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The heat transfers on the single and array jet impingement with microcapsule phase change material (MEPCM) suspension are numerically investigated. The equivalent heat capacity method and DPM model are employed to treat the latent heat absorption and motion of the MEPCM particles in suspension, respectively, as well as the VOF method for tracking the free surface from suspension to air. The results show that the latent heat absorption and disturbance effect of the MEPCM particles can significantly improve the heat transfer of the suspension compared to the water. There exists an optimal jet distance at ΔL/D = 4.2 and an optimal suspension concentration at ηp = 5% to achieve the optimal heat transfer. The jet inlet temperature has a favourable range for the heat transfer enhancement, −0.83 < θj

Extensive development of expressway infrastructure alters the layout of terrain resulting and results in major ecological concerns. Therefore, it has become necessary to investigate how to assess the effects of land use changes on the landscape pattern and explore pertinent environmental concerns related to road construction. This study develops a numerical mothed to assess the ecological risk of road construction in terms of landscape pattern by combining the landscape disturbance index and the vulnerability index. The model is used to assess the landscape ecological risk of a particular portion of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway in Cambodia. The empirical study found that the rise in the amount of construction land was transferred from the area of grassland to cultivated land. It is identified through calculating the landscape pattern index that the integrity of the landscape decreases due to the expressway construction; ecological landscape tends to be complicated and fragmented; and the gravity center of the land use landscape pattern transitions in the same direction as the expressway construction. The ecological risk was assessed and it was found that the expressway construction led to a transition to poorer ecological quality along the road as a whole, and that areas of high ecological risk and higher ecological risk were gradually concentrated from the two ends to the central area. The study develops the landscape ecological risk assessment model and extends the landscape ecological risk assessment index to the ecological assessment of expressway construction. It can also effectively guide the ecological risk assessment of major international road projects.

Objective Our study aims to investigate the long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (lncRNA PVT1) in lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans (LEASO) patient serum and its clinical significance in LEASO. Patients and Methods From July 2021 to April 2022, 133 LEASO patients diagnosed at the Qingdao Municipal Hospital were included. Among them, 44 complicated with coronary artery disease (CAD) were classified as the LEASO with CAD group. The remaining 89 were marked as the LEASO group, which was classified into single (n = 48) and double (n = 41) lower limb groups, with the former being subclassified into the left (n = 28) and right (n = 20) lower limb groups based on the affected sites. Fifty healthy individuals who came to our hospital for physical examination during the same period were randomly included and defined as the Healthy Control group. PVT1 expression was detected in serum samples from each group using a quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction , and differences in expression levels were calculated. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) of patients in the LEASO group was measured using a sphygmomanometer, and its correlation with PVT1 was analyzed. Clinical data and laboratory test results (including blood routine, liver and renal function, and blood lipids) were collected for all patients upon admission. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the influence of PVT1 and laboratory test results on LEASO. The diagnosis and prediction of LEASO were obtained by combing PVT1 with laboratory test indicators. Results It was found that lncRNA PVT1 expression was the highest in the serum of the LEASO with CAD group, followed by the LEASO and control groups (P < 0.05). Within the LEASO group, no significant difference in PVT1 expression was seen between the left and right limbs (P > 0.05), nor between the single and double lower limb groups. Furthermore, the PVT1 expression increased with the Rutherford grades, indicating a negative correlation between PVT1 and ABI. Logistic regression analysis revealed that triglycerides (OR = 2.972, 95% CI [1.159–7.618]), cholesterol (OR = 6.655, 95% CI [1.490–29.723]), C-reactive protein (OR = 1.686, 95% CI [1.218–2.335]), and PVT1 (OR = 2.885, 95% CI [1.350–6.167]) were independent risk factors for LEASO. Finally, strong sensitivity was observed in the receiver operating characteristic curve when combining PVT1 with meaningful laboratory indicators to diagnose and predict LEASO. Conclusion lncRNA PVT1 promotes LEASO occurrence and progression and is related to atherosclerosis severity. The expression of PVT1 was negatively correlated with ABI. Logistic regression analysis suggested that blood lipid levels and inflammatory reactions might be related to LEASO occurrence. PVT1 was incorporated into laboratory indicators to predict LEASO. The subject’s working curve area was large, and the prediction results were highly sensitive.

IntroductionAdjuvants can effectively enhance the utilization rate of pesticides, but the application of adjuvants in plant growth regulators is rarely studied.MethodsThis work explored the effects of adjuvants dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) and methyl oleate (MO) on lime sulfur (LS), especially the drop behavior on flower and paraffin surface.ResultsThe results showed that the addition of AOT and AOT+MO can significantly reduce the static and dynamic surface tension of LS from 72mN/m to 28mN/m and 32mN/m respectively, and increase the spreading factor from 0.18 to 1.83 and 3.10 respectively, reduce the bounce factor from 2.72 to 0.37 and 0.27 respectively. The fluorescence tracer test showed that the addition of adjuvants could promote the spreading and permeation of droplets. The field test results revealed that the flower thinning rate of adjuvant and non-adjuvant were 80.55% and 54.4% respectively, and the flower thinning effect of adding adjuvant was the same as that of artificial which the flower thinning rate was 84.77%. The quality of apples treated with adjuvants was similar to that treated with artificial, and the weight of single fruit increased by 24.08% compared with CK (spray water).DiscussionThe application of tank-mixture adjuvant could reduce the dosage of LS for thinning agent application, improve apple’s quality, and decrease labor cost and improve the economic benefits of fruit planting and the environmental benefits of plant growth regulators.

BackgroundThe presence of genetic variations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been associated with a diverse array of diseases. The objective of this study was to examine the correlations between mtDNA D-loop, its haplotypes, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in the Chinese population, and the associations between mtDNA D-loop and symptoms of PCOS. The study also sought to determine whether the mtDNA copy number in Chinese patients with PCOS differed from that of individuals in the control group.MethodsInfertile individuals who only had tubal or male factor treatment were the focus of research by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). mtDNA haplotypes were categorized using polymorphic D-loop sites. mtDNA D-loop, PCOS features, and mtDNA haplotypes were analyzed using R software to determine the strength of the association between the three. There are certain DNA haplotypes linked to PCOS. Microdroplet digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine the mtDNA copy number in a convenience sample of 168 PCOS patients and 83 controls.ResultsAmong the research group, the majority of D-loop mutations were infrequent (frequency< 1%), with only 45 variants displaying a minimum allele frequency (MAF) of 5% or higher. No association was found between polymorphism loci in PCOS patients and body mass index (BMI). Noteworthy, C194T, 1A200G, 523delAC, and C16234T showed positive correlations with elevated LH/FSH levels. Additionally, specific polymorphic loci G207A, 16036GGins, and 16049Gins within the D-loop region of mtDNA potentially exerted a protective role in PCOS development. Conversely, no statistical significance was observed in the expression levels of C16291T and T489C. Chinese women with mtDNA haplotype A15 exhibited a decreased risk of developing PCOS. Moreover, a significant difference in mtDNA copy number was detected, with controls averaging 25.87 (21.84, 34.81), while PCOS patients had a mean of 129.91 (99.38, 168.63).ConclusionCertain mtDNA D-loop mutations and haplotypes appear to confer protection against PCOS in Chinese women. In addition, elevated mtDNA copy number may serve as an indicator during early stages of PCOS.

