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The influence of 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine (CP) on growth, nitrogen (N) absorption and utilization, and yield of rice were examined to offer a technical reference for enhancing rice yield and efficient production under nitrogen limitation in cold regions. In this experiment, Japonica rice was planted with six treatments: 115 kg·ha−1 N (local conventional application, N115), application of N reduced by 20 % (N92), N reduced by 20 % + 900 g ha−1 CP (N92 + CP), N reduced by 30 % (N80.5), N reduced by 30 % + 900 g ha−1 CP (N80.5 + CP), and no-N fertilizer (N0) were used to study the effects of CP on factors relating to yield. In 2022, compared with N92, N92 + CP significantly increased soil available N content (SAN), N uptake (NU), and N fertilizer utilization efficiency (NUE). These factors contributed to an increase in the leaf area index of all leaves at jointing and the leaf area index of the top three leaves at heading. In 2021, the tiller number per hill, dry matter accumulation (DMA) from jointing to heading, DMA from heading to maturity (DMAH), crop growth rate (CGR) from jointing to heading, and CGR from heading to maturity (CGRH) were increased and thus contributed to an increase in total yield. Compared with N80.5, N80.5 + CP significantly increased tiller number per hill, SAN, and NUE in 2022, while the DMAH, CGRH, and yield were increased in 2021 and 2022. This study indicates that CP can maintain rice yield by increasing NU and NUE even under reduced N rates.

The cold-formed thin-walled steel (CFS)-paper straw board (PSB) composite walls takes as the research object. The thermal performance of the wall was analyzed by the building heat transfer theory and the finite element analysis software ANSYS, explored the influence of relevant parameters on heat transfer coefficient of composite wall and proposed supplementary correction coefficient for applying the type of composite walls. The heat flux density field, temperature distribution field, node temperature, and heat transfer coefficient of the walls were also obtained. The specific parameters analyzed using this model mainly included the insulation material, web height, thickness of the section steel, width of the flange, length of the hole, number of hole rows, and horizontal and longitudinal spacing of the holes. The findings show that an increase in the web height reduces the heat transfer coefficient of the composite wall, which is conducive to improving the thermal insulation performance of the walls. The CFS-PSB composite wall with a web opening can significantly improve the heat transfer performance of the wall, reduce heat loss, and control the local thermal bridging phenomenon. The hole length, specific gravity of the openings, and number of openings were the main parameters affecting the thermal insulation performance of the walls.

Abstract Background Adequate preoperative evaluation of the post-intubation hemodynamic instability (PIHI) is crucial for accurate risk assessment and efficient anesthesia management. However, the incorporation of this evaluation within a predictive framework have been insufficiently addressed and executed. This study aims to developed a machine learning approach for preoperatively and precisely predicting the PIHI index values. Methods In this retrospective study, the valid features were collected from 23,305 adult surgical patients at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between 2012 and 2020. Three hemodynamic response sequences including systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and heart rate, were utilized to design the post-intubation hemodynamic instability (PIHI) index by computing the integrated coefficient of variation (ICV) values. Different types of machine learning models were constructed to predict the ICV values, leveraging preoperative patient information and initiatory drug infusion. The models were trained and cross-validated based on balanced data using the SMOTETomek technique, and their performance was evaluated according to the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and R-squared index (R2). Results The ICV values were proved to be consistent with the anesthetists’ ratings with Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.877 (P

As a new green material, steel-paper straw board (PSB) composite structures are widely used in practical engineering. This study proposed a new cold-formed thin-walled C-shaped steel-paper straw board (CFCSPSB) composite floor. To study its mechanical properties, flexural experiments were conducted on three composite floors. The experimental results showed that the combined effect of PSB and cold-formed thin-walled C-shaped steel (CFCS) beam was good, and the local buckling caused by the restraint effect of PSB on the CFCS beam was an important factor for the failure of the composite floor. On this basis, the composite floor was investigated by finite element analysis (FEA) software ANSYS, and the FEA results were consistent with the experimental results. Then, the effect of different factors on the flexural capacity of the composite floor was analysed by ANSYS. The obtained results showed that reducing the screw spacing and floor span, or increasing the CFCS beam cross-sectional size, web height of CFCS beam, and CFCS thickness could improve the flexural capacity of composite floors, and the calculation formula of flexural capacity for the composite floor was proposed.

Abstract Background Perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI) has been one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for surgical patients. Pheochromocytoma is a rare, catecholamine-secreting neuroendocrine neoplasm characterized by typical long-term hypertension that needs surgical resection. Our objective was to determine whether intraoperative mean arterial pressures (MAPs) less than 65 mmHg are associated with postoperative AKI after elective adrenalectomy in patients with pheochromocytoma. Methods We performed a retrospective review of patients undergoing adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma between 1991 and 2019 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China. Two intraoperative phases, before and after tumor resection, were recognized based on distinctly different hemodynamic characteristics. The authors evaluated the association between AKI and each blood pressure exposure in these two phases. The association between the time spent under different absolute and relative MAP thresholds and AKI was then evaluated adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results We enrolled 560 cases with 48 patients who developed AKI postoperatively. The baseline and intraoperative characteristics were similar in both groups. Though time-weighted average MAP was not associated with postoperative AKI during the whole operation (OR 1.38; 95% CI, 0.95–2.00; P = 0.087) and before tumor resection phase (OR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.65–1.05; P = 0.12), both time-weighted MAP and time-weighted percentage changes from baseline were strongly associated with postoperative AKI after tumor resection, with OR 3.50, 95% CI (2.25, 5.46) and 2.03, 95% CI (1.56, 2.66) in the univariable logistic analysis respectively, and with OR 2.36, 95% CI (1.46, 3.80) and 1.63, 95% CI (1.23, 2.17) after adjusting sex, surgical type (open vs. laparoscopic) and estimated blood loss in the multiple logistic analysis. At any thresholds of MAP less than 85, 80, 75, 70, and 65 mmHg, prolonged exposure was associated with increased odds of AKI. Conclusions We found a significant association between hypotension and postoperative AKI in patients with pheochromocytoma undergoing adrenalectomy in the period after tumor resection. Optimizing hemodynamics, especially blood pressure after the adrenal vessel ligation and tumor is resected, is crucial for the prevention of postoperative AKI in patient with pheochromocytoma, which could be different from general populations.

