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An on-line reconfigurable DDC of FPGA is designed and implemented in this research. It could produce automatically the optimal DDC structure and DDC parameters by utilizing 3 parameters of the input signal (the frequency, the bandwidth and the sampling rate of IF signal). A new kind of optimal finite impulse response(FIR) filter was designed. Employing the property of linear phase and coefficient symmetry and using pre-add method, the optimal FIR filter could reduce half as the amount of the multiplication computation as the traditional FIR filter. Therefore, the balance between the resource occupation ratio and speed could be realized and it helps saving the FPGA resources. Experimental results show the flexibility and effectiveness of the presented method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is to set up a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model to study the effects of residual strains on the circumferential stresses and strains in the arterial wall. The 3D model will make numerical calculations of interaction between blood and the vessel wall with residual strains easier in the future. The arterial wall was assumed to be isotropic and linear elastic, and then residual strains were applied in three steps while the physiological point was set to 100 mmHg. The measurements of the circumferential stress and strain distributions were performed under six different blood pressures, namely 80, 100, 120, 150, 180 and 200 mmHg. The circumferential stress levels changed from 50–150 kPa to -11–80 kPa, but the circumferential strain levels remained 0.05–0.15 in the 80–200 mmHg pressure range. The opening angle of the arterial ring was 7°. Residual strains make the circumferential stress and strain distributions in the arterial wall more uniform across the wall thickness. The proposed 3D finite element model gives valid results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafine carbon black (ufCB) 14 nm in diameter and fine carbon black (CB) 260 nm in diameter were instilled intratracheally in rats at mass of 125 mug, and the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) profile at 6 h was assessed. UfCB generated a 50% neutrophil alveolitis 6 h after intratracheal instillation compared to CB, which showed similar activity to the phosphate-buffered saline ( PBS) vehicle control. UfCB instillation also produced a marked increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in BAL fluid, which was associated with increased epithelial permeability measured as total protein. In contrast, CB had much less of an effect in increasing BAL protein. Although both particle types caused a decrease in glutathione (GSH) in lung tissue compared to control, the greatest depletion was seen in ufCB-treated animals. To investigate time response, bronchoalveolar lavage was carried out at 6 h, 24 h, and 7 days after a single 125-mug instillation of ufCB. Neutrophil influx was relatively persistent and was still maintained 7 days later. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production by BAL leukocytes increased gradually post instillation, whereas NO production became significantly higher at 24 h after instillation and remained at raised levels up to 7 days. Higher doses of CB caused more inflammation than the ufCB. Thus, in the instillation model, a localized dose of particle over a certain level causes the particle mass to dominate the response, rather than the surface area. In contrast to the effect of CB, which showed a dose-related increasing inflammatory response, ufCB at the highest dose caused less of a neutrophil influx than at the lower dose. Six hours after intratracheal instillation, the threshold dose for neutrophil influx occurred at 50 mug. Calculation of surface area of particles instilled suggested that this was likely to be an overload-inducing dose of particles, as gauged from recent experiments with inhaled particles. In summary, this study provides evidence in a rat instillation model that ufCB has greater ability than CB to produce lung inflammation and oxidant stress at a relatively low dose of 125 mug. At high doses, however, BAL is not a reliable indicator of pulmonary response, since the overall response seems to scale to mass or volume of instilled particulate without an influence of surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cloud data center is a critical infrastructure whose service reliability is relevant for service delivery. Constituting the carrier of service for cloud computing, the IT architecture of a cloud data center plays an important role, since it directly relates to service reliability. However, most existing research focuses only on the connectivity of the IT architecture and on service considering only the processing procedure. In order to bridge the gap between the existing works and reality, a hierarchical colored generalized stochastic petri net is proposed to evaluate the service reliability by Monte Carlo simulation, which comprehensively considers the connectivity and performance of the IT architecture and the dynamic of service delivery. The modeling and simulation framework is applied to the cloud data center of an insurance company and cost-effective strategies are found to support the configuration, operation and maintenance of the cloud data center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• FCGEs are conduct to study the crack growth process. • The sources of uncertainties in FCGEs are carefully analyzed. • The uncertainties are quantified based on uncertainty theory with experiment data. • The belief reliability model of fatigue crack growth is established. The study of the fatigue crack growth law is usually carried out by the fatigue crack growth experiments (FCGE), and is expressed by the fatigue crack growth model. Epistemic uncertainties exist in FCGE with small samples. Generally, Bayesian method, interval probability method, and fuzzy probability method are presented to quantify the epistemic uncertainty in the case of small samples. However, the expression of the epistemic uncertainty in most studies is greatly influenced by subjective information, and there are interval expansion problems in the calculation. Therefore, the