Summary: Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent digestive tract malignant tumor characterized by an insidious onset, ease of metastasis, rapid growth, and poor prognosis. Here, we report that fibronectin type III domain containing 1 (FNDC1) has high expression in GC and indicates poor outcomes in patients with GC. FNDC1 over-expression or knockdown promotes or inhibits tumorigenesis and metastasis, respectively. The expression of FNDC1 is upregulated by TWIST1, strengthening its interaction with Gβγ and VEGFR2. The formation of the trimers, TWIST1 plus Gβγ and VEGFR2, increases VEGFR2 phosphorylation and Gβγ trafficking, which activates RAS-MAPK and PI3K-AKT signaling, benefiting GC progression. In this study, we demonstrated that arsenite can efficiently suppress FNDC1 expression, attenuating the formation of the trimers and downstream pathways. Altogether, our results indicate that FNDC1 might be a promising target for clinical treatment and prognostic judgment, while FNDC1 inhibition by arsenite provides a new opportunity for overcoming this fatal disease.

In recent years, higher requirements have been placed on the response characteristics of X-ray detectors in the field of medical diagnostic imaging. Due to this, high sensitivity, high attenuation coefficient and low cost detection materials need to be developed. In this paper, the geometric model of a detector was established by Geant4 code. The absorption efficiency and mass attenuation coefficient of MAPbBr3 crystals were calculated in the energy range of 30 keV to 100 keV. Compared with the mass attenuation coefficient of the NIST database, the deviation was within 1.39%. The signal charge number and detection sensitivity of the X-ray interaction with the MAPbBr3 crystal ware calculated. Compared with the CdTe crystal and α-Se, the MAPbBr3 crystal still had a larger detection sensitivity under a smaller applied electric field, which was approximately 9 times higher than that of α-Se. This result indicated that the detection sensitivity could be greatly improved by using a high atomic number and high charge mobility-lifetime product. Based on the simulation results, the 2 mm thick MAPbBr3 crystal exhibited the highest detection sensitivity at 60 keV X-rays, which was in agreement with the experimental results.

BackgroundCardiac infiltration is the major predictor of poor prognosis in patients with systemic amyloidosis, thus it becomes of great importance to evaluate cardiac involvement.PurposeWe aimed to evaluate left ventricular myocardial deformation alteration in patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA) using layer-specific tissue tracking MR.Material and MethodsThirty-nine patients with CA were enrolled. Thirty-nine normal controls were also recruited. Layer-specific tissue tracking analysis was done based on cine MR images.ResultsCompared with the control group, a significant reduction in LV whole layer strain values (GLS, GCS, and GRS) and layer-specific strain values was found in patients with CA (all P

Introduction: Complex outcome of ovarian cancer (OC) stems from the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) influenced by genetic and epigenetic factors. This study aimed to comprehensively explored the subclasses of OC through lncRNAs related to both N6-methyladenosine (m6A)/N1-methyladenosine (m1A)/N7-methylguanosine (m7G)/5-methylcytosine (m5C) in terms of epigenetic variability and immune molecules and develop a new set of risk predictive systems. Material and methods: The lncRNA data of OC were collected from TCGA. Spearman correlation analysis on lncRNA data of OC with immune-related gene expression and with m6A/m5C/m1A/m7G were respectively conducted. The m6A/m5C/m1A/m7G-related m6A/m5C/m1A/m7G related immune lncRNA subtypes were identified on the basis of the prognostic lncRNAs. Heterogeneity among subtypes was evaluated by tumor mutation analysis, tumor microenvironment (TME) component analysis, response to immune checkpoint blocked (ICB) and chemotherapeutic drugs. A risk predictive system was developed based on the results of Cox regression analysis and random survival forest analysis of the differences between each specific cluster and other clusters. Results: Three m6A/m5C/m1A/m7G-related immune lncRNA subtypes of OC showing distinct differences in prognosis, mutation pattern, TIME components, immunotherapy and chemotherapy response were identified. A set of risk predictive system consisting of 10 lncRNA for OC was developed, according to which the risk score of samples in each OC dataset was calculated and risk type was defined. Conclusions: This study classified three m6A/m5C/m1A/m7G-related immune lncRNA subtypes with distinct heterogeneous mutation patterns, TME components, ICB therapy and immune response, and provided a set of risk predictive system consisted of 10 lncRNA for OC.

Diabetic vascular complications can affect both microvascular and macrovascular. Diabetic microvascular complications, such as diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, and diabetic cardiomyopathy, are believed to be caused by oxidative stress. The Nox family of NADPH oxidases is a significant source of reactive oxygen species and plays a crucial role in regulating redox signaling, particularly in response to high glucose and diabetes mellitus. This review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge about the role of Nox4 and its regulatory mechanisms in diabetic microangiopathies. Especially, the latest novel advances in the upregulation of Nox4 that aggravate various cell types within diabetic kidney disease will be highlighted. Interestingly, this review also presents the mechanisms by which Nox4 regulates diabetic microangiopathy from novel perspectives such as epigenetics. Besides, we emphasize Nox4 as a therapeutic target for treating microvascular complications of diabetes and summarize drugs, inhibitors, and dietary components targeting Nox4 as important therapeutic measures in preventing and treating diabetic microangiopathy. Additionally, this review also sums up the evidence related to Nox4 and diabetic macroangiopathy.

Recently, germanium (Ge) was also considered as the two-dimensional (2D) material saturable absorber (SA) because of its excellent nonlinear saturable absorption properties. However, the research of Ge SA Er-doped fiber laser is still rare. In this work, bound state solitons were demonstrated in Ge SA Er-doped fiber laser. To be best of our knowledge, no previous work has ever achieved that. Three kinds of bound state solitons with 9.77 MHz fundamental frequency were investigated, indicating that Ge has excellent nonlinear optical characteristics to promote the development of bound state soliton.