To explore the application of cold-formed thin-walled steel-paper straw board(CTSPSB) composite wall in practical engineering and further meet people’s living requirements, it was proposed to open holes in the composite wall to simulate the doors and windows in practical applications. Two composite wall specimens were tested to study the shear performance of the CTSPSB composite wall. Through the analysis of specimens’ damage forms and experimental data, the characteristic values of bearing capacity and lateral stiffness were obtained. And then, the model of the composite wall was built by ANSYS, and finite element analysis (FEA) results were consistent with the experimental results, which could verify the feasibility of the finite element model. Moreover, the model needed to open holes and extensive parameter analysis was carried out. The FEA results indicate the most reasonable distance between screws around the opening is 150 mm; the most suitable spacing between the small studs is 400 mm; the position of the opening has the least influence on the shear performance, and the difference between the results of the five groups of models is within 5%; while the width of the opening has the greatest impact on the shear performance. Compared with the wall without opening, the bearing capacity of the wall with an opening width of 600 mm, 1200 mm and 1800 mm decreases by 38%, 46% and 52% respectively. Besides, the calculation formula of shear capacity of CTSPSB composite wall with openings was improved, which could be used as experience for practical engineering.

As the mechanism of paraquat (PQ) poisoning is still not fully elucidated, and no specific treatment has been developed in medical practice, the management of PQ poisoning continues to present a medical challenge. In this study, the objective was to investigate the early metabolic changes in serum metabolism and identify the key metabolic pathways involved in patients with PQ poisoning. Quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the relevant metabolites. Additionally, experiments were carried out in both plasma and cell to elucidate the mechanisms underlying metabolic disorder and cell death in PQ poisoning. The study found that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites, such as arachidonic acid (AA) and hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), were significantly increased by non-enzymatic oxidative reaction. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production increased rapidly at 2 h after PQ poisoning, followed by an increase in PUFAs at 12 h, and intracellular glutathione, cysteine (Cys), and Fe2+ at 24 h. However, at 36 h later, intracellular glutathione and Cys decreased, HETEs increased, and the expression of SLC7A11 and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) decreased. Ultrastructural examination revealed the absence of mitochondrial cristae. Deferoxamine was found to alleviate lipid oxidation, and increase the viability of PQ toxic cells in the low dose. In conclusion, unsaturated fatty acids metabolism was the key metabolic pathways in PQ poisoning. PQ caused cell death through the induction of ferroptosis. Inhibition of ferroptosis could be a novel strategy for the treatment of PQ poisoning.

Metabolic engineering improvement of plants will play an essential role in future agriculture, but this largely depends on the establishment of genetic transformation. Stephania tetrandra S. Moore is a traditional Chinese medicine used for rheumatalgia that accumulates benzylisoquinoline alkaloids as its main active ingredients. Wild or farmed plants have remained the main source of these essential medicines, resulting in supply pressure due to the scarcity of wild plant resources and the slow growth rate in cultivation. Here, we constructed Agrobacterium rhizogenes (C58C1)-mediated hairy root culture and a co-transformation system in S. tetrandra to obtain a new source of bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids production. We show that the biomass of the hairy roots increased 10-fold, and the content of tetrandrine reached 8.382 ± 0.160 mg/g DW after 50 d of cultivation. In addition, overexpression of (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase (6OMT) gene or treatment of hairy roots with methyl jasmonate (MJ) increased protoberberine alkaloid content. This work provides a method of obtaining hairy roots and a genetic transformation system for S. tetrandra, not only broadening the access to S. tetrandra resources, but also laying a foundation for further elucidation of the biosynthesis of tetrandrine and related alkaloids.

Objective To explore the role and value of applied muscle tension (AMT) in preventing vasovagal nerve reaction (VVR) in blood donors. Methods A total of 2 992 people, susceptible to suffer VVR from May 2020 to may 2022, were randomly divided into control group (1406 cases) and observation group (1 586 cases). The control group was not given AMT intervention, while the observation group received AMT intervention at different periods during blood donation. The changes of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and psychological state of anxiety (self-rating anxiety scale, SAS) of blood donors were monitored in the two groups at each period to compare the occurrence of VVR. Results There were no statistically significant differences in blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups before blood donation (P>0.05). The parameters were relatively stable in observation group during and after donation, but significantly different from that of the controls(P>0.05). SAS score was similar in two groups before blood donation(P>0.05), while decreased in observation group during and after donation in comparison with the controls(P

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as a well-known kind of cancer marker are closely associated with the formation and metastasis of tumors. Here, a novel tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-doped covalent organic frameworks (TPE-COFs) with strong aggregation-induced electrochemiluminescence (AIECL) response was synthesized and introduced to construct an ultrasensitive biosensor for the detection of miRNA-21. The strong aggregation-induced emission (AIE) response was obtained because the molecular motion of TPE was restricted by COFs which had the porosity and highly ordered topological structure. Meanwhile, the porous structure of COFs allowed TPE to react with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) coreactants more effectively. Furthermore, COFs significantly improved the electron transport efficiency of the entire ECL system. All of these endowed the TPE-COFs with superior AIECL performance. Then, a TPE-COFs based ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) system was constructed for ultrasensitive miRNA-21 biosensing with differential signal readout. The proposed assays exhibited excellent sensitivity with a wide dynamic range from 10 aM to 1 pM and a low detection limit of 2.18 aM. Therefore, these indicated that doping TPE in COFs was a creative way to develop functional COFs and provided an effective way for enhancing AIECL. Furthermore, this work boarded the application of AIECL in analytical chemistry.

