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The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial bacterium Bacillus licheniformis has long been used as a microbial factory for the production of enzymes due to its ability to secrete copious amounts of native extracellular proteins and its generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. However, most attempts to use B. licheniformis to produce heterologous and cytoplasmic enzymes primarily via the general secretory (Sec) pathway have had limited success. The twin-arginine transport (Tat) pathway offers a promising alternative for the extracellular export of Sec-incompatible proteins because it transports full, correctly folded proteins. However, compared to the Sec pathway, the yields of the Tat pathway have historically been too low for commercial use. To improve the export efficiency of the Tat pathway, we identified the optimal Tat-dependent signal peptides and increased the abundance of the Tat translocases, the signal peptidase (SPase), and the intracellular chaperones. These strategic modifications significantly improved the Tat-dependent secretion of the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase into the culture medium using B. licheniformis. The extracellular enzymatic activity of arginase showed a 5.2-fold increase after these modifications. Moreover, compared to the start strain B. licheniformis 0F3, the production of extracellular GFP was improved by 3.8 times using the strategic modified strain B. licheniformis 0F13, and the extracellular enzymatic activity of SOX had a 1.3-fold increase using the strain B. licheniformis 0F14. This Tat-based production chassis has the potential for enhanced production of Sec-incompatible enzymes, therefore expanding the capability of B. licheniformis as an efficient cellular factory for the production of high-value proteins. Key points: • Systematic genetic modification of Tat-pathway in B. licheniformis. • Significant enhancement of the secretion capacity of Tat pathway for delivery the cytoplasmic enzyme arginase. • A new platform for efficient extracellular production of Sec-incompatible enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of cystic biliary atresia (CBA) and evaluate the midterm follow-up outcomes after laparoscopic treatment. Methods: We analyzed and compared data retrospectively on CBA patients (group A) and nonsyndromic type III biliary atresia (BA) patients (group B), who underwent laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) during the same period. Results: There were no significant differences in operative time, conversion rate, or the incidence of any postoperative complications between groups A and B (P > 0.05). The mean age at surgery (P < 0.01), rates of clearance of jaundice (CJ), cholangitis (P < 0.05), and 5-year survival with a native liver (SNL) were significantly lower in group A than in group B. Among the 35 patients with CBA, the CJ and 5-year SNL rates were significantly better in those with type I (n = 27) than in those with type IIId (n = 8) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: LKPE is a feasible and safe procedure for CBA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE was better in patients with CBA than in those with nonsyndromic type III BA. The 5-year SNL after LKPE for type I CBA was better than that for type IIId CBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most newly proposed explicit time integration methods may have one or more of such problems as unexpected stability limits, accuracy order loss for damped systems and unsatisfactory computational accuracy for the case of zero initial conditions and initial external load. For addressing these problems, a three-stage explicit time integration method is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is second-order accurate for linear systems with and without damping, and it is completely explicit if the mass matrix is diagonal, even when the damping matrix is not diagonal in linear analysis or the internal force is a function of velocity in nonlinear analysis. The stability limit and numerical dissipation are exactly controlled by the parameter ρb, the spectral radius at the bifurcation point. For undamped systems, the stability limit of the proposed method ranges from 5.5608 to 6 with the increase in ρb from 0 to 1 and its degree of numerical dissipation is exactly controlled by ρb. The recommended values of ρb for different types of dynamics systems are determined by analyzing the algorithmic eigenvalue properties and the dynamics system properties. Numerical experiments show that the new method has advantages in accuracy and stability over most up-to-date explicit methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) has been shown to be a safe and feasible procedure in patients with biliary atresia (BA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of modified LKPE (MLKPE) in the treatment of BA. Methods: Data of 58 BA patients undertaken MLPKE from July 2014 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed (group B), and compared with that of 43 BA patients received open Kasai portoenterostomy (OKPE) during the same period (group C). In addition, 195 BA patients who had undergone LKPE during May 2009 to June 2014 were also included (group A). Results: All 296 patients enrolled in this study were