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Objective : To observe the regularity of host-anti-graft reaction in animal model full-thickness cartilage defect after autologous or allogeneic full-thickness cartilage transplantation. Methods :The model of cartilage combined with subchondral bone defect was selected from 36 healthy adult male SD rats and randomly divided into three groups: blank control group (group A), autograft group (group B), and allograft group (group C). The gait of the rats was observed after transplantation, The rats were killed at 3, 5 and 7 days after operation. After operation, the cells in blood and spleen were separated for flow cytometry and ELISA detection, and the local bone tissue sections were subjected to hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. All the results of inflammatory reaction were studied by statistical analysis method. Results :After allogeneic full-thickness cartilage transplantation, the expression of inflammatory cells increased significantly in the blood samples of the three groups on the 3rd-5th day after operation. Compared with groups A and B, the expressions of inflammatory cells (monocytes, NK cells, T cells) and inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) in group C increased significantly, and decreased slightly after7 days. The expression of monocytes in this group on the 5th and 7th day was higher than that on the 3rd day. The expression of Tregs in group B was higher than that in the other two groups from the first time after operation, and the difference became more and more obvious in the first week after surgery. In spleen cells, the expression of monocytes in group C was markedly higher than that in the other two groups on the 5th and 7th after operation, and the expression of NK was also higher than that in the A and B groups on the 3rd and 5th after operation. The change of Tregs in group B showed the same trend as that of blood sample one week after operation. In all groups, the expression levels of monocytes and T cells on the 5th and 7th day were higher than those on the 3rd day. The results of histological staining showed that the local inflammation was obvious on the 3rd day after operation. The section on the 5th day after the operation showed that the inflammatory manifestations at the interface between the recipient and the graft continued to expand,and some grafts were involved, and the immune response reached the peak. On the 7th day after operation, the whole implant was destroyed, and the response intensity decreased gradually, which echoed the results of flow cytometry and ELISA. Conclusions :The acute immune response after allogeneic cartilage transplantation is a complex process, which is intervented and jointed acted by CD4+T, CD8+T, NK cells, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and other cells and extracellular factors.Our study shows that the intensity of host versus graft reaction after allogeneic full-thickness cartilage transplantation reached the highest in the 5th day after operation, and then decreased gradually.This conclusion provides a theoretical basis for the implantation of bioengineered orthopaedic materials and the timing of immunosuppressive interventions in the implantation allogeneic or xenogeneic osteochondral transplantation in the future.

The unwanted vibrations of offshore structures induced by wave or earthquake loads can lead to the reduction of the service life and fatigue failure of the offshore platforms. This paper introduces tuned inerter damper (TID) to a jacket offshore platform as passive control device for mitigating the excessive vibrations of platform structure induced by wave and earthquake loads. An analytical design method is proposed for jacket platforms and the influence of installation location on the modal response is investigated. The proposed design method can determine the optimal installation position and obtain the optimal design parameters by transform the original multi-degree of freedom (MDOF) system to a single DOF (SDOF) modal system. Two sets of closed-form solutions of which corresponding to wave and earthquake excitations are derived based on the $${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$$ H 2 optimization criterion. Further, a practical 90 (m) high and 80 (m) deep in-water jacket offshore platform is used in numerical simulation and the wave forces are modeled using Morison’s equation. The case study finds that the optimal installation location of TID is deck level for both wave and earthquake loads. The proposed design method is validated by the numerical example and the results demonstrate that TID system can effectively mitigate the maximum, minimum, and RMS responses of jacket platforms. Besides, the TID is more effective when the jacket platform is under the action of waves and the tuning of TID according to earthquake load is more reliable when the jacket platform subjected to both wave and seismic loads.