problem of how to quantify the epistemic uncertainties in FCGE with small samples has not been well solved. Under such circumstance, a novel uncertain measure is used to quantify such epistemic uncertainty in this paper, which is belong to uncertainty theory proposed by Prof. Baoding Liu. Firstly, the fatigue crack growth model proposed by Zhang is introduced as the foundation of modeling. Then, the sources of uncertainties in FCGE are analyzed and the uncertainties are quantified based on the uncertainty theory. Finally, a belief reliability model of fatigue crack growth is proposed, in which the associated reliability function is derived, and the uncertain statistics for the parameter estimations is presented. The case study illustrates the proposed methodology and the corresponding discussions show that the uncertainty theory contributes to more stable reliability evaluation than probability theory when quantifying the epistemic uncertainty, and the influence of the material scatter on fatigue reliability should be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The performance margin based reliability analysis for an aircraft lock is proposed. • The performance margin model with degradation caused by wear is established. • The essence of each uncertainty source is analyzed and each uncertainty is quantified. • Performance degradation and multi-source uncertainties are considered synthetically. • Guidance can be provided for reliability design and maintenance strategies. The failures of the lock mechanism of the aircraft landing gear door can impede the retraction and extension processes of the landing gear and cause severe accidents; thus, the aircraft lock mechanism is always required with extremely high reliability. During manufacturing and usage stages, uncertainties are ubiquitous and performance degradation is inevitable, and they influence the reliability of the aircraft lock mechanism. In this paper, based on the reliability science principles, a performance margin-based reliability analysis considering performance degradation caused by wear and multi-source uncertainties is developed for an aircraft lock mechanism. Firstly, the performance margin model with the degradation of the aircraft lock mechanism is constructed based on the functional principles and the influence mechanism of wear. Then, we analyze the essence of each uncertainty source including the uncertainties in manufacturing imperfections, material properties, operational and environmental stresses, and performance thresholds, and quantify each uncertainty with a probability distribution. Finally, the reliability model is established. A numerical study of an aircraft lock mechanism is conducted and the reliability sensitivity analysis is implemented. The results show that the proposed method can provide guidance to the design and manufacturing processes of the aircraft lock mechanism to meet reliability requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential therapeutic effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) have now been confirmed in various human and animal-disease models. However, the effects of H2 on the physiological function in a normal state have been largely neglected. Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) intake and hydrogen inhalation (HI) are the most common used methods for hydrogen administration, the difference in the effects between HRW intake and HI remains elusive. In the present study, the body weight and 13 serum biochemical parameters were monitored during the six-month hydrogen intervention, all these parameters were significantly altered by oral intake of HRW or HI. Among the 13 parameters, the most striking alterations induced by hydrogen treatment were observed in serum myocardial enzymes spectrum. The results also showed that the changes in these parameters occurred at different time points, and the alterations in most of the parameters were much more significant in HI than HRW. The results of this study provides the basic data for the mechanism research and application of molecular hydrogen in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is frequently employed in micropore machining of difficult-to-cut materials as a result of the contactless characteristics. However, debris produced by electrode discharge ablation of the workpiece tends to accumulate at the bottom of the hole and is difficult to discharge, resulting in abnormal discharge, which reduces processing efficiency and increases electrode loss. These issues can be resolved with the introduction of ultrasonic-assisted technology, but since it is difficult to obviously observe micro phenomena like bubble rupture, fluid movement, and debris movement, there has been little real-situation study on fluid environments. In this study, first, mathematical models of the improvement of ultrasonic-assisted discharge energy and erosion efficiency were developed. Then, the ultrasound-assisted electrical discharge machining (UEDM) process was simulated on the basis of gas–liquid-solid three-phase fluid coupling analysis to investigate the influence law of the ultrasonic cavitation effect and pumping effect on fluid movement and debris movement. Then, the comparative test of EDM and UEDM in machining titanium alloy plate was carried out to explore the impact of ultrasonic-assisted technology on the level of single process parameters, taking the processing time, electrode loss, and hole taper as indicators, respectively. Finally, multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) was used to obtain the optimal parameter group of EDM and UEDM, and this parameter group was used for drilling test to examine the effects of ultrasonic-assisted technology on the process parameter level. According to the research, the fluid stability is destroyed by the effects of ultrasonic cavitation and pumping, which also increase the local fluid speed by a hundred times and encourage the discharge of debris, thereby reducing the processing time, lowering electrode loss, lowering hole taper, and improving the surface quality of micropores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Management of the mid-shaft clavicle fractures using plate fixation versus intramedullary fixation: an updated meta-analysis."

