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• A numerical analysis method for the debris cloud considering macroscopic multi-phase states is established. • we explore the debris cloud phase state partitioning criterion method and the temperature failure criterion is added. • The initial phase distribution diagram is obtained from the inversion of the debris cloud at the steady time. Hypervelocity impacts can cause material phase transitions. Solid-phase fragments retain the material strength and exhibit high penetration performance. Liquid- and gas-phase fragments have a much lower penetration performance but can still generate momentum and thermal impact on the rear plate. This study adopted the finite element-smoothed particle hydrodynamics (FE-SPH) adaptive method to simulate the phase transitions of debris clouds under hypervelocity impacts. The Johnson–Cook and maximum tensile stress failure criteria were used to simulate material compression and tensile failures, respectively. The material liquefaction temperature was considered the threshold of the temperature failure criterion. Three phase-transition criteria are proposed using temperature and pressure methods and a material phase diagram, in which the intermediate phase states are also defined, i.e., the melting-phase of the solid–liquid intermediate state and the hot-liquid phase of the liquid–gas intermediate state. A symmetric plate impact was used to verify the reliability of the physical quantities. The reliability of the numerical results was verified using experimental and numerical phase diagrams of the debris clouds at different velocities. The phase evolution characteristics of the debris clouds under hypervelocity impacts were studied using the FE-SPH adaptive method and temperature phase-transition criteria. The initial projectile phase model was obtained by the inversion of the debris cloud phase distribution at the steady-state moment, laying the foundation for the debris cloud phase model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its great potential in cancer therapy, phototherapy, including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), often cause metastasis of tumors. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the cancer treatment owing to the capability of activating immune system to eliminate tumors. However, the integration of phototherapy and immunotherapy in a single nanoagent for cancer therapy is still a challenging task. Here, we fabricated (Cu9S5@mSiO2-PpIX@MnO2@CpG (CSPM@CpG)) as a synergistic therapeutic model for phototherapy enhanced immunotherapy. The intracellular uptake of cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) promoted the infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in tumor tissue, further stimulating the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and remarkably elevating the immune response level. Excellent anti-tumor effects have been achieved by synergistic PTT/PDT/immunotherapy. The metastasis of tumors was effectively inhibited by the immune response of CpG. Thus, our proposed work provides a strategy to combine phototherapy with immunotherapy to enhance the therapeutic efficiency and further inhibit metastasis of tumors. CpG oligonucleotides can stimulate an anticancer immune response. Zhou et al. now develop nanoparticles that can deliver CpG, which promotes cancer cell death after photothermal and photodynamic therapy in vitro and in vivo, concomitant with an immunological response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a multi-status simulation method based on event-driven for a smart distribution network (SDN). By switching a steady simulation model and a dynamic simulation model, the typical events of the SDN with various time constants can be simulated within the same simulation framework. The aim of the proposed method is to make full utilisation of the advantages of conventional simulation methods when considering the actual operation process of the SDN with many typical events so that the simulation results can approach the actual situation. To ensure that the operating status and corresponding simulation models of the SDN could be switched correctly and automatically, a simulation engine is proposed and implemented based on a finite state machine. Multi-status simulation experiments on IEEE 33-bus and an actual 10-kV distribution network validate the proposed multi-status simulation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new image hashing that is designed with tensor decomposition (TD), referred to as TD hashing, where image hash generation is viewed as deriving a compact representation from a tensor. Specifically, a stable three-order tensor is first constructed from the normalized image, so as to enhance the robustness of our TD hashing. A popular TD algorithm, called Tucker decomposition, is then exploited to decompose the three-order tensor into a core tensor and three orthogonal factor matrices. As the factor matrices can reflect intrinsic structure of original tensor, hash construction with the factor matrices makes a desirable discrimination of the TD hashing. To examine these claims, there are 14,551 images selected for our experiments. A receiver operating characteristics (ROC) graph is used to conduct theoretical analysis and the ROC comparisons illustrate that the TD hashing outperforms some state-of-the-art algorithms in classification performance between the robustness and discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Heavy metal contamination of environmental media in mining area is a global major concern