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Type I interferon (IFN-I)-induced signaling plays a critical role in host antiviral innate immune responses. Despite this, the mechanisms that regulate this signaling pathway have yet to be fully elucidated. The nucleoporin Ran Binding Protein 2 (RanBP2) (also known as Nucleoporin 358 KDa, Nup358) has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including host innate immune signaling pathways, and is known to influence viral infection. In this study, we documented that RanBP2 mediates the sumoylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 (STAT1) and inhibits IFN-α-induced signaling. Specifically, we found that RanBP2-mediated sumoylation inhibits the interaction of STAT1 and Janus kinase 1 (JAK1), as well as the phosphorylation and nuclear accumulation of STAT1 after IFN-α stimulation, thereby antagonizing the IFN-α-mediated antiviral innate immune signaling pathway and promoting viral infection. Our findings not only provide insights into a novel function of RanBP2 in antiviral innate immunity but may also contribute to the development of new antiviral therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major public health problem, and gut microbiota dysbiosis has been implicated in the emergence of T2D in humans. Dietary interventions can indirectly influence the health status of patients with type 2 diabetes through their modulatory effects on the intestinal microbiota. In recent years, fecal microbiota transplantation is becoming familiar as a new medical treatment that can rapidly improve intestinal health. We conducted a 90-day controlled open-label trial to evaluate the health improvement ability of a specially designed diet, and the diet combined with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). According to our study, both diet and diet plus FMT treatments showed great potential in controlling blood glucose and blood pressure levels. Sequencing the V4 region of 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina MiniSeq platform revealed a shift of intestinal microbial community in T2D patients, and the changes were also observed in response to the treatments. FMT changed the gut microbiota more quickly than diet. Beneficial bacterium, such as Bifidobacterium, increased along the study and was negatively correlated with blood glucose, blood pressure, blood lipid and BMI. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), Bilophila and Desulfovibrio, decreased significantly after treatment, showed a positive correlation with blood glucose indices. Thus, the specially designed diet is beneficial to improve blood glucose control in diabetic patients, it also showed the potential to reverse dyslipidemia and dysarteriotony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Broadband waterborne absorptive metamaterial with hydrostatic pressure resistance is proposed. • Acousto-electric analogy is adopted to determine the equivalent parameters for transfer matrix method. • Oscillators of helical configurations demonstrate strong hydrostatic pressure resistance. • Experimental results confirm the superior performance of the configurations at 3 MPa. Underwater absorptive metamaterials are rapidly developed duo local resonance mechanisms, but they still suffer from the disadvantages of poor hydrostatic resistance. The poor acoustic absorption performance at high hydrostatic pressure mainly attributes to the decreased damping coefficient and increased modulus of substrate at high hydrostatic pressure. Acoustic metastructures with helical oscillators are proposed and optimized with simulating annealing algorithm, where the helical oscillators are beneficial for easing the stress in the polymer substrate and resulting in good acoustic absorption abilities. Four acoustic absorptive metastructures without any oscillators (pure polymer substrate), with cylindrical oscillators, with helical oscillators, with both cylindrical and helical oscillators are proposed and experimentally verified in this study. All three metastructures with oscillators demonstrate excellent acoustic absorption coefficient with the absence of the hydrostatic pressure, while the metastructures with helical oscillators exhibit better hydrostatic pressure resistance compared with the metastructures with cylindrical oscillators. Besides, the coupling of helical oscillators and helical oscillators enhanced the acoustic performance furtherly. It is revealed that the acoustic metamaterials with a combination of cylindrical oscillator and helical oscillator exhibit superior performance under hydrostatic pressure up to 3 MPa in the frequency range of 0.5kHz∼10 kHz compared with the others, demonstrating a new avenue for underwater acoustic metamaterials application. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major public health problem, and gut microbiota dysbiosis has been implicated in the emergence of T2D in humans. Dietary interventions can indirectly influence the health status of patients with type 2 diabetes through their modulatory effects on the intestinal microbiota. In recent years, fecal microbiota transplantation is becoming familiar as a new medical treatment that can rapidly improve intestinal health. We conducted a 90-day controlled open-label trial to evaluate the health improvement ability of a specially designed diet, and the diet combined with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). According to our study, both diet and diet plus FMT treatments showed great potential in controlling blood glucose and blood pressure levels. Sequencing the V4 region of 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina MiniSeq platform revealed a shift of intestinal microbial community in T2D patients, and the changes were also observed in response to the treatments. FMT changed the gut microbiota more quickly than diet. Beneficial bacterium, such as Bifidobacterium, increased along the study and was negatively correlated with blood glucose, blood pressure, blood lipid and BMI. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), Bilophila and Desulfovibrio, decreased significantly after treatment, showed a positive correlation with blood glucose indices. Thus, the specially designed diet is beneficial to improve blood glucose control in diabetic patients, it also showed the potential to reverse dyslipidemia and dysarteriotony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have found that high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are linked to a variety of diseases. However, evidence for the relationship between stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and HDL-C remain limited. Methods: 590 eligible women were enrolled. Basic characteristic, gynecological examinations and blood sampling were collected. The examination of the possible link between HDL-C and SUI was done using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Feature importance ranking and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to further evaluate the association between HDL-C and SUI in women. Results: A significant association was found between HDL-C and SUI in women, revealing higher HDL-C levels were related to a lower risk of SUI (OR 0.238; 95%CI: 0.091–0.623; P < 0.01) after adjustment for potential key confounders. The AUC for the SUI predicted by the combined HDL-C was 0.845 (95%CI: 0.798–0.891, P < 0.001). The feature importance ranking revealed that vaginal delivery, HDL-C were the top two important factors. Conclusions: HDL-C levels were correlated with the development of SUI. In addition to physical and surgical treatments, HDL-C may offer the possibility of potential targeted treatment and prevention of SUI afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic lung diseases represent a largely global burden whose pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Research increasingly suggests that epigenetic modifications, especially DNA methylation, play a mechanistic role in chronic lung diseases. DNA methylation can affect gene expression and induce various diseases. Of the caveolae in plasma membrane of cell, caveolin‐1 (Cav‐1) is a crucial structural constituent involved in many important life activities. With the increasingly advanced progress of genome‐wide methylation sequencing technologies, the important impact of Cav‐1 DNA methylation has been discovered. The present review overviews the biological characters, functions, and structure of Cav‐1; epigenetic modifications of Cav‐1 in health and disease; expression and regulation of Cav‐1 DNA methylation in the respiratory system and its significance; as well as clinical potential as disease‐specific biomarker and targets for early diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are interested in approximate Byzantine consensus problem, wherein all the fault-free processes reach consensus asymptotically (approximately in finite time). In particular, we focus on the algorithms under which each process communicates with other processes that are up to l hops away and maintains minimal states across iterations. For a given l , we identify a necessary and sufficient condition on the network structure for the existence of iterative algorithms of interest. Our necessary and sufficient condition generalizes the tight condition identified in prior work for l = 1 . For l ≥ l ⁎ , where l ⁎ is the length of a longest cycle-free path in the given network, our condition is equivalent to the necessary and sufficient conditions for exact consensus in undirected and directed networks both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new safety lane change trajectory model for autonomous vehicles. • Minimum safety distances in different steering frequency domain. • Vehicle collision avoidance control strategies are proposed. • Typical lane change scenarios for intelligent vehicles are designed. Lane change maneuvers, are important contributors to road traffic accidents on highway. In this paper, we propose a new safe lane change trajectory model and collision avoidance control method for Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)-level 2 automatic driving vehicles. First, a Gaussian distribution is used to describe the new trajectory model that uses pure steering and combined braking. According to regional and progressive states, a new safe lane change meaning is defined. Second, we design a new four-level automatic driving mode and an effective decision mechanism that considers safety and ergonomics. Moreover, a new trajectory tracking controller combined