Microorganisms, sensitive to the surrounding environment changes, show how the cave environment can be impacted by human activities. Zhijin Cave, featured with the most well-developed karst landform in China, has been open to tourists for more than 30 years. This study explored the microbial diversity in a karst cave and the impacts of tourism activities on the microbial communities and the community structures of bacteria and archaea in three niches in Zhijin Cave, including the mixture of bacteria and cyanobacteria on the rock wall, the aquatic sediments, and the surface sediments, using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology. It was found that Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacteria in the cave and Crenarchaeota and Thermoplasmatota were the dominant archaea. The correlation between microorganisms and environmental variables in the cave showed that archaea were more affected by pH and ORP than bacteria and F−, Cl−, NO3−, and SO42− were all positively relevant to the distribution of most bacteria and archaea in the cave. PICRUSt’s prediction of microbial functions also indicated that abundance of the bacteria’s functions was higher than that of the archaea. The intention of this study was to improve the understanding, development, and protection of microbial resources in caves.

Simultaneously charging multiple devices is a unique advantage of wireless power transfer (WPT). However, it is challenging to analyze and optimize the performance of a multireceiver (multi-Rx) WPT system due to the intricate coupling among coils. In this article, a method for adaptive decoupling between Rxs is proposed for electronic device charging, which can achieve independent regulation of each output in a multi-Rx WPT system. A simple feedback control avoids tedious system structure and position parameters’ measurement and calculation. With a fixed driving frequency, the number of Rx is not limited. It is analyzed that the quadrature phenomenon of the transmitter (Tx) and Rx currents can be used as a sign that the cross-coupling is fully compensated. A phase synchronization channel is established that shares power transfer coils. An microprogrammed control unit-(MCU) free feedback loop is constructed in Rx to control the variable switched capacitor and finally realize adaptive cross-coupling compensation. A two-load experimental prototype was built to verify the theoretical analysis. Compared with the system without adaptive decoupling between Rxs, the measured system efficiency and output power of the proposed system were improved by 69% and 14.3 times, respectively.

Obesity has become an increasingly severe problem in the United States. From 2008 to 2018, the adult obesity rate rose from 33.8% to 42.4%, with rates that are notably higher in rural areas when compared to their urban counterparts. Meanwhile, rural regions have experienced relatively slower employment growth and higher poverty rates during the recovery from the Great Recession. Social scientists are interested in determinants of – and potential solutions to – this rise in obesity rates. The existing literature has focused on the relationship between obesity and social/economic factors, such as the number of fast-food restaurants, limited physical activity, and unemployment rates. However, one unexplored question is whether the level of economic growth experienced by a rural area plays a role in the obesity problem. This paper assesses the impact of economic growth (measured by county-level GDP per capita) on obesity rates (measured by the county-level percentage of adults with BMI higher than 30) in rural America. Nationwide, data is collected on a host of demographic and economic characteristics for all non-metropolitan counties from 2012 to 2016, resulting in a county-level panel data set (n=1,948, t=5). Control variables include age, race and ethnicity, unemployment rates, rates of physical inactivity, food assistance program participation, and an index measuring healthy food availability. Two different econometric approaches were applied: (1) a fixed-effects panel regression model and (2) a difference-in-difference model using propensity score matching (PSM). The results of both econometric models suggest there is no relationship between economic growth and future obesity rates. This suggests that programs focused on rural economic growth may not affect other quality-of-life metrics. The conclusion discusses these competing interests and how regional scientists can play a role in future research in this area.

—Corrosion behavior of mild steel in 1 mol/L HCl with 2-chloromethylbenzimidazole (2-CBI) and sodium molybdate (Na2MoO4) as inhibitor was studied by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic scanning. 2-CBI was proved an effective inhibitor for mild steel in 1 mol/L HCl, while Na2MoO4 did not. With a fixed 2-CBI concentration (100 mg/L) and increasing of Na2MoO4 concentration (50 to 300 mg/L), the inhibition efficiency (IE) of the 2-CBI/Na2MoO4 complex increased first and then decreased, and the synergistic parameters of the complex were always higher than 1. When the concentration of Na2MoO4 approaches to 150 mg/L, the IE of the complex showed a maximum value as 89.0%, which was higher than that of only 100 mg/L 2-CBI as inhibitor (81.8%). This result is considered as a compelling support for understanding the mechanism of the synergistic inhibition.

