Search

Sickness behavior is a coordinated set of behavioral changes that happen as a response to acute infectious pathogens. Its well-known benefit is to reorganize the organism's priorities to cope with infection, but the uncontrolled development of sickness behavior may trigger negative feelings or chronic depressive events. This study aims at investigating the potential effect of pifithrin-µ, an inhibitor of heat shock protein 70 substrate binding activity, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced sickness response. C57BL/6J mice were submitted to the forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), open field test (OFT) and light-dark box test. Food intake and body weight were also evaluated. The serum corticosterone level was measured using an ELISA kit. Treatment of mice with LPS (0.33 mg/kg, i.p.) markedly increased the floating and immobility time in the FST and TST, respectively, and depressed locomotor activity in the OFT. LPS administration prolonged the latency to first transition and reduced the total number of transitions in the light-dark box test. In addition, LPS induced anorexia and increased serum corticosterone levels. Pretreatment with pifithrin-µ (1 or 5 mg/kg) attenuated behavioral changes induced by LPS in the FST, TST, OFT and light-dark box test. Pifithrin-ì also prevented the formation of anorexia as well as the increase in serum corticosterone levels in LPS-treated mice. Our previous studies showed that pifithrin-ì prevents the production of pro-inflammatory factors in both microglia and macrophages. These findings presented here extend the role of pifithrin-ì beyond an anti-inflammatory molecule to a modulator of sickness behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) makes a great contribution to host defense and inflammation. In many settings, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces iNOS expression through activation of the inhibitor of κB-α (IκB-α)-nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) cascade, whereas interferon-γ (IFN-γ) acts through Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) signals. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), a major regulator of heat shock protein transcription, has been shown to regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), but it remains obscure whether and how HSF1 affects iNOS induction.Methods: Western blot was used to measure the protein expression. The mRNA level was measured by real-time PCR. Silence of HSF1 was achieved by small interfering RNA. Nitric oxide (NO) content and NF-κB binding activity were assayed by commercial kits. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was used to measure the binding activity of NF-κB and STAT1 to iNOS promoters.Results: HSF1 inhibition or knockdown prevented the LPS- and/or IFN-γ-stimulated iNOS protein expression in cultured microglia. HSF1 inhibition blocked iNOS mRNA transcription. These inhibitory effects of HSF1 inhibition on iNOS expression were confirmed in brain tissues from endotoxemic mice. Further analysis showed that HSF1 inhibition had no effect on IκB-α degradation and NF-κB or STAT1 phosphorylation in LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated cells. The nuclear transport of active NF-κB or STAT1 was also not affected by HSF1 inhibition, but HSF1 inhibition reduced the binding of NF-κB and STAT1 to their DNA elements. In addition, HSF1 inhibition reduced NF-κB and STAT1 bindings to iNOS promoter inside the LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated cells.Conclusions: This preventing effect of HSF1 inhibition on iNOS mRNA transcription presents the necessary role of HSF1 in iNOS induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the original design of Ruck Bridge by Mr. Lin Tongyan, this paper modifies the single-amplitude curved cable-stayed bridge of Ruck Bridge to be an elliptical ring main beam of two-amplitude curved deck, with a duck-egg-shaped arch tower and a spatial cable net with four cable planes, to form a spatial four-cable-plane two-amplitude-curve cable-stayed bridge for the canyon-river topography, so as to improve the structural stress performance of the curved-beam cable-stayed bridge, promote the traffic function and improve the landscape. Combined with the 400m-span New Ruck Cable-stayed Bridge, engineering parameters are designed, a Midas finite element analysis model is established, and the dynamic modal analysis is carried out to verify the structural superiority of this new four-cable-plane spatial cable-stayed bridge with two-amplitude curved deck.

According to the geometric figure of three-leaf rose curve, this paper puts forward a flying-bird type cable-stayed arch bridge with three-leaf rose curve shaped CFST arch rib, which has beautiful appearance and one bridge leads to three banks.The space cables are set between the three-leaf rose linear space arch ribs to resist negative bending moment, and the tie cables are set between the arch feet to resist positive bending moment. On the inclined pylon at the tail of the flying-bird type cable-stayed arch bridge, the stay-cables are arranged to balance the arch thrust, and the suspension-cables are arranged on the three leaf rose linear spatial arch ribs to hang the three fork bridge deck.The flying-bird type cable-stayed arch bridge with three-leaf rose linear CFST arch rib adopts spatial cable structure system, which has good structural stability.Combined with the actual project, the engineering parameters are designed, the Midas finite element analysis model is established, the internal force analysis and modal analysis are carried out, and the rationality of flying-bird type cable-stayed arch bridge with three-leaf rose linear CFST arch rib is verified.

Physical and biological systems often exhibit intermittent dynamics with bursts or avalanches (active states) characterized by power-law size and duration distributions. These emergent features are typical of systems at the critical point of continuous phase transitions, and have led to the hypothesis that such systems may self-organize at criticality, i.e. without any fine tuning of parameters. Since the introduction of the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld (BTW) model, the paradigm of self-organized criticality (SOC) has been very fruitful for the analysis of emergent collective behaviors in a number of systems, including the brain. Although considerable effort has been devoted in identifying and modeling scaling features of burst and avalanche statistics, dynamical aspects related to the temporal organization of bursts remain often poorly understood or controversial. Of crucial importance to understand the mechanisms responsible for emergent behaviors is the relationship between active and quiet periods, and the nature of the correlations. Here we investigate the dynamics of active (θ-bursts) and quiet states (δ-bursts) in brain activity during the sleep-wake cycle. We show the duality of power-law (θ, active phase) and exponential-like (δ, quiescent phase) duration distributions, typical of SOC, jointly emerge with power-law temporal correlations and anti-correlated coupling between active and quiet states. Importantly, we demonstrate that such temporal organization shares important similarities with earthquake dynamics, and propose that specific power-law correlations and coupling between active and quiet states are distinctive characteristics of a class of systems with self-organization at criticality.

