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• Intensive lipid lowering showed significant benefits in estimated glomerular filtration rate. • Intensive lipid lowering offered more benefit in urinary albumin–creatinine ratio. • The renal benefit of intensive lipid lowering was achieved without increased risk. Although current guidelines recommend the use of statins for severe atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS), the renal protection of intensive lipid-lowering therapy in patients with ARAS who underwent stent placement remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to compare the renal-protective effect of intensive lipid lowering with that of conventional lipid lowering in patients with ARAS undergoing stent placement. A total 150 patients with severe ARAS undergoing stent placement were randomly (1:1) assigned to receive intensive lipid lowering [target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) <70 mg/dL] or conventional lipid lowering (target LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL, <128 mg/dL). All patients received rosuvastatin. We adjusted LDL-C to the goal within two months after renal stenting and maintained stability. The primary endpoint was the change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 12 months. During the study period, LDL-C was lower in the patients with intensive lipid lowering than with conventional lipid lowering (at 12 months 58.0 ± 11.6 vs 85.1 ± 15.5 mg/dL, p < 0.001). At 12-month follow-up, eGFR (91.8 ± 30.2 vs 78.5 ± 19.5) mL/min·1.73 m2, p = 0.002) and the increase in eGFR compared to baseline [14.8(IQR, 4.1, 26.7) vs −0.4(IQR, −9.5, 8.0) mL/min·1.73 m2, p < 0.001] were higher in the patients with intensive lipid lowering than with conventional lipid lowering. Urinary albumin–creatinine ratio [42.2(IQR, 20.0, 60.9) vs 60.8(IQR, 26.8, 121.6) mg/g, p = 0.032] was lower and the decrease in urinary albumin–creatinine ratio compared to baseline [27.4(IQR, 3.0, 53.8) vs −3.1(IQR, −17.3, 30.9) mg/g, p = 0.001] was higher in the patients with intensive lipid lowering than with conventional lipid lowering. The restenosis rate (3.1% vs 3.4%, p = 0.711) and major clinical events (6.8% vs 11.0%, p = 0.37) were similar between the two groups. In patients with severe ARAS undergoing stent placement, intensive lipid lowering showed significant benefits in renal protection over conventional lipid-lowering therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate 30-day and long-term clinical outcomes and influencing factors of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after stenting for symptomatic stenosis of the vertebral V1 segment. Methods The clinical and follow-up data of 301 consecutive patients (mean age, 64 ± 8 years; 252 men) with symptomatic V1 stenosis who underwent stenting at the Fuwai Hospital between January 2010 and June 2016 were collected retrospectively. The 30-day and long-term follow-up of stroke and death after stenting and the recurrence of symptoms, ISR, and repeated revascularization were assessed. Results Technical success was 100%. The mean stenosis of lesions was reduced from 82.8% ± 7.6% to 4.4% ± 4.0% immediately after 312 stents (165 bare-metal stents [BMSs] and 147 drug-eluting stents) were implanted. The overall risk of combined any stroke and death was 1.0% (3/301) within 30 days after stenting. The rates of freedom from any stroke and death were 98.2%, 96.8%, and 91.4% at 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years, respectively. After a mean follow-up of 2.9 ± 1.5 years, 46 (15.8%) patients developed ISR, of whom 19 (6.5%) were symptomatic. Twenty-two (7.6%) patients with ISR underwent repeated revascularization. The primary and assisted patency rates were 90.0% and 95.4%, 82.6% and 90.3%, and 80.3% and 87.9% at 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years, respectively. BMS (hazard ratio, 2.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-4.06; P <.05) and diabetes (hazard ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-3.37; P =.04) were independently associated with an increased risk of ISR. Conclusions Percutaneous stent placement for symptomatic V1 stenosis is safe and associated with a good long-term patency rate. BMS and diabetes are independent predictive factors of ISR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) were reported to have great potential for nitrogen removal when treating high-ammonia wastewater. Light-oxygen conditions are the most important parameter; however, the role of the microbial community composition for PSB nitrogen removal remains unclear. This study focussed on the effects of three light-oxygen conditions on PSB performance and the microbial community during high-ammonia wastewater treatment. The results showed that light-oxygen conditions had a significant impact on nitrogen removal efficiency, microbial community diversity and composition. PSB under light-aerobic condition had the highest biomass, highest COD, NH 4 + -N, and NO 3 − -N removal efficiency, and the highest community diversity; these results have not been reported before. The dominant genus in samples under light-aerobic condition was Pseudomonas (with a proportion of 58.23%). The correlation analysis showed that Pseudomonas was positively correlated with NH 4 + -N and NO 3 − -N removal, with high correlation coefficients of 0.9. These results further revealed the underlying nitrogen removal mechanism of PSB in high-ammonia wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inhibition of phenol on anammox bacteria limits the application of anammox in the treatment of phenol-containing wastewaters. The molecular mechanism of how anammox bacteria resist phenol toxicity in wastewater remains unclear. In this study, copper oxidase (Cop) and encapsulin shell protein (cEnc) from anammox bacteria Candidatus Brocadia fulgida were found to assist bacteria to resist phenol stress. The Cop and its complex with cEnc (cEnc–Cop) expressed in vitro by molecular biology had laccase-like activities (1.39 U/mg and 0.79 U/mg, respectively). Combined with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, both the Cop and cEnc gene expression levels were upregulated by stimulating anammox bacteria with phenol for a short time. It was also found that hydrazine synthase genes increased first and then decreased. These results indicated that cEnc–Cop relieved the inhibition of phenol to hydrazine synthase by degrading phenol, and consequently restored anammox activity. These findings will contribute to a deeper insight into the mechanism of how anammox