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Background: The move away from investigating mental disorders as whole using sum scores to the analysis of symptom-level interactions using network analysis has provided new insights into comorbidities. The current study explored the dynamic interactions between depressive and anxiety symptoms in older Chinese adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) and identified central and bridge symptoms in the depression-anxiety network to provide potential targets for prevention and intervention for depression and anxiety. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design with data from the 2017-2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). A regularized partial correlation network for depressive and anxiety symptoms was estimated based on self-reported scales completed by 1685 older adults with DM aged 65 years or older. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) and the Seven-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), respectively. Expected influence (EI) and bridge expected influence (BEI) indices were calculated for each symptom. Results: According to cutoff scores indicating the presence of depression and anxiety, the prevalences of depression and anxiety in our sample were 52.9% and 12.8%, respectively. The comorbidity rate of depression and anxiety was 11.5%. The six edges with the strongest regularized partial correlations were between symptoms from the same disorder. "Feeling blue/depressed", "Nervousness or anxiety", "Uncontrollable worry", "Trouble relaxing", and "Worry too much" had the highest EI values. "Nervousness or anxiety" and "Everything was an effort" exhibited the highest BEI values. Conclusion: Central and bridge symptoms were highlighted in this study. Targeting these symptoms may be effective in preventing the comorbidity of depressive and anxiety symptoms and facilitate interventions in older Chinese adults with DM who are at risk for or currently have depressive and anxiety symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing number of long COVID cases has drawn clinical attention to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has been spreading worldwide since winter 2019. Its symptoms are not limited to fatigue and shortness of breath but also affect daily life. We report the use of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) to detect coinfection with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus in a patient with long COVID. The patient was admitted with fever, expectoration, fatigue, and shortness of breath. The PCR test was negative due to possible clearance of SARS-Cov-2 in the upper respiratory tract of patients with long COVID. Other routine microbiological tests were also negative, making the clinical diagnosis difficult. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were tested using mNGS. The patient was diagnosed and treated promptly, recovered quickly, and continued taking azvudine after discharge; his condition was stable. This study illustrates that mNGS may be valuable for the timely diagnosis of patients with long COVID and their mixed infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immunity and ferroptosis often play a synergistic role in the progression and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, few studies have focused on identifying immune-related ferroptosis gene biomarkers. Methods: We performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and random forest to identify prognostic differentially expressed immune-related genes (PR-DE-IRGs) highly related to HCC and characteristic prognostic differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes (PR-DE-FRGs) respectively to run co-expression analysis for prognostic differentially expressed immune-related ferroptosis characteristic genes (PR-DE-IRFeCGs). Lasso regression finally identified 3 PR-DE-IRFeCGs for us to construct a prognostic predictive model. Differential expression and prognostic analysis based on shared data from multiple sources and experimental means were performed to further verify the 3 modeled genes' biological value in HCC. We ran various performance testing methods to test the model's performance and compare it with other similar signatures. Finally, we integrated composite factors to construct a comprehensive quantitative nomogram for accurate prognostic prediction and evaluated its performance. Results: 17 PR-DE-IRFeCGs were identified based on co-expression analysis between the screened 17 PR-DE-FRGs and 34 PR-DE-IRGs. Multi-source sequencing data, QRT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining and testing methods fully confirmed the upregulation and significant prognostic influence of the three PR-DE-IRFeCGs in HCC. The model performed well in the performance tests of multiple methods based on the 5 cohorts. Furthermore, our model outperformed other related models in various performance tests. The immunotherapy and chemotherapy guiding value of our signature and the comprehensive nomogram's excellent performance have also stood the test. Conclusion: We identified a novel PR-DE-IRFeCGs signature with excellent prognostic prediction and clinical guidance value in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute stress reaction (ASR) following a stressful event is associated with stress-related mental disorders. However, no studies have investigated the relationships between ASR symptom