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Background Understanding whether the type of primary caregiver and end-of-life (EOL) care location are associated with EOL medical expenditures is crucial to inform global debates on policies for efficient and effective EOL care. This study aims to assess trends in the type of primary caregiver and place of death stratified by rural‒urban status among the oldest-old population from 1998–2018 in China. A secondary objective is to determine the associations between rurality, the type of primary caregiver, place of death and EOL medical expenditures. Methods A total of 20,149 deaths of people aged 80 years or older were derived from the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Cochran-Armitage tests and Cuzick’s tests were used to test trends in the type of primary caregiver and place of death over time, respectively. Tobit models were used to estimate the marginal associations of rurality, type of primary caregiver, and place of death with EOL medical expenditures because CLHLS sets 100,000 Chinese yuan (approximately US$15,286) as the upper limit of the outcome variable. Results Of the 20,149 oldest-old people, the median age at death was 97 years old, 12,490 (weighted, 58.6%, hereafter) were female, and 8,235 lived in urban areas. From 1998–2018, the prevalence of informal caregivers significantly increased from 94.3% to 96.2%, and home death significantly increased from 86.0% to 89.5%. The proportion of people receiving help from informal caregivers significantly increased in urban decedents (16.5%) but decreased in rural decedents (-4.0%), while home death rates significantly increased among both urban (15.3%) and rural (1.8%) decedents. In the adjusted models, rural decedents spent less than urban decedents did (marginal difference [95% CI]: $-229 [$-378, $-80]). Those who died in hospitals spent more than those who died at home ($798 [$518, $1077]). No difference in medical expenditures by type of primary caregiver was observed. Conclusions Over the past two decades, the increases in informal caregiver utilization and home deaths were unequal, leading to substantially higher EOL medical expenditures among urban decedents and deceased individuals who died at hospitals than among their counterparts who lived in rural areas and died at home.

The PBRM1 (PB1) gene which encodes the specific subunit BAF180 of the PBAF SWI/SNF complex, is highly mutated (~ 40%) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, its functions and impact on cell signalling are still not fully understood. Aerobic glycolysis, also known as the 'Warburg Effect', is a hallmark of cancer, whether PB1 is involved in this metabolic shift in clear cell renal cell carcinoma remains unclear. Here, with established stable knockdown PB1 cell lines, we performed functional assays to access the effects on 786-O and SN12C cells. Based on the RNA-seq data, we selected some genes encoding key glycolytic enzymes, including PFKP, ENO1, PKM and LDHA, and examined the expression levels. The AKT-mTOR signalling pathway activity and expression of HIF1α were also analysed. Our data demonstrate that PB1 deficiency promotes the proliferation, migration, Xenograft growth of 786-O and SN12C cells. Notably, knockdown of PB1 activates AKT-mTOR signalling and increases the expression of key glycolytic enzymes at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, we provide evidence that deficient PB1 and hypoxic conditions exert a synergistic effect on HIF 1α expression and lactate production. Thus, our study provides novel insights into the roles of tumour suppressor PB1 and suggests that the AKT-mTOR signalling pathway, as well as glycolysis, is a potential drug target for ccRCC patients with deficient PB1.

