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Programmed cell death-ligand 1 positive (PD-L1 + ) exosomes play a crucial role in the realm of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, due to the intricate nature of biological specimens, coupled with the heterogeneity, low refractive index (RI), and scant surface coverage density of exosomes, traditional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors still do not meet clinical detection requirements. This study utilizes the exceptional electrical and optical attributes of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as the substrate for SPR sensing, thereby markedly enhancing sensitivity. Furthermore, sp 2 hybridized SWCNTs have the ability to load specific recognition elements. Additionally, through the coordination interaction of Ti with phosphate groups and the ferromagnetism of Fe 3 O 4 , efficient exosomes isolation and enrichment in complex samples are achievable with the aid of an external magnetic field. Owing to the high-quality and high-RI of Fe 3 O 4 @TiO 2 , the response signal experiences amplification, thus further improving the performance of the SPR biosensor. The linear range of the SPR biosensor constructed by this method is 1.0 × 10 3 to 1.0 × 10 7 particles/mL, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 31.9 particles/mL. In the analysis of clinical serum samples, cancer patients can be differentiated from healthy individuals with an Area Under Curve (AUC) of 0.9835. This study not only establishes a novel platform for exosomes direct detection but also offers new perspectives for the sensitive detection of other biomarkers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition (MICI) of Q235 carbon steel by Shewanella putrefaciens and mediated calcium deposition were investigated by regulating microbial mineralization. In a calcium-rich medium, S. putrefaciens rapidly created a protective calcium carbonate layer on the steel surface, which blocked Cl - diffusion. Without calcium, the biofilm and rust layer mitigated pitting corrosion but did not prevent Cl - penetration. Potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that the current densities (i corr values) of the corrosion produced in the S. putrefaciens-inoculated media with and without calcium were 0.4 μA/cm 2 and 0.6 μA/cm 2 , respectively. Similarly, compared with those under sterile conditions, the corrosion inhibition rates were 92.2% and 87.4% higher, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) confirmed that the MICI was caused by the combination of microbial aerobic respiration and the deposited layers. Even under nonbiological conditions, S. putrefaciens-induced calcium carbonate deposition inhibited corrosion., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The retinal and choroidal parameters were analyzed to understand the impairment of microcirculation of both retina and choroid in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR)., Methods: Fifty-five treatment-naive non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) patients (75 eyes) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), including 28 patients (36 eyes) with diabetic macular edema (DME) and 27 patients (39 eyes) without DME, and 25 healthy subjects (47 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The following parameters of DR patients with and without DME were evaluated: the foveal avascular zone area (FAZ-a), FAZ perimeter (FAZ-p), FAZ circularity index (FAZ-CI), total subfoveal choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), choroidal vascularity index (CVI), choriocapillaris flow area percentage, superficial capillary plexus (SCP), and deep capillary plexus (DCP)., Results: SCP, DCP, and the percentage of choriocapillaris flow area were significantly different between DR patients with and without DME. The DR patients presented lower LA, CVI, and FAZ-CI compared to those of healthy controls (all p < 0.05). The percentage of choriocapillaris flow area in DR patients with and without DME was significantly lower than that in healthy controls (p < 0.05). SCP and DCP were significantly correlated with FAZ-a and FAZ-p but presented insignificant associations with FAZ-CI., Conclusions: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) parameters, such as LA, CVI, FAZ-CI, and the percentage of choriocapillaris flow area, were reduced compared to those in controls, indicating that the microcirculations of the retina and choroid in the macular area were impaired in DR patients with DME and without DME., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Cui, Feng, Wu, Wang, Cui, Wang, Chang, Shang, Zhao, Liu and Qin.)

Objective: Cognitive deficit is common in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Here, we aimed to investigate the modular architecture of functional networks associated with distinct cognitive states in TLE patients together with the role of the thalamus in modular networks., Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 53 TLE patients and 37 matched healthy controls. All patients received the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test and accordingly were divided into TLE patients with normal cognition (TLE-CN, n = 35) and TLE patients with cognitive impairment (TLE-CI, n = 18) groups. The modular properties of functional networks were calculated and compared including global modularity Q, modular segregation index, intramodular connections, and intermodular connections. Thalamic subdivisions corresponding to the modular networks were generated by applying a 'winner-take-all' strategy before analyzing the modular properties (participation coefficient and within-module degree z-score) of each thalamic subdivision to assess the contribution of the thalamus to modular functional networks. Relationships between network properties and cognitive performance were then further explored., Results: Both TLE-CN and TLE-CI patients showed lower global modularity, as well as lower modular segregation index values for the ventral attention network and the default mode network. However, different patterns of intramodular and intermodular connections existed for different cognitive states. In addition, both TLE-CN and TLE-CI patients exhibited anomalous modular properties of functional thalamic subdivisions, with TLE-CI patients presenting a broader range of abnormalities. Cognitive performance in TLE-CI patients was not related to the modular properties of functional network but rather to the modular properties of functional thalamic subdivisions., Conclusions: The thalamus plays a prominent role in modular networks and potentially represents a key neural mechanism underlying cognitive impairment in TLE., (© 2023 The Authors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension are common high-incidence diseases, closely related, and have common pathogenic basis such as oxidative stress. Casein kinase 2 interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LOX-1) are considered to be important factors affect the level of oxidative stress in the body. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between CKIP-1 (rs6693817 A > T, rs2306235 C > G) and LOX-1 (rs1050283 G > A, rs11053646 C > G) polymorphisms and the risk of hypertension and diabetes, and try to find new candidate genes for diabetes and diabetes with hypertension etiology in Chinese population., Methods: 574 T2DM patients and 597 controls frequently matched by age and sex were selected for genotyping of CKIP-1 (rs6693817 A > T, rs2306235 C > G) and LOX-1 gene (rs1050283 G > A, rs11053646 C > G). Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between different genotypes and the risk of T2DM and T2DM with hypertension, and the results were expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI)., Results: We found that the risk of T2DM in the AA + AT genotype of rs6693817 was higher than that in the TT genotype in Chinese population (OR = 1.318, 95%CI: 1.011-1.717, P = 0.041), and the difference was still significant after adjustment (OR = 1.370, 95%CI: 1.043-1.799, P adjusted  = 0.024), the difference of heterozygotes (AT vs TT: OR = 1.374, 95%CI: 1.026-1.840, P adjusted  = 0.033) was statistically significant. But after Bonferroni correction, the significance of the above sites disappeared. And rs6693817 was associated with the risk of T2DM combined with hypertension before and after adjustment in dominant model (OR = 1.424, 95% CI: 1.038-1.954, P = 0.028; OR = 1.460, 95% CI: 1.057-2.015, P adjusted  = 0.021, respectively) and in heterozygote model (OR = 1.499, 95% CI: 1.069-2.102, P = 0.019; OR = 1.562, 95% CI: 1.106-2.207, P adjusted  = 0.011, respectively). However, only the statistical significance of the heterozygous model remained after Bonferroni correction. rs2306235, rs1050283 and rs11053646 were not significantly correlated with T2DM and T2DM combined with hypertension risk (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: The results suggest that CKIP-1 rs6693817 is related to the susceptibility of Chinese people to T2DM with hypertension, providing a new genetic target for the treatment of diabetes with hypertension with in the future., (© 2023. Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: Medication adherence has a critical impact on the well-being of older adult patients with hypertension. As such, the current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of health literacy between frailty and medication adherence and the moderating role of educational level., Methods: This cross-sectional study included patients admitted to the geriatric unit of a hospital. Participants were interviewed using the four-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, the Frailty Phenotype Scale, and the Health Literacy Management Scale. Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to assess the association between variables. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed using Process version 4.1 via Model 4 and 14, respectively., Results: Data from 388 participants were analyzed. The median (IQR [P 25 -P 75 ]) score for medication adherence was 4.00 (2.00-4.00). Results revealed that after controlling for age, sex, hypertension complication(s) and body mass index, frailty significantly contributed to medication adherence (β total -0.236 [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.333 to -0.140]). Medication adherence was influenced by frailty (β direct -0.192 [95% CI -0.284 to -0.099]) both directly and indirectly through health literacy (β indirect -0.044 [95% CI -0.077 to -0.014]). Educational level moderated the pathway mediated by health literacy; more specifically, the conditional indirect effect between frailty and medication adherence was significant among older adult hypertensive patients with low, intermediate, and high educational levels (effect -0.052 [95% CI -0.092 to -0.106]; effect -0.041 [95% CI -0.071 to -0.012]; effect -0.026 [95% CI -0.051 to -0.006]). The relationship between frailty and medication adherence in older adult patients with hypertension was found to have mediating and moderating effects., Conclusion: A moderated mediation model was proposed to investigate the effect of frailty on medication adherence. It was effective in strengthening medication adherence by improving health literacy and reducing frailty. More attention needs to be devoted to older adult patients with hypertension and low educational levels., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wang, Wan, Zhu, Chang, Wen, Tao and Jin.)

