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BackgroundMechanical thrombectomy is the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion (LVO) in the anterior circulation. This trial aimed to indicate whether Skyflow, a new thrombectomy device, could achieve the same safety and efficacy as Solitaire FR in the treatment of AIS.MethodsThis study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, single blind, parallel, positive controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial. Patients with intracranial anterior circulation LVO within 8 hours from onset were included to receive thrombectomy treatment with either the Skyflow or Solitaire FR stent retriever. The primary endpoint was the rate of successful reperfusion (modified Treatment In Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) ≥2b) after the operation. The safety endpoints were the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) at 24 hours after operation.ResultsA total of 95 and 97 patients were involved in the Skyflow group and Solitaire FR group, respectively. A successful reperfusion (mTICI ≥2b) was finally achieved in 84 (88.4%) patients in the Skyflow group and 80 (82.5%) patients in the Solitaire FR group. Skyflow was non-inferior to Solitaire FR in regard to the primary outcome, with the criterion of a non-inferiority margin of 12.5% (p=0.0002) after being adjusted for the combined center effect and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. The rate of periprocedural sICH and SAH did not differ significantly between the two groups.ConclusionEndovascular thrombectomy with the Skyflow stent retriever was non-inferior to Solitaire FR with regard to successful reperfusion in AIS due to LVO (with a pre-specified non-inferiority margin of 12.5%).

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soil carbon and nitrogen cycles during freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) provide positive feedback to climate warming. Biochar is a new type of soil conditioner that shows potential in soil GHG emissions reduction. To explore the mechanisms of the effects of biochar on soil GHG emissions in seasonally frozen soil areas, this study focused on farmland soil in the Songnen Plain. Variations in soil environmental factors, available carbon and nitrogen and microbial biomass were analyzed using an indoor simulation of soil FTCs. A structural equation model (SEM) was established to reveal the key driving factors and potential mechanism of biochar on soil GHG emissions under FTCs. The results showed that biochar increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 3.40% and methane (CH4) absorption by 2.52% and decreased nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 35.90%. SEM showed that soil temperature (ST) was the main environmental factor determining CO2 emissions and that soil moisture (SM) was the main environmental factor determining CH4 and N2O emissions. Soil available carbon and nitrogen and microbial biomass are important for soil GHG emissions as the reaction substrates and main participants in the biochemical transformation of soil carbon and nitrogen, respectively. This study showed that the application of biochar in farmland is a feasible choice to address climate change in the long term via soil carbon sequestration and GHG emissions reduction. The research results provide a theoretical basis and scientific guidance for soil GHG emissions reduction during FTCs in middle to high latitudes.

PURPOSE To investigate the safety and effect of the Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) Flex device in the treatment of large unruptured posterior circulation aneurysms in a single center. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with large unruptured posterior circulation aneurysms which were treated with the PED Flex device were enrolled. The clinical, endovascular and follow-up data were analyzed, and the O'Kelly-Marotta (OKM) grading system was used to assess the aneurysm occlusion status. RESULTS Fourteen patients with 14 large posterior circulation aneurysms who were treated with the PED Flex device were enrolled. The maximal diameter of aneurysm was 17.0 ± 3.9 mm. Fourteen PED Flex devices were deployed in 14 patients, with a technical success rate of 100%. All stents covered the aneurysm neck with good wall adherence and patent parent artery. Ten (71.4%) aneurysms were treated with a single PED Flex device each, and four (28.6%) patients experienced additional coiling. No neurological complications occurred in the periprocedural period. The mRS was 0 in eleven (78.6%) patients, 1 in two (14.3%), and 2 in one (7.1%) at discharge. All patients were followed up at 6-28 months (median 18), with an mRS score of 0 in all patients. Twelve (85.7%) patients experienced digital subtraction angiography 6-28 (median 18) months after the embolization procedure, and the OKM grade was D in nine (75%), C in two (16.7%), and B in one (8.3%). CONCLUSION The Pipeline Flex Embolization Device can be safely applied to treat large unruptured posterior circulation aneurysms with a high complete aneurysm occlusion rate at follow-up.

Purpose: The Tonbridge stent is a novel retriever with several design improvements which aim to achieve promising flow reperfusion in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We conducted a randomized controlled, multicenter, non-inferiority trial to compare the safety and efficacy of the Tonbridge stent with the Solitaire FR.Methods: AIS patients aged 18–85 years with large vessel occlusion in anterior circulation who could undergo puncture within 6 h of symptom onset were included. Randomization was performed on a 1:1 ratio to thrombectomy with either the Tonbridge stent or the Solitaire FR. The primary efficacy endpoint was successful reperfusion using a modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score (mTICI) of 2b/3. Safety outcomes were symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 24 ± 6 h and all-cause mortality within 90 days. A clinically relevant non-inferiority margin of 12% was chosen as the acceptable difference between groups. Secondary endpoints included time from groin puncture to reperfusion, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at 24 h and at 7 days, and a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0–2 at 90 days.Results: A total of 220 patients were enrolled; 104 patients underwent thrombectomy with the Tonbridge stent and 104 were treated with the Solitaire FR. In all test group patients, the Tonbridge was used as a single retriever without rescuing by other thrombectomy devices. Angioplasty with balloon and/or stent was performed in 26 patients in the Tonbridge group and 16 patients in the Solitaire group (p = 0.084). Before angioplasty, 86.5% of those in the Tonbridge group and 81.7% of those in the Solitaire group reached successful reperfusion (p = 0.343). Finally, more patients in the Tonbridge group achieved successful reperfusion (92.3 vs. 84.6%, 95% CI of difference value 0.9–16.7%, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences on sICH within 24 ± 6 h between the two groups. All-cause mortality within 90 days was 13.5% in the Tonbridge group and 16.3% in the Solitaire group (p = 0.559). We noted no significant differences between groups on the NIHSS at either 24 h or 7 days and the mRS of 0–2 at 90 days.Conclusion: The trial indicated that the Tonbridge stent was non-inferior to the Solitaire FR within 6 h of symptom onset in cases of large vessel occlusion stroke.Clinical Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, number: NCT03210623.