De-Bin Liu,1,&ast; You-Fu He,2– 4,&ast; Gui-Jian Chen,1 Hua Huang,1 Xu-Ling Xie,1 Wan-Jun Lin,1 Zhi-Jian Peng1 1Department of Cardiology, The Second People’s Hospital of Shantou, Shantou, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Guizhou Provincial Cardiovascular Disease Clinical Medicine Research Center, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China; 4Medical College, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhi-Jian Peng, Department of Cardiology, The Second People’s Hospital of Shantou, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 18316056382, Fax +86-754 88983534, Email 983247770@qq.comBackground: Aortic dissection (AD) is a rare and lethal disorder with its genetic basis remains largely unknown. Many studies have confirmed that circRNAs play important roles in various physiological and pathological processes. However, the roles of circRNAs in AD are still unclear and need further investigation. The present study aimed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of circRNAs regulation in AD based on the circRNA-associated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network.Methods: Expression profiles of circRNAs (GSE97745), miRNAs (GSE92427), and mRNAs (GSE52093) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, and the differentially expressed RNAs (DERNAs) were subsequently identified by bioinformatics analysis. CircRNA–miRNA–mRNA ceRNA network, Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were used to predict the potential functions of circRNA-associated ceRNA network. RNA was isolated from human arterial blood samples after which qRT-PCR was performed to confirm the DERNAs.Results: We identified 14 (5 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated) differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), 17 (8 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated) differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and 527 (297 up-regulated and 230 down-regulated) differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) (adjusted P-value < 0.05 and | log2FC | > 1.0). KEGG pathway analysis indicated that DEmRNAs were related to focal adhesion and extracellular matrix receptor interaction signaling pathways. Simultaneously, the present study constructed a ceRNA network based on 1 circRNAs (hsa_circRNA_082317), 1 miRNAs (hsa-miR-149-3p) and 10 mRNAs (MLEC, ENTPD7, SLC16A3, SLC7A8, TBC1D16, PAQR4, MAPK13, PIK3R2, ITGA5, SERPINA1). qRT-PCR demonstrated that hsa_circRNA_082317 and ITGA5 were significantly up-regulated, and hsa-miR-149-3p was dramatically down-regulated in AD (n = 3).Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate the circRNA-associated ceRNA network is altered in AD, implying that circRNAs may play important roles in regulating the onset and progression and thus may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of AD.Keywords: circRNA, miRNA, mRNA, ceRNA, aortic dissection, bioinformatics analyses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between meeting step count recommendations during the weekday and weekend and the weight status in school-aged children. A convenience sample of 855 fourth and fifth grade students (9.7 ± 1.0 years) was recruited from 4 elementary schools located in the Western United States. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using standard procedures and then stratified to weight status categories (healthy weight, overweight/obese) using age- and sex-specific percentiles. Step counts were monitored for seven consecutive days using NL-1000 piezoelectric pedometers. A multilevel generalized linear mixed effect model was used to estimate the odds ratios of meeting segmented step counts recommendations and weight status. Students meeting weekday step count recommendations associated with 39% lower odds of overweight/obesity compared to those not meeting any recommendations (P = 0.02). Those meeting both weekday and weekend recommendations associated with 67% lower odds of overweight/obesity compared to children not meeting any recommendations (P = 0.01). Meeting weekend step count recommendations did not associate with weight status. This study supports the positive relationship between segmented step counts and the healthy weight status of school-aged children.

The properties of gun propellants are important for the stability of weapon systems and have been extensively studied in the field of weapon research. In this work, an applied semi-solvent method was used to prepare a triple base gun propellant with nitrated bacterial cellulose (NBC)/nitrocellulose (NC) as the binder system. For the first time, the study found that the addition of NBC in the propellant system resulted in an distinct spatial 3D network structure. The morphology, composition, mechanical properties, energy, thermal behaviour, and combustion performance of the network structure were characterised. The formation mechanism of the spatial network structure and effect of the NBC addition on the propellant performance were discussed. This work verified the application of NBC in different plasticisers and indicated the effective improvement of the impact resistance and burning rate by the spatial network structure propellant with NBC, while retaining other properties.

The mortality caused by cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) ranks second among female malignant tumour deaths, but their diagnostic and therapeutic targets are still limited. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common and extensive modification in mRNA molecules, and its methylation regulators participate in regulating the occurrence and development of many tumours. However, whether m6A RNA methylation regulators can be used as independent prognostic indicators of CESC remains unknown. This study unveiled differential expression of 20 m6A RNA methylation regulators between normal and CESC tumour samples, which RNA sequence data and clinical information were obtained from TCGA database. As a result, five m6A RNA methylation regulators (FTO, HNRNPA2B1, RBM15, IGF2BP1, IGF2BP3) were identified to be significantly linked to CESC tumour status. After Lasso cox regression analysis, six m6A RNA methylation regulators (YTHDC2, YTHDC1, ALKBH5, ZC3H13, RBMX, YTHDF1) were chosen to construct a risk signature. CESC patients were then classified as high-risk and low-risk group based on the median risk score. The overall survival (OS) of the CESC patients in high-risk group was significantly lower than that in low-risk group, and the area under curve (AUC) is 0.718. Moreover, the risk model can be an independent prognosis factors for CESC patients and can predict OS of CESC patients with different clinical factors. In conclusion, m6A RNA methylation regulators are closely correlated with CESC clinical characteristics and the selected six m6A RNA methylation regulators may be useful for CESC patients personalized treatment.