Chemoresistance is a major obstacle in the clinical management of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa). It is imperative to develop novel strategies to overcome chemoresistance and improve clinical outcomes in patients who have failed chemotherapy. Using a two-tier phenotypic screening platform, we identified bromocriptine mesylate as a potent and selective inhibitor of chemoresistant PCa cells. Bromocriptine effectively induced cell cycle arrest and activated apoptosis in chemoresistant PCa cells but not in chemoresponsive PCa cells. RNA-seq analyses revealed that bromocriptine affected a subset of genes implicated in the regulation of the cell cycle, DNA repair, and cell death. Interestingly, approximately one-third (50/157) of the differentially expressed genes affected by bromocriptine overlapped with known p53-p21- retinoblastoma protein (RB) target genes. At the protein level, bromocriptine increased the expression of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) and affected several classical and non-classical dopamine receptor signal pathways in chemoresistant PCa cells, including adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), and survivin. As a monotherapy, bromocriptine treatment at 15 mg/kg, three times per week, via the intraperitoneal route significantly inhibited the skeletal growth of chemoresistant C4-2B-TaxR xenografts in athymic nude mice. In summary, these results provided the first preclinical evidence that bromocriptine is a selective and effective inhibitor of chemoresistant PCa. Due to its favorable clinical safety profiles, bromocriptine could be rapidly tested in PCa patients and repurposed as a novel subtype-specific treatment to overcome chemoresistance.

Sentinel-2 satellite remote sensing images have been widely used in various fields, such as change detection and resource monitoring. However, Sentinel-2 provides multispectral bands with inconsistent spatial resolutions (i.e., 60 m for three bands, 20 m for six bands, and 10 m for four bands), which has greatly limited the application values, especially for cooperative analysis or application on different bands at a unified resolution. In this article, we proposed a multistage progressive interactive fusion network to generate all 10-m high-resolution bands. Specifically, a refined multistage spatial resolution enhancement model in a multistage way is developed to progressively improve the low-resolution bands to preserve the spectral information of the enhanced bands. Moreover, an information interaction module is proposed for the three branches of high- (10 m), medium- (20 m), and low-resolution (60 m) bands to achieve effective information interaction. The experimental results show that our method is superior to other existing state-of-the-art methods, and it can be applied to the reconstruction of the high-resolution vegetation index.

Addressing decision safety in the unpredictable arena of complex traffic scenarios represents a significant hurdle for autonomous driving systems. Considering the inherent spatial-temporal uncertainties associated with the future actions of surrounding traffic participants, real-time safety verification of autonomous driving decisions is crucial to maintaining vehicular safety. Existing online verification methodologies, such as Responsibility Sensitive Safety (RSS) and Safety Force Field (SFF), ensure driving safety by formalizing human safe-driving rules and constraining the vehicle to maintain safe lateral and longitudinal distances in real-time. While these methods effectively prevent collisions instigated by the autonomous vehicle itself, they lack sufficient foresight and often result in less smooth driving trajectories. To address these limitations, we propose an innovative, interpretable, formal safety verification framework. This approach integrates both explicit and implicit traffic rules to anticipate all legally acceptable transitions of traffic scenarios. It builds the lawful, short-term reachable region for each vehicle, and verifies the safety of autonomous vehicle decisions by assessing whether the regions these vehicles inhabit, in accordance with the expected trajectory, overlap with the accessible zones of other vehicles. Furthermore, in scenarios presenting potential danger, a backup smooth safety trajectory is derived from the autonomous vehicle’s legal reachability domain as a preventive measure to degrade safety threats. As a cornerstone of safety for autonomous vehicles, our proposed method ensures a continual safe trajectory in all traffic scenarios, provided that other participants adhere to traffic rules. Experimental outcomes, grounded in the ISO 34502 standard and real-world critical safety scenarios, demonstrate the method’s efficacy in identifying potentially dangerous decisions and mitigating autonomous vehicle-induced traffic accidents.

Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease, and different individuals of the same cancer type can display different therapeutic effects and prognosis. Genetic variation of long non-coding RNA is the key factor driving tumor development, and plays an important role in genetic and biological heterogeneity. Therefore, it is of great significance to identify lncRNA as a driving factor in the non-coding region and explain its function in tumors for revealing the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we developed an integrated method to identify Personalized Functional Driver lncRNAs (PFD-lncRNAs) by integrating the DNA copy number data, gene expression data, and the biological subpathways information. Then, we applied the method to identify 2695 PFD-lncRNAs in 5334 samples across 19 cancer types. We performed an analysis of the association between PFD-lncRNAs and drug sensitivity, which provides medication guidance in disease therapy and drug discovery in the individual. Our research is of great significance for elucidating the biological roles of lncRNA genetic variation in cancer, revealing the related mechanism of cancer, and providing novel insights for individualized medicine.

Landfill leachate, because of its complex components, may cause pipe clogging during its collection and transportation, and pose a threat to the environment. This study considers two typical drainage pipe materials, i.e., polypropylene-random (PPR) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), to discriminate their anti-scaling performances through a landfill leachate immersion experiment. The results show that both PPR and ABS pipe materials immersed in the younger-aged leachate are prone to scaling. The mass concentrations of Ca2+ in the leachate play a key role in scale formation, followed by Mg2+, pH, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), and Cl−. In particular, Ca2+, pH, and DO show a positive relationship in scaling, while Mg2+ acts in a negative relationship. Calcium carbonate is the major constituent of the scales, accounting for 72.3% of the total. The scaling on the surface of the PPR pipe material is more serious than that of the ABS pipe material, revealed by the corresponding weight increment that is 33% higher than that related to ABS during the experimental period. It is thus indicated that ABS has better anti-scaling performance, which may be an optional material selected for the system design of leachate collection and transportation. HIGHLIGHTS Two typical drainage pipe materials are discriminated by their anti-scaling performances.; Key factors regarding leachate water quality that may give rise to scaling are identified.; Ca2+ plays a dominant role in scale formation.; Younger-aged leachate is more prone to scaling than older-aged leachate.; ABS has better anti-scaling performance than PPR.;

Abstract Background There were controversies for the association between computed tomography (CT)‐determined low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and overall survival (OS) in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we investigated whether cachexia could be a potential confounding variable for this issue. Methods We retrospectively collected the patients of GC in our institution between July 2016 and January 2021. Preoperative SMM was determined by analyzing the skeletal muscle index of L3 with abdominal CT, and the cut‐offs for low SMM were defined as

Key points DCM patients exhibited pain hypersensitivity preoperatively compared to healthy participants. The pain hypersensitivity is associated with postoperative axial pain intensity in DCM. MCC ALFF could be used to predict occurrence of PAP in DCM.

Background: Allergic rhinitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa affecting the quality of life of patients. SRY-box transcription factor 11 (SOX11) was reported to play important roles in inflammatory responses, but its role in AR is poorly understood. Aims: To explore the role of SOX11 in the development of allergic rhinitis. Study Design: Cell culture and animal study. Methods: An in vivo murine allergic rhinitis model was established using ovalbumin treatment in female mice. Interleukin-13-stimulated human nasal mucosa epithelial cells were used for in vitro studies. Expression levels of SOX11, epithelial-derived cytokines, and mucin were determined in both modesls. Results: SOX11 was highly expressed in allergic rhinitis mice. Allergy symptoms, serum ovalbumin-specific IgE, histamine, eosinophils, goblet cells, and type 2 cytokine secretion were increased in ovalbumin-treated mice. Furthermore, allergic rhinitis mice exhibited overproduction of epithelial-derived cytokines (thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin-25, interleukin-33), C-C motif chemokine ligand 26 (CCL26), and mucin 5 AC (MUC5AC). Silencing SOX11 alleviated the behavioral symptoms and upregulation of epithelial-derived cytokines, CCL26, and MUC5AC. In human nasal mucosa epithelial cells, interleukin-13 enhanced SOX11 expression in a time-dependent manner, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) was involved in the interleukin-13-mediated expression of SOX11 by regulating transcription. Knockdown of SOX11 reduced epithelial-derived cytokine expression and MUC5AC levels in interleukin-13-treated human nasal mucosa epithelial cells. Conclusion: SOX11 plays a critical role in allergic rhinitis development by regulating epithelial-derived cytokines and might be a new therapeutic target for allergic rhinitis.