Background and purpose: Although grading scales for angiography outcomes following cerebral aneurysm treatment with flow diversion have been published, physicians have not widely adopted these scales in practice. The aim of this study is to propose and validate a novel Flow diversion Predictive Score (4F-FPS) grading scale based on previously established scales that is simple and reliable. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients who underwent endovascular treatment for cerebral aneurysms with flow diversion between January 2014 and September 2019. The included patients were randomly divided into the derivation and validation group in a 70/30 ratio, respectively. Aneurysms were classified as incomplete or complete occlusion based on final angiography outcomes. 4F-FPS was derived to predict aneurysm occlusion from multivariate logistic regression analyses in the derivation group and validated with previously published grading scales in the validation group. Results: Overall, 662 patients [mean age, 53.8 years; 72.5% (480/662) female] with 662 aneurysms treated with the PipelineTM flow diverter were included [69.9% (463/662) derivation group, 30.1% (199/662) validation group]. The incidence of aneurysm occlusion was 82.7%. 4F-FPS demonstrated significant discrimination in 10-fold cross validation [mean receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area, 0.862 ± 0.055] and calibration (Cox & Snell R2, 0.251; Nagelkerke R2, 0.413) in the derivation group. The ROC area of 4F-FPS score in both the derivation and validation groups is the largest compared with previously published grading scales/scores ( p Conclusion: The 4F-FPS score is a simple and reliable tool to predict angiography outcome after flow diversion treatment. If widely adopted, it may provide a common language to be used in future reporting of flow diversion results for clinical trials and daily practice. Clinical trial registration: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT03831672

We investigated the safety and efficacy of the Numen coil compared with the Axium coil in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.Because CATCH (Coil Application Trial in China) is a prospective randomized controlled open-label noninferiority trial conducted in 10 centers across China, patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomized 1:1 to either a test group (Numen) or a control group (Axium). The primary outcome was based on successful aneurysm occlusion at 6 months follow-up, whereas secondary outcomes included technical success, the recanalization and retreatment rates, and the rate of serious adverse events (SAEs) at 6 months and 12 months follow-up.Between August 2017 and December 2019, 350 patients presenting with 350 aneurysms were enrolled and randomized. Per-protocol analysis showed that the successful aneurysm occlusion rate at 6 months was 91.18% for the test group compared with 91.85% in the control group, with a difference of -0.68% (P = 0.8419), and the overall mortality during the 30-day follow-up period was 1.19% and 1.81% in the test and control group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the 2 groups (P = 0.6837), whereas the SAE incidence during the 12-month follow-up period was 12.50% and 17.47% in the test and control groups, respectively, which was not statistically significant (P = 0.2222).This trial showed that the Numen coil was noninferior to the Axium coil in terms of intracranial aneurysm embolization and can be considered as a safe and effective coil for treating patients with intracranial aneurysm in clinical practice.

Intrinsic or acquired resistance to temozolomide (TMZ) is a frequent occurrence in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Accumulating evidence has indicated that the exosomal transfer of proteins and RNAs may confer TMZ resistance to recipient cells; however, the potential molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the possible role of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) in the acquired resistance to TMZ in GBM. A TMZ-resistant GBM cell line (A172R) was used, and exosomes derived from A172R cells were extracted. Exosomal miR-25-3p was identified as a miRNA associated with TMZ resistance. The potential functions of exosomal miR-25-3p were evaluated by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, as well as cell viability, colony formation and soft agar assay, flow cytometry, western blot analysis, BrdU incorporation assay, tumor xenograft formation, luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation. It was found that A172R-derived exosomes promoted the proliferation and TMZ resistance of sensitive GBM cells. Moreover, miR-25-3p epxression was upregulated in the exosomes of A172R cells and in serum samples of patients with GBM treated with TMZ. The depletion of exosomal miR-25-3p partially abrogated the effects induced by the transfer of exosomes from A172R cells. By contrast, miR-25-3p overexpression facilitated the proliferation and TMZ resistance of sensitive GBM cells. F-box and WD repeat domain-containing-7 (FBXW7) was identified as a direct target of miR-25-3p. FBXW7 knockdown promoted the proliferation and TMZ resistance of GBM cells. Furthermore, the exosomal transfer of miR-25-3p promoted c-Myc and cyclin E expression by downregulating FBXW7. Our results provided a novel insight into exosomal microRNAs in acquired TMZ resistance of GBM cells. Besides, exosomal miR-25-3p might be a potential prognostic marker for GBM patients.

Two recently published JNIS commentaries1 2 on eligibility criteria for the clinical trials on patients with large core, acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion have caused some debate. Five trials were included.1 Our ongoing trial, ANGEL-ASPECT (NCT 04551664), which represents the only large core trial currently ongoing in the Chinese population, was not included in the discussion. One issue of the debate is the addition of CT perfusion (CTP)/diffusion-weighted image of magnetic resonance imaging (DWI-MRI) to the inclusion criteria, which only the SELECT-2 trial chose to adopt. This raised concern about whether patients already known to benefit from endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) are being randomized to EVT treatment or no treatment. Like the SELECT-2 trial, our ANGEL-ASPECT trial also added CTP/DWI-MRI to our inclusion criteria, but in a manner different from SELECT-2. Here we review the merits of ANGEL-ASPECT’s design and suggest that it be included in the discussion of patient selection criteria in large core trials. The ANGEL-ASPECT trial is an ongoing, multicenter, randomized controlled trial (RCT) currently being conducted in China and sponsored by Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Patients are enrolled according to a prespecified protocol. Each randomized patient is qualified by two core laboratory members who are available at all hours to calculate Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and infarct core volume using the specialized RAPID software. As for the other five trials discussed in the commentary by Jadhav et al ,1 the primary goal of our trial is to determine whether EVT will benefit or harm patients with AIS and large vessel occlusion and a ‘large core’ infarct. While the ANGEL-ASPECT and SELECT-2 trials both include core volume as defined by CTP in the inclusion criteria in addition to ASPECTS, the other four trials define large core using only ASPECTS. The …

This research explored the effects of biochar on slope runoff and sediment transport processes and the hydrodynamic mechanism of rill erosion under the seasonal freeze–thaw climate in the black soil area of Northeast China. The four slopes of 1.8, 3.6, 5.4 and 7.2° were set, corn straw biochar was used, and three biochar contents of 0 kg m−2 (B0 treatment), 6 kg m−2 (B6 treatment) and 12 kg m−2 (B12 treatment) were applied. The experimental plot was placed outdoors to simulate the freeze–thaw cycle of sloping farmland under natural conditions. Three artificial simulated rainfall tests were carried out before the end of seasonal freeze–thaw cycles and spring sowing date (May) in 2018 and 2019. The sediment transport process of runoff and the variation of hydrodynamic parameters in rills were analyzed under one and two seasons of freezing and thawing in natural outdoor conditions. The results show that biochar has a positive effect on reducing rainfall runoff and soil loss after one year and two years of seasonal freezing and thawing. The effect of biochar on the sediment concentration of slope runoff increased with increasing application time, in the second year, the B6 and B12 treatments reduced the sediment concentration by 5.5–14.8% and 3.3–13.6%, respectively, compared with the values of the first year. The Reynolds number (Re) in the rill flow after the B6 and B12 treatments decreased with increasing duration, which effectively reduced the turbulence degree of the flow on the rill of the slope. With the increase in duration, the rill critical erosion power increased, in 2018 and 2019, the critical shear force, critical runoff power and critical unit runoff power were 0.403 Pa, 0.098 m s−1, and 0.002 N m−1 and 0.497 Pa, 0.124 m s−1, and 0.003 N m−1, respectively. This result indicates that increasing the duration and number of seasonal freeze–thaws can promote the development of biochar control of the runoff and sediment processes on slope and rill development.

