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The nucleation mechanism for the ternary cluster of hydrated sulfuric acid with ammonia or alkyl-amines is one of the unsettled questions in atmospheric chemistry. The effects of hydration are not be neglected during nucleation. We have investigated the clusters of [(CH)mNH]∙(HSO)∙(HO) with m=0-3 and n=0-14 by molecular dynamics simulation and quantum chemistry. 60 stable conformations were obtained by four different proton-transfer manners at the lever of CAM-B3LYP/6-311G(d,p). Three apparent transitions appeared during non-protonation to single protonation to double protonation with the increasing water. According to binding energy and Gibbs free energy by MP2/6-311++G(d,p), we can conclude that the ability of protonation was related to the alkalinities of ammonia and alkyl-amines in the absence of water. By adding water to enlarge clusters, the dimethylamine was the most favorable to the nucleation due to thermodynamic properties. According to the conformation of clusters, the hydrogen bond was the main interaction during the formation and growth of clusters. When the number of water reached to 5(ammonia), 4(methylamine), 3(dimethylamine), and 4(trimethylamine), the H-bond network began to generate, which indicated the ion-induced interaction between water and HSO/SO can promote the formations of solvent ion-pair and tri-ions isomers beneficially.

Increasing evidence suggests that transmembrane protein 16A (TMEM16A) in nociceptive neurons is an important molecular component contributing to peripheral pain transduction. The present study aimed to evaluate the role and mechanism of TMEM16A in chronic nociceptive responses elicited by spared nerve injury (SNI). In this study, SNI was used to induce neuropathic pain. Drugs were administered intrathecally. The expression and cellular localization of TMEM16A, the ERK pathway, and NK-1 in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were detected by western blot and immunofluorescence. Behavioral tests were used to evaluate the role of TMEM16A and p-ERK in SNI-induced persistent pain and hypersensitivity. The role of TMEM16A in the hyperexcitability of primary nociceptor neurons was assessed by electrophysiological recording. The results show that TMEM16A, p-ERK, and NK-1 are predominantly expressed in small neurons associated with nociceptive sensation. TMEM16A is colocalized with p-ERK/NK-1 in DRG. TMEM16A, the MEK/ERK pathway, and NK-1 are activated in DRG after SNI. ERK inhibitor or TMEM16A antagonist prevents SNI-induced allodynia. ERK and NK-1 are downstream of TMEM16A activation. Electrophysiological recording showed that CaCC current increases and intrathecal application of T16Ainh-A01, a selective TMEM16A inhibitor, reverses the hyperexcitability of DRG neurons harvested from rats after SNI. We conclude that TMEM16A activation in DRG leads to a positive interaction of the ERK pathway with activation of NK-1 production and is involved in the development of neuropathic pain after SNI. Also, the blockade of TMEM16A or inhibition of the downstream ERK pathway or NK-1 upregulation may prevent the development of neuropathic pain. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12035-021-02520-9.

Purpose Anxiety and pain commonly occur during nerve block, we aimed to investigate the sedation efficacy of different doses of remimazolam with sufentanil in young and elderly patients. Methods In this randomized trial, patients aged 18–85 years who underwent nerve block was enrolled. All patients received sufentanil 0.08 μg/kg for analgesia. Young patients (age Results Ninety young and 114 elderly patients were enrolled, respectively. In comparison with Groups C and M, young patients in Group H had the highest success rate of procedure sedation (80.0 vs. 73.3 vs. 43.3%, P = 0.006). Elderly patients in Groups M and L had similar success rates of procedure sedation, which were significantly higher than that in Group C (78.9 vs. 78.9 vs. 50.0%, P = 0.007). In elderly patients, the incidence of respiratory depression and hypoxia tended to be higher in Group M than those in Groups L and C (both P Conclusion Remimazolam 0.08 mg/kg provided the best sedation efficacy in young patients while remimazolam 0.04 mg/kg with the trend of less respiratory adverse events was more optimal for elderly patients. Trial registration http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=122016.

