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Yushuang Luo, Pengjie Yu, Junhui Zhao, Qijing Guo, Baohua Fan, Yinzhuo Diao, Yulong Jin, Jing Wu, Chengwu Zhang Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining 810001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Chengwu ZhangDepartment of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University, Xining 810001, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail cwzhang19@163.comBackground: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and the second most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide. Crocin is a kind of bioactive constituent found in the stigmas of saffron, which has shown various pharmacological activities.Methods: In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of crocin on gastric cancer AGS cells proliferation and explored the underlying mechanism. A series of methods were used including cell counting kit assay, gene microarray analysis, qRT-PCR, Celigo image cytometry, cell clone formation assay, Western blot, and cell xenograft growth in vivo.Results: The results indicated that crocin inhibited AGS cells proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. Further studies suggested that crocin decreased a series of genes expression, among which TPM4 gene downregulation inhibited the tumor cells proliferation and tumor growth in mice, and overexpression of TPM4 gene abolishes the inhibitory effect of crocin. Further study using microarray analysis suggested that knocking down of TPM4 altered genes related to the proliferation and apoptosis of cells.Discussion: Crocin could inhibit the gastric cancer cells AGS cells proliferation by regulating TPM4 gene expression, and TPM4 may be a promising therapeutic target for GC treatment.Keywords: gastric cancer, crocin, TPM4, HER2

Yan Cui, Xuena Li, Bulin Du, Yao Diao, Yaming Li Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yaming LiDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, North Nanjing Street 155, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-24-83282142Fax +86-24-83282671Email ymli2001@163.comPurpose: This study aimed to evaluate the role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in expression of tumor programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression and prognostic significance of 18F-FDG PET/CT at different PD-L1 status in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.Patients and Methods: Seventy-three patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma who received 18F-FDG PET/CT before treatment were retrospectively included in this study. Expression of tumor PD-L1, programmed death-1 (PD-1) and glucose metabolic parameters were evaluated.Results: Tumor PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), hexokinase II (HK-II) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1) (P< 0.0001 for all). SUVmax was a unique independent predictor of tumor PD-L1 expression, with an optimal cut-off value of 9.5. For all the patients, tumor stage (P< 0.001) and SUVmax (P=0.009) were independent prognostic indicators of disease-free survival (DFS)/progression-free survival (PFS) while carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) (P=0.003), Ki67 (P=0.042), PD-L1 (P=0.048) and TLG (P=0.004) were independent prognostic indicators of overall survival (OS). Tumor stage (P=0.004) and SUVmax (P=0.022) were independent prognostic indicators of DFS/PFS while TLG (P=0.012) and CEA (P=0.045) were independent prognostic indicators of OS in the PD-L1-positive group. In the PD-L1-negative group, tumor stage (P=0.002) and CEA (P=0.006) were unique independent prognostic indicators of DFS/PFS and OS, respectively.Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET/CT may potentially predict tumor PD-L1 expression and play a role in predicting prognosis of PD-L1/PD-1 immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma.Keywords: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose, positron emission tomography, programmed death ligand-1, lung adenocarcinoma, prognosis

Yifan Diao,1 Mingshuang Li,1 Zhiran Huang,1 Jing Sun,1 Yoke Ling Chee,2 Yunali Liu1 1School of Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, People’s Republic of China; 2Third World Network, George Town 10400, Penang, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Jing Sun; Yunali LiuSchool of Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 5 Dongdansantiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-10-65105537Email sunjing@sph.pumc.edu.cn; yliu@pumc.edu.cnAbstract: China’s healthcare reform aims to provide affordable and equitable basic healthcare for all by 2020. Access to medicines is an essential part of the healthcare. The efforts of promoting access to medicines have been moving from meeting the needs of the basic healthcare, towards increasingly dedicated resources to offer breakthrough therapies. Looking at access to novel medicines from a health system perspective, and placing the changes China has made into that system context, this paper makes a comprehensive review of the progress of access to novel medicines in China. The review drew on two sources of information, which included desk review of published and grey literature, and key informant interview. Five hurdles were identified which create barriers of access to novel medicines, ranging from regulation and financing of medicines, intellectually property rights protection, and development of innovation capacity, to other health system components. Multiple policies have been implementing in China to remove the multiple access barriers gradually. Universal access to medicines has been moving from towards the basic common conditions to the world breakthrough technologies. We see cause for optimism, but recognize that there is a long way to go. Achieving broader and better access to modern medicines for Chinese patients will require multiple and coordinated government efforts, which would need to target the whole lifecycle regulation of novel medicines with a health system perspective, from balancing IP protection, strengthening R&D and public health, to appropriate regulatory approach and financing mechanism, and to supply chain management, as well as smart use.Keywords: access to novel medicines, regulatory, affordability, IP, R&D, health system