non-syndromic type III BA. Compared with group A, group B had shorter operative time (ORT) (P < 0.01) and fewer intraoperative blood transfusion (IOBT) (P < 0.05). The conversion rate and cholangitis rate were also significantly lower in group B than that in group A (P < 0.05). The postoperative oral intake resumed (POOR), any postoperative complications (APOC), clearance of jaundice (CJ), 1-year and 3-year survival rate with native liver (SNL) were not significantly different between group A and group B (P > 0.05). The ORT, IOBT, POOR, APOC, CJ, 1-year and 3-year SNL in group B were much better than that of group C (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The MLKPE was associated with good perioperative with ORT, IOBT, POOR, and APOC. The short-term outcomes in MLKPE were no worse than that of OKPE and LKPE. MLKPE can be regarded as a treatment option for BA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel approximate finite-time convergent guidance law for missiles is presented to accurately intercept maneuvering targets when the actuators cannot perform as well as usual. First, the governing equations are proposed according to the relationship between missile and target at engagement phase, and a typical nonlinear mathematic model of actuator efficiency is built. Then, an adaptive multiple-input-multiple-output guidance law based on super-twisting algorithm is proposed to drive the line-of-sight angular rate to converge in a small region around zero in finite time. According to the proposed adaptive law, the information about maneuverability of target is not necessary, and the parameter drift problem is also addressed by dead-time control technique. Moreover, the proposed formulation is validated by means of the detailed stability analysis with strict Lyapunov function and simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We sought to characterize the clinical features and management of patients diagnosed as Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) without cutaneous involvement.Methods: The electronic patient chats at six Triple A hospitals in China were searched to find all patient diagnoses with KHE without cutaneous involvement.Results: Of 30 patients (mean age at diagnosis, 55.6 months), 17 (56.7%) were male. Fourteen (46.7%) patients were associated with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). Patients with KMP were significantly more likely to have lesions involving truck compared to patients without KMP (odds ratio 10.000; 95% confidence interval 1.641-60.921; P = 0.011). Other common complication included severe anemia and decreased range of motion. In the majority of cases (93.3%), the lesions were highly infiltrative and locally invasive with ill-defined margins. Histological examination was required in all patients without KMP for precise diagnosis. In all, 16 (53.3%) patients received corticosteroid treatment, 19 (63.3%) received oral sirolimus treatment, 7 (23.3%) received intravenous vincristine, and 5 (16.7%) patients used propranolol. Patients had varied responses to conventional drugs, whereas all patients receiving sirolimus treatment had better response. In all, three patients (10%) died of disease, all presented with KMP. Feature of these recalcitrant cases (death) included young age, visceral location, extensive involvement, and lack of improvement with high-dose corticosteroids.Conclusions: Our study clearly demonstrated that KHE without cutaneous involvement could be associated with important complication, which might result in death or severe morbidity. Increased awareness of KHE without cutaneous involvement is required for early diagnosis and aggressive therapy in an attempt to prevent complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the mode superposition method is combined with a time integration method like the trapezoidal rule to improve solution accuracy for linear dynamic systems. In this combination strategy, the essential thing is to decompose a dynamic system into two sub-systems, a small-scale low-frequency system and a high-frequency system. The former can be analytically and efficiently solved with the mode superposition method, and the latter is dealt with through a time integration method such as the Newmark method. The summation of the responses of these two sub-systems is the responses of the original dynamic system. It is concluded that, with little sacrifice of efficiency, the combination method based on the strategy is more accurate than the combined time integration method, but it has the same accuracy order as that of the combined method. Numerical experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ga2O3 is considered as a candidate for the preparation of solar-blind photodetectors due to its large direct band gap. Developing low-cost preparation methods of high-quality Ga2O3 films is of importance for large-scale applications. In this work, we investigate the preparation of Sn doped β-Ga2O3 films by using simple and cheap sol–gel method under ambient condition. It is found that Sn doping induces a growth mode transformation from 2 ¯ 01 to 3 ¯ 11 oriented texture on the c-plane sapphire substrates. With an optimal Sn proportion, high-quality β-Ga2O3 films consisting of needle-like grains are observed. Compared with the undoped films, the Sn-doped films with needle-like grains obtained a low dark current of 0.76 nA, performed an on/off ratio as high as ~ 6000, responsivity, R of 164 mA/W and D* of 3.21 × 1012 Jones at a bias voltage of 30 V in the configuration of metal–semiconductor–metal solar-blind deep ultraviolet detectors. This is the highest on/off ratio of Ga2O3 solar-blind photodetectors fabricated by sol–gel method reported up to now and has the potential to be applied in practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish a pre-test probability model of coronary heart disease (CHD) combined with cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) indexes and to compare the clinical effectiveness with Duke clinical score (DCS) and updated Diamond-Forrester model (UDFM), thus further explore the predictive value. 