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Tumour response of osteosarcoma to neoadjuvant chemotherapy evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging as prognostic factor for outcome" by C. J. Laux and colleagues in the March 2015 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Surgical outcome of malignant primary bone tumors in elderly and very elderly patients" by T. Cosker, P. Lechler and colleagues in the October 2014 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Should hip fractures be operated upon only by specialist hip unit surgeons in order to lower rates of surgical site infection?" by E. Guerado, J. R. Cano and colleagues in the October 2014 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials comparing unipolar with bipolar hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral-neck fractures" by Liu Y. and colleagues in the August 2014 issue.

Objectives: The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-sensitive mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is essential in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. To overcome the difficulty of EGFR gene test in situations where surgery and biopsy samples are too risky to obtain, we tried a noninvasive imaging method using radiomics features and random forest models.Methods: Five hundred three lung adenocarcinoma patients who received surgery-based treatment were included in this study. The diagnosis and EGFR gene test were based on resections. TKI-sensitive mutations were found in 60.8% of the patients. CT scans before any invasive operation were gathered and analyzed to extract quantitative radiomics features and build random forest classifiers to identify EGFR mutants from wild types. Clinical features (sex and smoking history) were added to the image-based model. The model was trained on a set of 345 patients and validated on an independent test group (n = 158) using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity.Results: The performance of the random forest model with 94 radiomics features reached an AUC of 0.802. Its AUC was further improved to 0.828 by adding sex and smoking history. The sensitivity and specificity are 60.6% and 85.1% at the best diagnostic decision point.Conclusion: Our results showed that radiomics could not only reflect the genetic differences among tumors but also have diagnostic value and the potential to be a diagnostic tool.Key Points: • Radiomics provides a potential noninvasive method for the prediction of EGFR mutation status. • In situations where surgeries and biopsy are not available, CT image-based radiomics models could help to make treatment decisions. • The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity still need to be improved before the image-based EGFR identifier could be used in clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Different concentrations of a sodium chloride spray were applied to the grapevine cultivar Kyoho to determine the effects of salinity on berry quality. The fruit’s fresh weight, relative water content, hardness and titratable acid were gradually enhanced with increased salt concentrations. Anthocyanin and soluble solids increased after treatment with moderate salinity (20 and 60mM); however, the results were reversed under high salinity (100 and 150mM). The soluble sugars glucose, fructose and sucrose increased after treatment with moderate salinity, whereas glucose and fructose declined under high salinity. For the six organic acids tested, their total levels were elevated by salinity, which increased the production of tartaric and malic acids. The aroma of the berry was extremely sensitive to salinity and showed a considerable decline in abundance and variety at 20mM NaCl. In summary, moderate salinity enhanced the overall berry quality, but decreased the aroma quality, whereas high salinity decreased the berry quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Highly efficient dechlorination of PVC has been realized at 180 °C and at atmospheric pressure, using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazoliumhydroxide ([Bmim]OH) as an environment-friendly reaction medium: in the absence of an external base or solvent the dechlorination efficiency is as high as 91.2%, while it is only 38.1% for PVC without ionic liquids. The dechlorination process follows first-order kinetics with apparent activation energy of 44 kJ mol−1. Mechanistic analysis provides evidence for the equilibrium presence of carbene species, together with the hydroxide ions in [Bmim]OH, thus enhancing the dechlorination of PVC via a combined elimination and substitution mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Quality function deployment (QFD) is an efficient planning and problem-solving method to convert customer requirements (CRs) into the engineering characteristics (ECs) of a product or service. Nevertheless, in the traditional QFD, the assessment of relationships between CRs and ECs and the prioritization of ECs have been criticized for various reasons in previous studies. This paper aims to propose a novel QFD method integrating extended hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (EHFLTSs) and prospect theory to overcome the limitations of the traditional QFD. First, EHFLTSs are used for the elicitation of hesitant linguistic assessment information of QFD team members. Considering the interrelations between CRs, Choquet integral is applied to obtain the aggregated relationship evaluation results. An extended prospect theory is suggested to derive the ranking orders of ECs. Finally, the efficiency and effectiveness of the presented QFD method are illustrated by an example of an electric vehicle manufacturing company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arsenic trioxide [ATO, inorganic arsenite (iAsIII) in solution] plays an important role in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, the long-term adverse effects (AEs) and the retention of arsenic among APL patients are rarely reported. In this