Background Regional anesthesia and analgesia reduce the stress response to surgery and decrease the need for volatile anesthesia and opioids, thereby preserving cancer-specific immune defenses. This study therefore tested the primary hypothesis that combining epidural anesthesia–analgesia with general anesthesia improves recurrence-free survival after lung cancer surgery. Methods Adults scheduled for video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer resections were randomized 1:1 to general anesthesia and intravenous opioid analgesia or combined epidural–general anesthesia and epidural analgesia. The primary outcome was recurrence-free survival (time from surgery to the earliest date of recurrence/metastasis or all-cause death). Secondary outcomes included overall survival (time from surgery to all-cause death) and cancer-specific survival (time from surgery to cancer-specific death). Long-term outcome assessors were blinded to treatment. Results Between May 2015 and November 2017, 400 patients were enrolled and randomized to general anesthesia alone (n = 200) or combined epidural–general anesthesia (n = 200). All were included in the analysis. The median follow-up duration was 32 months (interquartile range, 24 to 48). Recurrence-free survival was similar in each group, with 54 events (27%) with general anesthesia alone versus 48 events (24%) with combined epidural–general anesthesia (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.60 to 1.35; P = 0.608). Overall survival was also similar with 25 events (13%) versus 31 (16%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.96; P = 0.697). There was also no significant difference in cancer-specific survival with 24 events (12%) versus 29 (15%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.91; P = 0.802). Patients assigned to combined epidural–general had more intraoperative hypotension: 94 patients (47%) versus 121 (61%; relative risk, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.55; P = 0.007). Conclusions Epidural anesthesia–analgesia for major lung cancer surgery did not improve recurrence-free, overall, or cancer-specific survival compared with general anesthesia alone, although the CI included both substantial benefit and harm. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

BACKGROUND Moderate-to-severe pain exists in the early postoperative period after laparoscopic renal surgery. OBJECTIVE We investigated the analgesic effect of quadratus lumborum block (QLB) via two approaches in patients undergoing laparoscopic renal nephrectomy. DESIGN A randomised controlled trial. SETTING An academic tertiary care hospital in Beijing, China. PARTICIPANTS Ninety-six patients aged 18 to 70 years who were scheduled for elective laparoscopic radical or partial nephrectomy. INTERVENTIONS Eligible patients were allocated randomly to a control group (no block), lateral QLB group or posterior QLB group. Ultrasound-guided QLB was performed via either the lateral or posterior approach with 30 ml of 0.4% ropivacaine before surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was sufentanil equivalent consumption within 24 h. Among secondary outcomes, somatic and visceral pain intensity at rest and on coughing were assessed with a numerical rating scale (where 0 = no pain and 10 = the worst pain) until 24 h postoperatively. RESULTS Sufentanil equivalent consumption did not differ among the three groups (118 ± 36 μg in the control group, 115 ± 47 μg in the lateral QLB group and 119 ± 40 μg in the posterior QLB group; P = 0.955). However, both somatic (lateral QLB vs. control, median difference -1, P

BACKGROUND: Using the non-intubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) approach for small pulmonary nodules (SPNs) can accelerate patients’ postoperative recovery. However, locating the SPNs intraoperatively by palpation can be difficult for thoracic surgeons. The advantages of using different preoperative positioning materials are different, especially for pulmonary-nodule-location-needle (P-N-L-N) and the microcoil. This retrospective study analyzed the advantages of two preoperative positioning techniques for VATS under non-intubation anesthesia. METHODS: The data were collected for a total of 150 patients with pulmonary nodules who underwent non-intubated VATS at the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province from January 2018 to January 2021. The patients were divided into a preoperative positioning group (including a P-N-L-N group and microcoil group) and an unlocalized group. These included patients were all compliant with surgical guidelines and were suitable for preoperative localization. Their intraoperative and postoperative indicators were compared, and among these indicators, the operative time, number of postoperative drainage days, postoperative total drainage volume, postoperative discharge time was efficacy group and the intraoperative blood loss was safety group. RESULTS: Preoperative localization helped surgeons to explore nodules faster intraoperatively and remove SPNs precisely under non-intubated VATS. But the advantages of using different preoperative positioning materials are different. Positioning with either microcoil or P-N-L-N resulted in less operation time (P-N-L-N group: 94.90±28.42 min, microcoil group: 112.80±28.6 min, P