Epilepsy is the most common childhood neurologic disorder. Status epilepticus (SE), which refers to continuous epileptic seizures, occurs more frequently in children than in adults, and approximately 40–50% of all cases occur in children under 2 years of age. Conventional antiepileptic drugs currently used in clinical practice have a number of adverse side effects. Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) can progressively develop in children with persistent SE, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic drugs. During SE, the persistent activation of neurons leads to decreased glutamate clearance with corresponding glutamate accumulation in the synaptic extracellular space, increasing the chance of neuronal excitotoxicity. Our previous study demonstrated that after developmental seizures in rats, E-64d exerts a neuroprotective effect on the seizure-induced brain damage by modulating lipid metabolism enzymes, especially ApoE and ApoJ/clusterin. In this study, we investigated the impact and mechanisms of E-64d administration on neuronal excitotoxicity. To test our hypothesis that E-64d confers neuroprotective effects by regulating autophagy and mitochondrial pathway activity, we simulated neuronal excitotoxicity in vitro using an immortalized hippocampal neuron cell line (HT22). We found that E-64d improved cell viability while reducing oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis. In addition, E-64d treatment regulated mitochondrial pathway activity and inhibited chaperone-mediated autophagy in HT22 cells. Our findings indicate that E-64d may alleviate glutamate-induced damage via regulation of mitochondrial fission and apoptosis, as well as inhibition of chaperone-mediated autophagy. Thus, E-64d may be a promising therapeutic treatment for hippocampal injury associated with SE.

Understanding how genetic variants impact molecular phenotypes is a key goal of functional genomics, currently hindered by reliance on a single haploid reference genome. Here, we present the EN-TEx resource of personal epigenomes, for ∼25 tissues and >10 assays in four donors (>1500 open-access functional genomic and proteomic datasets, in total). Each dataset is mapped to a matched, diploid personal genome, which has long-read phasing and structural variants. The mappings enable us to identify >1 million loci with allele-specific behavior. These loci exhibit coordinated epigenetic activity along haplotypes and less conservation than matched, non-allele-specific loci, in a fashion broadly paralleling tissue-specificity. Surprisingly, they can be accurately modelled just based on local nucleotide-sequence context. Combining EN-TEx with existing genome annotations reveals strong associations between allele-specific and GWAS loci and enables models for transferring known eQTLs to difficult-to-profile tissues. Overall, EN-TEx provides rich data and generalizable models for more accurate personal functional genomics.

To explore the effects of different regulation modes on the soil structure and gas transport characteristics in seasonal permafrost regions, freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) were used as boundary conditions and three typical soils on the Songnen Plain were used: black soil, baijiang soil and meadow soil. Four treatments were established: biochar addition (B1), straw addition (S1), biochar combined with straw addition (B1S1) and an untreated control (CK). The changes in the proportion of soil water-stable aggregates, total soil porosity (TP), soil water characteristic curves (SWRCs), soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and soil air permeability (PL) were analyzed. The results showed that biochar and straw influenced the structure of the three soil types. The proportions of large (2–0.5 mm) and medium (0.5–0.25 mm) aggregates increased significantly. The soil aggregate stability indexes of the treated soils were better than those of the CK, and the three-phase ratios of the treated soils were closer to ideal. The different treatments had particularly obvious effects on the black soil; the generalized soil structure index (GSSI) values reached 95.59, 94.36 and 98.74 in the B1, S1 and B1S1 treatments, respectively. An interaction effect was observed between biochar and straw. B1S1 had a stronger effect than the other treatments, and the soil water holding capacity was significantly improved (FC = 0.317 cm3 cm−3). Under the B1S1 treatment, the DOC contents in black soil, baijiang soil and meadow soil were 160.78 mg/kg, 272.828 mg/kg and 271.912 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, biochar and straw combined effectively reduced PL fluctuations under FTCs and improved the long-term stability of the soil structure. These results can aid in rational straw and biochar use to achieve comprehensive agricultural waste utilization.

The risk analysis of flood and drought disasters and the study of their influencing factors enhance our understanding of the temporal and spatial variation law of disasters and help identify the main factors affecting disasters. This paper uses the provincial administrative region of China as the research area. The proportion of the disaster area represents the degree of the disaster. The statistical distribution of the proportions was optimized from 10 alternative distributions based on a KS test, and the disaster risk was analyzed. Thirty-five indicators were selected from nature, agriculture and the social economy as alternative factors. The main factors affecting flood and drought disasters were selected by Pearson, Spearman and Kendall correlation coefficient test. The results demonstrated that the distribution of floods and drought is right-skewed, and the gamma distribution is the best statistical distribution for fitting disasters. In terms of time, the risk of flood and drought disasters in all regions showed a downward trend. Economic development and the enhancement of the ability to resist disasters were the main reasons for the change in disasters. Spatially, the areas with high drought risk were mainly distributed in Northeast and North China, and the areas with high flood risk were mainly distributed in the south, especially in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Anhui. The distribution of floods and drought disasters was consistent with the distribution characteristics of precipitation and water resources in China. Among the natural factors, precipitation was the main factor causing changes in floods and drought disasters. Among the agricultural and socioeconomic factors, the indicators reflecting the disaster resistance ability and regional economic development level were closely related to flood and drought disasters. The research results have reference significance for disaster classification, disaster formation mechanisms and flood and drought resistance.

