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Purpose: Enterobacteriaceae carrying mcr-9, in particularly those also co-containing metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) and TEM type β-lactamase, present potential transmission risks and lack adequate clinical response methods, thereby posing a major threat to global public health. The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of a combined ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) and aztreonam (ATM) regimen against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex (CRECC) co-producing mcr-9, MBL and TEM. Methods: The in vitro antibacterial activity of CZA plus ATM was evaluated using a time-kill curve assay. Furthermore, the in vivo interaction between CZA plus ATM was confirmed using a Galleria mellonella (G. mellonella) infection model. Results: All eight clinical strains of CRECC, co-carrying mcr-9, MBL and TEM, exhibited high resistance to CZA and ATM. In vitro time-kill curve analysis demonstrated that the combination therapy of CZA + ATM exerted significant bactericidal activity against mcr-9, MBL and TEM-co-producing Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) isolates with a 100% synergy rate observed in our study. Furthermore, in vivo survival assay using Galleria mellonella larvae infected with CRECC strains co-harboring mcr-9, MBL and TEM revealed that the CZA + ATM combination significantly improved the survival rate compared to the drug-treatment alone and untreated control groups. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this study represents the first report on the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity of CZA plus ATM against CRECC isolates co-harboring mcr-9, MBL and TEM. Our findings suggest that the combination regimen of CZA + ATM provides a valuable reference for clinicians to address the increasingly complex antibiotic resistance situation observed in clinical microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of the massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication can increase the throughput of 5G networks. As an attractive technique in the MIMO systems, hybrid beamforming (HBF) can improve the 5G capacity by employing spatial domain resources. However, with the increase of the number of antennas, the traditional beamforming algorithms fail to efficiently keep a balance between the hardware complexity and beamforming gains. In this paper, with the aid of bidirectional location information, a bidirectional positioning assisted HBF (BPA-HBF) scheme is proposed. Specifically, we first propose a new scheme to decouple the optimal problem of traditional HBF as two phases. In the analog beamforming (ABF) phase, the dominated path among the multi-path components is determined by the transmitter and receiver. In addition, the codebook-based beamforming weight vectors are bidirectionally and synchronously determined according to the angle parameters of the dominated path. In the second phase, based on the ABF matrices, the digital beamformers are designed to maximize the energy efficiency. Simulation results indicate that the proposed BPA-HBF scheme can lead to a lower convergence time and complexity than the conventional schemes. In addition, the results show that the algorithm convergence time can be significantly reduced by increasing the positioning precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β- CD) was used to form an inclusion complex with peony seed oil ( PSO), in order to improve its stability, transport convenience and bioavailability. Single-factor optimisation method was applied to determine the optimum inclusion conditions. The inclusion complexes were prepared by saturated solution method and characterised by GC- MS, SEM, FT- IR, XRD, DSC and 1H NMR analyses. All results suggested that PSO was successfully entered into the β- CD cavity. What is more, inclusion rate of PSO reached 68.72 ± 2.14%, resulting in a product of 25.97% PSO content, and the unsaturated fatty acids, similar to PSO, accounted for 90.05% of all fat acids in complex. The linolenic acid in inclusion complex exhibited 64.84% higher bioavailability than that in PSO. The inclusion complex possessed of better stability for storage and transportation. Overall, the fabricated complex improved the feature of PSO and thus could be used for novel applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethanol and hexane mixture agent microwave-assisted extraction ( MAE) method was conducted to extract peony ( Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) seed oil ( PSO). The aim of the study was to optimise the extraction for both yield and energy consumption in mixture agent MAE. The highest oil yield (34.49%) and lowest unit energy consumption (14 125.4 J g−1) were obtained under optimum extraction condition: solid-liquid ratio 0.37 g mL−1, extraction time 3.72 min, extraction temperature 80.92 °C, ethanol ratio 20.00%. GC- MS results showed that unsaturated fatty acids ( UFAs) accounted for 88.60% of total fatty acids in PSO. Moreover, linolenic acid content of 37.35% was the highest UFA and caused PSO to possess good nutrition. PSO in DPPH radical scavenging experiment showed that IC50 value of 28.80 ± 2.13 mg mL−1 exhibited strong antioxidant property. All experiments proved that mixed solvent MAE is an efficient and promising method to extract PSO. This method can effectively reduce the energy consumption and extraction time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TCD is a kind of organic acid that is isolated from cinnamon bark or benzoin. TCD has significant antioxidant activity and is widely used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food additives. But TCD has shortcomings of low bioavailability due to poor water solubility. Therefore, we use ethanol as a solvent, deionized water as antisolvent, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as the surfactant to prepare TCD nanoparticle powder. The optimum preparation conditions were determined as follows: TCD-ethanol solution concentration was 170 mg/mL, the volume ratio of antisolvent was 4 times that of solvent, and the amount of the surfactant was 0.3% stirred for 10 min by 2500 rpm; TCD nanoparticle with a mean particle size (MPS) of 130±12.5 nm is obtained under the optimum conditions. SEM, FT-IR, LC-MS/MS, XRD, and DSC were used to characterize the TCD nanoparticle. The results showed that the chemical structure of TCD nanoparticle was not changed, but the crystallization was significantly reduced. Solubility, dissolution rate, antioxidant activity, the in vitro transdermal penetration, and bioavailability of TCD nanoparticles were all much better than these of the raw TCD. These results suggested that TCD nanoparticle might have potential value to become a new oral or transdermal TCD formulation with high bioavailability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their recurrent disjunction with the real world of rural dwellers in their everyday life due to state authorities' oversimplified approach to the governance of society, most of the macro development plans imposed from above came to fruition in the end and had a profound impact on social changes in rural China. As the case of Ningbian village shows, three key actors were involved the process of the making and implementation of development plans. The first is the makers of the development plan, who had to reach a consensus with the beneficiaries of the projects over the future life goals of the latter. The second is the villagers who accepted the state's macro development plan only on the basis of their rational calculation of self-interest. And the third is those who implemented the development plan; they had to positively respond to the reasonable claims by the villagers and handle the possible conflicts between the development plan and the concerns of local community with flexibility. 国家基于对社会的简单化管理而制定的发展规划常常与农民的微观生活世界之间出现断裂，但是这些宏观的发展规划最终能够成功执行，并对中国乡村社会变迁产生深远影响。宁边村的研究个案表明，在发展规划从制定到执行的过程中，三个行动主体的行为发挥了作用。发展规划的决策者与政策实施对象之间关于对未来美好生活的实现达成了共识；村民出于理性的利益计算而接受了来自国家的宏观发展规划；发展规划的执行者在政策执行过程中积极回应村民的合理诉求，采取了变通措施弥合了宏观的发展规划与农民微观生活世界的断裂之处。 (This article is in Chinese.