The microhardness curve trend and its relationships with microstructure and misorientation were analyzed to enhance the comprehension of the microstructure and mechanical property of micro-areas in Ti6Al4V laser-welded joints with different welding speeds. The microhardness measured on the fusion line (Hm) is the highest from the weld center to the base metal. Hm increases with increasing weld width in a welded joint and increasing degree of the non-uniformity in all studied welded joints. The microhardness decreases from the weld metal to the base metal with decreasing amount of martensite α’ and increasing amount of original α phase. When the microstructure is mainly composed of martensite α’, the microhardness changes with the cooling rate, grain size of the martensite, and peak values of the fraction of misorientation angle of the martensite in a wide weld metal zone or weld center at different welding speeds, whereas the difference is small in a narrow weld metal zone.

Potato resistant starch (RS) was prepared by microwave-toughening treatment (MTT). This study investigated the beneficial effects of RS on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemia in C57BL/6J mice by evaluating changes in the gut microbiota. The mice were fed low-fat diet with corn starch, HFD with corn starch, HFD with potato starch (HFP), or HFD with RS (HFR) for 6 weeks. The results showed that the HFR group had lower body weight and total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared with the HFP group. Moreover, the brown adipose tissue levels of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1), β3-adrenoceptor (β3-AR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), and PPAR-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) were increased. Our results showed that RS supplementation increased the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio and the abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing Allobaculum, Ruminococcus, and Blautia. Our data suggest that RS prepared by MTT may be used as a prebiotic agent to prevent gut dysbiosis and obesity-related chronic diseases, such as hyperlipidemia, and obesity.

Thoracic aortic aneurysm/dissection (TAAD) is a life-threatening disease with diverse clinical manifestations. Although the association between methamphetamine (METH) and TAAD is frequently observed, the causal relationship between METH abuse and aortic aneurysm/dissection has not been established. This study was designed to determine if METH causes aortic aneurysm/dissection and delineate the underlying mechanism.A new TAAD model was developed by exposing METH to SD rats pre-treated with lysyl oxidase inhibitor β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN). Combination of METH and BAPN caused thoracic aortic aneurysm/dissection in 60% of rats. BAPN+METH significantly increased the expression and activities of both matrix metalloproteinase MMP2 and MMP9, consistent with the severe elastin breakage and dissection. Mechanistically, METH increased CCAAT-enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) expression by enhancing mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (Smad3) and extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2) signaling. METH also promoted C/EBPβ binding to MMP2 and MMP9 promoters. Blocking C/EBPβ significantly attenuated METH+BAPN-induced TAAD and MMP2/MMP9 expression. Moreover, BAPN+METH promoted aortic medial smooth muscle cell (SMC) apoptosis through C/EBPβ-mediated IGFBP5/p53/PUMA signaling pathways. More importantly, the expression of C/EBPβ, MMP2/MMP9, and apoptosis-promoting proteins was increased in the aorta of human patients with thoracic aortic dissection, suggesting that the mechanisms identified in animal study could be relevant to human disease.Our study demonstrated that METH exposure has a casual effect on TAAD. C/EBPβ mediates METH-introduced TAAD formation by causing elastin breakage, medial cell loss and degeneration. Therefore, C/EBPβ may be a potential factor for TAAD clinical diagnosis or treatment.

Introduction Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a novel inter-fascial plane block, which is applied more and more in postoperative pain control, especially in chest surgery. Regional block is advocated in order to decrease opioid consumption and improve analgesia in urological surgery. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether ESPB would have similar analgesia compared with thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) in laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. Methods and analysis This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, non-inferiority trial will enroll 166 patients undergoing laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. Participants will be randomly assigned 1:1 into receiving ESPB or TPVB before surgery. Both ultrasound-guided ESPB and TPVB will be performed with an injection of 0.375% ropivacaine 0.4 ml/kg before anesthesia induction. Standardized patients controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) will be applied for each patient. The primary endpoint is the joint of cumulative 24 h opioid (sufentanil) consumption and average pain score via numeric rating scale (NRS) at 24 h after surgery. Secondary endpoints include rescued analgesic demand, cumulative opioid consumption, and pain NRS scores at different preset timepoints within 48 h after surgery. Other predefined outcomes include clinical features of blockage, quality of recovery, subjective sleep quality, time to ambulation and diet, and adverse events, as well as length of stay in hospital and anesthesia cost. Discussion Previous studies investigating the analgesic efficacy of ESPB only concentrated on a single endpoint for postoperative pain evaluation, while studies focusing on the direct comparison between ESPB and TPVB in urological surgery are still lacking. Our study is the first trial in non-inferiority design of comparing ESPB and TPVB in patient undergoing laparoscopic nephroureterectomy, and the primary outcome is the joint endpoint of opioid consumption and pain NRS score. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR 2000031916. Registered on 14 April 2020.