bacteria respond to phenol and phenolic compound stress, and provide a theoretical reference for the application of anammox technology to phenol and phenolic compound-containing wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] • Cop and cEnc-Cop from Ca. Brocadia fulgida were expressed in vitro. • Both Cop and cEnc-Cop expressed in vitro exhibited laccase-like activities. • Enzymatic characteristics of Cop and cEnc-Cop were obtained. • Cop and cEnc expression levels were upregulated under phenol stresses. • Possible mechanism of cEnc-Cop reducing phenol toxicity was revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate transition zone is a sensitive area of climate change and ecological transition where forests are vulnerable to climate extremes. Extreme droughts are increasing in frequency and magnitude under climate change, resulting in structure and function changes of forest ecosystems. Here, to analyze climate-growth relationships and quantify tree resilience to extreme droughts, we developed six tree-ring-width chronologies from P. tabulaeformis and P. massoniana sampling sites in Mt. Jigong region, Central China. The results indicated that all chronologies from the two species had good consistency, precipitation in current April and mean temperature in current August or mean minimum temperature from current August to October were the main limiting factors of the two tree species growth, but the responses of P. massoniana ring-width to climatic factors was more complex than that of P. tabulaeformis. The results also showed that tree growth of 1999–2005 was the lowest growing period during 1979–2018, and P. massoniana grew better than P. tabulaeformis before 2005 and vice versa after 2005. Comparing low growth years of trees, we identified to study tree growth resilience. The calculations from 1988, 1999–2005 and 2011 drought years indicated that P. tabulaeformis had more increased resilience to extreme droughts than that of P. massoniana , and the two species had stronger ecological recovery and resilience under global warming and non-extreme drought conditions in the recent 40 years. These results have implications for predicting tree resilience and identifying tree species in heterogeneous forest landscapes vulnerable to future climate change in climatic transition zone. • A climate transitional zone and two climate-sensitive tree species. • The climatic limiting factors for the growth of the two tree species have a good consistency. • The growth resilience to extreme drought events was significantly different between the two species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel ratiometric and colorimetric chemosensor bearing hybrid coumarin-hemicyanine functionality has been synthesized for cyanide sensing. The detection of cyanide was performed via the nucleophilic attack of cyanide anion toward the polarized C N bond of the hybrid coumarin-hemicyanine dye. The reaction between the sensor and cyanide anion caused a remarkable decrease in the absorption spectra at 510 nm and simultaneously yielded a clear color change from red to yellow due to the blocking of the π-conjugation between hemicyanine and coumarin. The ratiometric absorbance changes showed a linear response to cyanide anion in the concentration range of 9.8–2000.0 μM. The sensor achieved rapid detection of cyanide anion in 3 min and possessed high selectivity for cyanide with respect to other common anions. In addition, the sensor can serve as practical colorimetric sensor for “in-the-field” measurement that would not require any additional equipment by virtue of a “dip-stick” approach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) play a critical role in orchestrating the host responses to a wide variety of foreign antigens and are essential in maintaining immune tolerance. Distinct biomaterials have been shown to differentially affect the phenotype of DCs, which suggested that biomaterials may be used to modulate immune response toward the biologic component in combination products. The elucidation of biomaterial property-DC phenotype relationships is expected to inform rational design of immuno-modulatory biomaterials. In this study, DC response to a set of 12 polymethacrylates (pMAs) was assessed in terms of surface marker expression and cytokine profile. Principal component analysis (PCA) determined that surface carbon correlated with enhanced DC maturation, while surface oxygen was associated with an immature DC phenotype. Partial square linear regression, a multivariate modeling approach, was implemented and successfully predicted biomaterial-induced DC phenotype in terms of surface marker expression from biomaterial properties with  = 0.76. Furthermore, prediction of DC phenotype was effective based on only theoretical chemical composition of the bulk polymers with  = 0.80. These results demonstrated that immune cell response can be predicted from biomaterial properties, and computational models will expedite future biomaterial design and selection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) play pivotal roles in responding to foreign entities during the innate immune response and in initiating effective adaptive immunity as well as maintaining immune tolerance. The sensitivity of DCs to foreign stimuli also makes them useful cells to assess the inflammatory response to biomaterials. Elucidating material property–DC phenotype relationships using a well-defined biomaterial system is expected to provide criteria for immunomodulatory biomaterial design. Clinical titanium (Ti) substrates, including pretreatment (PT), sand blasted and acid etched (SLA), and modified SLA (modSLA), with different roughnesses and surface energies were used to treat DCs and resulted in differential DC responses. PT and SLA induced a mature DC (mDC) phenotype, while modSLA promoted a non-inflammatory environment by supporting an immature DC (iDC) phenotype, based on surface marker expression, cytokine production profiles and cell morphology. Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed these experimental results, and also indicated that the non-stimulating property of modSLA covaried with certain surface properties, such as high surface hydrophilicity, percent oxygen and percent Ti of the substrates. In addition to previous research that demonstrated superior osteogenic properties of modSLA compared with PT and SLA, the results reported herein indicates that modSLA may further benefit implant osteointegration by reducing local inflammation and its associated osteoclastogenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]