A streamlined tandem tip-based workflow for sensitive nanoscale phosphoproteomics is developed, reducing sample loss and processing time, allowing the phosphoproteome profiling of mass-limited samples at the low nanogram level.

The rapid degradation of magnesium (Mg)-based implants in physiological environment limits its clinical applications, and alloying treatment is an effective way to regulate the degradation rate of Mg-based materials. In the present study, three Mg alloys, including Mg-0.8Ca (denoted as ZQ), Mg-0.8Ca-5Zn-1.5Ag (denoted as ZQ71) and Mg-0.8Ca-5Zn-2.5Ag (denoted as ZQ63), were fabricated by alloying with calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn) and silver (Ag). The results obtained from electrochemical corrosion tests and in vitro degradation evaluation demonstrated that the three Mg alloys exhibited distinct corrosion resistance, and ZQ71 exhibited the lowest degradation rate in vitro among them. After addition of Zn and Ag, the antibacterial potential of Mg alloys was also enhanced. The in vitro cell experiments showed that all the three Mg alloys had good biocompatibility. After implantation in a rat femoral defect, ZQ71 showed significantly higher osteogenic activity and bone substitution rate than ZQ63 and ZQ, due to its higher corrosion resistance as well as the stimulatory effects of the released metallic ions. In addition, the average daily degradation rate of each Mg alloy in vivo was significantly higher than that in vitro, as could be due to the implantation site located in the highly vascularized trabecular region. Importantly, the correlations between the in vitro and in vivo degradation parameters of the Mg alloys were systematically analyzed to find out the potential predictors of the in vivo degradation performance of the materials. The current work not only evaluated the clinical potential of the three biodegradable Mg alloys as bone grafts but also provided a feasible approach for predicting the in vivo degradation behavior of biodegradable materials.

Abstract Background Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common disease that forms between the dura and arachnoid membranes of the brain. With the development of medications and surgery, significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of CSDH. However, there is no comprehensive analysis available on CSDH-related studies published in the literature. This study aimed to collect and analyze CSDH-related studies published since the twenty-first century using bibliometric analysis and to summarize the current status of research in this field for the sake of providing systematic data for further study of CSDH. Methods CSDH-related studies were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) term ‘chronic subdural hematoma’. Data analysis and visualization were performed by R and CiteSpace software. Results This study retrieved 1424 CSDH-related articles published since the beginning of the twenty-first century. There was a general increase in both the number of published articles and the mean number of citations. The authors, institutions and journals that contributed the most to the field of CSDH were Jianning Zhang, Tianjin Medical University, and world neurosurgery, respectively. The reference co-citation network identified 13 clusters with significant modularity Q scores and silhouette scores (Q = 0.7124, S = 0.8536). The major research categories were (1) evolution of the therapeutic method and (2) the etiology and pathology of CSDH. Keyword analysis revealed that ‘middle meningeal artery embolization’ was the latest burst keyword. Conclusions This study identified the most influential countries, authors, institutions and journals contributing to CSDH research and discussed the hotspots and the latest subjects of CSDH research.

Abstract Background Camellia oleifera (C. oleifera) is a woody edible oil crop of great economic importance. Because of the lack of modern biotechnology research, C. oleifera faces huge challenges in both breeding and basic research. The protoplast and transient transformation system plays an important role in biological breeding, plant regeneration and somatic cell fusion. The objective of this present study was to develop a highly efficient protocol for isolating and purifying mesophyll protoplasts and transient transformation of C. oleifera. Several critical factors for mesophyll protoplast isolation from C. oleifera, including starting material (leaf age), pretreatment, enzymatic treatment (type of enzyme, concentration and digestion time), osmotic pressure and purification were optimized. Then the factors affecting the transient transformation rate of mesophyll protoplasts such as PEG molecular weights, PEG4000 concentration, plasmid concentration and incubation time were explored. Results The in vitro grown seedlings of C. oleifera ‘Huashuo’ were treated in the dark for 24 h, then the 1st to 2nd true leaves were picked and vacuumed at − 0.07 MPa for 20 min. The maximum yield (3.5 × 107/g·FW) and viability (90.9%) of protoplast were reached when the 1st to 2nd true leaves were digested in the enzymatic solution containing1.5% (w/v) Cellulase R-10, 0.5% (w/v) Macerozyme R-10 and 0.25% (w/v) Snailase and 0.4 M mannitol for 10 h. Moreover, the protoplast isolation method was also applicable to the other two cultivars, the protoplast yield for ‘TXP14’ and ‘DP47’ was 1.1 × 107/g·FW and 2.6 × 107/g·FW, the protoplast viability for ‘TXP14’ and ‘DP47’ was 90.0% and 88.2%. The purification effect was the best when using W buffer as a cleaning agent by centrifugal precipitation. The maximum transfection efficiency (70.6%) was obtained with the incubation of the protoplasts with 15 µg plasmid and 40% PEG4000 for 20 min. Conclusion In summary, a simple and efficient system for isolation and transient transformation of C. oleifera mesophyll protoplast is proposed, which is of great significance in various aspects of C. oleifera research, including the study of somatic cell fusion, genome editing, protein function, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation and multi-omics analyses.

Abstract Objective Arytenoid dislocation (AD) after general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation (EI) is an iatrogenic injury that impairs patient function and requires reduction. We aimed to investigate the risk factors of AD following EI. Methods This retrospective case‐control study involved surgical adults who received EI for general anesthesia at a single institution from June 2010 to June 2020. Cases included all the patients who had AD. We used a ratio of 1:5 to identify patients in the propensity‐matched control group. Results Multivariate analysis of 49 cases with AD and 245 controls without AD demonstrated that the use of a nasogastric (NG) tube (odds ratio [OR], 23.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.8–84.1), undergoing abdominal surgery (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.2–11.9), and an operative time longer than 3 h (OR, 5.2; 95% CI, 2.1–12.9) were risk factors for AD. We did not find significant independent associations between AD and 40 years or older age, gender, body mass index, whether a laryngeal mask airway was used, endotracheal tube size, and EI performers' experience. Conclusion The use of an NG tube, abdominal surgery, and longer operative time were risk factors for AD. Among these, the NG tube application showed a strong association with AD. Preventive measures of informing the patients of the increased risk and providing high‐level patient monitoring can reduce the incidence of AD. Level of Evidence III