because of its potential threat for human health through food chain. However, the comparison of exposure level and health risk is scarce among people living in the vicinity of mining area with different pollution source. In this study, the concentrations of Mn, Cd, As, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr and Ni in soil, air, water, rice, vegetable, fish, poultry meat and pork from a Pb-Zn mining area and a Mn mining area in Huayuan county, China were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results showed that the environmental media and foodstuffs in the two areas were contaminated by Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr and Ni. However, the pollution was more serious in Pb-Zn mining area than Mn mining area. The total hazard index (HI) was 6.59 and 4.55 in Pb-Zn mining area and Mn mining area, respectively, indicating a moderate non-carcinogenic risk of local people. As intake via rice ingestion was the predominant contributor to the total HI in the two mining areas, accounting for 25% and 35%, respectively. For Pb-Zn mining area, Cd intake through vegetable consumption and Mn intake via air inhalation appeared to be another two important components contributing to HI. This study highlights the multi-element and multi-pathway exposure assessment to evaluate the potential health risk and emphasizes concerns to reduce As and Cd in agricultural products as well as Mn in air to decrease the detrimental health effects of local resident. Highlights • Heavy metal pollution was more serious in Pb-Zn mining area than Mn mining area. • Heavy metal pollution posed a moderate non-carcinogenic risk to local people. • Health risks in the two mining areas were mainly attributed to As via rice ingestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pd/WO 3 was designed for catalyzing the reduction of toxic pollutants. • DFT and XPS unravel a unique catalytic mechanism for the Cr(VI) reduction by formic acid. • Electron transfer at WO 3 /Pd interfaces optimizes Pd electronic states and upshifts d -band center. • Electron-deficient Pd boosts formic acid dissociation for efficient H* production. • Pd/WO 3 surpasses most Pd-based catalysts for Cr(VI) reduction with high TOF of 62.12 min−1. Through theoretical calculations, we show that integrating Pd with WO 3 nanomaterials can trigger the interfacial electron transfer from Pd to WO 3 , thus upshifting the d -band center (ε d) of Pd to optimize toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) reduction. The elevated ε d can derive stronger chemisorption capability toward crucial formic acid molecules, notably lowering the thermodynamic energy barrier and speeding up the kinetics process. In order to realize this concept, we synthesized unique Pd/WO 3 nanofibers by loading Pd nanoparticles onto electrospun WO 3 nanofibers through an in situ photodeposition technique. Extensive structural, morphological, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) characterizations confirm the successful formation of the above nanofibers. As anticipated, the as-designed Pd/WO 3 nanofibers exhibit enhanced catalytic performance in the Cr(VI) reduction with a high turnover frequency (TOF) value of 62.12 min−1, surpassing a series of reported Pd-based catalysts. Such nanofibrous WO 3 -induced electronic modification of Pd with a high specific area leads to catalytic enhancement, providing a novel model for catalyst design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road icing in winter brings challenges to traffic safety, and microwave heating and deicing technology is an effective method with the advantages of high efficiency and environmental protection. Magnetite has been widely used as a microwave-absorbing material in pavement. In this paper, magnetite powder formed by crushing natural magnetite and high-purity Fe3O4 powder after purification were mixed to replace mineral powder, and the magnetite aggregate was used to replace the limestone aggregate with the same particle size to enhance the asphalt mixtures' microwave absorption capacity. The effect of microwave heating time and microwave power on the heating of the asphalt mixtures was studied, and the heating performance of different thicknesses of the asphalt mixtures under microwave radiation was evaluated. The heating performance of the mixtures under different initial temperatures and ice layer thicknesses was also assessed. The results showed that the addition of the magnetite powder–Fe3O4 powder and the magnetite aggregate significantly enhanced the heating performance of the asphalt mixtures by microwave heating. The replacement of the magnetite powder–Fe3O4 powder, the microwave heating time, and the microwave power had positive effects on the heating efficiency of the asphalt mixtures. Moreover, the thinner asphalt mixtures had a better heating performance. The heating and deicing performance of the mixtures decreased with a decline in initial temperature. As the ice thickness increased, the deicing time of the specimen surface to reach 0 °C also increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The liquid adsorption behavior and surface properties of α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin, CD, were studied and compared by FTIR and capillary rise method. These three CDs all showed an intense peak at 1155cm−1 due to the C–O structure stretching and the peak height was found to reduce with the sugar ring molecules of CD increase. All these three CDs adsorbed the non-polar liquids greatly as compared with the polar liquid due to their total surface free energies