved in this NaF-induced reproductive dysfunction in female rats through regulating reproductive hormone, FSH, and LH secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorosis often causes female reproductive dysfunction. A rapid turnover of DNA methylation is a pathological change in many human diseases, including female reproductive dysfunction. The role of DNA methylation in fluorosis was unknown and investigated in this experiment. Fifty fluorosis women patients were selected as High F group and forty-six healthy women were recruited as Control group were enrolled. In addition, ovarian granulosa cells were obtained from five women in High F group and five women in Control group. All ten women went through in vitro fertilization (IVF) process with DNA methylation sequencing. KGN cells (human granulosa cell line) were cultured with different concentrations of sodium fluoride (0–8 mM NaF) for 24 h for the in vitro study. The level of DNA methylation in blood samples was significantly higher in High F group than that in Control group. The level of serum estradiol (E2) was significantly lower in women from High F group, while the levels of serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in High F group were significantly higher than that in Control group. The methylation sequences of KGN cells relating to autophagy were significantly changed by NaF treatment dose-dependently. Based on these results, it is concluded that DNA methylation and autophagy may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of reproductive dysfunction caused by fluorosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart local energy system (SLES) can support tailored regional solutions through the orchestration of cyber physical architectures, coordinating distributed technologies, with operational and forecasting models across all energy actors. Unprecedented access to new information, data streams and remotely accessible control can substantially benefit the multi-objective optimisation of multiple performance metrics. Given the expansion of this internet of things (IoT) and cyber-physical system (CPS), it is important to not only design effective detection and management of potential cybersecurity issues, but also to address the challenges in having affective and adaptive governance—built on standards to ensure the security of the IoT to minimise risks and harms to all users. This study conducts an extensive and critical investigation into the existing standards and identifies areas to focus on as to support the expansive adoption of cyber physical networks. Although existing standards and protocols are highly fragmented, our findings suggest that many of them can meet the requirements of the applications and infrastructures of SLES. Additionally, many standards have been introduced to protect information security and personal privacy due to their increasing importance. The research also suggests that the industry needs to produce more affordable and cyber-secured devices and services. For the government and regulators, relevant guidelines on the minimum function and security requirements for applications should be provided. Additionally, compliance testing and certifications should be in place and carried out by an independent third party to ensure the components of SLES ecosystem with a satisfied security level by design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Selective mediastinal lymphadenectomy (SML) and complete mediastinal lymphadenectomy (CML) are two main types of surgery conducted for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) plus lobectomy or segmentectomy. It is not known whether stage I NSCLC can benefit from CML. Using the meta-analytical method, our research aimed to find out the worth of SML and CML for the therapy of clinical stage I NSCLC. Methods: We searched PubMed, Ovid, MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trial Register (CENTRAL), Embase, and Google Scholar for literature published up to June 2021 to evaluate the comparative research and to assess the post-operative complications, overall survival rate, disease-free survival rate, and local and distant recurrence. This meta-analysis was conducted by combining the results of the reported incidences of post-operative complications, local and distant recurrence, and short- and long-term mortality. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and the 95% confidence intervals were calculated by random or fixed effects models to compare the effectiveness between these two methods. Results: Five retrospective studies and one randomized controlled trial study were included in our research. The six studies included a total of 5713 patients, of whom 1480 were assigned to the SML group and 4233 were assigned to the CML group. No statistically significant differences were found in the 1- and 5-year overall survival rates or the 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates between the two groups. However, the 3-year overall survival favored the SML group (P < 0.05). There were also no statistically significant differences between the local and distant metastasis. Among the postoperative complications, pneumonia, atelectasis, and prolonged air leak were more common in the CML group (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the prevalence of dysrhythmia, chylothorax, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or recurrent laryngeal nerve injury between the two groups, which may be due to the limited sample size. Conclusion: Considering the comparable survival rates, disease control, and fewer postoperative complications in the evaluated participants, SML is the preferred treatment with