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The bioreactor performance of a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) as post-treatment of expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) effluent was investigated. Moreover, the microbial communities of the two bioreactors during different operation periods were studied. The MBBR was efficient for COD removal with the mean efficiency of 82.4%, and produced an effluent with high and stable quality against shock loading resulting from the low temperature applied to EGSB. The study indicates that the microbial community in the reactors could adapt to perturbations such as influent wastewater characteristics and operation temperature, which is beneficial to maintain efficient and stable COD removal in the combined EGSB-MBBR system. Archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated the presence of Methanomethylovorans, Methanolinea, Methanoregula boonei, Methanosarcina barkeri, and Methanospirillum hungatei in the EGSB. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated the presence of Runella limosa, Dokdonella, Sphaerotilus, Hydrogenophaga, and Pseudomonas in the MBBR. The EGSB-MBBR system established here could be used as an efficient option for organic matter removal, which holds a great potential in practical applications for nutrients (N and P) removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next-generation sequencing technologies now make it possible to genotype and measure hundreds of thousands of rare genetic variations in individuals across the genome. Characterization of high-density genetic variation facilitates control of population genetic structure on a finer scale before large-scale genotyping in disease genetics studies. Population structure is a well-known, prevalent, and important factor in common variant genetic studies, but its relevance in rare variants is unclear. We perform an extensive population structure analysis using common and rare functional variants from the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 mini-exome sequence. The analysis based on common functional variants required 388 principal components to account for 90% of the variation in population structure. However, an analysis based on rare variants required 532 significant principal components to account for similar levels of variation. Using rare variants, we detected fine-scale substructure beyond the population structure identified using common functional variants. Our results show that the level of population structure embedded in rare variant data is different from the level embedded in common variant data and that correcting for population structure is only as good as the level one wishes to correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both family- and population-based samples are used to identify genetic variants associated with phenotypes. Each strategy has demonstrated advantages, but their ability to identify rare variants and genes containing rare variants is unclear. To compare these two study designs in the identification of rare causal variants, we applied various methods to the population- and family-based data simulated by the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 with knowledge of the simulated model. Our results suggest that different variants can be identified by different study designs. Family-based and population-based study designs can be complementary in the identification of rare causal variants and should be considered in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principal components analysis (PCA) has been successfully used to correct for population stratification in genomewide association studies of common variants. However, rare variants also have a role in common disease etiology. Whether PCA successfully controls population stratification for rare variants has not been addressed. Thus we evaluate the effect of population stratification analysis on false-positive rates for common and rare variants at the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and gene level. We use the simulation data from Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 and compare false-positive rates with and without PCA at the SNP and gene level. We found that SNPs' minor allele frequency (MAF) influenced the ability of PCA to effectively control false discovery. Specifically, PCA reduced false-positive rates more effectively in common SNPs (MAF > 0.05) than in rare SNPs (MAF < 0.01). Furthermore, at the gene level, although false-positive rates were reduced, power to detect true associations was also reduced using PCA. Taken together, these results suggest that sequence-level data should be interpreted with caution, because extremely rare SNPs may exhibit sporadic association that is not controlled using PCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the role of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in the control of vascular function in an in vivo experimental model of hypertension produced by angiotensin II infusion by osmotic minipump in adult male Wistar rats. Two weeks after infusion with angiotensin II, blood pressure in treated rats was significantly elevated but heart rate was reduced compared with control rats infused with physiological saline. Contraction of aorta from the 2 groups of rats in response to phenylephrine or serotonin was significantly attenuated by the presence of PVAT in both the presence and absence of endothelium. This attenuation effect on contraction to phenylephrine was higher, however, in vessels from control rats than in vessels