Scope The availability of studies related to the effects of natural macronutrients on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain relatively limited. This study investigates whether and to what extent the consumption of five different native starches alleviate the clinical symptoms and dysbiosis of gut microbiota associated with colitis. Methods and results Using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced mouse model of colitis, the potential effects of native potato starch (PS), pea starch (PEAS), corn starch (CS), Chinese yam starch (CYS), and red sorghum starch (RSS) on the clinical manifestations and dysbiosis of gut microbiota are studied. Compared to CS and RSS, the consumption of PEAS, PS, and CYS significantly diminishes clinical enteritis symptoms, including reduced disease activity index, and the alleviated degree of colonic histological damage. Furthermore, the analysis of gut microbiota reveals the significant prebiotic characteristics of PEAS, PS and CYS, as indicated by the maintenance of gut microbiota hemostasis and the inhibition of typically pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Helicobacter hepaticus. Conclusion Starches from potato, pea, and Chinese yam alleviate colitis symptoms in a mouse model, and also show significant prebiotic characteristics. These findings suggest a cost-effective and convenient dietary strategy for the management of IBD.

BackgroundThe incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) remains high after partial nephrectomy. Ischemia-reperfusion injury produced by renal hilum clamping during surgery might have contributed to the development of AKI. In this study we tested the hypothesis that goal-directed fluid and blood pressure management may reduce AKI in patients following partial nephrectomy.MethodsThis was a pilot randomized controlled trial. Adult patients who were scheduled to undergo partial nephrectomy were randomized into two groups. In the intervention group, goal-directed hemodynamic management was performed from renal hilum clamping until end of surgery; the target was to maintain stroke volume variation 2and mean arterial pressure > 95 mmHg with crystalloid fluids and infusion of dobutamine and/or norepinephrine. In the control group, hemodynamic management was performed according to routine practice. The primary outcome was the incidence of AKI within the first 3 postoperative days.ResultsFrom June 2016 to January 2017, 144 patients were enrolled and randomized (intervention group,n = 72; control group, n = 72). AKI developed in 12.5% of patients in the intervention group and in 20.8% of patients in the control group; the relative reduction of AKI was 39.9% in the intervention group but the difference was not statistically significant (relative risk 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28–1.28;P = 0.180). No significant differences were found regarding AKI classification, change of estimated glomerular filtration rate over time, incidence of postoperative 30-day complications, postoperative length of hospital stay, as well as 30-day and 6-month mortality between the two groups.ConclusionFor patients undergoing partial nephrectomy, goal-directed circulatory management during surgery reduced postoperative AKI by about 40%, although not significantly so. The trial was underpowered. Large sample size randomized trials are needed to confirm our results.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier:NCT02803372. Date of registration: June 6, 2016.

Introduction: Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a novel inter-fascial plane block, which is applied more and more in postoperative pain control, especially in chest surgery. Attention is increasingly paid to its premium analgesia in urological surgery. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether ESPB would have similar analgesia compared with thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) in laparoscopic nephroureterectomy surgery.Methods and analysis: This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, non-inferiority trial will enroll 166 patients undergoing laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. Participants will be randomly assigned 1:1 into receiving ESPB or TPVB before surgery. Both ultrasound-guided ESPB or TPVB will be performed with an injection of 0.375% ropivacaine 0.4ml/kg before anesthesia induction. Standardized patients controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) will be applied for each patient. The primary endpoint is the joint of cumulative 24h opioid (sufentanil) consumption and average pain score via numeric rating scale (NRS) at 24th h after surgery. Secondary endpoints include rescued analgesic demand, cumulative opioid consumption and pain NRS scores at different preset timepoint within 48h after surgery. Other predefined outcomes include clinical features of blockage, quality of recovery, subjective sleep quality, time to ambulation and flatus, and adverse events, as well as length of stay in hospital and anesthesia cost. Discussion: Previous studies investigating the analgesic efficacy of ESPB only concentrated on a single endpoint for postoperative pain evaluation, while studies focusing on the direct comparation between ESPB and TPVB in urological surgery is still lacking. Our study is the first trial in non-inferiority design of comparing ESPB and TPVB in patient undergoing laparoscopic nephroureterectomy surgery, and the primary outcome is the joint endpoint of opioid consumption and pain NRS score.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR 2000031916. Registered on 14 April 2020. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=50782