study, we focused on arsenic methylation metabolism and its relationship with chronic hepatic toxicity, as we previously reported, among APL patients who had finished the treatment of ATO. Methods: A total of 112 de novo APL patients who had completed the ATO-containing treatment were enrolled in the study. Arsenic species [iAsIII, inorganic arsenate (iAsV), and their organic metabolites, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)] in patients' plasma, urine, hair and nails were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the arsenic (+ 3 oxidative state) methylation transferase (AS3MT) gene, which was known as the main catalyzer for arsenic methylation, were tested with the polymerase chain reaction method. Results: The study showed the metabolic pattern of arsenic in APL patients undergoing and after the treatment of ATO, in terms of total arsenic (TAs) and four species of arsenic. TAs decreased to normal after 6 months since cessation of ATO. But the arsenic speciation demonstrated significantly higher portion of iAsIII in patient's urine (40.08% vs. 1.94%, P < 0.001), hair (29.25% vs. 13.29%, P = 0.002) and nails (30.21% vs. 13.64%, P = 0.003) than the healthy controls', indicating a decreased capacity of arsenic methylation metabolism after the treatment of ATO. Urine primary methylation index (PMI) was significantly lower in patients with both chronic liver dysfunction (0.14 vs. 0.28, P = 0.047) and hepatic steatosis (0.19 vs. 0.3, P = 0.027), suggesting that insufficient methylation of arsenic might be related to chronic liver disorders. Two SNPs (A9749G and A27215G) of the AS3MT gene were associated with impaired urine secondary methylation index (SMI). Conclusions: The long-term follow-up of arsenic speciation indicated a decreased arsenic methylation metabolism and a probable relationship with chronic hepatic disorders among APL patients after the cessation of ATO. Urine PMI could be a monitoring index for chronic AEs of ATO, and the SNPs of AS3MT gene should be considered when determining the dosage of ATO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes a new uncertain accelerated degradation model. • The model considers the epistemic uncertainties in time and unit dimensions. • This paper presents the uncertain statistical method for parameter estimations. • The model is suitable for limited data sizes in time and unit dimensions. Accelerated degradation testing (ADT) has been widely used for the reliability and lifetime evaluations of highly reliable products. Generally speaking, the obtained ADT data are composed of two parts - the deterministic degradation trend and uncertainties. When only limited ADT data can be obtained, there will be a lack of knowledge on recognizing the population and lead to epistemic uncertainties. However, current accelerated degradation models fail to clearly distinguish and properly quantify the epistemic uncertainties in time and unit dimensions. Motivated by this problem, this paper constructs a new uncertain accelerated degradation model based on uncertainty theory and belief reliability theory, and presents the uncertain statistical method for parameter estimations. An application case is used to illustrate the proposed methodology and conduct discussions for the deterministic degradation trend and uncertainty analyses of the proposed methodology and the analyses of the proposed methodology to the data sizes in time and unit dimensions. Results show that under limited data sizes in time and unit dimensions, the proposed model can clearly distinguish and properly quantify the epistemic uncertainties in time and unit dimensions and is more suitable for the ADT modeling and analysis than the other two widely used accelerated degradation models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ablation rates of K9 glass were studied as a function of femtosecond laser fluences. The central wavelength was 800 nm, and pulse durations of 35 fs and 500 fs in air and vacuum were employed. Ablation thresholds of 0.42 J/cm 2 and 2.1 J/cm 2 were obtained at 35 fs and 500 fs, respectively, which were independent with the ambient conditions and depend on the incident pulse numbers due to incubation effects. The ablation rate of 35 fs pulse laser increased with the increasing of laser fluence in vacuum, while in air condition, it slowly increased to a plateau at high fluence. The ablation rate of 500 fs pulse laser showed an increase at low fluence and a slow drop of ablation rate was observed at high fluence in air and vacuum, which may due to the strong defocusing effects associated with the non-equilibrium ionization of air, and/or the shielding effects of conduction band electrons (CBEs) produced by multi-photon ionization and impact ionization in K9 glass surface. The typical ablation morphologies, e.g. smooth zone and laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) were also presented and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Free skin graft has to be used when the large area skin are burned. The objective of this study is to quantify the influence of free graft and expansion on the skin biomechanical remodeling. Method: Four white pigs (weighing from 17kg to 23kg) were used. Two 180ml rectangle expanders were aseptically placed beneath the skin on the back of each pig. Four normal skin flaps and four expanded skin flaps were incised from the foreside back of each pig. Two normal skin flaps and two expanded skin flaps were then grafted to rearward back of the pig. Stress–strain relationship, stress relaxation and creep characters in normal skin: N(n =8), expanded skin without graft: E(n =8), normal skin with free graft after three months: NG(n =8) and expanded skin with free graft after three months: EG(n =8) were measured by using Instron material testing machine. Findings: The strains at 3.5MPa stress (mean (SD)) are 0.4436(0.1760), 0.4851(0.1401), 0.7750(0.1984) and 0.5854(0.0655) respectively in N, E, NG and EG groups. The maximum relaxations (mean (SD)) are 0.6324(0.0169), 