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To provide evidence-based medicine references for formulating prevention and control policies in plateau areas, we explore the characteristics of anemia patients in Tibet (the plateau areas of China), especially those located at an altitude above 4500 m. We collected clinical data from 379 Tibetan anemia patients over the age of 18 years. We found those female patients accounted for the majority of Tibetan anemia patients. Almost half of the anemia patients aged from 28 to 47 years. The percentage of severe anemia and extremely severe anemia was 45.4% and 2.4%, respectively. 88.7% of patients are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, and 81.5% of patients just graduated from primary school or below. The most common causes of anemia were nutritional anemia, especially iron-deficiency anemia. At high-altitude localities, folic acid-deficiency anemia needs more attention. Overall, this study showed that altitude influences the incidence, severity, and cause of anemia. Peasants and herdsmen, low education levels, young and middle-aged women, and nutrition status should be paid attention to in future anemia control.

Intense human activities in arid areas have great impacts on groundwater hydrochemical cycling by causing groundwater salinization. The spatiotemporal distributions of groundwater hydrochemistry are crucial for studying groundwater salt migration, and also vital to understand hydrological and hydrogeochemical processes of groundwater in arid inland oasis areas. However, due to constraints posed by the paucity of observation data and intense human activities, these processes are not well known in the dried-up river oases of arid areas. Here, we examined spatiotemporal variations and evolution of groundwater hydrochemistry using data from 199 water samples collected in the Wei-Ku Oasis, a typical arid inland oasis in Tarim Basin of Central Asia. As findings, groundwater hydrochemistry showed a spatiotemporal dynamic, while its spatial distribution was complex. TDS and δ18O of river water in the upstream increased from west to east, whereas ion concentrations of shallow groundwater increased from northwest to southeast. Higher TDS was detected in spring for shallow groundwater and in summer for middle groundwater. Pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity demonstrated the impacts of geogenic, climatic, and anthropogenic conditions. For that, hydrochemical evolution of phreatic groundwater was primarily controlled by rock dominance and evaporation-crystallization process. Agricultural irrigation and drainage, land cover change, and groundwater extraction reshaped the spatiotemporal patterns of groundwater hydrochemistry. Groundwater overexploitation altered the leaking direction between the aquifers, causing the interaction between saltwater and freshwater and the deterioration of groundwater environment. These findings could provide an insight into groundwater salt migration under human activities, and hence be significant in groundwater quality management in arid inland oasis areas.

β-galactoside α-2,3-sialyltransferase 2 (ST3GAL2) is a member of the sialyltransferase family that mediates terminal modification of glycoproteins and glycolipids. ST3GAL2 has been found to play a role in obesity, aging, and malignant diseases. In this study, we cloned porcine ST3GAL2 (pST3GAL2) from porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), and its role in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection was investigated by transcriptome analysis. pST3GAL2 was found to be located in the Golgi apparatus, and it was expressed at high levels in PRRSV-infected PAMs. Overexpression of pST3GAL2 resulted in a slight increase in PRRSV proliferation, and the interaction between pST3GAL2 and GP2a of PRRSV was detected by coimmunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-18, IL-1β and TNF-α) was significantly inhibited in pST3GAL2-overexpressing, PRRSV-infected cells and upregulated in PRRSV-infected pST3GAL2-knockout cells, while the pattern of expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) was diametrically opposite. Our results demonstrate that the regulation of pST3GAL2 plays an important role in PRRSV proliferation and functional alterations in virus-infected cells. These results contribute to our understanding of the role of β-galactoside α-2,3-sialyltransferase 2 in antiviral immunity.

Objective To investigate the influence of diverse bone cement distribution patterns in patients with metastatic vertebral lesions after bilateral percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP). Methods Fifty-nine patients with single-level metastatic vertebral lesions who received bilateral PKP were retrospectively reviewed. According to the different bone cement distribution patterns, patients were divided into confluent (n = 35, CF) and separated (n = 24, SP) groups. Indicators including visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), vertebral body height (VBH) variation, quality of life (QoL), and related complications were reviewed and compared between the two groups. Results No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in age, sex, types of lesions, locations of lesions, posterior vertebral body and/or pedicle involvement, percentage of vertebral invasion, procedure duration or cement volume (p > 0.05). There was significant improvement in VAS, ODI, VBH and QoL at any follow-up examination (p p p > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of ODI, VBH or QoL (p > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions More rapid pain relief was achieved with confluent rather than separated bone cement distribution patterns in PKP for patients with metastatic vertebral lesions.