The output of wind power and photovoltaic power is random, fluctuating and intermittent, and a direct grid connection will result in the reduction of power generation income and a great fluctuation in the power grid's connection. The addition of hydropower stations can reduce the above problems. Therefore, this paper first introduces and analyzes a typical application scenario of a water–wind–light combined power generation system. Then, a multi-objective optimization model is established, considering the two objectives of maximizing the joint generation and minimizing the system's power fluctuation. Third, the adaptive fractional order calculus strategy is introduced, and a multi-objective pigeon swarm algorithm, which can adaptively adjust the fractional order according to the location information of a flock, is proposed. Finally, an optimization simulation is carried out. The simulation results show that the improved multi-objective pigeon swarm algorithm has better optimization accuracy. It provides a reference for the future implementation of hydropower stations, and the surrounding wind and photoelectric field joint dispatching strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to solve the contradiction between the efficiency and adsorption rate of porous materials in adsorbing pollutants has always been one of the focus issues. In this study, the small landscape cypress trees structure like biomimetic of a hierarchical and dual morphology 3D porous HA-based aerogel was designed and synthesized to use humic acid (HA), pectin (PE) and chitosan (CTS) as raw materials, which it was formed by the disorderly overlapping of lamella composed of fiber networks in 3D space. Due to its special microstructure, it can be used like separation membrane, which allowing for rapid adsorption of pollutants in the water while the water flow passes through quick. In general, this work provides a new concept for owning fast adsorption rate and efficient adsorption of porous materials of preparation to use green method. • Humic acid-based aerogel with hierarchical and dual-morphology structure was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method. • Their unique structure ensured the presence of numerous adsorption sites and a high mass transfer rate. • The HA/PE-CTS aerogel was used as separation membrane, giving consideration to high water flux and high removal efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the aging characteristics of polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics (MPs), examining the adsorption behaviors and mechanisms concerning Cd(II) and Cr(VI) under both single and binary systems. The results revealed that aging treatment changed the physicochemical properties of MPs. The aging mechanisms of PLA and PE MPs were shown to be similar by the 2D-FTIR-COS study. These mechanisms involve the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups through the combination of carbon chain breakdown and oxygen. Aged MPs had a greater ability to adsorb metal ions than pristine MPs, with PLA MPs outperforming PE MPs. After 30 days of aging, Cd(II) adsorption increased by 40.61 % and 25.49 % for PE and PLA MPs, respectively, while Cr(VI) adsorption increased by 37.50 % and 69.29 %, respectively. The adsorption ability of PE and PLA MPs with Cd(II) or Cr(VI) under binary systems was less than that under single systems, with Cd(II) exhibiting more adsorption competitiveness than Cr(VI). Humic acid (HA), ionic species and strength, solution pH, and adsorption of Cd(II) and Cr(VI) were found to be significantly correlated. Further investigation into the adsorption mechanisms of Cd(II) and Cr(VI) on PE and PLA MPs revealed that pore-filling, electrostatic interactions, complexation, and hydrogen bonding play important roles in the adsorption process. The study's conclusions are crucial for assessing the risk associated with concurrent contamination by metal ions and microplastics. [Display omitted] • The carbon chains of PE and PLA MPs break during aging and combine with oxygen to form oxygen-containing functional groups. • The adsorption ability of PE and PLA MPs for Cd(II) and Cr(VI) was enhanced after aging. • Cd(II) exhibited greater adsorption competitiveness than Cr(VI) under binary systems. • Electrostatic interactions, complexation, and hydrogen bonding were the primary mechanisms of adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature significantly influences the mechanical properties of granite, which is relevant to various engineering applications, including geothermal energy extraction. The objective of this study is to investigate the meso -mechanics of granite, specifically focusing on the formation of thermal cracks and the temperature-dependent mechanical properties in heterogeneous rock. Firstly, we heat the granite to 25–1000 ℃ by muffle furnace. Following this, we conduct triaxial compression tests with 0–20 MPa confining pressures on the heated-specimens cooled by cold water. Subsequently, we combine the grain-based model (GBM) and the finite-discrete element method (FDEM) to simulate the heat treatment process and the triaxial experiments. We calibrate the micromechanical parameters of granite by experimental results. Results show that the mechanism behind the formation of thermal cracks in granite subjected to high-temperature is the differential thermal expansion coefficients of mineral particles in granites, leading to the degradation of mechanical properties in thermal-treated granite. The temperature threshold for the formation of thermal cracks is between 500 °C and 550 °C. Particularly, the stress-strain curve of granite exhibits ideal elastic-plastic characteristics under temperature is 1000 °C. These results can help to demonstrate the temperature-dependent evolution of mechanical properties of crystalline rocks, providing a theoretical basis for the utilization of engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to improve soil vapor extraction (SVE) to address its shortcomings in treating halogenated hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. Indoor simulation experiments based on SVE were conducted to provide technical guidance for the remediation of 1,2-DCA-contaminated soil, with the overall intention of soil repair and ecological restoration. A thermal oxidation SVE (TOSVE) system was designed on the basis of SVE technology for application in the remediation of low-permeability soil contaminated with halogenated hydrocarbons from a chemical plant in Northeast China. Laboratory simulation experiments were conducted based on TOSVE technology to study the removal of target pollutants under different organic contents, moisture and air speeds. For the first time, a new material, scoria, was added to the oxidant at different proportions, and its effect on the exhaust gas treatment efficiency was examined. Thermal extraction improved the extraction efficiency of pollutants from low-permeability soil. Moreover, the adsorption–oxidation effect of 0.1–0.25 mm scoria prepared by 20% Na2S2O8 on 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) in tail gas was higher than that of the oxidant without scoria, indicating that scoria is effective in tail gas treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the spontaneous neural activity in the conventional frequency band (0.01−0.08 Hz) and two sub-frequency bands (slow-4: 0.027–0.073 Hz, and slow-5: 0.01–0.027 Hz) in tension-type headache (TTH) patients with regional homogeneity (ReHo) analyses. Methods: Thirty-eight TTH patients and thirty-eight healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) scanning to investigate abnormal spontaneous neural activity using ReHo analysis in conventional frequency band (0.01−0.08 Hz) and two sub-frequency bands (slow-4: 0.027–0.073 Hz and slow-5: 0.01–0.027 Hz). Results: In comparison with the HC group, patients with TTH exhibited ReHo increases in the right medial superior frontal gyrus in the conventional frequency band (0.01−0.08 Hz). The between group differences in the slow-5 band (0.01–0.027 Hz) highly resembled the differences in the conventional frequency band (0.01−0.08 Hz); even the voxels with increased ReHo were spatially more extensive, including the right medial superior frontal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus. In contrast, no region showed significant between-group differences in the slow-4 band (0.027–0.073 Hz). The correlation analyses showed no correlation between the ReHo values in TTH patients and VAS scores, course of disease and number of seizures per month in conventional band (0.01−0.08 Hz), slow-4 band (0.027–0.073 Hz), as well as in slow-5 band (0.01–0.027 Hz). Conclusions: The results showed that the superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus were involved in the integration and processing of pain signals. In addition, the abnormal spontaneous neural activity in TTH patients was frequency-specific. Namely, slow-5 band (0.01–0.027 Hz) might contain additional useful information in comparison to slow-4 band (0.027−0.073 Hz). This preliminary exploration might provide an objective imaging basis for the understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of TTH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography (TomoSAR) has been well-established for three-dimensional (3-D) information extraction of forests