0.6279(0.0401), 0.5630(0.0170) and 0.6057(0.0883) in N, E, NG and EG groups, respectively. The maximum creeps (mean (SD)) are 1.0876(0.0086), 1.1037(0.0116), 1.1948(0.0394) and 1.1328(0.0223) in N, E, NG and EG groups. Interpretation: The biomechanical characteristics of free graft with expanded skin after three months have no significant difference with the normal skin, expansion skin and free graft with normal skin after three months (P >0.05). The free graft and expansion have no significant influence on the skin biomechanical remodeling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Chemotherapy plus immunotherapy has become the standard first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but median duration of response is only 7.0-8.3 months and progression-free survival (PFS, ∼6 months) is still far from satisfactory. We aim to evaluate whether early involvement of radiotherapy might improve the treatment outcome if objective response to first-line chemo-immunotherapy was observed in locally advanced or metastatic ESCC., Methods: Patients were retrospectively collected from 3 institutions in China. Patients with histopathologically confirmed diagnoses of locally advanced or metastatic ESCC were identified, who objectively responded to first-line chemo-immunotherapy (complete or partial response, or stable disease) and also received radiotherapy of primary lesions with radiation dose of over 40 Gy, with or without radiotherapy of metastatic lesions before the first disease progression., Results: A total of 72 eligible patients were identified. With median follow-up duration of 14.6 (range, 7.1-34.8) months, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 13.5 (95 % CI,10.4-NA) months and 31.8 (95 % CI, 23.0-NA) months, respectively. Median duration from initiation of chemo-immunotherapy to radiotherapy was 2.9 (range, 0-15.1) months. Besides lower tumor burden as a significant factor of better treatment outcome, radiation dose ≥ 50 Gy was associated with superior PFS, while OS might be mainly related to tumor response to the induction chemo-immunotherapy. A low incidence of Grade 3 or above treatment-related adverse events were observed (19 %), and no treatment-related death occurred., Conclusion: Our multi-center retrospective study showed survival benefit brought by early involvement of radiotherapy after first-line chemo-immunotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic ESCC. However, further investigation is warranted in future prospective, controlled trials to assess the value of radio-immunotherapy in advanced or metastatic ESCC., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology.)

Background: The salivary microbiome may interact with chemoradiotherapy through dynamic changes in microbial composition and systemic immunity. We aimed to explore the association between the salivary microbiome and response to chemoradiotherapy in initially inoperable patients with local advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LAESCC)., Methods: Salivary and peripheral blood samples were collected before and after chemoradiotherapy. The microbiome and metabolic pathways were analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry/Mass spectrometry analyses., Results: The salivary microbiome exhibited characteristic variations between patients and healthy controls. A significant correlation was found between Prevotella&#95;salivae, Saccharibacteria&#95;TM7&#95;G3&#95;bacterium&#95;HMT&#95;351, and Veillonellaceae&#95;G1&#95;bacterium&#95;HMT&#95;129 and pathological complete response (pCR) in initially inoperable patients who underwent surgery. The PICRUSt suggested that immune diseases and cell motility were different in tumor compared to normal groups. KEGG enrichment analysis showed enriched lipid metabolism, signal transduction, and membrane transport in the tumor group. CD3+CD8 T cells, IL6, IL10, and IFNγ exhibited an increasing trend during the treatment process of chemoradiotherapy., Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that variations in specific saliva taxa associated with host immunomodulatory cells and cytokines could be promising for early efficacy prediction of chemoradiotherapy in initially inoperable patients with LAESCC., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Objectives: To investigate the role of MRI measurements of peri-prostatic adipose tissue (PPAT) in predicting bone metastasis (BM) in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa)., Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 156 patients newly diagnosed with PCa by prostate biopsy between October 2010 and November 2022. Clinicopathologic characteristics were collected. Measurements including PPAT volume and prostate volume were calculated by MRI, and the normalized PPAT (PPAT volume/prostate volume) was computed. Independent predictors of BM were determined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, and a new nomogram was developed based on the predictors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to estimate predictive performance., Results: PPAT and normalized PPAT were associated with BM (P<0.001). Normalized PPAT positively correlated with clinical T stage(cT), clinical N stage(cN), and Grading Groups(P<0.05). The results of ROC curves indicated that PPAT and normalized PPAT had promising predictive value for BM with the AUC of 0.684 and 0.775 respectively. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that high normalized PPAT, cN, and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) were independently predictors of BM. The nomogram was developed and the concordance index(C-index) was 0.856., Conclusions: Normalized PPAT is an independent predictor for BM among with cN, and ALP. Normalized PPAT may help predict BM in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, thus providing adjunctive information for BM risk stratification and bone scan selection., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Mao, Li, Luo, Zhu, Su, Zeng, Chen, Zhao, Zou and Luo.)

