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Aim: Gastric cancer (GC) is the leading cause of cancer death, and is associated with host genetic factors. This study aimed to determine the impact of SP4 polymorphisms on GC. Materials & methods: Four hundred and eighty-nine GC patients and 481 healthy subjects were recruited. The association between single nucleotide polymorphisms and GC risk was investigated by logistic regression analysis. Results: It was observed that rs39302 and rs7811417 were related to a decreased GC risk. Stratified analyses showed that rs39302 decreased GC susceptibility at ages ≤60 years, in men, GC patients who had previously smoked and drank. rs7811417 had a risk-decreasing impact on the patients aged ≤60 years, in men, GC patients who were nonsmoking and nondrinking. rs35929923 decreased the GC risk of patients in grade III–IV and the lymph node metastasis subgroup. Conclusion: SP4 gene polymorphisms are associated with GC risk.

BackgroundThe progression of coagulation in COVID-19 patients with confirmed discharge status and the combination of autopsy with complete hemostasis parameters have not been well studied.ObjectiveTo clarify the thrombotic phenomena and hemostasis state in COVID-19 patients based on epidemiological statistics combining autopsy and statistical analysis.MethodsUsing autopsy results from 9 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and the medical records of 407 patients, including 39 deceased patients whose discharge status was certain, time-sequential changes in 11 relevant indices within mild, severe and critical infection throughout hospitalization according to the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) guidelines were evaluated. Statistical tools were applied to calculate the importance of 11 indices and the correlation between those indices and the severity of COVID-19.ResultsAt the beginning of hospitalization, platelet (PLT) counts were significantly reduced in critically ill patients compared with severely or mildly ill patients. Blood glucose (GLU), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and D-dimer levels in critical patients were increased compared with mild and severe patients during the entire admission period. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) score was also high in critical patients. In the relatively late stage of nonsurvivors, the temporal changes in PLT count, PT, and D-dimer levels were significantly different from those in survivors. A random forest model indicated that the most important feature was PT followed by D-dimer, indicating their positive associations with disease severity. Autopsy of deceased patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for DIC revealed microthromboses in multiple organs.ConclusionsCombining autopsy data, time-sequential changes and statistical methods to explore hemostasis-relevant indices among the different severities of the disease helps guide therapy and detect prognosis in COVID-19 infection.

Infectious microbes that spread easily in healthcare facilities remain as the severe threat for the public health, especially among immunocompromised populations. Given the intricate problem of dramatic increase in resistance to common biocides, the development of safe and efficient biocide formulated agents to alleviate drug resistance is highly demanding. In this study, Schiff-base ligands were successfully formed on natural biopolymer of epsilon-poly-L-lysine (e-PL) decorated aldehyde functionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15 (CHO-SBA-15) for the selective coordination of silver ions, which was affirmed by various physicochemical methods. Besides the identified broad-spectrum antibacterial activities, the as-prepared Schiff-base silver nanocomplex (CHO-SBA-15/e-PL/Ag, CLA-1) exhibited an improved inhibitory effect on infectious pathogen growth typified by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison with two control silver complexes without Schiff-base conjugates, SBA-15/e-PL/Ag and CHO-SBA-15/Ag, respectively. In addition, CLA-1 remarkably inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to the excellent antimicrobial activity of silver species. Significantly, CLA-1 kills Candida albicans cells, inhibits biofilm formation, and eliminates preformed biofilms, with no development of resistance during continuous serial passaging. The antifungal activity is connected to disruption of bacterial cell membranes and increased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species. In mouse models of multidrug-resistant C. albicans infection, CLA-1 exhibited efficient in vivo fungicidal efficacy superior to two antifungal drugs, amphotericin B and fluconazole. Moreover, CLA-1 treatment induces negligible toxicity against normal tissues with safety. Therefore, this study reveals the pivotal role of the molecular design of Schiff-base silver nanocomplex formation on biopolymer surface-functionalized silica mesopores as a green and efficient nanoplatform to tackle infectious microbes.

Helicobacter pylori is a major global pathogen and has been implicated in gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric carcinoma. The efficacy of the extensive therapy of H. pylori infection with antibiotics is compromised by the development of drug resistance and toxicity toward human gut microbiota, which urgently demands novel and selective antibacterial strategies. The present study was mainly performed to assess the in vitro and in vivo effects of a natural herbal compound, dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), against standard and clinical H. pylori strains. DHT demonstrated effective antibacterial activity against H. pylori in vitro (MIC50/90, 0.25/0.5 μg/ml), with no development of resistance during continuous serial passaging. Time-kill curves showed strong time-dependent bactericidal activity for DHT. Also, DHT eliminated preformed biofilms and killed biofilm-encased H. pylori cells more efficiently than the conventional antibiotic metronidazole. In mouse models of multidrug-resistant H. pylori infection, dual therapy with DHT and omeprazole showed in vivo killing efficacy superior to that of the standard triple-therapy approach. Moreover, DHT treatment induces negligible toxicity against normal tissues and exhibits a relatively good safety index. These results suggest that DHT could be suitable for use as an anti-H. pylori agent in combination with a proton pump inhibitor to eradicate multidrug-resistant H. pylori.