Tests and numerical simulation of rectangular recycled aggregate concrete filled steel tube (RACFST) stub columns under concentric compression are carried out. Eighteen specimens, including 12 RACFST specimens and 6 concrete filled steel tube (CFST) specimens as reference, with varied width-to-thickness ratio ( B / t ), depth-to-width ratio ( β ) and recycled coarse aggregate replacement ratio ( r ) are tested. The test results show that rectangular RACFST stub column specimens have similar failure pattern as their counterparts. However, the bearing capacity and the composite elastic modulus of RACFST specimens are lower than those of CFST ones while they both decrease with higher r . Moreover, the specimens with larger B / t and β possess a smaller ductility index. Numerical simulation of rectangular RACFST stub columns under concentric compression is executed using a finite element analysis (FEA) model developed based on the ABAQUS software, and the predicted results are verified by the experimental observations. The mechanism of concentrically loaded rectangular RACFST stub columns is further revealed by the FEA model. Finally, simplified formulae for the bearing capacity of rectangular RACFST stub columns are proposed, with the comparison between simplified and experimental results showing that the simplified model is a good predictor.

Vocalization plays an important role in the communication of anurans. In this study, the advertisement calls of male Fejervarya multistriata obtained in Lishui, Zhejiang, China during the breeding season were recorded. Their note number (NN), note duration (ND), note interval (NI), call duration (CD), pitch (PIT), call intensity (CIT) and dominant frequency (DF) were analyzed. The calls of F. multistriata are composed of one to 38 notes, and calls composed of fewer than ten notes have the highest frequency. Male frogs produced calls ranging from 1201 Hz to 3357 Hz with two DFs (1412.49 Hz and 2953.89 Hz). By comparing the differences among individual calls, it was found that the within-individual coefficients of variation (CVW) and among-individual coefficients of variation (CVA) for NN, NI, CD, PIT and DF were more than 10%, whereas that of CIT was less than 5%. The CVA/CVW ratios indicate that ND is important for sexual selection, whereas NN, NI CD, PIT, CIT, and DF are important for individual recognition. Phylogenetic generalized least squares analysis showed that phylogenetic signals affect DF vs. snout-vent length (SVL) and CD of anurans in China, and accounting for phylogenetic signals, DF was negatively correlated with SVL. DF was found to be higher in anurans that breed in flowing water than in those that breed in stagnant water, after eliminating the effects of phylogeny and SVL. Therefore, we conclude that phylogenetic effects, SVL, and the water type of breeding habitats have a combined impact on the advertisement calls in anurans.

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) is a composite structure consisting of a steel tube filled with concrete. The steel tube and its concrete core work together to carry external loads applied to the structure. Due to the interaction between the two kinds of materials, i.e., the confinement effect of steel tube on the core concrete, CFST structures can effectively delay/avoid the local buckling of the steel tube and the brittle failure of the concrete core. The superior structural properties of CFST include high strength and stiffness, good ductility, excellent seismic and fire performances, and easy construction. Therefore, CFST structures have been extensively used in large-scale constructions including industrial plants, subway stations, transmission towers, high-rise buildings, and bridges, etc. CFST structures have also offered substantial benefits on architectural appearance and engineering economy. The confinement effect in CFST throughout its service-life essentially contributes to the structural advantages, whilst it has, at the same time, brought about enormous complexities in the corresponding load-resisting mechanisms. Firstly, an in-depth understanding and accurate characterization of the confinement effect, and the development of some feasible constitutive models for the core concrete that facilitate the analysis and design of major infrastructures, becomes the key issue to be addressed. The salient loading factors in the service-life of CFST structures need to be considered in the constitutive models, such as long-term sustained load, low-cycle cyclic load and full-range fire. Secondly, the establishment of damage mechanism analysis and strength prediction models for CFST structures considering long-term sustained load, complex loading conditions, earthquake and fire becomes another key issue that needs to be resolved for the safety design of major CFST constructions. Life-cycle based damage mechanism and analytical theory of concrete-filled steel tubular structures have been investigated and established based on nearly 20 years of persistent and systematic study. The design methods for the ultimate loading capacity of CFST structures were further proposed. The major research outcomes can be summarized in the following three aspects: (1) The interaction between the steel tube and its core concrete as well as the passive confinement mechanism in CFST were revealed. A general constitutive model for the confined core concrete under various stress/action conditions was established with the “confinement factor” as an essential variable. The considered actions include long-term sustained stress, cyclic load and elevated temperature. (2) Theoretical models were established to account for the damage mechanism of CFST structures under long-term sustained load and complex loading conditions. The ultimate strength of CFST members under various loading conditions was analysed, including compression, tension, bending, shear, torsion, and the combinations of different loads and load paths. The creep and shrinkage of concrete as well as the deformation of CFST under long-term sustained load were accurately simulated. (3) Theoretical models were established to simulate the damage mechanism of CFST under earthquake and full-range fire. The hysteretic properties and ductility of CFST members under low-cycle cyclic loading were revealed. The model for calculating the fire resistance of CFST columns was proposed, in which the coupling effects of loads and full-range fire were taken into account. This paper briefly reviews the development of CFST structures and outlines the life-cycle based analytical theory for CFST structures. Finally, the potential development trends of the CFST structures are discussed.

