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Summary: Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) and Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) are the most common bariatric modalities. There is ongoing debate on the two modalities’ long-term effects on weight loss and comorbidity resolution.PubMed, EMbase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing LRYGB versus LSG were searched by March 2024. Quality assessment was conducted by Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) guidelines, following the procedures outlined in the Cochrane Collaborations tool (RoB 2.0 Assessment Form).In total, 13 datasets were included from 10 RCTs that involved 1106 individuals. Both the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) and percentage of total weight loss (%TWL) were greater in LRYGB compared to LSG at 3 years (MD: 13.04, 95%CI: 6.95–19.13; P

Abstract Background During laparoscopic left hemicolectomy procedures, a previously overlooked consistently thick blood vessel within the gastrocolic ligament near the splenic hilum may contribute to post-operative bleeding complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the identification and management of the previously overlooked blood vessel. Methods This is a retrospective descriptive study of patients undergoing laparoscopic left colectomy for splenic fexure cancer conducted at a national gastrointestinal surgery centre in China. Consecutive patients with splenic fexure cancer who underwent laparoscopic left colectomy using our“five-step process”(n = 34) between January 2021 and July 2023 were included. Results The vessels can be effectively exposed using the aforementioned “five-step process.” It was observed that the overlooked vessels consistently present in all patients were identified as the omental branch of the left gastroepiploic artery and vein. Conclusion We have identified the origin of previously overlooked blood vessels and recommended a safe method for their management. This may offer advantages to colorectal surgeons performing laparoscopic left colectomy for splenic flexure cancer

In the study of dual asteroid systems, a model that can rapidly compute the motion and orientation of these bodies is essential. Traditional modeling techniques, such as the double ellipsoid or polyhedron methods, fail to deliver sufficient accuracy in estimating the interactions between dual asteroids. This inadequacy primarily stems from the non-tidally locked nature of asteroid systems, which necessitates continual adjustments to account for changes in gravitational fields. This study adopts the finite element method to precisely model the dynamic interaction forces within irregular, time-varying dual asteroid systems and, thereby, enhance the planning of spacecraft trajectories. It is possible to derive the detailed characteristics of a spacecraft’s orbital patterns via the real-time monitoring of spacecraft orbits and the relative positions of dual asteroids. Furthermore, this study examines the orbital stability of a spacecraft under various trajectories, revealing that orbital stability is intrinsically linked to the geometric configuration of the orbits. And considering the influence of solar pressure on the orbit of asteroid detectors, a method was proposed to characterize the stability of detector orbits in the time-varying gravitational field of binary asteroids using cloud models. The insights gained from the analysis of orbital characteristics can inform the design of landing trajectories for binary asteroid systems and provide data for deep learning algorithms that are aimed at optimizing such orbits. By introducing the application of the finite element method, detailed analysis of spacecraft orbit characteristics, and a stability characterization method based on a cloud model, this paper systematically explores the logic and structure of spacecraft orbit planning in a dual asteroid system.

Technique: We describe improvements to the previously proposed “U-tied anastomosis” with the aim of broadening its indications, especially in left hemicolectomy. After bowel mobilization and vascular ligation, the proximal and distal colon were aligned in a U-shape using a ligature. An anastomosis was constructed using a linear stapler through the common enterotomies. Following resection of the bowel using laparoscopic coagulation shears, the common opening was closed using 3-0 barbed sutures. Results: Eight consecutive patients underwent colectomy using the U-tied semi-manual technique between May and July 2023. In all cases, the U-tied procedures were completed using one cartridge and two sutures. No complications or mortality were observed after one month of follow-up. Conclusions: The U-tied semi-manual anastomosis is a straightforward and effective method for intracorporeal anastomosis. The simplified reconstruction technique of U-tied series, together with the minimization of technique variability, results in consistent outcomes when performed by surgeons with different levels of experience. The streamlined process enhances the homogeneity of the intracorporeal anastomosis while reducing cartridge use.

