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The analysis of the coupling relationship between urban growth and carbon emissions and its synergistic change rule is of great significance to the sustainable development of cities. The BCI index method is used to extract the scope of built-up areas of Wuhan from 2000 to 2020, and the relationship between urban growth and carbon emissions is analyzed based on the Tapio decoupling model. The results show that: (i) The built-up areas of Wuhan City expanded from 2000 to 2020 in all directions with Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang as the center, forming a stable monocentric urban spatial structure. The growth of the built-up areas exhibited stage characteristics, including a clear start, acceleration, high-speed growth, and deceleration. (ii) The carbon emissions of Wuhan City from 2000 to 2020 showed an overall growth trend. Three districts, Jiangxia, Huangpi and Hongshan, become high-emission districts, three districts, Caidian, Dongxihu and Xinzhou, become higher-emission districts, and the other seven districts maintain a lower level of carbon emissions; (iii) The carbon emissions and expansion of built-up areas in Wuhan city districts from 2000 to 2020 show obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity. They present a decoupling of aggregation in the central area and some regression in the periphery, but the overall trend is favorable. The study provides useful references for urban planning and policy making.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of HBV serum markers (HBV-M) in pregnant women with HBV infection and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 302 infants delivered by HBV infected pregnant women registered and examined in our hospital from January 2016 to April 2020 were included. Serum HBV-M and HBV-DNA were detected in the 302 pregnant women during late pregnancy and in their infants aged 6~12 months (time point 1, T1) and 20~30 months (time point 2, T2). The dynamic changes and influencing factors were analyzed. Results For the infants, HBsAg was negative at both time points, and there were 301 cases of anti-HBs positive, 3 cases of HBeAg positive, 46 cases of anti-HBe positive and 207 cases of anti-HBc positive at T1, and all these indicators were decreased gradually with the age of infants. At T2, 8 cases of anti-HBs positive turned negative, while those of HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc positive turned negative. The lower the titer of T1 anti-HBs was, the more likely it was to turn negative. At T2, the titer of anti-HBs was not related to feeding mode, delivery mode and mother HBV DNA level. Conclusion Serum HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc are all derived from the mother and metabolized gradually. The success rate of mother-to-child prevention for HBV infected pregnant women is quite high. If the titer of the initial test is relatively low, the time of reexamination should be shortened.

Objective To evaluate the predictive efficacy of serum pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) level in HBeAg clearance for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with polyethylene glycol interferon alfa (PEG-IFN-α). Methods Twenty-five CHB patients with HBeAg positive and quantitative < 50 S/CO treated in our outpatient department from November 2015 to July 2019 were recruited in this prospective study. They were treated with PEG-IFN-α alone or combined with nucleoside and nucleotide analogs (NAs) for 48 to 96 weeks. After treatment, the patients were followed up in the clinic. According to whether HBeAg was cleared during treatment or follow-up, the patients were divided into HBeAg clearance group (HBeAg quantitative < 1.00 COI) and HBeAg non-clearance group (HBeAg ≥1.00 COI). The baseline characteristics and dynamic changes of virological indexes were analyzed for every patient during treatment. The predictive value of virological markers to HBeAg clearance was evaluated by binary logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results At the end of treatment, 13 patients (13/25, 52.00%) achieved HBeAg clearance. There were significant differences in the levels of serum pgRNA and HBcrAg between the 2 groups at baseline (P < 0.05); Baseline pgRNA was significantly correlated with HBcrAg (r=0.575, P=0.003) and HBeAg (r=0.496, P=0.012), and baseline HBcrAg was significantly correlated with HBeAg (r=0.888, P < 0.001) and HBsAg (r=0.423, P=0.035). During the treatment, the overall level of HBeAg in 25 patients showed a downward trend when compared with the baseline level, and the decline of HBeAg level was greater in the HBeAg clearance group than the HBeAg non-clearance group at different time points (P < 0.05). From baseline to 12 weeks, the levels of pgRNA and HBsAg were decreased significantly, and its decline of pgRNA was more significant in the HBeAg clearance group than the non-clearance group (P < 0.05). During the whole treatment process, the level of HBcrAg was in a slow downward trend, and a significant decrease was observed only at 12 to 24 week in the HBeAg clearance group (P < 0.05), not at other time points. ROC curve analysis showed that baseline pgRNA and HBcrAg were good indicators to predict HBeAg clearance. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis indicated that baseline pgRNA level was an independent predictor of HBeAg clearance after treatment (P < 0.05), with an AUC of 0.763, cutoff value of 2.42 log10 copies/mL, a sensitivity of 69.23% and a specificity of 53.85%. Conclusion Pretreatment serum level of pgRNA shows good predictive value for the efficacy of PEG-IFN-α in CHB patients with low HBeAg level.