with a decision mechanism was designed using feedback linearization, verified using typical lane-change scenarios. Finally, based on a physical simulation platform, PreScan, the hardware-in-the-loop simulation result demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our method. This paper provides a valuable reference on an expert and intelligent system methodology for automatic driving vehicles, which will be helpful for improving highway traffic safety and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, to reduce secondary sound source pollution in the reference signal of active noise control (ANC), a novel ANC algorithm, based on signal reconstruction, is proposed for vehicle interior noise. This algorithm combines the processes of ear-sides noise reconstruction and ANC. First, to reduce non-stationarity and nonlinearity, multi-source noise signals outside the vehicle are decomposed into a finite number of intrinsic mode function (IMF) components by empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Second, the IMFs are reconstructed by the energy-extreme division method into three components: high-frequency, intermediate-frequency and low-frequency. The radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) parameters are adjusted by the proportions of the components. Model training is performed to obtain the high-precision EMD–RBFNN reconstruction model (EMD–NNRM). The reconstructed noise signal is used as the reference signal of the variable step-size least mean square (VSS-LMS) algorithm, to control the passenger ear-sides noise. The effectiveness of the EMD–NNRM is validated using four noise signals from the outside of a vehicle. The interior noise of a high-speed vehicle is processed by the proposed algorithm and the traditional VSS-LMS algorithm for comparison. The reconstruction results show that the mean absolute error is improved by 77.64% compared with the back propagation neural network reconstruction model. Reconstructed passenger ear-sides noise can be utilized for ANC. The active control results suggest that the proposed algorithm can not only effectively suppress the interior noise but can also avoid pollution from secondary sound sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Al 2 O 3 –TiC composites synergistically reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplates (GNPs) were prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effects of the MWCNT and GNP contents on the phase composition, mechanical properties, fracture mode, and toughening mechanism of the composites were systematically investigated. The experimental results indicated that the composite grains became more refined with the addition of MWCNTs and GNPs. The nanocomposites presented high compactness and excellent mechanical properties. The composite with 0.8 wt% MWCNTs and 0.2 wt% GNPs presented the best properties of all analysed specimens, and its relative density, hardness, and fracture toughness were 97.3%, 18.38 ± 0.6 GPa, and 9.40 ± 1.6 MPa m1/2, respectively. The crack deflection, bridging, branching, and drawing effects of MWCNTs and GNPs were the main toughening mechanisms of Al 2 O 3 –TiC composites synergistically reinforced with MWCNTs and GNPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first present a generalization of ω⁎-Gâteaux differentiability theorems of Lipschitz mappings from open sets to those closed convex sets admitting nonsupport points and then show that every nonempty bounded closed convex subset of a Banach space has the fixed point property for isometries if it Lipschitz embeds into a super reflexive space. With the application of Baudier-Lancien-Schlumprecht’s theorem, we finally show that every nonempty bounded closed convex subset of a Banach space has the fixed point property for continuous affine mappings if it uniformly embeds into the Tsirelson space T⁎. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have changed the treatment pattern of advanced and metastatic NSCLC. A series of ICI based therapies have emerged in the first-line treatment field, but the comparative efficacy was unclear. Method: We searched multiple databases and abstracts of major conference proceedings up to Apri1, 2022 for phase III randomised trials of advanced driver-gene wild type NSCLC patients receiving first-line therapy. Outcomes analyzed included progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and et al. Results: Thirty-two double-blind RCTs were included, involving 18,656 patients assigned to 22 ICI-based first-line regimens. A series of ICI regiments (including ICI plus chemotherapy), ICI monotherapy, doublet ICIs, doublet ICIs plus chemotherapy) emerged, and showed significant PFS and OS benefit than chemotherapy and chemotherapy + bevacizumab (BEV) for advanced wild-type NSCLC. In comprehensive terms of PFS, chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) were significantly more effective than ICI monotherapy and doublet ICIs. In terms of OS for patients with non-squamous NSCLC, pembrolizumab containing CIT was associated with a median rank of the best regimens, and followed by Atezolizumab+BEV based CIT; while for OS in patients with squamous NSCLC, Cemiplimab and sintilimab based CIT were the most effective regimens. For more than 2 years