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Recent government inspections have revealed high microorganism indices in spa water throughout Taiwan. Using spas has become a popular leisure activity because of its recognized health benefits. However, spa water at vacation resorts is often used by numerous visitors. This study compares microbial disinfection effectiveness between chlorine dioxide and conventional chlorine in spa water containing Chinese herbal medicine. Due to the complexity of the compounds in the pool and difficulty in measuring disinfection effectiveness accurately, this study was performed in a laboratory with actual spa water containing Chinese herbal medicine using either chlorine dioxide or sodium hypochlorite. Degradation is then compared by measuring residual chlorine dioxide concentrations and safe disinfection doses in the simulated solution. Regarding total colony forming unit level, the equivalent concentration required for spa water to meet government standards is 0.7 mg L-1 as ClO2 or 1.8 mg L-1 as Cl . Disinfection efficiencies are 99.4 and 89.5% for chlorine dioxide and sodium 2 hypochlorite, respectively. Generally, chlorine dioxide is more effective than sodium hypochlorite and is clearly safe. The data in this study can improve the disinfection technology used by related businesses to enhance water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study that examined the effects of moderate dietary restriction on aging, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations from frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests in adult male rhesus monkeys. Overview of the effect of dietary restriction on rodents; Research design and methods used; Results and discussion.

Abstract Metabolic enzymes perform moonlighting functions during tumor progression, including the modulation of chemoresistance. However, the underlying mechanisms of these functions remain elusive. Here, utilizing a metabolic clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 knockout library screen, we observe that the loss of glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM), a rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis, noticeably increases the sensitivity of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells to platinum-based chemotherapy. Mechanistically, we unveil a noncanonical mechanism through which nuclear GCLM competitively interacts with NF-kappa-B (NF-κB)-repressing factor (NKRF), to promote NF-κB activity and facilitate chemoresistance. In response to platinum drug treatment, GCLM is phosphorylated by P38 MAPK at T17, resulting in its recognition by importin a5 and subsequent nuclear translocation. Furthermore, elevated expression of nuclear GCLM and phospho-GCLM correlate with an unfavorable prognosis and poor benefit from standard chemotherapy. Overall, our work highlights the essential nonmetabolic role and posttranslational regulatory mechanism of GCLM in enhancing NF-κB activity and subsequent chemoresistance.

Abstract Background Most Colorectal Cancer (CRC) patients exhibit limited responsiveness to anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy, with the underlying mechanisms remaining elusive. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a significant role in tumorigenesis and development, with potential applications in tumor screening and predicting treatment efficacy. However, there are few studies exploring the role of circRNAs in CRC immune evasion. Methods circRNA microarrays were used to identify circPHLPP2. RT-qPCR was used to examine the associations between the expression level of circPHLPP2 and the clinical characteristics of CRC patients. MTS assay, clone formation experiment, subcutaneous tumor implantation and multicolor flow cytometry were used to confirm the biological function of circPHLPP2. RAN-seq, RT-qPCR, and WB experiments were performed to investigate the downstream signaling pathways involved in circPHLPP2. RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and immunofluorescence staining were performed to identify the proteins associated with circPHLPP2. Results circPHLPP2 is up-regulated in CRC patients who exhibit resistance to anti-PD-1 based therapy. circPHLPP2 significantly promotes the proliferation and tumor growth of CRC cells. Knockdown of circPhlpp2 enhances the efficacy of anti-PD-1 in vivo. Mechanistically, the specific interaction between circPHLPP2 and ILF3 facilitates the nuclear accumulation of ILF3, which subsequently enhances the transcription of IL36γ. This process reduces NK cell infiltration and impairs NK cells’ granzyme B and IFN-γ production, thereby promoting tumor progression. Conclusions Overall, our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which circRNA regulates CRC immune evasion. circPHLPP2 may serve as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for CRC patients.

