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Objective To compare the clinical characteristics between intrasuprasellar and suprasellar Rathke cleft cyst (RCC), and investigate the therapeutic efficacy of endoscopy for suprasellar RCC. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 61 intrasuprasellar and 15 suprasellar RCC treated by endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) (standard or extended) in our hospital between January 2013 and August 2018. Their clinical manifestations, surgical conditions and outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Results The cyst size was significantly smaller in suprasellar RCC than those in intrasuprasellar region (13.1±2.0 vs 17.5±4.2 mm, P < 0.001). The patients with suprasellar RCC were more commonly presented with visual loss, visual field defect and hyperprolactinemia than those with intrasuprasellar RCC (60.0% vs 27.9%; 66.7% vs 37.7%, P < 0.05). The duration of surgery and postoperative hospital stay were significantly longer in the suprasellar RCC group than the intrasuprasellar group (136±21 vs 106±33 min, P=0.001; 11.7±2.7 vs 5.8±3.1 d, both P < 0.001). The incidences of new- onset diabetes insipidus, intracranial infection and hyponatremia were obviously higher in the former group than the latter group (33.3% vs 8.2%, 20.0% vs 1.6%, 46.7% vs 14.8%, all P < 0.05). During the follow-up of 50.4±19.8 months, higher recurrence rate was observed in the suprasellar RCC group than the intrasuprasellar RCC group (26.7% vs 6.6%, P < 0.05). Conclusion Compared with intrasuprasellar RCC, suprasellar RCC, even though in smaller size, may present higher incidences of preoperative visual loss and field defect and hyperprolactinemia before operation, and more common new-onset diabetes insipidus, meningitis and hyponatremia postoperatively, as well as longer surgical period and hospital stay. Extended EEA is an effective and safe approach for the treatment of suprasellar RCC.

Objective To investigate the causes and risk factors of recent death (within 30 d postoperatively) of patients with sellar tumors after endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETS). Methods The clinical data of the patients with sellar tumors after ETS in our department from January 2011 to March 2021 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Death cases were collected. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine the independent risk factors for postoperative death. Results In the past 10 years, there were 1 635 cases of ETS surgery in our department, including 1 470 cases of endoscopic transsphenoidal approach (ETA), and 165 cases of extend endoscopic transsphenoidal approach (EETA). Nine patients died recently after operation, with a mortality of 0.55% (9/1 635). The causes of death included: ① hemorrhage in the operative area in 3 cases (subarachnoid hemorrhage in 1 case and residual tumor hemorrhage in the operative area in 2 cases); ② infection in 3 cases (2 cases of meningitis and 1 case of blood-borne infection); ③ hypothalamus injury in 1 case; ④ vascular injury in 1 case; ⑤ epileptic status in 1 case. Univariate analysis showed that diameter >3 cm, tough consistency, large amount of intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, persistent postoperative CSF leakage, remnant tumor, and treatment of EETA may be associated with postoperative death after ETS (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that intraoperative CSF leakage was the only independent risk factor. Conclusion The main causes of recent death of insellar tumor patients after ETS are hemorrhage in surgical area, meningitis and blood-borne infection. Those with intraoperative CSF leakage are more likely to die.

Flower color is one of the crucial traits of ornamental plants. Rhododendron delavayi Franch. is a famous ornamental plant species distributed in the mountain areas of Southwest China. This plant has red inflorescence and young branchlets. However, the molecular basis of the color formation of R. delavayi is unclear. In this study, 184 MYB genes were identified based on the released genome of R. delavayi. These genes included 78 1R-MYB, 101 R2R3-MYB, 4 3R-MYB, and 1 4R-MYB. The MYBs were divided into 35 subgroups using phylogenetic analysis of the MYBs of Arabidopsis thaliana. The members of the same subgroup in R. delavayi had similar conserved domains and motifs, gene structures, and promoter cis-acting elements, which indicate their relatively conserved function. In addition, transcriptome based on unique molecular identifier strategy and color difference of the spotted petals, unspotted petals, spotted throat, unspotted throat, and branchlet cortex were detected. Results showed significant differences in the expression levels of R2R3-MYB genes. Weighted co-expression network analysis between transcriptome and chromatic aberration values of five types of red samples showed that the MYBs were the most important TFs involved in the color formation, of which seven were R2R3-MYB, and three were 1R-MYB. Two R2R3-MYB (DUH019226.1 and DUH019400.1) had the highest connectivity in the whole regulation network, and they were identified as hub genes for red color formation. These two MYB hub genes provide references for the study of transcriptional regulation of the red color formation of R. delavayi.

Rhododendron decorum is a woody species with high ornamental and medical value. Herein, we introduce a novel in vitro regeneration method for R. decorum. We used flower buds to develop an efficient and rapid plant regeneration protocol. Sterile flower buds of R. decorum of a 2 cm size were used as explants to study the effects of the culture medium and plant growth regulators on the callus induction and adventitious shoot differentiation, proliferation, and rooting. According to the results, the optimal medium combination for callus induction was WPM + 1 mg/L TDZ + 0.2 mg/L NAA, and its induction rate reached 95.08%. The optimal medium combination for adventitious shoot differentiation from the callus was WPM + 0.5 mg/L TDZ + 0.1 mg/L NAA, and its differentiation rate reached 91.32%. The optimal medium combination for adventitious shoot proliferation was WPM + 2 mg/L ZT + 0.5 mg/L NAA, for which the proliferation rate reached 95.32% and the proliferation coefficient reached 9.45. The optimal medium combination for rooting from adventitious shoots was WPM + 0.1 mg/L NAA + 1 mg/L IBA, and its rooting rate reached 86.90%. The survival rates of the rooted regenerated plantlets exceeded 90% after acclimatization and transplantation. This regeneration system has the advantages of being simple and highly efficient, and it causes little damage to the shoots of the mother plants, laying a foundation for the plantlet propagation, genetic transformation, and new-variety breeding of R. decorum.