Abstract It is anticipated that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) will overtake other products in the market for next‐generation photovoltaics. The optical loss, however, continues to be a flaw that restricts the photocurrent (Jph) of PSCs. Mesoporous antireflection coatings (ARCs), both monolayer and multilayer, are designed using a combination of the finite element method and equivalent medium theory, and ARCs models are merged with PSCs. In the current work, mesoporous ARCs are made, the optical performance of the device is evaluated using optical modeling, and then the ARCs are integrated into solar cells. The simulation results show that the Jph of planar inverted PSCs can increase to 24.00 mA cm−2 when the front surface of PSCs adopts mesoporous ARC (via parameter optimization and sensible arrangement and combination). An increase of 0.98 mA cm−2 in Jph of PSCs is observed in comparison with flat ARC (23.02 mA cm−2). The strong light transmission and low reflection properties of the mesoporous ARCs are confirmed by the optimized solution. It is important to note that the first fusion of mesoporous and multilayer ARC offers a fresh approach to the development of perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with extremely high efficiency.

Effective hardening depth (EHD) and surface hardness (SH) achieved by carburizing heat treatment play vital roles in guaranteeing the fatigue performance of heavy load carburized gears, which are often subjected to fatigue failure in the engineering practice. In this study, a strategy of combining the pre-shot peening process and subsequent carburizing heat treatment was proposed to improve the efficiency of carburizing heat treatment of AISI 9310 gear steel. Characterizations of hardness, material microstructure, surface roughness and micro-strain of treated roller samples were conducted with helps of a microhardness tester, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope, white light interferometer and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The underlying mechanism was explored in terms of discovering the relationship between EHD and microstructure, plastic deformation, surface roughness. Results indicated that the efficiency of carburization heat treatment of AISI 9310 gear steel has been greatly enhanced by the proposed strategy, leading to an increasing in EHD and an increase of about 36.4 HV in SH, respectively. Additionally, the importance of shot peening intensity and coverage to EHD was analyzed by the random forest (RF) algorithm.

With the development of wind turbine，high-speed railway，aero-engine and other large equipment towards the direction of high reliability，long life and intelligence，it has put forward higher requirements for the life of basic components such as gears and bearings. It is urgent to use more scientific and efficient fatigue life prediction method. The life prediction methods of mechanical components can be divided into physical failure model，data-driven model and fusion model（physical failure and data-driven model fusion） three types. With the development of components life prediction research towards high precision and high efficiency，physical model is difficult to meet modern needs due to its complexity，time-consuming and non-universal disadvantages. With the rapid development of machine learning，deep learning and other technologies，data-driven model has become a hot topic in the research of components fatigue life prediction of due to the advantages of no need to know detailed failure mechanism and accurate prediction results. In view of this，the fatigue life prediction method of components based on data-driven is described. The application of these methods in the life prediction of components is introduced，including neural network，support vector machine，random forest and deep learning，and the characteristics of each method are summarized，and the developing trend of the life prediction method of components based on data-driven is discussed. And a case study of gear contact fatigue life prediction based on GA-BP neural network is presented.

Abstract The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of surgery on the survival and prognosis of patients with multifocal intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA). Patients with multifocal ICCA were selected from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database between 2010 and 2016. Kaplan–Meier analyses and log-rank tests were used to evaluate the difference in survival between the surgery group and the non-surgery group. We applied the Cox proportional hazards regression model to identify prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). In total, 580 patients were enrolled in our study, including 151 patients who underwent surgery and 429 patients who did not. The median survival time of surgical patients was longer than non-surgical patients (OS: 25 months vs. 8 months, p

Abstract Background As a classic innate immunity pathway, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling has been intensively investigated for its function of pathogen recognition. The receptor is located not only on immune cells but also on sensory neurons and spinal glia. Recent studies revealed the involvement of neuronal TLR4 in different types of pain. However, the specific role of TLR4 signaling in the pain symptom of endometriosis (EM) remains obscure. Methods The rat endometriosis model was established by transplanting uterine horn tissue into gastrocnemius. Western blotting and/or immunofluorescent staining were applied to detect high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), TLR4, myeloid differentiation factor-88 adaptor protein (MyD88), and nuclear factor kappa-B-p65 (NF-κB-p65) expression, as well as the activation of astrocyte and microglia. The antagonist of TLR4 (LPS-RS-Ultra, LRU) and MyD88 homodimerization inhibitory peptide (MIP) were intrathecally administrated to assess the behavioral effects of blocking TLR4 signaling on endometriosis-related pain. Results Mechanical hyperalgesia was observed at the graft site, while HMGB1 was upregulated in the implanted uterine tissue, dorsal root ganglion (DRG), and spinal dorsal horn (SDH). Compared with sham group, upregulated TLR4, MyD88, and phosphorylated NF-κB-p65 were detected in the DRG and SDH in EM rats. The activation of astrocytes and microglia in the SDH was also confirmed in EM rats. Intrathecal application of LRU and MIP alleviated mechanical pain on the graft site of EM rats, with decreased phosphorylation of NF-κB-p65 in the DRG and reduced activation of glia in the SDH. Conclusions HMGB1-TLR4-MyD88 signaling pathway in the DRG and SDH may involve in endometriosis-related hyperpathia. Blockade of TLR4 and MyD88 might serve as a potential treatment for pain in endometriosis.