Driver distraction detection not only helps to improve road safety and prevent traffic accidents, but also promotes the development of intelligent transportation systems, which is of great significance for creating a safer and more efficient transportation environment. Since deep learning algorithms have very strong feature learning abilities, more and more deep learning-based driver distraction detection methods have emerged in recent years. However, the majority of existing deep learning-based methods are optimized only through the constraint of classification loss, making it difficult to obtain features with high discrimination, so the performance of these methods is very limited. In this paper, to improve the discrimination between features of different classes of samples, we propose a high-discrimination feature learning strategy and design a driver distraction detection model based on Swin Transformer and the highly discriminative feature learning strategy (ST-HDFL). Firstly, the features of input samples are extracted through the powerful feature learning ability of Swin Transformer. Then, the intra-class distance of samples of the same class in the feature space is reduced through the constraint of sample center distance loss (SC loss), and the inter-class distance of samples of different classes is increased through the center vector shift strategy, which can greatly improve the discrimination of different class samples in the feature space. Finally, we have conducted extensive experiments on two publicly available datasets, AUC-DD and State-Farm, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that our method can achieve better performance than many state-of-the-art methods, such as Drive-Net, MobileVGG, Vanilla CNN, and so on.

Recent years have witnessed numerous technical breakthroughs in connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). On the one hand, these breakthroughs have significantly advanced the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs); on the other hand, these new traffic participants introduce more complex and uncertain elements to ITSs from the social space. Digital twins (DTs) provide real-time, data-driven, precise modeling for constructing the digital mapping of physical-world ITSs. Meanwhile, the metaverse integrates emerging technologies such as virtual reality/mixed reality, artificial intelligence, and DTs to model and explore how to realize improved sustainability, increased efficiency, and enhanced safety. More recently, as a leading effort toward general artificial intelligence, the concept of foundation model was proposed and has achieved significant success, showing great potential to lay the cornerstone for diverse artificial intelligence applications across different domains. In this article, we explore the big models embodied foundation intelligence for parallel driving in cyber-physical-social spaces, which integrate metaverse and DTs to construct a parallel training space for CAVs, and present a comprehensive elucidation of the crucial characteristics and operational mechanisms. Beyond providing the infrastructure and foundation intelligence of big models for parallel driving, this article also discusses future trends and potential research directions, and the “6S” goals of parallel driving.

IntroductionTransversus abdominis plane block (TAPB) is now commonly administered for postoperative pain control and reduced opioid consumption in patients undergoing major colorectal surgeries, such as colorectal cancer, diverticular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease resection. However, there remain several controversies about the effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic TAPB compared to ultrasound-guided TAPB. Therefore, the aim of this study is to integrate both direct and indirect comparisons to identify a more effective and safer TAPB approach.Materials and methodsSystematic electronic literature surveillance will be performed in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for eligible studies through July 31, 2023. The Cochrane Risk of Bias version 2 (RoB 2) and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tools will be applied to scrutinize the methodological quality of the selected studies. The primary outcomes will include (1) opioid consumption at 24 hours postoperatively and (2) pain scores at 24 hours postoperatively both at rest and at coughing and movement according to the numerical rating scale (NRS). Additionally, the probability of TAPB-related adverse events, overall postoperative 30-day complications, postoperative 30-day ileus, postoperative 30-day surgical site infection, postoperative 7-day nausea and vomiting, and length of stay will be analyzed as secondary outcome measures. The findings will be assessed for robustness through subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. Data analyses will be performed using RevMan 5.4.1 and Stata 17.0. P value of less than 0.05 will be defined as statistically significant. The certainty of evidence will be examined via the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) working group approach.Ethics and disseminationOwing to the nature of the secondary analysis of existing data, no ethical approval will be required. Our meta-analysis will summarize all the available evidence for the effectiveness and safety of TAPB approaches for minimally invasive colorectal surgery. High-quality peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences will facilitate disseminating the results of this study, which are expected to inform future clinical trials and help anesthesiologists and surgeons determine the optimal tailored clinical practice for perioperative pain management.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=281720, identifier (CRD42021281720).

Abstract The symbiotic interaction between gut microbiota and the digestive tract is an important factor in maintaining the intestinal environment balance. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex disease involving the interaction between tumour cells and a large number of microorganisms. The microbiota is involved in the occurrence, development and prognosis of colorectal cancer. Several microbiota species have been studied, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), Streptococcus bovis (S. bovis), Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. Studies about the interaction between microbiota and CRC were retrieved from Embase, PubMed, Ovid and Web of Science up to 21 Oct 2021. This review expounded on the effect of microbiota on CRC, especially the dysregulation of bacteria and carcinogenicity. The methods of gut microbiota modifications representing novel prognostic markers and innovative therapeutic strategies were also described.