follow-up, the atezolizumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab and durvalumab containing ICI therapy all provide a durable long-term OS benefit over chemotherapy and BEV + chemotherapy. Conclusions: The findings of the present NMA represent the most comprehensive evidence, which might suggest or provide basis for first-line ICI therapy decision for advanced NSCLC patients without oncogenic driver mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor simulation experiment with 2.76 L microcosms using sediment from Taihu Lake were conducted to investigate the relationship between algae bloom and heavy metals release into a lake aquatic environment. The results showed that Microcystic aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) growth can enhance cadmium (Cd) mobilization from sediments to overlying water due to increasing pH and DO content of overlying water and changing the redox condition of surface sediment (0–2 cm) from weak oxidation to weak reduction. The dissolved Cd concentration in overlying water can be decreased during algal growth process. The remobilization of Cd from sediment can effectively reduce the ecological risk of total Cd in sediments. The results of this study showed that both I geo and E r i can be used to effectively evaluate the ecological risk of heavy metal Cd in different fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is the main cause of early morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results for PGD risk factors. Herein, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature to identify recipient-related clinical risk factors associated with PGD development. Method: A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Scopus) for studies published from 1970 to 2013 was performed. Cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional studies that examined recipient-related risk factors of PGD were included. The odds ratios (ORs) or mean differences (MDs) were calculated using random-effects models Result: Thirteen studies involving 10042 recipients met final inclusion criteria. From the pooled analyses, female gender (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.75), African American (OR 1.82, 95%CI 1.36 to 2.45), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.13), sarcoidosis (OR 4.25, 95% CI 1.09 to 16.52), primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) (OR 3.73, 95%CI 2.16 to 6.46), elevated BMI (BMI≥25 kg/m2) (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.64), and use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (OR 2.29, 95%CI 1.43 to 3.65) were significantly associated with increased risk of PGD. Age, cystic fibrosis, secondary pulmonary hypertension (SPH), intra-operative inhaled nitric oxide (NO), or lung transplant type (single or bilateral) were not significantly associated with PGD development (all P>0.05). Moreover, a nearly 4 fold increased risk of short-term mortality was observed in patients with PGD (OR 3.95, 95% CI 2.80 to 5.57). Conclusions: Our analysis identified several recipient related risk factors for development of PGD. The identification of higher-risk recipients and further research into the underlying mechanisms may lead to selective therapies aimed at reducing this reperfusion injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene therapy attracted more and more attention for the tumor therapy. To obtain a safe gene therapy system, the new gene vectors beyond the virus were developed for a high gene therapy efficiency. The ultrasound mediated gene therapy was safer and the plasmid DNA could be delivered by the microbubbles and combined with the ultrasound to increase the gene transfection efficiency. In this work, the cationic microbubbles decorated with Cyclo(Cys-Arg-Gly-Asp-Lys-Gly-Pro-AspCys) (iRGD peptides) and magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (MB iM) was designed for targeted ultrasound contrast imaging guided gene therapy of tumors. The ultrasound image intensity was dramatically enhanced at the tumor site that received MB iM with the magnet applied, compared to those administrated the non-targeted microbubbles (MB b) or the microbubbles with only one target material on the surface (MB M and MB bi). The pGPU6/GFP/Neo-shAKT2 was used as a sample gene, which down regulate the AKT2 protein expression for the cancer therapy. It illustrated that MB iM /AKT2 had the highest gene transfection efficiency in the studied microbubbles mediated by the ultrasound, leading to the AKT2 protein expression downregulation and the strongest tumor killing effect in vitro and in vivo. In summary, a novel and biocompatible gene delivery platform via MB iM with both the endogenous and external targeting effects for breast cancer theranostics was developed. [Display omitted] • iRGD dual-targeted magnetic microbubbles (MB iM) designed for targeted gene delivery. • The ultrasound image intensity at the tumor site was enhanced by MB iM. • The gene therapy efficiency was improved by MB iM mediated by ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ZIF-8 MOFs were used to load high amount of antibiotics (LEVO) showing pH responsiveness to bacterial infection. • The negatively charged ZIF-8@LEVO@HA nano drug carrier was combined onto CL after amination