342 cases were used to establish the prediction model equation and another 80 cases were used to verify the effectiveness. The patients were divided into CHD group (n = 157) and non-CHD group (n = 185) according to coronary artery stenosis degree >50% or not. Combining DCS and UDFM as reference models with CPET indexes, a multivariate logistic regression model was established. The area under the ROC curve of the three models were calculated to compare the predictive effectiveness. There were significant differences in gender, chest pain type, myocardial infarction history, hypertension history, smoking, pathological Q wave and ST-T change between two groups (P < 0.01), as well as age, LVEF, heart rate at anaerobic domain, peak oxygen uptake in kilograms of body weight, percentage of peak oxygen uptake to the predicted value, the oxygen uptake efficiency slope and carbon dioxide ventilation equivalent slope (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed gender, age, chest pain type, myocardial infarction history, hypertension history, smoking, pathological Q wave, ST-T change, and peak oxygen pulse were independent risk factors of CHD. The pre-test probability model of CHD combined with CPET indexes has good distinguish and calibrate ability, its prediction accuracy is slightly better than DCS and UDFM, which still needs to be verified externally in more samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish a pre-test probability model of coronary heart disease (CHD) combined with cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) indexes and to compare the clinical effectiveness with Duke clinical score (DCS) and updated Diamond-Forrester model (UDFM), thus further explore the predictive value. 342 cases were used to establish the prediction model equation and another 80 cases were used to verify the effectiveness. The patients were divided into CHD group (n = 157) and non-CHD group (n = 185) according to coronary artery stenosis degree >50% or not. Combining DCS and UDFM as reference models with CPET indexes, a multivariate logistic regression model was established. The area under the ROC curve of the three models were calculated to compare the predictive effectiveness. There were significant differences in gender, chest pain type, myocardial infarction history, hypertension history, smoking, pathological Q wave and ST-T change between two groups (P < 0.01), as well as age, LVEF, heart rate at anaerobic domain, peak oxygen uptake in kilograms of body weight, percentage of peak oxygen uptake to the predicted value, the oxygen uptake efficiency slope and carbon dioxide ventilation equivalent slope (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed gender, age, chest pain type, myocardial infarction history, hypertension history, smoking, pathological Q wave, ST-T change, and peak oxygen pulse were independent risk factors of CHD. The pre-test probability model of CHD combined with CPET indexes has good distinguish and calibrate ability, its prediction accuracy is slightly better than DCS and UDFM, which still needs to be verified externally in more samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive phosphate discharged into the environment has damaged the ecosystem seriously. In this work, a kind of 3D adsorbents, α-Fe2O3 decorated graphene oxide (GO—Fe2O3), was synthesized to deal with phosphate-polluted water. The phosphate adsorption capacity of GO—Fe2O3 reached to 93.28mgg-1, in 50mgL-1 phosphate solution at pH 6.0 and temperature 298 K, and the phosphate adsorption efficiency is very stable between the pH range of 2.0-10.5 and temperature range of 293-333 K. The adsorption progress is rapid, and adsorption equilibrium was reached within 5 min. The phosphate adsorption behavior of GO—Fe2O3 fitted the Langmuir model, and the adsorption kinetic fitted the pseudo-second-order model. Ion exchange and electrostatic attraction are the main reactions in the adsorption process. Physical adsorption and chemical adsorption both are in the adsorption process. The phosphate adsorption progress is stable and rapid; thus, it is a good choice to deal with phosphate-polluted water by GO—Fe2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astrocyte-specific glutamate transporter subtype 1 (GLT-1) plays an important role in influencing glutamate excitatory toxicity and preventing the death of excitatory toxic neurons. Although the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/protein kinase B(Akt)/nuclear factor kappa B signaling cascade is involved in the upregulation of astrocytic GLT-1 in oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD), it is unclear whether the mTOR/Akt pathway is involved in astrocytic GLT-1 upregulation in OGD and reoxygenation (OGD/R). In this study, we found that the treatment of cultured astrocytes with rapamycin and triciribine led to the decreased astrocytes' protrusions, smaller nuclei, and an increased apoptotic rate. The inhibitors of mTOR complex 1 significantly increased the expression levels of phosphorylated Akt-Ser473 (p-Akt), phosphorylated Akt-Thr308(p-Akt), and GLT-1, while Akt-specific inhibitors blocked GLT-1 expression, suggesting that the mTOR/Akt pathway is involved in GLT-1 upregulation. We further demonstrated that astrocytes under OGD/R adapted to environmental changes through the mTOR/Akt pathway, mainly by altering cell morphology and apoptosis and upregulating the expression levels of p-Akt and GLT-1. Our results suggested that astrocytes may adapt to short-term ischemic–reperfusion injury by regulating cell morphology, apoptosis and GLT-1 upregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CeOx-VOx/TiO2 catalysts (Ce-V/Ti) incorporating graphene oxide (GO) were synthesized via a sol–gel method and used for catalytic combustion of chlorobenzene (CB). Compared with Ce-V/Ti, GO supported catalysts (Ce-V/Ti-GO) presented more excellent performance. Characterization by XRD, TEM, BET, XPS, FTIR and H2-TPR revealed that the specific surface area of catalyst and the concentrations of surface Ce3+ and V4+ were enlarged after GO modification. However, introducing too much GO did not be conductive to promote catalyst activity. With the GO ratio increasing to 1.5%, Ce from catalyst was prone to form a separate crystal CeO2 with large size, resulting in a decline in specific surface area and uneven dispersion of active components. Ce-V/Ti-GO with 0.7% GO support showed high activity with the temperature for a 90% CB conversion (T90) of 236 °C. The main phase from Ce-V/Ti-GO(0.7) was anatase and evident lattice distortion resulted from Ce–O–Ti solid solution was observed. In the case of Ce-V/Ti-GO catalysts, V effectively promoted the activity of catalysts and the stability with the variation of GO ratio. The synergy between Ce and GO played the critical role on the low-temperature performance of catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common benign tumor in infancy, but information about its pathogenesis is limited. The aim of this study was to determine maternal and perinatal risk factors for IH. Methods: A total of 1033 IH patients were enrolled in the study between 2017 and 2020. IH patients were matched with controls by sex. Trained investigators collected detailed information from the participants. Logistic regression models were used for multivariate analysis. Results: The statistical analysis demonstrated that miscarriage history (odds ratio [OR] = 4.275; 95% confidence interval [CI] [3.195, 5.720]), anemia in pregnancy (OR = 4.228; 95% CI [3.083, 5.799]), preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) (OR = 3.182; 95% CI [1.359, 7.454]), placenta previa (OR = 2.440; 95% CI [1.787, 3.333]), threatened miscarriage (OR = 2.290; 95% CI [1.726, 3.039]), premature rupture of membranes (PROM) (OR = 1.785; P < 0.05), progesterone use (OR = 1.614; P < 0.001) and abnormal amniotic fluid volume (OR = 1.499; P < 0.05) were independent risk factors for IH. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (OR = 0.607; 95% CI [0.464, 0.794]), multiple gestations (OR = 0.407; 95% CI [0.232, 0.713]), hypothyroidism (OR = 0.407; 95% CI [0.227, 0.730]) and uterine fibroids (OR = 0.393; 95% CI [0.250, 0.618]) may reduce the risk of IH. Conclusions: Maternal and perinatal factors are closely associated with IH occurrence. Our study provides reliable clues to guide further exploration of the pathogenesis of IH. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03331744. Plain Language Summary: Infantile hemangioma is the most common benign tumor in children, which seriously affects appearance and function and even threatens life. The pathogenesis is not clear, a detailed case-control study of the maternal and perinatal periods with a large sample size will facilitate the development of individualized and precise treatment, early and timely interventions for high-risk children and improvement of prognosis. Our study found that miscarriage history, anemia in pregnancy, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), placenta previa, threatened miscarriage, premature rupture of membranes (PROM), progesterone use and abnormal amniotic fluid volume were independent risk factors for IH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limb-kinetic apraxia, the loss of the ability to make precise, independent but coordinated finger and hand movements affects quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease. We aimed to examine the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the left posterior parietal cortex and upper extremity motor practice on limb-kinetic apraxia in Parkinson's disease. This study was conducted in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled fashion. Patients confirmed to have Parkinson's disease were recruited. Twenty-eight participants completed the study and were randomized to two groups: anodal or sham stimulation. For participants assigned to active stimulation, anodal stimulation of the