Background: To study the pathogenesis of steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis, an ideal animal model is very important. As experimental animals, mice are beneficial for studying the pathogenesis of disease. However, there are currently few mouse models of steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis, and there are many questions that require further exploration and research.Purposes: The purpose of this study was to establish a new model of osteonecrosis in mice using angiotensin II (Ang II) combined with asparaginase (ASP) and dexamethasone (DEX) and to study the effects of this drug combination on femoral head osteonecrosis in mice.Methods: Male BALB/c mice (n = 60) were randomly divided into three groups. Group A (normal control, NC) was treated with physiological saline and given a normal diet. Group B (DEX + ASP, DA) was given free access to food and water (containing 2 mg/L DEX) and subjected to intraperitoneal injection of ASP (1200 IU/kg twice/week for 8 weeks). Group C (DEX + ASP + Ang II, DAA) was treated the same as group B, it was also given free access to food and water (containing 2 mg/L DEX) and subjected to intraperitoneal injection of ASP (1200 IU/kg twice/week for 8 weeks), but in the 4th and 8th weeks, subcutaneous implantation of a capsule osmotic pump (0.28 mg/kg/day Ang II) was performed. The mice were sacrificed in the 4th and 8th weeks, and the model success rate, mouse mortality rate, body weight, blood lipids, coagulation factors, histopathology, and number of local vessels in the femoral head were evaluated.Results: DAA increased the model success rate [4th week, 30% (DA) vs. 40% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC); 8th week, 40% (DA) vs. 70% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC)]. There was no significant difference in mortality rate between the groups [4th week, 0% (DA) vs. 0% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC); 8th week, 5% (DA) vs. 10% (DAA) vs. 0% (NC)]. DAA affected mouse body weight and significantly affected blood lipids and blood coagulation factors. DAA reduces the number of blood vessels in the femoral head and destroys the local blood supply.Conclusion: Angiotensin II combined with asparaginase and dexamethasone can obviously promote the necrosis of femoral head and provide a new idea for the model and treatment of osteonecrosis.

In this research, an attention-based feature fusion network (AFFNet), with a backbone residual network (ResNet101) enhanced with two attention mechanism modules, is proposed for automatic pixel-level detection of concrete crack. In particular, the inclusion of attention mechanism modules, for example, the vertical and horizontal compression attention module (VH-CAM) and the efficient channel attention upsample module (ECAUM), is to enable selective concentration on the crack feature. The VH-CAM generates a feature map integrating pixel-level information in vertical and horizontal directions. The ECAUM applied on each decoder layer combines efficient channel attention (ECA) and feature fusion, which can provide rich contextual information as guidance to help low-level features recover crack localization. The proposed model is evaluated on the test dataset and the results reach 84.49% for mean intersection over union (MIoU). Comparison with other state-of-the-art models proves high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.

Background The potential role of occupational exposures in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear, particularly in high-incidence areas. Methods The authors conducted a population-based case-control study, consisting of 2514 incident NPC cases and 2586 randomly selected population controls, in southern China from 2010 to 2014. Occupational history and other covariates were self-reported using a questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of NPC associated with occupational exposures. Restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate potentially nonlinear duration-response relations. Results Individuals who had exposure to occupational dusts (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.26-1.68), chemical vapors (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.17-1.61), exhausts/smokes (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.25-1.60), or acids/alkalis (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.30-1.89) in the workplace had an increased NPC risk compared with those who were unexposed. Risk estimates for all 4 categories of occupational exposures appeared to linearly increase with increasing duration. Within these categories, occupational exposure to 14 subtypes of agents conferred significantly higher risks of NPC, with ORs ranging from 1.30 to 2.29, including dust from metals, textiles, cement, or coal; vapor from formaldehyde, organic solvents, or dyes; exhaust or smoke from diesel, firewood, asphalt/tar, vehicles, or welding; and sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and concentrated alkali/ammonia. Conclusions Occupational exposures to dusts, chemical vapors, exhausts/smokes, or acids/alkalis are associated with an excess risk of NPC. If the current results are causal, then the amelioration of workplace conditions might alleviate the burden of NPC in endemic areas. Lay summary The role of occupational exposures in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear, particularly in high-incidence areas. The authors conducted a population-based study with 2514 incident NPC cases and 2586 population controls in southern China and observed that occupational exposures were associated with an increased risk of NPC. Duration-response trends were observed with increasing duration of exposure. These findings provide new evidence supporting an etiologic role of occupational exposures for NPC in a high-incidence region.