Kidney clear cell renal cell carcinoma (KIRC) is also the most lethal subtype among all kidney cancer subtypes, posing a severe threat to public health. Therefore, it is crucial to identify new, reliable biomarkers in KIRC. Therefore, it is crucial to identify novel, reliable biomarkers associated with KIRC. We analyzed RNA sequence results from TCGA and several GEO datasets. The commonly deregulated gene, ALDOB, was found in multiple data and confirmed its important prognostic value. Subsequently, we explored the specific mechanism by which ALDOB regulates anti-tumor immunity through in vivo and in vitro experiments. We found that ALDOB may play a role in regulating tumor growth by regulating CD8 + T cell infiltration. This is consistent with the results of our immune infiltration-related analysis. In addition, we have also discovered the effect of ALDOB in previous studies on other cancer types. Finally, we concluded that ALDOB may have potential reference value for immunotherapy and can also be used as an independent predictor of prognosis in KIRC., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: Radiation for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma often is accompanied by radiation esophagitis, which interferes with oral intake. We aimed to develop a nomogram model to identify initially inoperable patients with relative and absolute weight loss who need prophylactic nutritional supplementation., Methods: A total of 365 initially inoperable patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving radiotherapy between January 2018 and December 2022 were included in the study, which was divided into discovery and validation cohorts. Receiver operating characteristic and Kaplan-Meier curve analyses were performed to compare the areas under the curve and survival benefits., Results: A total of 42.2% (154 of 365) of the patients had been diagnosed with cancer cachexia. The malnourished group had a higher interruption rate of radiotherapy and number of complication diseases (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, patients with malnutrition had lower lymphocytes and prognostic nutritional index (P < 0.05). The combined index showed a higher area under the curve value (0.67; P < 0.001) than number of complication diseases (area under the curve = 0.52) and prognostic nutritional index (area under the curve = 0.49) for relative weight loss (≥ 5%). Similarly, the combined index had a higher area under the curve value (0.79; P < 0.001) than number of complication diseases (area under the curve = 0.56), treatment regimens (area under the curve = 0.56), subcutaneous fat thickness (area under the curve = 0.60), pretreatment body weight (area under the curve = 0.61), neutrophils (area under the curve = 0.56), and prognostic nutritional index (area under the curve = 0.50) for absolute weight loss (≥ 5 kg). Absolute and relative weight loss remained independent prognostic factors, with short overall survival rates compared with the normal group (P < 0.05). Patients with high nomogram scores supported by nutritional intervention had less weight loss, better nutrition scores, and increased plasma CD8+ T cells, and interferon gamma., Conclusions: We developed a nomogram model that was intended to estimate relative and absolute weight loss in initially inoperable patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma during radiotherapy, which might help facilitate an objective decision on prophylactic nutritional supplementation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest D. Q. reports administrative support, article publishing charges, equipment, drugs, supplies, statistical analysis, travel, and writing assistance provided by The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China. D. Q. reports a relationship with The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, including employment., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To analyze the complex relationship between chemical components and functions of traditional Chinese medicine, this study put forward the concept of &quot;chemical functiomics&quot; for the first time and defined the connotation and significance of &quot;chemical functiomics&quot; based on the research on the core components of hemostatic and blood-activating/stasis-resolving Chinese herbal drugs, which provided a new direction for modern research on traditional Chinese medicine. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine(ETCM), and Natural Product Activity and Species Source Database(NPASS) were searched for the chemical components of hemostatic and blood-activating/stasis-resolving Chinese herbal drugs included in the Science of Chinese Materia Medica with the names of the above drugs as the key words. The pharmacological actions corresponding to the functions of hemostatic and blood-activating/stasis-resolving Chinese herbal drugs were standardized with MESH2021 terms(Chinese version) as the standard. Discovery Studio 4.5 was used to calculate absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity(ADMET) molecular descriptors. Principal component analysis and 95% confidence ellipse calculation were carried out using Origin 2021. Hydrogenation of chemical components and Murcko skeleton calculation were completed using the CDK algorithm and the RDKit algorithm packages in the KNIME 4.3.2. The results showed that there were 404 common components of hemostatic drugs and blood-activating/stasis-resolving drugs, accounting for 17.3% of the total components. The plotted chemical function diagrams of hemostatic drugs and blood-activating/stasis-resolving drugs showed that the pharmacological action group acting as a bridge connected the function group and the chemical composition group, and different combinations of pharmacological effects indicated different functions. The unique Murcko skeleton of the core components of hemostatic drugs mainly included naphthoquinone and tetracyclic triterpenes, while those of blood-activating/stasis-resolving drugs were mainly alkaloids. Based on the research on the core components of hemostatic and blood-activating/stasis-resolving Chinese herbal drugs, this study provides references for the study of &quot;chemical functiomics&quot; and support for the research on the functional material basis of traditional Chinese medicine.