from hypertensive rats in the absence of endothelium. In the mesenteric resistance arteries, lumen diameter was larger in both hypertensive and control vessels with intact PVAT than in vessels with PVAT removed. The medial wall was thicker in arteries from hypertensive rats. The presence of PVAT potentiated the contraction induced by KCl in mesenteric arteries from control rats, but not in hypertensive rats. PVAT also attenuated the contraction of mesenteric arteries in response to phenylephrine or serotonin in both hypertensive and control groups. Mesenteric arteries from hypertensive rats were more responsive to stimulation by serotonin than those from control rats. We conclude that the increased blood pressure of Wistar rats that occurred after infusion with angiotensin II was associated with changes in the functions of PVAT in the aorta and mesenteric arteries and in the structure and function of resistance arteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arteries from hypertensive animals and humans have increased spontaneous tone. Increased superoxide anion (superoxide) contributes to elevated blood pressure (BP) and spontaneous tone in hypertension. The association between the extracellular signaling-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2)-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and generation of superoxide and spontaneous tone in isolated aorta was studied in angiotensin II (ANG II)-infused hypertensive (HT) rats. Systolic BP, phosphorylation of ERK, aortic superoxide formation, and aortic spontaneous tone were compared in sham normotensive and HT rats. Infusion of ANG II (0.5 mg·kg-1day-1 for 6 days) significantly elevated the systolic BP (P <0.01). The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 vs. total ERK1/2 in thoracic aorta was enhanced, and superoxide was increased in the HT vs. the sham group (P < 0.01). Spontaneous tone developed in the HT group, but not in the normotensive group. MAPK/ERK1/2 (MEK1/2)-ERK1/2 signaling pathway inhibitors, PD-98059 (10 µmol/l), and U-0126 (10 µmol/l), significantly reduced the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, superoxide generation (P < 0.01), and spontaneous tone (P < 0.01) in HT. These findings suggest that ANG II infusion induces the production of superoxide and spontaneous tone and that both are dependent on ERK-MAPK activation. In endothelium-denuded aorta, however, MEK1/2 inhibitors did not inhibit the spontaneous tone, even though they significantly reduced superoxide generation similar to endothelium-intact aorta. These data suggest that inhibition of ERK1/2 signaling pathway, via PD-98059 or U-0126, may regulate spontaneous tone in an endothelium-dependent manner. In conclusion, these findings support the importance of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway in modulating vascular oxidative stress and subsequently mediating spontaneous tone in HT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of perivascular fat in the control of vascular function was studied using lipoatrophic A-ZIP/F1 transgenic mice. Only a small amount of brown fat was found around the aorta but not around mesenteric arteries. Blood pressure of A-ZIP/F1 mice became higher than wild-type (WT) mice from 10 weeks of age. The presence of perivascular fat reduced the contraction of WT aorta to phenylephrine and serotonin, whereas this effect was either absent or less prominent in A-ZIP/F1 aorta. In WT mice, transfer of solution incubated with aorta with fat to aorta with fat removed caused a relaxation response, but not in A-ZIP/F1 mice, indicating the release of a relaxation factor from perivascular fat in WT aorta. This factor was acting through the activation of calcium-dependent potassium channels. Perfusion of phenylephrine to the isolated mesenteric bed caused a higher increase in perfusion pressure in A-ZIP/F1 than in WT mice. Contractile response of aorta to angiotensin II (Ang II) was mediated by Ang II type 1 receptors and was higher in A-ZIP/F1 than in WT mice. Expression of Ang II type 1 receptors but not Ang II type 2 receptors was higher in aorta of A-ZIP/F1 than WT mice. Treatment with an Ang II type 1 receptor antagonist (TCV 116, 10 mg/kg per day) for 2 weeks normalized the blood pressure of A-ZIP/F1 mice. These results suggest that the absence of perivascular fat tissue, which enhances the contractile response of the blood vessels to agonists, and an upregulation of vascular Ang II type 1 receptors in A-ZIP/F1 mice, are some of the mechanisms underlying the blood pressure elevation in these lipoatrophic mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, water shortage has become a grave problem faced by countries all over the world. Seawater desalination, regarded as an alternative complement to water resources, has gained the attention of governments and scholars. China, particularly its coastal provinces, suffers from water shortage and has devoted considerable energy to promoting the seawater desalination industry. Nevertheless, the fact that residents in coastal regions are unwilling to use desalinated water restricts the large-scale development of desalination. By reviewing policy evolution and the status quo of desalination in China, this paper offers a new perspective for researchers on desalination, in which the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is adopted to investigate residents' acceptance towards the utilisation of desalinated water. We find that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behaviour control have significant positive effects on behavioural intention and