left posterior parietal cortex was performed using 2 mA current for 20 min. Patients received anodal or sham stimulation, followed by motor practice in both groups. The primary outcome measure was time-performing sequential buttoning and unbuttoning, and several secondary outcome measures were obtained. A statistically significant interaction between stimulation type and timepoint on time taken to perform buttoning and unbuttoning was found. Patients who received anodal stimulation were found to have a significant decrease in sequential buttoning and unbuttoning time immediately following stimulation and at 24 h in the medication-ON state, compared to the medication-OFF state (31% and 29% decrease, respectively). Anodal stimulation of the left posterior parietal cortex prior to motor practice appears to be effective for limb-kinetic apraxia in Parkinson's disease. Future long-term, multi-session studies looking at the long-term effects of anodal stimulation and motor practice on limb-kinetic apraxia in Parkinson's disease may be worthwhile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triphasic dynamic enhanced computed tomography (CT) scans were acquired to identify cholesterol and adenomatous gallbladder (GB) polyps that were inaccurately diagnosed before surgery. Purpose: To evaluate the CT findings of 1.0- to 2.0-cm GB polyps for differentiating between cholesterol and adenomatous polyps. Methods: Fifty-two patients with GB polyps were treated surgically from December 2017 to July 2020 and were retrospectively divided into 2 groups according to the postoperative pathologic results: a cholesterol group with 30 patients and an adenomatous group with 22 patients. Unenhanced and triphasic dynamic enhanced CT scans were performed for all the patients within 2 weeks before surgery. The CT image parameters were measured and analyzed by 2 senior radiologists blinded to the pathological diagnoses. Results: Of the 22 patients in the adenomatous group, 77.3% were female and 22.7% were male, with a mean age of 53.5 years; among the 30 patients in the cholesterol group, 66.7% were female and 33.3% were male, with a median age of 50.1 years. The CT image parameters of all 52 patients with GB polyps were analyzed. Significant differences were found in the arterial phase CT values, portal venous phase CT values, delayed phase CT values, ∆CT1 values (portal venous phase CT minus delayed phase CT values), and ∆CT2 values (arterial phase CT minus delayed phase CT values) between the cholesterol and adenomatous polyp groups (p < 0.05). In differentiating the two groups, the ∆CT1 and ∆CT2 values were superior to the arterial, portal venous and delayed phase CT values regarding both sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: The arterial phase CT values, portal venous phase CT values, delayed phase CT values, and ∆CT values (including ∆CT1 and ∆CT2) from triphasic dynamic enhanced CT scans can differentiate the nature of gallbladder polypoid lesions, with the ∆CT values having the highest sensitivity and specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A facile catalytic chain transfer polymerization (CCTP) technique has been developed to synthesize covalently linked CdS nanocrystal-polymer hybrids with good optical properties. The in situ polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) on the surface of modified CdS nanocrystals (NCs) with diameter of 5 nm via CCTP process yielded CdS-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) hybrid nanocomposites; while the incorporation of hydroxyl-coated CdS NCs into poly(methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane) (PMPS)-co-PMMA matrices prepared by CCTP afforded CdS-PMPS-co-PMMA hybrid nanocomposites, which were further cross-linked by free radical polymerization to form CdS NC-polymer network. The spectroscopic studies indicate that as-prepared CdS NC-polymer hybrids show good photoluminescence (PL) and the NC-polymer network exhibits highly enhanced PL property with respect to that before cross-linking. Also described are the probable mechanism for the catalytic chain transfer polymerization on the surface of modified nanocrystal and the measurement of chain transfer constants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although open portoenterostomy (OPE) is considered the standard treatment for biliary atresia (BA), laparoscopic portoenterostomy (LPE) is conducted and reported by many investigators. Data on the safety and efficacy of LPE remain controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis is to compare the safety and efficacy of LPE and OPE for the treatment of BA.Methods: Three electronic databases were searched: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. The eligible studies were limited to those published in English. The following keywords were used: "biliary atresia," "laparoscopic portoenterostomy," "Kasai portoenterostomy," "open portoenterostomy," "surgery," and "treatment."Results: Nine studies, including 434 patients, were analyzed. The operative time of LPE was significantly longer than that of OPE (MD = 40.55 min, 95% CI 4.83-76.27 min, P = 0.03). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the time of hospital stay, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, or the rates of cholangitis, early clearance of jaundice or two-year survival with the native liver. The subgroup analyses revealed that the rate of early clearance of jaundice in the LPE group was significantly higher than that in the OPE group in studies published after 2016 (95% CI 1.04-1.75; P = 0.02).Conclusions: The present meta-analysis provides evidence that LPE is a feasible option for patients with BA. LPE should be revaluated by further studies and longer follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimally invasive interventional diagnosis and treatment center, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, No.6 Jie Fang Street, Zhongshan District, Dalian 116001, Liaoning Province, China. These authors contributed equally: Si Xu Liu, Sheng Qin Yu, Guang Sheng Zhao and Feng Zhi Sun. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The management of contralateral patent processus vaginalis (CPPV) in children with unilateral inguinal hernia is still controversial. The objective of this study was to verify the relationship between metachronous contralateral inguinal hernia (MCIH) and CPPV, and the risk factors of MCIH.Methods: Children with unilateral inguinal hernia from three medical centers underwent either open or laparoscopic repairs. Clinical information, including demographics, morphological characteristics of CPPV, follow-up outcomes were collected.Results: Among 2942 patients (92.2%) who received open repair with successful follow-up, 185 (6.29%) developed MCIHs [125 (10.9%) on the right side and 60 (3.3%)] on the left including 156 (7.07%) younger than 3 years old and 29 (3.94%) older than 3 years old. Patients younger than 3 years old with primary left inguinal hernias more easily develop MCIHs and the difference is statistically significant. Among 5370 patients (96.0%) who received laparoscopic repair with successful follow-up, the morphology of ipsilateral patent processus vaginalis were cavernous type in 5318 (99%) and 52 (1%) were fissure type. CPPVs were identified in 2233 (41.5%) cases [1256 (35.01%) on the left side and 977 (54.80%) on the right side, P < 0.001]; 1503 cases were cavernous type (1276 cases younger than 3 years old and 227 cases older than 3 years old) and 730 cases were fissure type (422 cases younger than 3 years old and 308 cases older than 3 years old). The probability of occurence of cavernous type and CPPV in children younger than 3 years old was higher than that in children older than 3 years old.Conclusions: Not all CPPVS progress into an MIH, and approximate one of 15 CPPVs would progress into MIH. If patient with initial left-sided inguinal hernia is younger than 3 years old, when the morphology of CPPV is cavernous type identified by laparoscopic exploration, the contralateral repair would be recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell walls in crops and trees have been engineered for production of biofuels and commodity chemicals, but engineered varieties often fail multi-year field trials and are not commercialized. We engineered reduced expression of a pectin biosynthesis gene (Galacturonosyltransferase 4, GAUT4) in switchgrass and poplar, and find that this improves biomass yields and sugar release from biomass processing. Both traits were maintained in a 3-year field trial of GAUT4-knockdown switchgrass, with up to sevenfold increased saccharification and ethanol production and sixfold increased biomass yield compared with control plants. We show that GAUT4 is an α-1,4-galacturonosyltransferase that synthesizes homogalacturonan (HG). Downregulation of GAUT4 reduces HG and rhamnogalacturonan II (RGII), reduces wall calcium and boron, and increases extractability of cell wall sugars. Decreased recalcitrance in biomass processing and increased growth are likely due to reduced HG and RGII cross-linking in the cell wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haloarchaea is an important group of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-accumulating organisms. However, few promising haloarchaeal species for economical and efficient PHA production have been reported. Here, we first discovered that Halogranum amylolyticum TNN58 could efficiently accumulate poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with a high 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) fraction using glucose as carbon source. Briefly, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed the presence of a large number of PHA granules in the cells. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) analyses showed that PHAs synthesized from glucose was PHBV. Moreover, the 3HV content reached 20.1 mol%, which is the highest 3HV fraction thus far reported, as for PHBV produced by the wild-type strains grown on unrelated carbon courses. Fermentation experiments suggested that nitrogen-limited MG medium was better than nutrient-rich NOMG and AS168 medium for PHBV production. Additionally, glucose was the most suitable carbon source among the tested carbon sources. Interestingly, PHBV accumulation was almost paralleled by cell growth and glucose consumption. By applying the fed-batch process in fermentor, the PHBV production and cell dry weight were increased by approximately eight and four times, respectively, as compared with those of the batch process in shaking flasks. The classical PHA synthase genes were successfully cloned via consensus-degenerate hybrid oligonucleotide primers (CODEHOPs) and