IntroductionThe safety outcomes of endovascular therapy for intracranial artery stenosis in a real-world stetting are largely unknown. The Clinical Registration Trial of Intracranial Stenting for Patients with Symptomatic Intracranial Artery Stenosis (CRTICAS) was a prospective, multicentre, real-world registry designed to assess these outcomes and the impact of centre experience.Methods1140 severe, symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) patients treated with endovascular therapy were included from 26 centres, further divided into three groups according to the annual centre volume of intracranial angioplasty and stent placement procedures over 2 years: (1) high volume for ≥25 cases/year; (2) moderate volume for 10–25 cases/year and (3) low volume for ResultsThe rate of 30-day stroke, transient ischaemic attack or death was 9.7% (111), with 5.4%, 21.1% and 9.7% in high-volume, moderate-volume and low-volume centres, respectively (pConclusionCompared with the preceding randomised controlled trials, this real-world, prospective, multicentre registry shows a lower complication rate of endovascular treatment for symptomatic ICAS. Non-uniform utilisation in endovascular technology, institutional experience and patient selection in different volumes of centres may have an impact on overall safety of this treatment.

Background: To investigate the effect of the A Direct Aspiration First-Pass Thrombectomy (ADAPT) vs. Solumbra technique in the treatment of acute intracranial atherosclerosis-related large vessel occlusion (LVO).Methods: Patients with acute atherosclerosis-related LVO who had undergone endovascular treatment were retrospectively enrolled into two groups: The Solumbra and ADAPT groups. The clinical data were analyzed.Results: Patients (104) were enrolled with 48 in the Solumbra and 56 in the ADAPT group. The mean time from femoral access to recanalization was significantly (P < 0.05) shorter in the ADAPT than in the Solumbra group. The recanalization time at the first line was significantly shorter in the ADAPT group than in the Solumbra group (17 ± 10.21 vs. 26 ± 15.55 min, P = 0.02). However, the rate of switching to the alternative was significantly higher in the ADAPT group than that in the Solumbra group (46.42 vs. 33.33%, P = 0.01). Eighty-two patients had eventual recanalization, resulting in a final recanalization rate of 78.85%. At 3-month clinical follow-up for all patients, the good prognosis rate reached 51.92% with good prognosis in 24 patients (50%) in the Solumbra and 30 (53.57%) in the ADAPT group. The rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 18.75% (n = 9) in the Solumbra and 19.64% (n = 11) in the ADAPT group. The mortality rate was 21.15% (22/104). Among 80 (76.92%) patients who had angiographic follow-up (3–30 months), five (6.25%) patients experienced in-stent stenosis, and two (2.5%) experienced asymptomatic stent occlusion.Conclusion: In patients with acute intracranial atherosclerosis-related LVO, clinical outcomes treated using the ADAPT technique are comparable with those using the Solumbra technique, and more patients need additional remedial measures if treated with the ADAPT technique.

The moisture content of farmland soils is closely related to the farmland soil environment. Although biochar has been widely studied for farmland soil amelioration in tropical and temperate farmland soils, its application in areas of seasonally frozen soil is rare. In this study, field experiments were conducted to explore the effect of biochar on soil temperature and soil liquid moisture content in seasonally frozen soils and its corresponding mechanism. Biochar was applied to the soil at different rates (3 kg·m-2, 6 kg·m-2, 9 kg·m-2, and 12 kg·m-2) in autumn and spring. Daily monitoring data from the 20 cm soil-layer recorded for one year from the biochar application date were analyzed. The approximate entropy was introduced to explore the complex changes in soil temperature and soil liquid moisture content under biochar application in seasonally frozen soils. According to the calculation of approximate entropy, the application of biochar increased the complexity for most treatments. In the case of ignoring the heterogeneity of snowfall and uneven land tillage to the soil, we infer that this change was caused by changes in properties of the biochar due to the freeze-thaw cycle. The treatment under mixed biochar application in spring and autumn of 9 kg·m-2 had the smallest change in water and heat complexity. And the approximate entropy of this treatment is the smallest. Moreover, in the freezing period, the soil liquid moisture content is positively correlated with the biochar amount applied and negatively correlated with the biochar and soil mixing time. In the melting period, the opposite correlations occur. The changes in soil moisture conditions caused by freezing and thawing restrict the affinity of biochar for water. Therefore, the effect of biochar addition on the soil liquid moisture content varies among different freezing and thawing periods.

Background: Glioma is highly heterogeneous. Real-time tumor markers in vivo can most truly reflect the clonal evolution of glioma, and can accurately monitor postoperative minimal residual disease (MRD) and early tumor DNA relapse. The histological and molecular markers of resected tumor could not represent the characteristics of recurrent tumor, and the reference basis of postoperative clinical treatment plan should be adjusted. Methods: This retrospective cohort analyzed 32 patients with glioma from January 1, 2018 to January 31, 2020. Samples of tumor tissue, tumor fluid in situ and cerebrospinal fluid were collected, and next-generation tumor DNA sequencing was performed. Findings: Adequate tumor DNA was detected in TISF. The consensus rate of shared mutations at tumor progression was 45.8%, the variant allele fractions (VAFs) for TISF mutations were between 0.1% and 84.3%. VAF and cfDNA concentrations increased as the tumor progressed. At tumor progression, 100% (15/15) of tumor DNA was positive in TISF, CSF-ctDNA was detected in only 4 patients (26.7%, 4/15). The concentration of cfDNA in TISF samples ranged from 0.9-346.5ng/ mL, while that in CSF was only 0.55-16.23ng/mL. The level of shared mutation VAF was higher than that of CSF in TISF. High concentration of cfDNA in early postoperative TISF indicates high residual disease in early postoperative TISF, which is an early recurrence risk ( 600 days Patients (p = 0.006). Interpretation: Tumor DNA derived from TISF can find the molecular information of MRD before tumor recurrence, which cannot be detected by imaging and CSF-ctDNA. It can provide accurate glioma genomic information in real-time in vivo, and can monitor tumor MRD, clonal evolution, early tumor DNA relapse, and provide clinical treatment strategies. Funding Statement: Science and Technology Tackle Program of Henan Province and Joint Project of Medical Science and Technology Tackling Plan of Henan Province (Grants no. 192102310126 and 201601016) Declaration of Interests: Authors declare that they have no competing interest. Ethics Approval Statement: Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee and Institutional Review Committee of the People’s Hospital of Henan Province.