Abstract Aim To assess the efficacy of extraperitoneal colostomy (EPC) in preventing stoma-related complications. Background Transperitoneal colostomy (TPC) is a widely used surgical approach. However, TPCs have been reported to have increased risks of stoma-related complications, such as parastomal hernias, stomal retraction, and stomal prolapse. The purpose of EPC is to reduce these complications. However, there is still a lack of evidence-based studies. Materials and methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, MOOSE, PubMed, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were searched to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with RCTs. The meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.4 software. Results This study included 5 eligible RCTs. Compared with the TPC group, the EPC group had lower incidence rates of parastomal hernias (RR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.04–0.52, P = 0.003, I 2 = 0%) and stomatal prolapse (RR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.08–0.95, P = 0.04, I 2 = 0%), but a higher rate of defecation sensation (RR, 3.51; 95% CI, 2.47–5.0, P

Abstract The adenoma-carcinoma sequence is a well-accepted roadmap for the development of sporadic colorectal cancer. However, cellular heterogeneity in aberrant epithelial cells limits our understanding of carcinogenesis in colorectal tissues. Here, we performed a single-cell RNA sequencing survey of 54,788 cells from patient-matched tissue samples, including blood, normal tissue, para-cancer, polyp, and colorectal cancer. At each stage of carcinogenesis, we characterized cell types, transcriptional signatures, and differentially expressed genes of distinct cell populations. The molecular signatures of epithelial cells at normal, benign, and malignant stages were defined at the single-cell scale. Adenoma and carcinoma precursor cell populations were identified and characterized followed by validation with large cohort biopsies. Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) BMX and HCK were identified as potential drivers of adenoma initiation. Specific BMX and HCK upregulations were observed in adenoma precursor cell populations from normal and adenoma biopsies. Overexpression of BMX and HCK significantly promoted colorectal epithelial cell proliferation. Importantly, in the organoid culture system, BMX and HCK upregulations resulted in the formation of multilayered polyp-like buds protruding towards the organoid lumen, mimicking the pathological polyp morphology often observed in colorectal cancer. Molecular mechanism analysis revealed that upregulation of BMX or HCK activated the JAK-STAT pathway. In conclusion, our work improved the current knowledge regarding colorectal epithelial evolution during carcinogenesis at the single-cell resolution. These findings may lead to improvements in colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Distant metastasis is a major cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) but the management of advanced and metastatic CRC still remains problematic due to the distinct molecular alterations during tumor progression. Tumor angiogenesis is a key step in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. However, the signaling pathways involved in angiogenesis are poorly understood. The results of the present study showed that secretogranin II (SCG2) was significantly downregulated in malignant CRC tissues, and higher expression of SCG2 was correlated with longer disease‐free survival and overall survival of CRC patients. The results of an animal study showed that ectopic expression of SCG2 significantly inhibited CRC tumor growth by disrupting angiogenesis. Furthermore, the inhibition of expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by SCG2 and rescue of VEGF effectively blocked SCG2‐induced inhibition of angiogenesis. Investigations into the underlying mechanism suggested that SCG2 promoted degradation of hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α by interacting with the von Hippel–Lindau tumor suppressor in CRC cells. Blocking of degradation of HIF‐1α effectively attenuated the SCG2‐mediated decrease in expression of VEGF in CRC cells. Collectively, these results demonstrated that treatment with SCG2 effectively inhibited CRC tumor growth by disrupting the activities of HIF‐1α/VEGF, thereby clarifying the anti‐tumor and anti‐angiogenesis roles of SCG2 in CRC, while providing a novel therapeutic target and a potential prognostic marker of disease progression.