treatment. • The antibacterial CL has a high drug loading capacity (0.65 mg/cm2) owing to the surface bound ZIF-8. • The ZLHP-CL showed excellent bactericidal effect with inhibitory zone diameter 34 mm. • In infectious keratitis animal, ZLHP-CL efficiently killed bacteria, reduced the inflammation reaction in corneal tissue repair. Eye trauma, ophthalmic surgery and contact lens (CL) wearing cause corneal infection and bacterial biofilms formation, which further lead to corneal ulcer and perforation. In view of the low bioavailability of antibiotic eye drops and the clinical problems that cause bacterial resistance, we used pH sensitive zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 metal–organic frameworks (ZIF-8 MOFs) to load broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs levofloxacin (LEVO). After the surface modification by hyaluronic acid (HA), the nanomaterial surface was negatively charged. A simple amination treatment was used to endow CL surface with amino groups to combine the negatively charged nano drug loading system through electrostatic forces. The bacteriostatic ring of ZIF-8@LEVO@HA-PEI modified CL (ZLHP-CL) was 34 mm, which could be owing to the high drug loading capacity of ZIF-8 (0.65 mg/cm2). The bactericidal function was further confirmed by shake flask method and live/dead bacterial staining assay against S. aureus , S. epidermidis and E. coli. It is worth mentioning that ZLHP-CL showed significant pH sensitivity to the bacterial infection, which released drug rapidly at pH 5.5 and hardly released drug at pH 7.4. In the bacterial biofilm's formation experiment, it was found that ZLHP-CL obviously inhibited bacterial adhesion and biofilms formation. Furthermore, it was proved in infectious keratitis animal that ZLHP-CL could kill the bacteria and reduce the inflammation reaction, which showed advantages in corneal tissue repair and light transmittance maintenance. In this work, based on nanotechnology, a facile CL drug loading technology is developed, which can be used to sustained release of various drugs for ophthalmic diseases treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression has become the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a global health burden. Quantitative assessment of depression-related neurotransmitter concentrations in human fluids is highly desirable for diagnosis, monitoring disease, and therapeutic interventions of depression. In this review, we focused on the latest strategies of CD-based electrochemical biosensors for detecting a depression-related neurotransmitter. We began this review with an overview of the microstructure, optical properties and cytotoxicity of CDs. Next, we introduced the development of synthetic methods of CDs, including the "Top-down" route and "Bottom-up" route. Finally, we highlighted detecting an application of CD-based electrochemical sensors in a depression-related neurotransmitter. Moreover, challenges and future perspectives on the recent progress of CD-based electrochemical sensors in depression-related neurotransmitter detection were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the characteristics of the immunoglobulin light-chain repertoires with chronic HBV infection, the high-throughput sequencing and IMGT/HighV-QUEST were adapted to analyze the κ (IgK) and λ (IgL) light-chain repertoires from the inactive HBV carriers (IHB) and the healthy adults (HH). The comparative analysis revealed high similarity between the κ light-chain repertoires of the HBV carriers and the healthy adults. Nevertheless, the proportion of IGLV genes with ≥90% identity as the germline genes was higher in the IgL light-chain repertoire of the IHB library compared with that of HH library (74.6% vs. 69.1%). Besides, the frequency of amino acid mutations in the CDR1 regions was significantly lower in the IgL light-chain repertoire of the IHB library than that of the HH library (65.52% vs. 56.0%). These results suggested the lower somatic mutation level in the IgL repertoire of IHB library, which might indicate the biased selection of IGLV genes in the IgL repertoire with chronic HBV infection. These findings might lead to a better understanding of the characteristics of the light-chain repertoires of HBV chronically infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the characteristics of the immunoglobulin light-chain repertoires with chronic HBV infection, the high-throughput sequencing and IMGT/HighV-QUEST were adapted to analyze the κ (IgK) and λ (IgL) light-chain repertoires from the inactive HBV carriers (IHB) and the healthy adults (HH). The comparative analysis revealed high similarity between the κ light-chain repertoires of the HBV carriers and the healthy adults. Nevertheless, the proportion of IGLV genes with ≥90% identity as the germline genes was higher in the IgL light-chain repertoire of the IHB library compared with that of HH library (74.6% vs. 69.1%). Besides, the frequency of amino acid mutations in the CDR1 regions was significantly lower in the IgL light-chain repertoire of the IHB library than that of the HH library (65.52% vs. 56.0%). These results suggested the lower somatic mutation level in the IgL repertoire of IHB library, which might indicate the biased selection of IGLV genes in the IgL