Background: The progress of coagulation in COVID-19 patients with confirmed discharge status (decease or discharge) and the combination of the autopsy with the complete coagulation parameters were not well studied.Objective: To clarify the thrombotic phenomena with coagulation progress in COVID-19 patients based on epidemiological statistics combining the autopsy and informatics analysis.Methods: Using 9 autopsy results with COVID-19 pneumonia and the medical records of 407 patients including 39 deceased ones whose discharge status was certain, time-sequential changes of 11 relevant indices within mild, severe and critical infection throughout hospitalization according to the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) guidelines were evaluated. Informatics tools were applied to calculate the importance of 11 indices and the correlation between those indices and the severities of COVID-19.Results: At the beginning of the hospitalization, platelet (PLT) had a significant decrease in critically ill patients. Blood glucose (GLU), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and D-dimer in critical patients were higher than those in mild and severe during the whole admission period. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) score also showed the high DIC level in critical patients. At the relatively late stage of non-survivors, the temporal changes of PLT count, PT, and D-dimer were significantly different from survivors. A random forest model indicated that the most important feature was PT, followed by D-dimer, indicating their positive associations for the severities of disease. Autopsy data from 9 deceased patients also showed the DIC phenomena with prolonged PT, APTT, less PLT count and thrombosis in multiple organs.Conclusions: Combining autopsy data, time-sequential changes and informatics methods to explore the coagulation relevant indices among the different severities of the disease, helps guide the therapy and detect the prognosis in COVID-19 infection.

Background The outbreak of COVID-19 around the world resulted in more than 480 thousand deaths. Objective To clarify the thrombotic phenomena with coagulation progress in COVID-19 patients based on epidemiological statistics combining the autopsy and informatics analysis. Methods Using 9 autopsy results with COVID-19 pneumonia and the medical records of 407 patients including 39 deceased ones whose discharge status was certain, time-sequential changes of 11 coagulation relevant indices within mild, severe and critical infection throughout hospitalization according to NHC guidelines were evaluated. Informatics tools were applied to calculate the importance and correlation between them and the progression of thrombosis. Results At the beginning of the hospitalization, PLT had a significant decrease in critically ill patients. GLU, PT, APTT, and D-dimer in critical patients were higher than those in mild and severe during the whole admission period. The ISTH DIC score also showed the continuous overt DIC in critical patients. At the late stage of non-survivors, the dynamic profiles of PLT, PT, and D-dimer were significantly different from survivors. A random forest model indicated that the most important feature was PT, followed by D-dimer, indicating their crucial roles for the progression of disease. Conclusions COVID-19 is constantly spreading wildly around the world, combining autopsy data, time-sequential profiles and informatics methods to explore the dynamic changes of coagulation relevant indices throughout the course of the disease deterioration, which helps guide the therapy and detect the prognosis in different level of COVID-19 infection.

Helicobacter pylori is a major global pathogen and has been implicated in gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric carcinoma. The efficacy of the extensive therapy of H. pylori infection with antibiotics is compromised by the development of drug resistance and toxicity toward human gut microbiota, which urgently demands novel and selective antibacterial strategies. The present study was mainly performed to assess the in vitro and in vivo effects of a natural herbal compound, dihydrotanshinone I (DHT), against standard and clinical H. pylori strains. DHT demonstrated effective antibacterial activity against H. pylori in vitro (MIC(50/90), 0.25/0.5 μg/ml), with no development of resistance during continuous serial passaging. Time-kill curves showed strong time-dependent bactericidal activity for DHT. Also, DHT eliminated preformed biofilms and killed biofilm-encased H. pylori cells more efficiently than the conventional antibiotic metronidazole. In mouse models of multidrug-resistant H. pylori infection, dual therapy with DHT and omeprazole showed in vivo killing efficacy superior to that of the standard triple-therapy approach. Moreover, DHT treatment induces negligible toxicity against normal tissues and exhibits a relatively good safety index. These results suggest that DHT could be suitable for use as an anti-H. pylori agent in combination with a proton pump inhibitor to eradicate multidrug-resistant H. pylori.