Nan Dong,1 Junxiu Guo,2 Song Han,1 Long Bao,3 Yi Diao,4 Zhixiong Lin1 1Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100093, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurosurgery, Shanxi Children’s Hospital, Taiyuan 030013, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurosurgery, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhixiong LinDepartment of Neurosurgery, Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, 50 Xiangshanyikesong Road, Beijing 100093, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 010 62856707Email linzx1967@126.comYi DiaoDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221009, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax+86 516 8395 6768Email yddp@sina.cnPurpose: Growing evidence has valued the diagnostic and therapeutic ability of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various human tumors including glioma. Here, we investigated the biological function and potential mechanism of a novel cancer-related lncRNA, HOXC-AS2, in glioma.Materials and methods: The expression of lncHOXC-AS2 was detected using qRT-PCR in glioma cells and tissues. A series of in vitro studies were performed to analyze the biological function of lncHOXC-AS2. Dual-luciferase reporter, RIP was used to determine the relation between lncHOXC-AS2, miR-876-5p and ZEB1. CHIP assay was performed to investigate the transcriptional regulation of HOXC-AS2.Results: We found HOXC-AS2 was upregulated in glioma cells and tissues. Depletion of HOXC-AS2 was associated with the inhibition of migration, invasion and EMT process in glioma cells. Mechanism, HOXC-AS2 can sponge miR-876-5p to affect ZEB1 expression. Meanwhile, ZEB1 can bind promoter region of HOXC-AS2 and regulate HOXC-AS2 at transcriptional level.Conclusion: Our results conclude that HOXC-AS2/miR-876-5p/ZEB1 constitutes a positive feedback loop to regulate EMT in GBM, providing a potential therapeutic target for glioma.Keywords: HOXC-AS2, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, competing endogenous RNA, glioma

Flavonoids from mulberry leave (FML) are natural flavonoids, and Candida tropicalis (CT) is yeast like microbe. In this study, forty-eight male calves were selected with born weight (40.5±0.7 kg) and 20±2 days age, divided into 4 groups randomly. FML was supplemented in a dairy calf starter at 2 g/d per calf before weaning, or 4 g/d per calf after weaning (FML group), while CT was added in a dairy calf starter at 1 g/d per calf (CT group). Our results showed that FML could be used to enhance body weight (BW) of calves through enhancing apparent digestibility of ether extract (EE) of the diet, and increased the levels of serum growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factors 1 (IGF-1) in calves after the age of 56 days. CT enhanced the BW of calves before weaning through increasing the apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of the diet, and elevated the apparent digestibility of EE of the diet of calves after weaning through increasing the level of serum IGF-1 in calves. Furthermore, the mixture of FML and CT plays a synergistic role in enhancing growth, improving feed intake and nutriment digestibility. In conclusion, FML and CT could be used as additives to increase growth and nutrient digestibility in calves.

Hongtao Sun,1,* Maohua Zheng,2,* Yanmin Wang,1 Yunfeng Diao,1 Wanyong Zhao,1 Zhengjun Wei1 1Sixth Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Logistics University of People’s Armed Police Force, Tianjin, 2Department of Neurosurgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance and changes of brain tissue partial pressure of oxygen (PbtO2) in the course of mild hypothermia treatment (MHT) for treating severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Methods: There were 68 cases with sTBI undergoing MHT. PbtO2, intracranial pressure (ICP), jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO2), and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) were continuously monitored, and clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Glasgow Outcome Scale score. Results: Of 68 patients with sTBI, PbtO2, SjvO2, and CPP were obviously increased, but decreased ICP level was observed throughout the MHT. PbtO2 and ICP were negatively linearly correlated, while there was a positive linear correlation between PbtO2 and SjvO2. Monitoring CPP and SjvO2 was performed under normal circumstances, and a large proportion of patients were detected with low PbtO2. Decreased PbtO2 was also found after MHT. Conclusion: Continuous PbtO2 monitoring could be introduced to evaluate the condition of regional cerebral oxygen metabolism, thereby guiding the clinical treatment and predicting the outcome. Keywords: severe traumatic brain injury, hypothermia, brain tissue partial pressure of oxygen, therapy

