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Objective To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of Fangji Huangqi Decoction (FHD) for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods The earliest date of randomized controlled trials of FHD in the treatment of CKD from the time of its establishment to December 2022 were searched from the databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP and PubMed. Literature fulfilling the inclusion criteria was screened out for quality assessment and RevMan5.3 software was utilized for extracting and processing the data. Results A total of 18 studies with a total of 1391 CKD patients were retrieved. Observation group was superior to control group in terms of higher overall effective rate (RR=1.28, 95%CI：1.19-1.37, P

The ginsenoside isomers were analyzed and distinguished by using inlet ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry technology under positive and negative ion modes with optimum inlet temperatures. The results showed that under the full scanning mode of positive and negative ion modes with the optimum experimental temperature, different types of ions were formed according to the characteristics of different numbers of polymers formed by isomeric monomers of ginsenoside, and the identification of ginsenoside isomers was realized. For the identification of ginsenoside CK and Rh2, there was no obvious difference in their MS spectra under positive ion mode. However, under negative ion mode with the inlet temperature of 200 ℃, ginsenoside CK tended to form polymers of [M+Cl]－, Rh2 tended to form polymers of [M+COOH]－, and the number of polymers of CK was significantly higher than that of Rh2. For the identification of ginsenoside Rb2 and Rc, under positive ion mode with the inlet temperature of 200 ℃, ginsenoside Rb2 and Rc could produce polymers of [M+Na]+, but the polymers peak intensity of Rb2 was significantly higher than that of Rc. Under negative ion mode with the inlet temperature of 200 ℃, Rb2 tended to form polymers of [M+Cl]－, and Rc tended to form polymers of [M+COOH]－. For the identification of ginsenoside Rg1 and Rf, there was no obvious difference in their MS spectra under the positive ion mode. Under negative ion mode with the inlet temperature of 200 ℃, Rg1 and Rf tended to form polymers of [M+Cl]－ and [M−H]−, respectively. In this study, the three pairs of isomers in ginsenosides were basically identified by using the full MS scanning method and the control of the mass spectrometry inlet temperature. The experimental method is simple, fast, and has the characteristics of low consumption. This study confirms that the entrance ionization mass spectrometry technique can provide a theoretical reference for the rapid discrimination and identification of ginsenoside isomers.

Abstract Background The attrition of nursing staff significantly contributes to the shortage of healthcare professionals. This study entailed an examination of the propensity of nurses to sustain employment within Grade-A tertiary general hospitals and the various influencing factors. Methods A total of 2,457 nurses from three grade-A tertiary general hospitals were surveyed. The survey instruments included a general information questionnaire, a scale measuring their willingness to continue working, and a Chinese version of the Magnet Hospital Factor scale. Results The scores of the willingness to continue working scale and the Magnet Hospital Factor scale were 21.53 ± 4.52 and 145.46 ± 25.82, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in the scores of willingness of nurses to continue working across various factors, including the department, age, marital status, family location, length of service as nurses, professional title, position, and employment type, upon comparison (P

Damour-Solodukhin wormholes are intriguing theoretical constructs, closely mimicking many properties of black holes. This study delves into two distinct characteristics of the waveforms emitted from such wormholes, namely, the late-time tails and echoes, which can substantially be used to distinguish its identity. Notably, both features appear in the latter stages of quasinormal oscillations and stem from the singularities of the Green's function. The late-time tail, on the one hand, arises due to the branch cuts in the relevant Green's function. Within the Damour-Solodukhin wormhole paradigm, singularities are present in both ingoing and outgoing waveforms, which entails a generalization of the existing recipe for black hole metrics. On the other hand, the echoes are attributed to a new set of quasinormal poles, supplementing those of the respective black holes, reminiscent of the scenario where the spacetime metric possesses a discontinuity. It is inferred that both features are observationally relevant in distinguishing a wormhole from its black hole counterpart. Moreover, we suggest a potential interplay concerning the late-time evolution between the two mechanisms in question.