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-free fullerene (C60) was found to be an effective catalyst for the reduction of azo groups in basic aqueous solution under UV irradiation in the presence of NaBH4. Use of NaBH4 by itself is not sufficient to reduce the azo dyes without the assistance of a metal catalyst such as Pd and Ag. Experimental and theoretical results suggest that C60 catalyzes this reaction by using its vacant orbital to accept the electron in the bonding orbital of azo dyes, which leads to the activation of the NN bond. UV irradiation increases the ability of C60 to interact with electron-donor moieties in azo dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is expected to have a profound effect on species distribution. Due to the temperature constraints, some narrow niche species could shift their narrow range to higher altitudes or latitudes. In this study, we explored the correlation between species traits, genetic structure, and geographical range size. More specifically, we analyzed how these variables are affected by differences in fundamental niche breadth or dispersal ability in the members of two sympatrically distributed stream‐dwelling amphibian species (frog, Quasipaa yei; salamander, Pachyhynobius shangchengensis), in Dabie Mountains, East China. Both species showed relatively high genetic diversity in most geographical populations and similar genetic diversity patterns (JTX, low; BYM, high) correlation with habitat changes and population demography. Multiple clustering analyses were used to disclose differentiation among the geographical populations of these two amphibian species. Q. yei disclosed the relatively shallow genetic differentiation, while P. shangchengensis showed an opposite pattern. Under different historical climatic conditions, all ecological niche modeling disclosed a larger suitable habitat area for Q. yei than for P. shangchengensis; these results indicated a wider environment tolerance or wider niche width of Q. yei than P. shangchengensis. Our findings suggest that the synergistic effects of environmental niche variation and dispersal ability may help shape genetic structure across geographical topology, particularly for species with extremely narrow distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical benefit and safety of the triple combination of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), lenvatinib, and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors with the dual combination of SBRT and lenvatinib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). Patients with uHCC who received SBRT in combination with lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors or SBRT in combination with lenvatinib alone as first-line treatment from October 2018 to July 2022 were reviewed in this study. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints were intrahepatic PFS, extrahepatic PFS, and objective remission rate. In addition, safety profiles were assessed by analyzing treatment-related adverse events between the two groups to assess safety profiles. In total, 214 patients with uHCC who received combination therapy were included in this retrospective study. Among them, 146 patients received triple combination therapy of SBRT, lenvatinib, and PD-1 inhibitors (SBRT-L-P group), and 68 patients received dual therapy of SBRT and lenvatinib (SBRT-L group). The median OS times of the 2 groups were 31.2 months and 17.4 months, respectively (P <.001). The median PFS time was significantly longer in the SBRT-L-P group than in the SBRT-L group (15.6 months vs 8.8 months, P <.001). Additionally, the median intrahepatic PFS (17.5 vs 9.9 months, P <.001) and extrahepatic PFS (20.9 vs 11.6 months, P <.001) were significantly longer in the SBRT-L-P group than in the SBRT-L group. The objective remission rate in the SBRT-L-P group was higher than in the SBRT-L group (63.0 vs 39.7%, P =.002). The incidence and severity of treatment-related adverse events in the SBRT-L-P group were comparable to those in the SBRT-L group. The use of both lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors with SBRT in patients with uHCC was associated with improved overall survival compared with lenvatinib and SBRT alone with a manageable safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dcf1 has been demonstrated to play vital roles in many CNS diseases, it also has a destructive role on cell mitochondria in glioma cells and promotes the autophagy. Hitherto, it is unclear whether the viability of glioblastoma cells is affected by Dcf1, in particular Dcf1 possesses broad localization on different organelles, and the organelles interaction frequently implicated in cancer cells survival. Methods: Surgically excised WHO grade IV human glioblastoma tissues were collected and cells isolated for culturing. RT‐PCR and DNA sequencing assay to estimate the abundance and mutation of Dcf1. iTRAQ sequencing and bioinformatic analysis were performed. Subsequently, immunoprecipitation assay to evaluate the degradation of HistoneH2A isomers by UBA52 ubiquitylation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was applied to observe the structure change of mitochondria and autophagosome. Organelle isolated assay to determine the distribution of protein. Cell cycle and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometric assays. Results: Dcf1 was downregulated in WHO grade IV tumor without mutation, and overexpression of Dcf1 was found to significantly regulate glioblastoma cells. One hundred and seventy‐six differentially expressed proteins were identified by iTRAQ sequencing. Furthermore, we confirmed that overexpression of Dcf1 destabilized the structure of the nucleosome via UBA52 ubiquitination to downregulate HistoneH2A.X but not macroH2A or HistoneH2A.Z, decreased the mitochondrial DNA copy number and inhibited the mitochondrial biogenesis, thus causing mitochondrial destruction and dysfunction in order to supply cellular energy and induce mitophagy preferentially but not apoptosis. Dcf1 also has disrupted the integrity of lysosomes to block autolysosome degradation and autophagy and to increase the release of Cathepsin B and D from lysosomes into cytosol. These proteins cleaved and activated BID to induce glioblastoma cells apoptosis. Conclusions: In this study, we demonstrated that unmutated Dcf1 expression is negatively related to the malignancy of glioblastoma, Dcf1 overexpression causes nucleosomes destabilization, mitochondria destruction and dysfunction to induce mitophagy preferentially, and block autophagy by impairing lysosomes to induce apoptosis in glioblastoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a lack of data on the biologically effective dose and the efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and this study was conducted to explore the relation between BED and efficacy.Methods: This study is designed as a mono-center study. The participants are randomized into three group, and received the following recommended schedule: 49Gy/7f, 54Gy/6f and 55Gy/5f with BED10 in correspondence to 83.3Gy, 102.6Gy and 115.5Gy. The primary outcome measures are to calculate local control rates (LC), overall survival rates (OS) and progression-free survival rates (PFS). The secondary outcome measures are to observe radiation-induced liver injury (RILD) rates, Child-Pugh score and indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min (ICG-R15) value before and after CK-SBRT. Moreover, gastrointestinal toxicities are also observed.Discussion: There is no uniform standard for CK-SBRT dose schedule of hepatocellular carcinoma. We propose to conduct a study determining the optimal CK-SBRT schedule of hepatocellular carcinoma patients (≤5 cm). The trial protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of 302 Hospital of PLA (People's Liberation Army). The Ethics number is 2017111D.Trail Registration: Clinical trails number: NCT03295500. Date of registration: November, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tumor immunotherapy is a new treatment breakthrough for retroperitoneal liposarcoma (RPLS), which is highly invasive and has few effective treatment options other than tumor resection. However, the heterogeneity of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) leads to missed clinical diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate whether the TIME of a certain part of the tumor reliably represents the whole tumor, particularly for very large tumors, such as RPLS. Methods: We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the TIME in different regions of dedifferentiated RPLS (DDRPLS) by detecting the expressions of markers such as CD4+, CD8+, Foxp3+, CD20+, CD68+, LAMP3+, PD-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and PD-L1 in tumors and corresponding paratumor tissues via immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing. Results: In DDRPLS, very few TILs were observed. Differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in cell part and cell functions, as well as the metabolic pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In addition, for most tumors (70–80%), the TIME was similar in different tumor regions. Conclusions: For most tumors (70–80%), the TIME in any region of the tumor reliably represents the whole tumor. DDRPLS may regulate cell functions by modulating the metabolic and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways to promote its malignant behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lethality and chemotherapy resistance of pancreatic cancer necessitates the urgent development of innovative strategies to improve patient outcomes. To address this issue, we designed a novel drug delivery system named GDMCN2,which uses iron‐based metal organic framework (Fe‐MOF) nanocages encased in a covalent organic framework (COF) and modified with the pancreatic cancer‐specific antibody, NRP2. After being targeted into tumor cells, GDMCN2 gradually release the sonosensitizer sinoporphyrin sodium (DVDMS) and chemotherapeutic gemcitabine (GEM) and simultaneously generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound (US) irradiation. This system can overcome gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer and reduce its toxicity to non‐targeted cells and tissues. In a mechanistic cascade, the release of ROS activates the mitochondrial transition pore (MPTP), leading to the release of Ca2+ and induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Therefore, microtubule‐associated protein 1A/1B‐light chain 3 (LC3) is activated, promoting lysosomal autophagy. This process also induces autophagy‐dependent ferroptosis, aided by the upregulation of Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 4 (NCOA4). This mechanism increases the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs and increases mitochondrial and DNA damage. The findings demonstrate the potential of GDMCN2 nanocages as a new avenue for the development of cancer therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lack of evidence on the benefit of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in combination with lenvatinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our research compared the efficacy and safety of SBRT plus lenvatinib versus SBRT alone in clinical practice for the treatment of advanced HCC. Methods: Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to reduce selection bias. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), intrahepatic PFS (IHPFS), and objective response rate (ORR) were compared between the two groups. Additionally, safety profiles were also evaluated in the two groups. Results: After PSM, 35 patients from each group were selected and the date was compared. Compared with the SBRT alone group, the median OS, PFS, and IHPFS were significantly prolonged in SBRT plus lenvatinib group (median OS 16.8 vs. 11.0 months, pOS = 0.043; median PFS 9.1 vs. 3.7 months, pPFS < 0.001; median IHPFS 9.5 vs. 4.2 months, pIHPFS = 0.004). The 6- and 12-month OS rates were 91.4% and 68.6% in the combined therapy group and 82.9% and 48.6% in the monotherapy group, respectively. The 6- and 12-month PFS rates were 68.6% and 34.3% in the combined therapy group and 31.4% and 8.6% in the monotherapy group, respectively. Furthermore, a higher ORR was observed in SBRT plus lenvatinib group (54.29% vs. 22.86%, p = 0.007). Subgroup analysis of patients with macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI) also had similar results. Moreover, most adverse events (AEs) were mild-to-moderate and manageable in the SBRT plus lenvatinib group. Conclusion: SBRT plus lenvatinib is expected to significantly improve OS, PFS, IHPFS, and ORR for patients with advanced HCC when compared to SBRT alone, with manageable adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) involving portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) are presently lacking effective treatment options. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib with or without SBRT for HCC with PVTT. Materials and methods: This retrospective analysis included 37 patients treated with lenvatinib in combination with SBRT and 77 patients treated with lenvatinib alone from August 2018 to August 2021. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), intrahepatic PFS (IHPFS) and objective remission rate (ORR) were compared between the two groups, while adverse events (AEs) was analyzed between the two groups to assess safety profiles. Results: Median OS, PFS and IHPFS were significantly prolonged in the combination treatment group compared with the single treatment group (median OS, 19.3 vs. 11.2 months, p < 0.001; median PFS: 10.3 vs. 5.3 months, p < 0.001; median IHPFS, 10.7 vs. 5.3 months, p < 0.001). Moreover, a higher ORR (56.8% vs. 20.8%, P < 0.001) were observed in the lenvatinib combined with SBRT group. In subgroup analyses of Vp1-2 and Vp3-4 group, median OS, PFS and IHPFS were also significantly longer in the lenvatinib combined with SBRT group than those in the lenvatinib alone group. AEs in the combined therapy group were mostly manageable and the incidence was not statistically significant compared to the monotherapy group. Conclusion: Lenvatinib plus SBRT had a significantly better survival benefit than lenvatinib monotherapy in the treatment of HCC patients with PVTT and was well tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No study has evaluated the impact of regimen on recurrence, metastasis and survival in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of radioactive seed implantation and other regimens in treating ACC, so as to investigate the clinical applicability of radioactive seed implantation and determine the indications for this regimen. Methods: A total of 188 patients with ACC in oromaxillofacial region were allocated to four groups according to the treatment regimen: group 1 was treated with a combination of surgery and 125I seed therapy, group 2 with a combination of surgery and external radiotherapy, group 3 with surgery, whereas group 4 was untreated. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to assess the survival rates, and the Cox regression analyses were used to identify the associated prognostic factors. Results: The overall survival rates of 188 patients and groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 85.7%, 75%, 68.2% and 37.5%, respectively. Cox regression analysis revealed that age, T stage, N stage and regimen were independent prognostic factors of survival. Amongst patients with primary ACC, the efficacy of radioactive seed implantation was higher in those with perineural invasion than in those without. Conclusion: Patient age, T stage, N stage and regimen are independent prognostic factors of survival in patients with ACC. Patients treated with surgery combined with postoperative 125I seed radiotherapy have a higher overall survival rate, and those with perineural invasion are more suitable for radioactive seed implantation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed a duck flock daily behavior recognition model with good performance under low-light conditions. • The model was lightly improved with an 8.7 % reduction in the number of parameters. • The method in this study accurately monitors specific events and behavioral rhythms. • The proposed method can record the behavioral rhythms of ducks in real time. Accurate monitoring of animal behavioral rhythms is essential. Currently, it is challenging to identify the behavior of animals under low-light conditions. In this study, we proposed a deep learning model DHSW-YOLO (DH-SENet-WIoU-YOLO) to detect the daily behaviors of duck flocks under bright and dark conditions, meeting the speed requirement for real-time detection, using White Muscovy ducks (WMD) as the research object. Based on the YOLOv8 of network structure, we simplify the detection head of YOLOv8 and introduce the SENet attention mechanism and WIoU v3 loss function. The results showed that DHSW-YOLO could significantly improve the detection effect compared with the original YOLOv8. The mAP was improved from 92.2 % to 94.4 %, the Model size was reduced by 2.8 MB, the Inference time was faster by 1.2 ms, and the number of parameters were reduced by 8.7 %. The mAP of DHSW-YOLO under bright condition was 94.8 %, and that under dark condition was 93.6 %. This indicated that DHSW-YOLO could effectively monitor the behavior of WMD under bright and dark conditions. These results demonstrated that the lightweight and the optimization methods proposed in this paper are effective and provide a technical reference for the automated monitoring and warning system of duck flock behavior rhythms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the mediating role of fear and resilience on the relationship between clinical nurses' reporting of skin lesions and their anxiety and depression during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Background: Prolonged personal protective equipment wearing may cause severe skin lesions among clinical nurses. The possible relationship between clinical nurses' reporting of skin lesions and their anxiety and depression remains unknown. Moreover, little is known about what factors could mediate such a relationship. Methods: This is a cross‐sectional online survey. CHERRIES was used to report results. Results: Of 2014 participants, 94.8% (n = 1910) reported skin lesions. Skin lesions were positively related to anxiety (p <.001, β =.228, SE =.099) and depression (p <.001, β =.187, SE =.093). Fear activated while resilience buffered the relationship between clinical nurses' reporting of skin lesions and anxiety and between skin lesions and depression. Conclusion: Reduced fear and enhanced resilience level were related to decreased levels of anxiety and depression among clinical nurses. Implications for nursing management: Nurse managers should evaluate the occurrence and severity of clinical nurses' skin lesions, arrange reasonable working duration to relieve skin lesions, provide appropriate psychological support to reduce clinical nurses' fear and implement various strategies to enhance their resilience, thereby decreasing their anxiety and depression. Clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2000030290 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total Panax notoginsenosides nanoparticles, typical multicomponent extracts from traditional Chinese medicine, were prepared with a supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process