A polarization-insensitive tunable frequency selective surface absorber for oblique incidence broadband applications is presented. The design method of combining anisotropy pattern and adjustable impedance is put forward. The influence of the parasitic or additional parameters of the PIN diode on the performance of the FSS absorber is analyzed by circuit model. An improved anisotropy capacitive absorbing circuit is designed and then realized by FSS patterns. Variable resistance PIN devices are loaded in FSS elements and the impedance of the FSS absorber structure is dynamically turned by changing the bias voltage of PIN devices. Far-field simulation results show that the absorber achieves prominent omnidirectional radar cross section (RCS) reduction in the absorbing band by overlaying it on a metallic plate. Simulation and measurement results all illustrate that the reflectivity envelope covers a broadband of 1.6–5.1 GHz below  −10 dB for both TE and TM polarizations at incident angles from 30° to 50°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a simple scheme of 6.835 GHz microwave source based on the sub-sampling phase lock loop (PLL). A dielectric resonant oscillator of 6.8 GHz is directly phase locked to an ultra-low phase noise 100 MHz oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) utilizing the sub-sampling PLL. Then the 6.8 GHz is mixed with 35 MHz from an direct digital synthesizer (DDS) which is also referenced to the 100 MHZ OCXO to generate the final 6.835 GHz signal. Benefiting from the sub-sampling PLL, the processes of frequency multiplication, which are usually necessary in the development of a microwave source, are greatly simplified. The architecture of the microwave source is pretty simple. Correspondingly, its power consumption and cost are low. The absolute phase noises of the 6.835 GHz output signal are −47 dBc/Hz, −77 dBc/Hz, −104 dBc/Hz and −121 dBc/Hz at 1 Hz, 10 Hz, 100 Hz and 1 kHz offset frequencies, respectively. The frequency stability limited by the phase noise through the Dick effect is theoretically estimated to be better than 5.0 × 10−14τ1/2 when it is used as the local oscillator of the Rb atomic clocks. This low phase noise microwave source can also be used in other experiments of precision measurement physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third-generation gravitational wave detectors under development will be operating at cryogenic temperature to reduce the thermal noise. Silicon and sapphire are promising candidate materials for the test masses and suspension elements due to their remarkable mechanical and thermal properties at cryogenic temperature. Here we present the performances of the cryogenic thermal cycling and strength testing on hydroxide catalysis bonding between sapphire and silicon. Our results suggest that although these two materials have very different coefficients of thermal expansion, if the flatness and the thermally grown SiO2 oxidation layer on the silicon surface are controlled well, the bonded samples can still survive thermal cycling from room temperature to 5.5 K. A breaking strength of MPa is measured for the bonds between sapphire and silicon with a 190 nm silicon oxidation thickness after cooling cycle. We construct a hybrid sapphire-silicon Fabry–Perot cavity with our bonding technique. The measurement results reveal that the cavity can survive repeated thermal cycling while maintaining a finesse of . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Alion optical clock is a very promising optical frequency standard candidate due to its extremely small black-body radiation shift. It has been successfully demonstrated with the indirect cooled, quantum-logic-based spectroscopy technique. Its accuracy is limited by second-order Doppler shift, and its stability is limited by the number of ions that can be probed in quantum logic processing. We propose a direct laser cooling scheme of Alion optical clocks where both the stability and accuracy of the clocks are greatly improved. In the proposed scheme, two Altraps are utilized. The first trap is used to trap a large number of Alions to improve the stability of the clock laser, while the second trap is used to trap a single Alion to provide the ultimate accuracy. Both traps are cooled with a continuous wave 167 nm laser. The expected clock laser stability can reach . For the second trap, in addition to 167 nm laser Doppler cooling, a second stage pulsed 234 nm two-photon cooling laser is utilized to further improve the accuracy of the clock laser. The total systematic uncertainty can be reduced to about . The proposed Alion optical clock has the potential to become the most accurate and stable optical clock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and atherosclerosis are two common age‐related conditions that can cause significant morbidity. While previous studies have suggested an association between the two conditions, the nature of this association remains unclear. Methods We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal relationship between IDD and atherosclerosis. We identified genetic variants associated with IDD using summary statistics from a large genome‐wide association study (GWAS). These variants were then used as instrumental variables to infer causal relationships with atherosclerosis in summary statistics from a separate GWAS. Results Our MR analysis provided evidence for a causal relationship between IDD and atherosclerosis. We found that the genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis was associated with a higher risk of IDD (odds ratio [OR] = 3.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–11.74, p = 0.04). The IVW estimates were consistent with the observational findings and other robust MR methods. Sensitivity analyses suggested that our findings were robust to potential sources of bias. Conclusions Our study provides evidence for a causal link between IDD and atherosclerosis, suggesting that interventions targeting atherosclerosis could have potential benefits for reducing the risk of IDD. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms that link these two conditions and to investigate potential therapeutic interventions.