The microbiologically influenced corrosion of 201 stainless steel by Shewanella algae was investigated via modulating the concentration of fumarate (electron acceptor) in the medium and constructing mutant strains induced by Δ OmcA . The ICP-MS and electrochemical tests showed that the presence of S. algae enhanced the degradation of the passive film; the lack of an electron acceptor further aggravated the effect and mainly affected the early stage of MIC. The electrochemical tests and atomic force microscopy characterization revealed that the ability of Δ OmcA to transfer electrons to the passive film was significantly reduced in the absence of the c-type cytochrome OmcA related to EET progress, leading to the lower corrosion rate of the steel.

Carbon nanowires (CNWs), long linear carbon chains encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes, exhibit sp hybridization characteristics as one of one-dimensional nanocarbon materials. The research interests on CNWs are accelerated by the successful experimental syntheses from the multi-walled to double-walled until single-walled CNWs recently but the formation mechanisms and structure-property relationships of CNWs remain poorly understood. In this work, we studied the insertion-and-fusion formation process of CNWs at an atomistic level using ReaxFF reactive molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations with particular focus on the hydrogen (H) adatom effects on the configurations and properties of carbon chains. The constrained MD shows that short carbon chains can be inserted and fused into long carbon chains inside the CNTs due to the van der Waals interactions with little energy barriers. We found that the end-capped H atoms of carbon chains may still remain as adatoms on the fused chains without C-H bond breaking and could transfer along the carbon chains via thermal activation. Moreover, the H adatoms were found to have critical effects on the distribution of bond length alternation as well as the energy level gaps and magnetic moments depending on the varied positions of H adatoms on the carbon chains. The results of ReaxFF MD simulations were validated by the DFT calculations and ab initio MD simulations. The diameter effect of the CNTs on the binding energies suggest that multiple CNTs with a range of appropriate diameters can be used to stabilize the carbon chains. Different from the terminal H of carbon nanomaterials, this work demonstrated that the H adatoms could be used to tune the electronic and magnetic properties of carbon-based electronic devices, opening up the door toward rich carbon-hydrogen nanoelectronics.

Objectives: Currently, most epidemiological studies on haze focus on respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc. However, the relationship between haze and mental health has not been adequately explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of hazes on schizophrenia admissions and to further explore the potential interaction effect with the combined atmospheric oxidative indices (O x and O x wt )., Methods: We collected 5328 cases during the cold season from 2013 to 2015 in Hefei, China. By integrating the Poisson Generalized Linear Models with the Distributed Lag Non-linear Models, the association between haze and schizophrenia admissions was evaluated. The interaction between hazes and two combined oxidation indexes was tested by stratifying hazes and O x , and O x wt ., Results: Haze was found to be significantly linked to an increased risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia, and a 9-day lag effect on schizophrenia (lag 3-lag 11), with the largest effect on lag 6 (RR = 1.080, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.046-1.116). Males, females, and <40 y (people under 40 years old) were sensitive to hazes. Furthermore, in the stratified analysis, we found synergies between two combined oxidation indexes and hazes. The interaction relative risk (IRR) and relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) between O x and hazes were 1.170 (95% CI: 1.071-1.277) and 0.149 (95% CI: 0.045-0.253), respectively. For O x wt , the IRR and RERI were 1.179 (95% CI: 1.087-1.281) and 0.159 (95% CI: 0.056-0.263), respectively. It is noteworthy that this synergistic effect was significant in males and <40 y when examining the various subgroups in the interaction analysis., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that exposure to haze significantly increases the risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia. More significant public health benefits can be obtained by prioritizing haze periods with high combined atmospheric oxidation capacity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is widely found in industrial water and seawater. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by P. aeruginosa is a serious threat and damage to the safe service of steel materials. In this study, the MIC behavior of FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloy (HEA) by P. aeruginosa biofilm was investigated in the simulated marine medium. The maximum pitting depth of the HEA coupons in the P. aeruginosa -inoculated medium was ~4.77 μm, which was 1.5 times that in the sterile medium. EIS and potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that P. aeruginosa biofilm reduced the corrosion resistance of the passive film of HEA coupons and promoted its anodic dissolution process. XPS and AES results further demonstrated that P. aeruginosa interfered with the distribution of elements in the passive film and significantly promoted the dissolution of Fe., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Zhang, Chang, Lou and Qian.)