using ethanol as solvent and carbon dioxide as antisolvent. The optimum conditions were determined to be as follows: TPNS solution concentration of 2.5 mg/mL, TPNS solution flow rate of 6.6 mL/min, precipitation temperature of 40°C, and precipitation pressure of 20 MPa. Under the optimum conditions, TPNS nanoparticles with a MPS of 141.5 ± 18.2 nm and total saponins amounts (TSA) of 78.9% were obtained. The TPNS nanoparticles obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeters (DSC), and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the chemical and crystal structure of the obtained TPNS nanoparticles has not changed. Dissolution in vitro studies showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of notoginsenosides R1 and ginsenoside Rb1 in TPNS nanoparticles are higher than these in raw TPNS, with no obvious difference in Rg1. These results suggest that TPNS nanoparticles can be helpful to the improvement of its bioavailability for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article combs the present situation and future development trend of digital economy research in China by means of literature measurement. On the one hand, China's digital economy presents a framework system of industrial digitization, digital industrialization, digital governance, and data value. On the other hand, digital economics has gradually become a dominant science and is constantly challenging the traditional economic research framework. Data are no longer the traditional data, and the data-driven economic and social innovation development model is the future trend. Data privacy, data protection, data ethics, data assets, and so on will become the focus of academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve superior catalytic performance, the development of plausible regulation of pure perovskite structure is necessary, which has become a hot research topic. In this study, manganese (Mn) ions were employed to dope cobalt (Co) ions at the B-site of LaCoO 3 , yielding a series of LaCo 1-x Mn x O 3 (x = 0.1–0.5) perovskite (LCMO). The oxidation activity of NO and Hg0 was conducted, evaluating the effect of Mn-doping. The results indicated a minor change in NO oxidation activity and a significant enhancement in Hg0 oxidation, reaching above 92% at 100°C–300°C for LCMO. Structural characterization revealed a gradual transition in the phase structure of LCMO from the R-3C diamond phase to the Pm-3m cubic phase with increasing Mn doping. Furthermore, electronegativity properties of LCMO evolved with Co ions at the B-site exhibiting a preference for generating Co2+ over the more active Co3+. Finally, DFT calculations were conducted to analyze the adsorption energies of NO and Hg0 at different active sites on the surfaces of LaCoO 3 (110) and Mn-LaCoO 3 (110). The results indicated that Mn doping increased the active site amounts and strengthened the adsorption energy of Hg0 on the Mn-LaCoO 3 (110) surface. However, the adsorption energy of NO remained largely unchanged, validating the oxidation results. This study offered insights for selecting B-site ions to adjust the perovskite structure of excellent performance, facilitating its industrial application. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Autophagy is the endogenous cellular pathway that facilitates cellular survival by maintaining energy homeostasis and macromolecular synthesis during cellular stress and nutrient deprivation. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is the process in which disruption of these physiological functions leads to an accumulation of unfolded proteins and induces the unfolded protein response (UPR). ER stress and autophagy are involved in human cancer. We investigated the expression of autophagic proteins (LC3 and beclin 1) and ER stress-related protein (GRP78) in head and neck adenoid cystic carcinoma tissue. Tissue samples from 79 cases of head and neck adenoid cystic carcinoma tissue were utilized for immunohistochemistry. LC3 expression was significantly correlated with lymph node involvement (P =.016) and TNM (P =.021). Beclin 1 expression was significantly correlated with the histological growth pattern (P =.002), the histological grade (P =.000), and longer survival (P =.000). GRP78 expression was significantly correlated with the histological growth pattern (P =.019), the histological grade (P =.019), and longer survival (P =.001). LC3 expression was positively correlated with beclin 1 expression (P =.000); LC3 and beclin 1 expressions were positively correlated with GRP78 expression respectively (P =.035) (P =.008). Our study describes the expression of LC3, beclin 1, and GRP78 in adenoid cystic carcinoma and its relationship with clinicopathologic factors and overall survival. These results suggest that LC3, beclin 1, and GRP78 may play an important role in the tumorigenesis of adenoid cystic carcinoma, and that beclin 1 and GRP78 may serve as new prognostic indicators for the outcome of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acid etching can effectively alter the mineralization properties of perovskite. In this study, LaCoO 3 perovskites were etched via acetic acid (1–3 M) and were used to simultaneously catalyze the oxidation of NO and Hg0 in coal-fired flue gas. The results demonstrated the ability of the modified acetic acid to improve the low-temperature activity of LaCoO 3 perovskite. The acetic acid could erode or dissolve the La–O surface termination and emerge more Co–O surface termination, changing the pore structure, surface morphology, redox capacity, metal oxidation state, and acid-site strength. These changes on the LaCoO 3 perovskite allowed for the low-temperature to simultaneously improve the NO and Hg0 oxidation performances, and the NO reaction temperature was reduced by 25 °C. Moreover, when the concentration of acetic acid exceeded 1 M, part of the active Co ions in the perovskite structure were further dissolved, thereby reducing the NO and Hg0 simultaneous oxidation activity. [Display omitted] • The LaCoO 3 -1/2/3M possessed better oxidation activity than raw LaCoO 3. • The surface modification of acetic acid for LaCoO 3 was favorable for NO and Hg0 to access the surface. • Acetic acid made part of La–O bands be dissolved and more active Co–O bonds be exposed over the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Frontline nurses' willingness to work has significant implications for maintaining workforce stability and quality of care during the COVID‐19 pandemic; however, few studies have investigated their willingness and the corresponding reasons. This study aims to examine frontline nurses' willingness to work, identify its predictors and explore its corresponding reasons. Design: A mixed‐methods design was conducted. Methods: Based on a multilevel behavioural‐diagnostic model, a questionnaire survey was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data concurrently from 13 February to 24 February 2020 to explore frontline nurses' willingness to work and the corresponding reasons in two hospitals in Wuhan, China. One was a designated hospital which only received COVID‐19 patients, and the other was built up temporarily for COVID‐19 patients. Results: Of the 2014 participants, most (n = 1950, 96.8%) indicated their willingness to work, and a few (n = 64, 3.2%) expressed their unwillingness. Binary logistic regression analysis identified five predictors of participants' willingness to work, including monthly family income, average working hours per shift, belief in their colleagues' preparedness, belief in their hospitals' preparedness and levels of depression. These indicators explained 27% of the variance (p <.05). Frontline nurses' willingness to work mainly arose from professional commitment, patriotism and faith, while unwillingness to do so primarily stemmed from safety concerns and family responsibility. Conclusion: Most frontline nurses were willing to work and showed great professional commitment. Impact: Professional commitment and patriotism were two important individual‐level factors affecting frontline nurses' willingness to work during a pandemic. Strategies should be implemented, such as appreciating and acknowledging their contribution, rewarding their valuable work, arranging reasonable working hours, enhancing colleagues' and hospitals' preparedness, and providing emotional support. Moreover, adequate personal protective equipment, self‐protection training and social support should be ensured to address frontline nurses' safety concerns and family responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a full-loop 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation of the chemical looping gasification (CLG) process of lignite in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) was performed using a two-fluid Eulerian-Eulerian model. The results showed that the CFD simulation effectively captured the axial and radial velocities of the particles. More radial flow occurred in the bottom part of the riser and inside the cyclone. The exothermic reaction became dominant within 7s, while the heat-absorbing reaction became dominant between 7 and 15s. The aggregation regions of syngas moved up with that