Search

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the analgesic effect of a flurbiprofen ester injection via continuous intravenous drip during transvaginal 4-dimensional hysterosalpingography (TVS 4D-HyCoSy). Methods: Two hundred thirty patients who underwent TVS 4D-HyCoSy for infertility from May 2018 to August 2021 at our hospital were selected. The participants were grouped based on tubal patency, flurbiprofen ester use, and uterine cannula diameter, as follows: bilateral tubal patency group; non-bilateral tubal patency group; atropine group; atropine + flurbiprofen ester group; coarse tube group; and fine tube group. The analgesic effect during TVS 4D-HyCoSy and pain relief were compared between groups using visual analog scoring (NRS). Additionally, the incidence of adverse effects was recorded and factors related to the influence of pain were analyzed. Results: 1. Tubal patency reduced pain during ultrasound tubal examination, flurbiprofenate provided significant analgesia after ultrasound tubalography and reduced adverse effects (P < 0.001). 2. The tube diameter thickness had no effect on tubal ultrasonography procedure-related pain. 3. Multivariable analysis of pain relief during imaging suggested that the use of flurbiprofen for bilateral tubal patency had a significant positive effect on pain relief within 30 min after the examination with an AUC of 0.732 (95% CI: 0.665–0.798). Conclusion: A flurbiprofen ester continuous intravenous drip had a good analgesic effect in patients with TVS 4D-HyCoSy. Specifically, the pain relief effect after examination was significant and reduced the incidence of adverse reactions during the contrast examination. Flurbiprofen ester can be administered independently and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Abstract Forest plantations most likely promote exotic plant invasion. Using an in situ monitoring method, this study investigated the traits correlated with growth and reproduction of an understory invader, Phytolacca americana L., and ecological factors including understory irradiance, soil stoichiometry and microbial patterns associated with these traits in different exotic plantations of Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Pinus thunbergii Parl. at Mount Lao, Qingdao, China. We found that the traits of P. americana underneath the R. pseudoacacia stand might be situated at the fast side of the trait economic spectrum. The R. pseudoacacia stand appeared to “nurse” P. americana. Furthermore, we intended to explain the nurse effects of R. pseudoacacia stands by examining their ecological factors. First, the R. pseudoacacia stand created understory light attenuation, which matched the sciophilous feature of P. americana. Second, the soil beneath the R. pseudoacacia stand might benefit P. americana more since the soil has greater resource availability. Third, a higher microbial diversity was found in the soil derived from P. americana underneath the R. pseudoacacia stand. A greater abundance of plant pathogens was detected in the soil derived from P. americana in the R. pseudoacacia stand, while more abundant mycorrhizal fungi were detected in the P. thunbergii stand. We speculate that plant pathogens can defend P. americana from aggression from other understory competitors. The mycorrhizal fungi in the P. thunbergii stand might benefit P. americana while simultaneously benefiting other understory plants. Intensive competition from other plants might interfere with P. americana. The potential relationships between plant performance and ecological factors may explain the invasion mechanism of P. americana. The present study provides a novel insight on the facilitative effects of exotic tree plantation on an exotic herb through the modification of soil biota, with implications for the biocontrol of invasive species and forest management and conservation.

Growth balance is very important for plants, which is the coordination of resource acquisition between the aboveground and belowground parts. Extensive research has focused on the aboveground portion, and less attention has been given to the root system. Furthermore, the specific regulatory mechanisms responsible for maintaining the growth balance between aboveground and belowground in crops are still unclear. We examined the root/shoot ratio and leaf area/root length ratio in 19 pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense) and 19 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) accessions, and the effects of root traits on the growth balance were explored. The results indicated that growth balance could affect the biomass accumulation of cotton, and the root system was the core part of controlling growth balance. The difference was that the specific root length played a major role in pima cotton, while the root mass fraction was more important in upland cotton. Despite these differences, both types of cotton achieved similar resource acquisition capability through the synergistic effect of mass fraction and morphological characteristics of leaves and roots. Our study is the first to demonstrate that the root system dominates the growth balance in pima and upland cotton. Selecting accessions with similar phenotypes may represent a promising new direction for increasing the success probability of interspecific hybridization and introgression breeding. These findings expand our understanding of the resource acquisition and utilization of crops and provide a valuable perspective for ecological research and crop breeding.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OV) is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women. Growing evidence supports a key role of the tumor microenvironment in the growth, progression, and metastasis of OV. However, the prognostic effects of gene expression signatures associated with the OV microenvironment have not been well established. This study was aimed at applying the Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumor tissues using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm to identify tumor-microenvironment-associated genes that predict outcomes in patients with OV. Methods: The gene expression profiles of OV samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The immune and stromal scores of 469 OV samples on the basis of the ESTIMATE algorithm were available. To better understand the effects of gene expression signatures associated with the OV microenvironment on prognosis, we categorized these samples into groups with high and low ESTIMATE scores. A different OV cohort from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and immunohistochemistry from The Human Protein Atlas database were used for external validation. Results: The molecular subtypes of patients with OV correlated with the stromal scores, and the mesenchymal subtype had the highest stromal scores. Patients with higher stromal scores had lower 5-year overall survival; 449 differentially expressed genes in the stromal score group were identified, 26 of which were significantly associated with poor prognosis in patients with OV (p < 0.05). In another OV cohort from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, six genes were further validated to be significantly associated with poor prognosis. Immunohistochemistry data from The Human Protein Atlas database confirmed the overexpression of CX3CR1, GFPT2, NBL1, TFPI2, and ZFP36 in OV tissues compared with normal tissues. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CX3CR1, GFPT2, NBL1, TFPI2, and ZFP36 may be promising biomarkers for OV prognosis, with clinical implications for therapeutic strategies.