Background: We hypothesized that specific amino acids or acylcarnitines would have benefits for the differential diagnosis of diabe tes. Thus, a targeted metabolomics for amino acids and acylcarnitines in patients with diabetes and its complications was carried out. Methods: A cohort of 54 normal individuals and 156 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or diabetic complications en rolled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University was studied. The subjects were divided into five main groups: normal individuals, impaired fasting glucose, overt diabetes, diabetic microvascular complications, and diabetic periph eral vascular disease. The technique of tandem mass spectrometry was applied to obtain the plasma metabolite profiles. Metabo lomics multivariate statistics were applied for the metabolic data analysis and the differential metabolites determination. Results: A total of 10 cross-comparisons within diabetes and its complications were designed to explore the differential metabo lites. The results demonstrated that eight comparisons existed and yielded significant metabolic differences. A total number of 24 differential metabolites were determined from six selected comparisons, including up-regulated amino acids, down-regulated medium-chain and long-chain acylcarnitines. Altered differential metabolites provided six panels of biomarkers, which were helpful in distinguishing diabetic patients. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the biomarker panels consisted of specific amino acids and acylcarnitines which could reflect the metabolic variations among the different stages of diabetes and might be useful for the differential diagnosis of prediabetes, overt diabetes and diabetic complications.

Concern about the effect of tetracycline (TC) on the ecosystem has been increasing due to its endurance and low decomposition. Photocatalysts have attracted extensive interest as alternatives to other ordinary wastewater treatment methods. A nanosized mesoporous phosphated TiO2 (P-TiO2) photocatalyst was fabricated to degrade TC under Xe lamp irradiation. The TC degradation and COD removal rate reached 98.97% and 79.16% within 30 min. Photocatalysts were characterized by SEM, HRTEM, BET, DRS, XRD, XPS and FT-IR techniques. 31 experiments were designed to identify the best conditions for photocatalytic degradation of TC by response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD). 6 key operating parameters were selected to study their interrelationships by CCD design. Based on the experimental data and ANOVA, the coefficient of determination (R2), the values of “Prob > F” and F-value were determined to be 0.9692, 0.002 and 7.87, respectively, which demonstrated that the model is significant. And the excellent correlation between the predicted and actual values also provided good confidence in the model. To achieve a higher removal rate of TC under appropriate and more economical experimental conditions, the optimum values of P-loading on TiO2, concentration of P-TiO2, irradiation time, photo intensity, pH and concentration of TC should be set to 17.45 wt%, 1.00 g L−1, 40.39 min, 5 A, 7, 29.93 mg L−1, respectively, in which the degradation of TC can reach 99.16%. Furthermore, the intermediates of TC verified by GC-MS analysis were mainly chains and rings. A possible pathway of photodegradation was also proposed.