With people's changing life style and dietary habits, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become much more serious than ever before. T2DM is a polygenic metabolic disorder, resulting from the interaction of genetic and various environmental factors. Among all the T2DM related genes, the transcription factor 7 like 2 (TCF7L2) gene is one of the most relevant risk-related genes for T2DM. However, the role of TCF7L2 in T2DM pathogenesis has not yet been interpreted thoroughly. Based on the experimental studies in recent years, this review discusses several possible mechanisms of T2DM pathogenesis induced by TCF7L2.

Background. Extragastric manifestations of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have been reported in many diseases. However, there are still controversies about whether H. pylori infection is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). This study was aimed at answering the question. Methods. A systematic search of the literature from January 1996 to January 2016 was conducted in PubMed, Embase databases, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data, China national knowledge database, and SinoMed. Published studies reporting H. pylori infection in both DM and non-DM individuals were recruited. Results. 79 studies with 57,397 individuals were included in this meta-analysis. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in DM group (54.9%) was significantly higher than that (47.5%) in non-DM group (OR = 1.69, P

Background: Caring behaviour is critical for nursing quality, and the clinical internship environment is a crucial setting for preparing nursing students for caring behaviours. Evidence about how to develop nursing students' caring behaviour in the clinical environment is still emerging. However, the mechanism between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviour remains unclear, especially the mediating role of moral sensitivity and the moderating effect of self-efficacy., Research Objective: This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of moral sensitivity and the moderating function of self-efficacy on the association between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours., Research Design: A cross-sectional design used acceptable validity scales. The hypothesised moderated mediation model was tested in the SPSS PROCESS macro., Participants and Research Context: This survey collected data from 504 nursing students in an internship at a teaching hospital in Changsha, China., Ethical Considerations: This study was pre-approved by the ethics committee of the medical school (No. E2022210). Informed consent was obtained from all students., Results: The clinical internship environment ( B = 0.450, 95% CI = [0.371, 0.530]) and moral sensitivity ( B = 1.352, 95% CI = [1.090, 1.615]) had positive direct effects on nursing students' caring behaviours. Clinical internship environment also indirectly influenced students' caring behaviours via moral sensitivity ( B = 0.161, 95% CI = [0.115, 0.206]). In addition, self-efficacy played a moderating role between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours ( B = 0.019, 95% CI = [0.007, 0.031]), as well as the relationship between the clinical internship environment and moral sensitivity ( B = 0.006, 95% CI = [0.003, 0.010])., Conclusion: Moral sensitivity mediates the effect of the clinical internship environment on caring behaviour, and self-efficacy strengthens both direct and indirect effects. This study emphasises the importance of self-efficacy in developing moral sensitivity and caring behaviours in nursing students., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Thyroid hormones (THs) may affect chronic thyrotoxic myopathy (CTM). The relationship between TH sensitivity and CTM is inconsistent. We aimed to investigate the associations between TH sensitivity and the risk of CTM and to screen potential CTMs with strength and function tests. A total of 162 Chinese patients (36.58% men) with Graves' disease were enrolled and divided into CTM and non-CTM groups. TH and sensitivity indices were measured. Muscle power and function were assessed by grip, upper-limb fatigue (ULFT), lower-limb fatigue (LLFT), and squat-up (SUT) tests, and walking pace. Association between sensitivity to TH indices and the risk of developing CTM was assessed via multivariate logistic regression. The diagnostic effectiveness of muscle power and function for predicting CTM was evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Thyroid feedback quantile-based index FT 3 (TFQI FT3 ) and the parametric TFQI FT3 (PTFQI FT3 ), TFQI FT4 , and PTFQI FT4 were positively associated with CTM risk by using inverse probability of treatment weighting multivariate logistic regression. For each 1-SD increase in TFQI FT3 and PTFQI FT3 , TFQI FT4 and PTFQI FT4 , the odds ratios for CTM were 1.67 (95% CI = 1.17-2.48) ,1.64 (95% CI = 1.51-2.93), 