Abstract Nano-engineering with unique “custom function” capability has shown great potential in solving technical difficulties of nanomaterials in tumor treatment. Through tuning the size and surface properties controllablly, nanoparticles can be endoewd with tailored structure, and then the characteristic functions to improve the therapeutic effect of nanomedicines. Based on nano-engineering, many have been carried out to advance nano-engineering nanomedicine. In this review, the main research related to cancer therapy attached to the development of nanoengineering nanomedicines has been presented as follows. Firstly, therapeutic agents that target to tumor area can exert the therapeutic effect effectively. Secondly, drug resistance of tumor cells can be overcome to enhance the efficacy. Thirdly, remodeling the immunosuppressive microenvironment makes the therapeutic agents work with the autoimmune system to eliminate the primary tumor and then prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis. Finally, the development prospects of nano-engineering nanomedicine are also outlined.

Establishing wildlife corridors to link detached habitat patches is a widely advocated conservation strategy to reduce the adverse impacts of habitat fragmentation. Given the scarcity of conservation resources, designing an efficient corridor system calls for an optimization approach. The optimal configuration of a wildlife corridor system involving multiple habitat patches poses significant challenges, both methodologically and computationally. This study proposes a two-stage procedure for that purpose. In the first stage, we determine a best-quality corridor between each pair of habitat patches using the method described in Wang et al. (2022). In the second stage, we select a subset of those corridors to assemble a least-cost corridor system using a mixed integer linear programming model presented in this paper. We use an illustrative example to demonstrate the workings of the two-stage method, and then apply it to a real dataset for an area in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada, involving 1039 irregular land parcels. Results show that an efficient corridor system where each habitat patch is connected to some neighboring habitat patches through a specified minimum number of corridors can be identified conveniently in terms of both data processing and computational effort.

Abstract Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have been regarded as promising next‐generation energy‐storage devices owing to their inherently high theoretical energy density. Unfortunately, the poor capacity and cycling life caused by severe polysulfide shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics in sulfur cathodes greatly impede the practical application of Li–S batteries. Herein, a new class of nanonetwork‐structured carbon decorated with oxygen‐vacancy‐containing cerium oxide nanoparticles (NSC–CeO2−x), in which carbon skeleton is composed of highly conductive carbon nanotube core welded by hybrid carbon shell, has been developed via one‐step heating treatment of hybrid molecular brush and further employed as functional interlayer to modify separator of Li–S battery. Owing to the synergistic effect of the highly active CeO2−x nanoparticles and the three‐dimensional carbon nanonetwork in enhancing the preservation of the soluble polysulfides and boosting the redox kinetics of sulfur species, the NSC–CeO2−x significantly promotes the electrochemical performance of sulfur cathode. As a result, the as‐constructed Li–S batteries exhibit an ultrahigh initial sulfur utilization of 92.9% and an extremely large capacity of 751 mA h g−1 at a high rate of 5 C. Remarkably, a stable capacity of 728 mA h g−1 over 300 cycles at 1 C is also achieved.