IntroductionSolitary metachronous small bowel metastasis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is rare. In contrast to idiopathic intussusception frequently occurring in children, adult intussusception is fairly uncommon and usually indicates a malignancy.Case presentationWe presented an 84-year-old man with small bowel intussusception and obstruction due to a solitary metachronous metastasis from RCC. Computed tomography with intravenous contrast revealed small bowel obstruction and a 4 × 4 cm intraluminal soft-tissue mass with moderate enhancement. During urgent exploratory laparotomy, a pedunculated tumor of the distal ileum was found to be the lead point of intussusception. Hence, reduction of the intestinal invagination and segmental resection of the ileum with functional end-to-end anastomosis were performed. Histological examination finally confirmed the diagnosis. The postoperative recovery was uneventful. The patient was discharged without any complications on postoperative day 6.ConclusionThe case report highlights the rarity of solitary metachronous small bowel metastases from RCC and suggests that life-long follow-up of RCC patients is critical due to its unpredictable behavior and the possibility of a long period of dormancy. Complete surgical resection remains the mainstay treatment for such patients.

BackgroundTo evaluate short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy (LC) vs. open colectomy (OC) in patients with T4 colon cancer.MethodsThree authors independently searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov for articles before June 3, 2022 to compare the clinical outcomes of T4 colon cancer patients undergoing LC or OC.ResultsThis meta-analysis included 7 articles with 1,635 cases. Compared with OC, LC had lesser blood loss, lesser perioperative transfusion, lesser complications, lesser wound infection, and shorter length of hospital stay. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of 5-year overall survival (5y OS), and 5-year disease-free survival (5y DFS), R0 resection rate, positive resection margin, lymph nodes harvested ≥12, and recurrence. Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA) results suggested that the potential advantages of LC on perioperative transfusion and the comparable oncological outcomes in terms of 5y OS, 5y DFS, lymph nodes harvested ≥12, and R0 resection rate was reliable and no need of further study.ConclusionsLaparoscopic surgery is safe and feasible in T4 colon cancer in terms of short- and long-term outcomes. TSA results suggested that future studies were not required to evaluate the 5y OS, 5y DFS, R0 resection rate, positive resection margin status, lymph nodes harvested ≥12 and perioperative transfusion differences between LC and OC.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022297792.

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cancer type whose mechanism of metastasis remains elusive. Methods In this study, we characterised the evolutionary pattern of metastatic CRC (mCRC) by analysing bulk and single-cell exome sequencing data of primary and metastatic tumours from 7 CRC patients with liver metastases. Here, 7 CRC patients were analysed by bulk whole-exome sequencing (WES); 4 of these were also analysed using single-cell sequencing. Results Despite low genomic divergence between paired primary and metastatic cancers in the bulk data, single-cell WES (scWES) data revealed rare mutations and defined two separate cell populations, indicative of the diverse evolutionary trajectories between primary and metastatic tumour cells. We further identified 24 metastatic cell-specific-mutated genes and validated their functions in cell migration capacity. Conclusions In summary, scWES revealed rare mutations that failed to be detected by bulk WES. These rare mutations better define the distinct genomic profiles of primary and metastatic tumour cell clones.

The specific effect of long-term successive biochar application on soil fertility, α-diversity, and composition of bacterial community and their correlations remain unclear. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of straw biochar application on soil physical and chemical properties and the diversity and composition of the bacterial communities in 12 consecutive crop seasons. Four treatments: BC1 (2.25 Mgha−1 biochar), BC5 (11.25 Mgha−1 biochar), RS (2.25 Mgha−1 rice straw), and blank control (CK, without biochar or rice straw) were set up. The results indicated that biochar and rice straw reduced the richness indexes of the soil bacterial community (Chao1 and ACE by 10.3%–27.4% and 12.2%–26.4%, respectively). High-throughput sequencing results showed that the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria increased as the amount of biochar increased, while those of norank_c__Acidobacteria and norank_f__Anaerolineaceae Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Nitrospirae decreased. Long-term successive biochar application significantly increased soil pH, available potassium, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and cation exchange capacity by 5.7%–25.9%, 40.0%–680.0%, 48.0%–217.1%, 51.0%–109.5%, and 5.4%–24.0%, respectively. Soil dissolved organic carbon was slightly decreased by 1.4%–4.0%. Soil pH and C/N were the two major environmental factors affecting the composition of the soil bacterial community according to redundancy analysis. Furthermore, the phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states showed that biochar significantly increased the relative abundance of information on the functions of the metabolism of other amino acids, metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites (p < 0.05). Therefore, long-term successive biochar amendment in rice-wheat rotation systems improved soil fertility, altered the structure of the soil bacterial community, and increased the functions of soil bacteria, but decreased the α-diversity of the bacterial community. This study will provide technical and theoretical support for rice-straw carbonization and long-term soil remediation from the perspective of microorganisms.