of the high-temperature zone, and CO was the main contributor to the syngas. The particle size in the range of 175–225 μm was inversely proportional to the size of the average heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in the riser. Extremely small particle size saturated the bed, suppressing the HTC. The peak of the HTC was 387.7 W/(m2·K), which occurred in the upper-middle region of the riser and reached. The maximum HTC average value was 180.6 W/(m2·K). Finally, experimental data were used to verify the reliability of the model. [Display omitted] • Simulation of a CLG fuel reactor in a circulating fluidized bed. • Contribute to understanding the rapid fluidization behavior of particles in CFB. • The spatial-temporal distribution of components in riser was investigated. • The spatial-temporal distribution of temperature in riser was investigated. • A study of the heat transfer properties of lignite for the CLG process in a CFB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a poor water-soluble antineoplastic drug with significant antitumor activity. However, its low bioavailability is a major obstacle for its biomedical applications. Thus, this experiment is designed to prepare PTX crystal powders through an antisolvent precipitation process using 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (HMImBr) as solvent and water as an antisolvent. The factors influencing saturation solubility of PTX crystal powders in water in water were optimized using a single-factor design. The optimum conditions for the antisolvent precipitation process were as follows: 50 mg/mL concentration of the PTX solution, 25 °C temperature, and 1:7 solvent-to-antisolvent ratio. The PTX crystal powders were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and dissolution and oral bioavailability studies. Results showed that the chemical structure of PTX crystal powders were unchanged; however, precipitation of the crystalline structure changed. The dissolution test showed that the dissolution rate and solubility of PTX crystal powders were nearly 3.21-folds higher compared to raw PTX in water, and 1.27 times higher in artificial gastric juice. Meanwhile, the bioavailability of PTX crystal increased 10.88 times than raw PTX. These results suggested that PTX crystal powders might have potential value to become a new oral PTX formulation with high bioavailability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the electrospinning of chitosan in common organic solvents, amino-reserved CS-g-PCL was synthesized by one-step method. PLLA and dichloromethane/ethanol (CH 2 Cl 2 /EtOH) solvent were chosen to prepare a series of different compositions of PLLA/CS-g-PCL mats (8/2, 6/4, 4/6, 2/8 wt/wt%) by electrospinning. The SEM showed that the smooth defect-free and uniform nanofibers were collected except PLLA/CS-g-PCL 2/8 and pure CS-g-PCL, and the fiber diameter was decreased from 828 nm to 461 nm with the increasing content of CS-g-PCL. The mechanical properties of composite mats have decreased with increasing CS-g-PCL content, but much higher than neat PLLA. The water contact angle, water absorption rate, water-vapor transmission rate and in vitro degradation behavior were 129°–19°, 109%–482%, 1945–2517 g m−2 day−1 and 4–14%, respectively. The addition of CS-g-PCL imparted PLLA/CS-g-PCL electrospun mats on better properties, improving the nature defects of PLLA. The in vitro cell culture studies showed that PLLA/CS-g-PCL 6/4 exhibited a higher in vitro biocompatibility and a better ability for cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation, comparing with PLLA mats. Herein, PLLA/CS-g-PCL 6/4 electrospun mats with excellent performance, was considered the potential application as wound dressing in skin tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As ideal tissue engineering scaffold, surface feature plays an important role in cell adhesion and proliferation. In order to improve cytocompatibility of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) synthetic materials, in this study, photochemical surface modification is applied in electrospinning field for the first time. Azidobenzoic acid‐modified gelatin (AZ‐gelatin) as bioactive protein is successfully fixed on PHBV/PEO electrospun mats by photochemical technique without any crosslinking agent. In vitro degradation and cell culture results show that PHBV/PEO/AZ‐gelatin electrospun mats have excellent cell adhesion and proliferation compared with PHBV and PHBV/PEO electrospun mats. But, by contrast with PHBV/PEO electrospun mats, the fiber diameter of PHBV/PEO/AZ‐gelatin mats increased, and the porosity and mechanical properties decrease. Nonetheless, PHBV/PEO/AZ‐gelatin‐0.01 mg mL−1 electrospun mats have shown better morphology (fiber diameter 600 nm, porosity 88%), mechanical properties (4.2 MPa), and water vapor transmission rate (2301 g m−2 day−1), which has great potential as artificial skin scaffold in tissue regeneration field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: COVID-19 has become a serious global pandemic. This study investigates the clinical characteristics and the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality and establishes a novel scoring system to predict mortality risk in patients with COVID-19.Methods: A cohort of 1,663 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, of whom 212 died and 1,252 recovered, were included in this study. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data on admission were collected from electronic medical records between January 14, 2020 and February 28, 2020. Clinical outcomes were collected until March 26, 2020. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the association between potential risk factors and COVID-19 mortality. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to predict COVID-19 mortality risk. All analyses were conducted in April 2020.Results: Multivariable regression showed that increased odds of COVID-19 mortality was associated with older age (OR=2.15, 95% CI=1.35, 3.43), male sex (OR=1.97, 95% CI=1.29, 2.99), history of diabetes (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.45, 3.76), lymphopenia (OR=1.59, 95% CI=1.03, 2.46), and increased procalcitonin (OR=3.91, 95% CI=2.22, 6.91, per SD increase) on admission. Spline regression analysis indicated that the correlation between procalcitonin levels and COVID-19 mortality was nonlinear (p=0.0004 for nonlinearity). The area under the receiver operating curve of the COVID-19 mortality risk was 0.765 (95% CI=0.725, 0.805).Conclusions: The independent risk factors for COVID-19 mortality included older age, male sex, history of diabetes, lymphopenia, and increased procalcitonin, which could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an earlier stage. The COVID-19 mortality risk score model may assist clinicians in reducing COVID-19-related mortality by implementing better strategies for more effective use of limited medical resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the survival and side effects of repeated CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) on hepatocellular carcinoma patients.Methods: 24 HCC patients were collected at The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from November 2011 to July 2016. They received second-course CK-SBRT with a prescribed dose of 50(48-55) Gy/5-8fx, and a single dose of 10 (7-11) Gy/fx. Cumulative overall survival rates (OS), progression-free survival rates (PFS) and local control rates (LC) were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method.Results: All patients finished their radiotherapy plans. The 1-,2- and 3-year cumulative OS rate were 95.8,81.1 and 60.8%. The 1-,2- and 3-year LC rate were 95.5,90.7 and 90.7%, respectively. The 1-, 2- and 3-year PFS were 74.8, 49.2 and 39.4%, respectively. 16 patients complained of fatigue during second-course therapy, 2 patients showed Grade 2 gastrointestinal reaction, 1 patient was diagnosed radiation-induced liver disease and none died. PFS was significantly higher in the interval time < 12 months group than in the interval time ≥ 12 months group (p = 0.030).Conclusions: It is preliminarily believed that re-CK-SBRT is an effective and safe treatment for HCC patients, but the treatment criteria should be strictly controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The partial substitution of A-site in perovskites is a major strategy to enhance the catalytic oxidation activity. This study explores the use of silver (Ag) to partially replace the lanthanum (La) ion at the A-site in LaCoO 3 perovskite, investigating the role of Ag in the ABO 3 perovskite structure, elucidating the nitric oxide (NO) oxidation mechanism over La 1–x Ag x CoO 3 (x = 0.1–0.5) perovskites. La 0.7 Ag 0.3 CoO 3 with an Ag-doping amount of 0.3, exhibited the highest NO oxidation activity of 88.5% at 275 °C. Characterization results indicated that Ag substitution enhanced the perovskite, maintaining its original phase structure, existing in the form of a mixture of Ag0 and Ag+ in the La 1–x Ag x CoO 3 (x = 0.1–0.5) perovskites. Notably, Ag substitution improved the specific surface area, reduction performance, Co3+, and surface adsorption oxygen content. Additionally, the