further impact the use of desalinated water. Moreover, an interrelationship between subjective norm and attitude exists as well. In combination with a realistic situation, we further provide a series of corresponding implications for practice. This study is the first to investigate China's desalination development under a micro perspective, aimed at providing reference and guidance for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background With the gradual deepening of the comprehensive reform of community health services, the prevention and control of single diseases for the entire population in the community is also constantly being optimized, However, there is still a lack of appropriate evaluation methods in the community to reflect its prevention and control effectiveness evaluation. Objective By analyzing and exploring the cost effect of the existing whole-population prevention and control measures of osteoporosis in Fenglin community, from 2016 to 2022, this paper answers the initial results and possible problems of the whole-population prevention and control of single disease in the community. Methods This study conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis on 4 293 community residents who received osteoporosis prevention and treatment in Fenglin community from 2016 to 2022. Divide the research object into three states based on bone density values: healthy, low bone mass, and osteoporosis, and construct a Markov model to analyze the influencing factors of different state transitions. And based on the predicted values of the Markov model combined with quality adjusted life years (QALY) , the increment of quality adjusted life years (QALY) is calculated. All costs invested in prevention and control work from 2016 to 2022 are counted, and the effectiveness of prevention and control is evaluated by the cost/quality adjusted life year increment ratio. Quality adjusted life years (QALY) are obtained by calculating the health utility value and expected life determined through literature search. Results The total cost of osteoporosis prevention and treatment in Fenglin community was 33 814 102.15 yuan. The total quality-adjusted life years of 4 293 community osteoporosis prevention and treatment population were 77 098.288 9 at the first diagnosis, the average per capita was 17.959, and the standard deviation was 9.34. At the second diagnosis, the total quality-adjusted life years were 79 616.936 1, the mean per capita was 18.546, the standard deviation was 9.342, and the difference between the two diagnoses was 2 518.647 2. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) is 2 132.907 0 yuan /QALY, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) is less than 1 times (66 965.10 yuan) per capita GDP, indicating that the intervention scheme is fully cost-effective. Conclusion This study combined Markov model and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) to make a preliminary evaluation of the prevention and treatment effect of osteoporosis in Fenglin community. The results showed that the intervention program of osteoporosis prevention and treatment in Fenglin community was worth investing, and provided a certain basis for the accurate prevention and treatment decision of osteoporosis in the future.

In our previous studies, we have proved that neutron irradiation can decrease the single event latch-up (SEL) sensitivity of CMOS SRAM. And one of the key contributions to the multiple cell upset (MCU) is the parasitic bipolar amplification, it bring us to study the impact of neutron irradiation on the SRAM’s MCU sensitivity. After the neutron experiment, we test the devices’ function and electrical parameters. Then, we use the heavy ion fluence to examine the changes on the devices’ MCU sensitivity pre- and post-neutron-irradiation. Unfortunately, neutron irradiation makes the MCU phenomenon worse. Finally, we use the electric static discharge (ESD) testing technology to deduce the experimental results and find that the changes on the WPM region take the lead rather than the changes on the parasitic bipolar amplification for the 90 nm process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of the textile industry (TI) has led to serious water resource consumption. Driven by the demands of the green economy, improving the comprehensive management level of water scientifically and measuring the relationships among environmental regulations, technological progress and water resource consumption rationally in the TI are necessary in order to solve the water resource consumption problem and promote the transformation and upgrading the TI. We used decoupling theory to quantitatively analyze the decoupling relationship among environmental regulation, technological progress and water resource consumption from 2002 to 2015 in China's TI. We also constructed the dynamic response vector autoregressive model of China's industrial water source consumption to study the internal dynamic correlation from the perspective of time series. Analysis showed that the decoupling between water resource consumption and environmental regulation in the TI was strong in 6 years (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015) and weak in 3 years (2002, 2004 and 2010). The decoupling between water resource consumption and technological progress is also strong in 6 years (2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2015) and weak in 3 years (2007, 2010 and 2012). Overall, a longterm cointegration relationship is found among environmental regulation, technological progress and water resource consumption. The