The microbiologically influenced corrosion of pure iron was investigated in the presence of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 with various levels of exogenous riboflavin (RF) serving as electron shuttles for extracellular electron transfer (EET). With more RF available, a larger and denser phosphate layer was formed on the surface of pure iron by the bacteria. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear polarization resistance and potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that the product layer provided good corrosion protection to the pure iron. Using electrochemical noise, we observed that the addition of RF accelerated the corrosion at the initial stage of immersion, thereby accelerating the deposition of products to form a protective layer subsequently., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand the related risk factors of occurrence and recurrence of hypertension and provide scientific basis for relevant departments to better guide prevention and control work., Methods: From September 2017 to September 2018, a prospective follow-up study was performed on patients with hypertension who visited the Second People's Hospital of Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Multivariate Cox regression was used to analyze influencing factors of stroke occurrence and recurrence in follow-up of hypertensive patients., Results: A total of 769 hypertensive patients were enrolled in this study. The average age of hypertensive patients was 65.66 ± 11.70 years old and the BMI index was 24.99 ± 4.17. In this study, 769 patients with hypertension were followed up for 1 year, and the incidence of stroke was 14.69%. This study found that higher levels of blood glucose (RR = 2.027, 95% CI: 1.195-3.438), HCY (RR = 5.928,95% CI: 1.438-24.440), aggravated extent of carotid artery stenosis (RR = 2.620, 95% CI: 1.532-4.481), and drinking (RR = 3.867, 95% CI: 2.038-7.339) were risk factors, and maintaining exercise (RR = 0.325, 95% CI: 0.117-0.907) was a protective factor for stroke occurrence; however, aggravated extent of carotid artery stenosis (RR = 3.158, 95% CI: 1.797-5.550) and smoking (RR = 2.271, 95% CI: 1.142-4.517) were risk factors for stroke recurrence for hypertensive patients., Conclusions: For people with high blood pressure, it is necessary to exercise properly, control body weight, avoid obesity, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, and reasonably control blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipid., (© 2022 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: Ictal panic (IP) can be observed occasionally in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Such descriptions can be found in previous studies, but the mechanism is still not clear and often confused with panic attacks in patients with panic disorder (PD). We try to use imaging methods (resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, rs-fMRI) to study the mechanism of this psychiatric comorbidity in patients with TLE., Methods: Forty right-onset TLE patients were observed, including 28 patients with TLE but without IP and 12 patients with TLEIP along with 30 gender-age matched healthy controls were included. We collected clinical/physiological/neuropsychological and rs-fMRI data. Degree centrality (DC) and functional connectivity (FC) were calculated. For the DC and FC values, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to find different areas and t -tests were used to compare differences between the TLEIP, TLE without IP, and healthy control(HC)groups. The relationship between brain abnormalities and patient characteristics was explored by correlation analyses., Results: No significant differences in gender and age were found among the three groups, and no significant differences in education level, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), Hamilton Depressive Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and epilepsy duration (years) between the TLEIP and TLE without IP groups. In addition to fear, other symptoms were observed, including nausea, palpitations, rising epigastric sensation, and dyspnea. There was no correlation between the duration of IP and HAMA. Moreover, all IP durations were <2 min. Compared to the HCs and TLE without IP group, the DC value of the TLEIP group in the left middle temporal gyrus (LMTG) was significantly increased. Compared to the HCs, FC could be found between the LMTG and left inferior temporal gyrus (LITG) in the TLEIP group. In addition, there was FC between the LMTG and cerebellum in the TLEIP group. The difference in the magnitude of FC between the TLEIP vs. HC group was greater than the difference between the TLE vs. HC group., Conclusions: This study describes brain abnormalities in patients with TLEIP. These results will help to preliminarily understand the mechanism of ictal panic and abnormal functional connection in patients with TLE, and further explore the neuroimaging mechanism of ictal panic in patients with TLE., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chang, Liu, Nie, Pang, Lv and Zheng.)

Objective: To explore the circadian rhythm of sleep-wake and its relationship with anxiety and depression among medical students., Methods: A stratified cluster random sampling method was adopted in this study, 2231 medical students in grades 1 to 3 from a medical college in Wuhu City(1004 boys and 1227 girls, aged(19.09±1.13) years) were selected in November 2020. The sleep wake circadian chronotype and mental health of medical students were evaluated by the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire 19(MEQ-19), the Patient Health Questionnaire 2(PHQ-2), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale(GAD-2), respectively., Results: The detection rates of evening chronotype, intermediate circadian chronotype, and morning chronotype were 59.84%(n=1335), 37.92%(n=846), and 2.24%(n=50), respectively. The detection rates of anxiety, depression, and anxiety combined with depression were 12.86%(n=287), 14.12%(n=315), and 9.59%(n=214), respectively. After adjusting for gender, age, grade, class performance in the last half semester, and learning burden, the result of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with medical students with intermediate circadian chronotype, medical students with evening chronotype were more likely to have anxiety(OR&#95;(adj. )=1.403, 95% CI 1.066-1.846, P=0.016) and depression(OR&#95;(adj. )=1.639, 95% CI 1.251-2.146, P &lt; 0.001)., Conclusion: The detection rate of anxiety and depression in medical students is high. The circadian chronotype of medical students is mainly evening chronotype, which is a risk factor affecting anxiety and depression among medical students.