To the Editor Having read carefully the original article by Swisher et al on the analgesic effectiveness of erector spinae plane block compared with paravertebral block in breast surgery,[1][1] we make few comments regarding (1) the study design, (2) the time point of pain assessment and (3) the

In this study, a trigon-based numerical manifold method is developed to study the mechanical properties, including the crack propagation and coalescence process as well as peak compressive line loads of the pre-cracked Brazilian disks. An assemblage of trigon loops is adopted to approximate the microstructure of the rock-like specimens, based on which a modified cohesive contact model considering cohesion and tensile strength is used to interpret the fracturing behaviors of the cemented interfaces as well as the interactions between the initiated cracks. Firstly, numerical uniaxial compression test is carried out to calibrate the micro-mechanical parameters of the model. With the calibrated parameters, a series of numerical Brazilian splitting tests are conducted on the pre-crack disks including both single-cracked and double-cracked disks with varying crack inclination angles. Comparisons between the numerical simulations and laboratory results indicate that the mechanical behaviors of the pre-cracked specimens can be well predicted by the trigon-based NMM models.

Our hypothesis was that a pre-operative posteromedial quadratus lumborum (QL) block would reduce postoperative morphine consumption and provide superior analgesia in the setting of multimodal analgesia compared with a lateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block for laparoscopic colorectal surgery.A randomized controlled study.A single tertiary hospital. March to August 2018.80 ASA I-II colorectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic radical resection were enrolled. 77 patients (group QL 38, group TAP 39) were included in the analysis.Pre-operatively, patients were randomized to receive either a QL or TAP block (0.375% ropivacaine 20 ml bilaterally for each group).The primary outcome was cumulative morphine consumption 24 h postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain scores, clinical recovery, and side-effect profiles of the blocks.For the primary outcome measure, morphine consumption 24 h postoperatively was significantly lower in the QL group than in the TAP group (estimated median difference -8 mg, adjusted 95% confidential interval -12 to -6 mg, P 0.001). The pain visual analogue scores at rest and during movement were found to be statistically significantly lower in the QL group than in the TAP group 8, 12, and 24 h postoperatively (P 0.006). The QL group reported higher overall satisfaction scores regarding postoperative analgesia than the TAP group (P = 0.014). One patient in the QL group experienced moderate back pain close to the needle entry site postoperatively. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative nausea and vomiting, bowel recovery or length of hospital stay between the groups.The pre-operative bilateral, ultrasound-guided posteromedial QL block reduces morphine consumption and improves analgesia in the setting of multimodal analgesia compared with the lateral TAP block after laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Background Ultrasound-guided lateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block can provide definite analgesia to the anterior abdominal wall. However, whether this method is useful in renal surgery through the lateral abdominal wall pathway remains unknown. The study aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of lateral TAP block for retroperitoneoscopic partial or radical nephrectomy. Method In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, eligible patients were randomized into two groups. After anaesthesia induction, ultrasound-guided lateral TAP block was performed with either 30 ml of 0.4% ropivacaine (Group T) or an equivalent volume of normal saline (Group C). The primary outcomes were opioid consumption during surgery and in the first 24 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included postsurgical pain intensity immediately awakening from anaesthesia and at 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 h after surgery, as well as recovery variables including the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), sleep quality, time to first ambulation, drainage and length of hospital stay. Results A total of 104 patients were enrolled and randomized (53 in Group T and 51 in Group C). Laparoscopic surgery was converted to open surgery in one patient of Group T; this patient was excluded from the outcome analysis. The opioid consumption during surgery (intravenous morphine equivalent dose: median 35.0 mg [interquartile range 18.0, 49.6] in Group C vs. 40.3 mg [20.9, 59.0] in Group T, P = 0.281) and in the first 24 h after surgery (10.8 mg [7.8, 21.7] in Group C vs. 13.2 mg [8.0, 26.6] in Group T, P = 0.311) did not differ significantly between groups. There were no significant differences between groups regarding the pain intensity at all time points after surgery and the recovery variables (all P > 0.05). Conclusions Our results showed that, in patients undergoing retroperitoneoscopic renal surgery, preoperative lateral TAP did not decrease intra- and postoperative opioid consumption, nor did it relieve pain intensity or promote postoperative recovery in the first 24 h after surgery. However, the trial might be underpowered. Trial registration This study was registered on November 4, 2017, in the Chinese Clinical Trail Registry with the identification number ChiCTR-INR-17013244.