less invasiveness for clinical stage I NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane-based gas separation exhibits many advantages over other conventional techniques; however, the construction of membranes with simultaneous high selectivity and permeability remains a major challenge. Herein, (LDH/FAS)n-PDMS hybrid membranes, containing two-dimensional sub-nanometre channels were fabricated via self-assembly of unilamellar layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets and formamidine sulfinic acid (FAS), followed by spray-coating with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) layer. A CO2 transmission rate for (LDH/FAS)25-PDMS of 7748 GPU together with CO2 selectivity factors (SF) for SF(CO2/H2), SF(CO2/N2) and SF(CO2/CH4) mixtures as high as 43, 86 and 62 respectively are observed. The CO2 permselectivity outperforms most reported systems and is higher than the Robeson or Freeman upper bound limits. These (LDH/FAS)n-PDMS membranes are both thermally and mechanically robust maintaining their highly selective CO2 separation performance during long-term operational testing. We believe this highly-efficient CO2 separation performance is based on the synergy of enhanced solubility, diffusivity and chemical affinity for CO2 in the sub-nanometre channels. Membrane-based gas separation exhibits many advantages over other conventional techniques but the construction of membranes with simultaneous high selectivity and permeability remains a major challenge. Here, the authors propose a layered double hydroxide (LDH)-polymer hybrid membrane, which shows improved CO2 permselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive intake of fluoride may cause female reproductive dysfunction but pathological mechanism is unclear. The miRNAs in follicular fluid are a class of small non-coding RNAs from granulosa cells. The aim of this study is to examine the differential expressions of miRNAs in ovarian granulosa cells from women suffering from fluorosis and infertility. Five fluorosis women suffering infertility and 5 non-fluorosis (normal ovarian secretory function control) women were included as two groups. These two groups were indexed by serum and urine fluoride (F) levels as high F group and control group. The concentrations of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by ELISA kits. The characteristics of menstruation from each woman were collected. The total RNA was isolated from granulosa cells for sequencing. The validation was completed by RT-qPCR. There was no significant difference between the two groups on age, the levels of E2, FSH, P, HCG, and LH in serum, and the characteristics of menstruation. A total of 37 miRNAs were upregulated and 40 miRNAs downregulated in follicular fluid from granulosa cells in the high F group compared with that in the control group. The expression of hsa-miR-29b increased in fluorosis patients identified by the miRNA sequence analysis. The distinct expression patterns of miRNAs in women requiring IVF from fluorosis area provide a new direction for molecular mechanism of fluorosis caused reproductive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype and hyperuricemia. We undertook a cross-sectional study with a sample of 11,576 adults from China. The HTGW phenotype was defined as elevated waist circumference (WC) and elevated triglyceride (TG) concentration. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the HTGW phenotype and hyperuricemia. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was significantly higher in individuals with the HTGW phenotype, as compared to those with the normal waist normal triglyceride (NWNT) group (25.9 vs. 6.1%, respectively, P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, and race, the HTGW phenotype was associated with hyperuricemia (OR 6.09; 95% CI 5.18-7.17). Further adjusted for potential confounders, the HTGW phenotype was still significantly associated with hyperuricemia (adjusted OR 4.54; 95% CI 3.37-5.54). Moreover, the association between the HTGW phenotype and hyperuricemia was stronger in men (adjusted OR 4.59; 95% CI 3.53-5.98) than in women (adjusted OR 3.55; 95% CI 2.60-4.86). This study indicated that the HTGW phenotype was strongly associated with hyperuricemia, and uric acid should be clinically monitored in individuals with the HTGW phenotype. We can speculate that the HTGW phenotype might be a marker for identifying individuals at high risk of hyperuricemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the evidence comparing systematic mediastinal lymphadenectomy (SML) and mediastinal lymph node sampling (MLS) in the treatment of pathological stage I NSCLC using meta-analytical techniques. Methods: A literature search was undertaken until January 2014 to identify the comparative studies evaluating 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and the 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) were calculated with either the fixed or random effect models. Results: One RCT study and four retrospective studies were included in our meta-analysis. These studies included a total of 711 patients: 317 treated with SML, and 394 treated with MLS. The SML and the MLS did not demonstrate a significant difference in the 1-year survival rate. There were significant statistical differences between the 3-year ( P = 0.03) and 5-year survival rates ( P = 0.004), which favored SML. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that in pathological stage I NSCLC, the MLS can get the similar outcome to the SML in terms of 1-year survival rate. However, the SML is superior to MLS in terms of 3- and 5-year survival rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]