Hong-tao Sun,1,* Maohua Zheng,2,* Yanmin Wang,1 Yunfeng Diao,1 Wanyong Zhao,1 Zhengjun Wei1 1Sixth Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Logistics University of People’s Armed Police Force, Tianjin, 2Department of Neurosurgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical value of multiple brain parameters on monitoring intracranial pressure (ICP) procedures in the therapy of severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) utilizing mild hypothermia treatment (MHT) alone or a combination strategy with other therapeutic techniques. A total of 62 patients with sTBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score

Trypanosomatida parasites, such as Trypanosoma and Leishmania, are the cause of deadly diseases in many third world countries. The three dimensional structure of their mitochondrial DNA, known as kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), is unique since it is organized into several thousands of minicircles that are topologically linked. How and why the minicircles form such a network have remained unanswered questions. In our previous work we have presented a model of network formation that hypothesizes that the network is solely driven by the confinement of minicircles. Our model shows that upon confinement a percolation network forms. This network grows into a space filling network, called saturation network, upon further confinement of minicircles. Our model also shows, in agreement with experimental data, that the mean valence of the network (that is, the average number of minicircles topologically linked to any minicircle in the network) grows linearly with minicircle density. In our previous studies however we disregarded DNA flexibility and used rigid minicircles to model DNA, here we address this limitation by allowing minicircles to be flexible. Our numerical results show that the topological characteristics that describe the growth and topology of the minicircle networks have similar values to those observed in the case of rigid minicircles suggesting that these properties are robust and therefore a potentially adequate description of the networks observed in Trypanosomatid parasites.

It is well known that genomic materials (long DNA chains) of living organisms are often packed compactly under extreme confining conditions using macromolecular self-assembly processes but the general DNA packing mechanism remains an unsolved problem. It has been proposed that the topology of the packed DNA may be used to study the DNA packing mechanism. For example, in the case of (mutant) bacteriophage P4, DNA molecules packed inside the bacteriophage head are considered to be circular since the two sticky ends of the DNA are close to each other. The DNAs extracted from the capsid without separating the two ends can thus preserve the topology of the (circular) DNAs. It turns out that the circular DNAs extracted from bacteriophage P4 are non-trivially knotted with very high probability and with a bias toward chiral knots. In order to study this problem using a systematic approach based on mathematical modeling, one needs to introduce a DNA packing model under extreme volume confinement condition and test whether such a model can produce the kind of knot spectrum observed in the experiments. In this paper we introduce and study a model of equilateral random polygons con_ned in a sphere. This model is not meant to generate polygons that model DNA packed in a virus head directly. Instead, the average topological characteristics of this model may serve as benchmark data for totally randomly packed circular DNAs. The difference between the biologically observed topological characteristics and our benchmark data might reveal the bias of DNA packed in the viral capsids and possibly lead to a better understanding of the DNA packing mechanism, at least for the bacteriophage DNA. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the knot spectrum of equilateral random polygons under such a spherical confinement with length and confinement ratios in a range comparable to circular DNAs packed inside bacteriophage heads.