Biochar, as a kind of soil amendment, has attracted wide attention from scholars in various countries, and the effects of biochar on soil and water loss have been well reported. However, soil erosion is significantly affected by geographical conditions, climate, and other factors, and research on the characteristics of soil erosion and the effects of biochar application in seasonally frozen soil areas is currently unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of corn straw biochar application on soil and water conservation during the spring thawing period. Specifically, through field experiments, the addition of 0, 6, and 12 kg m&minus, 2 biochar on slopes of 1.8, 3.6, 5.4, and 7.2&deg, and the effects on runoff and the soil erosion rate of farmland were analyzed. The results showed that in the 6 and 12 kg m&minus, 2 biochar addition treatments, the saturated water content of the soil increased by 24.17 and 42.91%, and the field capacity increased by 32.44 and 51.30%, respectively. Compared with the untreated slope, with an increase in biochar application rate, runoff decreased slightly, and soil erosion decreased significantly. This study reveals that biochar can be used as a potential measure to prevent soil and water loss on sloping farmland in cold regions.

Background: Stent retriever thrombectomy is the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion (LVO) in anterior circulation. The aim of the trial is to evaluate whether the new thrombectomy device-Skyflow can achieve the same safety and efficacy as Solitaire FR in the treatment.Method: This study is a prospective, multicenter, stratified randomized, single blind, paralleled, positive controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial. The safety and efficacy of vascular recanalization in AIS patients who are treated with either a new thrombectomy device-Skyflow or with Solitaire FR and within 8 h of symptom onset will be compared. A total of 192 patients will be enrolled, each group with 96 patients. The primary endpoint is successful recanalization rate after the operation. The secondary efficacy endpoints are the time from artery puncture to successful recanalization (mTICI 2b-3), NIHSS scores of 24 h (18–36 h), and 7 ± 2 days after the operation, mRS scores, and the rate of patients with mRS 0–2 scores 90 ± 14 days after the operation, and the success rate of instrument operation. The safety endpoints are the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage at 24 h (18–36 h) post-operation, incidence of adverse events (AE) and serious adverse events (SAE), all-cause mortality, and incidence of device defects.Discussion: This trial will provide information on the safety and efficacy of Sky-flow stent retriever in the treatment of AIS patients with anterior circulation LVO. The success of this trial will be the basis for the product to be finally officially listed and applied in China.Trial registration: Registered on 11 March 2018 with Chinese clinical trial registry. Registration number is ChiCTR1800015166.

Background: Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), also known as 22q13.3 deletion syndrome, is a rare neurodevelopmental syndrome resulting from a deletion of the distal long arm of chromosome 22. Case presentation: We report a case of a 21 months old Chinese girl presenting with global developmental delay, absence of speech, unable to understand a few words or walk independently, insomnia, and autism-like behaviors. Second-generation sequencing and copy number variation analysis showed a heterozygous loss of SHANK3 gene in the 22q13 region, consistent with a diagnosis of PMS. After treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), this patient had an improvement in motor skills and social behaviors. No side effects from rhGH therapy were reported. Conclusions: This is the first report of using rhGH to treat a Chinese girl diagnosed with PMS. We speculate rhGH could be a reasonable alternative choice for PMS treatment with similar clinical outcomes in comparison to insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1). However, further clinical trials are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Background As a new endovascular reconstruction technique, flow diverter (FD) shows excellent efficacy and safety for treatment of intracranial aneurysms. In a previous multicenter, randomized, controlled, pre-market study, Tubridge FD showed remarkably higher complete occlusion rate compared with traditional stent-assisted coiling. However, a nonsignificant higher complication rate in the Tubridge group was noted. Considering the learning curve, the safety, and long-term outcomes of Tubridge FD should be verified in new prospective, real world, multicenter, post-market trials. Methods This study is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, post-market clinical trial that evaluates the safety and efficacy of Tubridge in the treatment of patients with intracranial aneurysms by reconstructing parent artery. We expect 200 participants who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria to be included. Clinical information and angiographic results (Raymond–Roy grading scale, RRGS) will be recorded objectively. The primary endpoint will be the complete occlusion rate of the target aneurysm (RRGS 1) at 12-month follow-up. Secondary endpoints will include the adequate occlusion rate (RRGS 1 & 2) and the rate of major in-stent stenosis (>50%) at 12-month follow-up, technique success rate, changes of modified Rankin Scale before and after the procedure, the rate of aneurysm related disability, neurological mortality, and all-cause mortality within follow-up period. Discussion This post-market, prospective trial may offer more information on the safety and long-term outcomes of Tubridge FD. When the study is complete, the results may provide us a new strategy for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. Trial registration: WHO-Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2000032282.

Frozen soil infiltration widely occurs in hydrological processes such as seasonal soil freezing and thawing, snowmelt infiltration, and runoff. Accurate measurement and simulation of parameters related to frozen soil infiltration processes are highly important for agricultural water management, environmental issues and engineering problems in cold regions. Temperature changes cause soil pore size distribution variations and consequently dynamic infiltration capacity changes during different freeze-thaw periods. To better understand these complex processes and to reveal the freeze-thaw action effects on soil pore distribution and infiltration capacity, selected black and meadow soils and chernozem, which account for the largest arable land area in Heilongjiang Province, China. Laboratory tests of soils at different temperatures were conducted using a tension infiltrometer and ethylene glycol aqueous solution. The stable infiltration rate, hydraulic conductivity were measured, and the soil pore distribution was calculated. The results indicated that for the different soil types, macropores, which constituted approximately 0.1 % to 0.2 % of the soil volume under unfrozen conditions, contributed approximately 50 % of the saturated flow, and after soil freezing, the soil macropore proportion decreased to 0.05 % to 0.1 %, while their saturated flow proportion decreased to approximately 30 %. Soil moisture froze into ice crystals inside relatively large pores, resulting in numerous smaller-sized pores, which reduced the number of macropores while increasing the number of smaller-sized mesopores, so that the frozen soil infiltration capacity was no longer solely dependent on the macropores. After the ice crystals had melted, more pores were formed within the soil, enhancing the soil permeability.

BackgroundThe Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) is reported to be a safe treatment tool for aneurysms. However, mortality occurs in a few cases, and this has not been clearly studied. We conducted a multicenter study to retrospectively evaluate the causes of, and risk factors for, mortality in patients with intracranial aneurysms treated with the PED.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the prospectively maintained databases of patients with intracranial aneurysms treated by PED placement at 14 academic institutions from 2014 to 2019. Patients’ data, including clinical and radiographic information, were analyzed with an emphasis on mortality-related complications.ResultsA total of 1171 consecutive patients underwent 1319 PED procedures to treat 1322 intracranial aneurysms. The mortality rate was 1.5% (17/1171), and in 1.3% of the patients (15/1171), deaths were caused by delayed aneurysmal rupture, distal intraparenchymal hemorrhage, and neurological compression symptoms associated with PED procedures. Multivariate analysis showed that previous treatment (OR, 12.657; 95% CI, 3.189 to 50.227; PConclusionsDelayed aneurysm rupture, distal intraparenchymal hemorrhage, and neurological compression were the main causes of mortality in patients with intracranial aneurysms treated with the PED. Large basilar aneurysms are associated with an increased risk of postoperative death and require increased attention and caution.