repertoire with chronic HBV infection. These findings might lead to a better understanding of the characteristics of the light-chain repertoires of HBV chronically infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference genomes are essential for metagenomic analyses and functional characterization of the human gut microbiota. We present the Culturable Genome Reference (CGR), a collection of 1,520 nonredundant, high-quality draft genomes generated from >6,000 bacteria cultivated from fecal samples of healthy humans. Of the 1,520 genomes, which were chosen to cover all major bacterial phyla and genera in the human gut, 264 are not represented in existing reference genome catalogs. We show that this increase in the number of reference bacterial genomes improves the rate of mapping metagenomic sequencing reads from 50% to >70%, enabling higher-resolution descriptions of the human gut microbiome. We use the CGR genomes to annotate functions of 338 bacterial species, showing the utility of this resource for functional studies. We also carry out a pan-genome analysis of 38 important human gut species, which reveals the diversity and specificity of functional enrichment between their core and dispensable genomes. A resource of >1,500 bacterial reference genomes sheds light on the human gut microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At present, the predictive ability of the prognostic indicator of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still limited. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the preoperative high-sensitivity C-reactive protein to lymphocyte ratio (HCLR) and the clinicopathologic characteristics of HCC. Patients and methods: A total of 229 HCC patients undergoing surgical resection were retrospectively analyzed. The majority of the patients (132/229) had tumors larger than 5 cm, and 45 out of 229 had more than one tumor focus. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to decide the cutoff value of HCLR. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were evaluated by adopting the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: The cutoff value of HCLR for the best discrimination of HCC prognosis was 1.3 with a sensitivity of 75.5% and a specificity of 71.8%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.791 (95% CI, 0.731–0.840). Preoperative HCLR at a high level (>1.3) was positively correlated with large tumor size, TNM stage, microvascular invasion, and recurrence. The mean OS and PFS in patients with HCLR >1.3 were significantly shorter than in those with HCLR ≤1.3. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed the HCLR was an independent predictor of OS and PFS. Conclusion: HCLR was an important independent predictor of dismal prognosis in HCC patients and can be used as a sensitive indicator for the dynamic monitoring of postoperative patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We address the problem of computing distances between permutations that take into account similarities between elements of the ground set dictated by a graph. The problem may be summarized as follows: Given two permutations and a positive cost function on transpositions that depends on the similarity of the elements involved, find a smallest cost sequence of transpositions that converts one permutation into another. Our focus is on costs that may be described via special metric-tree structures. The presented results include a linear-time algorithm for finding a minimum cost decomposition for simple cycles and a linear-time 4 ∕ 3 -approximation algorithm for permutations that contain multiple cycles. The proposed methods rely on investigating a newly introduced balancing property of cycles embedded in trees, cycle-merging methods, and shortest path optimization techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) is a common compound found in groundwater contaminated with organics. This compound is difficult to remove from groundwater and has the potential to inflict significant harm on human health and the environment. This study used sodium persulfate (Na 2 S 2 O 8) activated by sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to remove 1,2-DCA from aqueous solutions. Density functional theory was employed to calculate the potential energy surface of the reactants, intermediates, transient states, and products to thoroughly analyze the degradation pathways. The computations were performed in combination with in situ remediation of a 1,2-DCA plume from a point source to verify the industrial applicability of the technology. The results showed the 1,2-DCA removal efficiency was impacted considerably by the Na 2 S 2 O 8 dosage and the dosing sequence of Na 2 S 2 O 8 and NaOH, with the mean removal ratio reaching 96.24%. A free radical reaction was the main pathway of 1,2-DCA degradation; superoxide radical (O 2 •–) existed stably and played a key role in the reaction, and the main transformation proceeded via a vinyl chloride intermediate. The maximum removal of 1,2-DCA reached 91.79% in the in situ remediation. The developed technology exhibits important advantages in enabling flexible control over chemical dosages, long durations of effective activity, and rapid full-cycle remediation. • SPASH was in situ pilot-scale tested to remediate 