BACKGROUND: Ralstonia solanacearum, a notorious and refractory bacterial plant pathogen, threatens multiple vegetable crops and causes significant economic loss in agriculture. Long‐term use of traditional medicines not only increases the problem of drug resistance, but also causes great environmental pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new agents with high efficacy and low toxicity. RESULTS: In this study, we have synthesized and characterized graphitic carbon nitride incorporated copper oxide composite (g‐C3N4@CuO), which showed higher antimicrobial effect than graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (g‐C3N4 nanosheets) and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs). Ralstonia solanacearum exposed to g‐C3N4@CuO exhibited higher levels of oxygen toxicity, cell membrane damage, DNA damage, motility disruption and even cell death compared to g‐C3N4 nanosheets and CuONPs. In addition, g‐C3N4@CuO was more effective in the control of tobacco bacterial wilt than g‐C3N4 nanosheets and CuONPs. CONCLUSION: Thus, this study provides a new perspective on g‐C3N4@CuO control of bacterial diseases in crops, and the mechanism is related to the destruction of cell membrane damage and motility disruption. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solution combustion synthesis (SCS) process to prepare nickel catalyst over bentonite (NiO/Ben) is reported. Compared to the traditional impregnation method, NiO/ben produced by SCS has smaller nickel particle size and higher dispersion. With a metal loading of 20 wt%, the afforded NiO/Ben demonstrates excellent catalytic activity for CO2 methanation in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor. In certain discharge conditions (H2:CO2 ratio of 5 in feed gas, discharge input power of 45 W, and gas hourly space velocity of 11 320 h−1), CO2 conversion and CH4 selectivity are as high as 55.8% and 84.6%, respectively. Under the conditions of plasma configuration, the strong interaction between the nickel species and the support plays an important role in the CO2 methanation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Patients affected by functional mitral regurgitation represent an increasingly high‐risk population. Edge‐to‐edge mitral valve repair (TEER) has emerged as a promising treatment option for these patients. However, there is limited research on the comparative outcomes of TEER versus surgical mitral valve repair (SMVr). This study seeks to compare the demographics, complications, and outcomes of TEER and SMVr based on a real‐world analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Methods and Results: In the NIS database, from the years 2016 to 2018, a total of 6233 and 2524 patients who underwent SMVr and TEER were selected, respectively. The mean ages of the patients were 65.68 years (SMVr) and 78.40 years (TEER) (p < 0.01). The mortality rate of patients who received SMVr was similar to that of patients who were treated with TEER (1.7% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.603). Patients who underwent SMVr more likely suffered from perioperative complications including cardiogenic shock (2.3% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.001), cardiac arrest (1.7% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.025), and cerebrovascular infarction (0.9% vs. 0.4%, p = 0.013). The average length of hospital stay was longer (8.59 vs. 4.13 days, p < 0.001) for SMVr compared to TEER; however, the average cost of treatment was higher ($218 728.25 vs. $215 071.74, p = 0.031) for TEER compared to SMVr. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that SMVr was associated with worse adjusted cardiogenic shock (OR, 7.347 [95% CI, 3.574−15.105]; p < 0.01) and acute kidney injury (OR, 2.793 [95% CI, 2.356−3.311]; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Patients who underwent TEER demonstrated a notable decrease in postoperative complications and a shorter hospitalization period when compared to those who underwent SMVr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]