Introduction Laparoscopic colectomy has been widely used clinically due to its minimally invasive advantages, and many studies have also demonstrated its safety and efficacy. However, the efficacy of laparoscopic left hemicolectomy remains unclear due to the differences in pathogenesis and surgical details between left and right colon cancers. Therefore, we plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether laparoscopic techniques can be safely used in left hemicolectomy.Method and analysis This meta-analysis protocol will be completed and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guidelines. A systematic search was performed for all articles related to laparoscopic left hemicolectomy in PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from inception to 5 November 2021. Article screening and data extraction were performed independently by two authors and cross-checked after completion. The literature to be included will use corresponding tools for bias risk assessment. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses will be used to explore potential heterogeneity.Ethics and dissemination Because this systematic review is based on studies with published results and does not involve intervention in patients, no ethical review is required. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022291526.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the prognostic factors for primary gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PG-DLBCL). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 72 PGDLBCL patients between January 2012 and December 2017 in the Shanxi Cancer Hospital of Shanxi Medical University to identify the different prognostic factors in PG-DLBCL. The clinical features, treatment, and follow-up information were analyzed. Results: The low CD4: CD8 ratio group (median subsequent overall survival [OS]: 36.06 months; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 25.73- 46.40) showed a significant decrease in subsequent OS compared to the normal group among PG-DLBCL patients who were newly diagnosed and did not receive rituximab (median OS: 52.58 months; 95% CI: 44.18-60.97; p=0.029). Event-free survival status 24 months after the date of diagnosis (EFS24) also decreased significantly in the low CD4: CD8 group (median EFS24: 16.27 months; 95% CI: 13.09- 19.45) compared to the normal group (median EFS24: 20.34 months; 95% CI: 17.05-23.63; p=0.014). Multivariate analysis showed that low CD4: CD8 at diagnosis was an independent poor prognostic factor for subsequent OS and EFS24.zed. Conclusion: Our data suggest that identifying prognostic factors, especially host immunity, may provide useful information for assessing prognosis or clinical management

As the critical ecological engineers, biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are considered to play essential roles in improving substrate conditions during ecological rehabilitation processes. Physical disturbance, however, often leads to the degradation of biocrusts, and it remains unclear how the physical disturbance affects biocrust microorganisms and their related metabolism. In this study, the photosynthetic biomass (indicated by chlorophyll a), nutrients, enzyme activities, and bacterial communities of biocrusts were investigated in a gold mine tailing of Central China to evaluate the impact of physical disturbance on biocrusts during the rehabilitation process of gold mine tailings. The results show that physical disturbance significantly reduced the photosynthetic biomass, nutrient contents (organic carbon, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and total phosphorus), and enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, sucrase, nitrogenase, neutral phosphatase, and urease) of biocrusts in the mine tailings. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequencing showed that physical disturbance strongly changed the composition, structure, and interactions of the bacterial community, leading to a shift from a cyanobacteria dominated community to a heterotrophic bacteria (proteobacteria, actinobacteria, and acidobacteria) dominated community and a more complex bacterial network (higher complexity, nodes, and edges). Altogether, our results show that the biocrusts dominated by cyanobacteria could also develop in the tailings of humid region, and the dominants (e.g., Microcoleus) were the same as those from dryland biocrusts; nevertheless, physical disturbance significantly reduced cyanobacterial relative abundance in biocrusts. Based on our findings, we propose the future work on cyanobacterial inoculation (e.g., Microcoleus), which is expected to promote substrate metabolism and accumulation, ultimately accelerating the development of biocrusts and the subsequent ecological restoration of tailings.