Background Increasing evidence indicates that myocardial oxidative injury plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of cardiac hypertrophy (CH) and heart failure (HF). The active component of rhubarb, rhein exerts significant actions on oxidative stress and inflammation. Nonetheless, its role in cardiac remodeling remains unclear. Methods CH was induced by angiotensin II (Ang II, 1.4 mg/kg/d for 4 weeks) in male C57BL/6 J mice. Then, rhein (50 and 100 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally for 28 days. CH, fibrosis, oxidative stress, and cardiac function in the mice were examined. In vitro, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (CMs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) pre-treated with rhein (5 and 25 μM) were challenged with Ang II. We performed RNA sequencing to determine the mechanistic role of rhein in the heart. Results Rhein significantly suppressed Ang II-induced CH, fibrosis, and reactive oxygen species production and improved cardiac systolic dysfunction in vivo. In vitro, rhein significantly attenuated Ang II-induced CM hypertrophy and CF collagen expression. In addition, rhein obviously alleviated the increased production of superoxide induced by Ang II. Mechanistically, rhein inhibited FGF23 expression significantly. Furthermore, FGF23 overexpression abolished the protective effects of rhein on CMs, CFs, and cardiac remodeling. Rhein reduced FGF23 expression, mostly through the activation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase). AMPK activity inhibition suppressed Ang II-induced CM hypertrophy and CF phenotypic transformation. Conclusion Rhein inhibited Ang II-induced CH, fibrosis, and oxidative stress during cardiac remodeling through the AMPK–FGF23 axis. These findings suggested that rhein could serve as a potential therapy in cardiac remodeling and HF.

Modifications to land surface thermal regime by climate change and land cover/land-use change may influence ecosystem structure and function in arid landscapes, but relevant studies are scarce. Large changes in the land surface thermal regime can disturb the hydro-ecological integrity of these landscapes. Thus, it is important to assess landscape change and ecological risk to promote arid landscape sustainability. This study predicted the landscape change and quantified the Bayanbulak ecological risk evolution through a susceptibility-hazard assessment system. CA–Markov model was used to simulate the landscape change, while ERA model that builds the susceptibility-hazard indices rapport was applied to evaluate the Bayanbulak wetland ecological risk using 30 m remotely sensed data. Findings unveiled that modifications in water, meadow, and marshes are predicted to decline at a rate of 39.3, 6.32, 23.98% in 2069 respectively. As wetland hazard, the LST average increased from 20 to 22 °C with a maximum value of 35.2 °C from 1994 to 2019. Likewise, wetland susceptibility mean value increased from 1.10 to 1.20, a growth rate of 9.09%. Though the decline in high-risk zones, moderate risk zones drastically augmented at the extent of 70.5% while low risk and no risk zones declined with a reduction rate of 18.9 and 95.8% respectively. Overall observations exhibited that Bayanbulak ecological risk is slightly evolving. Bayanbulak is a pool of ecosystem services. By highlighting its ecological risk evolution, we call upon the focus on factors driving LST increment and adopt climatic adaptation measures of aqua-terrestrial ecosystems for Bayanbulak management.