using the multi-baseline SAR data stacks. The multi-baseline SAR data stacks can be acquired by spaceborne and airborne SAR systems, but for forest scenarios, the data stacks acquired by the airborne SAR system are mostly used. Such a data stack has the advantages of short revisiting time and weak temporal decorrelation. However, due to the baseline errors (caused by the residual platform motion and the measurement errors of the navigation instruments), phase errors (PEs) will occur. PEs are independent of one track to the other, resulting in spreading and defocusing in tomographic imaging. In this paper, we proposed a novel phase compensation method named NC-PGA, which combines the methods of network construction (NC) and phase gradient autofocus (PGA) to estimate and compensate the PEs. The NC method uses the Delaunay triangulation network and beamforming to obtain an accurate elevation estimate of the selected permanent scatterers, which can be used as the prior information for subsequent processing to overcome the shortcomings of the PGA method in PEs estimation. The PGA method uses the spatial invariance of PEs in a limited area to compensate for the PE of each track. The applicability of the NC-PGA method is demonstrated using simulated data and real data. The real data contains two data stacks. The one is acquired by a full-polarization P-band airborne SAR system (developed independently by our project research team) over the study area in Saihanba Forest Farm in Hebei, China. The other one is acquired by ONERA SETHI airborne system over Paracou, French Guiana, in the frame of the European Space Agency's campaign TropiSAR. We select a test area in the study area and successfully retrieve the height of the forest, and use LiDAR data for results validation and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a dual-band metamaterial absorber (MMA) with wide-angle and polarization-insensitivity is proposed. The MMA consists of two copper layers with a layer of FR-4 between them. And its top layer consists of a cross-shaped resonator and a square ring resonator. The calculation result demonstrates that there are two distinct absorption peaks, whose absorptivity are 99.933% at 3.8441 GHz and 99.99% at 9.1094 GHz. And its thickness is only 1.34% of the wavelength of the lowest absorption frequency. The dual-band MMA shows polarization-insensitivity for normal incident wave and shows high absorptivity in a wide incident angle for both TE and TM polarization wave. In addition, we discuss the working mechanism. The influences of main parameters on the dual-band MMA's absorption are also analyzed. The proposed ultra-thin MMA has simple structure and high absorptivity, which has many potential applications, such as thermal radiometer, detection sensor, stealth technology. • A dual-band metamaterial absorber (MMA) with wide-angle and polarization-insensitivity is proposed. • The thickness of the metamaterial absorber is only 1.34% of the wavelength of the lowest absorption frequency. • The MMA has two absorption peaks at 3.8441 GHz and 9.1094 GHz with absorption rates of 99.933% and 99.99%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Due to highly compressible soil and a large amount of human activity, the costal deltas are more prone to ground subsidence. Many major costal deltas in the world are facing subsidence and are consequently more susceptible to flooding, salinization and seawater infusion or even permanent submergence. Therefore, ground subsidence has been a significant problem in coastal delta areas worldwide. The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is the second largest river delta in China. On the one hand, the YRD contains a large area of wetlands rich in biodiversity, and on the other hand, industrial activities and urbanization are extensive due to abundant underground resources such as oil, gas and brine. Excessive land use has caused different degrees of ground subsidence in this area. However, a detailed and comprehensive description of the ground subsidence pattern over the YRD has not been provided. Also, widespread non-urban area in Yellow River Delta region, such as wetlands, farmland and coastal tidal areas, hinders the application of persistent scatterer interferometry method (PSI) for comprehensive subsidence measurement over the whole area. In this paper, we developed a multitemporal InSAR method to map ground subsidence over the YRD area by exploiting both persistent scatterers (PS) and distributed scatterers (DS). This method is characterized by employing the coherence-weighted phase-linking algorithm for fast and reliable optimal phase reconstruction of each DS point and a two-tier network of PS and DS for the robust analysis of land subsidence. To extract the detailed and comprehensive ground subsidence over the whole YRD, we apply our method to 30 ENVISAT ASAR images (2007–2010) and 49 Sentinel-1A (S-1A) images (2015–2018) and obtain measurements of the ground subsidence during these two periods. Forty-one Sentinel-1B (S-1B) images (2016–2018) are also exploited for cross-sensor consistency validation with the result derived from the S-1A dataset. Our method shows a great advantage over the PSI method, providing much higher measuring point (MP) density in mapping land subsidence over the YRD, including 15-fold higher density for the ASAR dataset, 5.1-fold for the S-1A dataset and 5.3-fold for the S-1B dataset, which enables a very detailed description of local ground deformation patterns. Cross-track consistency in the derived measurements from the S-1A and S-1B datasets shows a standard deviation of 9.6 mm/yr for the vertical subsidence rate. A quantitative validation of the derived subsidence results compared with leveling measurements suggests an accuracy of 4.58 mm/yr for the standard deviation term. By comparing the ground deformation over the YRD during the periods of 2015–2018 and 2007–2010, we find that the subsidence in this region shows an overall intensification trend and many new and severe subsidence depressions appear along the coastline, with a maximum vertical subsidence rate of 432 mm/yr. Subsequently, the overextraction of underground brine for salt production is identified as the primary factor causing the ground subsidence near the YRD coastal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the loss and dystrophy of hippocampal microglia induced by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) has been reported to mediate the development of major depression in mice whose microglial cells were labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein-conjuncted-CX3C receptor type 1. However, whether this happens in endogenous microglia with no genetic intervention remains unclear. Here, we addressed this issue in mice treated with different types of chronic stresses, including the CUS, chronic restraint stress (CRS) and chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). Results showed that the cellular numbers, process lengths, soma areas and activation markers of endogenous hippocampal but not cortical microglia, were markedly reduced by CUS, CRS and CSDS treatment. Administration of mice with two classical stimulators of microglia, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), reversed the CUS-, CRS- and CSDS-induced reductions in endogenous hippocampal microglial numbers, and also improved the CUS-, CRS- or CSDS-induced behavioral abnormalities, including the increases in the immobile time in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test, the inhibition of sucrose preference, and the decrease in the time spent in the center of open field. Furthermore, inhibition of the initial activation of hippocampal microglia by minocycline pretreatment also reversed the reduction in hippocampal microglial numbers as well as the behavioral abnormalities induced by CUS, CRS and CSDS treatment. These results provide compelling evidences to show that different types of chronic stresses can trigger the loss of endogenous hippocampal microglia and restoration of microglial numbers may have therapeutic values in major depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A group of bacteria (UB1) with the function of inducing carbonate precipitation was domesticated from soil. • UB1 perform well (Cd2+ removal rate > 90%) at low concentration and vice-versa. • MICP treated sewage has a strong inhibitory effect on plant growth. • Using phosphoric acid (to adjust the pH of the MICP treated sewage to neutral), can enhance soil fertility and improve plant growth. In recent decades, microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology has been widely used to treat heavy metal contamination in wastewater. However, the ammonia nitrogen produced by the MICP process and the high pH value of the treated wastewater is the critical drawbacks and challenges in the scientific domains. In this study, MICP was used to treat wastewater containing Cd2+. Thereafter, the treated wastewater is adjusted with phosphoric acid to make the suspension neutral and used for agricultural irrigation to improve soil fertility and promote plant growth by utilizing the ammonia nitrogen as a by-product. Results revealed that Urease - producing flora UB1 screened from soil have rich urea hydrolysis genes (UreA, UreB, UreC, and UreG) and effectively remove more than 90% of Cd2+ whose initial