study investigated the relationship between magnetism and NO oxidation from a magnetism perspective. Ag-doping strengthened the magnetism of La–Ag perovskite, resulting in stronger adsorption of paramagnetic NO. This study elucidated the NO oxidation mechanism over La–Ag perovskite, considering structural and magnetic properties, providing valuable insights for the subsequent development and industrial application of high oxidation ability perovskite catalysts. • La 0.7 Ag 0.3 CoO 3 showed the maximum NO oxidation activity of 88.5% at 275 °C. • Ag ions enhance the electronegativity and surface oxygen concentration of perovskites. • The increase in magnetism improves the adsorption activity of NO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MiR-221-5p is significantly up-regulated in RCC tissues and RCC cell lines. • MiR-221-5p promotes cell proliferation, mobility and inhibits cell apoptosis in 786-O and ACHN cell lines. • The Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high expression of miR-221-5p had a significantly poor prognosis. • The Cox regression analyses showed that patients with high expression of miR-221-5p remained to have a shorter overall survival. • MiR-221-5p may not only be an oncogene in RCC cells but also might be an independent prognosis factor of RCC. Renal cell carcinoma(RCC) is one of the most common malignancies in kidney, and usually leads to poor prognosis. Therefore, identifying novel biomarkers for predicting the progression and prognosis of RCC is essential. The purpose of this study is aimed to evaluate the function of miR-221-5p in RCC and the clinical value of miR-221-5p in RCC prognosis after surgery. In our study, RT-qPCR, wound scratch assay, cell proliferation assay, transwell assay, and flow cytometry assay were performed to explore miR-221-5p expression level and its proliferation, migration and apoptosis in clear cell RCC(ccRCC). Besides, we collected 196 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples of patients who received partial or radical nephrectomy from May 2006 to October 2016 at Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and People's Liberation Army 303 Hospital. The relative levels of miR-221-5p from the FFPE tissue samples was detected by RT-qPCR. The Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression analyses, and ROC curve analysis were performed to approve the effect of the miR-221-5p expression on patient survival. In our study, we found that miR-221-5p is significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues and ccRCC cell lines. Moreover, miR-221-5p promotes cell proliferation, mobility, and inhibits cell apoptosis in 786-O and ACHN cell lines. The Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high expression of miR-221-5p had a significantly poor prognosis (P = 0.013). The Cox regression analyses showed that patients with high expression of miR-221-5p remained to have a shorter overall survival (P = 0.025). The ROC curve of miR-221-5p expression combined with tumor stage showed an area under the curve of 0.658 (P < 0.001). Our results indicated that miR-221-5p might not only be an oncogene in ccRCC cells but also might be an independent prognosis factor of ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• By inhibiting SLC7A11/xCT with the inhibitor sulfasalazine and nanoreactors with tetrasulfide bond (-s-s-s-s-)- as the backbone, tumor cell glutathione synthesis is suppressed and its consumption is promoted. • Decreased glutathione content inhibits GPX4 synthesis, promotes intracellular lipid peroxide accumulation, and induces ferroptosis in tumor cells. • The photosensitizer DVDMS produces ROS under ultrasound, which, together with Fe3+, promotes lipid peroxide generation. • Targeted delivery of USP39 shRNA can efficiently silence USP39 gene expression under ultrasound stimulation, inhibiting cell proliferation and selectively inducing autophagy-dependent ferroptosis. The promotion of cellular ferroptosis through ultrasound (US)-assisted Fenton chemistry has emerged as a promising strategy for tumor therapy. To enhance the therapeutic effect, we designed a GSH-responsive ultrasound-driven nanoreactor for RNA interference (RNAi)-intensified ferroptosis in synergistic sono-chemodynamic therapy. Our nanoreactor comprises Fe3+/tetrasulfide bond (-s-s-s-s-) enriched dendritic organosilica encapsulating USP39 shRNA, along with co-loading of sinophoryrin sodium (DVDMS) and sulfasalazine (SAS). Hyaluronic acid surface functionalization ensures high tumor accumulation for active targeting of tumor cells. Upon internalization into tumor cells, the nanoreactor degrades upon the triggering of intracellular overproduced GSH. Ultrasound-triggered release of DVDMS generates large amounts of ROS, synergizing with Fe-catalyzed Fenton chemistry. The simultaneous depletion of glutathione peroxidase 4 and GSH by SAS and Fe3+ weakens the ROS-scavenging system, leading to tumoral redox dyshomeostasis via oxidative stress amplification. This results in the accumulation of lipid peroxide in tumor cells, efficiently inducing ferroptosis. Additionally, USP39 shRNA effectively silences the expression of the USP39 gene in cells, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, while promoting ATG5 gene expression to intensify ferroptosis. Our work provides a promising nanoreactor for high-efficiency synergistic tumor therapy via RNAi-intensified ferroptosis, highlighting the potential of sono-chemodynamic therapy in cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The murine double minute 2 (MDM2) gene is a crucial factor in the development and progression of various cancer types. Multiple rigorous scientific studies have consistently shown its involvement in tumorigenesis and cancer progression in a wide range of cancer types. However, a comprehensive analysis of the role of MDM2 in human cancer has yet to be conducted. We used various databases, including TIMER2.0, TCGA, GTEx and STRING, to analyze MDM2 expression and its correlation with clinical outcomes, interacting genes and immune cell infiltration. We also investigated the association of MDM2 with immune checkpoints and performed gene enrichment analysis using DAVID tools. The pan-cancer MDM2 analysis found that MDM2 expression and mutation status were observably different in 25 types of cancer tissue compared with healthy tissues, and prognosis analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between MDM2 expression and patient prognosis. Furthermore, correlation analysis showed that MDM2 expression was correlated with tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability and drug sensitivity in certain cancer types. We found that there was an association between MDM2 expression and immune cell infiltration across cancer types, and MDM2 inhibitors might enhance the effect of immunotherapy on breast cancer, bladder cancer and ovarian cancer. The first systematic pan-cancer analysis of MDM2 was conducted, and it demonstrated that MDM2 was a reliable prognostic biomarker and was closely related to cancer immunity, providing a potential immunotherapeutic target for breast cancer, bladder cancer and ovarian cancer. • MDM2 is upregulated in most cancer tissues. • MDM2 is related to the prognosis of cancer patients. • The expression of MDM2 is associated with tumor immune infiltration. • MDM2 inhibitors may enhance the immunotherapeutic effect against OV, BLCA and BRCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The aim of this study was to determine whether a combination of the tumour markers carcinoembryonic (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) would be helpful in predicting the prognosis of patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) who underwent resection. Methods A retrospective analysis of clinico-pathological features and survival of 390 patients with GBC who were treated between January 2003 and December 2013. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to evaluate the prognostic ability of tumour markers. Combinations of preoperative CEA and CA19-9 were tested as potential prognostic factors. Results The evaluation of preoperative CEA and CA19-9 showed that patients with both tumour markers within the normal range had the best prognosis with a median survival of 27 months and R0 rate of 86%. Patients with both tumour markers elevated had the poorest prognosis and lower R0 rate (p < 0.001). The combination of CEA and CA19-9 was an independent risk factor for overall survival. The AUROC at 5 years of combination of CEA and CA19-9 was 0.798, which was similar to CEA (0.765) or CA19-9 (0.771) alone (p = 0.103, p = 0.147). Conclusions A combination of an elevated preoperative CEA and CA19-9 was associated with a worse prognosis for patients with GBC who underwent resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two processes of erythrocyte aggregation and fibrin forming proceed simultaneously to form a stable blood clot and achieve hemostasis. [Display omitted] • Multilevel initiator-tTFV achieving stable clotting for intraoperative hemostasis. • F127 hydrogel assisting tTFV in depositing onto wound and maximizing hemostasis. • tTFV/F127 mixed hydrogel minimizing the postoperative adhesion. Quick and stable clotting is essential in topically controlling intraoperative hemorrhage for patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Here, we proposed and validated a kind of vesicle originated from gene-engineering cell membrane to manage uncontrolled bleeding with double clotting-triggering strategy. The vesicle constitutively exhibited truncated tissue factor (tTF) protein and phosphatidylserine (PS), thus function as a fibrin growth stimulus and erythrocyte attractant initiator in vitro and in vivo. Erythrocytes assembled in blood clot protected formed fibrin from fibrinolysis while the grown fibrin network enhanced erythrocyte aggregation in situ. Notably, these double clotting-triggering processes worked synergistically to constitute a positive feedback effect to quickly and potently form fibrinolysis-resisted erythrocyte-modified fibrin structures and achieve more stable clotting than the commonly used thrombin and gelatin coagulant. Furthermore, FDA-approved biocompatible Pluronic F127 hydrogel was rationally introduced to assist vesicles depositing onto the wound, thereby maximizing the hemostatic activity and minimizing the postoperative adhesion in a hemorrhage model with cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression. This multi-level coagulant method reported here sheds new light on controlling bleeding when patients with myelosuppression undergo surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A pilot microfluidic system (PMS) was built to synthesize the nanohybrids. • Ultra-small CoFe-WO x nanohybrids were successfully synthesized by PMS. • The CoFe-WO x nanohybrids displayed excellent multi-modal imaging property. • The CoFe-WO x nanohybrids produced absorption peaks in the second near-infrared region. Among all the nanomaterials, ultra-small nanohybrids have gained considerable attention as drugs, contrast agents, molecular nanoprobes, and catalysts owing to their multi-functionality and size effect. However, their extension and commercialization are restricted due to low synthetic efficiency and uncontrollable structure. Herein, a pilot microfluidic system (PMS) was built to successfully synthesize the ultra-small (2.3 ± 0.7 nm) CoFe-WO x nanohybrids (NHs) with a tiny CoFe core and a mixed metal oxides shell (CoWO 4 -Fe 2 WO 6 -WO 3). Furthermore, the CoFe-WO x NHs displayed excellent multi-modal imaging properties, which could be observed optically via a dark-field microscope, imaged through X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging device. For the first time, hybridization between metal cores and metal-oxide shells produced two strong absorption peaks in the long band of near infrared radiation, one at 1450 nm and the other at 1980 nm. Overall, CoFe-WO x NHs emonstrated distinct magnetic and optical properties and multimode imaging capabilities due to their microstructure and composition. These findings may prove to be effective in finding alternatives for nanoprobes that can be used for visible/infrared/MRI/CT imaging, as well as pre-drugs for photothermal/photodynamic and magnetothermal/magneto-dynamic therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cisplatin ( DDP)-based adjuvant chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma ( SACC), SACCs have developed resistance to cisplatin, resulting in chemotherapy failure. Autophagy serves as a critical adaptive response, which was increased in tumor cells in chemotherapy. However, the function of autophagy is not clear in SACC. In this study, apoptosis induced by DDP in SACC high metastatic cell line ( ACC-M) was revealed using MTT assay, flow cytometry, and caspase-3 immunoblotting. The autophagy activation induced by DDP treatment was measured by transmission electron microscopy, green fluorescent protein-light chain 3 plasmid transfection LC3 immunoblotting and p62 immunoblotting. 3-methyladenine (3- MA) or small interference RNA targeting beclin 1 (beclin 1 si RNA) inhibited autophagy and significantly enhanced DDP-induced apoptosis. ACC-M xenografts in nude mice further verified the synergistic effect of DDP and 3- MA. In conclusion, autophagy activation was caused to protect cancer cells from DDP-induced apoptosis and autophagy inhibition could be a promising strategy for adjuvant chemotherapy in SACC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-1/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection accelerates the progression of liver disease to cirrhosis, particularly in individuals with low CD4+ T-cell counts. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can significantly increase HCV-specific T-cell responses; however, it remains unclear whether the restoration of HCV-specific T cells by HAART is associated with liver injury in these coinfection patients.A total of 32 HIV-1/HCV coinfected patients and 14 HCV monoinfected patients were enrolled, and 13 coinfected patients were initialized HAART and followed up for 6 months. HCV-specific interferon-γ responses to HCV core and NS3A proteins were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot.HCV-specific interferon-γ responses to HCV core and NS3A proteins were impaired in HIV-1/HCV-coinfected patients as compared with those in HCV monoinfected patients. The impaired HCV-specific T-cell responses could be efficiently restored during the early phase of HAART, independent of HCV status, and were positively associated with increased CD4 T-cell counts. In addition, this recovery of HCV-specific T-cell responses occurred simultaneously with elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels in HCV viremic patients and in patients with HCV rebound, but not in HCV nonviremic patients after 6 months of HAART.The recovery of HCV-specific T-cell responses by HAART may lead to transient liver injury in patients with HIV-1/HCV coinfection, suggesting that early anti-HCV therapy before HAART may reduce the risk of liver injury and therefore may be beneficial to HIV-1/HCV-coinfected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracranial clear cell meningioma (CCM) is very rare and often has an aggressive clinical course. The predilection site of intracranial CCM in children was cerebellopontine angle where represents challenging tumor resection because of the vicinity of brainstem, vertebral artery, and lower cranial nerve. Therefore, special consideration is required for this tumor. We report two cases with intracranial CCM in a family and reviewed the literature concerning pediatric intracranial CCM. Case 1 is a 4-year-old boy with a tumor at the right posterior fossa. Case 2 is an 8-year-old boy with a left basilar region tumor. Gross total resection and subtotal resection was achieved in case 1 and case 2, respectively. Case 1 had no tumor recurrence at 12 months after the operation. Case 2 received cyber-knife radiosurgery (CKS) after subtotal resection at 4 months, and the residual tumor had gradually shrunk. Comprehensive chromosomal number aberrations in both patients were revealed by array-comparative genomic hybridization, and loss of neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) gene was the common genetic abnormality in the two patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerned two patients with CCM in a family, and the findings in this article suggest that CKS is a safe and effective adjuvant therapy for residual CCM after operation and NF2 gene mutation plays a role in tumorigenesis of pediatric intracranial CCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nowadays, lignin antioxidant study is a hot spot. But some properties of lignin make it hard for a wide range of application. To improve lignin antioxidant activity, we employed supercritical antisolvent (SAS) method for preparation of nanoscale lignin (0.144±0.03μm) using acetone as a solvent and supercritical carbon dioxide as an antisolvent. The nanoscale lignin was characterised by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The results showed that SAS process did not result in lignin degradation or chemical structure change. Due to solubility increase, many antioxidant parameters of the nanoscale lignin were obviously enhanced, including DPPH radical scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity and reducing power. As an antioxidant, the nanoscale lignin was a better material than the non-nanoscale lignin. Our study was to promote the lignin application in animal husbandry, pharmaceutical and food processing industries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Different organosolv pulping methods delignified raw materials (Acanthopanax senticosus remainder) were investigated, including acetone–acetic acid–water method (8/1/1, v/v/v), 1,4-butanediol–acetic acid–water method (8/1/1, v/v/v), ethanol–acetic acid–water method (8/1/1, v/v/v) and acetic acid–water method (4/1, v/v). Lignin extraction efficiency and antioxidant capacity from different organosolv methods were compared. The results showed that the lignin extraction efficiency of the 1,4-butanediol–acetic acid–water method was the highest (39%) among methods of this paper. The lignin from acetic acid–water method was the most effective free radical scavengers, whose 1,1-di-phenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity (IC50) was about 0.6587mg/ml. Acanthopanax senticosus remainder (raw materials) and pulps were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and pulps strength properties. All lignin samples were analysed by Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that organosolv pulping process had large influence on pulps morphology, pulps strength properties and lignin structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To investigate thermoacoustic instability and emission characteristics in premixed swirl combustor, several low-emission swirlers with different vane stagger angles were designed. At normal temperatures and pressures, the flow field, flame shape, thermoacoustic instability and emissions as well as their relationships were investigated. The flame shapes and swirling flow dynamics were characterized by chemiluminescence (CL) imaging and particle image velocimetry (PIV), the pressure oscillations and emissions were obtained using microphone and flue gas analyzer. The results indicate that the position and size of recirculation zone varies abruptly with the swirl number. When combustion equivalence ratio is 0.8–1.5, three flame modes, including attached flame, W-shape and V-shape detached flame, arise above the combustor as equivalence ratio is reduced. The V-shape detached flame shows the weakest sound pressure, which suggests the best stability and lowest emissions. Additionally, emissions are also affected by swirling intensity. In general, the inside stage of swirler with higher swirling intensity generates lower NO x emission. For the two-stage swirler C3, the maximum CO and NO x emissions are about 2 ppm and 40 ppm respectively. In the same flame conditions, the three-stage swirler C5 has a lower NO x emission, less than 8 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor immunotherapy is considered to be a novel and promising therapy for tumors and it has recently become a hot research topic. The clinical success of tumor immunotherapy has been notable, but it has been less than totally satisfactory because tumor immunotherapy has performed poorly in numerous patients although it has shown appreciable efficacy in some patients. A minority of patients demonstrate durable responses but the majority of patients do not respond to tumor immunotherapy as the tumor immune microenvironment is different in different patients for different tumor types. The success of tumor immunotherapy may be affected by the heterogeneity of the tumor immune microenvironment and its components, as these vary widely during neoplastic progression. The deepening of research and the development of technology have improved our understanding of the complexity and heterogeneity of the tumor immune microenvironment and its components, and their effects on response to tumor immunotherapy. Therefore, investigating the tumor immune microenvironment and its components and elucidating their association with tumor immunotherapy should improve the ability to study, predict and guide immunotherapeutic responsiveness, and uncover new therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug resistance severely affects the clinical efficacy of therapeutic agents in patients with colon cancer. The aim of the present study was to identify genes involved in drug resistance in colon cancer using bioinformatics analysis and to identify the underlying mechanisms in vitro. Genes associated with cancer recurrence and chemotherapy resistance were identified using data mining. Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze the protein expression level of genes of interest in human colon cancer tissues. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis was performed to analyze the gene expression level in patient samples and in colon cancer cell lines (HCT116 and LoVo). Cell viability was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay in the colon cancer cell lines. Apoptosis was measured using PI staining. The results from the present study revealed 602 genes using both 'cancer recurrence' and 'chemoresistance' terms on the GenCLiP3 website. Gene functional annotation was performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery then, the protein-protein interaction networks of the 602 genes were analyzed using STRING analysis. Further, in the GEPIA database, 14 genes (ATM, CDH2, CDKN2A, EPO, LEP, TGFB1, TIMP1, PGR, VEGFC, POSTN, BCL6, CYP19A1, NOTCH3 and XPA) were found to be upregulated in colon cancer tissue and were associated with poor prognosis in patients with colon cancer. Further analysis of 33 paired human colon cancer tissues revealed that 8 genes (ATM, CDH2, CDKN2A, LEP, PGR, TIMP1, POSTN and VEGFC) were significantly upregulated, which was consistent with the results obtained from the earlier analysis and 5 genes (CDH2, LEP, POSTN, TIMP1 and VEGFC) were associated with patient prognosis. Silencing of these 5 genes using small interfering RNAs significantly enhanced the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to the chemotherapeutic agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Taken together, the results suggested that CDH2, LEP, POSTN, TIMP1 and VEGFC might play a role in chemotherapeutic resistance in colon cancer and represent potential targets for overcoming 5-FU resistance in colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proven the possibility of 4Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst for simultaneous removal of NO and Hg0. • The simultaneous removal efficiencies of NO and Hg0 were 96.5% and 84.5% at 250 °C, respectively. • The Cu doping enhanced the thermal stability of ZSM-5. 4Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was synthesized using microwave wet impregnation for simultaneous removal of NO and elemental mercury (Hg0) from simulated flue gas. The highest removal efficiencies were achieved at 250 C for both NO (96.5%) and Hg0 (84.5%). Meantime, the effect of O 2 , NH 3 and SO 2 were investigated. The results showed that 5% O 2 and 500 ppm NH 3 made the removal efficiencies be the highest and after the addition of 100 ppm SO 2 , the removal efficiencies reduced to 40% for NO and 55% for Hg0. According to the characterization results, 4Cu-ZSM-5 had better thermal stability abundant reducing substances and richer weak acid sites for the simultaneous removal of NO and Hg0. NO formed bridging nitrates on the 4Cu-ZSM-5 surface and then combined with NH 3 to form Lewis acid sites for reducing to N 2. Meanwhile, Cu2+ induced Hg0 to give electrons, making it oxidized to HgO. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report mechanically reinforced dual-coated sand proppants for hydraulic fracturing operations. The dual-coated sand proppants were prepared by sequential surface modifications. The sand particles were firstly coated with polystyrene-polymethyl methacrylate copolymer (PS-PMMA) composite with commercial graphene (CG) (first composite layer) and subsequently coated with epoxy-CG composite (second composite layer). The copolymer-CG coating onto sand particles was carried out by mixing 1:1 styrene (S) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers with the initiator AIBN along with CG followed by adding the mixture to sand particles with vigorous stirring and subsequent polymerization at 70 °C. The PS-PMMA-CG coated sand particles were then mixed with epoxy resin and a cure in a ratio of 4:1 along with CG and cured at 150 °C for 5 min. Chemical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological characterizations for the composite layers and dual-coated sand proppants were investigated in detail by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nano-indentation, thermogravimetric (TGA), optical, and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) techniques. The FT-IR results revealed that the successful formation of PS-PMMA-CG copolymer composite and cross-linked epoxy-CG composites. The XRD results indicated that the successful surface coverage of the dual composites coating onto the sand. The optical and SEM results revealed that the roundness and sphericity of the reinforced proppant particles were greater than 0.6. Interestingly, elasticity (E), and hardness (H) of the coating shells have reached a maximum of 3.97 GPa and 0.144 GPa, respectively. The thermal stability of the (PS-PMMA-CG)-(epoxy-CG) dual composite shell has reached as high as 363 °C. Furthermore, the stress resistance of the optimized dual-coated sand proppant (Sand-(PS-PMMA-CG)-(epoxy-CG)) reached as high as 10000 psi with a fine production of <10 wt%. The mechanically reinforced dual-coated sand including the most desirable characteristics of roundness and sphericity to be greater than 0.6, high-stress resistance with excellent thermal and mechanical stabilities confirmed its great potential to be applied as successful proppants in oil and gas upstream applications. Image 1 • Mechanically reinforced ((PS-PMMA)-Graphene)-(Epoxy-Graphene) dual-coated sand. • Elasticity and hardness of the coating shells are 3.97 GPa and 0.144 GPa. • The thermal stability is as high as 363 °C. • The stress resistance of the proppant is as high as 10000 psi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]