We aimed to explore the altered functional connectivity patterns within cerebello-cerebral circuits in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with and without focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS). Forty-two patients with unilateral TLE (21 with and 21 without FBTCS) and 22 healthy controls were recruited. We chose deep cerebellar nuclei as seed regions, calculated static and dynamic functional connectivity (sFC and dFC) in the patients with and without FBTCS and healthy controls, and compared sFC and dFC among the three groups. Correlation analyses were used to assess relationships between the significantly altered imaging features and patient clinical parameters. Compared to the group without FBTCS, the FBTCS group showed decreased sFC between the right dentate nuclei and left hemisphere regions including the middle frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, superior medial frontal gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus, and significantly increased dFC between the right interposed nuclei and contralateral precuneus. Relative to HCs, the FBTCS group demonstrated prominently decreased sFC between the right dentate nuclei and left middle frontal gyrus. No significant correlations between the altered imaging features and patient clinical parameters were observed. Our results suggest that the disrupted cerebello-cerebral FC might be related to cognitive impairment, epileptogenesis, and propagation of epileptic activities in patients with FBTCS., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most common focal epilepsies. Some patients with TLE have ictal panic (IP), which is often confused with panic attack (PA) in panic disorder (PD). Previous studies have described temporal lobe epilepsy with ictal panic (TLEIP), but the specific mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to investigate local brain abnormalities in patients with TLEIP and tried to find neural markers to explore the mechanism of IP in patients with TLE., Methods: A total of 40 patients with TLE, including 28 patients with TLE and 12 patients with TLEIP along with 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included. We collected clinical/physiological/neuropsychological and rs-fMRI data. Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and degree centrality (DC) were calculated. ANOVA was used to find different areas and t-tests used to compare differences among fALFF, ReHo, and DC. Correlation analyses explored the relationship between local brain abnormalities and patient characteristics., Results: No significant differences in age and gender were found among the three groups, nor were there differences in education level, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) between the TLEIP and TLE groups. All the onset sites of patients with TLEIP were on the right. In addition to fear, other symptoms observed included nausea, palpitations, rising epigastric sensation, and dyspnea. There were no correlations between duration of IP and HAMA (p = 0.659). Moreover, all IP durations were <2 min and most <1 min. Compared to the HCs group, the ReHo value of the TLEIP group in the right middle frontal gyrus was significantly decreased (GRF correction, two-tailed, voxel level P < 0.005, cluster level P < 0.05). Compared to the HCs and TLE groups, the DC value of the TLEIP group in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) was significantly increased (GRF correction, two-tailed, voxel level P < 0.005, cluster level P < 0.05). No regions showed any significant fALFF difference between HCs and TLE groups (GRF correction, two-tailed, voxel level P < 0.005, cluster level P < 0.05)., Conclusions: This research describes local brain abnormalities in patients with TLE presenting as IP. These results will be preliminarily conducive to understand the seizure mechanism of IP in patients with TLE, find out the MRI neural markers, and to further explore the neurophysiological mechanisms of IP in patients with TLE., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can be conceptualized as a network disease. However, the network characteristics in lateralization remain controversial., Methods: In this study, resting-state functional MRI scans were acquired from 53 TLE patients [22 with left-side TLE (LTLE) and 31 with right-side TLE (RTLE)] and 37 matched healthy controls. We focused on the characteristics of static and dynamic functional connectivity, including static connectivity patterns and topological properties, as well as temporal properties of the dynamic connectivity state and the variability of the dynamic connectivity and network topological organization. Correlation analyses were conducted between abnormal static and dynamic properties and cognitive performances., Results: The static functional connectivity analysis presented a significantly decreased cortical-cortical connectivity pattern and increased subcortical-cortical connectivity pattern in RTLE. The global-level network in RTLE showed a significant decrease in global efficiency. The dynamic functional connectivity analysis revealed that RTLE patients exhibited aberrant connectivity states, as well as increased variability in the subcortical-cortical connectivity. The global-level network in RTLE revealed increased variance in global efficiency and local efficiency. The static or dynamic functional connectivity in LTLE did not show any significant abnormalities. The altered dynamic properties were associated with worsening cognitive performance in language and conceptual thinking by the TLE patients., Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the presence of abnormalities in the static and dynamic functional connectivity of TLE patients. RTLE patients exhibited more pronounced aberrant connectivity patterns and topological properties, which might represent a mechanism for reconfiguration of brain networks in RTLE patients. These observations extended our understanding of the pathophysiological network mechanisms of TLE., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Pang, Liang, Zhao, Wu, Li, Wei, Nie, Chang, Lv and Zheng.)

Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is commonly refractory. Epilepsy surgery is an effective treatment strategy for refractory epilepsy, but patients with a history of focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS) have poor outcomes. Previous network studies on epilepsy have found that TLE and idiopathic generalized epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (IGE-GTCS) showed altered global and nodal topological properties. Alertness deficits also were found in TLE. However, FBTCS is a common type of seizure in TLE, and the implications for alertness as well as the topological rearrangements associated with this seizure type are not well understood., Methods: We obtained rs-fMRI data and collected the neuropsychological assessment data from 21 TLE patients with FBTCS (TLE- FBTCS), 18 TLE patients without FBTCS (TLE-non- FBTCS) and 22 controls, and constructed their respective functional brain networks. The topological properties were analyzed using the graph theoretical approach and correlations between altered topological properties and alertness were analyzed., Results: We found that TLE-FBTCS patients showed more serious impairment in alertness effect, intrinsic alertness and phasic alertness than the patients with TLE-non-FBTCS. They also showed significantly higher small-worldness, normalized clustering coefficient (γ) and a trend of higher global network efficiency (gE) compared to TLE-non-FBTCS patients. The gE showed a significant negative correlation with intrinsic alertness for TLE-non-FBTCS patients., Conclusion: Our findings show different impairments in brain network information integration, segregation and alertness between the patients with TLE-FBTCS and TLE-non-FBTCS, demonstrating that impairments of the brain network may underlie the disruptions in alertness functions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) impairment is common in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE). The posterior hippocampus is critical for spatial memory, but the contributions of the different subfields to VSWM deficits remain unclear. Forty-six rTLE patients and 42 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) and structural MRI scans were administered, followed by a VSWM&#95;Nback test. The right posterior hippocampus was automatically segmented, and the surface-based functional connectivity (SBFC) of the subiculum (Sub), CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus (DG), hippocampal tail, and right entorhinal cortex (EC) were compared between groups. Correlation analysis was performed between the altered SBFC and VSWM&#95;Nback scores for rTLE patients. The results showed that rTLE patients underperformed in the VSWM&#95;Nback test, with longer mean reaction time of accurate response (ACCmeanRT) in 0back and 2back condition, lower hit rate (HR) and higher false alarm rate (FAR) in 2back condition. Compared with HCs, the rCA3 in the rTLE group exhibited decreased SBFC with inferior parietal cortex (IPC), temporal lateral cortex (TLC), and posterior visual cortex (PVC) in the right hemisphere as well as the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The SBFC of the rEC and right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) increased in the rTLE group. Within the rTLE group, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC were correlated with worse VSWM performance. Therefore, the decreased SBFC of the rCA3-rIPC and rCA3-rLTC might be the critical aberrant FC pattern reflecting VSWM impairment in rTLE patients. The mechanism might involve functional disruption between the core subsystem and the medial temporal subsystem of the default mode network (DMN)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Lv, Chen, Ye, Pang, Nie, Chang, Long and Zheng.)