concentration is less than 0.5 mmol/L but its activity was inhibited at higher concentration (Cd2+ >0.5 mmol/L). Besides, cadmium carbonate (CdCO 3) formed during the process of Cd2+ removal was confirmed by instrumental analysis (TEM and XRD simultaneously). The simulated irrigation experiment showed that MICP-treated sewage regulated by phosphoric acid can solve the purposes of efficient utilization of sewage water for irrigation and is firmly capable to improve soil fertility and enhance plant growth. This study provides new insights for solving the problems of ammonia nitrogen and high pH in MICP-treated wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The confidence interval of the failure probability for Kriging model is derived. • A novel adaptive structural reliability analysis strategy (CIS) is presented. • A new global convergence condition is proposed. • CIS strategy is suitable for sequence and parallel analysis. Kriging-based adaptive structural reliability analysis methods can replace the structural performance function and perform reliability analysis accurately and efficiently by using appropriate learning functions. In this context, a novel adaptive structural reliability analysis strategy, namely, confidence interval squeezing (CIS) method, is presented in this paper. After obtaining the confidence interval of the failure probability on the basis of the given significance level α , CIS considers squeezing the confidence interval at the highest speed possible to improve the accuracy of estimating the failure probability. CIS strives to improve the estimation accuracy of failure probability rapidly rather than paying too much attention to the state of a single candidate sample, which is the primary difference between the CIS method and other learning functions. In addition, a new global convergence condition is proposed based on the confidence interval of failure probability. Considering the difficulty of direct application of CIS, three variants of the CIS method, namely, sCIS method for sequence additions, pCIS method for parallel additions based on a clustering algorithm, and improved pCIS (ipCIS) method, are proposed. Several examples are used to demonstrate that each CIS method can handle the complex limit state function and the engineering problem of implicit functions efficiently and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new parallel adaptive structure reliability analysis method—RBIK is proposed. • Global convergence condition (GCC) is proposed. • The optimal importance sampling function is constructed to evaluate the GCC. • Combined with K-medoids clustering, the parallel operations are realized. • Compared with AK-MCS, RBIK can significantly reduce the number of iterations. In using the Kriging-based adaptive structure reliability analysis methods, the key is to select the appropriate method of adding samples adaptively. In this study, a new parallel adaptive structure reliability analysis method—Reliability Analysis Based on Importance sampling and K-medoids clustering (RBIK)—is proposed. On the basis of the influence of the Kriging model's cognitive uncertainty on the estimation accuracy of failure probability, a global convergence condition (GCC) is proposed. Then, to evaluate the GCC unbiased and efficiently, the optimal importance sampling function will be constructed and used to obtain candidate samples. Considering the spatial correlation of candidate samples, the clustering algorithm is used for the cluster analysis of candidate samples to realize the parallel operation of adaptive structural reliability analysis. Therefore, RBIK is proposed on the basis of importance sampling and K-medoids clustering. RBIK strives to rapidly enable the Kriging model to satisfy the GCC rather than focusing on a single candidate sample, which is the most obvious difference between RBIK and other adaptive structural reliability analysis methods. In addition, RBIK can balance parallel computing power, accuracy, and the number of iterations required. Finally, the effectiveness and robustness of RBIK are proven by several examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's largest city cluster, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is vulnerable to significant subsidence. The widely distributed sediments and rapid urbanization in the GBA result in the concurrence of large- and small-scale subsidence. Mono-sensor synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images usually suffer from the limitation of either low resolution or small coverage, and thus, are not applicable to completely monitoring the GBA. In this study, we used Sentinel-1 (S1), COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) and TerraSAR-X (TSX) images jointly to reveal multi-scale subsidence of the GBA. The overall subsidence ranged from 0 to 112.3 mm/yr derived from the 2015–2017 S1 images. Three regional subsidence bowls (Zhuhai–Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Guangzhou–Zhongshan) formed in the western alluvial plain. The high correlation between regional subsidence and Quaternary sediments confirms that sediment consolidation is the main cause of subsidence. The land use and numerical modeling results suggest that groundwater extraction and artificial loading are the triggering factors. Two representative local subsidence cases were analyzed using high-resolution images: reclamation settlement at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and sinkhole subsidence due to the excavation of the Shenzhen Wenbo skyscraper foundation pit. The validation at the HKIA showed that the measurements from the CSK and S1 data both agreed well with the leveling data. However, CSK outperformed S1 in the sense that it increased the point density by a factor of 5, improved the height precision by a factor of 4, and showed fewer false alarms. CSK is therefore more applicable to monitoring the local subsidence of key infrastructures. The cross-heading tracks of TSX and CSK images detected precursory subsidence before the sinkhole collapse from two sides, indicating that the cross-heading tracks benefit the comprehensive monitoring of local subsidence in high-rise and high-density built environments. In summary, the synergistic use of multi-sensor SAR images demonstrates the practicability of the operational surveillance of multi-scale subsidence from regional surveying to the fine monitoring of local areas in the GBA. • Multi-scale SAR data were used to remotely sense ground subsidence. • The first overall subsidence map in the GBA was derived and interpreted. • Sediment consolidation and rapid urbanization are main causes. • The benefits and constraints of medium- and high-resolution data were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reclaimed lands account for a large portion of the developable territories in Hong Kong. Towards better construction planning for the follow-up civil works, stability monitoring is usually required at these artificial sites. The Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) technique can provide bi-weekly updates of high resolution (up to 1 m) and high precision (millimeter level) ground motion maps at low costs, which overcomes the limitations of ground-based instruments. However, rapid settlement during the early stage of soil consolidation can result in significant temporal decorrelation to phase signals and impact InSAR detection, especially over newly reclaimed areas. Here, we give a first demonstration on how the introduction of in-situ extensometer measurements can help improve InSAR capabilities for signal recovery of the early consolidation process. We integrate persistent scatterers (PS) and distributed scatterers (DS) in our processing chain to establish a two-tier monitoring network. Magnetic extensometers are used to estimate local consolidation models, which are then utilized to replace the linear part in the conventional functional phase model. For nonlinear deformation, both hyperbolic and exponential models were considered. The proposed method was applied to 61 TerraSAR-X images covering the Penny's Bay Reclamation Stage 2 (PBR2) in Hong Kong. The consolidation history of the new reclamation site has been successfully extracted, with cumulative subsidence exceeding 1.6 m between May 2008 and Dec. 2011. Approximately 84% of the settlement of the non-dredged region was found to be from compaction of underlying soft marine deposits, not the filling materials. In addition to highlighting the spatiotemporal characteristics of the deformation, InSAR also helps reveal the compaction evolution of the underlying deposit. The results benefit our understanding of the early consolidation process in PBR2 and inform extra reinforcement plans if necessary. • Extensometers and nonlinear models were introduced for InSAR analysis. • Early soil consolidation was measured for the first time using full resolution InSAR. • Settlement heterogeneity was revealed on a partial-dredged reclamation. • Consolidation mechanisms were interpreted and associated with a construction map. • Marine deposit compaction was inferred from the InSAR technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have provided evidence of structural and functional changes in the brains of patients with tension-type headache (TTH). However, investigations of functional connectivity alterations in TTH