Abstract Background Patient safety incident (PSI) reporting has been an important means of improving patient safety and enhancing organizational quality control. Reports of anesthesia-related incidents are of great value for analysis to improve perioperative patient safety. However, the utilization of incident data is far from sufficient, especially in developing countries such as China. Methods All PSIs reported by anesthesiologists in a Chinese academic hospital between September 2009 and August 2019 were collected from the incident reporting system. We reviewed the freeform text reports, supplemented with information from the patient medical record system. Composition analysis and risk assessment were performed. Results In total, 847 PSIs were voluntarily reported by anesthesiologists during the study period among 452,974 anesthetic procedures, with a reported incidence of 0.17%. Patients with a worse ASA physical status were more likely to be involved in a PSI. The most common type of incident was related to the airway (N = 208, 27%), followed by the heart, brain and vascular system (N = 99, 13%) and pharmacological incidents (N = 79, 10%). Those preventable incidents with extreme or high risk were identified through risk assessment to serve as a reference for the implementation of more standard operating procedures by the department. Conclusions This study describes the characteristics of 847 PSIs voluntarily reported by anesthesiologists within eleven years in a Chinese academic hospital. Airway incidents constitute the majority of incidents reported by anesthesiologists. Underreporting is common in China, and the importance of summarizing and utilizing anesthesia incident data should be scrutinized.

A new type of composite slabwas proposed by connecting paper straw board and cold-formed thin-walled steel with self-tapping screws. In order to investigatethe failure process and failure mode of the composite slab, the tests on the flexural capacity of three composite slabs with different factors such as steel beam section size, beam spacing and the number of screws were carried out. The strain of the cold-formed thin-walled C-shaped steeland the paper straw board, and the deflection of the composite slabwere observed, respectively. Moreover, the flexural behaviour and the composite actionof the composite slab were investigated and the flexural capacity of the composite slab was obtained. It was found that the final failure mode of composite slab wasthe local buckling modeof cold-formed thin-walled C-shaped steel beam due to the adequate restraint of the straw board, and the reducing of the screw spacing had beneficial influence on the flexural yield capacity. The calculation method of midspan deflection and flexuralcapacity of composite slab were proposed, and the calculated values of deflection and flexural capacity agreed well with the test results. Therefore, the new composite slabs were of good working performance and high flexural capacity.

Abstract Background Recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that the aberrant expression of SNHG6 exists in a variety of tumors and has a correlation with poor clinical outcomes across cancer patients. Considering the inconsistent data among published studies, we aim to assess the prognostic effect of SNHG6 on malignancies. Methods We retrieved relevant publications in Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed and Cochrane Library based on predefined selection criteria, up to October 1, 2019. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to evaluate the correlation between SNHG6 and overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as well as clinicopathology. Results In total, 999 patients from 14 articles were enrolled in our meta-analysis. The results revealed that augmented SNHG6 expression was significantly correlated with poor OS (HR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.76–2.75, P

Objective:To explore the effect of Regulating channels and activating collateral lotions on the quality of life and fatigue symptoms of patients with post-stroke fatigue(PSF).Methods:A retrospective analysis of 100 patients with post-stroke fatigue who were admitted to the Rehabilitation Department of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from October 2014 to October 2016 and met the inclusion criteria of this study were divided into the treatment group and control group(50 cases in each group)according to the random number table method. The control group was treated with routine nursing care and comprehensive rehabilitation training, while the treatment group was additionally treated with Regulating channels and activating collateral lotions, and each group was observed for two weeks. Before and after treatment, the fatigue severity scale(FSS), the multidimensional fatigue inventory-20(MFI-20)and the energy score of the stroke-specific quality of life(SS-QOL-E)were used to assess the degree of fatigue and the improvement in quality of life.Results:After the treatment, the FSS score and MFI-20 score of the two groups were significantly lower, while SS-QOL-E score was significantly higher than that of before the treatment(PPRegulating channels and activating collateral lotions can effectively alleviate the symptoms of fatigue after stroke and improve the quality of life, and the curative effect is better than that of comprehensive rehabilitation training combined with routine nursing.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling plays an essential role in gating the pruritic afferent information in the spinal cord. Recent studies revealed that the aging process down-regulated the expression of NPY in the central nervous system. We propose that the lack of spinal NPY may be involved in certain types of pruritus in the elderly population. This study was designed to investigate the role of NPY in aging-induced itch using the senile mouse model. The expression of NPY in the spinal dorsal horn was compared between young (2 months old) and aged (24 months old) mice. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of NPY was significantly reduced in the spinal dorsal horn in aged mice. In addition, a neuronal maker of apoptosis, TUNEL, was detected in the NPY positive neurons only in the aged spinal cord. Behavioral assay indicated that light mechanical stimulus evoked significantly more scratching in the aged than in the young mice, whereas chemical-evoked itch and pain-related behaviors were not altered. Intrathecal injection of either NPY or LP-NPY, a NPY receptor 1 (NPY1R) agonist, significantly alleviated the mechanically evoked itch in aged mice without altering the responses to chemical pruritogens. Our study suggested that downregulation of spinal NPY in the aged mice might play a role in the higher incidence of the mechanically evoked itch than that in the young mice. Therapies targeting the NPY system might serve as a potential strategy for alleviating the pruritic symptoms among the elderly population.

A finite element model of steel frame joints is established using finite element analysis software ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The ideal triangular impact load is used to numerically analyze the dynamic response of steel frame welded joints under blast loading, the main factors affecting this response, and the failure modes of three types of joints, so as to provide reference for the antiexplosive design of steel frame joints. The results show that steel frame joints vibrate violently in the explosive blast direction. Due to the strain rate effect, the strength of steel increases, the material enters the plastic strengthening stage, and there is a certain residual displacement. In addition, displacement and stress caused by blast action in the joint area are large, and the flange shear failure of the beam and column is prone to occur in the joint. Increasing the flange width of the beam and the column cannot improve the antiexplosive performance of the joints, while increasing their thickness can. Furthermore, bolted and welded joints have the highest stiffness and best antiexplosion performance, followed by welded joints, while the antiexplosion performance of bolted joints was the worst.