Older people often face varied and vicious abuse from care workers. Situations are typically more pronounced for older people who live with additional cognitive or physical difficulties, such as dementia and disabilities, the prevalence of which has been on the rise in China and elsewhere. Recent reported discoveries of elder abuse in China, which span alarming levels of verbal, physical, psychological, financial, and sexual abuse, have almost all been caused by nannies or 'bao mu'. Different from Western countries, the word nanny is often used to refer to people who offer caregiving help in residential settings at large, regardless of the age of the care recipients. What is also different is the lack of regulations or even rigorous training and evaluation processes for nannies in China: almost anyone can become a nanny—even though a background check is often required for nannies, this process is often highly variable and dependent on the specific labour agencies that nannies are registered with. Yet without structured studies and systematic data, little is known about the extent and severity of nanny-induced elder abuse in China. To this end, this article aims to discuss the unique elderly care environment—such as the '721 Rule'—in China, particularly in the post-COVID era, and highlight the critical need for timely and rigorous studies on the potential prevalence and severity of nannies' abuse and neglect of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the risk factors for stone remnants and recurrence after lateral decubitus percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), providing insights to enhance the stone-free rate and reduce the stone recurrence rate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 356 patients with renal or upper ureteral stones who underwent lateral decubitus PCNL from January 2015 to August 2022. Among them, 271 patients had complete clinical and follow-up data. General clinical information, perioperative data, and follow-up data were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for stone remnants and recurrence after lateral decubitus PCNL. RESULTS: The stone-free rate after lateral decubitus PCNL was 88.6% (195/271), and the stone recurrence rate within three years was 28.1% (76/271). Stone size (p<0.001) and stone co-infection (p=0.047) were identified as independent risk factors for stone remnants after lateral decubitus PCNL. Multiple stones (p=0.003) were an independent risk factor for stone recurrence after lateral decubitus PCNL. CONCLUSIONS: Stone size and stone co-infection are independent risk factors for stone remnants after lateral decubitus PCNL. Multiple stones are an independent risk factor for stone recurrence after lateral decubitus PCNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background This study retrospectively compared short-term clinical outcomes and complications of minimally invasive surgery transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion(MIS-TLIF)and endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion(Endo-LIF))for two-segmental lumbar degenerative disease, aiming to guide spine surgeons in selecting surgical approaches. Methods From January 2019 to December 2023, 30 patients were enrolled,15 in the MIS-TLIF group and 15 in the Endo-LIF group. All patients were followed up for more than 3 months after surgery and the following information was recorded: (1)surgery time, difference in hemoglobin between preoperative and postoperative, surgical costs, first time out of bed after operation, postoperative hospitalization time, postoperative complication; (2) ODI score (The Oswestry Disability Index), leg and back VAS score (Visual Analogue Scale), and lumbar vertebra JOA score (Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores); (3) MacNab score at final follow-up to assess clinical outcome, CT to evaluate lumbar fusion. Results There were significant differences between the two groups regarding operation time and cost, with the MIS-TLIF group performing significantly better. Intraoperative bleeding was considerably less in the Endo-LIF group compared to the MIS-TLIF group. However, there were no significant differences in the time of the first postoperative ambulation, postoperative hospitalization time, and postoperative complications. There was no significant difference in preoperative VAS, ODI, and JOA between the two surgical groups There were no significant differences in VAS(leg), ODI, and JOA scores between the two groups before and at 1 day,7 days, 1 month, 3 months and final follow-up. However, at 1 day postoperatively, the VAS( back)score in the Endo-LIF group was lower than that in the MIS-TLIF group, and the difference was statistically significant. At the final follow-up, all patients achieved grade III and above according to the Bridwell criteria, and there was no significant difference between the two surgical groups compared to each other. According to the MacNab score at the final follow-up, the excellent rate was 80.00% in the Endo-LIF group and 73.33% in the MIS-TLIF group, with no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion There was no significant difference in short-term efficacy and safety between Endo-LIF and MIS-TLIF for two-segment degenerative lumbar diseases. MIS-TLIF has a shorter operative time and lower costs, while Endo-LIF causes less tissue damage, blood loss, and early postoperative pain, aiding long-term recovery. Both MIS-TLIF and Endo-LIF are promising for treating two-segment lumbar degenerative disease. The choice of a surgical procedure depends on the patient’s financial situation, their ability to tolerate surgery, and the surgeon’s expertise.

Abstract Objective This study analyzes the safety and efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) treatments for Stage III Kummell’s disease without neurological symptoms, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these two minimally invasive surgical methods. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 53 patients with non-neurological Stage III Kummell’s disease treated with PVP and PKP at our hospital from December 2018 to January 2023. Patients were divided into PVP (25 cases) and PKP (28 cases) groups based on the surgical method. There were no significant differences in general preoperative data between the two groups (all p > 0.05), ensuring comparability. The study compared surgical duration, volume of bone cement injected, distribution pattern of bone cement, rate of bone cement leakage, and preoperative, postoperative, and final follow-up scores of Visual analogue scale(VAS) and Oswestry disability index(ODI). Additionally, relative anterior height of the injured vertebrae, and Cobb angle of deformity, along with their changes at preoperative, postoperative, and final follow-up stages were calculated and analyzed. Results No significant preoperative differences were observed between the groups (p > 0.05). The PKP group had longer surgeries, higher cement volumes (p 0.05) but improved significantly from preoperative (p 0.05). Conclusion The study evaluates the safety and efficacy of PVP and PKP for Stage III Kummell’s disease without neurological symptoms, comparing the merits of both minimally invasive techniques.