1.60 (95%CI = 1.12-2.32), 1.58 (95%CI = 1.11-2.30), respectively. LLFT and SUT best predicted male/female CTM, respectively (AUC = 0.89/0.85). In Graves' disease patients, TH sensitivity is associated with CTM development, which can be predicted by SUT and LLFT results., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: To identify latent profiles of narrative competence in nursing students and examine the association between the potential competence profiles and professional identity from a person-centred perspective., Background: According to the Ring theory of personhood, nursing students can develop their professional identities from individual, relational and social aspects through interaction with patients, as well as listening to, understanding and responding to patients' disease narratives. However, few studies have examined the relationship between narrative competence and professional identity through the quantitative method., Design: A cross-sectional analytic study., Methods: A total of 472 nursing students responded to the survey between March and May 2023. The Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nurse Students and the Narrative Competence Scale were given to participants. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify narrative competence profiles. The Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars method was used to analyse whether these latent profiles for narrative competence affected nursing students' general, individual, interpersonal and social professional identities., Results: Latent profiles were identified as "low narrative competence" (12.1 %), "relatively low narrative competence" (39.9 %), "moderate narrative competence" (40.1 %) and "high narrative competence" (7.9 %). The profiles only show level differences rather than combinations of competence areas. These profiles had varying effects on the nursing students' general professional identities, as well as their individual, relational and social professional identities., Conclusion: This study highlights the significance of providing tailored guidance and support to nursing students, taking into account their unique narrative competency profile, to promote the formation of professional identity from individual, relational and social aspects. Nursing educators should effectively distinguish nursing students with inadequate narrative competence and value patients' disease narratives to promote narrative competence and professional identity., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Nursing interns are one of the most crucial providers of nursing services. Their safety behaviors are closely associated with adverse events. Therefore, it is vital to explore the factors influencing nursing intern safety behavior to improve patient safety., Objective: To evaluate patient safety behavior among nursing interns and explore latent influencing mechanisms based on the capability opportunity motivation-behavior (COMB) model., Design: A cross-sectional study SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 422 nursing interns recruited through convenience sampling from a comprehensive teaching hospital., Methods: Data on general information, nursing interns' patient safety behavior, metacognitive ability, clinical internship environment, and moral sensitivity were collected. Nursing interns' patient safety behavior was described with means and standard deviations. The independent sample t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and SEM were used to determine contributing factors to nursing interns' patient safety behavior., Results: The mean total score for patient safety behavior was 53.08 ± 6.22. The results indicated that metacognitive ability not only directly affects the patient safety behavior of nursing interns (β = 0.554, P < 0.001, 95 % CI = [0.446, 0.637]) but indirectly affects interns' safety behavior through professional identity (β = 0.009, P = 0.031, 95 % CI = [0.001, 0.019]). The clinical internship environment also has both direct (β = 0.258, P = 0.001, 95 % CI = [0.166, 0.349]) and indirect (β = 0.007, P = 0.029, 95 % CI = [0.001, 0.015]) effects on the patient safety behavior of nursing interns., Conclusion: There are some specific areas where nursing interns' safety behaviors need to be improved. This study reveals that strong metacognitive ability and a clinical internship environment with rich opportunities might be essential for the development of patient safety behaviors. To promote nursing interns' patient safety behaviors, clinical teachers could use reflective teaching methods and provide a supportive clinical environment to nurture nursing interns' professional identities and patient safety behaviors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors are standard therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR mutation; however, resistance is common. Combinatorial strategies have been