Previous research on antibiotic resistance genes and microorganisms centered on those in urban sewage treatment plants, breeding farms, hospitals and others with serious antibiotic pollution. However, at present, there are evident proofs that antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) indeed exist in a primitive environment hardly without any human's footprints. Accordingly, an original karst mountain swamp ecosystem in Niangniang Mountain, Guizhou, China, including herbaceous swamp, shrub swamp, sphagnum bog and forest swamp, was selected to analyze the physical and chemical parameters of sediments. Moreover, microbial compositions, functions, as well as their connections with ARGs were assayed and analyzed using metagenomic technology. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the dominant microorganisms and ARGs in the four marshes, in which the dominant bacteria phyla were Proteobacteria (37.82 %), Acidobacteriota (22.17 %) and Actinobacteriota (20.64 %); the dominant archaea Euryarchaeota. (1.00 %); and the dominant eukaryotes Ascomycota (0.07 %), with metabolism as their major functions. Based on the ARDB database, the number of ARGs annotated reached 209 including 30 subtypes, and the dominant ARGs were all Bacitracin resistance genes (bacA, 84.77 %). In terms of the diversity of microorganisms and ARGs, the herbaceous swamp ranked the top, and the shrub swamp were at the bottom. Correlation analysis between microorganisms and resistance genes showed that, apart from aac2ic, macB, smeE, tetQ, and tetL, other ARGs were positively correlated with microorganisms. Among them, baca coexisted with microorganisms. Pearson correlation analysis results showed that contrary to ARGs, microorganisms were more affected by environmental factors.

Intrinsically polarized electrorheological fluids (ERFs) have better thermal stability than ERFs with polar molecules, so they have a broader application prospect. However, the electrorheological efficiency of the common intrinsically polarized ERF is still lower than 1500, which is related to the poor wettability between polarized materials and the continuous phase. Carbon dots (CDs) exhibit good stability, semiconductor properties and low toxicity. We prepared biomimetic chestnut-like cobalt hydroxide coupled with surface-functionalized CD particles (Co(OH)

Undesirable vibrations in offshore platforms due to environmental loadings reduce platform productivity and service life. This study proposes a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) based isolation system to control the jacket platform dynamic responses under multiple loadings, namely the earthquakes and irregular waves. The dynamic model of jacket platform with MRE system is established, and a semi-active neutron-fuzzy controller is proposed for real time vibration mitigation. To evaluate the MRE-based isolation system effects on the vibration suppression of the jacket platforms under multiple loadings, a JZ20-2MUQ platform located in Bohai Sea of China is selected as a case study, and a comprehensive numerical study has been conducted. The results demonstrate that the MRE-based isolation system can effectively attenuate the dynamic responses of offshore platform. The effectiveness of the proposed MRE system is also evaluated by comparing a previous magnetorheological fluid damping system, which presents the superiority of MRE system for suppressing multiple-direction loadings.

Background Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation from latent to lytic infection has been considered as a key step in nasopharyngeal carcinoma oncogenesis. However, epidemiological evidence regarding environmental risk factors for EBV reactivation on a population level remains largely lacking. Methods We enrolled 1916 randomly selected adults from the general population of Guangdong and Guangxi, China, from 2010 to 2014. Information on environmental factors was collected via a structured interview. Serum immunoglobulin A antibodies against EBV viral capsid antigen and nuclear antigen 1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to evaluate EBV reactivation status. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of EBV reactivation with various environmental factors. Results No associations were observed between EBV reactivation and extensive environmental factors, including alcohol or tea drinking, a history of chronic ear/nose/throat diseases, use of medications or herbs, consumption of salted fish or preserved foods, oral hygiene, sibship structure, and various residential and occupational exposures. Only cigarette smoking was associated with EBV reactivation (current smokers vs never smokers; OR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.02–1.83), with positive exposure-response trends with increasing intensity, duration, and pack-years of smoking. Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, we found an association between cigarette smoking and EBV reactivation. Other examined exposures were not associated with EBV reactivation. These null results could suggest either more complex interactions between exposures and EBV reactivation or a predominant role of host and/or viral genetic variation.

