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Abstract Objectives This study aims to describe a novel dorsal venous complex (DVC) ligation‐free and parietal endopelvic fascia preserving technique for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and to evaluate its post‐operative outcomes. Methods From April 2020 to May 2021, a total of 125 patients with localized prostate cancer received laparoscopic radical prostatectomy by a single surgeon. In the procedure, a novel technique of DVC ligation‐free and parietal endopelvic fascia preserving was used. Preoperative characteristics of patients and perioperative results were recorded. In this study, continence was defined as zero to one pad per day. Oncological outcomes were evaluated based on positive surgical margin. Results Five patients required a blood transfusion. Mean post‐operative hospital stay was 3.9 days (2–5), and the catheter could be removed on post‐operative day 7 to 9. Final pathologic evaluations were 87 stage pT2, 22 stage pT3a, and 7 pT3b, 9 stage pT4, respectively. The positive surgical margin rate was 10.4% in total. Ninety‐three patients (74.4%) returned to urinary continence 2 months post‐operatively, and 11 patients (11/125) developed biochemical recurrence 6 months post‐operatively. Conclusions The DVC ligation‐free and parietal endopelvic fascia preserving technique provides early recovery from incontinence without adversely affecting the oncological outcome.

Abstract Background Globally, despite prostate cancer (PCa) representing second most prevalent malignancy in male, the precise molecular mechanisms implicated in its pathogenesis remain unclear. Consequently, elucidating the key molecular regulators that govern disease progression could substantially contribute to the establishment of novel therapeutic strategies, ultimately advancing the management of PCa. Methods A total of 49 PCa tissues and 43 adjacent normal tissues were collected from January 2017 to December 2021 at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. The advanced transcriptomic methodologies were employed to identify differentially expressed mRNAs in PCa. The expression of aspartoacylase (ASPA) in PCa was thoroughly evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting techniques. To elucidate the inhibitory role of ASPA in PCa cell proliferation and metastasis, a comprehensive set of in vitro and in vivo assays were conducted, including orthotopic and tumor-bearing mouse models (n = 8 for each group). A combination of experimental approaches, such as Western blotting, luciferase assays, immunoprecipitation assays, mass spectrometry, glutathione S-transferase pull-down experiments, and rescue studies, were employed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of ASPA’s action in PCa. The Student’s t-test was employed to assess the statistical significance between two distinct groups, while one-way analysis of variance was utilized for comparisons involving more than two groups. A two-sided P value of less than 0.05 was deemed to indicate statistical significance. Results ASPA was identified as a novel inhibitor of PCa progression. The expression of ASPA was found to be significantly down-regulated in PCa tissue samples, and its decreased expression was independently associated with patients’ prognosis (HR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.40–0.92, P = 0.018). Our experiments demonstrated that modulation of ASPA activity, either through gain- or loss-of-function, led to the suppression or enhancement of PCa cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, respectively. The inhibitory role of ASPA in PCa was further confirmed using orthotopic and tumor-bearing mouse models. Mechanistically, ASPA was shown to directly interact with the LYN and inhibit the phosphorylation of LYN as well as its downstream targets, JNK1/2 and C-Jun, in both PCa cells and mouse models, in an enzyme-independent manner. Importantly, the inhibition of LYN activation by bafetinib abrogated the promoting effect of ASPA knockdown on PCa progression in both in vitro and in vivo models. Moreover, we observed an inverse relationship between ASPA expression and LYN activity in clinical PCa samples, suggesting a potential regulatory role of ASPA in modulating LYN signaling. Conclusion Our findings provide novel insights into the tumor-suppressive function of ASPA in PCa and highlight its potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for the management of this malignancy.

It is urgent to develop an excellent adsorbent with higher adsorption capacity and cost-effective to efficiently purify azole fungicides contained water, and reduce the potential negative impacts on environment. In this work, a novel magnetic composite (MBC@Fe/Mg-MIL-88B)11 MBC: Magnetic biochar, BC: Biochar, MIL: Materials of Institute Lavoisier was synthesized by integrating magnetic wheat straw biochar (MBC) and bimetallic organic framework (Fe/Mg-MIL-88B) as well as employed as a high-efficiency adsorbent for azole fungicides removal. Subsequently, the morphology and structure of as-synthesized composites were discerned by a series of characterizations. The adsorption performance of MBC@Fe/Mg-MIL-88B composites was systematically investigated and the maximum adsorption capacity towards epoxiconazole and flusilazole were 86.11 mg g−1 and 89.87 mg g−1, respectively. The adsorption process was suitable for the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. The MBC@Fe/Mg-MIL-88B could adapt to a relatively wide range of pH (2-11). The thermodynamics illustrated that adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic and feasible. The adsorption of azole fungicides onto MBC@Fe/Mg-MIL-88B was a single-layer chemical adsorption process and based on the mechanisms of electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, covalent bonding and π-π stacking. This study offers a promising method for the removal of azole fungicides from environmental water samples.