The improved corrosion resistance, osteogenic activity, and antibacterial ability are the key factors for promoting the large-scale clinical application of magnesium (Mg)-based implants. In the present study, a novel nanocomposite coating composed of inner magnesium hydroxide, middle graphene oxide, and outer hydroxyapatite (Mg(OH)2/GO/HA) is constructed on the surface of Mg-0.8Ca–5Zn-1.5Ag by a combined strategy of hydrothermal treatment, electrophoretic deposition, and electrochemical deposition. The results of material characterization and electrochemical corrosion test showed that all the three coatings have high bonding strength, hydrophilicity and corrosion resistance. In vitro studies show that Mg(OH)2 indeed improves the antibacterial activity of the substrate. The next GO and GO/HA coating procedures both promote the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and show no harm to the antibacterial activity of Mg(OH)2 coating, but the latter exhibits the best promoting effect. In vivo studies demonstrate that the Mg alloy with the composite coating not only ameliorates osteolysis induced by bacterial invasion but also promotes bone regeneration under both normal and infected conditions. The current study provides a promising surface modification strategy for developing multifunctional Mg-based implants with good corrosion resistance, antibacterial ability and osteogenic activity to enlarge their biomedical applications.

Abstract Background Eosinophilic asthma is a common subtype of severe asthma with high morbidity and mortality. The cytokine IL-5 has been shown to be a key driver of the development and progression of disease. Although approved monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting IL-5/IL-5R have shown good safety and efficacy, some patients have inadequate responses and frequent dosing results in medication nonadherence. Results We constructed a novel trivalent bispecific nanobody (Nb) consisting of 3 VHHs that bind to 2 different epitopes of IL-5 and 1 epitope of albumin derived from immunized phage display libraries. This trivalent IL-5-HSA Nb exhibited similar IL-5/IL-5R blocking activities to mepolizumab (Nucala), an approved targeting IL-5 mAb. Surprisingly, this trivalent Nb was 58 times more active than mepolizumab in inhibiting TF-1-cell proliferation. In primate studies, the trivalent IL-5-HSA Nb showed excellent pharmacokinetic properties, and peripheral blood eosinophil levels remained significantly suppressed for two months after a single dose. In addition, the trivalent IL-5-HSA Nb could be produced on a large scale in a P. pastoris X-33 yeast system with high purity and good thermal stability. Conclusions These findings suggest that the trivalent bispecific IL-5-HSA Nb has the potential to be a next-generation therapeutic agent targeting IL-5 for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Background Thoracoscopic segmentectomy is a common surgical procedure in thoracic surgery today. However, identifying the intersegmental plane is difficult in the surgical process. Therefore, we evaluated the feasibility of the arterial ligation method for determining the intersegmental plane and compared the demarcation status with the intravenous indocyanine green (ICG). Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 35 patients with peripheral small lung nodules who underwent thoracoscopic segmentectomy between May and December 2020. First, the preoperative three-dimensional reconstruction was performed to distinguish the location of lung nodules and the anatomical structures of targeted segmental arteries, veins, and bronchi. Second, the targeted segmental arteries were ligated, and the intersegmental plane was determined by the inflation-deflation technique. The waiting time for the appearance of the inflation-deflation line was recorded. Thirdly, the intersegmental plane was identified again using the ICG fluorescence method. Finally, the consistency of the two intersegmental planes was evaluated. Results The intersegmental planes were successfully observed in all patients using the arterial ligation method. Thirty-four patients underwent segmentectomy as planned, and one patient finally underwent lobectomy due to insufficient surgical margin. The waiting time for the appearance of the intersegmental plane by arterial ligation method was 13.7 ± 3.2 min (6–19 min). The intersegmental planes determined by the arterial ligation method and the ICG fluorescence method were comparable, with a maximum distance of no more than 5 mm between the two planes. The mean operative duration was 119.1 ± 34.9 min, and the mean blood loss was 76.9 ± 70.3 ml. No evident air leakage was found during the operation. Only one patient experienced a prolonged air leak (≥ 5 days) during the postoperative recovery. No atelectasis occurred in all cases. The chest tube duration was 3.1 ± 0.9 days. Conclusion The arterial ligation method can efficiently and accurately identify the intersegmental plane, comparable to the ICG fluorescence method.

While most bone defects can be repaired spontaneously, the healing process can be complicated due to insufficient bone regeneration when osteoporosis occurs. Synthetic materials that intrinsically stimulate bone formation without inclusion of exogenous cells or growth factors represent a highly desirable alternative to current grafting strategies for the management of osteoporotic defects. Herein, we developed a series of hydroxyapatite bioceramics composed of a microwhiskered scaffold (wHA) reinforced with multiple layers of releasable hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA). These novel bioceramics (nwHA) are tunable to optimize the loading amount of nHA for osteoporotic bone formation. The utility of nwHA bioceramics for the proliferation or differentiation of osteoporotic osteoblasts in vitro is demonstrated. A much more compelling response is seen when bioceramics are implanted in critical-sized femur defects in osteoporotic rats, as nwHA bioceramics promote significantly higher bone regeneration and delay adjacent bone loss. Moreover, the nwHA bioceramics loaded with a moderate amount of nHA can induce new bone formation with a higher degree of ossification and homogenization. Two types of osteogenesis inside the nwHA bioceramic pores were discovered for the first time, depending on the direction of growth of the new bone. The current study recommends that these tailored hybrid micro/nanostructured bioceramics represent promising candidates for osteoporotic bone repair.

Abstract Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) microcrystal is an excellent material for absorbing visible light and photo‐catalyzing various water pollutants. The photocatalytic performance of Cu2O crystal mainly depends on its morphology and exposure surface. In this study, Cu2O crystals have been successfully fabricated at room temperature. Morphology and the proportion of exposed crystal faces are regulated by a simple method with hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The experimental results unveiled that high dosage of hydrazine hydrate tends to produce crystals with spherical and low (111) plane ratios, while low dosage of hydrazine hydrate provides an excellent condition for the formation of octahedral microcrystal with high proportion of (111) planes. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) in visible light increased with the proportion of (111) planes. Analysis shows that the better crystallinity and conductivity of the octahedron structure improved the utilization rate of photogenerated carriers, while the unsaturated Cu on the (111) planes as the active site promotes the decomposition of the pollutants.