Background As a widely distributed and aerial migratory bird, the Common Swift (Apus apus) flies over a wide geographic range in Eurasia and Africa during migration. Although some studies have revealed the migration routes and phenology of European populations, A. a. apus (from hereon the nominate apus), the route used by its East Asian counterpart A. a. pekinensis (from hereon pekinensis) remained a mystery. Methods Using light level geolocators, we studied the migration of adult pekinensis breeding in Beijing from 2014 to 2018, and analysed full annual tracks obtained from 25 individuals. In addition, we used the mean monthly precipitation to assess the seasonal variations in humidity for the distribution ranges of the nominate apus and pekinensis. This environmental variable is considered to be critically relevant to their migratory phenology and food resource abundance. Results Our results show that the swifts perform a round-trip journey of ca 30,000 km each year, representing a detour of 26% in autumn and 15% in spring compared to the shortest route between the breeding site in Beijing and wintering areas in semi-arid south-western Africa. Compared to the nominate apus, pekinensis experiences drier conditions for longer periods of time. Remarkably, individuals from our study population tracked arid habitat along the entire migration corridor leading from a breeding site in Beijing to at least central Africa. In Africa, they explored more arid habitats during non-breeding than the nominate apus. Conclusions The migration route followed by pekinensis breeding in Beijing might suggest an adaptation to semi-arid habitat and dry climatic zones during non-breeding periods, and provides a piece of correlative evidence indicating the historical range expansion of the subspecies. This study highlights that the Common Swift may prove invaluable as a model species for studies of migration route formation and population divergence.

Background Screening is often recommended as a first step in frailty management. Many guidelines call to implicate frailty screening into practice in the primary care setting. However, few countries or organizations implement it. Understanding and clarifying the stakeholders’ views and issues faced by the implementation is essential to the successful implementation of frailty screening. However, the systematic review on stakeholders’ views of frailty screening in primary care is decidedly limited. Our objective was to explore the perspective of older adults, caregivers, and healthcare providers on frailty screening and determine the enablers and barriers to implementing frailty screening in primary care. Methods A systematic search of six databases and other resources was conducted following JBI’s three-step search strategy. The search resulted in 7362 articles, of which 97 were identified for further assessment according to the inclusion criteria. After the full-text screening, quality assessment and data extraction were carried out using the tools from Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Moreover, reviewers used the approach of meta-aggregative of JBI to analyze data and synthesis the findings. Results Six studies were included. A total of 63 findings were aggregated into 12 categories and then further grouped into three synthesized findings:1) capacity of healthcare providers and older adults; 2) opportunity in the implementation of frailty screening; 3) motivation in the implementation of frailty screening. These themes can help identify what influences the implementation of screening from the perspective of stakeholders. Conclusions This meta-synthesis provides evidence on the barriers and enablers of frailty screening in primary care, from the aspects of psychological, physical, social, material, etc. However, stakeholder perspectives of frailty screening have not been adequately studied. More research and efforts are needed to explore the influencing factors and address the existing barriers.

Anchoring single metal atoms on enzymes has great potential to generate hybrid catalysts with high activity and selectivity for reactions that cannot be driven by traditional metal catalysts. Herein, we develop a photochemical method to construct a stable single-atom enzyme-metal complex by binding single metal atoms to the carbon radicals generated on an enzyme-polymer conjugate. The metal mass loading of Pd-anchored enzyme is up to 4.0% while maintaining the atomic dispersion of Pd. The cooperative catalysis between lipase-active site and single Pd atom accelerates alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling reaction between 1-bromohexane and B-n-hexyl-9-BBN with high efficiency (TOF is 540 h−1), exceeding that of the traditional catalyst Pd(OAc)2 by a factor of 300 under ambient conditions.

Sustainable development of mineral resources (MRs) is important for a national strategy of resource security and ecological civilization. Reasonable zoning of MRs for development and management is key. In this study, we developed a multi-objective framework for MRs zones (MRZs), including indicator sets and dividing processes, after evaluating and grading indicators of 131 county-level units in Henan Province, China. We used this framework to customize resource management measures for all kinds of MRZs. The dominant criteria in the zoning evaluation system were resource conditions, development and utilization conditions, ecological environment conditions, and socioeconomic conditions, which included ecological priority, resource security, and socioeconomic development. Discriminant analyses, spatial superposition, cluster analyses, and exclusion method in ArcGIS were used to divide the study area into five categories: prohibited MRZ, restricted MRZ, key MRZ, optimal MRZ, and common MRZ. The results indicated the obvious regional characteristics of MRZ distribution in Henan Province, with 32 restricted MRZs, seven key MRZs, three optimal MRZs, and 23 common MRZs. Prohibited MRZs were located in 51 counties. For the different MRZ types, specific management measures were put forward to improve the layout structure and facilitate the future MRs planning.