Background The prognosis of HPV- HNSCC was worse than that of HPV+ HNSCC. Analysis of tumours and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) may provide insight into the progression of HPV− HNSCC. Methods The tumour and TIL phenotypic characteristics of 134 HNSCC specimens (HPV− tumours were classified into “Infiltrating” and “Pushing” subtypes based on their different tumour nest configuration and prognosis) were retrospectively analysed. HNSCC data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (n = 263) were analysed for CD8α, HPV and overall survival (OS). A murine HNSCC model was used to verify the antitumour role of PD-1+CD8+ TILs. Results The “Infiltrating” HPV− subtype showed shorter OS than the “Pushing” subtype. Moreover, there is a tendency from “Pushing” to “Infiltrating” subtype from the primary to the recurrent lesion. Different from total CD8+ TILs, tumour-specific PD-1+CD8+ TILs were fewer in invasive margin (IM) of “Infiltrating” HPV− tumours. PD-1+CD8+ TILs recognised autologous HNSCC cells and showed stronger inhibition of tumour growth in a murine HNSCC model resistant to PD-1 blockade. Conclusions Coevolution of HPV− HNSCC and TILs is characterised by an “Infiltrating” phenotype and less tumour-specific PD-1+CD8+ TILs, which may provide a framework for further translational studies and patient stratification.

The various clustering methods are widely applied in analyzing biological interaction networks, such as the protein–protein interaction and the genetic interaction networks. With the rapid growth of these biological datasets in scale, much longer runtime is required to make cluster analyses on them. In this paper, we propose a novel parallel Markov clustering (MCL) method based on the ELLPACK-R sparse matrix format that can run on multiple graphic processing units (GPUs) equipped standalone computers. The method is implemented using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming framework, and fine-grained warp-level optimization is introduced for improving the performance. The BioGRID, a large-scale and freely accessible database of protein and genetic interactions, is adopted as the dataset in the experiment. The method has been assessed on a desktop computer equipped with two NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPUs. The results show that the proposed multi-GPU method can conduct MCL clustering on the full-size BioGRID database with about 6.5 min, that is much faster than the CPU serial MCL implementation which needs almost an hour and a half execution time.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between lifestyle behavior variables such as physical activity, television watching, computer use, and school night sleep duration with body mass index percentile (BMI%) using quantile regression within a representative sample of adolescents who completed the 2017 US National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Study design The study design was a cross-sectional study. Methods A multistage cluster sampling procedure obtained a representative sample of US adolescents. The number of sampled adolescents submitting questionnaires with BMI% data was 13,146. To examine the associations between lifestyle behaviors and BMI%, simultaneous quantile regression was used. Results When relationships were modeled at every 10th percentile, more precise parameter estimates were observed at higher percentiles. Across the interquartile range, physical activity associated with lower BMI% at the 50th and 75th percentiles (brange = −2.27% to −5.24%, P Conclusions Higher levels of physical activity associated with lower BMI% and longer time watching television, school night sleep durations less than 8 h, and school night sleep durations of 10 h or more at higher quantiles associated with higher BMI% in adolescents. Estimates of association were more precise within higher quantiles.