Objective To investigate the effect of intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) on gut microbiota (GM) in ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporotic rats. Methods Thirty female Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: sham‐operation (SHAM) group, OVX group and PTH treatment group. After 3 months of treatment, the femurs, serum and feces were acquired for micro‐CT, biochemical analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing, respectively. For 16S rRNA sequencing, after raw reads filtrated and chimera sequences removed, the clean reads were obtained. According to these clean reads, the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were clustered. Venn diagram analysis was conducted to explore common and unique GM among the three groups. The α‐diversity analysis including Shannon and Simpson indexes were used to evaluate the richness and diversity of the GM. The β‐diversity analysis was performed to estimate the structure of GM. The metabolic function was predicted by Tax4Fun analysis. Results With micro‐CT and biochemical analysis, significant improvements were found in the PTH group compared with the OVX group. In Venn diagram analysis, more unique OTUs were found in the SHAM and PTH groups than the OVX group. According to the rank abundance curve, the SHAM and PTH groups had similar richness and evenness, which were higher than the OVX group. Simpson and Shannon indexes were higher in the SHAM and PTH groups compared with the OVX group, indicating that the SHAM and PTH groups had higher microbiota complexity than the OVX group. In β‐diversity analysis, apparent separation was found in the OVX group from the PTH and SHAM groups, which suggested that osteoporosis is the critical factor influencing the GM composition and PTH treatment and can restore the structure of GM. Compared with the OVX group, treatment with PTH increased the abundances of GM which were reported to increase bone mass, such as Lactobacillus_reuteri, Muribaculaceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Clostridia, and inhibited the relative abundance of Rikenellaceae, which was reported to be potentially related to osteoporosis. GM function analysis showed that PTH could promote butyrate synthesis. In Tax4Fun analysis, the function of butanoate metabolism is more vital in the PTH group than the OVX and SHAM groups, suggesting PTH treatment could regulate microbial metabolic function, including butanoate metabolism. Conclusion Intermittent PTH can interact with GM through increasing the abundance of probiotics and reducing the abundance of the pathogenic bacteria to enhance the bone mass.

Abstract Background A significant proportion of women with preeclampsia (PE) exhibit persistent postpartum hypertension (PHTN) at 3 months postpartum associated with cardiovascular morbidity. This study aimed to screen patients with PE to identify the high-risk population with persistent PHTN. Methods This retrospective cohort study enrolled 1,000 PE patients with complete parturient and postpartum blood pressure (BP) profiles at 3 months postpartum. The enrolled patients exhibited new-onset hypertension after 20 weeks of pregnancy, while those with PE superimposed upon chronic hypertension were excluded. Latent class cluster analysis (LCCA), a method of unsupervised learning in machine learning, was performed to ascertain maternal exposure clusters from eight variables and 35 subordinate risk factors. Logistic regression was applied to calculate odds ratios (OR) indicating the association between clusters and PHTN. Results The 1,000 participants were classified into three exposure clusters (subpopulations with similar characteristics) according to persistent PHTN development: high-risk cluster (31.2%), medium-risk cluster (36.8%), and low-risk cluster (32.0%). Among the 1,000 PE patients, a total of 134 (13.4%) were diagnosed with persistent PHTN, while the percentages of persistent PHTN were24.68%, 10.05%, and 6.25% in the high-, medium-, and low-risk clusters, respectively. Persistent PHTN in the high-risk cluster was nearly five times higher (OR, 4.915; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.92–8.27) and three times (OR, 2.931; 95% CI, 1.91–4.49) than in the low- and medium-risk clusters, respectively. Persistent PHTN did not differ between the medium- and low-risk clusters. Subjects in the high-risk cluster were older and showed higher BP, poorer prenatal organ function, more adverse pregnancy events, and greater medication requirement than the other two groups. Conclusion Patients with PE can be classified into high-, medium-, and low-risk clusters according to persistent PHTN severity; each cluster has cognizable clinical features. This study’s findings stress the importance of controlling persistent PHTN to prevent future cardiovascular disease.

A detailed analysis of EEG data from astronauts and other participants under extreme conditions provides insight into the neural dynamics associated with heavy mental workloads, including theta-gamma phase amplitude decoupling.

ABSTRACT Introduction: This single-center study of propensity-matched data was performed to assess the effect of the no-touch saphenous vein (NTSV) harvesting technique on early- and long-term outcomes of patients after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) in China. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 767 patients who underwent OPCABG in the Beijing Anzhen Hospital (June 2017 to October 2021) was performed, and their data entered the conventional saphenous vein (CSV) harvesting technique group or the NTSV group. In-hospital and follow-up outcomes were evaluated by adjusting baseline characteristics using propensity score matching (1:1). Clinical outcomes and postoperative angiographic results were compared. Results: The saphenous vein graft patency rates at postoperative three months and one year for the NTSV group vs. CSV group were 99.6% vs. 96.2% (P

Abstract Introduction The main emphasis of the research about adjuvant imatinib for high‐risk gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is prolonging the treatment duration and ignores the heterogeneous that 10‐year recurrence rates ranged from about 20%–100%. Thus, this study evaluated the effect of different durations of adjuvant imatinib on outcomes in high‐risk GISTs to explore the feasibility of individual treatment. Methods We analyzed 855 high‐risk GIST patients from three centers who underwent macroscopically complete resection between December 2007 and September 2020. The patients were divided into training (n =564) and two validation cohorts (n = 238 and53) based on their source. Recurrence‐free survival (RFS) was the primary point. Cox multivariate analysis was used to develop the nomogram. C‐index, time‐dependent area under the curves, and calibration plots were used to assess the performance of the nomogram. Results Univariate analysis showed that longer adjuvant imatinib was significantly associated with better 5‐year RFS (p

Climate change is becoming a pressing global concern, and the search for new energy and energy recovery technologies is becoming a worldwide research imperative. The broad adaptability of the Stirling engine to a wide variety of heat sources makes it a promising technology for industrial waste heat recovery and solar thermal generation. The operation of the Stirling engine involves a multi-physical coupled process of heat transfer and mechanics as well as non-linear losses due to mechanical friction and gas charge leaking. Therefore, accurate prediction of Stirling engine power output through theoretical analysis is complex and costly. Emerging machine learning algorithms like Gradient Boosted Regression Trees (GBRT) can offer new approaches to solve this problem. The GBRT model consists of multiple decision trees that branch by exhausting thresholds for all features under study to find the best split structure for data regression, and the principle of GBRT gives it the natural advantage of finding a wide range of distinguishing features and combinations, and a powerful generalization capability. A GBRT forecasting model is thus constructed to model the output power of Alpha-type Stirling engines. Test data from the General Motors 4L23 Stirling Engine are applied as the training and test set. Results from the random test set accounting for 25% of the total samples indicate that the GBRT model has a prediction accuracy of 96.23%. Furthermore, a regional microgrid containing Stirling engines, photovoltaic panels and batteries for industrial waste heat recovery is constructed and an evaluation system for energy supply performance is also established. Finally, based on the proposed power output model, multi-objective optimization based on improved NSGA-II is implemented, providing guidance for industrial application of Stirling engines.