have been inconclusive. The present study aimed to investigate abnormal intrinsic functional connectivity patterns in patients with TTH through the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method as well as functional connectivity (FC) analysis. A total of 33 patients with TTH and 30 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning and were enrolled in the final study. The voxel-wise DC method was performed to quantify abnormalities in the local functional connectivity hubs. Nodes with abnormal DC were used as seeds for further FC analysis to evaluate alterations in functional connectivity patterns. In addition, correlational analyses were performed between abnormal DC and FC values and clinical features. Compared with HCs, patients with TTH had higher DC values in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG.L) and lower DC values in the left anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri (ACG.L) (GRF, voxel-wise p < 0.05, cluster-wise p < 0.05, two-tailed). Seed-based FC analyses revealed that patients with TTH showed greater connections between ACG.L and the right cerebellum lobule IX (CR-IX.R), and smaller connections between ACG.L and ACG.L. The MTG.L showed increased FC with the ACG.L, and decreased FC with the right caudate nucleus (CAU.R) and left precuneus (PCUN.L) (GRF, voxel-wise p < 0.05, cluster-wise p < 0.05, two-tailed). Additionally, the DC value of the MTG.L was negatively correlated with the DASS-depression score (p = 0.046, r=-0.350). This preliminary study provides important insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of TTH., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Salinity, a critical factor, could directly or indirectly affect the microbial community structure and diversity. Changes in salinity levels act as environmental filters that influence the transformation of key microbial species. This study investigates the adaptive characteristics of indigenous microflora in groundwater in relation to external organic pollutants under high salinity stress. A highly mineralized shallow groundwater in Northwest China was conducted as the study area, and six representative sampling points were chosen to explore the response of groundwater hydrochemical parameters and microflora, as well as to identify the tolerance mechanisms of indigenous microflora to combined pollution. The results revealed that the dominant genera found in high salinity groundwater contaminated with organic pollutants possess the remarkable ability to degrade such pollutants even under challenging high salinity conditions, including Halomonas, Pseudomonas, Halothiobacillus, Sphingomonas, Lutibacter, Aquabacterium, Thiomicrospira, Aequorivita, etc. The hydrochemical factors, including total dissolved solids (TDS), sulfide, nitrite, nitrate, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), NH 3 -N, Na, Fe, benzene series, phenols, and halogenated hydrocarbons, demonstrated a significant influence on microflora. High levels of sulphate and sulfide in groundwater can exhibit dual effects on microflora. On one hand, these compounds can inhibit the growth and metabolism of microorganisms. On the other hand, they can also serve as effective electron donors/receptors during the microbial degradation of organic pollutants. Microorganisms exhibit resilience to the inhibitory effects of high salinity and organic pollutants via a series of tolerance mechanisms, such as strengthening the extracellular membrane barrier, enhancing the synthesis of relevant enzymes, initiating novel biochemical reactions, improving cellular self-healing capabilities, responding to unfavorable environmental conditions by migration, and enhancing the S cycle for the microbial metabolism of organic pollutants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The discovery of safe, effective, and selective chemical algicides is the stringent need for the algicides development, and it is also one of the effective routes to control cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms and to meet the higher requirements of environmental and ecological. In this work, a series of novel bromo-N-phenyl-5-o-hydroxyphenylpyrazole-3-carboxyamides were rationally designed as pseudilin analogs by bioisosteric replacement and molecular hybridization strategies, in which the pyrrole unit of pseudilin was replaced with pyrazole and further combined with the dominant structural fragments of algicide diuron. The synthesis was carried out by a facile four-step routeincluding cyclization, amidation, transanulation, and halogenation. The biological activity evaluation on AtIspD, EcIspD, Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Microcystis aeruginosa FACHB905 revealed that most compounds had good EcIspD and excellent cyanobacteria inhibitory activity. In particular, compound 6bb exhibited potent algicidal activity against PCC6803 and FACHB905 with EC 50  = 1.28 μM and 0.37 μM, respectively, 1.4-fold and 4.0-fold enhancement compared to copper sulfate (EC 50  = 1.79 and 1.49 μM, respectively), and it also showed the best inhibitory activity of EcIspD. The binding of 6bb to EcIspD was explored by molecular docking, and it was confirmed that 6bb could bind to the EcIspD active site. Compound 6bb was proven to be a potential structure for the further development of novel algicides that targets IspD in the MEP pathway., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Anal mucinous adenocarcinoma (AMAC) is an extremely rare form of anal cancer. Our objective was to examine the incidence, management, and prognostic factors of AMAC., Methods: We analyzed age-adjusted incidence (AAI) rates over time and compared the prognosis of AMAC with anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) and adenocarcinoma (AAC) using propensity score matching and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Patients were classified based on summary stage and treatments to determine cancer-specific survival., Results: AAI of AMAC fluctuated within a narrow range (0.082-0.237 per million person-years) from 2000 to 2018. AMAC had a slight non-significant trend of worse prognosis than ASCC (p = 0.348) and a better prognosis than AAC (p &lt; 0.01). Females made up a larger proportion of patients diagnosed with the distant disease (p &lt; 0.05) and unmarried (p &lt; 0.05) and somewhat less probably to need surgical removal (p &lt; 0.01) and radiotherapy (p &lt; 0.01). Elderly patients have lower rates of survival (p &lt; 0.05). Localized stage was associated with better prognosis (p &lt; 0.05). Surgery was associated with a tendency toward better survival (p = 0.095)., Conclusions: AMAC exhibits a low incidence yet favorable prognosis compared to typical AAC and slightly worse compared to ASCC. Elderly age is associated with poorer prognosis, while localized stage indicates better prognosis. Surgery demonstrates a trend toward improved survival., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater often has a low indigenous microorganism population and lacks the necessary nutrient substrates for biodegradation reaction, resulting in a weak natural remediation ability within the groundwater ecosystem. In this paper, we utilized the principle of petroleum hydrocarbon degradation by microorganisms to identify effective nutrients (NaH 2 PO 4 , K 2 HPO 4 , NH 4 NO 3 , CaCl 2 , MgSO 4 ·7H 2 O, FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O, and VB 12 ) and optimize nutrient substrate allocation through a combination of actual surveys of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated sites and microcosm experiments. Building on this, combining biostimulation and controlled-release technology, we developed a biodegradable chitosan-based encapsulated targeted biostimulant (i.e., YZ-1) characterized by easy uptake, good stability, controllable slow-release migration, and longevity to stimulate indigenous microflora in groundwater to efficiently degrade petroleum hydrocarbon. Results showed that YZ-1 extended the active duration of nutrient components by 5-6 times, with a sustainable release time exceeding 2 months. Under YZ-1 stimulation, microorganisms grew rapidly, increasing the degradation rate of petroleum hydrocarbon (10 mg L -1 ) by indigenous microorganisms from 43.03% to 79.80% within 7 d. YZ-1 can easily adapt to varying concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater. Specifically, in the range of 2-20 mg L -1 of petroleum hydrocarbon, the indigenous microflora was able to degrade 71.73-80.54% of the petroleum hydrocarbon within a mere 7 d. YZ-1 injection facilitated the delivery of nutrient components into the underground environment, improved the conversion ability of inorganic electron donors/receptors in the indigenous microbial community system, and strengthened the co-metabolism mechanism among microorganisms, achieving the goal of efficient petroleum hydrocarbon degradation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To understand the response characteristics of indigenous microbial community in PAH-contaminated aquifers to the coexistence of microplastics. In this paper, we constructed a groundwater microecosystem using lithologic media collected from the field and subjected it to the stress of a polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) concentration gradient. By conducting adsorption experiments