Background: High blood pressure is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular events, and the incidence of hypertension is increasing among young people. This study investigated the relationship between ALT and AST levels and hypertension among freshmen in China., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Anhui Province from September to November 2018. A total of 3114 freshmen underwent a physical examination including testing of biochemical indicators and a standardized questionnaire., Results: The overall prevalence of elevated ALT and AST were 6.8% and 2.3% among freshmen. The mean ALT and AST levels were higher in males (22.59 ± 21.98 vs.12.62 ± 10.30 U/L; 23.55 ± 12.24 vs. 20.02 ± 5.75 U/L, respectively). The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in men (16.1%) than in women (1.9%). The mean values of BMI, SBP, DBP, TC, TG, and LDL-C were found to be increased with elevated levels of serum ALT and AST in the quartiles (P for trend < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, the risk of hypertension was significantly higher in the highest ALT quartile than in the lowest quartile (OR (95% CI) of 1.681 (1.028, 2.751) in males; 2.802 (1.102, 7.124) in females). A strong linear relationship was found between serum ALT levels and the odds of hypertension after adjustment for potential confounders only in total population and females (P for trend < 0.05)., Conclusions: These findings suggest that ALT level is significantly associated with hypertension both in male and female freshmen., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Microbial activities can change the properties of biofilm/metal interfaces to accelerate or decelerate the corrosion of metals in a given environment. Microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition (MICI) is the inhibition of corrosion that is directly or indirectly induced by microbial action. Compared with conventional methods for protection from corrosion, MICI is environmentally friendly and an emerging approach for the prevention and treatment of (bio)corrosion. However, due to the diversity of microorganisms and the fact that their metabolic processes are greatly complicated by environmental factors, MICI is still facing challenges for practical application. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms of MICI under different conditions and their advantages and disadvantages for potential applications in corrosion protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background/objective: To evaluate the three-dimensional (3D) changes of the upper airway in patients with Class II malocclusion treated with functional appliances (FAs)., Search Methods and Eligibility Criteria: A comprehensive search of seven electronic databases was conducted from the date of inception to 12 July 2020. Manual search was also performed in relevant Chinese and English periodicals. Prospective and retrospective studies evaluating the 3D airway changes after FAs applied on growing patients with skeletal Class II malocclusion were included., Data Collection and Analysis: Risk of bias assessment of each included study was performed referring to ROBINS-I. The effects of FAs on upper airway were evaluated by meta-analysis using STATA software. The outcome variables were the changes of oropharyngeal airway volumes (OAVs), nasopharyngeal airway volumes (NAVs), minimum cross-sectional area (MCA) and antero-posterior position of hyoid bone (HB). The overall quality of evidence for each outcome was rated based on Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation recommendations., Results: Nine studies were ultimately included in the systematic review and five were included and analyzed in meta-analysis. The results indicated that the pooled mean differences among these studies were 2162.80 [95 per cent confidence interval (CI): 1264.97, 3060.62), 382.20 (95 per cent CI: 140.95, 623.44), 59.91 (95 per cent CI: 41.45, 78.38), and 0.63 (95 per cent CI: -1.97, 3.23) for changes of OAVs, NAVs, MCA, and antero-posterior position of HB, respectively., Conclusion: Weak evidence suggests that FAs can increase OAVs, NAVs, and MCA in growing patients with Class II malocclusion. Weak evidence also suggests that antero-posterior position of HB cannot be affected by FAs. Further studies are necessary to assess the stability of its effect on the upper airway in the long term., Registration: The review protocol was not registered prior to the study., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The influence of NaCl concentration on microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of Q235 carbon steel by the halophilic archaeon Natronorubrum tibetense was investigated by immersion tests and electrochemical measurements. An increase in NaCl concentration from 0 g/mL to 0.1 g/mL promoted the anodic dissolution of carbon steel and accelerated its corrosion, but MIC did not occur. A further increase in NaCl concentration to 0.2 g/mL led to MIC in inoculated medium, and the occurrence of the MIC resulted in further aggravation of carbon steel corrosion. Once the NaCl concentration reached 0.3 g/mL, the high concentration of chloride ions greatly interfered with the adsorption of dissolved oxygen and the attachment of N. tibetense cells to the surface of carbon steel, thus reducing the corrosion rate of carbon steel and inhibiting the MIC., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hypertension and overweight are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and overweight increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. ERBB3( also known as HER3) plays a considerable role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of ERBB3 levels in hypertensive overweight patients is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the association between ERBB3 levels and hypertension in overweight Chinese patients., Methods: We evaluated the height,weight, blood pressure, biochemical indicators, and ERBB3 levels in 128 Chinese adults aged 33-79 years. Plasma ERBB3 levels were assessed by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and body mass index(BMI) was calculated as body weight divided by height squared. Participants were allocated into three groups according to blood pressure and BMI: healthy control (CNT, n = 31; normotensive and non-overweight), hypertension (HT, n = 33; hypertension and non-overweight), and hypertension with overweight (HTO, n = 64; hypertension and overweight). Statistical significance was defined as a two-tailed P < 0.05., Results: There was no significant difference in mean ERBB3 levels among the three groups, although a linear decrease from CNT (1.13 ± 0.36), HT (1.03 ± 0.36), to HTO (0.84 ± 0.26 ng/mL) was observed in men (P = 0.007). Among the drinking population, the ERBB3 level was significantly reduced in the HTO group as compared with those of the CNT and HT groups (0.76 ± 0.23 versus 1.18 ± 0.37 and 1.20 ± 0.30, respectively). ERBB3 levels were negatively correlated with diastolic blood pressure in men (r= - 0.293, P = 0.012), smoking (r= - 0.47, P = 0.004), and drinking (r = - 0.387, P = 0.008). BMI in men and among drinkers, and uric acid among drinkers were negatively correlated with ERBB3 levels. Multivariate conditional logistic regression showed that plasma ERBB3 levels were associated with a reduced risk of HTO in men [odds ratio (OR) 0.054; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.007-0.412) and drinkers (OR 0.002; 95 % CI: 0.000-0.101)., Conclusions: ERBB3 may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension in overweight patients, with BMI, gender, and drinking all potentially modulating the process.