Abstract On the western plateau of China, ventilation problems brought on by low atmospheric pressure must be overcome. And CO migration after blasting in high-altitude tunnel by inclined shaft has become a significant scientific issue. In this study, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method was used to analyze the flow field characteristics at the junction of the inclined shaft and tunnel. In addition, the effects of different fan opening modes and different initial CO concentration distributions on the ventilation were discussed. The simulation results showed that the main difference in the ventilation wind field was reflected in the position of the vortex region due to the different fan opening modes. Meanwhile, various initial CO concentration distributions showed different migration when there was no air volume difference between the left and right tunnels. Eliminating vortex zones and fully using high velocity airflow could improve relative ventilation efficiency by at least 18%. CO would accumulate in the opposite direction of the tunnel if only one of the fans was turned on. Therefore, a two-stage ventilation scheme was proposed, and the energy consumption was reduced by at least 33%. This research can provide guidance on high-altitude tunnel construction with multiple working faces to improve ventilation efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Nuciferine aporphine alkaloid mainly exists in Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn and is a beneficial to human health, such as anti-obesity, lowering blood lipid, prevention of diabetes and cancer, closely associated with inflammation. Importantly, nuciferine may contribute to its bioactivities by exerting intense anti-inflammatory activities in multiple models. However, no review has summarized the anti-inflammatory effect of nuciferine. This review critically summarized the information regarding the structure-activity relationships of dietary nuciferine. Moreover, biological activities and clinical application on inflammation-related diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, liver, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, as well as their potential mechanisms, involving oxidative stress, metabolic signaling, and gut microbiota has been reviewed. The current work provides a better understanding of the anti-inflammation properties of nuciferine against multiple diseases, thereby improving the utilization and application of nuciferine-containing plants across functional food and medicine.

Pleurisy and pleural effusion caused by Brucella infection are rare. However, clinicians lack an understanding of these possibilities, and the underlying disorder is easy to misdiagnose. We report a 52-year-old male farmer who was admitted to hospital with a fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Closed chest drainage was performed by thoracocentesis, and the concentration of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the pleural fluid was >45 U/L. Mononuclear cells in the pleural fluid accounted for 90% of the cells, and pathology indicated a large number of lymphocytes. The clinical diagnosis was tuberculosis with tuberculous pleurisy. However, subsequent pleural fluid culture results did not support tuberculous pleurisy. The results of pleural fluid culture indicated Brucella , and the results of Brucella tiger red plate agglutination indicated a titer of 1:400 (+++). The final diagnosis was brucellosis with pneumonia and pleurisy. After 12 weeks of oral treatment, the patient underwent follow-up chest radiographs. Radiography indicated complete resolution of the hydrothorax and pneumonia, and the patient reported no discomfort. The short-term curative effect was excellent. Pleurisy associated with brucellosis should be considered a differential for pleurisy in regions where brucellosis is endemic, to minimize the risk of misdiagnosis.

Coastal tidal flats are situated in the interaction zone between the ocean and land and are vulnerable to natural changes, human activities, and global changes; these areas serve as an important mixing zone and burial area for carbon and nitrogen storage. Coastal tidal flats contribute significantly to the global carbon cycle due to their high biological productivity, high sedimentation rate, and low decomposition rate. However, there is a lack of research on the sources and influencing factors of organic carbon in surface sediments in the coastal tidal flat area of Jiangsu Province. In this study, fourteen surface sediment samples were collected from the Jiangsu coastal tidal flats, and the distribution of organic carbon was analyzed. The sources and influencing factors of sediment organic carbon were also investigated by analyzing the contents, ratios and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the sediments. The results indicated that the total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in the surface sediments of Jiangsu coastal tidal flats ranged from 0.09% to 0.82% and from 0.01% to 0.1%, with mean values of 0.36% and 0.04%, respectively, and that there was a significant positive correlation between TOC and TN. Moreover, the high-value areas were located mostly along the borders or in sections covered in vegetation, whereas the mudflat areas without vegetation had lower values. Considering the status of the Jiangsu coastal zone, the abandoned Yellow River estuary, Yangtze River inlet, marine benthic microalgae, C3 plants and C4 plants were selected as end members of organic carbon concentrations. The contributions of different sources were quantified using a Bayesian mixture model (MixSIAR). Among them, the abandoned Yellow River estuary and Yangtze River inlet contributed 28.1% and 19.3%, respectively, followed by marine benthic microalgae with a contribution of 26%, whereas C3 and C4 plants made limited contributions of 9% and 8.8%, respectively. Additionally, the sediment particle size, hydrodynamics, and tidal flat vegetation such as Spartina alterniflora were the key factors influencing the organic carbon distribution. In general, this study contributes to a better understanding of the biogeochemical processes and sources of organic carbon in coastal tidal flats. It also provides a solid foundation for the creation of carbon sink measures in nearshore tidal flats.

Pd-Cu-Ni-P alloy is an ideal model system of metallic glass known for its exceptional glass-forming ability. However, few correlation of structures with properties was systematically investigated owing to a lack of interatomic potential. In this work, a neuroevolution machine learning potential (NEP) with efficiency close to embedded atom method (EAM) potentials is developed. Its accuracy has been compared to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. For energy, force and virial, the training errors are 6.0 meV/atom, 111.1 meV/Å and 21.5 meV/atom, respectively. By means of this NEP, several thermodynamic parameters such as glass transition temperatures and pair distribution functions of Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 and Pd40Ni40P20 liquid and glassy alloys as well as their short-range orders, tensile and compression strengths, transport properties etc. have been evaluated by a series of molecular dynamics simulations. A good agreement with DFT calculations and previous experiments indicates this NEP provides an accurate and efficient scheme in the analysis and exploration of microstructures, thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Pd-Cu-Ni-P alloys.

BackgroundThis study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (US-FNA) and core needle biopsy (US-CNB) for detecting axillary lymph nodes in women with breast cancer.MethodsEligible studies and pertinent literature resources were identified in Cochrane, PubMed, Embase, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases using subject-specific keywords. Study outcomes were tested for heterogeneity, and meta-analyses were performed to estimate sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs). The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve analysis was also performed.ResultsA total of 22 studies involving 3,548 patients were included to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of US-FNA and 11 studies involving 758 patients were included to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of US-CNB in identifying axillary lymph nodes in women with breast cancer. The accuracy of US-FNA in identifying suspicious axillary lymph nodes was as follows: overall sensitivity, 79% (95% CI: 73%–84%); global specificity, 96% (95% CI: 92%–98%); overall positive likelihood ratio, 18.55 (95% CI: 10.53–32.69); overall negative likelihood ratio, 0.22 (95% CI: 0.17–0.28); DOR, 71.68 (95% CI: 37.19–138.12); and the area under the SROC curve, 0.94 (95% CI: 0.92–0.96). The accuracy of US-CNB in identifying suspicious axillary lymph nodes was as follows: overall sensitivity, 85% (95% CI: 81%–89%); global specificity, 93% (95% CI: 87%–96%); overall positive likelihood ratio, 11.88 (95% CI: 6.56–21.50); overall negative likelihood ratio, 0.16 (95% CI: 0.12–0.21); overall DOR, 66.83 (95% CI: 33.28–134.21), and the area under SROC curve 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94–0.97).ConclusionsThe results indicate that both US-FNA and US-CNB have high accuracy for suspicious axillary lymph nodes.