Precise individual tree or sample-based inventories derived from 3D point cloud data of mobile laser scanning can improve our comprehensive understanding of the structure, function, resilience, biodiversity, and ecosystem services of urban forests. This study assessed the performance of a handheld laser scanning system (HLS) for the extraction of tree position, diameter at breast height (DBH), and tree height (H) in an urban area. A total of 2083 trees of 13 species from 34 plots were analyzed. The results showed that the registration of tree positions using ground control points (GCPs) demonstrated high accuracy, with errors consistently below 0.4 m, except for a few instances. The extraction accuracy of DBH for all trees and individual species remained consistently high, with a total root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.06 cm (6.89%) and a bias of 0.62 cm (2.07%). Notably, broad-leaved trees outperformed coniferous trees, with RMSE and bias values of 1.86 cm (6%) and 0.76 cm (2.46%), respectively, compared to 2.54 cm (9.46%) and 0.23 cm (0.84%), respectively. The accuracy of H extraction varied significantly among different species, with R2 values ranging from 0.65 to 0.92. Generally, both DBH and H were underestimated compared to ground measurements. Linear mixed-effects models (LMEs) were applied to evaluate factors affecting the performance of HLS with the plot as a random factor. LME analysis revealed that plant type and terrain significantly influenced the accuracy of DBH and H derived from HLS data, while other fixed factors such as plot area, tree density, and trajectory length showed no significance. With a large sample size, we concluded that the HLS demonstrated sufficient accuracy in extracting individual tree parameters in urban forests.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the association of altered cortical thickness and functional connectivity (FC) with depression in Parkinson’s disease (PD).Materials and methodsA total of 26 non-depressed PD patients (PD-ND), 30 PD patients with minor depression (PD-MnD), 32 PD patients with major depression (PD-MDD), and 30 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Differences in cortical thickness among the four groups were assessed, and the results were used to analyze FC differences in regions of cortical atrophy. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were also performed to identify clinical features and neuroimaging biomarkers that might help in the prediction of PD-MDD.ResultsPatients with PD-MDD showed decreased cortical thickness compared to patients with PD-ND in the left superior temporal and right rostral middle frontal gyri (RMFG), as well as weak FC between the left superior temporal gyrus and right cerebellum posterior lobe and between right RMFG and right inferior frontal gyrus and insula. The combination of cortical thickness, FC, and basic clinical features showed strong potential for predicting PD-MDD based on the area under the ROC curve (0.927, 95% CI 0.854–0.999, p < 0.001).ConclusionPatients with PD-MDD show extensive cortical atrophy and FC alterations, suggesting that cortical thickness and FC may be neuroimaging-based diagnostic biomarkers for PD-MDD.

With the rapid development of society and economy, enterprises have also started digital transformation in order to follow the pace. Now-a-days, the development of enterprises is also faced with the risk of improper management of enterprise information security, so it is very necessary to study the networked organizational structure of enterprise information security management. The purpose of this paper is to study how to analyze the network organization structure of enterprise information security management based on genetic algorithm. This paper puts forward the difficult problems faced by enterprise information security, and how to prevent and solve the risks encountered in information security. In the experimental part of this paper, it can be seen that with the increase of the number of experiments, the work efficiency of the traditional network organization structure has increased from about 4.6 to about 17%. The work efficiency of the network organization structure based on genetic algorithm has risen from about 10 to about 50%. It shows that the work efficiency of the network organization structure based on genetic algorithm is much higher than that of the traditional network organization structure. It can be seen that the advantage percentage of enterprise information security management networked organizational structure with strong room for growth is 79–84%, and the percentage of cost savings is 75–82%. It can be seen that there are still many advantages of the networked organizational structure of enterprise information security management. The network organization structure based on genetic algorithm can not only improve the work efficiency of enterprises, but also improve the information security. Therefore, the network organization structure based on genetic algorithm is of great significance to the enterprise information security.

Fusarium is one of the most important phytopathogenic and mycotoxigenic fungi that caused huge losses worldwide due to the decline of crop yield and quality. To systematically investigate the infections of Fusarium species in ear rot of maize in the Guizhou Province of China and analyze its population structure, 175 samples of rotted maize ears from 76 counties were tested by combining immunoassays and molecular identification. Immunoassay based on single-chain variable fragment (scFv) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) fusion protein was first employed to analyze these samples. Fusarium pathogens were isolated and purified from Fusarium-infected samples. Molecular identification was performed using the partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1α (TEF-1α) sequences. Specific primers were used to detect toxigenic chemotypes, and verification was performed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). One-hundred and sixty three samples were characterized to be positive, and the infection rate was 93.14%. Sixteen species of Fusarium belonging to six species complexes were detected and Fusarium meridionale belonging to the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) was the dominant species. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identification illustrated that 69 isolates (56.10%) were potential mycotoxin-producing Fusarium pathogens. The key synthetic genes of NIV, NIV + ZEN, DON + ZEN, and FBs were detected in 3, 35, 7, and 24 isolates, respectively. A total of 86.11% of F. meridionale isolates carried both NIV- and ZEN-specific segments, while Fusarium verticillioides isolates mainly represented FBs chemotype. All the isolates carrying DON-producing fragments were FGSC. These results showed that there are different degrees of Fusarium infections in Guizhou Province and their species and toxigenic genotypes display regional distribution patterns. Therefore, scFv-AP fusion-based immunoassays could be conducted to efficiently investigate Fusarium infections and more attention and measures should be taken for mycotoxin contamination in this region.