Optic nerve hemangioblastoma is a very rare benign tumor with only 39 reported cases by now. It appears to be hyperintense on T2-weighted images with a significant enhancement on contrast scans, which are similar to glioma and meningioma. Due to the lack of specificity in MRI manifestations, optic nerve hemangioblastoma is often misdiagnosed. To provide new insights into differential diagnosis of optic nerve hemangioblastoma, we report for the first time an optic nerve hemangioblastoma case employing advanced magnetic resonance techniques including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In addition, we have collected all reported optic nerve hemangioblastoma cases and reviewed their neuroimaging findings by MRI and angiography. Our results show that solid-type tumor is the dominant form of optic nerve hemangioblastoma and extensive edema is widely observed. These findings are surprisingly contrary to manifestations of cerebellar hemangioblastoma. Besides the structural features, quantitative indexes including ADC and relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) ratio, which are significantly elevated in cerebellar hemangioblastoma, may also shed a light on the preoperative diagnosis of hemangioblastoma of optic nerve. Finally, we discuss the critical neuroimaging features in the differential diagnosis between optic nerve hemangioblastoma from optic pathway glioma and optic nerve sheath meningioma.

Angiogenesis is an important mechanism underlying the development and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and has emerged as a therapeutic target for metastatic CRC (mCRC). Our recent studies found that Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ/D (PPARδ) regulates vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA) secretion and the sensitivity to bevacizumab in CRC. However, its exact effect and underlying mechanisms remain unidentified. In this study, we showed that PPARδ expression was inversely associated with the microvascular density in human CRC tissues. Knockdown of PPARδ enhanced VEGFA expression in HCT116 cells and HUVEC angiogenesis in vitro; these phenomena were replicated in the experimental in vivo studies. By tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeling proteomics and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses, endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductase 1 alpha (ERO1A) was screened and predicted as a target gene of PPARδ. This was verified by exploring the effect of coregulation of PPARδ and ERO1A on the VEGFA expression in HCT116 cells. The results revealed that PPARδ induced VEGFA by interacting with ERO1A. In conclusion, our results suggest that knockdown of PPARδ can promote CRC angiogenesis by upregulating VEGFA through ERO1A. This pathway may be a potential target for mCRC treatment.

Nanofiltration concentration leachate is a high concentration organic wastewater with low biodegradability and high toxicity. To explore the feasibility of a combined Heat/UV activated persulfate process on nanofiltration concentrated leachate, the effects of persulfate concentration, initial solution pH before reaction, UV-lamp power and reaction temperature on the removal of organic pollutant were systematically investigated. Results indicated that the maximum rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) and absorbance of organic matter under UV light at 254 nm (UV254) removal from the leachate were 65.4%, 51.4% and 98.1%, respectively, at a persulfate concentration of 18 g L−1, initial solution pH before reaction of 9.0, UV-lamp power of 60 W and temperature of 80 °C. The results of three-dimensional fluorescence and UV254 showed that the removal rates of humic substances contained in the nanofiltration concentrated leachate were over 98%. In addition, the results of free radical scavenging showed that hydroxyl radicals were dominant under alkaline conditions. The results of this study demonstrated that coupling heat and ultraviolet activated persulfate oxidation is a promising technique for the treatment of nanofiltration concentrated leachate.

Background and Objective: Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used to control machines with human intention, especially for paralyzed people in rehabilitation exercises or daily activities. Some effort was put into this but still not enough for online use. To improve the practicality, this study aims to propose an efficient control method based on P300, a special EEG component. Moreover, we have developed an upper-limb assist robot system with the method for verification and hope to really help paralyzed people.Methods: We chose P300, which is highly available and easily accepted to obtain the user's intention. Preprocessing and spatial enhancement were firstly implemented on raw EEG data. Then, three approaches– linear discriminant analysis, support vector machine, and multilayer perceptron –were compared in detail to accomplish an efficient P300 detector, whose output was employed as a command to control the assist robot.Results: The method we proposed achieved an accuracy of 94.43% in the offline test with the data from eight participants. It showed sufficient reliability and robustness with an accuracy of 80.83% and an information transfer rate of 15.42 in the online test. Furthermore, the extended test showed remarkable generalizability of this method that can be used in more complex application scenarios.Conclusion: From the results, we can see that the proposed method has great potential for helping paralyzed people easily control an assist robot to do numbers of things.