To compare physical activity and sedentary behavior between four commonly used subjective and objective measures: the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (7DPAR), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), pedometer, and accelerometer. A total of 130 college students completed four measures for the same 7 days. Body composition was measured using a bioelectric impedance analyzer. Wilcoxon signed rank tests and Spearman correlations were performed to compare estimates between activity measures. The Spearman correlations between different activity measures were further examined separately for the higher and the lower body fat groups. Compared with accelerometer-derived data, both the 7DPAR and the IPAQ overestimated light physical activity (P

Dihydroxylammonium 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (TKX-50) and nitrocellulose/nitroglycerine (NC/NG) possess good energy properties, which were widely used in propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics. They are easy to contact with each other during their application and storage. However, their thermal characteristics under continuous heat flow have not been reported yet. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study the thermal properties of TKX-50/NC/NG (mixture of TKX-50 and NC/NG). In this paper, the thermal characteristics and pressure behaviors of TKX-50/NC/NG, TKX-50 and NC/NG were characterized by high pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HPDSC) and adiabatic scanning calorimetry (ASC). The results showed that TKX-50 and NC/NG can promote each other to decompose under continuous heat flow, especially the thermal decomposition which affected by gases generation and heat feedback was more violent in the confined space. The decomposition peak temperature of TKX-50/NC/NG shifted to low temperature when the heat loss was ignored and the removal of decomposition gas was suppressed. The possible decomposition mechanism of TKX-50/NC/NG was speculated. It was considered that the intermediate products of TKX-50 and NC/NG decomposition under thermal stimulation would react with each other, which promoted TKX-50/NC/NG decomposition in one step at lower temperature. Thus, TKX-50 has high reactivity and high potential risk after contact with NC/NG under continuous heat flow. TKX-50 is not suitable for application with NC/NG. This study provides a reference for the structural design of nitrogen rich explosives and further broadens the researchers’ understanding of the application of TKX-50.

Tick-borne Rickettsia pathogens become an emerging zoonotic infection worldwide. The prevalence and genetic identity of Rickettsia infection was determined firstly in Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides ticks collected from dogs in southern Taiwan. A total of 141 Rh. haemaphysaloides ticks were examined for Rickettsia infection by nested-PCR assay targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) and outer membrane protein B (ompB) genes of Rickettsia. The Rickettsia infection was detected with a general infection rate of 2.84%, and was detected in male and female ticks with an infection rate of 3.13% and 2.60%, respectively. Genetic relationships were analyzed by comparing the gltA and ompB sequences obtained from 4 Taiwan strains and 15 other strains representing 13 genospecies of Rickettsia. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that all Taiwan strains were genetically affiliated with the R. massiliae (spotted fever group) and can be distinguished from other genospecies of Rickettsia. These results demonstrate the epidemiological significance of a human pathogenic Rickettsia species (R. massiliae) detected in Rh. haemaphysaloides ticks. Further study focused on the vector competence of this tick species may help to illustrate the potential threat for human infection in southern Taiwan.

Background Aortic dissection (AD) is a rare and lethal disorder with its genetic basis remains largely unknown. Many studies have confirmed that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in various physiological and pathological processes. However, the roles of circRNAs in AD are still unclear and need further investigation. The present study aimed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of circRNAs regulation in aortic dissection based on the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Methods Expression profiles of circRNAs (GSE97745), miRNAs (GSE92427), and mRNAs (GSE52093) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, and the differentially expressed RNAs (DERNAs) were subsequently identified in AD by bioinformatics analysis. Further bioinformatics analyses, including circRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network, Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, were used to predict the potential functions of circRNA-associated ceRNA regulatory network. RNA was isolated from human arterial blood samples after which quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to confirm the DERNAs. Results We identified 14 (5 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated) differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), 17 (8 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated) differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and 527 (297 up-regulated and 230 down-regulated) differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) when AD samples were compared with normal ascending aorta samples (adjusted P-value < 0.05 and | log2FC |> 1.0). KEGG pathway analysis indicated that DEmRNAs were related to focal adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction signaling pathways. Simultaneously, the present study successfully constructed a ceRNA regulatory network based on 1 circRNAs (hsa_circRNA_082317), 1 miRNAs (hsa-miR-149-3p) and 10 mRNAs (MLEC, ENTPD7, SLC16A3, SLC7A8, TBC1D16, PAQR4, MAPK13, PIK3R2, ITGA5, SERPINA1) in AD. Furthermore, qRT-PCR demonstrated that hsa_circRNA_082317 andα5 integrin (ITGA5) were significantly up-regulated in AD (n = 3), and hsa-miR-149-3p was dramatically down-regulated in AD (n = 3). The expression of hsa-miR-149-3p target mRNA, ITGA5, was positively modulated by hsa_circRNA_082317. Conclusion This is the first study to demonstrate the circRNA-associated ceRNA regulatory network is altered in AD, implying that circRNAs may play important roles in regulating the onset and progression of AD and thus may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of AD.