Background: Surgery has been the primary treatment in patients with localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) for many decades, whereas it remains controversial regarding the efficacy of primary tumor resection for metastatic GISTs treated with chemotherapy, and likewise it is unclear who would benefit from the surgical resection.Methods: GISTs patients with distant metastases were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2016. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Kaplan-Meier analyses and log-rank tests were conducted to assess the effectiveness of surgery on survival.Results: In total, of 455 patients with metastatic GISTs, 235 patients (51.6%) underwent primary tumor resection and 220 patients (48.4%) did not. Median survival of patients in resection group was 72 (95% CI: 62.90–81.10) months vs. 40 (95% CI: 29.53–50.47) months for those in non-resection group (p < 0.001). Similarly, surgery in conjunction with chemotherapy led to a favorable impact on survival than chemotherapy alone (OS: 72 vs. 40 months, p < 0.001; CSS: 74 vs. 44 months, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that both OS (HR: 0.581, 95% CI: 0.386–0.874, p = 0.009) and CSS (HR: 0.663, 95% CI: 0.439–0.912, p = 0.042] were dramatically improved in patients with surgical removal of primary site, as well as primary tumor size between 5 and 10 cm, while increasing age was predictive of poorer survival. Stratified analysis revealed that patients with tumor locations in the stomach demonstrated a prolonged survival after surgery, with no significant differential surgical effect between the stomach and small intestine.Conclusions: Our study preliminarily suggests that carefully selected patients with metastatic GISTs might prolong survival after treatment of surgery, especially those with a primary tumor between 5 and 10 cm and a tumor located in the stomach.

Nitride has high hardness and excellent wear resistance. It is frequently prepared on a material surface to improve material performance. The nitriding layer can be prepared in different ways, so the bonding strength and microstructure between the nitriding layer and the matrix differ, which will directly affect the surface mechanical properties of the material. In this study, pure titanium (TA1) was nitrided using electromagnetic induction nitriding, and the microstructure of nitriding layer was analysed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy-electron backscatter diffraction (SEM-EBSD) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). In addition, the mechanical properties of the nitriding layer were studied using a nanoindentation and scratch tester. The experimental result shows a 20 μ m induction nitriding layer composed of TiN, Ti _2 N and α (N)-Ti. The compound layer (Ti _2 N and TiN) was approximately 3 μ m. The surface was contaminated with C and O elements, and evident segregation bands were found between the induction nitriding layer and matrix. The induction nitriding layer can considerably improve the wear resistance of titanium alloy, but the bonding force between the induction nitriding layer and matrix decreases owing to the segregation band.

Abstract Backgrounds Arytenoid dislocation (AD) is a rare but severe complication after general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. We conducted a case-control study at Peking Union Medical College Hospital to identify risk factors associated with AD, including the use of an intubation stylet. Methods Patients who experienced AD were matched 1:3 with controls based on gender, age and type of surgery. Multiple conditional logistic regression was performed to determine associations between potential risk factors and AD. Results Twenty-six AD cases were retrospectively identified from 2004 through 2016. On average, arytenoid dislocation occurred in 2 cases per year, with an incidence of 0.904/100,000 (approximately 0.01%). The 26 patients who experienced AD and 78 matched control patients were enrolled in this study. All enrolled patients underwent endotracheal intubation, and a stylet was used for intubation for 38.5% (10/26) of the AD patients and 64.1% (50/78) of the controls (OR = 0.23, 0.07–0.74). A higher incidence of AD was significantly associated with longer duration of operation (OR = 1.74, 1.23–2.47). Conclusions The use of an intubation stylet for endotracheal intubation appears to protect against AD. Prolonged operation time increases the risk of AD. These factors should be considered when assessing the risks of AD associated with endotracheal intubation and in efforts to avoid this complication.

Metal oxide nanoparticles demonstrate uniqueness in various technical applications due to their suitable physiochemical properties. In particular, yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticle is familiar for technical applications because of its higher dielectric constant and thermal stability. It is widely used as a host material for a variety of rare-earth dopants, biological imaging, and photodynamic therapies. Y2O3 has also been used as a polarizer, phosphor, laser host material, and in the optoelectronic fields for cancer therapy, biosensor, and bioimaging. Yttrium oxide nanoparticles have attractive antibacterial and antioxidant properties. This review focuses on the promising applications of Y2O3, its drawbacks, and its modifications. The synthetic methods of nanoparticles, such as sol-gel, emulsion, chemical methods, solid-state reactions, combustion, colloid reaction techniques, and hydrothermal processing, are recapitulated. Herein, we also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Y2O3 NPs based biosensors that function through various detection modes including colorimetric, electrochemistry, and chemo luminescent regarding the detection of small organic chemicals, metal ions, and biomarkers.

Satellite precipitation products play an essential role in providing effective global or regional precipitation. However, there are still many uncertainties in the performance of satellite precipitation products, especially in extreme precipitation analysis. In this study, a Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) late run (LR) product was used to evaluate the rainstorms in the southern basin of China from 2015 to 2018. Three correction methods, multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural network (ANN), and geographically weighted regression (GWR), were used to get correction products to improve the precipitation performance. This study found that IMERG LR’s ability to characterize rainstorm events was limited, and there was a significant underestimation. The observation error and detection ability of IMERG LR decrease gradually from the southeast coast to the northwest inland. The error test shows that in the eastern coastal area (zone I and II), the central area (zone III), and the western inland area (zone IV and V), the optimal correction method is MLR, ANN, and GWR, respectively. The performance of three correction products is slightly better compared with the original product IMERG LR. From zone I to V, correlation coefficient (CC) and root mean square error (RMSE) show a decreasing trend. Zone II has the highest relative bias (RB), and the deviation is relatively large. The categorical indices of inland area performed better than coastal area. The correction product’s precipitation is slightly lower than the observed value from April to November with a mean error of 8.03%. The correction product’s precipitation was slightly higher than the observed values in other months, with an average error of 12.27%. The greater the observed precipitation, the higher the uncertainty of corrected precipitation result. The coefficient of variation showed that zone II had the highest uncertainty, and zone V had the lowest uncertainty. MLR had a high uncertainty with an average of 9.72%. The mean coefficient of variation of ANN and GWR is 7.74% and 7.29%, respectively. This study aims to generate a set of precipitation products with good accuracy through the IMERG LR evaluation and correction to support regional extreme precipitation research.