A novel approach was employed to load α-Fe2O3 and α-FeOOH onto sewage sludge biochar (SBC) with the purpose of efficient nickel (Ni) removal. A high Ni(II) adsorption capacity of 35.50 mg·g-1 in 100 ppm Ni(II) solution with 10 mg modified sewage sludge biochar (MSBC) was achieved. The adsorption kinetic and isotherm were fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir model, respectively. The optimal pH was found around a neutral pH of 7. The adsorption mechanisms of Ni(II) onto MSBC were described as the synergistic effects of electrostatic attraction, ion exchange, inner-sphere complexation and co-precipitation. The initial rapid adsorption phenomenon could be attributed to electrostatic attraction and ion exchange, and then inner-sphere complexation and co-precipitation acted as a crucial role in the following step. The remarkable performance of MSBC provides an effective waste utilization approach to simultaneous sewage sludge recycle and Ni removal from aqueous solution.

Background and objective 125I seed implantation treatment of pulmonary metastases, often because of complicated structure of the chest, was considered as restricted areas. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of CT guided radioactive 125I seed implantation in treating lung metastatic tumors. Methods Totally 115 metastatic masses were found in 30 patients with CT guiding. 125I seeds were implanted into lung metastatic masses. The approach of implantation was determined according to the location of the lesions (hilar masses, peripheral masses and masses covered by skeletal thorax). The therapeutic effects were evaluated by CT. Results Uniform distribution were achieved by single puncture in 84.3% of patients. The rest patients (15.7%) were received replanting. The follow-up period was 6-24 months (mean 14.6). Among 115 lesions in 30 cases, complete response (CR) was achieved in 80 nodes, partial response (PR) in 20 nodes, No change (NC) in 8 nodes and progressive disease (PD) in 7 nodes. The total response rate was 86.9%. The one-year local control rate were 93.9% (108/115). No severe perioperative complications occurred. Conclusion CT guided radioactive seed 125I implantation is a safe and effective procedure in treating multiple lung metastatic tumor with minimal invasion.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a potentially lethal disease characterized by inflammation and parenchymal cell death; also, the severity of AP correlates directly with necrosis and inversely with apoptosis. However, mechanisms of regulating cell death in AP remain unclear. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone protein GRP78 has anti-apoptotic properties, in addition to modulating ER stress responses. This study used RNA interference (RNAi) approach to investigate the potential role of GRP78 in regulating apoptosis during AP. In vitro models of AP were successfully developed by treating AR42J cells with cerulein or cerulein plus lipoplysaccharide (LPS). There was more pancreatic inflammation and less apoptosis with the cerulein plus LPS treatment. Furthermore, knockdown of GRP78 expression markedly promoted apoptosis and reduced necrosis in pancreatic acinar cells. This was accomplished by enhancing the activation of caspases and inhibiting the activity of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), as well as a receptor interacting protein kinase-1(RIPK1), which is a key mediator of necrosis. This attenuated the severity of pancreatic inflammation, especially after cerulein plus LPS treatment. In conclusion, these findings indicate that GRP78 plays an anti-apoptotic role in regulating the cell death response during AP. Therefore, GRP78 is a potential therapeutic target for AP.

The role of peroxisome proliferator--activated receptor- δ (PPAR δ) gene in colon carcinogenesis remains highly controversial. Here, we established nude mice xenograft model using a human colon cancer cell line KM12C either with PPAR δ silenced or normal. The xenografts in PPAR δ-silenced group grew significantly larger and heavier with less differentiation, promoted cell proliferation, increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and similar apoptosis index compared with those of PPAR δ-normal group. After treated with the specific VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab, the capacities of growth and proliferation of xenografts were decreased in both groups while still significantly higher in PPAR δ-silenced group than in PPAR δ-normal group. Administration of PPAR δ agonist significantly decreased VEGF expression in PPAR δ-normal KM12C cells but not in PPAR δ-silenced cells. These findings demonstrate that, knockdown of PPAR δ promotes the growth of colon cancer by inducing less differentiation, accelerating the proliferation and VEGF expression of tumor cells in vivo, and reduces tumor sensitivity to bevacizumab. This study indicates that PPAR δ attenuates colon carcinogenesis.