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) produces morphologically and behaviorally distinct cells and is the primary way to generate cell diversity. In the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, the polarization of distinct scaffold-signaling hubs at the swarmer and stalked cell poles constitutes the basis of ACD. However, mechanisms involved in the formation of these hubs remain elusive. Here, we show that a swarmer-cell-pole scaffold, PodJ, forms biomolecular condensates both in vitro and in living cells via phase separation. The coiled-coil 4-6 and the intrinsically disordered regions are the primary domains that contribute to biomolecular condensate generation and signaling protein recruitment in PodJ. Moreover, a negative regulation of PodJ phase separation by the stalked-cell-pole scaffold protein SpmX is revealed. SpmX impedes PodJ cell-pole accumulation and affects its recruitment ability. Together, by modulating the assembly and dynamics of scaffold-signaling hubs, phase separation may serve as a general biophysical mechanism that underlies the regulation of ACD in bacteria and other organisms., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

New rhenium bipyridyl complexes with dipyrromethene-BF 2 chromophores (A-ReBDP-CZ, A-ReBDP 2 , ReBDP-CZ, and ReBDP 2 ) were developed for highly efficient photocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction to carbon monoxide (CO). These catalysts consisted of two moderate electron-deficient groups (dipyrromethene-BF 2 , BDP) as the visible-light-harvesting antenna as well as both electron donor (N-phenylcarbazole, CZ) and acceptor (BDP) on Re bipyridyl framework. Among ReBDP-CZ and ReBDP 2 complexes, the ReBDP 2 incorporating two electron-deficient BDP chromophores had a longer-lived photoexcited state (182.4 μs) and a twofold enhanced molar absorption coefficient (ϵ=157000 m -1  cm -1 ) compared with ReBDP-CZ. Thus, ReBDP 2 achieved the superior photocatalytic reactivity and stability with a CO turnover number (TON CO ) value as high as 1323 and quantum yield (Φ CO ) up to 55 %, which was the most excellent photocatalysis efficiency among the single-active-site Re catalysts without additional photosensitizer. Furthermore, the acetylene-bridged linker was detrimental to the photoactivity and durability of the catalyst. In brief, two BDP-based Re bipyridyl systems with outstanding catalytic performance and significant visible-light-harvesting capabilities in the solar spectrum offer a promising strategy for solar-to-fuel conversion schemes., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: This study aims to understand the difference in the influence of urinary sodium and potassium excretion on blood pressure in patients of different sexes with hypertension by analyzing the relationship between urinary sodium and potassium excretion and blood pressure., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 606 hospitalized patients with essential hypertension were recruited from 16 hospitals in the Shanxi Province between June 2018 and December 2019. These patients were grouped by sex, with 368 males and 238 females. Basic information and relevant serum biochemical indexes of patients in the two groups were recorded. The 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion were measured, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed simultaneously. This was done to analyze and compare the relationship between urinary sodium and urinary potassium excretion and blood pressure in adult hospitalized patients of different sexes with hypertension., Results: The 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in male patients with hypertension was significantly higher than that in female patients ( P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in 24-hour urinary potassium excretion between male patients with hypertension and female patients. Spearman correlation analysis showed that 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was positively correlated with 24-hour SBP and nSBP in male patients ( P < 0.05), while 24-hour urinary potassium excretion was negatively correlated with 24-hour SBP and nSBP in male patients ( P < 0.05). The 24-hour urinary sodium in female patients was significantly positively correlated with 24-hour SBP, 24-hour DBP, SBP, dDBP, nSBP, and nDBP ( P < 0.01). The 24-hour urinary potassium was significantly negatively correlated with nSBP ( P < 0.05). Multiple stepwise linear regression showed that 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was still significantly positively correlated with 24-hour SBP and nSBP in male patients with hypertension after adjusting for various confounding factors., Conclusion: High urinary sodium and low urinary potassium excretion are closely related to elevated blood pressure in adult patients with hypertension, and there are sex differences., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Li Qin Duan et al.)