BackgroundUlcerative colitis (UC) is a multi-factor disease characterized by alternating remission periods and repeated occurrence. It has been shown that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an emerging and effective approach for UC treatment. Since most existing studies chose adults as donors for fecal microbiota, we conducted this study to determine the long-term efficacy and safety of the microbiota from young UC patient donors and illustrate its specific physiological effects.MethodsThirty active UC patients were enrolled and FMT were administered with the first colonoscopy and two subsequent enema/transendoscopic enteral tubing (TET) practical regimens in The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in China. Disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers were assessed 6 weeks/over 1 year after treatment. The occurrence of adverse events was also recorded. The samples from blood and mucosa were collected to detect the changes of inflammatory biomarkers and cytokines. The composition of gut and oral microbiota were also sampled and sequenced to confirm the alteration of microbial composition.ResultsTwenty-seven patients completed the treatment, among which 16 (59.3%) achieved efficacious clinical response and 11 (40.7%) clinical remission. Full Mayo score and calprotectin dropped significantly and remained stable over 1 year. FMT also significantly reduced the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The gut microbiota altered significantly with increased bacterial diversity and decreased metabolic diversity in responsive patients. The pro-inflammatory enterobacteria decreased after FMT and the abundance of Collinsella increased. Accordingly, the altered metabolic functions, including antigen synthesis, amino acids metabolism, short chain fatty acid production, and vitamin K synthesis of microbiota, were also corrected by FMT.ConclusionFecal microbiota transplantation seems to be safe and effective for active UC patients who are nonresponsive to mesalazine or prednisone in the long-term. FMT could efficiently downregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines to ameliorate the inflammation.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a solid tumor with high recurrence rate and high mortality. It is crucial to discover available biomarkers to achieve early diagnosis and improve the prognosis. The effect of LSM4 in HCC still remains unrevealed. Our study is dedicated to exploring the expression of LSM4 in HCC, demonstrating its clinical significance and potential molecular mechanisms.Methods: Clinical information and LSM4 expression values of HCC were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Survival analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were applied to evaluate the prognostic and diagnostic significance of LSM4. Calculating pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) and performing summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve analysis to further determine its expression status and diagnostic significance. LSM4-related co-expressed genes (CEGs) were obtained and explored their clinical significance in HCC. LSM4-associated pathways were identified through Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).Results: Up-regulated LSM4 was detected in HCC tissues (SMD = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.29–1.84) and overexpressed LSM4 had excellent distinguishing ability (AUC = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.88–0.93). LSM4 was associated with clinical stage, tumor grade, and lymph node metastasis status (p < 0.05). Survival analysis showed that high LSM4 expression was related to poor overall survival (OS) of HCC patients. Cox regression analysis suggested that high LSM4 expression may be an independent risk factor for HCC. We obtained nine up-regulated CEGs of LSM4 in HCC tissues, and six CEGs had good prognostic and diagnostic significance. GSEA analysis showed that up-regulated LSM4 was closely related to the cell cycle, cell replication, focal adhesion, and several metabolism-associated pathways, including fatty acid metabolism.Conclusion: Overexpressed LSM4 may serve as a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of HCC. Besides, LSM4 may play a synergistic effect with CEGs in promoting the growth and metastasis of HCC cells via regulating crucial pathways such as cell cycle, focal adhesion, and metabolism-associated pathways.