clusters. The present study aimed to provide a fine-grained understanding of the complex relationships among symptom clusters and identify the central symptom clusters of ASR using network analysis. Methods: The Acute Stress Reaction Scale (ASRS) was used to investigate the network structure of ASR in 1792 Chinese male military college students who were about to participate in an important physical fitness test. We calculated the weights of the edges connecting different symptom clusters and the central indices of 25 symptom clusters in the final network. Results: There were five strongest edges with significantly higher weights than most other edge weights, including the edges between "Less communication" and "Isolated from others." The symptom clusters of "Somatic symptoms," "Hypoprosexia," and "Anxiety" were found to be the central nodes with the highest expected influences (primary centrality index). Conclusion: The present study explored the network structure of ASR, revealed complex connections between symptom clusters, and identified central clusters. These findings have important clinical implications, and it is suggested that the three central symptom clusters may be potential targets for effective interventions for ASR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental testing and analysis of strength and deformation characteristics of hydrate reservoirs is an integral part of natural gas hydrate exploitation. However, studies so far have failed to deeply explore samples from the South China Sea. Especially, there is a lack of a simple and applicable method to estimate their mechanical behaviors. Thus, based on test data, an improved Duncan-Chang model is established in this paper to characterize the strength and deformation of reconstituted samples with various hydrate saturation and stress states from this area. This model can accurately describe the strainhardening characteristics, and failure strength is estimated by the improved Drucker-Prager criterion with high fitting accuracy. The initial elastic modulus and failure ratio are given by the proposed empirical models, which are obtained from experimental data and fitting methods. Generally, this model has several advantages including simple structure, favorable performances, and a limited number of model parameters. Therefore, it could be widely used in strength and deformation analysis. This study can support the prevention and control of geological risks during natural gas hydrate exploitation in the South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the correlation between systemic immune inflammatory (SII) index, serum interleukin-35 (IL-35) and high mobility Group-Box one (HMGB-1) with the severity and prognosis of sepsis. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 209 patients with sepsis admitted to Ganzhou City People's Hospital from October 2019 to October 2021. One hundred eighteen patients in Group-A had common sepsis, and 91 patients in Group-B had septic shock, which were subdivided into the survival Group-And the mortality Group-According to the 28d prognosis. The levels of SII, IL-35 and HMGB-1 in different groups were compared, and their correlation with the severity and prognosis of sepsis was analyzed. Results: The levels of SII, IL-35 and HMGB-1 in Group-A were significantly lower than those in Group-B (p<0.05). The levels of SII, IL-35 and HMGB-1 in the survival group were significantly lower than those in the death group (p<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of SII, IL-35, and HMGB-1 were significantly positively correlated with the severity of sepsis (p<0.05), and significantly positively correlated with the prognosis of patients with sepsis (p<0.05). Conclusion: SII, IL-35 and HMGB-1 are remarkably correlated with the severity and prognosis of patients with sepsis. With the increasing in SII, IL-35 and HMGB-1 levels, patients will suffer from severe disease progression and poor prognosis, which require more clinical attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have illustrated the close relationship between anxiety disorders and attentional functioning, but the relationship between trait anxiety and attentional bias remains controversial. This study examines the effect of trait anxiety on the time course of attention to emotional stimuli using materials from the International Affective Picture System. Participants with high vs. low trait anxiety (HTA vs. LTA) viewed four categories of pictures simultaneously: dysphoric, threatening, positive, and neutral. Their eye-movements for each emotional stimulus were recorded for static and dynamic analysis. Data were analyzed using amixed linearmodel and growth curve analysis. Specifically, the HTA group showed a greater tendency to avoid threatening stimuli and more pupil diameter variation in the early period of stimulus presentation (0-7.9 s). The HTA group also showed a stronger attentional bias toward positive and dysphoric stimuli in the middle and late period of stimulus presentation (7.9-30 s). These results suggest that trait anxiety has a significant temporal effect on attention to emotional stimuli, and that this effect mainly manifests after 7 s. In finding stronger attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli and more changes in neural activity, as well as a stronger attentional bias toward positive stimuli, this study provides novel insights on the relationship between trait anxiety and