Spatial variation of soil pH is important for the evaluation of environmental quality. A reasonable number of sampling points has an important meaning for accurate quantitative expression on spatial distribution of soil pH and resource savings. Based on the grid distribution point method, 908, 797, 700, 594, 499, 398, 299, 200, 149, 100, 75 and 50 sampling points, which were randomly selected from 908 sampling points, constituted 12 sample sets. Semi-variance structure analysis was carried out for different point sets, and ordinary Kriging was used for spatial prediction and accuracy verification, and the influence of different sampling points on spatial variation of soil pH was discussed. The results show that the pH value in Kenli County (China) was generally between 7.8 and 8.1, and the soil was alkaline. Semi-variance models fitted by different point sets could reflect the spatial structure characteristics of soil pH with accuracy. With a decrease in the number of sampling points, the Sill value of sample set increased, and the spatial autocorrelation gradually weakened. Considering the prediction accuracy, spatial distribution and investigation cost, a number of sampling points greater than or equal to 150 could satisfy the spatial variation expression of soil pH at the county level in the Yellow River Delta. This is equivalent to taking at least 107 sampling points per 1000 km2. The results in this study are applicable to areas with similar environmental and soil conditions as the Yellow River Delta, and have reference significance for these areas.

Points of interest (POIs) are closely related to urbanization and human mobilities, and would consequently affect the spatial distribution of urban forest and its species diversity. However, the issue on what the relationships between POIs and urbanization, and how do POIs affect urban forest was rarely mentioned in previous studies. In our research, a total of 82,978 POI records (reclassed to 7 categories of catering and restaurants, commercial areas, educational and institutional areas, public services, residential areas, scenic spots and shopping areas) were collected to analyze their influence on woody plant diversity and urban forest landscape metrics according to a distance gradient using field measurements of diversity and imagery delineated urban forest patches. The results revealed that the urbanization intensity (computed as impervious surface area proportion) was linearly decreased with the increase of distance from POIs except for scenic spots. When it close to POIs, the woody plant species richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness gradually increased, whereas the Simpson’s diversity decreased. Meanwhile, the urban forest patches delineated from fine-resolution images got smaller, less shape complexity and fragmented with mean patch area (AREA_MN), area-weighted mean shape index (SHAPE_AM) and area-weighted mean contiguity index (CONTIG_AM) decreased and patch density (PD) increased. This study can improve our understanding on the diversity, distribution of urban forest and its relationship with human activities, and guide us in urban forest planning and management.

Spatial scale is an eternal topic in landscape pattern related analysis. This paper examined the spatial scale effect of landscape pattern changes and their relationships with urbanization indicators in Qingdao using a series of sampling blocks. The results indicated that, with the increasing block scale, the mean patch density and aggregation within a block decreased, whereas the diversity increased. Furthermore, the expanding scale amplified the mean change ratio of landscape metrics and eliminated local drastic changes and regional variation trends along an urban-to-rural gradient, which would be obvious at a finer block scale. Meanwhile, the adjusted R2 of GWR (Geographically Weighted Regression) models increased with an increasing block size, especially when the block scale changed from 1 km to 5 km. Odd-numbered block scales performed better than even-numbered block scales.

In this work, a sulfidization mechanism of malachite was confirmed based on the depth profile product, principal component, and depth profile curve analyses of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). The results showed that Cu/S species, including fragment ion peaks of Cu2S+, Cu3S+, S−, HS−, S2−, CuS2−, and CuS3−, were present in the inner layers of sulfidized malachite in the positive and negative spectral ranges 75–400 and 30–470 m/z. Na2S reacted with the surface and inner atoms, causing simultaneous sulfidization of malachite on the surface and in the inner layers. The inner layer mainly contained positive fragment ions with large Cu/S ratios. In summary, the interlayer sulfidization phenomenon was confirmed and the differences in sulfidization products between the surface and inner layers were determined.