and 16S rRNA sequencing, we revealed the growth, structure, metabolism, and resistance mechanisms of the indigenous microbial community in the aquifer lithologic media exposed to varying levels of co-stress from PE-MPs and phenanthrene. Our findings suggest that the adsorption capacity of aquifer lithologic media for phenanthrene is significantly weaker than that of PE-MPs. Additionally, our observations indicated that small particle lithologic media had a greater adsorption capacity for phenanthrene than large particle lithologic media. The presence of PE-MPs was found to increase both the abundance and diversity of microbial communities, although the relationship was not linear with the content of PE-MPs. When exposed to the combined stress of PE-MPs and phenanthrene, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased while that of Bacteroidetes increased. Several genera belonging to Proteobacteria (Aeromonas, Desulfovibrio, Klebsiella, Pantoea, and Microvirgula) and Bacteroidetes (Macellibacteroides and Bacteroides) occupied a central position in the microbial community interaction network and showed significant correlations with other genera. Furthermore, an increase in the proportion of genera capable of degrading various refractory organics was observed. The presence of PE-MPs increased the phenanthrene content in the aquifer lithologic media, thereby intensifying the inhibitory effect on indigenous microbial community in this environment. Despite an increase in the phenanthrene content of aquifer lithologic media due to the presence of PE-MPs, indigenous microbial community in this environment exhibited resistance to the combined inhibition of PE-MPs and phenanthrene through a series of resistance mechanisms. These mechanisms included strengthening the N-cycle process, enhancing metabolic capacity for phenanthrene, improving perception, response, and adaptation to changes in the external environment or intracellular state, modifying the transmembrane transport of the cell membrane to the substrate, and regulating life processes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Parathyroid carcinoma and parathyromatosis are very rare diseases in patients on hemodialysis. Its pathogenesis, clinical features, preoperative diagnosis, and surgery are challenging. We describe a rare case of recurrent hyperparathyroidism due to synchronous parathyroid carcinoma and parathyromatosis., Case Presentation: A 46-year-old Chinese woman was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and received regular hemodialysis. Four years later, she experienced discomfort due to itching and was diagnosed with drug-resistant secondary hyperparathyroidism. Parathyroidectomy was performed, and her parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were reduced. The pathology also revealed that the four nodules were parathyroid nodular hyperplasia without evidence of malignancy. Five years after surgery, the right subcutaneous nodule and left inferior nodule were detected by multiple imaging modalities, and the nodules were accompanied by recurrence itching and elevation of PHT. A complete resection of two nodules was performed, and the patient was diagnosed with parathyroid carcinoma and parathyromatosis. At 8 months postsurgery, her PHT and serum calcium levels were stable, and there were no signs of recurrence., Conclusions: This is a rare case of synchronous parathyroid carcinoma and parathyromatosis in a patient with secondary hyperparathyroidism after parathyroidectomy. We suggest meticulous handling of parathyroid hyperplasia to avoid rupture and spillage during surgery, and precise pro-operation location by multiple imaging modalities is crucial for successful parathyroidectomy., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) are known to contaminate groundwater with low indigenous microorganism populations and limited nutrient substrates for degradation reactions, resulting in weak natural remediation abilities of groundwater ecosystems. In this study, we aimed to utilize the principles of AH degradation by microorganisms to identify effective nutrients and optimize nutrient substrate allocation through actual surveys of AH-contaminated sites and microcosm experiments. Building on this, using biostimulation and controlled-release technology, we developed a natural polysaccharide-based encapsulated targeted bionutrient (SA-H-CS) that is characterized by easy uptake, good stability, controllable slow-release migration, and longevity to stimulate indigenous microflora in groundwater to efficiently degrade AHs. Results showed that SA-H-CS is a simple overall dispersion system, and nutrient components diffuse readily through the polymer network. The crosslinking of SA and CS resulted in a more compact structure of the synthesized SA-H-CS, effectively encapsulating the nutrient components and extending their active duration to >20 days. SA-H-CS improved the degradation efficiency of AHs and prompted microorganisms to maintain a high degradation rate (i.e., above 80 %) even in the presence of high concentrations of AHs, particularly naphthalene and O-xylene. Under SA-H-CS stimulation, microorganisms grew rapidly, and the diversity and total number of species of microflora increased significantly, with a notable increase in the proportion of Actinobacteria in the microbial community primarily due to the increased abundance of Arthrobacter, Rhodococcus, and Microbacterium, which are capable of degrading AHs. Concurrently, there was a notable enhancement in the metabolic function of the indigenous microbial communities responsible for AH degradation. SA-H-CS injection facilitated the delivery of nutrient components into the underground environment, improved the conversion ability of inorganic electron donors/receptors in the indigenous microbial community system, and strengthened the co-metabolism mechanism among microorganisms, achieving the goal of efficient AH degradation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: With advancements in cancer treatments, the survival rates of patients with their first primary cancer (FPC) have increased, resulting in a rise in the number of patients with second primary cancer (SPC). However, there has been no assessment on the incidence of suicide among patients with SPC. This study assessed the occurrence of suicide among patients with SPC and compared them with that in patients with FPC., Methods: This was a retrospective, population-based cohort study that followed patients with FPC and SPC diagnosed from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 17 registries database between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019., Results: For patients with SPC, an age of 85+ years at diagnosis was associated with a higher incidence of suicide death (HR, 1.727; 95% CI, 1.075-2.774), while the suicide death was not considerably different in the chemotherapy group ( P  > 0.05). Female genital system cancers (HR, 3.042; 95% CI, 1.819-6.361) accounted for the highest suicide death among patients with SPC. The suicide death distribution of patients with SPC over time indicated that suicide events mainly occurred within 5 to 15 years of diagnosis. Compared with patients with FPC, patients with SPC in general had a lower risk of suicide, but increased year by year., Conclusion: The risk of suicide was reduced in patients with SPC compared with patients with FPC, but increased year by year. Therefore, oncologists and related health professionals need to provide continuous psychological support to reduce the incidence of suicide. The highest suicide death was found among patients with female genital system cancer.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study., Purpose: Our aim is to investigate the relationship between degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS), and whole-body alignment, including spinopelvic and lower extremity alignments., Overview of Literature: DLS is a deformity commonly associated with aging. However, the correlation between whole-body alignment and DLS remains controversial., Methods: Adult volunteers aged over 50 years were included in the study after participating in the screening program. Characteristic data and standing radiographic parameters were assessed. A propensity score model was established with adjustments for age and sex after a preliminary analysis, and cases were divided into DLS (Cobb angle >10°) and non-DLS (Cobb angle ≤10°) groups., Results: There were significant differences in age, sex, C2 sagittal vertical axis (C2-SVA), C7-SVA, T1 pelvic angle (TPA), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), PI minus LL (PI-LL), knee angle, ankle angle, pelvic shift, C7-center sacral vertical line, L4 tilt, femur-tibia angle, and hip-knee-ankle angle (all p <0.05) using a preliminary analysis of 261 cases (75 DLS and 186 non-DLS). A one-to-one propensity score-matched analysis was used after 70 pairs of cases were selected. There were no significant differences in the characteristic data for lower extremity parameters. There were still significantly higher values of C2-SVA, TPA, PI, PT, and PI-LL in DLS group than in non-DLS group (all p <0.05)., Conclusions: This study showed an important relationship between DLS and sagittal spinal deformity. However, DLS was not associated with the sagittal and coronal lower extremity alignments.