We propose and experimentally investigate a spiral-polished single-multi-single-mode (SP-SMS) fiber sensor for the simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature. This special spiral shape on a multimode fiber is fabricated by a high-frequency CO2 laser, which excites higher order cladding modes in the interference process and leads to high strain sensitivity. Experimental results show that the strain sensitivity for the proposed structure in the transmission spectrum of two marked interference dips is − 17 pm/μe and − 1 pm/μe in the range of 0–600 μe. Moreover, temperature sensitivities of 10 pm/℃ and 13.3 pm/℃ are obtained in the range of 30–150 ℃. Furthermore, the proposed sensor is inexpensive, is easy to fabricate and has a compact structure.

Building a bridge between enzymatic and heterogeneous catalysis provides new cascade industrial processes for manufacturing. However, the reaction conditions of enzymatic and heterogeneous catalysis mutually cause deactivation of catalysts. Here, we overcame this challenge by developing a special protocol for the synthesis of hybrid catalysts. We utilized protein–polymer nanoconjugates as confined nanoreactors for the in situ synthesis of lipase–palladium (Pd) nanohybrids. The 0.8 nm Pd nanoparticles exhibited increased activity in racemization of (S)-1-phenylethylamine. At 55 °C, which matches the optimum temperature of lipase, the activity is more than 50 times that of commercial Pd/C. It was found that the Pd–O coordination in Pd subnanoclusters contributed to the high activity. In the dynamic kinetic resolutions of pharmaceutical intermediates (±)-1-phenylethylamine, (±)-1-aminoindan and (±)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylamine, the lipase–Pd nanohybrids displayed 7.6, 3.1 and 5.0 times higher efficiencies than the combination of commercial immobilized lipase Novozym 435 and Pd/C. The lipase–Pd nanohybrids can be reused without agglomeration and activity loss. Combining enzymatic and heterogeneous catalysts is challenging due to different reaction requirements. Here, a method is presented constructing single protein–polymer nanoconjugates as nanoreactors for the in situ synthesis of enzyme–metal nanohybrids with high activity at ambient conditions.

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-sensitive mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is essential in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. To overcome the difficulty of EGFR gene test in situations where surgery and biopsy samples are too risky to obtain, we tried a noninvasive imaging method using radiomics features and random forest models. Five hundred three lung adenocarcinoma patients who received surgery-based treatment were included in this study. The diagnosis and EGFR gene test were based on resections. TKI-sensitive mutations were found in 60.8% of the patients. CT scans before any invasive operation were gathered and analyzed to extract quantitative radiomics features and build random forest classifiers to identify EGFR mutants from wild types. Clinical features (sex and smoking history) were added to the image-based model. The model was trained on a set of 345 patients and validated on an independent test group (n = 158) using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. The performance of the random forest model with 94 radiomics features reached an AUC of 0.802. Its AUC was further improved to 0.828 by adding sex and smoking history. The sensitivity and specificity are 60.6% and 85.1% at the best diagnostic decision point. Our results showed that radiomics could not only reflect the genetic differences among tumors but also have diagnostic value and the potential to be a diagnostic tool. • Radiomics provides a potential noninvasive method for the prediction of EGFR mutation status. • In situations where surgeries and biopsy are not available, CT image-based radiomics models could help to make treatment decisions. • The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity still need to be improved before the image-based EGFR identifier could be used in clinics.