selective attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective teamwork among military pilots is key to successful mission completion. The underlying neural mechanism of teamwork is thought to be inter-brain synchronization (IBS). IBS could also be explained as an incidental phenomenon of cooperative behavior, but the causality between IBS and cooperative behavior could be clarified by directly producing IBS through extra external stimuli applied to functional brain regions. As a non-invasive technology for altering brain function, transcranial electrical stimulation might have the potential to explore whether top-down enhancement of the synchronization of multiple brains can change cooperative behavioral performance among members of a team. This review focuses on the characteristic features of teamwork among military pilots and variations in neuroimaging obtained by hyperscanning. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility that transcranial electrical stimulation could be used to improve teamwork among military pilots, try to provide a feasible design for doing so, and emphasize crucial aspects to be addressed by future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune-based combination therapies have revolutionized the first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, for the efficacy and safety, the best treatment option is still uncertain. Methods: We conducted a Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate first-line immune-based combination therapies for advanced NSCLC. Results: Fourteen trials involving 8467 patients were included. For the programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression non-selective patients, there were no significant differences among all the treatment modes for overall survival (OS), but the ranking profiles indicated that Immunotherapy + Immunoth erapy + Chemotherapy (IO + IO + Chemo) was most likely to be the best mode (probability = 68%). Immunotherapy + Immunotherapy + Anti-angiogenic therapy + Chemotherapy (IO + Anti-angio + Chemo) was significantly better than most other treatment modes for progression-free survival (PFS) with better objective response rate (ORR) and more obvious grade =3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). In PD-L1-high cohort, IO + Anti-angio + Chemo seemed to be the best mode for OS, PFS, and ORR according to the ranking profiles. In PD-L1-intermediate and PD-L1-negative cohort, IO + IO + Chemo was inclined to be ranked first for prolonging OS (probability = 78%; 37%) and IO + Anti-angio + Chemo was most likely to provide best PFS (probability = 96%; 100%). Conclusion: IO + IO + Chemo has great potential to improve the OS regardless of histology type, especially in PD-L1-intermediate and PD-L1-negative cohort. IO + Anti-angio + Chemo shows great superiority in improving the short-term survival accompanied by increasing grade =3 TRAEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide-modified nanoscale zero-valent iron (S-nZVI) has been widely used to remove various contaminants due to its excellent reactivity and selectivity. In this study, hydroxyapatite-supported sulfide-modified nZVI (HAP/S-nZVI) was synthesized and applied for Ni(II) elimination. The excellent performances of HAP/S-nZVI in Ni(II) removal showed that 98.25% of Ni(II) were removed using HAP/S-nZVI (1:0.5) after 15 min, much higher than HAP, nZVI and other adsorbents, and maximum adsorption capacity reached 302.27 mg g-1 at pH = 7 and 298 K. The morphology and structure of HAP/S-nZVI (1:0.5) composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and other techniques, which verified the high disperse and activity of nZVI after sulfide-modified and supported by HAP. Furthermore, the stability study confirmed that the sulfide-modified nZVI can retain high Ni(II) removal efficiency than that of pristine nZVI after storage 60 d due to such powerfully protective layers of FeSx synthesized during the sulfide modification. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model more conform to describe the removal of Ni(II). The dynamic adsorption experiments further illustrated its potential ability for real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel nanoscale zero-valent iron/chitosan/attapulgite (nZVI/CS/APT) composite was successfully prepared and was employed to remove Naphthol Green B (NGB) from water. Compared to the individual components, the removal performance of the nZVI/CS/APT composite was observed to be dramatically improved. Further, the surface morphology of the composite was characterized, and the possible degradation mechanism was proposed. The results indicated that nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) demonstrated high dispersity and reaction activity after supported by CS/APT. NGB was observed to be degraded into hypotoxic or non-toxic small molecules by nZVI/CS/APT. Further, the critical variables affecting the NGB removal efficiency were screened by the Plackett-Burman design. The interactive effects of the different factors and perfect removal conditions were further elucidated using the response surface methodology. The values of mFe/mCS-APT, adsorbent dosage, and pH were determined to be the main influencing factors. The average removal efficiency of NGB was determined to be 97.34% (three replicated experiments), which was almost similar to 98.89% predicted by the model. These results demonstrated the reliability of the statistical