K-ras gene mutations were common in colorectal patients, but their relationship with prognosis was unclear.Verify prognostic differences between patient with and without mutant K-ras genes by reviewing the published evidence.Systematic reviews and data bases were searched for cohort/case-control studies of prognosis of colorectal cancer patients with detected K-ras mutations versus those without mutant K-ras genes, both of whom received chemotherapy. Number of patients, regimens of chemotherapy, and short-term or long-term survival rate (disease-free or overall) were extracted. Quality of studies was also evaluated.7 studies of comparisons with a control group were identified. No association between K-ras gene status with neither short-term disease free-survival (OR=1.01, 95% CI, 0.73-1.38, P=0.97) nor overall survival (OR=1.06, 95% CI, 0.82-1.36, P=0.66) in CRC patients who received chemotherapy was indicated. Comparison of long-term survival between two groups also indicated no significant difference after heterogeneity was eliminated (OR=1.09, 95% CI, 0.85-1.40, P=0.49).K-ras gene mutations may not be a prognostic index for colorectal cancer patients who received chemotherapy.

We show that the reflection interference fringe (RIF) is formed on a screen far away from the microdroplets placed on a prism-based substrate, which have low contact angles and thin droplet heights, caused by the dual convex–concave profile of the droplet, not a pure convex profile. The geometric formulation shows that the interference fringes are caused by the optical path difference when the reflected rays from the upper convex profile at the droplet–air interface interfere with reflection from the lower concave profile at oblique angles lower than the critical angle. Analytic solutions are obtained for the droplet height and the contact angle out of the fringe number and the fringe radius in RIF from the geometric formulation. Furthermore, the ray tracing simulation is conducted using the custom-designed code. The geometric formulation and the ray tracing show excellent agreement with the experimental observation in the relation between the droplet height and the fringe number and the relation between the contact angle and the fringe radius. This study is remarkable as the droplet's dual profile cannot be easily observed with the existing techniques. However, the RIF technique can effectively verify the existence of a dual profile of the microdroplets in a simple setup. In this work, the RIF technique is successfully developed as a new optical diagnostic technique to determine the microdroplet features, such as the dual profile, the height, the contact angle, the inflection point, and the precursor film thickness, by simply measuring the RIF patterns on the far-field screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission interference fringe (TIF) technique was developed to visualize the dynamics of evaporating droplets based on the Reflection Interference Fringe (RIF) technique for micro-sized droplets. The geometric formulation was conducted to determine the contact angle (CA) and height of macro-sized droplets without the need for the prism used in RIF. The TIF characteristics were analyzed through experiments and simulations to demonstrate a wider range of contact angles from 0 to 90°, in contrast to RIF's limited range of 0–30°. TIF was utilized to visualize the dynamic evaporation of droplets in the constant contact radius (CCR) mode, observing the droplet profile change from convex-only to convex-concave at the end of dry-out from the interference fringe formation. The TIF also observed the contact angle increase from the fringe radius increase. This observation is uniquely reported as the interference fringe (IF) technique can detect the formation of interference fringe between the reflection from the center convex profile and the reflection from the edge concave profile on the far-field screen. Unlike general microscopy techniques, TIF can detect far-field interference fringes as it focuses beyond the droplet-substrate interface. The formation of the convex-concave profile during CCR evaporation is believed to be influenced by the non-uniform evaporative flux along the droplet surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heading date determines rice seasonal and regional adaptation, while plant height is an important trait related to rice lodging resistance. In this study, a recombinant inbred line population was used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for both traits in long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) environments. Three and two QTLs for heading date were detected in LD and SD environments, respectively. Notably, qHD8 and qHD10 were commonly detected in both environments. Five and four QTLs for plant height were identified in LD and SD environments, respectively. Among them, qPH3, qPH5 and qPH6 showed no pleiotropic effects on heading date and were detected in both environments. These three QTLs are considered to be the primary targets for improving rice plant height. Additionally, two genomic regions exhibited pleiotropic effects on both heading date and plant height. The alleles delayed the heading date while simultaneously increasing plant height. This study indicated that most QTLs for heading date are sensitive to photoperiod and have pleiotropic effects on plant height, thereby complicating their application in breeding programs. These findings provide useful information for the breeding of rice varieties with desired heading dates and plant heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]