Sampling the blood compartment by an invasive procedure such as phlebotomy is the most common approach used for diagnostic purposes. However, phlebotomy has several drawbacks including pain, vasovagal reactions, and anxiety. Therefore, alternative approaches should be tested to minimize patient's discomfort. Saliva is a reasonable compartment; when obtained, it generates little or no anxiety. We setup a multiplexed serology assay for detection of Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM, rubella IgG, and CMV IgG, in serum, whole blood, and saliva using novel plasmonic gold (pGOLD) chips. pGOLD test results in serum, whole blood, and saliva were compared with commercial kits test results in serum. One hundred twenty serum/saliva sets (Lyon) and 28 serum/whole blood/saliva sets (Nice) from France were tested. In serum and whole blood, sensitivity and specificity of multiplex T. gondii, CMV, and rubella IgG were 100% in pGOLD when compared to commercial test results in serum. In saliva, sensitivity and specificity for T. gondii and rubella IgG were 100%, and for CMV IgG, sensitivity and specificity were 92.9% and 100%, respectively, when compared to commercial test results in serum. We were also able to detect T. gondii IgM in saliva with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 95.4%, respectively, when compared to serum test results. Serological testing by multiplex pGOLD assay for T. gondii, rubella, and CMV in saliva is reliable and likely to be more acceptable for systematic screening of pregnant women, newborn, and immunocompromised patients.

Purpose To analyze patterns of failure in patients with LA-NSCLC who received definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and to build a nomogram for predicting the failure patterns in this population of patients. Materials and methods Clinicopathological data of patients with LA-NSCLC who received definitive chemoradiotherapy and follow-up between 2013 and 2016 in our hospital were collected. The endpoint was the first failure after definitive chemoradiotherapy. With using elastic net regression and 5-fold nested cross-validation, the optimal model with better generalization ability was selected. Based on the selected model and corresponding features, a nomogram prediction model was built. This model was also validated by ROC curves, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results With a median follow-up of 28 months, 100 patients experienced failure. There were 46 and 54 patients who experience local failure and distant failure, respectively. Predictive model including 9 factors (smoking, pathology, location, EGFR mutation, age, tumor diameter, clinical N stage, consolidation chemotherapy and radiation dose) was finally built with the best performance. The average area under the ROC curve (AUC) with 5-fold nested cross-validation was 0.719, which was better than any factors alone. The calibration curve revealed a satisfactory consistency between the predicted distant failure rates and the actual observations. DCA showed most of the threshold probabilities in this model were with good net benefits. Conclusion Clinicopathological factors could collaboratively predict failure patterns in patients with LA-NSCLC who are receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy. A nomogram was built and validated based on these factors, showing a potential predictive value in clinical practice.

CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has shown impressive results in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (B-CLL), and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) over the past few years. Meanwhile, the cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which could be moderate or even life-threatening, has emerged as the most significant adverse effect in the clinical course of this novel targeting immunotherapy. In this systematic review, we analyzed the incidence of severe CRS in 19 clinical trials selected from studies published between 2010 and 2017. The pooled severe CRS proportion was 29.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.3-49.1%) in B-ALL, 38.8% (95%CI 12.9-67.6%) in B-CLL, and 19.8% (95%CI 4.2-40.8%) in B-NHL. In the univariate meta regression analysis, the proliferation of CD19-CAR-T cell in vivo was correlated with the severe CRS. Specifically, total infusion cell dose contributed to the severe CRS occurring in B-ALL patients but not in B-CLL or B-NHL patients. Tumor burden was strongly associated with the severity of CRS in B-ALL. Besides, post-HSCT CD19 CAR-T cell infusion represented lower severe CRS incidence. Further investigations into the risk factors of CRS in B-CLL and B-NHL are needed.

This work describes the gelation behaviors and properties of a biological molecule, guanosine 5′-monophosphate disodium salt (GMP), in the presence of trivalent lanthanide ions. Hydrogels composed of GMP-quadruplexes were prepared by adjusting pH, through which the protonation of phosphate group was controlled to tune the interactions between lanthanide ions and GMP. Within the pH region of 2–6, the electrostatic interaction between lanthanide ions and phosphate group is hindered and the cation-dipole interaction acts as the main driving force for the formation of G-quadruplexes. All the hydrogels were found consisting of three-dimensional network of the intertwining one-dimensional nanofibers formed by the stacking G-quartets induced by lanthanide ions. A significant fluorescence enhancement of thioflavin T (ThT), a fluorescent molecule, was found to be triggered by the G-quadruplex structures, for which the rotation of chromophoric groups on ThT molecules were prohibited due to the implant into the G-quadruplex structures.