Fe-bearing clay minerals are widely distributed in soils, sediments, and rocks, representing a significant Fe pool in the Earth's crust. The electron transfer (ET) from/to structural Fe in clay minerals is a crucial electron and energy flux in the natural environment, which drives numerous biogeochemical processes and contaminant transformation. Depending on the types and properties of both clay minerals and exogenous reactants as well as aqueous chemistry, the ET processes could involve interfacial ET through edge/basal planes and interior ET inside clay minerals. This paper reviews the important ET reactions between Fe-bearing clay minerals and various reactants, including Fe-cycling microbes, redox-active organic compounds, and heavy metals. Moreover, we discuss the physical-chemical mechanisms of interfacial and interior ET processes and develop models to illustrate the thermodynamic and kinetic constraints on the ET rate and extent. On this basis, we emphasize the environmental implications of ET associated with clay minerals, such as their roles in serving as biogeobatteries for biogeochemical processes and contaminant transformation, coevolution with microbes, and regulation of greenhouse gas formation. Finally, research needs are proposed to advance our molecular-scale understanding of ET processes and utilize them for environmental mitigation and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing CO _2 absorption by deep eutectic solvents is limited by the unavoidable water absorption problem during use. In this study, we prepared three deep eutectic solvents with different alcohol aminations and added different water contents to discuss the effect of water content on the absorption of carbon dioxide by deep eutectic solvents. All deep eutectic solvents have a low melting point at room temperature as a liquid and have high thermal stability, where the choline chloride-diethanolamine deep eutectic solvents have a high viscosity. Anhydrous choline chloride-monoethanolamine deep eutectic solvents have the largest CO _2 absorption, reaching 0.2715 g g ^−1 , and the absorption of CO _2 by anhydrous choline chloride-N-methyldiethanolamine deep eutectic solvents is only 0.0611 g g ^−1 . Water content inhibited the absorption of CO _2 in primary amine and secondary amine systems, whereas it enhanced the absorption of CO _2 in tertiary amine systems, which was related to the reaction process of deep eutectic solvent and CO _2 .

Atherosclerosis is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases. Current evidences indicate that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSC) have shown anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, the function of GMSC in controlling atherosclerosis is far from clear. The present study is aimed to elucidate the role of GMSC in atherosclerosis, examining the inhibition of GMSC on macrophage foam cell formation, and further determining whether GMSC could affect the polarization and activation of macrophages under different conditions. The results show that infusion of GMSC to AopE−/− mice significantly reduced the frequency of inflammatory monocytes/macrophages and decreased the plaque size and lipid deposition. Additionally, GMSC treatment markedly inhibited macrophage foam cell formation and reduced inflammatory macrophage activation, converting inflammatory macrophages to anti-inflammatory macrophages in vitro. Thus, our study has revealed a significant role of GMSC on modulating inflammatory monocytes/macrophages and alleviating atherosclerosis.

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and hydroxyl radical ( • OH) production during oxygenation of reduced iron (Fe(II)) and natural organic matter (NOM) in the subsurface has been increasingly discovered, whereas the effect of the C/Fe molar ratio in Fe(II) and NOM coexisting systems remains poorly understood. In this study, aqueous Fe(II) and reduced humic acid (HA red ) mixture at different C/Fe molar ratios (0-20) were oxygenated. Results show that both H 2 O 2 and • OH accumulation increased almost linearly with the increase in the C/Fe ratio, with a more prominent increase in • OH accumulation at high C/Fe molar ratios. At low C/Fe molar ratios (C/Fe ≤ 1.6), electrons mainly transferred from dissolved inorganic Fe(II), surface-adsorbed Fe(II), and a low proportion of HA-complexed Fe(II) to O 2 ; with the increase in the C/Fe ratio to a high level (C/Fe ≥ 5), the main electron source turned to HA-complexed Fe(II) and free HA red . The changes in the electron source and electron transfer pathway with the increase in the C/Fe ratio increased the yield of • OH relative to H 2 O 2 . This study highlights the important role of the C/Fe ratio in controlling H 2 O 2 and • OH production and therefore in accurately evaluating the associated environmental impacts.

The reaction of manganese oxides with Cr(III)-bearing solids in soils and sediments can lead to the natural production of Cr(VI) in groundwater. Building on previous knowledge of MnO 2 as an oxidant for Cr(III)-containing solids, this study systematically evaluated the rates and mechanisms of the oxidation of Cr(III) in iron oxides by δ-MnO 2 . The Fe/Cr ratio (x = 0.055-0.23 in Cr x Fe 1-x (OH) 3 ) and pH (5-9) greatly influenced the Cr(VI) production rates by controlling the solubility of Cr(III) in iron oxides. We established a quantitative relationship between Cr(VI) production rates and Cr(III) solubility of Cr x Fe 1-x (OH) 3 , which can help predict Cr(VI) production rates at different conditions. The adsorption of Cr(VI) and Mn(II) on solids shows a typical pH dependence for anions and cations. A multichamber reactor was used to assess the role of solid-solid contact in Cr x Fe 1-x (OH) 3 -MnO 2 interactions, which eliminates the contact of the two solids while still allowing aqueous species transport across a permeable membrane. Cr(VI) production rates were much lower in multichamber than in completely mixed batch experiments, indicating that the redox interaction is accelerated by mixing of the solids. Our results suggest that soluble Cr(III) released from Cr x Fe 1-x (OH) 3 solids to aqueous solution can migrate to MnO 2 surfaces where it is oxidized.