We aimed to establish a novel rat model of seminal vesiculitis that would provide an effective approach to investigate the pathogenesis of this disease in the future. Eight male rats received the same operation, during which the root of one of the two seminal vesicles was partly ligatured with sutures and the other vesicle was left intact. The samples of seminal vesicles were harvested on the 8th day following the operation. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome stains were used to observe the histopathology and the presence of fibrous tissue in seminal vesicles, respectively. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were applied to determine the tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cyclooxygenase-2 levels in seminal vesicle tissues. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure the gene expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines. H2O2levelsin the seminal plasma from the seminal vesicle were also measured. Hematoxylin and eosin staining suggested that there was inflammatory cell infiltration into the seminal vesicles treated by partial root ligation. The tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cyclooxygenase-2 proteins were significantly upregulated in the treated seminal vesicles. The tumor necrosis factor-alpha, cyclooxygenase, interleukin 6, and inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression levels were also upregulated in the treated seminal vesicles. The H2O2 levels in the seminal plasma from seminal vesicles with partial root ligation were significantly elevated compared with those from vesicle left intact. In conclusion, partially ligating the root of the seminal vesicle via sutures in rats is an effective method to establish a seminal vesiculitis rat model.

Metalaxyl and Metalaxyl-M are the fungicides that widely used in many countries. In this study, the environmental behaviors between metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in Tubifex tubifex (T. tubifex) were quantitative analyzed by using a high performance liquid chromatography with photo-diode-array-detector (HPLC-DAD). Results demonstrated that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the concentration of metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in T. tubifex during the exposure process. However, the dissipation behaviors of metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in T. tubifex were different (p

Background/Aims: Exosomal circulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in blood are emerging as clinically useful and non-invasive biomarkers for tumor diagnosis. However, normal cells can also secrete exosomes, so it is a prerequisite to obtain tumor-derived exosomes for better understanding of their diagnostic impacts in cancer. In this study, a dual-antibody-functionalized immunoaffinity system was established to isolate exosomes and investigate their lncRNAs expression pattern and clinical significance in prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: A commercially available kit was used to isolate total exosomes, which were then purified by a dual-antibody-functionalized immunoaffinity system. RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression of exosomal lncRNAs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to assess the diagnostic value. Results: Expression levels of two lncRNAs in tumor-derived exosomes were significantly higher than those in total exosomes. The levels of SAP30L-AS1 were upregulated in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and SChLAP1 levels were significantly higher in PCa than in BPH and healthy individuals. The area under the ROC curve indicated that SAP30L-AS1 and SChLAP1 had adequate diagnostic value to distinguish PCa from controls. Two lncRNAs separately combined with prostate specific antigen (PSA) possessed a moderate ability for discrimination. SAP30L-AS1 expression level was related to PSA values and tumor invasion. SChLAP1 expression was significantly higher in patients with higher Gleason scores, and was also effective in differentiating between BPH and PCa when the concentration of PSA was in the gray zone. Conclusion: The isolation of tumor-derived exosomes by dual-antibody-functionalized immunoaffinity systems and detection of their lncRNAs in plasma may lead to the identification of suitable biomarkers, with potential diagnostic utility.

A two-dimensional (2D) dam-break flow numerical model was developed based on the finite-volume total variation diminishing (TVD) and monotone upstream-centered scheme for conservation laws (MUSCL)-Hancock scheme, which has second-order accuracy in both time and space. A Harten-Lax-van Leer-contact (HLLC) approximate Riemann solver was used to evaluate fluxes. The TVD MUSCL-Hancock numerical scheme utilizes slope limiters, such as the minmod, double minmod, superbee, van Albada, and van Leer limiters, to prevent spurious oscillations and maintain monotonicity near discontinuities. A comparative study of the impact of various slope limiters on the accuracy of the numerical flow model was conducted with several dam-break examples including wet and dry bed cases. The numerical results of the superbee and double minmod limiters agree better with the theoretical solution and have higher accuracy than other limiters in one-dimensional (1D) space. The ratio of the downstream water depth to the upstream water depth was used to select the proper slope limiter. For the 2D numerical model, the superbee limiter should not be used, owing to significant numerical dispersion. Keywords: Dam-break flow, TVD MUSCL-Hancock scheme, Slope limiter, Numerical accuracy, Spurious oscillation

Citrus is one of the largest output fruits in the word. In China, the major orange variety is the Citrus reticulate Blanco (Ponkan). The peels are discarded as waste material, its comprehensive utilization is urgently needed. In this work, hydrodistillation method was developed to extract citrus essential oil (EO) from Blanco peel. With the optimal extraction conditions, the EO yield was more than 3%. By GC-MS analysis, 53 compounds were identified from the citrus EO. Terpenes compounds accounted for 71.2%, especially d-limonene (major composition) accounted for 58.9%. The obtained citrus EO showed remarkable antibacterial activity against Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes, Formerly P. acnes) and common microorganisms such as S. aureus, B. subtilis, and E. coli. Even compared with the common antibiotics (such as erythromycin, clindamycin, and tetracycline) for acne therapy, its antibacterial activity against C. acnes is more excellent. This work provides a potential therapy material for the treatment of acne.