1,2-DCA in groundwater. • A free radical reaction was the main pathway of 1,2- DCA degradation. • The transformation involving vinyl chloride comprised the main pathway. • The technology exhibits important advantages in rapid full-cycle remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber composites reinforced with micro- and nano-sized short fibers were made by mechanically blending of silanized fibrillar silicate (FS) nanofibers and polyamide 66 (PA-66) microfibers. A synergistic reinforcement on static and dynamic mechanical properties was revealed. When FS nanofibers and PA-66 microfibers were used together in an appropriate volume ratio, static and dynamic mechanical properties (such as tensile stress, mechanical anisotropy, compression modulus, dynamic storage modulus and tensile fatigue property) of the resulting composites were substantially improved. The co-reinforcement mechanism of nano- and micro-sized fibers was discussed in terms of composite fracture morphology. The synergetic reinforcement effect on the dynamic fatigue properties is attributed to the result of competitive factors including stress transfer, crack initiation and propagation, and matrix reinforcement, whereas the synergetic reinforcement effect on the static tensile properties is achieved due to the strong interfacial adhesion between FS nanofibers and rubber. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The aims of study are to observe laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) surgery mediated change in LCN2 level, and to ascertain relevance of LCN2 to efficacy indicators of LSG surgery. Methods: The retrospective study of 58 obese individuals who have undergone LSG surgery was held between July 2016 and July 2017 in the Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital in China. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were recorded at baseline and 12 months after surgery. Body fat was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum LCN2 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We analyzed association between serum LCN2 level and efficacy indicators 12 months post-surgery, and further explored the dose-dependent relation across the baseline / decrease LCN2 tertiles. Results: From baseline to 12 months after LSG, serum LCN2 level was significantly decreased; we found independent association between baseline / decreased LCN2 and efficacy indicators, including changes in weight, waist circumference, fat mass and triglyceride; further, across the decreased LCN2 tertiles, intragroup difference analysis showed significantly higher level of percent extra weight, waist circumference, and trunk fat mass loss, decreased total fat percent on the top tertile, compared to the lowest tertile; and binary logistic regression analysis showed direct dose-dependent relation between decreased LCN2 level and weight loss efficacy (the lowest tertile as reference, adjusted odds ratio (95%CI) = 42.66 (1.41-1290.28), 70.42 (1.82-2723.43), per decreased LCN2 tertile respectively); across the baseline LCN2 tertiles, we found significantly higher level of percent waist circumference on the top tertile, compared to the lowest tertile. Conclusion: In our study, LCN2 level was decreased at 12 months after LSG surgery. Baseline and decreased LCN2 levels were associated with some weight loss efficacy indicators in a dose-dependent way. Disclosure: N. Li: None. L. Bu: None. K. Mutailipu: None. H. You: None. Y. Huang: None. B. Zhu: None. L. Su: None. X. Wen: None. S. Lei: None. S. Qu: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have investigated the associations between outdoor air pollution and outpatient visits for respiratory diseases (RDs) in general population.Methods: We collected daily outpatient data of primary RDs from five hospitals in Jinan during January 2012 and December 2016, as well as daily measurements of air pollutants from the Jinan Environmental Monitoring Center and daily meteorological variables from the China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System. A generalized additive model (GAM) with quasi-Poisson regression was constructed to estimate the associations between daily average concentrations of outdoor air pollutants (PM2.5,PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) and daily outpatient visits of RDs after adjusting for long-time trends, seasonality, the "day of the week" effect, and weather conditions. Subgroup analysis stratified by gender, age group and the type of RDs was conducted.Results: A total of 1,373,658 outpatient visits for RDs were identified. Increases of 10 μg/m3 in PM2.5, PM10, NO2, CO and O3 were associated with0.168% (95% CI, 0.072-0.265%), 0.149% (95% CI, 0.082-0.215%), 0.527% (95% CI, 0.211-0.843%), 0.013% (95% CI, 0.003-0.023%), and 0.189% (95% CI, 0.032-0.347%) increases in daily outpatient visits for RDs, respectively. PM2.5 and PM10 showed instant and continuous effects, while NO2, CO and O3 showed delayed effects on outpatient visits for RDs. In stratification analysis, PM2.5 and PM10 were associated with acute RDs only.Conclusions: Exposure to outdoor air pollutants including PM2.5, PM10, NO2, CO and O3 associated with increased risk of outpatient visits for RDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]