This paper investigates the influences of several limiting factors on the performance of ground penetrating radar (GPR) in accurately detecting huanglongbing (HLB)-infected citrus roots and determining their main structural characteristics. First, single-factor experiments were conducted to evaluate GPR performance. The factors that were evaluated were (i) root diameter; (ii) root moisture level; (iii) root depth; (iv) root spacing; (v) survey angle; and, (vi) soil moisture level. Second, two multi-factor field experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the GPR in complex orchard environments. The GPR generated a hyperbola in the radar profile upon root detection; the diameter of the root was successfully determined according to the width of the hyperbola when the roots were larger than 6 mm in diameter. The GPR also distinguished live from dead roots, a capability that is indispensable for studying the effects of soil-borne and other diseases on the citrus tree root system. The GPR can distinguish the roots only if their horizontal distance is greater than 10 cm and their vertical distance is greater than 5 cm if two or more roots are in proximity. GPR technology can be applied to determine the efficacy of advanced crop production strategies, especially under the pressures of disease and environmental stresses.

The number of the overweight people continues to rise across the world. Studies have shown that being overweight can increase health risks, such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and certain forms of cancer. Therefore, identifying the overweight status in people is critical to prevent and decrease health risks. This study explores a new technique that uses blood and biochemical measurements to recognize the overweight condition. A new machine learning technique, an extreme learning machine, was developed to accurately detect the overweight status from a pool of 225 overweight and 251 healthy subjects. The group included 179 males and 297 females. The detection method was rigorously evaluated against the real-life dataset for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve) criterion. Additionally, the feature selection was investigated to identify correlating factors for the overweight status. The results demonstrate that there are significant differences in blood and biochemical indexes between healthy and overweight people (p-value < 0.01). According to the feature selection, the most important correlated indexes are creatinine, hemoglobin, hematokrit, uric Acid, red blood cells, high density lipoprotein, alanine transaminase, triglyceride, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. These are consistent with the results of Spearman test analysis. The proposed method holds promise as a new, accurate method for identifying the overweight status in subjects.

2-Mercaptoethanol self-assembled monolayer (ME/Au SAMs) was prepared on a gold electrode. The ME/Au SAMs was characterized by using ATR-FTIR and dynamic contact angle measurements. The electrochemical behaviors of noradrenaline (NE) on the ME/Au SAMs were studied in BR buffer solution. The modified electrode accelerated electron transfer rate of the redox of NE and showed an excellent eletrocatalytic activity. The diffusion coefficient (D) of NE was obtained to be 4.3×10-8 cm2 s-1. The catalytic current increased linearly with the concentration of NE in the range of 2.0×10-6 -1.0×10-3 M by square wave voltammetry response. The modified electrode could eliminate the interference of ascorbic acid (AA) at 40-fold concentration of NE and could be satisfactorily used for the determination of NE in the drug injection.

Animals underwent combined general-epidural anesthesia (EGA) is reported to have better long-time outcome than general anesthesia (GA). This study aimed to make overall evaluation of the association between these two anesthetic techniques and prognosis of cancer patients undergoing surgery.Related databases such as PubMed and EMbase were searched for eligible studies that evaluated the influence of EGA and GA on the prognosis of cancer patients undergoing surgery. Selected studies were evaluated according to the inclusion criteria by two reviewers respectively, followed by data extraction and quality assessment. The odds ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the influence strength of EGA and GA on prognosis of cancer patients.A total of ten studies involving 3254 patients were included. The overall results demonstrated that there was no significant difference between EGA and GA group (OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.06, P = 0.187) concerning postoperative recurrence and metastasis rate. In regard to the following two factors: cancer category and time of follow-up, subgroup analysis identified significant differences between EGA and GA in the group of patients with prostate cancer and the group with follow-up less than or equal to two years (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.95, P = 0.027; OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.98, P = 0.035; respectively) concerning postoperative recurrence and metastasis rate. However, no significant difference was found in the group of patients with colorectal cancer (OR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.84-1.33, P = 0.62).This meta-analysis showed that EGA might be associated with improvement in prognosis of patients with operable prostate cancer and the cancer patients with follow-up less than or equal to two years. However, no obvious relationship between the improvement in prognosis of colorectal cancer and EGA were detected, comparing to GA. Furthermore, all the results should be interpreted cautiously, as heterogeneous data were used for analyzing.