Background: Uric acid (UA), the end product of purine nucleotide metabolism, participates in the processes of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Experimental evidence suggests it is an important mediator in the physiological response to blood pressure increase., Objective: To evaluate the association between serum UA levels and pre-hypertension and hypertension in a Chinese population., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to September 2017, and 1,138 participants aged 35 to 75 were enrolled in this study, where 223 normotensive, 316 pre-hypertensive, and 599 hypertensive subjects were selected to evaluate the association between serum UA levels and hypertension. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Serum UA levels were significantly higher in the pre-hypertension and hypertension group compared to the control group in the entire population (p<0.05 for all). Quantitative trait analysis indicated that serum UA levels were (2.92±0.81, 3.06±0.85, 3.22±0.98 mg/d) linearly increased in normotensive, pre-hypertensive and hypertensive females, with a p value of 0.008. Serum UA levels in the quartiles were positively correlated with DBP (p<0.05), particularly in females. After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pre-hypertension from the lowest (referent) to the highest levels of serum UA were 1.718 (1.028-2.872), 1.018 (0.627-1.654) and 1.738 (1.003-3.010). Additionally, the second quartile of serum UA levels were significantly associated with hypertension, with an OR (95% CI) of 2.036 (1.256-3.298)., Conclusions: This study suggests that higher serum UA levels are positively associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension among Chinese adults.

Objective: This meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) on accelerating orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in clinical practice. Methods: Data from bilingual journals across seven different databases were compiled and analyzed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs regarding the effect of PBMT on OTM in cases with four first premolar extractions in split-mouth design were selected. This study was conducted after approval from the IRB. The outcome variables were the cumulative tooth movement distances in 1, 2, and 3 months. Data extraction was performed by two authors independently and in duplicate. Risk of bias was assessed. Results: Eight RCTs and one quasi-RCT were ultimately included and analyzed in meta-analysis. This study revealed that the pooled mean difference (MD) among these trials was 0.30 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.02 to 0.62], 0.69 (95% CI: 0.08 to 1.29), and 0.64 (95% CI: -0.01 to 1.29) for 1, 2, and 3 months, respectively. The results remained consistent after sensitivity analysis assessment. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to support that photobiomodulation accelerates tooth movement in orthodontic treatments. Our results suggest that the optimal parameters of PBMT on OTM in human might be about 20 mW, 5-8 J/cm 2 , 0.5 W/cm 2 , 0.2 J/point, and 2-10 J/tooth. More large-sample multicenter clinical trials carried out in similar settings are required to confirm and pinpoint treatment efficiency and optimal parameters. Registration: The review protocol was not registered prior to the study.

As a paper-like membrane composed of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), buckypaper possesses high conductivity, ideal flexibility, large surface area, great thermal/chemical stability and biocompatibility, which has manifested its potential as an alternative support material. However, due to the lack of defects, high quality SWCNT synthesized by arc-discharge method is difficult to be modified with metal nanoparticles for electro-catalysis. In this paper, a novel green strategy has been developed to fabricate SWCNT buckypaper decorated with Cu/reduced graphene oxide (Cu/rGO-BP) for the first time, in which graphene oxide functions as the intermediate between SWCNT and Cu nanoparticles. The fabricated Cu/rGO-BP was applied as a flexible electrode for electrochemical glucose detection. The electrode exhibited excellent electro-catalytic activity for glucose oxidation. The sensor based on Cu/rGO-BP performed a high upper limit of linear range (25 mM), which is close to commercial glucose sensors. The proposed strategy for Cu/rGO-BP fabrication can be extended to modify buckypaper with other metal or metal oxide nanoparticles, and thus opens an innovative route to potential practical applications of flexible buckypaper in wearable bioelectronics., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies have reported that disturbance of endogenous circadian rhythms enhances the chance of hypertension and suggested that circadian clock genes could have a crucial function in the onset of the disease. This case-control study was aimed to investigate the association of the mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator like (Arntl), clock circadian regulator (Clock), and period circadian regulators 1 and 2 (Per1 and Per2) with hypertension and blood pressure levels., Methods: A total of 172 subjects were recruited in this study, including 86 hypertension and 86 nonhypertension controls. The mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The differences in Arntl, Clock, Per1, and Per2 mRNA expression were compared between the 2 groups, and the relationship between mRNA expression and cardiometabolic risk profiles was also assessed., Results: We found that the mRNA expression of Arntl was downregulated in the hypertension cases compared with controls in women (1.10 [0.66, 1.71] vs. 1.30 [0.99, 2.06], p = 0.031). There was a significant negative correlation between the Arntl mRNA expression and SBP (r = -0.301, p = 0.004) and DBP (r = -0.222, p = 0.034) in women. In men, a negative correlation between the Per1 mRNA expression and SBP (r = -0.247, p = 0.026) was found., Conclusions: The Arntl mRNA expression may play an important role in progression of hypertension in women., (© 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Introduction: Key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM), drug users and sex workers are at high risk of HIV infection, but they are marginalised and hidden. Social network strategy (SNS) is purposeful to use social networks to generate social influence, accelerate behaviour change and achieve desirable outcomes among individuals or communities and have been increasingly used for HIV interventions. This study aims to investigate the effects of SNS on HIV prevention among key populations., Methods: We searched six databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect and Wiley for randomised controlled trials published between January 1999 and May 2019. Eligibility criteria included SNS conducted among key populations for HIV interventions, with a comparator group. Outcomes included changes in HIV high-risk behaviour, HIV seroconversion and other HIV outcomes. We used the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference with associated 95% confidence interval (CI) to assess the comparative efficacy between SNS and control methods on the selected outcomes. The GRADE system was used to assess the quality of evidence for the studies., Results: Of 2818 citations identified, 28 trails from 24 papers met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that SNS was associated with less unprotected intercourse (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.86) and sex with multiple partners (0.46, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.65). Additionally, relative to the control methods, SNS significantly reduced HIV seroconversion (0.65, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.81), improved HIV testing uptake (1.11, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.15) and promoted participant retention (1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.06) among key populations. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system showed that trails were of moderate quality., Conclusions: This review provides evidence that SNS can reach key populations who are currently not being reached by existing programmes and deliver HIV interventions through social networks, which decreases HIV sexual risk behaviour and HIV incidence and increases HIV testing uptake and participant retention., Trial Registration Number: CRD42019140533., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