Glycoprotein D (gD) of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) is essential for attachment and penetration of cells during infection and is a major target for neutralizing antibodies during an adaptive immune response. Currently there are no recombinant antibodies capable of binding gD epitopes for use in treating BoHV-1 infection. In this study, a bovine scFv gene derived from a hybridoma secreting monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against the amino acid motif MEESKGYEPP of gD was expressed in E. coli. Molecular modeling, western blot and ELISA analysis showed that this scFv had a high affinity for BoHV-1 gD, with a Kd of 161.2 ± 37.58 nM and for whole BoHV-1 virus, with a Kd of 67.44 ± 16.99 nM. In addition, this scFv displayed a high affinity for BoHV-1 antigen in an ELISA and competed with BoHV-1 anti-serum in a competitive ELISA. Immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and laser confocal microscopy showed that this scFv could efficiently bind to and be internalized by BoHV-1 infected Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Importantly, this scFv was shown to inhibit BoHV-1 infectivity and to reduce the number of viral plaques by blocking viral attachment to MDBK cells. Our study suggests that this bovine single-chain antibody could be developed for use as a diagnostic and therapeutic agent against BoHV-1 infection in cattle.

Phosphorus-rich sludge is one of most suitable raw materials for phosphorus recovery as slow release fertilizers by struvite crystallization. However, alginic acid as a surrogate for extracellular polymeric substances in the sludge has been proved to adversely inhibit struvite crystallization. To quantitatively evaluate the inhibitory effect, the study aimed to investigate the influence of the concentration of alginic acid (0–250 mg/L), reactant concentration (2.5–3.5 mmol/L), pH (8.0–9.5), and ionic strength (0.01–0.2 mol/L NaCl), on the inhibition of the growth rate of struvite crystals, which was accurately determined by constant composition technique. The results indicated that the growth rate of struvite crystals substantially decreased with increasing the concentration of alginic acid, thereby adversely affecting the quantity and quality of struvite crystals. Moreover, as reactant concentration or pH increased, the growth rate of struvite crystals showed a considerable increase, whereas the weaker inhibitory effect of alginic acid was observed. Conversely, the increase of ionic strength drastically reduced the growth rate of struvite crystals, but moderately enhanced the inhibitory effect. Our study provides an effective theoretical foundation for deriving high-quality struvite crystals as slow release fertilizers from the phosphorus-rich sludge commonly containing a considerable number of organic pollutants.

Background The treatment of periacetabular malignant bone tumours is challenging. Many methods of reconstruction after internal hemipelvectomy have been reported and each method has its own limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oncological and functional outcomes of pasteurized autograft reconstruction after resection of periacetabular malignant bone tumours. Methods Ten patients (six male, four female) with periacetabular malignant tumours, who underwent resection and reconstruction with pasteurized autograft, were retrospectively reviewed. The patients’ average age at diagnosis was 40 years (range 13–65 years). There were five patients with chondrosarcoma, three with osteosarcoma, one with Ewing’s sarcoma, and one with solitary metastatic thyroid carcinoma. Results At the last follow-up, seven patients were alive (six with no evidence of the primary disease and one with lung metastasis for 5 months). The three other patients died of metastasis of the primary disease with a mean survival time of 12 (range 8–17) months postoperatively. The mean follow-up time for all patients was 45 (range 8–87) months. Local recurrence rate was 10%. The mean time of bone union was 12 (range 6–21) months after the operation. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score for all living patients at the last follow-up was 70.5% (range 43.3–86.7%). Conclusions Reconstruction with pasteurized autograft is a feasible method for treating periacetabular malignant bone tumours, with satisfactory oncological and functional outcomes and a relatively low incidence of complications.