Abstract Background X‐linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC) is a rare disorder, often manifesting as primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH), and caused by variants of NR0B1, most of which are frame‐shifting variants, and few splice‐site variants. Methods and Results Here, a novel splice‐site variant of NR0B1 (NM_000475.4), c.1169‐2A>T (patient 1), and a stop‐loss variant of NR0B1 c.1411T>C (patient 2) are described in this study. We perform minigene assays for the splice‐site variant (c.1169‐2A>T) and determine that the variant causes exon 2 skipping. Moreover, the defect of NR0B1 protein may bring about the severe phenotype of the patient. Through 8 years of follow‐up, we compare the CT images from 8 years ago with the latest image, and observe the CT image change of adrenal in patient 2 (from the increased thickness of adrenal to adrenal atrophy). Conclusion X‐linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita is produced by variants of NR0B1. We report a case that presents a novel splice‐site variant, which has been verified that it could lead to the exon 2 skipping in the RNA splicing progress. Moreover, we report the adrenal CT image change of patient 2, which has never been referred to before, and expand the spectrum of X‐linked AHC characteristics.

Background Diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is difficult due to the lack of specific symptoms and screening methods. Only less than 10% of PDAC patients are candidates for surgery at the time of diagnosis. Thus, there is a great global unmet need for valuable biomarkers that could improve the opportunity to detect PDAC at the resectable stage. This study aimed to develop a potential biomarker model for the detection of resectable PDAC by tissue and serum metabolomics. Methods Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) was performed for metabolome quantification in 98 serum samples (49 PDAC patients and 49 healthy controls (HCs)) and 20 pairs of matched pancreatic cancer tissues (PCTs) and adjacent noncancerous tissues (ANTs) from PDAC patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to profile the differential metabolites between PDAC and HC. Results A total of 12 differential metabolites were present in both serum and tissue samples of PDAC. Among them, a total of eight differential metabolites showed the same expressional levels, including four upregulated and four downregulated metabolites. Finally, a panel of three metabolites including 16-hydroxypalmitic acid, phenylalanine, and norleucine was constructed by logistic regression analysis. Notably, the panel was capable of distinguishing resectable PDAC from HC with an AUC value of 0.942. Additionally, a multimarker model based on the 3-metabolites-based panel and CA19-9 showed a better performance than the metabolites panel or CA19-9 alone (AUC: 0.968 vs. 0.942, 0.850). Conclusions Taken together, the resectable early-stage PDAC has unique metabolic features in serum and tissue samples. The defined panel of three metabolites has the potential value for early screening of PDAC at the resectable stage.

To reduce the hazard of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) to the water ecology, the removal mechanism of SMX in wastewater was revealed. This study evaluated the PVDF/DA modified membrane in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) toward the removal and degradation of SMX as a recalcitrant micropollutant. A strategy of dopamine for surface modification of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was proposed, and PVDF/DA membrane was prepared. Subsequently, PVDF/DA was run in the MBR for 60 days, and the reactor could produce good removal ability for SMX after certain acclimation. When the SMX concentration increased from 0.5 to 2 mg/L, liquid chromatography was used for analysis, and the results showed that the average removal rate was above 85%. The removal effect of COD and NH4+-N and the degree of membrane fouling were also evaluated. By measuring the extracellular polymer (EPS) content, the results showed that after 30 days of operation, the protein and polysaccharide contents in the cake layer on the surface of the PVDF membrane were 1.35 times and 1.49 times that of PVDF/DA membrane, respectively, and the PVDF/DA membrane could alleviate membrane fouling, thereby improving the service life of the membrane and reducing its operating cost. Finally, degradation by-products are evaluated to achieve deeper insight into the degradation mechanisms in the MBR process.

Background and purposeFrozen shoulder (FS) is a chronic pain condition and has been shown to be associated with pain sensitization. However, the underyling brain mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we aimed to explore brain alterations and their association with pain sensitization in patients with FS.Materials and methodsA total of 54 FS patients and 52 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Here, we applied both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigate brain abnormalities in FS patients. Voxel-wise comparisons were performed to reveal the differences in the gray matter volume (GMV) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) between FS patients and HCs. Furthermore, the region of interest (ROI) to whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) was calculated and compared between groups. Finally, Pearson's correlation coefficients were computed to reveal the association between clinical data and brain alterations.ResultsFour main findings were observed: (1) FS patients exhibited decreased thalamus GMV, which correlated with pain intensity and pain threshold; (2) relative to HCs, FS patients exhibited a higher level of ALFF within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the thalamus; (3) FS patients exhibited a significant increase in Tha-S1 FC compared to HCs; and (4) the effect of thalamus GMV on pain intensity was mediated by pain threshold in FS patients.ConclusionThe dysfunctional thalamus might induce pain hypersensitivity, which further aggravates the pain in FS patients.

Topological photonics offers a powerful platform for next-generation nanophotonic chips, capitalizing on their remarkable resilience to disorder and defects. Among the two-dimensional (2D) photonic topological insulators, valley-Hall (VH) and pseudo-spin-Hall (PSH) topological insulators have emerged as the most practical designs, as they do not require breaking time-reversal symmetry. These photonic topological insulators support robust edge states, demonstrating promising potential for a wide range of applications, from on-chip communication to optical computing and sensing. However, the conversion between distinct topological phases (VH and PSH) in terahertz (THz) band has not been achieved. Here we experimentally demonstrate a THz on-chip spin–valley converter through adiabatic evolution in 2D parameter space without closing the bulk bandgap. By leveraging the adiabatic phase transition, we confirm the high-efficiency conversion between two valley states in a valley–spin–valley converter. In addition, we verify the robustness of THz PSH topological energy transport through sharply twisted corners. Our findings not only advance the understanding of topological phases in photonics but also hold promise for the development of innovative photonic devices with enhanced performance and functionality.

The choice of appropriate proteases and pretreatment methods significantly influences the preparation of bioactive peptides. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different pretreatment methods on the hydrolytic performance of diverse proteases during the production of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory peptides derived from wheat and their foaming and emulsion properties. Dry heating, aqueous heating, and ultrasound treatment were employed as pretreatments for the protein prior to the enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat gluten. FTIR analysis results indicated that all pretreatment methods altered the secondary structure of the protein; however, the effects of dry heating treatment on the secondary structure content were opposite to those of aqueous heating and ultrasound treatment. Nevertheless, all three methods enhanced the protein solubility and surface hydrophobicity. By using pretreated proteins as substrates, five different types of proteases were employed for DPP-IV inhibitory peptide production. The analysis of the DPP-IV inhibitory activity, degree of hydrolysis, and TCA-soluble peptide content revealed that the specific pretreatments had a promoting or inhibiting effect on DPP-IV inhibitory peptide production depending on the protease used. Furthermore, the pretreatment method and the selected type of protease collectively influenced the foaming and emulsifying properties of the prepared peptides.