optimization designs for predicting the efficient removal of NGB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, the study involves the development of novel recyclable multi-walled carbon nanotubes/attapulgite supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI/MWCNTs/APT) composites and used for the removal cationic dyes methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) in binary systems. The morphology and structure of ternary nanocomposites were characterized by using different techniques like transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and ZETA. And remove performances for MB and MG were investigated in detail. The experimental results revealed that the dispersion and stability of nZVI were significantly improved by MWCNTs/APT composite as a supporter. Compared to bare nZVI, the nZVI/MWCNTs/APT exhibited much higher removal efficiency on MB and MG due to the good synergistic effect between MWCNT/APT adsorption and nZVI reduction. The removal efficiencies of MB and MG in the nZVI/MWCNTs/APT system were 97.9% and 98.9% after reacting for 90 min, respectively. The kinetics and isotherm studies for MG and MB degradation by nZVI/MWCNTs/ APT system could be well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacities of MB and MG reached to 149.9 and 177.9 mg/g, respectively, which showed higher adsorption performances compared to the other adsorbents. The possible removal mechanism and degraded intermediates of MG and MB were proposed by using gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry analysis and UV-vis spectrum techniques. More importantly, the spent adsorbent has a certain specific capacitance and can be used as electrode materials in supercapacitors, which provides a basis for the recycling of discarded materials. The present investigation concluded that nZVI/MWCNTs/APT nanocomposites might be a suitable and cost-effective alternative for the removal of organic dyes in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, attapulgite (APT)-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) composites (nZVI/APT) were synthesized by chemical liquid phase reduction to remove Cr(VI) and phenol from aqueous solutions in the presence of persulfate (Ps). The structure of as-prepared nZVI/APT was characterized by various techniques. Various effects on the reduction of Cr(VI) and degradation of phenol were evaluated. Experimental results revealed that nZVI/APT composites at a relatively low Ps concentration can effectively remove Cr(VI) and phenol simultaneously, the removal efficiencies of Cr(VI) and phenol were 98.7% and 80.3% after 60 min, respectively. There was a good synergistic effect between nZVI/ APT and persulfate for removal of Cr(VI) and phenol. APT as the supporter matrix could decrease the aggregation of nZVI and increase its reactivity. nZVI can not only act as a reductant for removal of Cr(VI) but also act as a catalyst to activate Ps and generate sulfate radicals for removal of phenol. The presence of persulfate has no obvious effect on the removal of Cr(VI), but has remarkably promoted phenol oxidation. This implies that the nZVI/APT nanocomposites can act as catalyst to activate persulfate for the simultaneous removal of heavy metal and organic pollutant for the actual wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the cheap and naturally available one-dimensional modified attapulgite (APTG) with hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was introduced to synthesize graphene oxide (GO)/APTG composites and used as adsorbent to remove two cationic dyes, methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solution in single and binary dye systems. The structure and morphology of the GO/APTG composites were characterized by Zeta, Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. The GO/APTG exhibits good adsorption performance for MB, RhB as well as the other cationic dyes in single systems, and has a significant improvement compared with APTG. However, in a binary dye system, the adsorption performance of MB was significantly better than that of RhB due to the rival adsorption. Removal mechanism suggests that electrostatic attractions and p-p stacking play essential roles. Additionally, the molecule structures of dyes exert a certain influence on the removal process. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies at different temperatures of GO/APTG in single as well as binary dye systems revealed that adsorption process was fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm showed the best compatibility with the experimental data in comparison with other isotherm models, the maximum adsorption capacity of MB and RhB can be 534.76 and 473.93 mg g-1 in a single system; respectively, which were high adsorption performances. For its advantages of easy preparation, low cost and excellent adsorption performances, GO/APTG could be an eco-friendly and promising adsorbent for the removal of organic cationic dyes from wastewaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) as professional antigen presenting cells, are important in the initiation of the primary immune response. The present study compared the morphology, phenotypes and function between monocyte‑derived human DCs produced from a conventional culturing system containing granulocyte‑macrophage colony‑stimulating factor (GM‑CSF) and IL‑4 (IL‑4‑DC) and DCs generated by the stimulation of GM‑CSF and interferon (IFN)‑α (IFN‑DC). When