The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) incorporates C-reactive protein and albumin as clinically useful markers of tumor behavior and shows significant prognostic value in several types of solid tumors. The accuracy of the GPS in predicting outcomes in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unknown. We performed this study to evaluate the prognostic significance of the GPS in DLBCL in China. We retrospectively analyzed 160 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL at the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital (China). The prognostic value of the GPS was evaluated and compared with that of the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and immunohistochemical subtyping. The GPS was defined as follows: GPS-0, C-reactive protein (CRP) ≤10 mg/L and albumin ≥35 g/L; GPS-1, CRP10 mg/L or albumin35 g/L; and GPS-2, CRP10 mg/L and albumin35 g/L. Patients with lower GPS tended to have better outcomes including progression-free survival (PFS, P 0.001) and overall survival (OS, P 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that high GPS and high IPI score were independent adverse predictors of OS. Similar to several other tumors, GPS is a reliable predictor of survival outcomes in DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP therapy. Inflammatory responses are implicated in the progression and survival of patients with DLBCL.

The molecular pathway regulating gastric carcinoma (GC) invasiveness and metastasis remains elusive. Here, we detected significant increase in the phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor (pEGFR), MMP7, and MMP13 in the resected GC, compared with the adjacent normal tissue, in patients. Moreover, strong positive correlation was detected between pEGFR and MMP7, and between pEGFR and MMP13 in GC. To examine whether a causal link exists, we used two human GC lines, SNU-5 and AGS, to study the cross talk between EGFR signaling activation, and expression of MMP7 and MMP13. We found that EGF-induced EGFR phosphorylation activated both MMP7 and MMP13, and consequently cancer invasiveness. EGF-induced activation of MMP7 and MMP13 can be both inhibited by use of an inhibitor for EGFR. EGF-induced activation of MMP7 can be also significantly inhibited by use of an inhibitor for Akt, but not an inhibitor for ERK1/2, while EGF-induced activation of MMP13 can be significantly inhibited by use of an inhibitor for ERK1/2, but not by an inhibitor for Akt. These data suggest that EGF-induced activation of MMP7 and MMP13 in GC is through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and extracellular-related kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) signaling pathway, respectively. Our study thus highlights EGFR signaling regulated MMP7 and MMP13 activation as molecular basis for metastasis of GC, and further demonstrate that different signaling pathway cascades are involved in the downstream signaling transduction.

We demonstrate the synergistic antitumor effect of oridonin and the PI3K/mTOR inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 on the non-germinal center B cell-like subtype of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (non-GCB DLBCL) both in vitro and in vivo. The underlying mechanism may be multifunctional, involving apoptosis, AKT/mTOR and NF-kB inactivation, and ROS-mediated DNA damage response. Our findings pave the way for a new potential treatment option for non-GCB DLBCL with the combination of oridonin and NVP-BEZ235. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-016-0303-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Gastrointestinal diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common subtype of extranodal lymphoma. There has been uncertainty about the clinical efficacy of combination therapy (surgery and chemotherapy) for gastrointestinal DLBCL. We retrospectively analyzed 114 patients with newly diagnosed gastrointestinal DLBCL from six medical centers. We evaluated four groups based on whether they were treated with or without surgery as the initial treatment for DLBCL, followed by either a regimen with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone (CHOP) or CHOP with rituximab (R-CHOP). For all patients, treatment with R-CHOP resulted in significantly greater overall survival (OS; 93.2 vs 74.5 %, p = 0.008) and progression-free survival (89.8 % vs 72.7, p = 0.029). Tumor resection did not improve OS (84.0 vs 85.0 %, for surgery and chemotherapy alone, respectively, p = 0.980). However, for younger patients, overall survival was greater (p = 0.005) for patients treated with surgery plus chemotherapy (83.9 %) than for patients treated with chemotherapy alone (40.0 %). Elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase level (p = 0.004) and performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; p = 0.003) were independent predictors of survival in patients with gastrointestinal DLBCL. Stage-modified IPI was recognized as the best prognostic tool. There were significant differences among patients with low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk groups in 50-month OS (94.2 vs 84.0 vs 66.7 %, p = 0.008). The results of this large-scale study suggest that R-CHOP regimen is the first-line treatment for gastrointestinal DLBCL. The benefit of surgery for these patients remains controversial. Further prospective analyses are warranted.