Abstract Background The severity and frequency of drought are expected to increase substantially in the coming century and dramatically reduce crop yields. Manipulation of rhizosphere microbiomes is an emerging strategy for mitigating drought stress in agroecosystems. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying how drought-resistant plant recruitment of specific rhizosphere fungi enhances drought adaptation of drought-sensitive wheats. Here, we investigated microbial community assembly features and functional profiles of rhizosphere microbiomes related to drought-resistant and drought-sensitive wheats by amplicon and shotgun metagenome sequencing techniques. We then established evident linkages between root morphology traits and putative keystone taxa based on microbial inoculation experiments. Furthermore, root RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR were employed to explore the mechanisms how rhizosphere microbes modify plant response traits to drought stresses. Results Our results indicated that host plant signature, plant niche compartment, and planting site jointly contribute to the variation of soil microbiome assembly and functional adaptation, with a relatively greater effect of host plant signature observed for the rhizosphere fungi community. Importantly, drought-resistant wheat (Yunhan 618) possessed more diverse bacterial and fungal taxa than that of the drought-sensitive wheat (Chinese Spring), particularly for specific fungal species. In terms of microbial interkingdom association networks, the drought-resistant variety possessed more complex microbial networks. Metagenomics analyses further suggested that the enriched rhizosphere microbiomes belonging to the drought-resistant cultivar had a higher investment in energy metabolism, particularly in carbon cycling, that shaped their distinctive drought tolerance via the mediation of drought-induced feedback functional pathways. Furthermore, we observed that host plant signature drives the differentiation in the ecological role of the cultivable fungal species Mortierella alpine (M. alpina) and Epicoccum nigrum (E. nigrum). The successful colonization of M. alpina on the root surface enhanced the resistance of wheats in response to drought stresses via activation of drought-responsive genes (e.g., CIPK9 and PP2C30). Notably, we found that lateral roots and root hairs were significantly suppressed by co-colonization of a drought-enriched fungus (M. alpina) and a drought-depleted fungus (E. nigrum). Conclusions Collectively, our findings revealed host genotypes profoundly influence rhizosphere microbiome assembly and functional adaptation, as well as it provides evidence that drought-resistant plant recruitment of specific rhizosphere fungi enhances drought tolerance of drought-sensitive wheats. These findings significantly underpin our understanding of the complex feedbacks between plants and microbes during drought, and lay a foundation for steering “beneficial keystone biome” to develop more resilient and productive crops under climate change. Video Abstract

Background: Ossicles of avulsed fractures of the lateral malleolus can result in pain or chronic ankle instability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the arthroscopic double-row fixation procedure with anatomic ankle lateral ligaments reconstruction for the treatment of ankle lateral ligaments injury with os subfibulare. Methods: This retrospective study included 38 patients with ankle lateral ligaments injury with concomitant os subfibulare who were treated between July 2016 and November 2021. The patients were divided into a double-row fixation group (n = 19) and an ankle lateral ligaments reconstruction group (n = 19). The Karlsson and Peterson Scoring System for Ankle Function (KAFS), American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Tegner score, visual analog scale (VAS), and anterior drawer test (ADT) were obtained preoperatively and at the last post-operative follow-up. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was also performed at the last post-operative follow-up. Results: The KAFS, AOFAS, VAS, and Tegner scores increased significantly after the surgery. Furthermore, the pre- and post-operative functional scores were comparable between the two groups. The ADT was negative in all participants post-operatively. There were no significant differences between the double-row fixation and ligaments reconstruction groups regarding the proportions of patients who achieved a minimally clinically important difference (MCID) in KAFS, AOFAS, and Tegner scores. There was no significant difference in T2 mapping values for the tibial and talar side post-operatively between the two groups. Moreover, there were no significant differences in functional scores post-operatively between bony fusion and non-fusion patients in the double fixation group. Conclusion: The double-row fixation procedure provided similar satisfactory clinical outcomes when compared with lateral ligaments reconstruction for the treatment of ankle lateral ligaments injury with os subfibulare over a short follow-up duration.