dominated by the Lifshitz–van der Waals interactions component. The increase of the sugar ring molecules has been found to increase the Lewis acid–base property of CDs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The excitations of ligand-to-metal charge transfer in the UV–vis spectra of the complexes Cp2MCl2 (Cp=π-C5H5, M=Ti, Zr, Hf) were described with the time-dependent density functional theory and the differential self-consistent-field density functional theory (ΔSCF–DFT). The nature of the main spectral features was interpreted on the basis of the electronic structure of the complexes. The optimization of the molecular structure for Cp2MCl2 yielded consistent pseudotetrahedral geometries. With the transition from ground state to excited state, the electrons transferred from Cp ligands to the central metals M, accompanied by an increase in the binding length of M&z.sbnd;Cl. This transfer process accounted for the first two absorption bands observed experimentally. The energies and oscillator strengths for the low-lying excitations depended strongly on the nature of the central metals. With varying the central metals from Ti, Zr, and to Hf, the energy gap increased between the sets of highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) and the sets of lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs). This increase was originated from an increment of energy for the LUMO sets that are mainly of d orbital of the metal and a relatively stable energy level of the HOMO sets that are mainly of p-orbital of Cp and Cl ligands. The excitation energies calculated by these methods showed a small difference, which can be well understood by a relativistic effect. The predicted level patterns of the lowest triplet excited states fit well the available phosphorescence data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common and lethal malignancy of the biliary tract that lacks effective therapy. In many GBC cases, infiltration into adjacent organs or distant metastasis happened long before the diagnosis, especially the direct liver invasion, which is the most common and unfavorable way of spreading. Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics (ST), proteomics, and multiplexed immunohistochemistry (mIHC) were performed on GBC across multiple tumor stages to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME), focusing specifically on the preferential enrichment of neutrophils in GBC liver invasion (GBC-LI). Results: Multi-model Analysis reveals the immunosuppressive TME of GBC-LI that was characterized by the enrichment of neutrophils at the invasive front. We identified the context-dependent transcriptional states of neutrophils, with the Tumor-Modifying state being associated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) metabolism. In vitro assays showed that the direct cell-cell contact between GBC cells and neutrophils led to the drastic increase in oxLDL uptake of neutrophils, which was primarily mediated by the elevated OLR1 on neutrophils. The oxLDL-absorbing neutrophils displayed a higher potential to promote tumor invasion while demonstrating lower cancer cytotoxicity. Finally, we identified a neutrophil-promoting niche at the invasive front of GBC-LI that constituted of KRT17+ GBC cells, neutrophils, and surrounding fibroblasts, which may help cultivate the oxLDL-absorbing neutrophils. Conclusions: Our study reveals the existence of a subset of pro-tumoral neutrophils with a unique ability to absorb oxLDL via OLR1, a phenomenon induced through cell-cell contact with KRT17+ GBC cells in GBC-LI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual‐polarised phase‐correcting microwave transmitarray that is based on an ultrathin phase‐shifting surface (PSS) has been developed at 22 GHz. The FSS element in this array has a square shape with the rotationally symmetrical geometry. It consists of two identical metallic layers etched on the two sides of a single dielectric layer. A phase‐shifting range of about 330° is achieved. A planar slot‐fed patch antenna was developed as the feed source for the compact structure. The transmitarray prototype, which is fed by a planar antenna, as well as a standard horn, was measured separately. The results show that peak gains of 25.82 and 27.45 dBi and 1 dB gain bandwidths of 6.8 and 9.5% are achieved for the two feed cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis resulting from silica exposure is a global occupational disease characterized by severe pathological changes in progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Previous evidence has indicated that dysbiosis of the gut microbiota occurs after environmental dust exposure and is associated with certain diseases. The aims of this study are to elucidate the compositional and functional characteristics of the gut microbiota in early-stage silicosis and to understand their influence on pulmonary fibrosis. We investigated the gut microbial composition of fecal samples from 18 patients and 21 healthy subjects using 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. Compared with the healthy subjects, reductions in the levels of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were noted in patients with silicosis and progressive pulmonary fibrosis, as well as lower levels of Devosia, Clostridiales, AlloprevotellaandRikenellaceae_RC9. Lachnospiraceae and Lachnoclostridium levels were increased in patients with silicosis. GOC and KEGG analyses were used to predict that certain bacteria taxa play critical roles in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, including