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The adjustment of the C/N ratio by straw combined with fertilizer nitrogen (N) not only affects straw decomposition but also affects soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, i.e. the priming effects. Therefore, it is doubly important to study how the ratios of straw to N fertilizer influence the release of endogenous and exogenous C for greenhouse gas emission reduction and soil fertility improvement. We conducted a 32-week laboratory incubation experiment with

Ammonia volatilization is one of the major paths of nitrogen (N) loss and may exert a substantial impact on air quality. This study aims to explore the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer types, fertilization rate, and application timing and gas collection method on NH

Introduction: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading worldwide. The reported possible neurological symptoms are varied and range from subtle neurologic deficits to unconsciousness. Knowledge regarding the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of COVID-19-associated neurological damage is still limited. We report a case of serious neurological damage and mental abnormalities in a patient who was finally confirmed to have COVID-19 based on IgM and IgG antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Patient concerns: A 68-year-old man had slight flu-like symptoms and transient loss of consciousness in early February. Exaggerated unconsciousness and deteriorating mental abnormalities occurred over the next month without severe respiratory symptoms. Craniocerebral computed tomography showed normal results, but antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were 100 times higher in the CSF than in the serum; tests for viral ribonucleic acid showed negative results with both a nasopharyngeal swab and CSF sample. Diagnosis: COVID-19 pneumonia was diagnosed based on symptoms and positive results for IgM and IgG in the CSF. Interventions: Antiviral, fluid, and nutritional support were administered for 30 days before admission without obvious improvement. A further 18 days of routine antiviral therapy, immunoglobulin therapy (10 g per day for 5 days), and antipsychotic drug treatment were administered. Outcomes: The patient's neurological and mental abnormalities were greatly ameliorated. He was discharged with mild irritability, slight shaking of the hands, and walking fatigue. These symptoms have persisted up to our last follow-up (May 4, 2020). Conclusion: We believe this is the first case involving neural system injury in a patient who confirmed COVID-19 based on CSF antibody test results. Negative ribonucleic acid test results, strong positivity for antibodies, and high protein levels in the CSF suggest the possibility of autoimmune encephalitis secondary to COVID-19. This case highlights additional novel symptoms of COVID-19, and these data are important for the assessment and follow-up of COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: Multiple of subsequent procedures may necessary in Marfan syndrome (MFS) patients after initial surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the full spectrum of secondary distal vascular or valvular interventions encountered after initial surgery. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 201 consecutive MFS patients between January 2000 and March 2019 who underwent 274 distal aortic reinterventions and 5 mitral valve replacements. RESULTS: Of the enrolled 201 MFS patients (73 female, mean age 37.0±12.8 years), the surgical indication for 93 patients was aortic root aneurysm, and for another 108 patients was dissection. The mean follow-up interval was 8.4±5.5 years. Total arch replacement (TAR) was performed in 68.5% of MFS patients presenting with type A aortic dissection (TAAD) and in 2.2% of patients with aneurysm. Secondary TAR became necessary for 3.4% of patients who failed to receive TAR at initial surgery in aneurysm group during follow-up, while for 33.3% of patients in dissection group (P

Corneal curvature, a highly heritable trait, is a key clinical endophenotype for myopia - a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world. Here we present a trans-ethnic meta-analysis of corneal curvature GWAS in 44,042 individuals of Caucasian and Asian with replication in 88,218 UK Biobank data. We identified 47 loci (of which 26 are novel), with population-specific signals as well as shared signals across ethnicities. Some identified variants showed precise scaling in corneal curvature and eye elongation (i.e. axial length) to maintain eyes in emmetropia (i.e. HDAC11/FBLN2 rs2630445, RBP3 rs11204213); others exhibited association with myopia with little pleiotropic effects on eye elongation. Implicated genes are involved in extracellular matrix organization, developmental process for body and eye, connective tissue cartilage and glycosylation protein activities. Our study provides insights into population-specific novel genes for corneal curvature, and their pleiotropic effect in regulating eye size or conferring susceptibility to myopia.

Background: To evaluate the performance of Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) 2008 cardiac surgery risk scores for postoperative complications in Chinese patients undergoing single valve surgery at multicenter institutions. Methods: From January 2009 through December 2012, 4493 consecutive patients older than 16 years who underwent single valve surgery at 4 cardiac surgical centers were collected and scored according to the STS 2008 risk scores. The final research population included the following isolated heart valve surgery types: aortic valve replacement, mitral valve replacement, and mitral valve repair. Calibration of the risk scores was assessed by the Hosmer–Lemeshow (H-L) test. Discrimination was tested by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: The observed incidence rate for cerebrovascular accident (CVA), renal failure (RF), prolonged ventilation (Vent), reoperation (Reop), prolonged postoperative length of stay (PLOS), and short postoperative LOS (SLOS) was 0.90%, 1.32%, 4.18%, 2.43%, 3.64%, and 1.65%, respectively. The predicted incidence rate for CVA, RF, Vent, Reop, PLOS, and SLOS was 0.76%, 1.55%, 4.94%, 6.69%, 3.92%, and 2.54%, respectively. The STS 2008 risk scores give an accurate calibration for individual postoperative risk in CVA, RF, Vent, and PLOS (Hosmer–Lemeshow: P = .052, P = .474, P = .468, and P = .712, respectively). The area under the ROC curve of the STS 2008 risk scores for the above 4 postoperative complications were 0.714, 0.724, 0.727%, and 0.713, respectively. Conclusion: The STS 2008 risk scores were suitable for major postoperative complications in patients undergoing single valve surgery, except for Reop and SLOS.