An increasing number of catastrophic progressive collapses of deep excavations have occurred throughout the world. However, the research on progressive collapse mechanisms is limited. In this paper, two categories of model tests were conducted to investigate the mechanism of partial collapse (sudden failures of certain retaining piles) and progressive collapse. The model test results show that partial collapse can cause a sudden increase in the bending moments of adjacent piles via an arching effect. The load-transfer coefficients are defined to be equal to the peak increase ratios of the maximum bending moments in adjacent piles (peak moments caused by collapse over the values before the collapse). When the maximum load-transfer coefficient is larger than the bearing capacity safety factor of the piles, the partial failure will lead to progressive collapse. The influential factors of the progressive collapse mechanism, such as the partial collapse extent, excavation depth, and capping beam, were also investigated. During progressive collapse, the previous failed pile could cause new stress arching; simultaneously, the soil behind certain nearest intact piles could become loosened and destroy the arch springing of the stress arching, causing the progressive collapse to cease gradually. Key words: deep excavation, progressive collapse, arching effect, retaining piles, trapdoor. Un nombre croissant d'effondrements catastrophiques progressifs des excavations profondes ont eu lieu dans le monde entier. Cependant, la recherche sur les mecanismes de l'effondrement progressif est limitee. Dans cet article, deux categories d'essais sur modele ont ete menees pour etudier le mecanisme d'effondrement partiel (echecs soudains de certains pieux retenus) et l'effondrement progressif. Les resultats de test du modele montrent que l'effondrement partiel peut causer une augmentation soudaine dans les moments de flexion des pieux adjacents par un effet de voute. Les coefficients de transfert de charge sont definis comme etant egaux aux rapports d'augmentation maximale du maximum des moments de flexion dans les pieux adjacents (moments de pointe causes par l'effondrement sur les valeurs avant l'effondrement). Lorsque le coefficient de transfert de charge maximale est plus grand que le coefficient de securite de capacite portante des pieux, l'echec partiel conduira a l'effondrement progressif. Les facteurs d'influence du mecanisme d'effondrement progressif, tels que l'ampleur de l'effondrement partiel, la profondeur de l'excavation et la poutre de couronnement, ont aussi ete examines. Au cours de l'effondrement progressif, le pieu defaillant precedent pourrait causer une nouvelle arche de contrainte; simultanement, le sol derriere certains pieux intacts pourrait devenir decompacte et detruire l'arc jaillissant de l'arche de contrainte, faisant en sorte que l'effondrement progressif cesse graduellement. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : excavation profonde, effondrement progressif, effet de voute, pieux de retenue, porte d'acces., Introduction The design of retaining structures of excavations generally proceeds element-by-element (Zheng et al. 2011). Therefore, retaining systems always lack integrity and sufficient redundancy. Consequently, a partial failure of a [...]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)is a group of lung diseases characterized by persistent airflow limitation, often accompanied by chronic hypoxia. This chronic hypoxia can lead to structural and functional changes in the walls of blood vessels throughout the body, causing vascular injury and altered vascular reactivity. The retina and choroid are key ocular structures with rich blood supply and are particularly prone to microstructural changes due to ischemia and hypoxia. Optical coherence tomography(OCT), an ideal tool for observing these microstructural changes, serves as a non-invasive method for assessing retinal microstructures and microvascular pathology. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews summarizing OCT-based morphological changes in the eyes of COPD patients. This paper provides an in-depth review of existing studies on ocular OCT in COPD patients, focusing on structural and blood flow changes in the retina and choroid. The primary goal of this review is to summarize the impact of COPD on ocular microstructures, explore the underlying mechanisms of these morphological changes, and offer new perspectives for assessing eye diseases in COPD patients.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the risk factors for postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with traumatic spinal fractures complicated with Spinal Cord Injury(SCI). We conducted a retrospective analysis of 110 patients with traumatic spinal fractures and SCI admitted to our hospital from March 2021 to April 2024. DVT was diagnosed using ultrasound. Patient history, general data, surgical data, laboratory tests, and thromboelastogram (TEG) results were collected. The patients were divided into a DVT group and a non-DVT group according to the results of ultrasound one week after surgery. The risk factors and diagnostic value were analyzed using binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Multivariate and ROC analysis results showed that D-dimer, lower extremity, duration of bedrest, and MA values of TEG were independent risk factors for DVT in SCI, with D-dimer having the highest diagnostic value (AUC = 0.883). The AUC values for lower extremity, duration of bedrest, and MA were 0.731, 0.750, and 0.625. In conclusion, Postoperative D-dimer > 5.065 mg/l, lower extremity