Background: Many factors affect the outcome of treatment with programmed death 1 (PD1) inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The objective of this study was to investigate the associations of clinicopathological parameters with PD1 expression and HCC prognosis., Methods: A total of 372 HCC patients (Western population) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and 115 primary HCC tissues and 52 adjacent tissues (Dataset GSE76427, Eastern population) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were enrolled in this study. The primary outcome was 2-year relapse-free survival. Kaplan-Meier survival curves with the log-rank test were used to analyze the differences in prognosis between the two groups. X-tile software was used to confirm the optimal cut-off for clinicopathological parameters while assessing the outcome. Immunofluorescence was performed on HCC tissues to evaluate PD1 expression., Results: Expression of PD1 was up-regulated in tumor tissue from both TCGA and GSE76427 patients, which positively correlated with body mass index (BMI), serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, and prognosis. Patients with higher PD1, lower AFP, or lower BMI had longer overall survival than those with lower PD1, higher AFP, or higher BMI, respectively. AFP and PD1 expression were validated in 17 primary HCC patients from the first affiliated hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Finally, we confirmed longer relapse-free survival with higher PD1 or lower AFP., Conclusion: The findings indicate that BMI and AFP are associated with PD1 expression and HCC prognosis, offering insight for clinical management and personalized immunotherapy for HCC., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

The environmental conditions at a contaminated site will impact on the indigenous microbial communities, with implications for the removal of pollutants. An analysis of the characteristics of microbial communities in petroleum-contaminated groundwater can give insights into the relationships between microbial community and environmental factors, and provide guidance about how microbes can be used to remediate and regulate petroleum-contaminated groundwater. This study focuses on two petroleum-contaminated sites in northeast China, the physico-chemical-biological changes in petroleum-contaminated groundwater were analyzed, the response relationship between hydro-chemical indicators and microbial communities was characterized, and the bioindicator that can reflect the petroleum contamination status were established for environmental monitoring and management. The results showed that Proteobacteria was the dominant bacteria in petroleum-contaminated groundwater, with a relative abundance of 42.45%-91.19%. pH, TDS, DO, NO 3 - , NO 2 - , SO 4 2- , NH 4 + , Al, and Mn have significant effects on microbial community. The effect of petroleum pollutants on microbial communities is not only related to the concentration and composition of the pollutants themselves, but also could indirectly affect microbial communities by changing the content of inorganic electron acceptor components such as iron, manganese, sulfate and nitrate in groundwater, and this indirect effect is significantly greater than the direct impact of pollutants on microbial communities. In petroleum-contaminated groundwater, the dominant genera (Polaromonas, Caulobacter) and microbial metabolic functions (methanol oxidation, methylotrophy, ureolysis, and reductive biosynthesis) of the indigenous microbial community can be used as bioindicators to indicate petroleum contamination status. The higher abundance of these bioindicators in petroleum-contaminated groundwater, the more serious petroleum pollution in groundwater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The interaction between knee osteoarthritis and spinal deformity and knee flexion (KF) remains unclear. We aimed to clarify the relationship between KF in the standing position and the severity of spinal deformity and knee osteoarthritis. Methods: We analyzed older volunteers aged over 60 years who participated in the musculoskeletal screening program. The participant's characteristics and standing radiographic parameters were assessed. After a preliminary analysis, a propensity score-matched model was established with adjustments for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Cases were divided into KF (knee angle [KA] ≥10°) and non-KF (KA <10°) groups. Results: In a preliminary analysis of 252 cases (42 KF and 210 non-KF), there were significant differences in age and BMI between the KF and non-KF groups (all p < 0.05). Using a one-to-one propensity score-matched analysis, 38 pairs of cases were selected. There were significantly higher values of C7 sagittal vertical axis, T1 pelvic angle, pelvic tilt, pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis, KA, ankle angle, and pelvic shift in the KF group than in the non-KF group (all p < 0.05). In the KF group, 71.1% of the cases had severe spinal deformity (defined as marked deformity by the SRS-Schwab classification), and 31.6% had severe knee osteoarthritis (defined as a Kellgren Lawrence grade ≥3). Of the 31.6%, 7.9% were attributable to knee osteoarthritis alone, and 23.7% to both knee osteoarthritis and spinal deformity. Conclusions: This study clarified that compensatory changes due to spinopelvic malalignment, not due to knee osteoarthritis alone, mainly affected KF in the standing position.

Volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons (VCHs) contaminated groundwater has a low indigenous microorganism population, and lack of nutrient substrates involved in degradation reactions, resulting in a weak natural remediation ability of groundwater ecosystems. In this study, based on the principle of degradation of VCHs by indigenous microorganisms in groundwater, and combined with biostimulation and controlled-release technology, we developed a starch-based encapsulated targeted bionutrient (YH-1) with easy uptake, good stability, controllable slow-release migration, and long timeliness for the remediation of groundwater contaminated by VCHs by indigenous microorganisms. The results showed that YH-1 is easily absorbed by microorganisms and can rapidly initiate itself to stimulate the microbial degradation of VCHs, and the degradation rate of various VCH components within 7 days was 82.38-92.38 %. The release rate of nutrient components in YH-1 increases with increasing VCH concentrations in groundwater; this could effectively prolong the action time of nutrient components, while also improving the degradation efficiency of pollutants with a sustained effect of more than 15 days. Simultaneously, owing to the fluidity, water solubility, and biodegradability of YH-1 in lithologic media, YH-1 injection did not cause blockage of the lithologic media in the aquifer. Through YH-1 stimulation, indigenous microorganisms grew rapidly in the underground environment, the diversity of microbial communities and the total number of species increased, and the correlation between genera strengthened. Simultaneously, YH-1 improved the ability of microbial community to convert inorganic electron donors/acceptors, thereby strengthening the co-metabolic mechanism between microorganisms. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the percentage of many microorganisms (e.g., Sphingomonas, Janthinobacterium, Duganella, etc.) that mediated the reductive dechlorination process and were redox inorganic electron donors/acceptors. This was conducive to the reductive dechlorination process of VCHs and achieved the efficient degradation of VCHs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Malnutrition could lead to additional medical complications, and the prognostic nutrition index (PNI) is evaluated to assess the nutritional status of patients. However, the midterm postoperative outcomes of malnutrition in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) are unclear. This study aims to investigate postoperative midterm spinal alignment and patients' reported outcome measures (PROMs) in malnourished patients with ASD., Methods: This study recruited 303 ASD patients who underwent surgery. Adult patients ≥50 years old were categorized into the PNI <50 (L group) and the PNI ≥50 (H group) groups. Demographic data, medical complications, mechanical complications, radiographic parameters, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) were analyzed., Results: In this study, 303 patients participated, with 132 and 171 patients in the L and H groups, respectively. Significant differences were noted between the L and H groups in body mass index (22.5 vs. 23.6 kg/m 2 , p =0.011), autoimmune disease (9.8% vs. 2.3%, p =0.005), and total number of medical complications (47.7% vs. 33.3%, p =0.011). The T1 slope was significantly higher in the L group than in the H group preoperatively (36.5 vs. 32.8°, p =0.042). However, no significant differences were noted in mechanical complications, ODI, SRS-22 scores, or radiographic parameters 2 years postoperatively between the L and H groups, except for the sagittal vertical axis (73.1 vs. 55.7 mm, p =0.014)., Conclusions: No significant difference was noted in the incidence of mechanical complications and PROMs 2 years postoperatively. Malnourished status was related to medical complications and global malalignment. However, good surgical outcomes can be expected even for malnourished patients., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Yu Yamato and Shin Oe work at a donation-endowed laboratory and are funded by Medtronic Sofamor Danek Inc., Japan Medical Dynamic Marketing Inc., and Meitoku Medical Institution Jyuzen Memorial Hospital. For the remaining authors, none were declared. The submitted manuscript does not contain information about medical devices/drugs., (Copyright © 2023 The Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research.)