Magnetorheological (MR) grease, which is a type of magneto-sensitive smart material, exhibits complex viscoelastic behavior under different magnetic fields. Storage and loss moduli from oscillatory test are commonly used to characterize such field-dependent viscoelastic behavior. However, they are not able to represent the higher harmonic nonlinearity appeared in oscillatory responses under large amplitude oscillatory (LAOS) shear. In this paper, an investigation is conducted on the characterization of the filed-dependent nonlinearity of MR grease under LAOS by utilizing of Fourier transform (FT)-Chebyshev analysis. To capture the higher harmonic nonlinearity for the modeling and analysis, a comprehensive test program has been conducted. Firstly, MR grease with 70% weight percentage of carbonyl iron particles (MRG-70) is prepared and the stress response of MRG-70 under the oscillatory shear from small to large strain amplitudes with different magnetic field are measured. Then the higher harmonics in stress response signal are used to detect the intercycle nonlinearity of MRG-70 and compare with the traditional analysis method of dynamic modulus. Further, the elastic and viscous measures from FT-Chebyshev analysis are obtained to capture the inter-/intracycle nonlinear behaviors, that is, strain stiffening/softening, shear thickening/thinning, of MRG-70 under LAOS. It is found that, in the presence of magnetic fields, the onset of the intercycle nonlinearities of MRG-70 is originated from shear thickening of MR grease. With the further increase of the shear strain, MRG-70 exhibits the nonlinearities with different combinations of strain stiffening/softening and shear thickening/thinning.

Heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals semiconductor materials offer a diverse playground for exploring fundamental physics and potential device applications. In InSe/GaSe heterostructures formed by sequential mechanical exfoliation and stacking of 2D monochalcogenides InSe and GaSe, we observe charge transfer between InSe and GaSe because of the 2D van der Waals interface formation and a strong hysteresis effect in the electron transport through the InSe layer when a gate voltage is applied through the GaSe layer. A gate voltage-dependent conductance decay rate is also observed. We relate these observations to the gate voltage-dependent dynamical charge transfer between InSe and GaSe layers.

To explore the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the three monoterpene glycosides (paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin) extracted from the Radix Paeoniae Rubra (RPR), we determined the plasma concentrations of these components in the cerebral ischemia–reperfusion (CIR) rats and the normal rats by a self-developed and validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS–MS) method. In this study, the CIR rats and the normal rats both underwent an intravenous administration of total paeony glucosides (TPG). The blood samples were collected from rats by eye puncture at a series of time points. Then, the pharmacokinetic parameters of the three components were calculated, including the half-life (t1/2), the area under curve of the concentration–time (AUC), the mean residence time (MRT), apparent volume of distribution (Vz) and the clearance (CL). Studies demonstrated that the Vz of albiflorin, the Vz of oxypaeoniflorin, the t1/2 of oxypaeoniflorin and the MRT of oxypaeoniflorin increased in the CIR rats versus the normal rats. Moreover, we found albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin showed smaller AUC, longer MRT, larger Vz and larger CL than paeoniflorin both in CIR rats and normal rats. In conclusion, we used a validated method to determine the pharmacokinetic characteristics of three monoterpene glycosides in both CIR rats and normal rats simultaneously. These results demonstrated that there were meaningful differences among the pharmacokinetics of the three monoterpene glycosides in TPG either in normal rats or CIR rats. And the CIR model had influences on the in vivo process both of albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin.

A flaky Fe-based mangetorheological elastomer film (F-Fe/MREF) composite was developed through mixing micron-sized flaky Fe particles into a silicone rubber (SR) matrix by compression molding and v...