In this study, a high aluminum and chromium Fe-B-C coating was prepared using laser cladding on 2Cr13 steel substrate. The microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the high aluminum and chromium Fe-B-C coating were investigated. The results show that this dense coating possesses good metallurgical bond with the substrate. The microstructure is mainly composed of α-(Fe, Cr, Al) lath martensite, orthorhombic M 2 B boride, orthogonal M 3 C 2 , and orthorhombic M 7 C 3 carbides. The microhardness of the coating can reach 620 HV which is 3.3-times higher than that (190 HV) of the substrate. The coating shows a lower friction coefficient of 0.75 than that of the substrate (1.08). The wear rates of the substrate and the coating are 0.295 mg/min and 0.103 mg/min, respectively, indicating the coating exhibits excellent wear resistance. The wear mechanism transforms severe adhesive wear and abrasive wear of the substrate to slight abrasive wear of the coating. The results can provide technical support to improve the properties of the Fe-based laser cladded coating., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Background: The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases each year, and obesity is an important risk factor for CKD. The main anthropometric indicators currently reflecting obesity are body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), but the rationality and merits of various indicators vary. This article aims to find whether the WHtR is a more suitable physical measurement that can predict CKD., Methods: Pubmed, embase, the cochrane library, and web of science were systematically searched for articles published between 1998 and 2019 screening CKD through physical indicators. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and evaluated the quality of the methodology included in the study. Meta-analysis used the Stata 12.0 software., Results: Nine studies were included, with a total of 202,283 subjects. Meta-analysis showed that according to the analysis of different genders in 6 studies, regardless of sex, WHtR was the area with the largest area under the curve (AUC). Except WHtR and visceral fat index (VFI) in women which showed no statistical difference, WHtR and other indicators were statistically different. In three studies without gender-based stratification, the area under the curve AUC for WHtR remained the largest, but only the difference between WHtR and BMI was statistically significant. When the Chinese population was considered as a subgroup, the area under the curve AUC for WHtR was the largest. Except for WHtR and VFI which showed no statistical difference in women, there was a statistically significant difference between WHtR and other indicators in men and women., Conclusion: WHtR could be better prediction for CKD relative to other physical measurements. It also requires higher-quality prospective studies to verify the clinical application of WHtR., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s). 2019.)

BACKGROUND The present study was designed to investigate the effect of wogonin on Caov-3 and A2780 ovary cancer cell proliferation and the mechanisms involved. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cell viability changes and apoptosis induction by wogonin were assessed by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenytetrazolium bromide) assay and fluorescence microscopy. Morphological examination of cells was performed using transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS Wogonin exhibited inhibitory effect on Caov-3 and A2780 cancer cell proliferation in a concentration-based manner. Caov-3 and A2780 cell proliferation was reduced to 18% and 21%, respectively on treatment with 200 μM concentration of wogonin. Treatment with wogonin significantly enhanced the percentage of A2780 cells showing apoptosis. The nuclear membrane degradation and condensation of chromatin material was evident in A2780 cells on treatment with wogonin. Treatment of A2780 cells with wogonin suppressed the migration potential significantly. The proportion of A2780 cells in G1/G0 phase was markedly raised on exposure to wogonin for 48 hours. CONCLUSIONS In summary, this study demonstrated that wogonin acts as an ovary cancer cell proliferation inhibiting agent through activation of apoptosis. Wogonin, therefore, can be investigated further for the development of ovary cancer treatment.

Background: The current gold standard for gastric cancer (GC) screening is pathology or a barium meal followed by X-ray. This is not applicable to a wide range of screening capabilities due to the lack of operability. This article used a meta-analysis to evaluate the value of pepsinogen (PG) screening for GC., Methods: PubMed, EMbase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM databases were systematically searched for published studies that used serum PG to diagnose GC. Articles were searched from January 2003 to January 2018. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were extracted and evaluated, and the quality of the methodologies evaluated using the QUADAS entry. The meta-analysis (MA) was performed using Meta-DiSc 1.4 software. Stata 12.0 software was used to assess publication bias., Results: A total of 19 studies were finally included from a total of 169,009 cases. The MA showed a combined sensitivity and specificity of 0.56 (95% CI (0.53-0.59), P < 0.01) and 0.71 (95% CI (0.70-0.71), P < 0.01), respectively. The combined likelihood ratios were +LR = 2.82 (95% CI (2.06-3.86), P < 0.01) and -LR = 0.56 (95% CI (0.45-0.68), P < 0.01). The combined DOR was 5.41 (95% CI (3.64~ 8.06), P < 0.01), and the area under the SROC curve was 0.7468., Conclusions: Serum PG provides medium levels of sensitivity and specificity for GC assessment. To be used in a clinical setting, further high-quality research must be performed and verified.

Missing in metastasis (MIM, also MTSS1) is a member of the inverse Bin-Amphiphysin-Rvs (I-BAR) family that senses and stabilizes negative membrane protrusions. Abnormal expression of MIM has been frequently associated with a subset of human cancers and may play different roles in different stages of tumor progression. Overexpression of MIM-I-BAR in 293A cells potentiated the cell growth and increased the toxic response to paclitaxel. To modulate the function of MIM within cells, we designed several short peptide derivatives to target I-BAR dimerization. One of these derivatives had a cyclic configuration with a potency to disrupt the dimerization of MIM or ABBA proteins in vitro, and to be readily internalized into cells. Exposure of cells expressing MIM-I-BAR to this compound abolished increased susceptibility to paclitaxel and partially inhibited the IBAR- mediated endocytosis. Our data suggests that this cyclic peptide can be used as a tool to study the function of intracellular MIM and as a lead to develop a therapy targeting human diseases involving abnormal MIM expressions.

Some research reported that polymorphisms in the toll-Like receptor 4 may have influence on asthma risk. Here, we sought to estimate the effects of Toll-Like Receptor 4 (Asp299Gly) genes on asthma risk. Databases including PubMed and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched to find relevant studies. The odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was performed. A total of 12 case-control studies were finally identified. This meta-analysis indicated that no significant association was found between TLR4 (Asp299Gly) genes and asthma risk (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.71-1.12). In conclusion, our findings suggest that TLR4 +896A>G (Asp299Gly) polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of asthma.