Raman spectroscopy provides chemical and compositional information that can serve as a structural fingerprint for various materials. Therefore, simulations of Raman spectra, including both quantum perturbation analyses and ground-state calculations, are of significant interest. However, highly accurate full quantum mechanical (QM) simulations of Raman spectra have previously been confined to small systems. For large systems such as biological materials, full QM simulations have an extremely high computational cost and remain challenging. In this work, robust new algorithms and advanced implementations on many-core architectures are employed to enable fast, accurate, and massively parallel full ab initio simulations of the Raman spectra of realistic biological systems containing up to 3006 atoms, with excellent strong and weak scaling. Up to a performance of 468.5 PFLOP/s in double-precision and 813.7 PLOPS/s in mixed-half precision is achieved on the new-generation Sunway high-performance computing system, suggesting the potential for new applications of the QM approach to biological systems.

This paper describes the experimental and numerical study on the axial compressive behaviour of circular-in-circular concrete-filled double-skin steel tube (CFDST) stub columns with large void ratio. Nine specimens with various void ratio (Rv), diameter-to-thickness ratio of outer tube (Do/to) and compressive strength of concrete (fcu) were tested under axial compression. The failure patterns, load versus displacement (strain) relationship, ultimate capacity and elastic composite stiffness of the specimens were investigated. The experimental results show that all specimens have good structural performance. The typical failure patterns of this new type of columns include local buckling of outer or inner tubes and crushing of concrete infill at the primary buckling locations of both tubes. It is observed from the tests that, there are three key stages in the load versus displacement (strain) relationship, namely: approximative elastic, elastoplastic and nonlinear post-peak, and with the augment of Rv and Do/to and the reduce of fcu, the ultimate capacity and elastic composite stiffness of the specimens decrease. Apart from tests, a finite element (FE) model was developed to further study the axial compressive behaviour of circular-in-circular CFDST stub columns with large void ratio, and the model was validated against the experimental results. Finally, a simplified analytical model to predict the ultimate capacity of circular-in-circular CFDST stub columns with large void ratio was developed, and the accuracy of the model was verified by the available experimental results. It can be used by the practising engineers in the future design of this type of columns.

Background Hypoxia is a characteristic of solid tumors that can lead to tumor angiogenesis and early metastasis, and addressing hypoxia presents tremendous challenges. In this work, a nanomedicine based on oxygen-absorbing perfluorotributylamine (PFA) and the bioreductive prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) was prepared by using a polydopamine (PDA)-coated UiO-66 metal organic framework (MOF) as the drug carrier. Results The results showed that TPZ/PFA@UiO-66@PDA nanoparticles significantly enhanced hypoxia, induced cell apoptosis in vitro through the oxygen-dependent HIF-1α pathway and decreased oxygen levels in vivo after intratumoral injection. In addition, our study demonstrated that TPZ/PFA@UiO-66@PDA nanoparticles can accumulate in the tumor region after tail vein injection and effectively inhibit tumor growth when combined with photothermal therapy (PTT). TPZ/PFA@UiO-66@PDA nanoparticles increased HIF-1α expression while did not promote the expression of CD31 in vivo during the experiment. Conclusions By using TPZ and PFA and the enhanced permeability and retention effect of nanoparticles, TPZ/PFA@UiO-66@PDA can target tumor tissues, enhance hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, and activate TPZ. Combined with PTT, the growth of osteosarcoma xenografts can be effectively inhibited. Graphic abstract