Macrophage infiltration contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic renal injury. However, the regulatory mechanisms between macrophage infiltration and epithelial cell activation are still unclear. Our previous study found that C66, a novel curcumin analog, was able to inhibit inflammatory cytokine expression in vitro and in vivo. This study further elucidated whether C66 can prevent glucose-induced renal epithelial activation and inflammatory macrophage infiltration by a MAPK/NF-κB medicated mechanism. Our data show that pretreatment with C66 not only significantly reduced high glucose (HG)-induced over-expressions of VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and MCP-1, but also remarkably inhibited NF-κB activation, MAPKs phosphorylation, and subsequently macrophage adhesion in renal epithelial NRK-52E cells. Furthermore, we find that MAPKs, especially JNK, play important roles in HG-induced NF-κB activation, which regulates the over-expression of adhesion molecules in HG-stimulated NRK-52E cells. A molecular docking predicted that C66 may target JNK2, which leads to its anti-inflammatory actions. In vivo, administration of C66 or JNK special inhibitor SP600125 at 5 mg/kg markedly decreased diabetes-induced renal adhesion molecule expression, NF-κB activation, inflammatory cell infiltration, and pathological indexes in the kidneys of diabetic mice. These findings provide a perspective on the renoprotective effects of C66 in diabetes, and outline a novel therapeutic strategy of JNK inhibition for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