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive floating plant that has caused many environmental problems in Asia. Efficiently removing and utilizing this biomass has become an urgent issue. In this work, the composition of water hyacinth biomass (WHB) was analyzed with the Van Soest method. The combined cellulose and hemicellulose content reached 58.6%, and the lignin content was very low compared with other biomass. An efficient alkali pretreatment technology for WHB was developed, and the enzymatic hydrolysis of WHB to reducing sugars was investigated. With favorable hydrolysis conditions for the alkali-pretreated WHB, the cellulose conversion rate reached almost 100%. Structural changes resulting from WHB pretreatment and hydrolysis were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. This work demonstrates that WHB is an alternative cellulose source for bioenergy production.

Background: Recurrent stroke is often devastating, and can cause severe disability or death. Risk factors associated with recurrent strokes unrelated to atrial fibrillation have been well identified; however, it remains to be further elucidated whether the risk factors for recurrent stroke are the same in young as in older patients. Methods: Data from 1017 stroke patients unrelated to atrial fibrillation were retrospectively reviewed. Risk factors analyzed included sex, smoking history, previous history of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, and previous myocardial infarction. All patients were followed up via telephone 1 year after their initial strokes. Logistic regression was used to assess the associations between the various factors and risk of recurrent stroke events. Results: Predictive independent risk factors of recurrent stroke in older men included previous history of myocardial infarction [odds ratio (OR), 6.761; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.030–44.371], ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (OR, 2.496; 95% CI, 1.567–3.976), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.986; 95% CI, 1.223–3.227), and coronary atherosclerotic disease (OR, 1.733; 95% CI, 1.010–2.974). In young men, hypertension (OR, 1.709; 95% CI, 1.104–2.645), coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (OR, 1.812; 95% CI, 1.129–2.911), and previous history of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (OR, 2.317; 95% CI, 1.580–3.397) were independent risk factors of recurrent strokes. Conclusion: The predictive independent risk factors of recurrent stroke differ between young and older stroke patients. Our findings may help guide the prevention of recurrent strokes.

Background: Criteria for determining brain death (BD) vary between China and the United States. We reported the results of an investigation designed to compare procedures to determine BD in two countries. Methods: The latest criteria in the United states were published in 2010. The latest criteria in China were published in 2009. We used these two types of BD criteria to evaluate patients who were considered to be BD. The time, cost, and accuracy of the diagnosis were compared. Results: From January 1, 2012 to October 8, 2013, there were 37 patients which were applied for BD evaluation in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit of Beijing Tiantan Hospital. The cause of coma were known as subarachnoid hemorrhage (18 patients, 48.6%), intracerebral hemorrhage (8 patients, 21.6%), cerebral ischemia (9 patients, 24.3%), brain stem tumor (1 patient, 2.7%), and intracranial infection (1 patient, 2.7%). The clinical examinations were done for all of the patients except 1 patient who had low blood pressure. Three patients had brainstem reflexes that were excluded from BD. Twenty-five patients had apnea tests, and 20 tests were completed that were all positive. Confirmatory tests were completed differently: Transcranial Doppler (30 patients, positive rate 86.7%), electroencephalogram (25 patients, positive rate 100%), and somatosensory evoked potential (16 patients, positive rate 100%). Thirty-three patients were diagnosed BD by criteria of the United States. Only 9 patients were diagnosed BD by Chinese criteria. The use of time and money in the USA criteria was obviously fewer than those in Chinese criteria (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Compared with BD criteria of the United States, Chinese criteria were stricter, lower positive rate, more cost in money and time, and more reliable by families and doctors.