compared with IL‑4‑DC in morphology, IFN‑DC contained more organelles, including endoplasmic reticulum and myelin figures, whereas mature (m)IL‑4‑DC contained more vacuoles in the cells. The spikes of IFN‑DC were shorter and thicker. The expression of phenotypes between immature IFN‑DC and IL‑4‑DC were diverse. Following maturation with tumor necrosis factor‑α, IFN‑DC and IL‑4‑DC upregulated the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 11c and CD83. Conversely, immature IFN‑DC and IL‑4‑DC secreted few inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)‑18, IL‑23, IL‑12p70, IL‑1β and anti‑inflammatory IL‑10. Following maturation, large amounts of the cytokines were secreted by these two DCs and mIFN‑DC secreted more cytokines compared with mIL‑4‑DC in general. Furthermore, immature IFN‑DC and IL‑4‑DC loaded with cytomegalovirus (CMV)‑pp65 protein were unable to induce the priming of T cells, as evaluated by the intracellular staining with IFN‑γ. Notably, mature DCs exhibited the ability to present CMV‑pp65 protein and activate T cells. The mIFN‑DC activated a greater proportion of autologous CD4+ T cells (0.91 vs. 0.31%, P<0.001) and CD8+ T cells (0.90 vs. 0.48%, P<0.001) to secret IFN‑γ compared with mIL‑4‑DC. The results suggested that the morphology, phenotypes and cytokine secretion of IFN‑DC and IL‑4‑DC were diverse. The mIFN‑DC were more effective in priming and cross‑priming T cells when compared with IL‑4‑DC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to determine the effects of gradual drought stress on Prunus mongolica seedlings. The growth and chlorophyll fluorescence of the seedlings were investigated under drought and control conditions. The short-term (21 day) decline in soil water content from 30.46% to 15.55% did not significantly influence the growth of P. mongolica seedlings but increased the height, basal diameter, crown, leaf number, stem mass, leaf mass, and root mass of the seedlings. The growth of the drought group reached the maximum, but remained lower than that of the control group, within 21 days. Compared with the control group, the drought group showed 1.46%, 9.65%, 9.44%, 5.19%, 29.09%, 19.20%, and 0.03% lower height, basal diameter, crown, leaf number, stem mass, leaf mass, and root mass, respectively. With the gradual manifestation of soil drought through the decline in soil water content from 15.55% to 11.38% from 21 days to 42 days, growth of the drought group became significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The minimal fluorescence decreased and then increased, whereas the nonphotochemical quenching initially increased and then decreased. Thus, P. mongolica can protect the PSII reaction center from damage at the early stage of drought stress. The maximal fluorescence, the maximum quantum yield of PSII, and the photochemical quenching slightly decreased during the initial period of drought stress. These results suggest that drought can slightly influence the openness of PSII reaction centers. This influence was further proven by the decreased quantum yield of PSII. This study provided insights into the adaptive mechanism of P. mongolica seedlings under drought and may serve as a theoretical basis to protect the P. mongolica population. Comparing these responses is crucial for elucidating the drought-tolerance mechanisms in P. mongolica cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Few studies have used spatially resolved ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 µm (PM10) to examine the impact of PM10 on ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in China. The aim of our study is to evaluate the short-term effects of PM10 concentrations on IHD mortality by means of spatiotemporal analysis approach. Methods We collected daily data on air pollution, weather conditions and IHD mortality in Beijing, China during 2008 and 2009. Ordinary kriging (OK) was used to interpolate daily PM10 concentrations at the centroid of 287 township-level areas based on 27 monitoring sites covering the whole city. A generalized additive mixed model was used to estimate quantitatively the impact of spatially resolved PM10 on the IHD mortality. The co-effects of the seasons, gender and age were studied in a stratified analysis. Generalized additive model was used to evaluate the effects of averaged PM10 concentration as well. Results The averaged spatially resolved PM10 concentration at 287 township-level areas was 120.3 ± 78.1 µg/m³. Ambient PM10 concentration was associated with IHD mortality in spatiotemporal analysis and the strongest effects were identified for the 2-day average. A 10 µg/m³ increase in PM10 was associated with an increase of 0.33% (95% confidence intervals: 0.13%, 0.52%) in daily IHD mortality. The effect estimates using spatially resolved PM10 were larger than that using averaged PM10. The seasonal stratification analysis showed that PM10 had the statistically stronger effects on IHD mortality in summer than that in the other seasons. Males and older people demonstrated the larger response to PM10 exposure. Conclusions Our results suggest that short-term exposure to particulate air pollution is associated with increased IHD mortality. Spatial variation should be considered for assessing the impacts of particulate air pollution on mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a frequent reproductive and metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance (IR). Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline derivative alkaloid extracted from Chinese medicinal herbs that has been used as an insulin sensitizer. BBR may have a potential therapeutic value for PCOS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of BBR in comparison to metformin (MET) on the metabolic features of women with PCOS. Design and methods: Eighty-nine subjects with PCOS and IR subjects were randomized into one of three treatment groups: BBRCcompound cyproterone acetate (CPA; n=31), METCCPA (n=30), and placebo+CPA (n=28) for 3 months. Clinical characteristics of the women and metabolic and hormonal parameters were assessed before and after the period of treatment. Results: Treatment with BBR in comparison to MET showed decrease in waist circumference and waistto- hip ratio (WHR; P<0.01), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC; P<0.05) as well as increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG; P<0.05). Similarly, treatment with BBR in comparison to placebo showed decrease in WHR, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment for IR, area under the curve of insulin, TC, LDLC, and TG (P<0.05) as well as increase in HDLC and SHBG (P<0.01). Conclusions: Intake of BBR improved some of the metabolic and hormonal derangements in a group of treated Chinese women with PCOS. Main effects could be related to the changes in body composition in obesity and dyslipidemia. Further controlled studies are needed for the assessment of the potential favorable metabolic effects of BBR in women with PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile commerce uses wireless device and wireless link to result in the transfer of values in exchange of information, services or goods. Wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) will bring a revolution to the business model of mobile commerce if such networks are used as the underlying network technology for mobile commerce. Mobile commerce will remain in a niche market until the security issue is properly addressed. Hence, security is also very important for MANET applications in mobile commerce. Robust key management is one of the most crucial technologies for security of MANETs. In this paper, a new solution for key management is proposed using identity-based (ID-based) signcryption and threshold secret sharing. It enables flexible and efficient key management while respecting the constraints of MANETs. In our solution, each mobile host uses its globally unique identity as its public key. It greatly decreases the computation and storage costs of mobile hosts, as well as communication cost for system key management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the polyaniline/attapulgite composite supported nano zero-valent iron (nZVI/PANI/ APT) composites were synthesized by one-step oxidation using Fe3+ as oxidant and iron source. nZVI/PANI/APT was used as a catalyst to activate persulfate (Ps) for the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and orange G6 (OG6) from aqueous solutions. The main factors (different composite materials, pH value, Ps concentration, etc.) affecting the removal performance of Cr(VI) and OG6 were evaluated as well. The experimental results revealed that the nZVI/PANI/APT composites can effectively remove Cr(VI) and OG6 simultaneously at a relatively low Ps concentration, the removal efficiencies of Cr(VI) and OG6 were 99.7% and 99.4% after 60 min, respectively. PANI/APT as the supporter matrix could decrease the aggregation of nZVI and increase its reactivity. A good synergistic effect between Cr(VI) reduction and OG6 oxidation was achieved by nZVI/PANI/APT combined Ps system. nZVI not only can be as a reductant for removal Cr(VI) and OG6 but also play as a catalyst to activate Ps and generate radicals for the degradation OG6. The presence of persulfate could not significantly decline nZVI reactivity for Cr(VI) reduction but remarkably promote OG6 oxidation. Moreover, kinetic and thermodynamic analyses were used to study the removal process, and the possible removal mechanism of Cr(VI) and OG6 was discussed by using the UV-Vis spectrum and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques. The nZVI/PANI/APT-persulfate heterogeneous Fenton system combines the nZVI reduction with the Fenton-like oxidation, which can be used for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing heavy metal ions and organic dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To analyze the outcomes and incidence of postoperative complications in a large series of patients undergoing LASIK for myopia. METHODS: All 5081 patients (10,052 eyes) diagnosed with myopia at The Third Hospital of Handan, China, from September 2003 through March 2005 were studied. All study eyes underwent LASIK with 1-month follow-up. Spherical equivalent refraction, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) were measured before and after surgery and intra- and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: Uncorrected visual acuity at 1-month follow- up of 9555 (95.1%) eyes reached or exceeded the preoperative BSCVA. Hemorrhage of corneal limbus during surgery occurred in 1060 (10.5%) eyes, Sands of Sahara syndrome occurred in 232 (2.3%) eyes, interface infection responsive to treatment occurred in 4 (0.04%) eyes, and epithelial ingrowth occurred in 1 (0.01%) eye. CONCLUSIONS: LASIK is a safe and effective method for the treatment of myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]