IntroductionTo address issues related to shallow soil tillage, low soil nutrient content, and single tillage method in maize production in the Western Inner Mongolia Region, this study implemented various tillage and straw return techniques, including strip cultivation, subsoiling, deep tillage, no-tillage, straw incorporation with strip cultivation, straw incorporation with subsoiling, straw incorporation with deep tillage, and straw incorporation with no tillage, while using conventional shallow spinning by farmers as the control.MethodsWe employed Xianyu 696 (XY696) and Ximeng 6 (XM6) as experimental materials to assess maize 100-grains weight, grain filling rate parameters, and grain nutrient quality. This investigation aimed to elucidate how tillage and straw return influence the accumulation of grain material in different maize varieties.Results and discussionThe results indicated that proper implementation of tillage and straw return had a significant impact on the 100-grains weight of both varieties. In comparison to CK (farmer’s rotary rotation), the most notable rise in 100-grains weight was observed under the DPR treatment (straw incorporation with deep tillage), with a maximum increase of 4.84% for XY696 and 6.28% for XM6. The proper implementation of tillage and straw return in the field resulted in discernible differences in the stages of improving the grain filling rates of different maize varieties. Specifically, XY696 showed a predominant increase in the filling rate during the early stage (V1), while XM6 exhibited an increase in the filling rates during the middle and late stages (V2 and V3). In comparison to CK, V1 increased by 1.54% to 27.56% in XY696, and V2 and V3 increased by 0.41% to 10.42% in XM6 under various tillage and straw return practices. The proper implementation of tillage and straw return had a significant impact on the nutritional quality of the grains in each variety. In comparison to CK, the DPR treatment resulted in the most pronounced decrease in the soluble sugar content of grains by 25.43% and the greatest increase in the crude fat content of grains by 9.67%.ConclusionUltimately, the proper implementation of soil tillage and straw return facilitated an increase in grain crude fat content and significantly boosted grain weight by improving the grouting rate parameters at all stages for various maize varieties. Additionally, the utilization of DPR treatment proved to be more effective. Overall, DPR is the most promising strategy to improve maize yield and the nutritional quality of grain in the long term in the Western Inner Mongolia Region.

A hairy Schwarzschild black hole describes the deformation of Schwarzschild black hole with an exponent correction due to the introducing of additional sources. Inspired by the novel feature that the hairy Schwarzschild black hole can have double photon spheres for certain parameters space, in this paper we study the echo signals of a massless scalar field from this hairy Schwarzschild black hole by calculating its time evolution. We mainly analyze how the hairy parameters and scalar field's angular momentum affect the echo waveform of the perturbing scalar field. Additionally, we roughly evaluate the time delay of echoes. We find that the hairy parameters have significant influences on the echo signals.

Abstract Cholangiocarcinoma is the most common malignant bile duct tumor in Southeast Asia. The special location of cholangiocarcinoma leads to it being difficult to diagnose. Currently, the progress in clinical prognosis outcomes remains abysmal owing to the lack of definitive diagnostic criteria. Therefore, uncovering the potential markers for cholangiocarcinoma is a pressing issue. Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 C (UBE2C) is a critical ubiquitination enzyme; it is involved in the tumorigenesis of various malignancies and affects the patient’s prognosis. However, there is currently no relevant literature to indicate whether UBE2C is related to the clinical survival outcome of cholangiocarcinoma patients. In this report, we mined the published cholangiocarcinoma transcriptome data set (GSE26566), compared it with the ubiquitination-associated gene (GO:0016567), and identified that UBE2C was highly expressed in cholangiocarcinoma tumor tissue. Moreover, high expression of UBE2C was markedly correlated with surgical margin, primary tumor, histological variants, and histological grade. More specifically, high expression of UBE2C was negatively associated with overall survival, disease-specific survival, local recurrence-free survival, and metastasis-free survival in patients with cholangiocarcinoma. Our findings demonstrate that UBE2C may provide a potential therapeutic marker and prognostic factor for cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Abstract Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) interacts with various extracellular matrix proteins in tissues. Elevated COMP levels recently linked to worse overall survival in multiple cancer types. COMP's significance in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) remains uncertain. Here we report a retrospective study to explore COMP's impact on iCCA outcomes. We collected 182 patients' iCCA tumor tissues. COMP overexpression was associated with adverse factors like R1 resection (p = 0.008), advanced T stage (p

Music, enchanting and poetic, permeates every corner of human civilization. Although music is not unfamiliar to people, our understanding of its essence remains limited, and there is still no universally accepted scientific description. This is primarily due to music being regarded as a product of reason and emotion, making it difficult to define. This article treats musical texts as a complex system. This view echoes linguist John Rupert Firth's insight that understanding a word involves defining it through its surrounding relationships. To construct the network we first build a linear regression model with threshold values to assign conditions to the links among note, time, and volume. Then a clustering coefficient representing regional characteristics is utilized to define the word. Finally, the statistical distribution of the text is strictly required to adhere to the grammatical properties of statistical linguistics, such as Zipf's law, to adjust the weights of the linear regression model and achieve optimal results. These processes enable us to comprehend the structural differences in music across different periods with scientific rigor. Relying on the advantages of structuralism, we concentrate on the relationships and order between the physical elements of music, rather than getting entangled in the blurred boundaries of science and philosophy. Aside from serving as a bridge connecting music to natural language processing and knowledge graphs, the technical methods developed in this work offer a more intuitive approach to elucidate the relationships among elements of a complex network.