In recent years, negative stiffness vibration isolation device with nonlinear characteristic has become an emerging research area and attracted a significant amount of attentions in the community due to the promising potentials it brought into the field. Its high-static-low-dynamic stiffness property endows the capacity to realize effective vibration isolation and in the meantime to maintain the system stability. This article presents a comprehensive review of the recent research and developments on negative stiffness vibration isolation device. It begins with an introduction on the concept of negative stiffness and then provides a summary and discussion regarding the realization and characteristics of negative stiffness vibration isolation device. The article places its special interest on the principles, structure design, and device characterisation of different types of negative stiffness vibration isolation devices, including spring type, pre-bucked beam type, magnetism type, geometrically nonlinear structural type, and composite structural type. Besides, the applications of negative stiffness vibration isolation device, as well as negative stiffness damper, are summarized and discussed based on the current state-of-the-art. Finally, the conclusions and further discussion provide highlights of the investigation.

Background Marijuana use is common in persons with HIV, but there is limited evidence of its relationship with potential health benefits or harms. Objective The Marijuana Associated Planning and Long-term Effects (MAPLE) study was designed to evaluate the impact of marijuana use on HIV-related health outcomes, cognitive function, and systemic inflammation. Methods The MAPLE study is a longitudinal cohort study of participants living with HIV who were recruited from 3 locations in Florida and were either current marijuana users or never regular marijuana users. At enrollment, participants completed questionnaires that included detailed marijuana use assessments, underwent interviewer-administered neurocognitive assessments, and provided blood and urine samples. Ongoing follow-ups included brief telephone assessments (every 3 months), detailed questionnaires (annually), repeated blood and urine samples (2 years), and linkage to medical records and statewide HIV surveillance data. Supplemental measures related to intracellular RNA, COVID-19, Alzheimer disease, and the gut microbiome were added after study initiation. Results The MAPLE study completed enrollment of 333 persons between 2018 and 2021. The majority of participants in the sample were ≥50 years of age (200/333, 60.1%), male (181/333, 54.4%), cisgender men (173/329, 52.6%), non-Hispanic Black (221/333, 66.4%), and self-reported marijuana users (260/333, 78.1%). Participant follow-up was completed in 2022, with annual updates to HIV surveillance data through at least 2027. Conclusions The MAPLE study is the largest cohort specifically designed to understand the use of marijuana and its effects on HIV-related outcomes. The study population has significant diversity across age, sex, gender, and race. The data will help clinicians and public health officials to better understand patterns of marijuana use associated with both positive and negative health outcomes, and may inform recommendations for future clinical trials related to medical marijuana and HIV. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/37153

Studies have shown that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be detected in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the relationship between CTCs and tumor stage is still controversial. This study aims to investigate the correlations among CTCs, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status, clinicopathologic features, and epidemiological risk factors in patients with NPC.Three hundred and thirty primary NPC patients with complete clinical data and epidemiology information were collected. Analysis of CTCs was performed using the CTCBIOPSY system. The plasma EBV DNA load was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Detection of VCA-IgA and EA-IgA antibodies titers was conducted by immunoenzymatic assay. EBNA1-IgA and Zta-IgA were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The presence of CTCs was associated with high EBV DNA load (p0.05). The positive rate of CTCs was correlated with T and M classifications of NPC (T: 13.2% vs. 22.9%; M: 17.9% vs. 34.8%, p0.05). Compared with never and former smokers, current smokers exhibited a higher positive rate of EBNA1-IgA (83.3% and 81.0% vs. 92.5%, p0.05); the patients with pack-years of smoking ≥ 15 displayed a significantly higher positive rate of EBNA1-IgA than those with pack-years of smoking15 (98.0% and 92.5% vs. 81.0%, p0.05).CTCs positivity was closely associated with tumor burden and distant metastasis of NPC. Smoking status and smoking cumulative dose of NPC patients might be correlated with EBV activation.