The resistance mechanism of microbial communities in contaminated groundwater under the combined stress of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs), NH 4 + , and Fe-Mn exceeding the standard levels was studied in an agricultural area along the Songhua River in Northeast China with developed livestock and poultry breeding. Representative points were selected in the study area to explore the response of environmental parameters and microbial communities, and microscopic experiments with different SA concentrations were conducted with background groundwater. The results showed a complex relationship between microbial communities and environmental factors. The environmental factors SM, SM2, SMX, DOC, NO 3 - , Fe, Mn, and HCO 3 - significantly affected the microbial community, with SMX, DOC, and Mn having the greatest effect. Three types of antibiotics with similar properties had different effects on the microbial community, and these effects were not simply additive or superimposed. After adding SAs, Proteobacteria with multi-resistance (99.85%) became the dominant phylum, and Acinetobacter (98.68%) became the dominant genus with SA resistance. SAs have a significant influence on bacterial chemotaxis, transporters, substance transport, and metabolism. Microorganisms resist the influence of SAs via a series of resistance mechanisms, such as enhancing the synthesis of relevant enzymes, generating new biochemical reactions, and reducing the transport of harmful substances through cell membranes. We also found that the proportion of exogenous compound degradation and metabolism-related functional genes in the presence of high SA concentrations increased significantly, which may be related to the degradation of SAs by microorganisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) has been shown to improve local control; however, whether it can improve overall survival (OS) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients remains controversial. We therefore aimed to examine the benefits of surgery alone, neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT), adjuvant RT, and surgery plus chemotherapy in stage II (T3/4N0M0) and III (any T and N + M0) on the OS of rectal cancer patients., Methods: Date from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database diagnosed between 2004 and 2016 were used. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to compare patient prognoses across different treatment modalities. Cox hazard regression analysis were used to identify independent predictors of OS., Results: For stage T3/4N0M0 patients, neoadjuvant RT, adjuvant RT, and surgery plus chemotherapy resulted in similar OS (all p > 0.05; mean survival, 115.89 months (M), 111.97 M, and 117.22 M, respectively), with better OS observed in these patients than in patients who underwent surgery alone (all p < 0.001, mean survival, 88.96 M). For stage T1/2N + M0 patients, neoadjuvant RT, adjuvant RT, and surgery plus chemotherapy resulted in similar OS (all p > 0.05; mean survival, 121.50 M, 124.25 M, and 121.20 M, respectively), with better OS observed in these patients than in patients who underwent surgery alone (all p < 0.001, mean survival 83.81 M). For stage T3/4N + M0 patients, neoadjuvant RT (HR = 0.436; 95% CI, 0.396~0.478; p < 0.001) resulted in significantly longer OS than adjuvant RT and surgery plus chemotherapy (mean survival, 104.47 M, 93.94 M, and 93.62 M, respectively), with better OS observed in these patients than in patients who underwent surgery alone (all p < 0.001, mean survival 54.87 M). Older age (> 60 years), black race, unmarried status, high tumour grade, and tumour size > 5 cm were all associated with a poor prognosis (all p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Neoadjuvant RT, adjuvant RT, and surgery plus chemotherapy results in better OS than surgery alone in LARC patients. Neoadjuvant RT has the potential to be highly recommended over adjuvant RT and surgery plus chemotherapy for T3/4N + M0 patients; however, it showed no OS advantage over adjuvant RT or surgery plus chemotherapy for T3/4N0M0 and T1/2N + M0 patients.

Background: Bone is a preferential site for prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis. However, sites of synchronous distant metastases in PCa patients with bone metastases at initial diagnosis and their impacts on prognosis are still unclear, limiting our ability to better stratify and treat the patients. In this study, we examined the sites of synchronous extra-skeletal metastases in de novo PCa patients with bone metastases and their associated prognoses., Methods: In total, 16,643 de novo PCa patients with bone metastases from the SEER database were included. After stratification of metastatic sites (bone, lung, liver, and brain) and treatment modalities, overall survival (OS) and independent predictors of OS, were analyzed., Results: Lung was the most frequent site of synchronous metastases, followed by liver, while brain metastases were relatively uncommon. Patients with bone-only metastases showed the longest mean survival time (35.87 months, p < 0.001), followed by patients with bone and lung metastases (30.74 months, p < 0.001). Patients with bone and liver metastases had the shortest mean survival time (17.39 months, p < 0.001). Age > 70 years, unmarried status, high tumor grade, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) > 50 ng/ml, and Gleason score ≥ 8 were associated with poor OS (all p < 0.01). Asian or Pacific Islander ethnic background was associated with a favorable OS (all p < 0.01). Chemotherapy improved OS in patients without brain metastases (all p < 0.05). For patients with bone-only metastases, radical prostatectomy (RP) (HR, 0.339; 95% CI 0.231-0.495; p < 0.001), brachytherapy (BT) (HR, 0.567; 95% CI 0.388-0.829; p = 0.003), and chemotherapy (HR, 0.850; 95% CI 0.781-0.924; p < 0.001) were associated with prolonged OS., Conclusions: Age, race, tumor grade, PSA, Gleason score, sites of synchronous extra-skeletal metastases, as well as treatment modalities affected OS in newly diagnosed PCa patients with bone metastases. Synchronous liver metastases were associated with poor OS. Chemotherapy improved OS in patients without brain metastases. RP and BT improved OS in patients with bone-only metastases. Further investigation is warranted to validate these findings.