posttranslational modification, amino acid transport and metabolism, nucleotide transport and metabolism, and ribosomal structure and biogenesis. KEGG analysis showed that certain taxa participate in various roles including cancer, endocrine metabolism, immune system, signaling molecules and interaction, and transcription. Collectively, in this pilot study, microbiota changes have been represented in the gut of patients with silicosis. Although this change in gut microbiota have been represented, caution is needed when interpreting the findings since this is observational finding, not necessarily causative. More studies should be performed in the expanding population to be verified and more studies underlying biological mechanisms for better understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and development of pulmonary fibrosis in patients with silicosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the willingness of patients with tuberculosis (TB) to use mobile medical services (mHealth) and its influencing factors, so as to provide theoretical guidance for optimizing the TB mobile medical platform and improve the willingness of patients to use mHealth. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, convenience sampling method was used to investigate patients with TB from the outpatient clinics of two TB specialized hospitals (Beijing Thoracic Tumor and Tuberculosis Hospital and Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment Hospital of Shaanxi Province) from January to June 2021 using a self-designed questionnaire. Results: Out of 231 patients, only 90 (38.96%) were aware of mHealth services, and 63 (27.27%) had used mHealth services. Among the 63 patients who had used mHealth services, the proportion of mobile medical forms based on WeChat platform was 74.89%. Patients' willingness to use mHealth was scored (11.49 ± 2.53). Univariate analysis showed that the scores of patients' willingness to use mHealth differed by gender and the different ways of affording healthcare (p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that the influencing factors of willingness to use mHealth in patients with TB included attitude towards use (0.750), health beliefs (0.091) and social impact (0.169) (adjusted R2 = 0.781, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Patients' awareness of the advantages of the new medical model needs to be improved. Optimized design can improve the willingness of patients to use mHealth services and improve the role of mHealth in patient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of supramolecular hydrogels with multifunction is in high demand. In this work, Fe 3 O 4 hybrid supramolecular hydrogels were fabricated via dynamic host–guest interactions between the host molecule CB[6] and guest units. The "supramolecular crosslinker" formed by CB[6]-modified Fe 3 O 4 (Fe 3 O 4 @CB[6]) nanoparticles, was used to generate a 3D network of supramolecular hydrogels. Results indicate that the tensile stress of the sample is 0.31 MPa, and the self-healing efficiency of the supramolecular hydrogels at room temperature is nearly 100% (fracture strain) after 48 h. The hydrogels exhibited a self-healing property without a loss of conductivity. Furthermore, these supramolecular hydrogels were used to detect the bending of human fingers and knees. The hybrid supramolecular hydrogels with photothermal responsiveness, self-healing, injectability, stretchability, conductive ability and biocompatibility, can find applications in flexible electronics. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal behavior of sulfide concentrates can give rise to many serious problems in its storage and transportation. In order to uncover the thermal behavior of sulfide concentrates, as well as obtain the kinetic parameters, four representative samples were tested using TG-DTG-DSC techniques in the presence of oxygen from 20 °C to 1000 °C and with three different heating rates of 5, 10, and 15 °C per minute. Meanwhile, corresponding activation energies of sulfide concentrates were also determined by the Coats-Redfern method (199.4-234.9 kJmol-1 for Sample 1, 203.6-235.9 kJmol-1 for Sample 2, 234.7-255.6 kJmol-1 for Sample 3, and 199.7- 254.9 kJmol-1 for Sample 4). Results indicate that the heating rate is an important factor affecting the thermal behavior of sulfide concentrates. The peak temperature corresponding to the maximum mass loss rate of the ore sample at different heating rates is different and the sulfide concentrates at heating rate of 5 °C per minute is more prone to spontaneous combustion. Furthermore, this thermodynamic method was demonstrated to be effective for investigating and predicting the thermal behavior of sulfide concentrate and the activation energy index was reasonable for determining its spontaneous combustion tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study is to generate an ultrasonic nanobubble (NB)-mediated purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP)/fludarabine suicide gene system for the treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: NBs were prepared from a mixture the phospholipids 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DPPA), perfluoropropane gas and other materials using the high shear dispersion method. NBs treated with ultrasound irradiation functioned as a gene-transfer system, and a self-constructed suicide gene expression plasmid, pcDNA3.1(+)/PNP, treated with fludarabine functioned as a therapeutic gene. This system was used to determine the cytotoxic effects of PNP/fludarabine on HepG2 cells and SMMC7721 cells. Results: 1. NBs with a small diameter (208–416 nm) and at a high concentration and fine homogeneity were prepared under the optimal method. 