Quanjing Mei,1,* Peipei Luo,1,* Yi Zuo,1 Jidong Li,1 Qin Zou,1 Yubao Li,1 Dianming Jiang,2 Yaning Wang3 1Research Center for Nano Biomaterials, Analytical and Testing Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Center of Bone and Trauma, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a serious public health problem affecting hundreds of millions of elderly people worldwide, which is difficult to be treated by traditional methods because of the peculiarity of skeletal system and liver damage caused by high-dose administration. In this research, a porous drug release system has been attempted to encapsulate rifampicin (RIF) into poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) microspheres to improve the efficacy and benefit of anti-tuberculosis drug in skeletal system. Materials and methods: The microspheres prepared by two different methods, oil-in-oil (o/o) emulsion solvent evaporation method and oil-in-water (o/w) method, were characterized in terms of morphology, size, encapsulation efficiency, drug distribution, degradation, and crystallinity. Results: The microspheres exhibited a porous structure with evenly drug distribution prepared by o/o emulsion solvent evaporation method, and their diameter ranged from 50.54 to 57.34 μm. The encapsulation efficiency was up to 61.86% when drug-loading content was only 1.51%, and showed a little decrease with the drug-loading content increasing. In vitro release studies revealed that the drug release from porous microspheres was controlled by non-Fickian diffusion, and almost 80% of the RIF were completely released after 10 days. The results of RIF-loaded microspheres on the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus proved that the porous microspheres had strong antibacterial ability. In addition, the polymer crystallinity had prominent influence on the degradation rate of microspheres regardless of the morphology.Conclusion: It was an efficient way to entrap slightly water-soluble drug like RIF into PCL by o/o emulsion solvent evaporation method with uniform drug distribution. The RIF-loaded porous PCL microspheres showed the combination of good antimicrobial properties and excellent cytocompatibility, and it could generate gentle environment by PCL slow degradation.Keywords: rifampicin-loaded porous microspheres, poly (ε-caprolactone), oil-in-oil solvent evaporation method, encapsulation efficiency, antibacterial ability

Resulting from the drastic increase of atmospheric CO

Cyclic voltammograms

Previous studies on N 2 -ECBM (N 2 -enhanced coalbed methane) have focused on experimental investigation or numerical simulation of coalbed methane recovery processes using pure N 2 or binary gas (CO 2 /N 2 ) injection. Experimental studies on the changes in pore structure and permeability during N 2 injection have been limited. In this study, N 2 injection experiments, mercury intrusion porosimetry and permeability measurements were conducted to investigate the changes in pore structure and permeability caused by N 2 injection of semi-anthracite coal from the Lu'an mining area in the Qinshui basin, Shanxi Province, China. The results show that the total pore volume markedly increases during N 2 injection, with increases in transition pores, mesopores and macropores of 8.0%, 50.0% and 138.3%, respectively. Nitrogen injection improves the pore size distribution: the incremental pore volume variances of transition pores, mesopores and macropores after treatment are 2.1%, 47.8% and 141.0%, respectively. Porosity and permeability markedly rise during N 2 injection, by 22.6% and 29.9%, respectively. These results demonstrate that N 2 injection mainly affects macropores, followed by mesopores and transition pores, and reformation of the micropores is limited. Nitrogen injection alters the pore structure of coal, which leads to an increase in the pore volume and improvement of the pore size distribution and connectivity: these changes facilitate the diffusion and transfusion of coalbed methane. The permeability of the coal sample was improved as a result of N 2 injection, indicating that N 2 injection could be used to enhance the permeability of CBM reservoirs. These findings will lead to a better understanding of the interactions between pores and N 2 during N 2 injection and hence can be applied to improve CBM recovery for non-productive or low-productivity CBM wells.

To solve the problem that control system of the intelligent vehicle is hard to measure the vehicle mass and road gradient, this paper built a longitudinal dynamics model of vehicle. Based on theoretical model, discrete steady-state Kalman filter was used to estimate gradient of slope and vehicle mass, and simulation platform was established by Carsim and Maltab/Simulink to verify the accuracy and instantaneity of the algorithm. A proper acceleration sensor was selected, according to the stable Kalman filter theory. A real test was conducted, and the instantaneity and accuracy of this method for vehicle mass and road slope was verified by comparing with the data from inertial navigator.