A novel amidase (TAM) was identified and cloned from the genome of Thauera sinica K11. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by one-step affinity chromatography for up to 26.4-fold with a yield of 38.1%. Gel filtration chromatography and SDS-PAGE revealed that the enzyme was a tetramer with a subunit of approximately 37.5 kDa. The amidase exhibited the maximum acyl transfer activity at 45 °C and pH 7.0, and it was highly stable over a wide pH range of 6.0–11.0. Inhibition of enzyme activity was observed in the presence of metal ions, thiol reagents and organic solvents. TAM showed a broad substrate spectrum toward aliphatic, aromatic and heterocyclic amides. For linear aliphatic monoamides, the acyl transfer activity of TAM was decreased with the extension of the carbon chain length, and thus the highest activity of 228.2 U/mg was obtained when formamide was used as substrate. This distinct selectivity of amidase to linear aliphatic monoamides expanded the findings of signature amidases to substrate specificity.

A Gram-stain negative, aerobic, motile, short rod-shaped bacterium, designated as B2.3T, was isolated from coal bed water collected from Jincheng, Shanxi Province, China. The strain was able to grow at 10–40 °C (optimum 28–30 °C), pH 4.0–10.0 (optimum 7.0), and in the presence of 0–5.0% NaCl (optimum 3.0%, w/v). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA and concatenated housekeeping gene recA, atpD and glnA sequences showed strain B2.3T belongs to the genus Mesorhizobium, with Mesorhizobium oceanicum B7T as the closely related type strain. Strain B2.3T exhibited ANI value of 77.5% and GGDC value of 21.5% to M. oceanicum B7T. The major fatty acids were identified as summed feature 8 (C18:1ω7c and/or C18:1ω6c) and 11-methyl C18:1ω7c. The major polar lipids were found to consist of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and an unidentified aminophospholipid. The predominant ubiquinone was identified as Quinone 10. Phenotypic and biochemical analysis results indicated that strain B2.3T can be distinguished from closely related type strains. On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain B2.3T is concluded to represent a novel species in the genus Mesorhizobium, for which the name Mesorhizobium carbonis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B2.3T (=CGMCC 1.15730T = KCTC 52461T).

The role of the nucleation of sulfuric acid with amines in aerosol formation and its implications for environment is one of the fundamental unsettled questions in atmospheric chemistry. We have investigated the cluster of [(CH3)3N]·(H2SO4)·(H2O)n (n = 3–7) by molecular dynamics to obtain configurational sampling combination with CAM-B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level to locate the global and many local minima for each cluster size. According to the binding energies at the method of MP2/6-311++G(d,p), the total binding energies decrease with the increasing of the water molecules. For each global minimum, the average binding energies decrease from n = 3 to 4, then increase slowly. The protons of H2SO4 are preferred to transfer to the (CH3)3N to form ion-pair HSO4(–) and (CH3)3NH(+), and the (CH3)3NH(+) ions are coordinated at the first hydrated shell of HSO4(–) when n is between 3 and 5 and coordinated at the second or third hydrated shell when n is larger than 5.