intensity of environmental regulation and the degree of technological progress positively affects the improvement in water resource consumption. Moderate enhancement in environmental regulation and improvement in technological progress can alleviate the issues of water resource consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing regimens were applied on patients with diabetes mellitus with tumours to improve medication compliance and the effects on medication compliance were observed and analysed. A total of 160 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and tumours treated at the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University were enrolled. The patients were divided into the control group and the research group, with 80 patients in each group. Routine nursing care was provided to patients in the control group, while routine nursing care combined with medication compliance interfering nursing regimen was provided to patients in the research group. The nursing effects were compared between both groups. By comparing the medication compliance, fasting blood-glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood-glucose, levels of glycosylated haemoglobin and the overall nursing satisfaction, results showed that all indicators of the research group were significantly better than those of the control group (p<0.05). Application of medication compliance interfering nursing regimens to diabetic patients with tumour could significantly improve the medication compliance of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total ionizing dose (TID) response of 65-nm CMOS transistors is studied by 10-keV x-ray and 3-MeV protons up to 1 Grad (SiO2) total dose. The degradation levels induced by the two radiation sources are different to some extent. The main reason is the interface dose enhancement due to the thin gate oxide and the low energy photons. The holes’ recombination also contributes to the difference. Compared to these two mechanisms, the influence of the dose rate is negligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pattern dependence in synergistic effects was studied in a 0.18 μm static random access memory (SRAM) circuit. Experiments were performed under two SEU test environments: 3 MeV protons and heavy ions. Measured results show different trends. In heavy ion SEU test, the degradation in the peripheral circuitry also existed because the measured SEU cross section decreased regardless of the patterns written to the SRAM array. TCAD simulation was performed. TID-induced degradation in nMOSFETs mainly induced the imprint effect in the SRAM cell, which is consistent with the measured results under the proton environment, but cannot explain the phenomena observed under heavy ion environment. A possible explanation could be the contribution from the radiation-induced GIDL in pMOSFETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Assess the different nutritional status between admission and discharged in older adult patients using the GLIM criteria. Methods and Study Design: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a multicenter study which initiated in 34 hospitals in China with 2734 hospitalized older patients. The dynamic changes of malnutrition according to GLIM criteria were performed between at admission and discharge, and their significance was analyzed using the chi-square test. The association between malnutrition and clinical outcomes was analyzed using the chi-square test, t-test, or rank sum test, and divided into different disease types for further analysis. Results: The incidence of nutritional risk in elderly patients was 51.6% at admission and 48.4% at discharge. The prevalence of malnutrition according to the GLIM criteria was 19.6% at admission and increased to 33.4% at discharge, which was significantly different. Different age and disease type were related with nutrition status. Malnutrition is significantly association with adverse clinical outcomes such as increased risk of complications and prolonged length of hospital stay. Conclusions: The GLIM criteria can be used in elderly patients to assess malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition in elderly inpatients is high, and the prevalence of malnutrition at discharge is higher than that observed at admission. Attention should be paid to the dynamic changes of malnutrition in elderly patients during hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphones are increasingly being equipped with atmospheric measurement sensors, providing huge auxiliary resources for global observations. Although China has the highest number of cellphone users, there is little research on whether these measurements provide useful information for atmospheric research. Here, for the first time, we present the global spatial and temporal variation of smartphone pressure measurements collected in 2016 from the Moji Weather app. The data have an irregular spatiotemporal distribution, with a high density in urban areas, a maximum in summer and two daily peaks corresponding to rush hours. With the dense dataset, we have developed a new bias correction method based on a machine learning approach without requiring users' personal information, which is shown to reduce the bias of pressure observation substantially. The potential application of the high-density smartphone data in cities is illustrated by a case study of a hailstorm occurred in Beijing in which high-resolution gridded pressure analysis is produced. It is shown that the dense smartphone pressure analysis during the storm can provide detailed information