Background: Symptomatic Bochdalek hernias are found mainly in infants in respiratory distress and occur rarely in adults., Case Presentation: We report a rare case of Bochdalek hernia associated with developmental abnormalities in an adult who exhibited acute chest pain and dyspnea on exertion., Conclusions: This case highlights the importance of the differential diagnosis of acute left-sided chest pain and antenatal examination., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background and Objectives: Although the pathogenesis and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been gradually revealed, the risk for re-emergence of coronavirus nucleic acids in recovered patients remains poorly understood. Hence, this study evaluated the risk predictors associated with re-positivity for virus nucleic acid. Methods: Between February 1 and March 20, 2020, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical epidemiological data of 129 COVID-19 patients who were treated at Zhongxiang People's Hospital of Hubei Province in China. Subsequently, a risk prediction model for the re-positivity of virus nucleic acid was developed, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn for further validation. Results: In this study, the rate of re-positivity for virus nucleic acid was 17.8% (23/129) where all re-positivity cases were asymptomatic. The median time interval from discharge to nucleic acid re-positivity to discharge after being cured again was 11.5 days (range: 7-23 days). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that leukocytopenia [odds ratio (OR) 7.316, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.319-23.080, p = 0.001], prealbumin < 150 mg/L (OR 4.199, 95% CI 1.461-12.071, p = 0.008), and hyperpyrexia (body temperature >39°C, OR 4.643, 95% CI 1.426-15.117, p = 0.011) were independent risk factors associated with re-positivity. The area under the ROC curve was 0.815 (95% CI, 0.729-0.902). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients with leukocytopenia, low prealbumin level, and hyperpyrexia are more likely to test positive for virus nucleic acid after discharge. Timely and effective treatment and appropriate extension of hospital stays and quarantine periods may be feasible strategies for managing such patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zhu, Sun, Li, Cai, Li, Hong, Li, Xu, Li, Xue, Gu, Wu, Zhou, Suo, Duan, Wu and Li.)

The phenylalanine-tyrosine-dopa-dopamine pathway provides dopamine to the brain. In this process, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme that hydroxylates tyrosine and generates levodopa (L-dopa) with tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4 ) as a coenzyme. Here, we show that oral berberine (BBR) might supply H • through dihydroberberine (reduced BBR produced by bacterial nitroreductase) and promote the production of BH 4 from dihydrobiopterin; the increased BH 4 enhances TH activity, which accelerates the production of L-dopa by the gut bacteria. Oral BBR acts in a way similar to vitamins. The L-dopa produced by the intestinal bacteria enters the brain through the circulation and is transformed to dopamine. To verify the gut-brain dialog activated by BBR's effect, Enterococcus faecalis or Enterococcus faecium was transplanted into Parkinson's disease (PD) mice. The bacteria significantly increased brain dopamine and ameliorated PD manifestation in mice; additionally, combination of BBR with bacteria showed better therapeutic effect than that with bacteria alone. Moreover, 2,4,6-trimethyl-pyranylium tetrafluoroborate (TMP-TFB)-derivatized matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) imaging of dopamine identified elevated striatal dopamine levels in mouse brains with oral Enterococcus, and BBR strengthened the imaging intensity of brain dopamine. These results demonstrated that BBR was an agonist of TH in Enterococcus and could lead to the production of L-dopa in the gut. Furthermore, a study of 28 patients with hyperlipidemia confirmed that oral BBR increased blood/fecal L-dopa by the intestinal bacteria. Hence, BBR might improve the brain function by upregulating the biosynthesis of L-dopa in the gut microbiota through a vitamin-like effect.

As all- trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) are widely accepted in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), deescalating toxicity becomes a research hotspot. Here, we evaluated whether chemotherapy could be replaced or reduced by ATO in APL patients at different risks. After achieving complete remission with ATRA-ATO-based induction therapy, patients were randomized (1:1) into ATO and non-ATO groups for consolidation: ATRA-ATO versus ATRA-anthracycline for low-/intermediate-risk patients, or ATRA-ATO-anthracycline versus ATRA-anthracycline-cytarabine for high-risk patients. The primary end point was to assess disease-free survival (DFS) at 3 y by a noninferiority margin of -5%; 855 patients were enrolled with a median follow-up of 54.9 mo, and 658 of 755 patients could be evaluated at 3 y. In the ATO group, 96.1% (319/332) achieved 3-y DFS, compared to 92.6% (302/326) in the non-ATO group. The difference was 3.45% (95% CI -0.07 to 6.97), confirming noninferiority ( P < 0.001). Using the Kaplan-Meier method, the estimated 7-y DFS was 95.7% (95% CI 93.6 to 97.9) in ATO and 92.6% (95% CI 89.8 to 95.4) in non-ATO groups ( P = 0.066). Concerning secondary end points, the 7-y cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) was significantly lower in ATO (2.2% [95% CI 1.1 to 4.2]) than in non-ATO group (6.1% [95% CI 3.9 to 9.5], P = 0.011). In addition, grade 3 to 4 hematological toxicities were significantly reduced in the ATO group during consolidation. Hence, ATRA-ATO in both chemotherapy-replacing and -reducing settings in consolidation is not inferior to ATRA-chemotherapy (https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/, NCT01987297)., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.