Background and Purpose: The Pipeline Embolization Device (PED, Covidien/Medtronic) is widely used to treat intracranial aneurysms. This PED in China post-market multi-center registry study (PLUS) investigated safety and effectiveness of the PED for intracranial aneurysms in the Chinese population. Methods: This was a panoramic, consecutive, real-world cohort registry study. Patients treated with PED with or without coils between November 2014 and October 2019 at 14 centers in China were included, and those treated by parent vessel occlusion or other stents were excluded. Study outcomes included angiographic evaluation of aneurysm occlusion, complications, in-stent stenosis, and predictors of aneurysm occlusion. A central committee reviewed all imaging and endpoint events. Results: In total, 1171 patients with 1322 intracranial aneurysms were included. The total occlusion rate was 81.4% (787/967) at mean follow-up of 8.96 ± 7.50 months, with 77.1% (380/493) occlusion in the PED alone and 85.9% (407/474) in the PED plus coiling group. On multi-variate analysis, female sex, hyperlipidemia, vertebral aneurysms, PED plus coiling, and blood flow detained to venous phase were significant predictors of aneurysm occlusion. In posterior circulation cohort, there was no variable associated with aneurysm occlusion. In-stent stenosis predictors included current smoking and cerebral sclerosis/stenosis. Conclusion: In the largest series on PED of multi-center date of China, data suggest that treatment with the flow-diverting PED in intracranial aneurysms was efficacious. The treatment of PED combined coiling and blood flow detained to venous phase after PED implant were associated with aneurysmal occlusion. The occlusion rate of vertebral aneurysms was higher than other location aneurysms. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03831672.

BackgroundFlow diverter (FD) is widely used in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. However, thromboembolic events (TEs) continue to be the major complications during the periprocedural phase. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the prophylactic use of tirofiban, combined with the conventional dual antiplatelet therapy (DAT), as a new antiplatelet protocol in patients with intracranial aneurysms treated with FDs.MethodsAt least 3–5 days before the procedure, daily DAT were administrated to the patients. Tirofiban was administered as an intravenous bolus (5 µg/kg) over a 3 min period during or immediately after FD deployment, followed by a 0.05 µg/kg/min maintenance infusion for 24–48 hours. Periprocedural TEs and hemorrhagic events (HEs) were recorded.ResultsA total of 331 patients were included, including 229 (69.2%) who received tirofiban administration (tirofiban group) and 102 (30.8%) who received only DAT (non-tirofiban group). Periprocedural TEs occurred in 12 (3.6%) patients, including eight (7.8%) in the non-tirofiban group and four (1.7%) in the tirofiban group. In multivariate analysis, patients receiving tirofiban administration had significantly lower TEs as compared with those who received only DAT (P=0.004). Balloon angioplasty and longer procedure time (>137 min) were also risk factors for TEs. Also, no increase was observed in the rate of HEs related to tirofiban administration.ConclusionsThe current study suggested that prophylactic administration of tirofiban combined with conventional oral DAT seems safe and efficient for preventing TEs during FD treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Balloon angioplasty and prolonged procedure are associated with a high risk of TEs.

Background and Purpose: Most patients cannot receive intravenous thrombolytic therapy in the early stage of stroke onset, and the application of mobile stroke unit (MSU) in prehospital intravenous thrombolytic therapy of acute stroke may change this situation. The first MSU in China was put into use in 2017. Herein, we aimed to explore the preliminary experience of MSU in prehospital thrombolysis of acute stroke. Methods: Patients who received prehospital intravenous thrombolytic therapy using MSU were classified to the MSU thrombolysis group, and the control group consisted of stroke patients admitted by regular ambulances, who were transferred to hospital for intravenous thrombolytic therapy. The feasibility, safety, and duration of procedures were compared. Results: There were 14 patients received prehospital intravenous thrombolysis on the MSU, and 24 patients underwent intravenous thrombolysis in the emergency center, who were transferred by the ordinary ambulance during the same period. The median call-to-needle time was 59.5 min in the MSU thrombolysis group, while it was 89 min in the control group; the difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The median time from onset to thrombolysis was 70 and 102.5 min, respectively, in the 2 groups (p = 0.002). The percentages of good clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 2) at 90-day follow-up were 79 and 67%, respectively (p = 0.488). The rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality during the perioperative period did not differ significantly between 2 groups. Conclusion: Despite the small sample size, our preliminary experience of the application of MSU in the prehospital thrombosis therapy seems to indicate a significant reduction in time from call to needle, the efficacy of MSU in the treatment of acute stroke needs further experiment and larger sample size to confirm.

Sputum induction is a non-invasive method to evaluate the airway environment, particularly for asthma. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of sputum samples can be challenging to interpret due to the complex and heterogeneous mixtures of human cells and exogenous (microbial) material. In this study, we develop a pipeline that integrates dimensionality reduction and statistical modeling to grapple with the heterogeneity. LDA(Latent Dirichlet allocation)-link connects microbes to genes using reduced-dimensionality LDA topics. We validate our method with single-cell RNA-seq and microscopy and then apply it to the sputum of asthmatic patients to find known and novel relationships between microbes and genes.

Adaptive management is currently an important method to optimize the management of complex water resources systems. Regional water resources adaptive management was conducted based on the advanced theory of a complex system multi-agent model; the state of an agent was tracked and modified by information entropy theory, which was improved by using individual standard deviations. With the goal of optimizing the adaptation of each agent of the region, water resources in the major grain production area of China were managed under the constraints of the total annual available water resources and water use efficiency requirements for 2015 and 2030. By introducing the adaptive water resources management in 2015, the domestic benefits and economic benefits increased by 2.90% and 14.81%, respectively, with respect to observed values. The ecological benefits declined by 3.63%, but ecological water demand was fully satisfied, and the ecological water environment was improved. Given the water use efficiency targets in 2030, applying adaptive management resulted in an increase of domestic, economic, and ecological benefits of 34.29%, 21.14%, and 1.78%, respectively. The results show that the adaptive management method presented can help managers to balance the benefits of various agents to determine the direction of water resources management decisions.