The large-scale use and release of antibiotics may create selective pressure on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), causing potential harm to human health. River ecosystems have long been considered repositories of antibiotics and ARGs. Therefore, the distribution characteristics and seasonal variation in antibiotics and ARGs in the surface water of the main stream and tributaries of the Chishui River were studied. The concentrations of antibiotics in the dry season and rainy season were 54.18-425.74 ng/L and 66.57-256.40 ng/L, respectively, gradually decreasing along the river direction. The results of antibiotics in the dry season and rainy season showed that livestock and poultry breeding were the main sources in the surface water of the Chishui River basin. Risk assessments indicated high risk levels of OFL in both seasons. In addition, analysis of ARGs and microbial community diversity showed that sul1 and sul3 were the main ARGs in the two seasons. The highest abundance of ARGs was 7.70 × 10

The human microbiome has been reported to mediate the response to anticancer therapies. However, research about the influence of the oral microbiome on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) survival is lacking. We aimed to explore the effect of oral microbiota on NPC prognosis.Four hundred eighty-two population-based NPC cases in southern China between 2010 and 2013 were followed for survival, and their saliva samples were profiled using 16s rRNA sequencing. We analyzed associations of the oral microbiome diversity with mortality from all causes and NPC.Within- and between-community diversities of saliva were associated with mortality with an average of 5.29 years follow-up. Lower Faith's phylogenetic diversity was related to higher all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 1.52 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-2.17)] and NPC-specific mortality [aHR, 1.57 (95% CI, 1.07-2.29)], compared with medium diversity, but higher phylogenetic diversity was not protective. The third principal coordinate (PC3) identified from principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) on Bray-Curtis distance was marginally associated with reduced all-cause mortality [aHR, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.73-1.00)], as was the first principal coordinate (PC1) from PCoA on weighted UniFrac [aHR, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.74-1.00)], but neither was associated with NPC-specific mortality. PC3 from robust principal components analysis was associated with lower all-cause and NPC-specific mortalities, with HRs of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.61-0.85) and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.60-0.85), respectively.Oral microbiome may be an explanatory factor for NPC prognosis. Lower within-community diversity was associated with higher mortality, and certain measures of between-community diversity were related to mortality. Specifically, candidate bacteria were not related to mortality, suggesting that observed associations may be due to global patterns rather than particular pathogens.

Cement-based sensors with magneto-aligned nickel fillers have the proven capability to significantly enhance piezoresistivity compared with the sensors with randomized fillers. In this paper, the influence of particle morphology and concentration of nickel particles on the piezoresistive and mechanical properties of cement-based sensors, treated with and without magnetic field intervention, are investigated experimentally. Five categories of nickel particles with different average diameters are type N50 (50 nm), N500 (0.5 μm), F(1 μm × 20 μm flake), T (5 μm) and U (25 μm). The obtained results indicate that the application of magnetic field enhances most of the piezoresistive performance and yields best piezoresistivity for the samples with type T nickel powder. Anisotropic piezoresistivity can be achieved under a very low filler content (0.1 vol%) in N50 nano-scale nickel powder and cement composite, followed by the N500 and T nickel particles in 5 vol% content. Small particles with lower content have similar piezoresistive performance to the samples with large particles and higher concentration. One half of the samples can achieve high giant gauge factor (GF) of over 500, two-thirds of which are aligned by magnetic field with anisotropic piezoresistive property. Samples with 5 vol% type T nickel content has the highest GF value, followed by the sample with 5 vol% type F nickel flakes and 10 vol% type U nickel powder. It is also found that mechanical strength decreases with the increase of particle concentration.

The electrical and mechanical properties of the cement-based composites with magneto-aligned nickel powder are investigated in this study. The microstructure of the conductive pattern is examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning. It demonstrates that with the intervention of magnetic field, the electrical resistivity drops significantly and percolation threshold of the composites reaches at a lower filler concentration. The problems of high filler usage, low flowability and strength exists in the composites with randomly dispersed nickel particles can be addressed using the proposed method. Additionally, investigation on the influence of magnetic field intensity and duration shows that by adjusting these key parameters, the piezoresistive performance of the cementitious composites can be lifted. Under the superior piezoresistivity, giant gauge factor of the cement sensors is achieved which demonstrates an ability of stress/strain monitoring with high sensitivity.