Background and purposes Through reducing immune response, VTCN1 could promote carcinoma indirectly. However, the direct effect of VTCN1 on carcinoma was not studied clearly, especially on ovarian carcinoma. In this paper, we verified the potential effect and mechanism of VTCN1 on ovarian carcinoma. Methods The influence of high or low VTCN1 expression on the viability of ovarian cancer was detected by CKK-8 and annexin V-PI kit. The orthotopicxenograft tumor model was performed to evaluate the effect of VTCN1 on the promotion of tumor in vivo. Western blot was used to verify the signaling pathways predicted by bioinformatics analysis. Results Low expression of VTCN1 could inhibit the viability and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma directly in vitro and vivo; Information analysis demonstrated that cell cycle and JAK2/STAT were involved in the regulation of VTCN1. The CDK2/4 and CDC25C expression and phosphorylation of JAK2/STAT had a direct relationship with the reduction of VTCN1. Conclusions VTCN1 could affect the viability and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma by reducing the expression of CDK2/4 and CDC25C and phosphorylation of JAK2/STAT. It indicated that VTCN1 was a potential target for treating ovarian carcinoma.

To analyze the clinical significance of corrected serum calcium(CSCa) in patients with multiple myeloma.The serum calcium levels of 320 patients with initial multiple myeloma were measured and corrected by serum albumin and its levels measured simultaneously. The differences of serum calcium levels were analyzed before and after the correction by serum albumin.There was a significant difference between serum calcium and CSCa in MM patients (2.34±0.15 vs 2.6±0.17 mmol/L). The constituent ratio of patients with hypercalcemia was from 11.3% to 23.1% after correction, the MM patients with hypocalcemia was decreased from 42.8% to 7.8% after correction, and the patients with normal calcium level were increased. There was a significant difference between serum calcium level and CSCa in I, II, III stages of MM patients respectively(P0.05). In the 320 patients, the incidence of anemia was 80%, renal failure was 20.9%, and myeloma bone disease was 68.8%. Calcium concentration in both anemia and renal insufficiency was higher than the normal group, and the difference was more significant after correction. In 220 cases of MM receiving chemotherapy, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 15 months, and overall survival(OS) time was 20 months. The PFS and OS time of the patients with hypercalcemia were shortened, and the difference was very significant after correction(P0.01).Corrected serum calcium can more sensitively to reflect the diseases serious extent, thus indicating prognosis has better effect.

The introduction of bortezomib has resulted in a paradigm shift in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) and has contributed to the improved survival of patients with MM. Inevitably, resistance to therapy develops, and thus the clinical efficacy of bortezomib is hampered by drug resistance. The oncogene B-cell‑specific Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site‑1 (Bmi-1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various human malignancies. Furthermore, RNA interference (RNAi)‑mediated Bmi-1 silencing has been shown to sensitize tumor cells to chemotherapy and radiation. The role of Bmi-1 in influencing the response to bortezomib therapy has not been investigated to date. In the present study, Bmi-1 was silenced in two MM cell lines (U266 and RPMI8226) using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting Bmi-1 (shBmi-1). A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to analyze cell proliferation and evaluate the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of bortezomib. Cell cycle progression and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM), and the mRNA and protein expression of associated genes (Bmi-1, p14, p21, Bcl-2 and Bax) was quantified by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis, respectively. The IC50 values significantly decreased in the cells transfected with shBmi-1 (p

Locating object regions is particularly important for image segmentation. Incorporating knowledge of human anatomy, such as numerical anatomical models, into image segmentation to produce more effective results. This paper presents a method of automatic gallbladder location and segmentation based on anatomical knowledge. Firstly, located liver according to the anatomic knowledge that the liver is the largest internal organ using distance transformation and then segmented liver with located outline as initial function using level set method. Secondly, located gallbladder according to the anatomic knowledge that the gallbladder is wrapped in liver using the circumscribed sphere of the liver surface and the sphere of maximum similarity with gallbladder is the location of gallbladder. Finally, segmented gallbladder with the sphere as initial function using level set method.

This paper establishes the Finite Element Model of beam - spring method, and studies the influence of rotation, pressure and shear springs respectively, and analyses the sensitivity of the corresponding internal force curve by changing the spring stiffness value.

Crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) tests were carried out on different positions of X70, X80 and X100 pipe by three-point bend testing method. The results show that the crack propagation resistance and the tear modulus of base metal, heat affected zone (HAZ), and weld of X70 and X80 pipe are larger than that of X100 pipe. At the same time,The initial CTOD values and the CTOD values withmaximum load of X70 and X80 pipe are larger than that of X100 pipe.The test results suggest that the fracture toughness, crack initiation and propagation resistance of theX70 and X80 pipe are greater than that of X100 pipe, and the mechanismis analyzed finally.

In this article, four series of Diels–Alder (DA) reactions (totally, 68 reactions) have been investigated, including their transition states, by means of ab initio method at MP2/6-311+G(d,p) level and atom-bond electronegativity equalization method (ABEEMσπ) method. The rationalization of stereoselectivities of these DA reactions has been done in the light of the local hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) criterion. The results show that the finite difference approximation with ab initio method can not always be used to predict the stereoselectivities of these reactions, while ABEEMσπ method can properly be applied to predict the stereoselectivities of these DA reactions. Moreover, we have proposed the generalized Fukui function and local softness which involve the number of the atoms of a molecule. For the first time, we here demonstrate that local HSAB criterion with the generalized local softness can be utilized not only to predict the main products of these DA reactions but also to rationalize the relative magnitudes of the reaction rate constants of these DA reactions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The stereoselectivity of some Diels-Alder reactions was investigated by means of ABEEM-oπ model. Combined with local hard-soft and acid-base (HSAB) principle, we made reasonable explanation by calculating local softness of atom and bond regions for the stereoselectivity of four Diels-Alder reactions involving cyclopentadiene.

The role of the nucleation of sulfuric acid with amines in aerosol formation and its implications for environment is one of the fundamental unsettled questions in atmospheric chemistry. We have investigated the cluster of [(CH3)3N]·(H2SO4)·(H2O)n (n = 3–7) by molecular dynamics to obtain configurational sampling combination with CAM-B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level to locate the global and many local minima for each cluster size. According to the binding energies at the method of MP2/6-311++G(d,p), the total binding energies decrease with the increasing of the water molecules. For each global minimum, the average binding energies decrease from n = 3 to 4, then increase slowly. The protons of H2SO4 are preferred to transfer to the (CH3)3N to form ion-pair HSO4(–) and (CH3)3NH(+), and the (CH3)3NH(+) ions are coordinated at the first hydrated shell of HSO4(–) when n is between 3 and 5 and coordinated at the second or third hydrated shell when n is larger than 5.

To explore the effect and possible mechanisms of miR-15a on growth of multiple myeloma(MM) cells.MM cell lines (U266 and RPMI8226) were transfected by lentiviral particles. MM stable cell lines were selected and collected by flow cytometry (FCM). Proliferation of MM cells before and after miR-15a high expression was detected by CCK-8 method. Apoptosis of MM cells before and after miR-15a high expression was detected by AO/EB dying, Hoechst 33258 dying and FCM, respectively. Cell cycle of MM cells before and after miR-15a high expression was detected by FCM. The expressions of miR-15a, BMI-1 and BCL-2 mRNA of MM cells before and after miR-15a high expression were detected by real-time PCR. The expressions of BMI-1 protein of MM cells before and after miR-15a high expression were detected by Western blot.MM stable cell lines with miR-15a high expression was acquired. CCK-8 result showed that high expression of miR-15a could inhibit growth of MM cells (U266 and RPMI8226). AO/EB dying, Hoechst 33258 dying and FCM testing results showed that high expression of miR-15a could significantly induce apoptosis of MM cells (U266 and RPMI8226). The apoptosis rates of U266 and RPMI8226 cells in high expression group and control group were 90.52% vs 37.08% and 59.40% vs 44.17%, respectively. Meanwhile, FCM testing results showed that high expression of miR-15a could induce G1 arrest of MM cells (U266 and RPMI8226), which proportion of G1 phase were 41.50%±0.64%, 45.31%±0.77%, respectively. Real-time PCR results showed that during the growth inhibition process of MM cells caused by miR-15a high expression, the expression of BCL-2 mRNA decreased, but there was no significant changes in the expression of BMI-1 mRNA, while the expression of BMI-1 protein decreased significantly.High expression of miR-15a can induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of MM cells, then inhibit their growth. The mechanisms may be related with the negative regulation of BMI-1 and BCL-2 genes in post-transcription level caused by miR-15a.