Hierarchically porous SAPO-11 zeolite (H-SAPO-11) is rationally synthesized from a starting silicoaluminophosphate gel in the presence of polyhexamethylene biguanidine as a mesoscale template. The sample is well characterized by XRD, N2 sorption, SEM, TEM, NMR, XPS, NH3-TPD, and TG techniques. The results show that the sample obtained has good crystallinity, hierarchical porosity (mesopores at ca. 10 nm and macropores at ca. 50-200 nm), high BET surface area (226 m(2)/g), large pore volume (0.25 cm(3)/g), and abundant medium and strong acidic sites (0.36 mmol/g). After loading Pt (0.5 wt.%) on H-SAPO-11 by using wet impregnation method, catalytic hydroisomerization tests of n-dodecane show that the hierarchical Pt/SAPO-11 zeolite exhibits high conversion of n-dodecane and enhanced selectivity for branched products as well as reduced selectivity for cracking products, compared with conventional Pt/SAPO-11 zeolite. This phenomenon is reasonably attributed to the presence of hierarchical porosity, which is favorable for access of reactants on catalytically active sites. The improvement in catalytic performance in long-chain paraffin hydroisomerization over Pt/SAPO-11-based catalyst is of great importance for its industrial applications in the future., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Our previous studies showed that serum calcium level may have influence in the blood pressure to older male subjects, but the relationship between serum calcium level and blood lipids is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between total serum calcium level and blood lipids. In our study, total serum calcium level and blood lipids were measured among 1,075 subjects, with age range of 30-60 years, who were recruited for the routine health screening in 2006. The results showed that serum calcium level was positively correlated with triglyceride and total cholesterol weight, but not HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in female subjects (P < 0.05). No correlation was found between total serum calcium level and blood lipids in male subjects (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that a higher total serum calcium level may have a adverse effects on serum cholesterol and triglycerides among female subjects.

Objectives: The reported results of the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α -238, -308 locus and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) susceptibility are not always consistent. This article aims to perform a meta-analysis to collect all the relevant studies to date to further clarify the relationship between those genetic polymorphisms and AS., Methods: A computer search was carried out up to September 2011 for literature pertaining to AS and TNF-α polymorphisms., Results: Twenty-two articles were included, with 2,506 cases of AS and 3,023 normal controls. We searched for genotypes A allele vs. G allele, AA vs. GG + GA, and GA + AA vs. GG in a fixed/random-effects model. The effect summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained, which shows there was no association between genetic polymorphisms and AS. As the heterogeneity was observed, in a subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the degree of risk of two genes with AS susceptibility was similar in populations of European and Asian origin. For the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27+ population, results were not statistically significant., Conclusion: ORs of various comparisons indicate that there is no association between TNF-α -238, -308 polymorphisms and AS susceptibility in the overall population and in the subgroup of Asian and non-Asian descent.

Aim: To investigate the sleep quality status and its associated factors (including psychological and physiological as well as social demographic factors) among Chinese mainland adolescents., Methods: Ten schools, including junior schools, senior schools and universities of Hefei (the capital of Anhui Province in China), were randomly selected. By using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale Version 1.0, University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Self-rating Anxiety Scale and a demographic survey, a cross-sectional study was implemented to 5226 students of the selected schools to investigate the adolescents' sleep quality, self-rated health, psychological status and demographic variables., Results: There were significant sleep quality differences between different groups of grade level, residence, family type, self-report personality, self-report examination scores, self-rated health, depression, loneliness and anxiety according to the results of the univariate analysis (P < 0.01 or <0.05). The multivariate analysis indicated that high grade level (OR = 1.490, 95%CI = 1.350-1.645), living in rural areas (OR = 0.874, 95%CI = 0.799-0.956), poor self-rated health (OR = 0.934, 95%CI = 0.926-0.942), high degree of depression (OR = 1.867, 95%CI = 1.514-2.302) and anxiety (OR = 1.976, 95%CI = 1.647-2.372) may be the influencing factors of poor sleep., Conclusions: The poor sleep quality of many adolescents may be attributed to various causes, especially psychological reasons., (© 2011 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).)

Aim: Self-rated health is a valid and relevant indicator of individuals' and populations' health status, and has been shown to be a critical predictor of some medical endpoints. The studies concentrating on Chinese adolescents' self-rated health were scarce. The present study aimed to understand the self-rated health and its associated factors of Chinese adolescents., Methods: Ten schools including junior schools, senior schools and universities of Hefei in Anhui Province of China were randomly selected. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to the selected 5226 students to investigate their demographic variables, sleep quality, self-rated health and degree of depression, anxiety and loneliness. In terms of the instruments, Self-rated Health Measurement Scale Version 1.0, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Self-rating Anxiety Scale and the demographic survey were used in the present study., Results: The sleep quality, self-rated health and degree of depression, anxiety and loneliness among different grade levels were different (p < 0.01 or <0.05). The multivariate analysis indicated that young age, poor sleep quality and high degree of depression, anxiety and loneliness were significantly associated with poor self-rated health of adolescents., Conclusion: The adolescents' poor self-rated health may be attributed to many causes especially the psychological reasons. Future interventions that focus more on the inner causes may be the better steps to make adolescents healthy., (© 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.)

Benzyl(hydro)[70]fullerene regioisomers with the addends in both the equatorial and polar regions of C(70) have been prepared via the reaction of dianionic C(70) with benzyl bromide and H(2)O. HRMS, UV-vis, (1)H, (13)C, HMQC (heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence) and HMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond coherence) NMR characterisations have shown that the addition in the equatorial region of C(70) affords a new (PhCH(2))HC(70) regioisomer with para-positioned addends across a six-membered ring, which is different from the "polar" regioisomers where the addends have an ortho-addition pattern. (1)H NMR characterisations have shown a much stronger shielding effect for the addends in the equatorial region with respect to the counterparts in the polar region of C(70), while cyclic voltammetry study has shown a surprising positive shift for the first reduction potential of the equatorial regioisomer with respect to those of the polar regioisomer and pristine C(70), suggesting that the equatorial region of C(70) is rather electropositive than electronegative. D(2)O experiment has shown a significant difference of the deuterated product distribution between the equatorial and polar regioisomers, which can be justified by the different acidity of the (PhCH(2))HC(70) regioisomers. Computational calculations have been carried out to rationalize the formation of the C(70)HR regioisomers.

Water-soluble supramolecular inclusion complexes of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin-bicapped C60 (CD/C60) have been investigated for their photoinduced DNA cleavage activities, with the aim to assess the potential health risks of this class of compounds and to understand the effect of host cyclodextrins having different cavity dimensions. Factors such as incubation temperature, irradiation time, and concentration of NADH or CDs/ C60 supramolecular inclusion complexes have been examined. The results show that alpha-, beta-, and gamma-CDs/C60 are all able to cleave double-stranded DNA under visible light irradiation in the presence of NADH. However, a difference in the photoinduced DNA cleavage efficiency is observed, where the cleavage efficiency increases in the order of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-CD/C60. The difference is attributed to the different aggregation behavior of the inclusion complexes in aqueous solution, which is correlated to the cavity dimension of the host cyclodextrin molecules.