Agriculture is the largest user of freshwater which is essential for food production. Water, energy and food are closely intertwined, as both water and energy are critical inputs for food production. Increasing pressure from shortages of resources and increasing demand for food reinforce the need for optimal management of the water, energy, and food nexus. Uncertainties caused by natural conditions and human activities complicate the optimal allocation. An integrated model, called AWEFSM, was developed for the sustainable management of limited water-energy-food resource in an agricultural system by incorporating multi-objective programming, nonlinear programming, and intuitionistic fuzzy numbers into a general framework. The AWEFSM model is capable of identifying the tradeoffs of water, energy and land resources among various subareas and crops, generating high-profile and environment-friendly strategies and policies, and addressing parameter uncertainties associated with the fluctuations of natural resources and variation of socioeconomic activities. The AWEFSM model was solved, considering nonlinear membership and non-membership functions with both optimistic and pessimistic views of decision makers, and was demonstrated for a real-world case study in northwest China. The interrelationships and trade-offs among system components, including water supply-demand, energy supply-demand, land demand, food production, as well as water and energy footprints, were quantitatively analyzed under different scenarios. The AWEFSM model is applicable for similar regions dominated by agriculture with limited resource supplies to determine water-energy-food strategies under uncertainty.

Long-distance high-voltage power transmission has been developing at an unprecedented rate in China, connecting the power-rich northwest and southwest with Central and Southeast China, where most of China’s power demand locates. Albeit the fast increase of long-distance power transmission capacity, intangible transmission barriers start to appear, which restrict power transmission and result in renewable power curtailment. The barriers stem from the immaturity of power market. Therefore, considerations from government on economic and social viewpoints gain more weight. In this paper, economic and environmental impacts of power transmission on a power importing province are quantitatively analyzed based on a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The power transmission from Sichuan, a typical hydropower exporting province, to Jiangsu, a typical power importing province and one of China’s most developed regions with large power demand, is analyzed as a case study. Results show that both economy and greenhouse gas emissions in the power importing province tend to decrease. It indicates that traditional government performance appraisal system, mainly values economic growth, would take partial responsibility for the barriers and the curtailment. Taking environmental assessment index into consideration would lower the barriers. Establishing a mature power market is the fundamental way to eliminate the barriers.

The goal of this study was to explore the effect of the collocation coverage of snow and straw on the complexity variation of soil water and heat and its appropriate evaluation method during freeze-thaw periods in the Songnen Plain of China. Based on field trials, the characteristics of the spatial variability in soil water and heat and the correlation between the water/heat in snow and in soil were analyzed under conditions of bare land (BL), natural snow (FB0), natural snow plus 5-cm-thick straw (FB5) and natural snow plus 10-cm-thick straw (FB10). Additionally, a spectral entropy algorithm based on Fourier transform was used to calculate the spectral entropy of the soil water and heat sequences, and the spatial variation law of soil water and heat complexity in vertical section was explored; furthermore, the positive effect of straw on the soil water and heat environment was revealed. (1) During the freezing period (i.e., the rapid freezing period and stable freezing period), the collocation coverage of straw and snow weakened the differences between the surface soil and the deeper soil; furthermore, the presence of straw hindered the energy exchange between snow and soil, and as the amount of straw coverage increased, the difference between snow water/heat and that in soil increased. During the melting period, the infiltration of snowmelt water affected the variation of soil water and heat, whereas the straw, due to its water storage characteristics, absorbed large amounts of snowmelt water and provided a stable water supply to the soil. With the increase of straw coverage, the correlation between snow water/heat and that in soil was increased under the FB5 and FB10 treatments. (2) The spectral entropy algorithm evaluation values were in good agreement with the classical statistical analysis, demonstrating that the algorithm can be used to efficiently and accurately evaluate the complexity of soil water and heat time series. The spectral entropy of soil water and heat in the 10-cm soil layer under the treatments of FB0, FB5 and FB10 was less than the corresponding entropy under the BL treatment during rapid freezing and stable freezing periods. As the soil depth increased, the spectral entropy decreased under the different treatments. Affected by the maximum freezing depth, the soil water and heat spectral entropy values peaked in the vertical section during the stable freezing period; as the amount of straw coverage increased, the position of the peak value gradually increased. However, during the melting period, the complexity of soil water and heat under the three snow cover conditions increased significantly relative to that under the BL treatment. As the straw coverage increased, the complexity of soil water and heat decreased. The complexity evaluation method of the spectral entropy algorithm is reliable, and the measurement accuracy meets the evaluation requirements. The algorithm has application value for the evaluation of soil water and heat variation in cold regions.

Cerebrovascular diseases have a high mortality and disability rate in developed countries. Endothelial cell injury is the main cause of atherosclerosis and cerebrovascular disease. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been proved to participate in the progression of endothelial cell. Our study aimed to develop the function of lncRNA opa-interacting protein 5 antisense RNA 1 (OIP5-AS1) in oxidative low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced endothelial cell injury. The expression of OIP5-AS1, miR-98-5p and High-mobility group protein box-1 (HMGB1) was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry were used to detect the cell proliferation and apoptosis. The levels of cyclinD1, Bcl-2 Associated X Protein (Bax), Cleaved-caspase-3, Toll like receptors 4 (TLR4), phosphorylation of p65 (p-P65), phosphorylation of nuclear factor-kappa B inhibitor α (p-IκB-α) and HMGB1 were measured by Western blot. The concentrations of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The production of Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was detected by the corresponding kit. The targets of OIP5-AS and miR-98-5p were predicted by starBase 3.0 and TargetScan and confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. The expression of OIP5-AS1 was upregulated, while miR-98-5p was downregulated in ox-LDL-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Functionally, knockdown of OIP5-AS1 induced proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, inflammatory injury and oxidative stress injury in ox-LDL-induced HUVEC cells. Interestingly, miR-98-5p was a target of OIP5-AS1 and miR-98-5p inhibition abolished the effects of OIP5-AS1 downregulation on ox-LDL-induced HUVECs injury. More importantly, miR-98-5p directly targeted HMGB1, and OIP5-AS1 regulated the expression of HMGB1 by sponging miR-98-5p. Finally, OIP5-AS1 regulated the TLR4/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway through miR-98-5p/HMGB1 axis. LncRNA OIP5-AS1 accelerates ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell injury through regulating HMGB1 mediated by miR-98-5p via the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Object: Follow-up evaluation of intracranial aneurysms treated by flow-diverting stents using MRI is challenging due to the presence of imaging artifacts. This study evaluated 3D T1-SPACE in combination with 3D-TOF sequence for follow-up evaluation of intracranial aneurysms treated with Pipeline embolization devices.Methods: Forty patients with 53 intracranial aneurysms who were treated with Pipeline Embolization Devices from October 2018 to July 2019 were enrolled in this study. All patients were evaluated for aneurysm occlusion and stent patency 4 to 7 months post-treatment using 3D T1-SPACE sequence, 3D-TOF MRA, and DSA examinations.Results: With regards to aneurysm occlusion, the intermodality (DSA and 3D-TOF MRA) agreement was good (κ = 0.755). The specificity of 3D-TOF MRA was 94.4% (34/36), the sensitivity was 76.5% (13/17), the total coincidence rate was 88.7% (47/53). With regards to the patency of the stented arteries after PED treatment, 3D T1-SPACE sequence was more accurate compared to 3D-TOF MRA (Z = −6.283, P < 0.001), with a no-artifact rate of 95.7% (44/46).Conclusions: 3D T1-SPACE sequence provides better image quality and higher accuracy for evaluating stented parent arteries compared to TOF-MRA. 3D-TOF MRA may be valuable in the evaluation of aneurysm occlusion. The combination of these two modalities may be used for long-term follow-up of intracranial aneurysms treated with Pipeline Embolization Devices.