How do takeovers affect workers’ wages and job security in the short-run? What role does the labor union play in mitigating these effects? I answer these two questions by analyzing wage and employment outcomes of over 4,000 public firms that were acquired between 1981 and 2002, using establishment-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau. I find that target establishments exhibit a net contraction in wages and employment, relative to comparable establishments after takeovers. Targets’ establishments in more unionized industries experience worse wage and employment outcomes after takeovers. These adverse effects are exacerbated when the establishment is located in a state with Right-to-work laws where unions face a less favorable bargaining environment. These findings indicate that target firms’ employees are negatively affected by takeovers and that their labor unions do not mitigate these negative effects.

A mathematical model for a bladder-urethra system can provide basic analysis for the disabled urethra closure of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) patients in a clinic. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), we developed a three-dimensional urodynamic bladder-urethra system, which includes bladder, bladder neck, prostate, and urethra. The realistic recirculation process of the urinary bladder during the physiologic voiding process in conjunction with a flow simulation through the female urinary bladder and urethra is presented. The computational results show that a dead-water zone and the zone of secondary flow occur, independent of the shape of the prostatic urethra. For the pathological prostata, the extreme constriction of the prostatic urethra results in an additional wide-stretched dead-water zone. The simulation results does not only improve urinary incontinence surgery for clinicians, but can also provide a basis for theoretical analysis.

A maximum likelihood routing algorithm for smart grid wireless networks is proposed in this paper. It is designed to select the meters as relays in smart grid wireless networks and to calculate the probability of being selected based on the battery levels and the transmission distances. After describing the applied environment, the routing principle and the system model are explained in details. Finally, the proposed algorithm is compared with other two simple methods: a random method and a maximum method. The comparison results show that the maximum likelihood method can extend the lifetime of smart grid wireless network.

To construct the spatial kinetic equation of an arterial tube and obtain its radial natural frequency, a linear-elastic and small deformation condition is assumed. The theoretical analysis is first presented and the finite element method is then used to numerically simulate the spatial kinematics. The results show that the first-order frequency is 15.8 Hz and the obtained exact analytical solutions agree well with numerical solutions, which proves that the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are both correct.

A low-range pressure sensor (0-100kPa) based on the P(VDF-TrFE) piezoelectric thin film is proposed, where the long-term drift is eliminated by operating near the piezoelectric resonance. The pressure sensor is designed for blood pressure and tissue swelling pressure monitoring. The poled 50μm±1μm P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer film is used as the sensing element, with all fabrication and assembly materials biocompatible. A modified Butterworth-Van Dyke (BVD) [1] equivalent circuit model is used to characterize the sensor behavior. The pressure sensor exhibits negligible drift in weeks of operation. The device shows a sensitivity of 0.038MHz/kPa resonance frequency shift under stress, which leads to a maximum readout change of 1.1%/kPa in the present setup.

The corresponding author, Yong Yang from China Medical University, would like to retract the article ‘‘Discovery of a novel inhibitory mechanism of kaempferol on TGF-? ligand-receptor interaction by single-molecule techniques’’ since submission has not been authorized by the research supervisor of the author. Moreover, parts of the introduction have been duplicated from the paper ‘‘A single-molecule study of the inhibition effect of Naringenin on transforming growth factor-b ligand-receptor binding’’, 2011, DOI:10.1039/c1cc10778j. The online version of this article contains the full text of the retracted article as electronic supplementary material. Supporting information Supplementary Fig. 1 Fluorescence intensity by flow cytometry using biotinylated TGF-b1 and avidin-FITC. Supplementary Fig. 2 Single-molecule fluorescence imaging of TbRII-GFP monomers and dimers. Distribution of the fluorescence intensities of single GFP molecules imaged on coverslips. Supplementary Fig. 3 Two representative time courses of TbRII-GFP emission show one-step bleaching for monomers and two-step bleaching for dimers. Supplementary Video 1 Imaging of TbRII-GFP molecules on the cell membrane of live HeLa cells.