about fine-scale convective structure and decrease errors from an analysis based on surface meteorological-station measurements. This study demonstrates the potential value of smartphone data and suggests some future research need for its use in atmospheric science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer has increased significantly during the last several decades. Surgical resection is the primary treatment for thyroid cancer and is highly effective, resulting in 5-year survival rates greater than 98%. However, surgical resection can result in short- and long-term treatment-related morbidities. Additionally, as this malignancy often affects women less than 40 years of age, there is interest in more conservative treatment approaches and, an unmet need for therapeutic options that minimize the risk of surgery-related morbidities while simultaneously providing an effective cancer treatment. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has the potential to reduce treatment-related side effects by decreasing invasiveness and limiting toxicity. Owing to multiple advantageous properties of the porphyrin-HDL nanoparticle (PLP) as a PDT agent, including preferential accumulation in tumor, biodegradability and unprecedented photosensitizer packing, we evaluate PLP-mediated PDT as a minimally invasive, tumorspecific treatment for thyroid cancer. On both a biologically relevant human papillary thyroid cancer (K1) mouse model and an anatomically relevant rabbit squamous carcinoma (VX2)-implanted rabbit thyroid model, the intrinsic fluorescence of PLP enabled tracking of tumor preferential accumulation and guided PDT. This resulted in significant and specific apoptosis in tumor tissue, but not surrounding normal tissues including trachea and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). A long-term survival study further demonstrated that PLP-PDT enabled complete ablation of tumor tissue while sparing both the normal thyroid tissue and RLN from damage, thus providing a safe, minimally invasive, and effective alternative to thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panonychus citri McGregor (Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae), the widely distributed citrus red mite, has developed resistance to most registered acaricides. Adaptation of arthropods to extreme environmental conditions has been related to increased expression of their heat shock proteins (HSPs). The objectives of this study were to explore the relationship between HSPs and resistance of Panonychus citri to the acaricide abamectin and the adaptation of Panonychus citri to high temperatures. The full-length cDNA of the HSP90 gene was cloned from an abamectin-sensitive strain of Panonychus citri. This gene consisted of 2,495 nucleotides with a complete open reading frame (ORF) of 2,169 nucleotides. This gene encoded a polypeptide of 721 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 83.44 kDa, a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.06, a 3' untranslated region (UTR) of 228 bp, and a 5' UTR of 98 bp. The results of real-time PCR analyses indicated that the expression of the HSP90 gene in P. citri was markedly affected by the concentration of abamectin, the duration of exposure to it and the temperature, suggesting that the up-regulation of the HSP90 gene may play an important role in abamectin resistance and adaptation to high temperatures in Panonychus citri. The results of RNA interference experiments indicated that the HSP90 gene from adult female Panonychus citri was sensitive to down-regulation by double-stranded RNA (0.1-0.2 μg/μL). This study provides a molecular basis for further analysis of the relationships between the HSP90 gene and the resistance of Panonychus citri to abamectin and to high temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Addressing the two most important considerations in designing clinical trials, i.e. maximizing study power and minimizing patient exposure to ineffective treatment, is particularly challenging for trials of rare diseases. The familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) rilonacept trial (Hashkes et al., Ann Intern Med 2012;157:533-41) demonstrates a novel crossover design by enabling patient choice to early escape for rare disease. Purpose To investigate the effect on study power, exposure to the ineffective treatment arm and dropout rate by implementing early escape to crossover design, and to propose a Bayesian modeling approach. Method Based on the FMF trial data, simulation studies compared study power and dropout rate among three types of designs for crossover trial: traditional without early escape, early escape per-patient-choice, and early escape per-protocol. Results The early escape per patient choice or per protocol design achieved 0.89 ± 0.12 and 0.78 ± 0.20 of the study efficiency when compared to the traditional crossover design assuming no dropout. Early escape per patient choice compared to early escape per protocol improved power by 1.29 ± 0.26, and reduced the dropout rate by 8-29%, but with greater patient exposure to the less effective treatment arm. Conclusions The results of the FMF trial and simulation studies suggest that allowing early escape in crossover trial enhanced the design by minimizing patient's exposure to the ineffective treatment arm while maintaining a reasonable study power, which is particularly important for rare disease trials. Choice between the two types of early escape presents tradeoff between study power and exposure to ineffective treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]