To investigate the eccentric compression performance of cold-formed thin-walled steel-reconstituted bamboo (CTS-RB) composite columns, 14 specimens were tested under eccentric compression conditions. The parameters included section steel type, thickness of reconstituted bamboo (RB) plates, slenderness ratio, and eccentricity. The study analyzed the observed damage modes and eccentric compression performance of the specimens and investigated the bearing capacity and deformation capacity. It was indicated that the composite of RB and cold-formed thin-walled steel (CTS), connected by self-tapping screws and structural adhesive to form an integrated column, has produced acceptable results. The bearing capacity of the test specimen is influenced significantly by the eccentricity. On this basis, a finite element model is created that considers nonlinearities in material, geometry, and contact. The finite element calculations show good agreement with experimental results, with an error rate within 17 %, which validates the feasibility of using finite element methods. Moreover, the paper thoroughly examines the effects of slenderness ratio and eccentricity on the load carrying capacity of the composite column. This study presents the data fitting of the eccentricity coefficient and the slenderness ratio coefficient in the formulas of the yield and bending capacity of the composite columns, and the obtained theoretical calculations have an error of less than 16 % with the experiment, which is applicable to the prediction of the load bearing capacity of the composite columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction operations in the forest areas may damage the local environment to some degree. It's today's trend to achieve the ecological sustainable development of these areas. To this end, combined with the advantages of forest and grass environment materials, this paper studies the road concrete added with straw fiber and perlite. The perlite was added into the concrete, which enhances the insulation. Also, it compared the changes of concrete strength when adding the rod-shaped straw in natural state and alkalization-treated filamentous straw fibers respectively. The results showed that the volume weight of concrete reinforced with perlite was reduced and the insulation was improved; the strength of concrete was promoted by adding the filamentous straw fiber after alkalization. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) found that perlite can be closely bonded with the products of cement hydration; in the interfacial transition zone between perlite, straw fiber and cement base there existed a gap between rod-shaped straw and concrete, while after alkalization treatment, the filamentous straw fiber was closely bonded with the cement-based material, which improves the ductility and strength of concrete. This study is of great significance for ensuring the suitable development and protecting the green environment in forest areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationships between species richness and driving factors might vary with taxa and spatial scale. For this study we used plant species data of eight groups from nature reserves in China, namely pteridophytes, gymnosperms, angiosperms, vascular plants, Chinese endemic species, rare and endangered plants, woody plants, and herbaceous plants, and eight putative environmental predictors to explore the relationships between plant species richness and environmental factors at two spatial scales (temperate region and national scale). Our data suggested that area, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation were the determinants of variation in species richness within these eight groups in the temperate nature reserves of Shandong Province in China. The relationships between plant species richness and environmental factors were consistent in different groups. However, the relationships between species richness and mean annual temperature varied with spatial scale. In the temperate region, species richness was negatively correlated with mean annual temperature and positively correlated with mean annual precipitation, whereas on a national scale species richness was positively correlated with both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation. Our study confirmed that the relationships between plant species richness and environmental factors in nature reserves were consistent in the studied groups and varied with spatial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a novel palliation therapy for malignant biliary stricture; however, its feasibility and safety has not yet been clearly defined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of endoscopic RFA for the treatment of malignant biliary strictures. A total of 12 patients treated by endoscopic RFA between December 2011 and October 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Adverse events within 30 days post-intervention, stricture diameters prior to and following RFA, stent patency and survival time were investigated. A total of 12 patients underwent 20 RFA procedures as a treatment for malignant biliary strictures. Two patients required repeated elective RFA (4 and 6 times, respectively). All 20 RFA procedures were successfully performed without technical problems. During a 30 day period following each RFA procedure, two patients experienced fever (38.2 and 38.9°C, respectively) and another patient exhibited post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis. The 30- and 90-day mortality rates were 0 and 8.3%, respectively. Mean stricture diameter prior to RFA was 5.3 mm (standard deviation (SD), 0.9 mm; range, 5-8 mm), and the mean diameter following RFA was 12.6 mm (SD, 3.1 mm; range, 8-15 mm). There was a significant increase of 7.3 mm in the bile duct diameter following RFA in comparison with prior to RFA (t=8.6; P≤0.001). Of the 11 patients with stents inserted following RFA, the median stent patency was 125.0 days [95% confidence interval (CI), 94.7-155.3 days]. Extrapolated median survival following the first RFA was 232 days (95% CI, 94.3-369.7 days). In conclusion, RFA appears to be an efficient and safe treatment strategy for the palliation of unresectable malignant biliary strictures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular imprinting for the detection of protein has gained great interest in recent years. For this purpose, we prepared magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the recognition of bovine hemoglobin (BHb) through the surface imprinting technique with two-stage core–sell sol–gel polymerization on the surface of silica modified Fe3O4nanospheres. 3-Aminopropyltriethoxylsilane and octyltrimethoxysilane were chosen as monomers to construct the MIP layer. The morphology and structure property of prepared nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and the vibrating sample magnetometer. The obtained magnetic MIPs with high saturation magnetization (60 emu g−1) made it easy to separate the target protein from solution by an external magnetic field. The adsorption and recognition performance of this magnetic MIPs was discussed through adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, special selectivity, reusability and reproducibility tests. It turned out that the magnetic MIPs showed a relatively high adsorption capacity of 124.86 mg g−1and excellent selectivity towards BHb with a separation factor of 1.99. Moreover, the adsorption capacity of magnetic MIPs was not significantly reduced after three continuous adsorption and elution processes, which indicated their good reusability for at least three repeated cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enzyme free potentiometric sensor for reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) modified on glassy carbon electrode was systematically investigated. It was expected to work like a solid ion selective electrode (ISE) where the specific carrier are the imprinted sites. The polymer for the selective recognition of glucose and fructose were synthesized by coelectropolymerizing the 3-hydroxyphenyl boronic acid and phenol with reducing sugar (glucose or fructose) complex. The phenol could not only provide more hydroxyl but also promote the electron transfer because of its benzene ring structure and oxygen. The principle of reducing sugars detection at the MIP modified glassy carbon electrode (MIP/GCE) was to form a covalent binding which was reversible when changing the binding conditions and had a quick response to the electrochemical potential of the fabricated sensor. The imprinted polymer films covered on the electrode surface could improve the sensitivity of the sensor response remarkably. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the potential change and the concentration of glucose and fructose were linearly related from 0.75 to 18 mM. The detection limit of glucose and fructose was 0.23 mM and 0.35 mM, respectively. In addition, we had successfully evaluated the applicability of the sensitive sensor according to detect reducing sugars in practical samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy among men. The Discovery of new agents for the treatment of prostate cancer is urgently needed. Compound WZ35, a novel analog of the natural product curcumin, exhibited good anti-prostate cancer activity, with an IC50 of 2.2 μM in PC-3 cells. However, the underlying mechanism of WZ35 against prostate cancer cells is still unclear.Methods: Human prostate cancer PC-3 cells and DU145 cells were treated with WZ35 for further proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and mechanism analyses. NAC and CHOP siRNA were used to validate the role of ROS and ER stress, respectively, in the anti-cancer actions of WZ35.Results: Our results show that WZ35 exhibited much higher cell growth inhibition than curcumin by inducing ER stress-dependent cell apoptosis in human prostate cells. The reduction of CHOP expression by siRNA partially abrogated WZ35-induced cell apoptosis. WZ35 also dose-dependently induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, we found that WZ35 treatment for 30 min significantly induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in PC-3 cells. Co-treatment with the ROS scavenger NAC completely abrogated the induction of WZ35 on cell apoptosis, ER stress activation, and cell cycle arrest, indicating an upstream role of ROS generation in mediating the anti-cancer effect of WZ35.Conclusions: Taken together, this work presents the novel anticancer candidate WZ35 for the treatment of prostate cancer, and importantly, reveals that increased ROS generation might be an effective strategy in human prostate cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently invented duodenal-jejunal bypass sleeve (DJBS) implanted in the duodenum and proximal jejunum has exhibited good glycemic control in diabetes mellitus. However, the specific mechanism by which DJBS placement induces the remission of diabetes is not well known. Previous studies have indicated that changes in the pattern of gut hormone secretion may play a role. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of intestinal L cells and the production of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) by these cells in DJBS implantation-induced glycemic control in diabetic rats. A DJBS was placed in the proximal small intestine of rats with diabetes induced by a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin (STZ), and the effects of the DJBS on the remission of diabetes and the GLP-1 levels of plasma and intestinal tissues were investigated 12 weeks after DJBS placement. The number of intestinal GLP-1 positive cells was also counted. When the DJBS had been in place for 12 weeks, the plasma glucose level of the DJBS-implanted rats decreased significantly from 23.33±1.56 mmol/l prior to surgery to 7.70±0.84 mmol/l and the diabetes mellitus was relieved completely; however, diabetic control rats and diabetic rats subjected to sham surgery did not show any improvement. Parallel with the remission of diabetes, the plasma and distal ileum GLP-1 levels of rats in the DJBS implantation group were also higher than those of rats in the diabetic control and sham surgery groups. The number of GLP-1-positive cells in the distal ileum was also higher in the DJBS implantation group than in the diabetic control and sham surgery groups (31.0±2.6 vs. 23.5±4.4 vs. 23.0±3.2 respectively; P<0.01). DJBS implantation effectively led to the remission of diabetes in rats with diabetes induced by a high-fat diet and low-dose STZ when implanted for 12 weeks. The remission of diabetes may be associated with the increase in the number of L cells and elevation of GLP-1 levels induced by DJBS implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To establish a first-order derivative ultraviolet spectrophotometric (FODUS) method with good reproducibility for the determination of levan, a D-fructofuranosyl polymer with a β-(2-6) backbone and β-(2-1) branching. Methods: Levan was isolated from fermentation broth by alcohol precipitation and ultrafiltration. Factors influencing the determination of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometric method was compared with a single-factor analysis. The UV spectra of levan reaction solutions in the absorbance range of 200 - 400 nm were obtained. An orthogonal experimental design was applied to optimize the sulfuric acid hydrolysis conditions in the spectrophotometric determination. FODUS method was validated by analyzing its linearity, reproducibility, stability and recovery. Results: Factors influencing absorbance for the determination were confirmed and two regression equations were established. UV absorbance at 320 nm of sulfuric acid-hydrolyzed sample was stable for 5 h. The FODUS method developed had a good reproducibility (RSD = 2.1%, n = 5), linearity (ranging from 1.6 μg/mL to 12.8 μg/mL), R² = 0.9996) and recovery (95.90%, RSD = 1.7%, n = 3). Conclusion: The developed FODUS method is convenient, efficient and robust for the determination of microbial levan. The method provides a valuable approach for the determination of polysaccharides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]