[Objective] In the inaugural switching operation between Pipelines Q1 and Q2, which were originally used for heated and normaltemperature transmission of crude oil respectively in China, the approach of “transformation while operation” was employed, posing challenges such as complex process flows, demanding engineering implementation, and engagement of numerous offload and injection users. [Methods] To ensure a rational transformation and switching mode with minimal impact on normal production and operation, a comprehensive study was conducted on the hydraulic and thermal systems of these transmission pipelines. This study aimed to evaluate various factors influencing preheating and temperature dropping during commissioning, as well as the pros and cons of different switching modes. Simulation accuracy was checked for the preheating process after transforming Pipeline Q2, originally designed for normaltemperature transmission, into a heated transmission system. These simulation results were then verified with actual engineering data to ensure alignment with the practical requirements. Additionally, valuable field experience was gained from the transformation of Pipeline Q1, originally intended for heated transmission, into a normal-temperature transmission system. Based on these study findings, reasonable suggestions and recommendations were presented for key nodes in switching operations. [Results] The selection of the preheating method should be based on site-specific conditions when transforming in-service normal-temperature oil transmission pipelines into heated transmission systems. For instance, Pipeline Q2 should be treated by heating Russian oil to be transmitted in advance combined with preheating the pipeline with high-temperature Russian oil, aligning the commissioning process with the transmission requirements of Daqing oil.Likewise,appropriate measures should be taken to gradually reduce the temperature of oil products between stations during the transition from the heated to normal-temperature mode.This can be achieved through the quantitative transmission of oil products with a gradually decreasing temperature by batch.To facilitate this,heating stations along the route can be utilized to ensure a gradual temperature drop of the oil products between stations. [Conclusion] The study findings offer valuable insights for commissioning under switching operations of inservice crude oil pipelines.

Distilled grain waste (DGW) is rich in nutrients and can be a potential resource as animal feed. However, DGW contains as much as 14% lignin, dramatically reducing the feeding value. White-rot fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus could preferentially degrade lignin with high efficiency. However, lignin derivatives generated during alcohol distillation inhibit P. ostreatus growth. Thus, finding a new strategy to adjust the DGW properties to facilitate P. ostreatus growth is critical for animal feed preparation and DGW recycling. In this study, three dominant indigenous bacteria, including Sphingobacterium thermophilum X1, Pseudoxanthomonas byssovorax X3, and Bacillus velezensis 15F were chosen to generate single and compound microbial inoculums for DGW composting to prepare substrates for P. ostreatus growth. Compared with non-inoculated control or single microbial inoculation, all composite inoculations, especially the three-microbial compound, led to faster organic metabolism, shorter composting process, and improved physicochemical properties of DGW. P. ostreatus growth assays showed the fastest mycelial colonization (20.43 μg·g−1 ergosterol) and extension (9 mm/d), the highest ligninolytic enzyme activities (Lac, 152.68 U·g−1; Lip, 15.56 U·g−1; MnP, 0.34 U·g−1; Xylanase, 10.98 U·g−1; FPase, 0.71 U·g−1), and the highest lignin degradation ratio (30.77%) in the DGW sample after 12 h of composting with the three-microbial compound inoculation when compared to other groups. This sample was relatively abundant in bacteria playing critical roles in amino acid, carbohydrate, energy metabolism, and xenobiotic biodegradation, as suggested by metagenomic analysis. The feed value analysis revealed that P. ostreatus mycelia full colonization in composted DGW led to high fiber content retention and decreased lignin content (final ratio of 5% lignin) but elevated protein concentrations (about 130 g·kg−1 DM). An additional daily weight gain of 0.4 kg/d was shown in cattle feeding experiments by replacing 60% of regular feed with it. These findings demonstrate that compound inoculant consisting of three indigenous microorganisms is efficient to compost DGW and facilitate P. ostreatus growth. P. ostreatus decreased the lignin content of composted DGW during its mycelial growth, improving the quality of DGW for feeding cattle.