2. The pcDNA3.1(+)/PNP plasmid was efficiently transfected into HCC cells using ultrasonic NBs. 3. At 0.75μg/ml fludarabine, PNP/fludarabine showed marked cytotoxic effects toward HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells. PNP/fludarabine achieved the same effect against both SMMC7721 and HepG2 cells but at a lower concentration of fludarabine for the latter. 4. Bystander effects: a 10–20% decrease in the cell survival rate was observed when only 5–10% of transfected cells were PNP positive. Conclusions: NBs constitute a non-toxic, stable and effective gene-delivery platform. The PNP/fludarabine suicide gene system inhibited the growth of HCC cells, induced HCC cell apoptosis, and caused a notable bystander effect at a low fludarabine concentration. This study establishes an important new method for miniaturizing microbubbles and improving a new NB-mediated approach for gene therapy of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Pneumonia is a common early-childhood respiratory infection that leads to long-term health impacts, but its risk factors remain unclear. Objective To examine the association between early life exposure to both outdoor and indoor air pollution and childhood pneumonia. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2598 children aged 3–6 years in Changsha, China (2011-2012). Children's life-time prevalence of pneumonia and exposure to indoor air pollution related to home renovation were surveyed by a questionnaire answered by the parents. Children's exposure to outdoor air pollution, including nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM 10 ), was estimated using the measured concentrations at monitoring stations. Association between childhood pneumonia and exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution during both prenatal and postnatal periods were examined by using logistic regression model in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Life-time prevalence of pneumonia in preschool children in Changsha is high, up to 38.6%.We found that childhood pneumonia was associated with postnatal exposure to outdoor particulate air pollutant PM 10 , adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.26 (1.00–1.57) for per 6 μg/m 3 increase in the concentration. Pneumonia was also associated with postnatal exposure to indoor renovation, adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.30 (1.02–1.64) for new furniture and 1.30 (1.00–1.69) for redecoration. Combined exposure to outdoor high PM 10 and indoor renovation significantly increased the pneumonia risk. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the association was heterogeneous in different subgroups, but stronger in male and younger children. Conclusion High prevalence of childhood pneumonia in China may be associated with postnatal exposure to ambient particulate air pollution and house renovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although at present legislation does not allow drivers in a Level 3 autonomous vehicle to engage in a secondary task, there may become a time when it does. Monitoring the behaviour of drivers engaging in various non-driving activities (NDAs) is crucial to decide how well the driver will be able to take over control of the vehicle. One limitation of the commonly used face-based head tracking system, using cameras, is that sufficient features of the face must be visible, which limits the detectable angle of head movement and thereby measurable NDAs, unless multiple cameras are used. This paper proposes a novel orientation sensor based head tracking system that includes twin devices, one of which measures the movement of the vehicle while the other measures the absolute movement of the head. Measurement error in the shaking and nodding axes were less than 0.4°, while error in the rolling axis was less than 2°. Comparison with a camera-based system, through in-house tests and on-road tests, showed that the main advantage of the proposed system is the ability to detect angles larger than 20° in the shaking and nodding axes. Finally, a case study demonstrated that the measurement of the shaking and nodding angles, produced from the proposed system, can effectively characterise the drivers' behaviour while engaged in the NDAs of chatting to a passenger and playing on a smartphone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Otitis media (OM) is a common infection in early childhood with repeated attacks that lead to long-term complications and sequelae, but its etiology still remains unclear. Objective To examine the association between early life exposure to air pollution and childhood OM, with the purpose of identifying critical windows of exposure and key components of air pollution in the development of OM. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1617 children aged 3–4 years in Changsha, China (2011–2012). The prevalence of OM was assessed by a questionnaire administered by the parents. Individual exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM 10 ) during prenatal, postnatal, and current windows were estimated using the measured concentrations at monitoring stations. We used logistic regression model to examine the OM risk in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for exposure to different air pollutants during different timing windows, adjusting for covariates, multi-pollutants, and multi-windows. Results Life-time prevalence of doctor-diagnosed OM in preschool children in Changsha was 7.3%. Childhood OM was associated only with prenatal exposure to the industrial air pollution with adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.44 (1.09–1.88) for a 27 μg/m3 increase in SO 2 , particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. We further found that prenatal SO 2 exposure was not associated with the repeated attacks but was associated with the onset of OM, adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.47 (1.10–1.96). The association between prenatal SO 2 exposure and early childhood OM was robust after adjusting for other pollutants and windows. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the association was stronger in females, children with parental atopy, and children living in houses with cockroaches, new redecoration, and condensation on window pane during winter. Conclusion We provide new evidence that prenatal exposure to industrial air pollution is associated with early childhood OM in China and may contribute to the onset of childhood OM. Our findings are helpful in developing more effective preventative strategies for childhood OM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With more than 600,000 mortalities each year, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide. Recently, mechanisms involving noncoding RNAs have been implicated in the development of CRC. Methods: We examined expression levels of lncRNA CRNDE and miR-181a-5p in 64 cases of CRC tissues and cell lines by qRT-PCR. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays were performed to examine the effect of CRNDE and miR-181a-5p on proliferation and chemoresistance of CRC cells. Using fluorescence reporter and western blot assays, we also explored the possible mechanisms of CRNDE in CRC cells. Results: In this study, we found that the expression levels of the CRNDE were upregulated in CRC clinical tissue samples. We identified microRNA miR-181a-5p as an inhibitory target of CRNDE. Both CRNDE knockdown and miR- 181a-5p overexpression in CRC cell lines led to inhibited cell proliferation and reduced chemoresistance. We also determined that β-catenin and TCF4 were inhibitory targets of miR-181a-5p, and that Wnt/β-catenin signaling was inhibited by both CRNDE knockdown and miR-181a-5p overexpression. Significantly, we found that the repression of cell proliferation, the reduction of chemoresistance, and the inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling induced by CRNDE knockdown would require the increased expression of miR-181a-5p. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that the lncRNA CRNDE could regulate the progression and chemoresistance of CRC via modulating the expression levels of miR-181a-5p and the activity of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Environmental factors have been found to be associated with allergic diseases, but it is unclear which environmental factor during which exposure window causes what kind of allergic diseases. Objectives We investigated association between exposure to some predominant outdoor and indoor environmental factors during preconceptional, prenatal, and postnatal periods and allergic diseases/symptoms in 2598 children in China. Methods Children's lifetime incidence of allergic diseases and current prevalence of allergic symptoms and exposure to indoor new furniture/redecoration and mold/dampness was surveyed by a questionnaire. Exposure to outdoor air pollutants was estimated by the concentrations measured at air quality monitoring stations. Multiple logistic regression model was used to evaluate the associations between outdoor air pollutants and indoor environmental factors and allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema) and symptoms (wheezing, night cough, and rhinitis-like). Results We found that preconceptional, prenatal, and postnatal exposure to outdoor industrial and traffic air pollutants were significantly associated with increase in the risk of childhood asthma, and also positively associated with allergic rhinitis and eczema. However, we cannot distinguish the effect of outdoor air pollutants and exposure windows because of their high correlations. New furniture was associated with eczema and allergic rhinitis during postnatal exposure, but redecoration associated with asthma and eczema during prenatal exposure. Indoor visible mold/damp stains was significant for eczema during prenatal exposure and asthma during postnatal exposure respectively, but window condensation was significant for all childhood allergic diseases during both prenatal and postnatal exposures. Allergic symptoms in children were found to be associated with exposure to indoor factors only. Conclusions Associations between outdoor air pollutants and indoor environmental factors and childhood allergic diseases/symptoms were divergent and related to the timing of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of protein C plays an important role in modulating coagulation as well as inflammation during severe sepsis. The baseline of activated protein C level in patients with severe sepsis showed interindividual variability between survivors and nonsurvivors, and the decreased level of protein C correlated with organ dysfunction and poor outcome. However, there are limited data concerning the genetic predisposition of individuals carrying two functional polymorphisms -1641A>G and -1654C>T within protein C gene to sepsis. Here we investigated the impact of these two variations on the development of severe sepsis in 240 patients with severe sepsis and 323 healthy controls using