high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced (hiTAIL) PCR methods. This finding suggested that H. amylolyticum shows promising potential in the low-cost biotechnological production of PHBV after further process optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are tackling the problem of distinguishing scenes, including static and dynamic scenes. We propose a framework of scene recognition, based on bag of visual words and topic model. We achieve the task using the topic model by belief propagation (TMBP), which belongs to the family of the latent Dirichlet allocation model. We also extend the TMBP model, called as the knowledge TMBP model, by introducing the prior information of visual words and scenes. Experimental results on the static and dynamic scenes demonstrated that our proposed framework is effective and efficient. The scene semantics can be obtained from two levels of visual words and topics in our framework. Our result significantly outperforms the others using low-level visual features, such as spatial, temporal and spatiotemporal features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitatively determining physiological parameters at a microscopic level in the retina furthers the understanding of the molecular pathways of blinding diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. An essential parameter, which has yet to be quantified noninvasively, is the retinal oxygen metabolic rate (rMRO2). Quantifying rMRO2 is challenging because two parameters, the blood flow rate and hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO2), must be measured together. We combined photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) with spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to tackle this challenge, in which PAOM measured the sO2 and SD-OCT mapped the blood flow rate. We tested the integrated system on normal wild-type rats, in which the measured rMRO2 was 297.86 ± 70.23 nl/minute. This quantitative method may shed new light on both fundamental research and clinical care in ophthalmology in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, smooth α-FeO nanotubes have been successfully synthesized by electrospinning of ferric nitrate-polyvinyl alcohol solution followed by calcination in air. The morphologies and structures of the samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The catalytic properties were studied by differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the as-prepared α-FeO nanotubes showed a continuous morphology and an extremely high degree of crystallization. The average inner and outer diameters of the obtained α-FeO nanotubes were about 60 nm and 100 nm, respectively. The obtained α-FeO nanotubes were able to lower the temperature of the high-temperature thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate, while they had little effect on the crystallographic phase transformation and the low-temperature thermal decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the effect of alendronate on the expression of Id genes in osteoblast differentiation.Methods: C2C12 cells were treated with alendronate for various concentrations and time periods. For evaluation of alendronate-induced osteoblast differentiation in C2C12 cells, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was measured. The expression of osteoblast differentiation markers such as ALP, type-1 collagen (Col 1), and osteocalcin (OCN), and the expression of Id-1 and Id-2 were measured by RT-PCR. In order to understand the mechanism underlying the regulation of Id genes, the promoter region of the Id-1 gene was identified. Database analysis of the promoter region for Id-1 using known consensus sequences identified several putative response elements, including CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBPβ).Results: Alendronate treatment significantly increased not only ALP activity but also the expression of ALP, Col 1, and OCN, Id-1 and Id-2. C/EBPβ and alendronate cooperatively increased the promoter activity and expression of Id-1.Conclusions: These results suggest that C/EBPβ-mediated Id-1 transcriptional activation may regulate alendronate-induced osteoblast differentiation of C2C12 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

hydrologic model consists of several parameters which are usually calibrated based on observed hydrologic processes. Due to the uncertainty of the hydrologic processes, model parameters are also uncertain, which further leads to the uncertainty of forecast results of a hydrologic model. Working with the Bayesian Forecasting System (BFS), Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation based Adaptive Metropolis method (AM-MCMC) was used to study parameter uncertainty of Nash model, while the probabilistic flood forecasting was made with the simulated samples of parameters of Nash model. The results of a case study shows that the AM-MCMC based on BFS proposed in this paper is suitable to obtain the posterior distribution of the parameters of Nash model according to the known information of the parameters. The use of Nash model and AM-MCMC based on BFS was able to make the probabilistic flood forecast as well as to find the mean and variance of flood discharge, which may be useful to estimate the risk of flood control decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]