Freeze–thaw cycles cause serious soil erosion, which makes the prevention, control and management of solonetzic lands in the Songnen Plain challenging. The use of soil-aggregate-promoter (SAP) is highly favoured because of its energy-saving and efficient characteristics; however, SAP is rarely used in the improvement of solonetzic soil in cold regions. To fill this gap, we studied the effects of different experimental conditions on the physicochemical properties of solonetzes; the investigated conditions included the number of laboratory-based freeze–thaw cycles (with 0, 1, 3, and 5 cycles), initial moisture content (0%, 18%, 24%, and 30%) and SAP application amount (0 g/m2, 0.75 g/m2, 1.125 g/m2, and 1.5 g/m2). The results showed the following: (1) The soil pH value decreased significantly as the SAP application rate increased, and the effect of the initial moisture content and number of freeze–thaw cycles on soil pH was not significant. (2) SAP effectively reduced the soil electrical conductivity (EC), but a certain threshold was apparent, and the factors studied had significant effects on EC. (3) SAP effectively optimised the soil macroaggregates content and inhibited the damage posed by freeze–thaw cycles to the soil structure. These results provide an important theoretical basis for the effective prevention and control of solonetzes in the Songnen Plain of Northeast China.

Biochar has been widely studied as a soil amendment, but little is known about the "biochar-freeze-thaw soil-crop root system" interface in seasonally frozen soil areas. In the second year after the application of biochar, we conducted research on the morphological characteristic indicators of the soybean root system and the nutrient migration of the soil in the root zone under different biochar application periods (spring and autumn mixed, autumn, and spring biochar application) and different biochar application rates (3 kg·m

Selenium is an indispensable trace element for humans and other organisms; however, excessive selenium in water can jeopardize the aquatic environment. Investigations on the biogeochemical cycle of selenium have shown that anthropogenic activities such as mining, refinery, and coal combustion mainly contribute to aquatic selenium pollution, imposing tremendous risks on ecosystems and human beings. Various technologies thus have been developed recently to treat selenium contaminated water to reduce its environmental impacts. This work provides a critical review on the applications, characteristics, and latest developments of current treatment technologies for selenium polluted water. It first outlines the present status of the characteristics, sources, and toxicity of selenium in water. Selenium treatment technologies are then classified into three categories: 1) physicochemical separation including membrane filtration, adsorption, coagulation/precipitation, 2) redox decontamination including chemical reduction and catalysis, and 3) biological transformation including microbial treatment and constructed wetland. Details of these methods including their overall efficiencies, applicability, advantages and drawbacks, and latest developments are systematically analyzed and compared. Although all these methods are promising in treating selenium in water, further studies are still needed to develop sustainable strategies based on existing and new technologies. Perspectives on future research directions are laid out at the end.

The effects and complications of hybrid procedure (combined carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting) to revascularize chronic long-segment occlusion of internal carotid artery (ICA) are currently unknown and the purpose of this study.Sixty-five patients with long-segment occlusion of ICA were prospectively enrolled and divided into two groups of revascularization with hybrid operation (n = 30) and medication group (n = 35), and clinical and angiographic data were analyzed.The duration from symptom onset to revascularization ranged 17-120 days (mean 40.5 ± 5.0) in the hybrid operation, with a success revascularization rate of 100%. All patients had thrombi extracted with the clot length ranging 5-8 cm (mean 6.3 ± 0.9). The thrombolysis in cerebral infarction grade (TICI) was significantly (P 0.0001) greater immediately after (median 2,) than before recanalization (0). Periprocedural complications included recurrent laryngeal nerve injury in one patient and intracranial hemorrhage in another (6.7%), but no severe neurological deficits occurred. The symptoms were significantly (P 0.0001) improved after compared with before operation, with the modified Rankin score of 2.5 ± 0.6 at 3 months postoperation which was significantly (P 0.0001) improved compared with before revascularization (3.4 ± 0.6). Follow-up angiography revealed patent ICA in all patients with hybrid operation. In the medication alone group, no significant (P 0.05) improvement was observed with the mRS score of 3.5 ± 0.8 at admission and 3.4 ± 0.7 at 3 months, which was significantly (P 0.001) greater than in the hybrid operation.Hybrid operation may be safe and effective in revascularizing long-segment occlusion of internal carotid artery for prevention of further ischemic events.

Accumulating studies indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an imperative role in modulating cancer progression and metastasis. In the previous study, elevated circ_0029426 was first observed in glioblastoma (GBM) tissues compared with normal tissues by circRNA microarray. Our aim is to study the function and mechanism of circ_0029426 in GBM. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to detect relative circ_0029426 expression in GBM tissue samples and cells. Fisher's exact test was used to evaluate the expression of circ_0029426 and clinical parameters.The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were analyzed to evaluate the link between circ_0029426 expression and the overall survival of patients with GBM. Loss/gain-of function experiments were performed to measure GBM cell growth, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. Dual luciferase reporter assays were applied to detect the binding ability between circ_0029426 and miR-197. As a result, the circ_0029426 expression is tightly correlated with patients' clinical severity and prognosis. Functionally, circ_0029426 strikingly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, miR-197 was predicted and verified to be sponged by circ_0029426. More importantly, the oncogenic functions of circ_0029426 are partially attributed to its suppression on miR-197. Collectively, circ_0029426 may be taken as a potential therapeutic target for GBM.