Background: The incidence of postoperative complications and the in-hospital mortality rate of infective endocarditis (IE) complicated with renal insufficiency are relatively high. This study aimed to analyze the clinical features, etiological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment, and prognosis of IE with renal insufficiency and to explore the risk factors for renal damage. Methods: IE patients undergoing valvular surgery between 2008 and 2017 in two cardiac centers were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into renal insufficiency (RI) [endogenous creatinine clearance rate (Ccr) 2 ] and normal renal function (NRF) (Ccr ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) groups. The disease conditions at admission, etiology, treatment, and prognosis were compared between the two groups. Multivariate regression analysis was performed for the related factors. Results: A total of 8,055 cases of valvular surgery was performed during the study period. We analyzed 401 IE patients [average age 43.9±15 years; RI, n=56 (14%); NRF, n=345 (86%)], after the exclusion of 2 patients with primary glomerulonephritis. RI patients showed higher perioperative mortality (14.3% vs . 4.5%, P=0.042) and streptococcal infection (71.4% vs . 43.8%, P=0.001) rates. The RI group was also older and had worse heart function, greater decreases in hemoglobin and platelet levels, a higher rate of prosthetic valve involvement, more cases of postoperative dialysis, and worse prognosis (all P Conclusions: IE patients with preoperative renal insufficiency had a high mortality rate and poor prognosis, with streptococcal infection predisposing to a higher risk of renal insufficiency. Moreover, older the age and worse heart function in IE resulted in a greater risk for renal insufficiency.

Purpose: To report the results of a hybrid approach to aortic arch repair using an innovative unibody double-branched stent graft in a canine model.Materials and methods: The stent-graft sy...

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of 2.5 μm or less in ambient air (PM2.5) has become a global public and environmental problem, and the control of the PM2.5 concentration in air is an urgent problem. PM2.5 can easily penetrate the skin, activating the inflammatory response in skin, unbalancing the skin barrier function, and inducing skin aging. Hyperpigmentation is the main manifestation of skin aging and has a considerable impact on quality of life worldwide. To date, no research on the influence of PM2.5 on hyperpigmentation has been conducted. Here, we illustrate that PM2.5 can induce melanogenesis in vivo and in vitro by regulating TYR, TYRP1, TYRP2, and MITF expression via AhR/MAPK signaling activation. Furthermore, PM2.5 increased α-MSH paracrine levels, which in turn promote hyperpigmentation. Our results provide a deeper understanding of how PM2.5 disrupts skin homeostasis and function. Treatment with AhR antagonists may be a potential therapeutic strategy for hyperpigmentation induced by PM2.5.

CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes were synthesized by a facile one-step co-precipitate method. Their supercapacitor performances were investigated via a traditional three-electrode system and all solid-state flexible asymmetric supercapacitor. The electrode shows a maximum specific capacitance up to 695 F·g−1. The flexible all solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor was fabricated based on CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes and active carbon as positive and negative electrode. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits a specific capacitance (97.3 mF·cm−2), good rate/mechanical stability and a long cycling stability (5000 cycles), demonstrating great promise for applications in all solid-state flexible supercapacitors.

Natural bioactive compounds have received increasing attention in the functional modification of textiles. In this work, tannic acid was used to impart antibacterial and antioxidant functions to silk using an adsorption technique, and the adsorption properties of tannic acid on silk were studied. The adsorption quantity of tannic acid on silk increased with decreasing pH in the range of 3–7. The rates of the uptake of tannic acid by silk were well correlated to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the calculated activation energy of adsorption was 93.49 kJ/mol. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model. The adsorption rate and isotherm studies demonstrated that the chemical adsorption of tannic acid on silk occurred through the ion-ion interaction between tannic acid and silk. Tannic acid displayed good building-up properties on silk. The silk fabric treated with 0.5% tannic acid (relative to fabric weight) exhibited excellent and durable antibacterial properties. Moreover, the silk fabrics treated with 2% and 5% tannic acid had good and durable antioxidant properties. The treatment by tannic acid had less impact on the whiteness of the silk fabric. In summary, tannic acid can be used as a functional agent for preparing healthy and hygienic silk materials.