The global warming and shortage of energy are two critical problems for human social development. CO2 mitigation and replacing conventional diesel with biodiesel are effective routes to reduce these problems. Production of microalgal lipids as biodiesel feedstock by a freshwater microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, with the ability to fixate CO2 is studied in this work. The results show that nitrogen deficiency, CO2 volume fraction and photoperiod are the key factors responsible for the lipid accumulation in C. vulgaris. With 5 % CO2, 0.75 g/L of NaNO3 and 18:6 h of light/dark cycle, the lipid content and overall lipid productivity reached 14.5 % and 33.2 mg/(L·day), respectively. Furthermore, we proposed a technique to enhance the microalgal lipid productivity by activating acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) with an enzyme activator. Citric acid and Mg2+ were found to be efficient enzyme activators of ACCase. With the addition of 150 mg/L of citric acid or 1.5 mmol/L of MgCl2, the lipid productivity reached 39.1 and 38.0 mg/(L·day), respectively, which was almost twofold of the control. This work shows that it is practicable to produce lipids by freshwater microalgae that can fixate CO2, and provides a potential route to solving the global warming and energy shortage problems.

A novel strain, Microbacterium sp., which can be used as a catalyst in the asymmetric reduction of simple aromatic ketones to produce chiral aromatic alcohols, was isolated from soil by microbial screening. Using acetophenone as a model substrate for asymmetric reduction, 82 % reaction yield with more than 99 % enantiomeric excess of (R)-1-phenylethanol were achieved under the optimal conditions. Furthermore, the key reductase responsible for the asymmetric reduction was purified from the newly isolated Microbacterium sp. through (NH4)2SO4 fractional precipitation, anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. The purified reductase is a NADH-dependent aromatic ketone reductase. Gel filtration chromatography and SDS-PAGE results reveal that it is a homodimer with two 28-kDa subunits. The enzymatic properties of the reductase indicate that it is a highly efficient catalyst for the asymmetric reduction of simple aromatic ketone.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are considered as another ’green solvent’, after the supercritical carbon dioxide. They are a promising reaction medium for biocatalysis process. The tolerance of active cells in hydrophobic imidazolium-based ILs (1-R-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [RMim][PF6]) has been studied in this work. Calcium-alginate-entrapped baker’s yeast has been chosen as the model of living cells. The results show that this kind of ILs possess a certain degree of biocompatibility. The tolerance of yeast cells to the ILs decreases with the increase of the R chain length of these ILs. The experiment indicated that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMim][PF6]) possessed excellent biocompatibility compared to the other imidazolium-based ILs. The moisture content in the ILs was the key factor that affected the tolerance. The activity retention of yeast cells pretreated with [BMim][PF6] saturated with water and aqueous [BMim][PF6] biphasic system was about 70 %, but it was only 50 % with the anhydrous [BMim][PF6]. Although the yeast cells were pretreated with [BMim][PF6] for 24 h, the activity retention was up to 45 %. The yeast cells had around 50 % activity after being pretreated 4 times with [BMim][PF6]. This shows that the water immiscible ILs possess good biocompatibility, and they are suitable for application as the reaction medium catalyzed by living cells.

Asymmetric reduction of the prochiral aromatic ketone catalyzed by yeast cells is one of the most promising routes to produce its corresponding enantiopure aromatic alcohol, but the space-time yield does not meet people’s expectations. Therefore, the toxicity of aromatic ketone and aromatic alcohol to the yeast cell is investigated in this work. It has been found that the aromatic compounds are poisonous to the yeast cell. The activity of yeast cell decreases steeply when the concentration of acetophenone (ACP) is higher than 30.0 mmol/L. Asymmetric reduction of acetophenone to chiral S-α-phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) catalyzed by the yeast cell was chosen as the model reaction to study in detail the promotion effect of the introduction of the resin adsorption on the asymmetric reduction reaction. The resin acts as the substrate reservoir and product extraction agent in situ. It has been shown that this reaction could be remarkably improved with this technique when the appropriate kind of resin is applied. The enantioselectivity and yield are acceptable even though the initial ACP concentration reaches 72.2 mmol/L.

We explored mechanisms of vascular endothelial injury that lead to systemic multiple organ failure by detecting the soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR), von Willebrand factor (vWF), serum nitric oxide (NO), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and Bcl-2 mRNA and Bax mRNA expression in a severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) rat model. Compared to controls, the levels of TNF-α, vWF, and sEPCR were significantly increased in the experimental group at 12 hours and 24 hours and the NO level was significantly decreased. After 12 hours, the aortic endothelial apoptosis index and Bax mRNA expression in aortic endothelial cells had increased in the experimental group, but Bcl-2 mRNA levels had decreased. All these changes appeared at both 12 h and 24 hours. The results indicated that vascular endothelial injury and apoptosis markers were elevated in SAP. Endothelial injury and increased apoptosis in the experimental group were related to the increased expression of TNF-α.