explored to improve survival. This meta-analysis assesses the efficacy and safety of combination therapy versus monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC who failed first-line EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment., Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials from PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrial.gov. The efficacy and toxicity of combination treatment groups were assessed in terms of progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse events (AEs)., Results: This meta-analysis included 6 randomized controlled trials covering 785 participants. The results showed that the combined regimen arm had no significant improvement of PFS (log hazard ratio = -0.228, 95% CI: -0.543 to 0.087, P = 0.157), ORR (odds ratio = 1.147 [95% CI: 0.577, 2.281], P = 0.695), DCR (odds ratio = 1.578 [95% CI: 0.428, 5.821], P = 0.493), and AEs, including fatigue and diarrhea (odds ratio = 0.833 [95% CI: 0.297, 2.333], P = 0.728 for fatigue and odds ratio = 2.268 [95% CI: 0.544, 9.448], P = 0.261 for diarrhea)., Conclusions: Combination therapy may not provide a significant improvement in PFS, ORR, DCR, and incidence of AEs compared with monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC with EGFR mutations. Further research is needed to investigate the optimal sequencing of combination therapy in patients with NSCLC with different molecular targets to determine the most effective treatment strategy that can improve outcomes and quality of life for these patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The transcription factor Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) is involved in development, tissue homeostasis, and disease. However, the exact roles and the mechanisms of WT1 in renal carcinoma are not well understood. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the ability of WT1 to block proliferation in renal carcinoma cells in vitro. Experimental analysis showed that WT1 overexpression inhibited the proliferation of renal carcinoma A498 cells and promoted arrest at the G2/M checkpoint. RNA-Seq identified differentially expressed genes, including IL-24, related to both the cell proliferation and the cell cycle. WT1 overexpression upregulated IL-24 expression, and IL-24 overexpression induced G2/M arrest. ChIP-Seq identified JUN as a direct target of WT1 in A498 cells, in which positive regulation was shown by RT-qPCR. It has been shown that the transcription factor JUN can regulate IL-24 expression, and therefore, we hypothesize that WT1 might regulate the IL-24 through JUN. Furthermore, analysis based on TCGA datasets showed that the expression of WT1-regulated genes, including TXNIP and GADD45A, was significantly correlated with the stage and histological grade of tumors, with high levels linked to favorable prognoses. Our results demonstrated that the overexpression of WT1 upregulates IL-24, leading to G2/M checkpoint arrest to reduce proliferation. These results indicate that regulation of IL-24 by WT1 inhibits proliferation and may represent a potential target for treating renal carcinoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Y. J. Jing et al.)

In an effort to explore the detoxifying mechanisms of B. cereus RC-1 under heavy metal stress, the bioaccumulation by growing cells under varying range of pH, culture time and initial metal concentration were investigated from a perspective of cation release. The maximum removal efficiencies were 16.7%, 38.3%, 81.4% and 40.3% for Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ , respectively, with initial concentrations of 10 mg/L at pH 7.0. In presence of Cu 2+ or Zn 2+ , large quantities of cations were released into the medium in descending order of Na + >K + >Ca 2+ >Mg 2+, while bioremoval of the two essential metals Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ was accompanied with cellular Na + and Mg 2+ uptake from the medium , respectively. The relative mean contributions of intracellular accumulation to the total removal were approximately 19.6% for Cu 2+ , 12.8% for Zn 2+ , 51.1% for Cd 2+ , and only 4.6% for Pb 2+ . Following exposure at high concentration, B. cereus RC-1 could keep intracellular Cd 2+ concentrations constant, possibly by means of a Cd-efflux system whose activity coincided with uptake of Na + , and reduce intracellular Pb 2+ concentration due to the effect of Mg 2+ on limiting Pb 2+ access to the cells. Cellular morphology, surface functional groups and intracellular trace elements were further investigated by SEM-EDX, TEM-EDX, FTIR and ICP-MS analysis. The phenomena that removal of Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ coincided with uptake of Na + and Mg 2+ , respectively, inspires a novel research perspective towards the study of protective mechanism of bacterial cells against the toxicity of heavy metals., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)