In this work, the active sites and species involved in xanthate adsorption on sphalerite/marmatite surfaces were studied using adsorption capacity measurements, single mineral flotation, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analysis. The effects of Fe concentration on the xanthate adsorption capacity, Cu activation, and the flotation response of sphalerite/marmatite were determined. A discovery was that xanthate can interact with Fe atoms in the crystal of sphalerite/marmatite, as well as with Zn and Cu on the surface. We detected C2S2− fragment ions from dixanthogen, and dixanthogen may have been adsorbed on the surface of marmatite. The amounts of Cu and copper xanthate adsorbed on the marmatite surface were lower than those on the sphalerite surface, because Fe occupies Cu and Zn exchange sites. These results help to address the long-standing controversy regarding the products and mechanisms of xanthate adsorption on Fe-bearing sphalerite surfaces.

Zinc is mostly extracted from oxidized zinc and zinc sulfide minerals, and this process involves flotation as a key step. While it is easier to float the sulfide mineral, its consumption and depletion has led to an increased reliance on oxidized zinc minerals, including smithsonite. Hence, the development of efficient ways of collecting smithsonite by flotation is an important objective. Herein, we describe the use of 2-(hexadecanoylamino)acetic acid (HAA), a novel surfactant, as a collector during smithsonite flotation. The mechanism and flotation performance of HAA during smithsonite flotation was investigated by total organic carbon (TOC) content studies, zeta potential measurements, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses, combined with microflotation experiments. The flotation results revealed that HAA was an excellent collector in pulp over a wide pH range (9–12) and at a relatively low concentration (2 × 10−4 mol/L), at which a recovery of close to 90% of the smithsonite mineral was obtained. TOC content studies revealed that the good flotation recovery was ascribable to large amounts of collector molecule adsorbed on the smithsonite surface, while zeta potential measurements showed that the HAA was chemically adsorbed onto the smithsonite. FTIR and XPS analyses revealed that the HAA collector molecules adsorbed onto the smithsonite surface as zinc–HAA complexes involving carboxylate moieties and Zn sites on the smithsonite surface in alkaline solution.

Hermetia illucens (HI) meal is a promising substitute for fish meal (FM) in the feeds of farmed fish. However, the impacts of dietary HI meal on largemouth bass (LMB) remain unknown. In this study, we formulated three isonitrogenous and isolipid diets with 0% (HI0, control), 20% (HI20) and 40% (HI40) of FM substituted by HI meal. A total of 270 juvenile largemouth bass with an initial body weight of 10.02 ± 0.03 g were used (30 fish per tank). After an 80-day feeding trial, the fish fed with the HI40 diet demonstrated decreased growth performance and protein efficiency ratio (PER), and increased liver oxidative indices and lipid accumulation compared to the control (P

This study aimed to explore the effects of three medicinal plant (Perilla frutescens, Illicium verum, and Artemisia annua) extracts on growth, immune function and microflora of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Four isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated: basic feed (control, CON), 0.075% extracts of Perilla frutescens (PFE), Illicium verum (IVE), or Artemisia annua (AAE) feed. Apparently healthy fish (initial body weight of 8.20 ± 0.03 g; total number of 300) were randomly assigned into four groups in triplicate 25 fish tanks, and fish were fed with each of the four experiment feeds for 80 days. Compared with the CON group, groups IVE and AAE fish significantly improved growth performance (final weight, weight gain rate, and specific growth rates; P < 0.05) and decreased hepatic lipid content and hepatopancreas somatic index. Groups IVE and AAE significantly enhanced the hepatic antioxidant capacity (Catalase, Glutathione peroxidase dismutase, and Superoxide dismutase), and up-regulated the mRNA levels of hepatic tight junction protein (Occluding-1 and Claudin-1; P < 0.05) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β; P < 0.05). In addition, groups IVE and AAE decreased the transaminase activity and the contents of D-lactic acid in serum (P < 0.05). Groups PFE and AAE significantly improved albumin and globulin contents in serum immunity (P < 0.05). In addition, IVE and AAE groups significantly increased the α-diversity of intestinal flora, reduced the abundance of underlying harmful bacteria (Plesiomonas and Aeromonas), and increased the abundance of probiotics bacteria (Lactobacillus and Weissella; P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that supplementation of feed with IVE and AAE can improve the immune function and change the abundance of intestinal flora, ultimately increasing growth of largemouth bass. Overall, PFE group did not perform well compare with the IVE and AAE groups.