The Rickettsia massiliae was firstly detected and identified in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks infested on dogs in Taiwan. A total of 1154 Rh. sanguineus ticks collected from 158 dogs of four districts of Tainan city were examined for Rickettsia infection by nested-PCR assay targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) and outer membrane protein B (ompB) genes of Rickettsia. The Rickettsia infection was detected with a general infection rate of 2.77%, and was detected in male, female and nymphal stage with an infection rate of 2.77%, 3.22% and 1.32%, respectively. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed by comparing the gltA and ompB sequences obtained from 9 Taiwan strains and 16 other strains representing 13 genospecies of Rickettsia. Results revealed that all Taiwan strains were genetically affiliated to the same clades of R. massiliae (spotted fever group) and R. felis (transitional group), and can be discriminated from other genospecies of Rickettsia. This study provides the first evidence of R. massiliae, a pathogenic spotted fever Rickettsia, identified in Rh. sanguineus ticks and highlight the potential threat for the regional transmission of Rickettsia infection among humans in Taiwan.

Review question / Objective: This systematic review aims to comprehensively assess the efficacy and safety of full-endoscopic cervical laminectomy and decompression versus anterior cervical decompression with fusion in treating cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients. Condition being studied: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a degenerative disease associated with cervical cord compression, which has increased significant health-related social costs and derived disabilities. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is the "gold standard" for the treatment of CSM. However, the application of ACDF may cause some complications. Recently, full-endoscopic cervical laminectomy and decompression have shown potential therapeutic effects for CSM. However, no systematic review or meta-analysis has focused on the effects of full-endoscopic cervical laminectomy and decompression in the treatment of CSM. This systematic review aims to comprehensively assess the efficacy and safety of full-endoscopic cervical laminectomy and decompression versus anterior cervical decompression with fusion in treating CSM patients.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in outdoor air is carcinogenic and associated with the development of lung cancer; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, the profiles of lncRNA, microRNA and mRNA expression profiles in human bronchial epithelia (HBE) following exposure to PM2.5, diesel exhaust particles (DEPs), or aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3 NPs) were explored by microarray to reveal the lncRNA-microRNA-mRNA network participating in the malignant transformation of HBE cells following long-term PM2.5 exposure. The results showed that lncRNA SOX2 overlapping transcript (SOX2-OT) was significantly induced in HBE cells exposed to PM2.5, DEPs, or Al2O3 NPs, acting as a sponge to microRNA-345-5p, which subsequently increased the expression levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR is a therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer. Here, we found that SOX2-OT is an upstream trigger of EGFR in HBE cells during long-term PM2.5 exposure. Importantly, SOX2-OT knockdown effectively reduced the colony formation and migration capacities of HBE cells, compared to the wild type control. Collectively, SOX2-OT/microRNA-345-5p/EGFR is a ceRNA mechanism underlying the malignant transformation of bronchial epithelia exposed to PM2.5, which improves our understanding of the association between ambient PM2.5 exposure and the development of lung cancer.

The proportion of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in Fe-based nanozymes is a key point in determining their catalytic activity. However, it is hard to adjust the Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio in nanozyme systems to achieve the best catalytic performance. In this work, we successfully regulate Fe2+/Fe3+ ratios in a wide range of 0.81-1.45 based on a novel porous platform of Fe doped silica hollow spheres. The homogeneous distribution and stable fixation of Fe components in Fe doped silica hollow spheres facilitate the valence regulation of Fe in the reduction heating in H2/Ar. When the Fe doped spheres (FeOx@SHSs) were used as nanozymes, different Fe2+/Fe3+ ratios have shown to influence the peroxidase-like catalytic activity greatly. The highest activity at the ratio of 1.41 should be due to the combined effects of the accelerated reaction rate by Fe2+ and the enhanced catalytic cycle efficiency by Fe3+. The FeOx@SHSs-based nanozyme is further applied to construct a facile colorimetric biosensing system, which exhibited extremely sensitive determination of glucose. This work presents an effective platform for controlling Fe valences and optimizing the peroxidase-like activity for catalytic processes or sensing systems.