direct sequencing. After Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, -1641A/-1654C haplotype was significantly associated with the fatal outcome of severe sepsis ( P = 0.008, OR 1.739, 95% CI 1.165–2.595), which was confirmed by multiple logistic regression analysis ( P = 0.024, OR 2.090, 95% CI 1.101–3.967). Compared to patients without carrying -1641A/-1654C haplotype, the -1641A/-1654C haplotype carriers showed higher SOFAmax scores (10.3 ± 5.2 vs. 9.0 ± 4.5; P = 0.014) and more hepatic dysfunction ( P = 0.004, OR 2.270, 95% CI 1.312–3.930). These findings suggest that protein C haplotype -1641A/-1654C is associated with organ dysfunction and is an independent risk factor for the fatal outcome of severe sepsis in Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop and validate a radiomic model to predict the rapid progression (defined as volume growth of pneumonia lesions > 50% within seven days) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who underwent longitudinal chest CT between January 01 and February 18, 2020 were included. A total of 1316 radiomic features were extracted from the lung parenchyma window for each CT. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), Relief, Las Vegas Wrapper (LVW), L1-norm-Support Vector Machine (L1-norm-SVM), and recursive feature elimination (RFE) were applied to select the features that associated with rapid progression. Four machine learning classifiers were used for modeling, including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Decision Tree (DT). Accordingly, 20 radiomic models were developed on the basis of 296 CT scans and validated in 74 CT scans. Model performance was determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve. A total of 107 patients (median age, 49.0 years, interquartile range, 35–54) were evaluated. The patients underwent a total of 370 chest CT scans with a median interval of 4 days (interquartile range, 3–5 days). The combination methods of L1-norm SVM and SVM with 17 radiomic features yielded the highest performance in predicting the likelihood of rapid progression of pneumonia lesions on next CT scan, with an AUC of 0.857 (95% CI: 0.766–0.947), sensitivity of 87.5%, and specificity of 70.7%. Our radiomic model based on longitudinal chest CT data could predict the rapid progression of pneumonia lesions, which may facilitate the CT follow-up intervals and reduce the radiation. Radiomic features extracted from the current chest CT have potential in predicting the likelihood of rapid progression of pneumonia lesions on the next chest CT, which would improve clinical decision-making regarding timely treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low birth weight (LBW) remains a major public health problem worldwide, yet its crucial environmental risk factors are still unclear. To examine the association between LBW (term and preterm LBW) and prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and home environmental factors as well as their combination, in order to identify critical time window for exposure and key outdoor and indoor factors in LBW development. A cohort study of 3509 preschool children was performed in Changsha, China during the period 2011–2012. A questionnaire was conducted to survey each child's birth outcome and each mother's exposure to home environmental factors including parental smoking, new furniture, redecoration, mold/damp stains, window pane condensation, and household pets during pregnancy. Maternal exposure to inhalable particulate matter (PM 10), industrial air pollutant (SO 2), and traffic air pollutant (NO 2) was estimated during different time windows of gestation, including conception month, three trimesters, birth month, and whole gestation. Associations of term and preterm LBW with ambient air pollutants and home environmental factors were assessed by multiple logistic regression models in terms of odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Term LBW (TLBW) was significantly associated with exposure to ambient PM 10 during pregnancy, with OR (95% CI) = 1.47 (1.00–2.14) for per IQR increase after adjustment for the covariates and home environmental factors. Specifically, we identified the significant association in early phase of pregnancy including conception month (1.90, 1.09–3.30) and the first trimester (1.72, 1.10–2.69). We further found that TLBW was significantly related with parental smoking at home, OR (95% CI) = 2.17 (1.09–4.33). However, no association was observed for preterm LBW (PLBW). The TLBW risk of ambient air pollution and home environmental factors was independent each other and hence the combined exposure to ambient PM 10 and indoor parental smoking caused the highest risk. Sensitivity analysis suggested that foetus with younger mothers were significantly more susceptible to risk of indoor parental smoking, while those with smaller house and cockroaches were more sensitive to risk of outdoor PM 10 exposure. Prenatal exposure to combined outdoor and indoor air pollution, particularly in critical window(s) during early pregnancy, significantly increases the risk of term LBW. • Air pollution was associated with term low birth weight (LBW) but not with preterm LBW. • We found term LBW was associated with prenatal exposure to ambient inhalable particle (PM 10). • Term LBW was also related with parental smoking at home during pregnancy. • Exposure to combined outdoor and indoor air pollution posed the highest risk of term LBW. • Early pregnancy was identified as the most critical time window for exposure susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]