Most of traditional visual indoor navigation algorithms and methods only consider the localization in ordinary daytime, while we focus on the indoor re-localization in low light in the paper. As RGB images are degraded in low light, less discriminative infrared and depth image pairs are taken, as the input, by RGB-D cameras, the most similar candidates, as the output, are searched from databases which is built in the bag-of-word framework. Epipolar constraints can be used to relocalize the query infrared and depth image sequence. We evaluate our method in two datasets captured by Kinect2. The results demonstrate very promising re-localization results for indoor navigation system in low light environments., {"references":["Lowry, S., Sunderhauf, N., Newman, P., Leonard, J. J., Cox, D., Corke, P.,\nMilford, M. J., Visual Place Recognition: A Survey, IEEE Transactions\non Robotics, 2015, 31(1): 1–19.","Williams B., Cummins M., Neira J., Newman P., Reid I., Tardos J. D.,\nA comparison of loop closing techniques in monocular SLAM, Robotics\nand Autonomous Systems, vol. 57, no. 12, pp. 1188C1197, 2009","Lee D, Kim H, Myung H., 2D image feature-based real-time RGB-D 3D\nSLAM, Robot Intelligence Technology and Applications, 2012: 485-492.","Mur-Artal R, Montiel J. M. M., Tardos J D., ORB-SLAM: a versatile\nand accurate monocular SLAM system, IEEE Transactions on Robotics,\n2015, 31(5): 1147-1163.","Endres, F., Hess, J., Engelhard, N., Sturm, J., Cremers, D., Burgard, W.,\nAn Evaluation of the RGB-D SLAM System, ICRA, 2012.","Engel J, Schops T, Cremers D., LSD-SLAM: Large-scale direct\nmonocular SLAM, ECCV, 2014.","Salas-Moreno, R,, Newcombe, R., Strasdat, H., et al., Slam++:\nSimultaneous localisation and mapping at the level of objects, CVPR,\n2013.","Labbe M, Michaud F., Appearance-based loop closure detection for online\nlarge-scale and long-term operation, IEEE Transactions on Robotics,\n2013, 29(3): 734-745.","Labbe M, Michaud F., Online global loop closure detection for large-scale\nmulti-session graph-based slam, IEEE Intelligent Robots and Systems\n(IROS), 2014.\n[10] Labb M., Michaud F., Memory management for real-time\nappearance-based loop closure detection, IEEE Intelligent Robots\nand Systems (IROS), 2011.\n[11] Rublee, E., Rabaud, V., Konolige, K., et al., ORB: an efficient alternative\nto SIFT or SURF, IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision,\n2011.\n[12] Zhong, Y., Intrinsic shape signatures: A shape descriptor for 3D\nobject recognition, IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision\nWorkshops, 2009.\n[13] Glvez-Lpez, D., Tardos, J. D., Bags of binary words for fast place\nrecognition in image sequences(J). IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2012,\n28(5): 1188-1197."]}

Low monomer-polymer conversion is the key factor leading to cytotoxicity for resin-containing restorative materials. This paper provides a new root canal filling system based on self-curing injectable polyurethane which can achieve high conversion in a short time. Traced FTIR spectra show more than 90% NCO group participated in the curing reaction after 4h, and only about 5% remained after 24h. The calculated data also testified the curing process supports a third-order reaction, and this efficient and sufficient reaction is postulated to weaken the toxic stimulation. By culturing with L929 murine fibroblasts, the PU sealer is shown to be favorable for cell attachment and proliferation. Then physicochemical properties of the injectable PU-based sealer were evaluated according to the Standard [ISO 6876:2001 (E)] for clinical application. A series of physicochemical properties of PU sealer have been tested comparing with AH Plus and Apexit Plus. And the results present that the self-curing PU sealer could not only match the clinic requirements, but even has better properties than the other two commercial sealers. We expect the high conversion PU sealer has a tremendous potential in the field of root canal filling after further biological evaluation.

Coalbed methane (CBM) predicting recovery in high rank coal reservoir varies greatly in Jincheng area and it seriously influences efficient and economic exploitation of CBM resource. In order to predict more accurate CBM recovery, we conducted history matching and productivity prediction of vertical well by using COMET 3 reservoir modeling software, innovatively adopted the gas desorption experiment of bulk coal at fixed test pressure, analyzed the recovery extent method of Daning multiple-hole horizontal well and Panzhuang well group, and calculated recovery by sorption isotherm method of 14 vertical CBM wells at the abandonment pressures 1.0, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.3 MPa, respectively. The results show that the reservoir simulation methods (numerical simulation method and the recovery extent method) is more reliable than the theoretical analysis of coal sample (sorption isotherm method and desorption experiment method). Also, desorption experiment method at fixed pressure is superior to sorption isotherm method. Through the comprehensive analysis and linear correction, CBM recovery ratios in high rank coal reservoir of Jincheng area were found to be 38.64%, 49.30%, 59.30%, and 69.20% at the abandonment pressures 1.0, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.3 MPa, respectively. The research results are of significant importance in the CBM exploration and development in Jincheng area. Keywords: CBM, Recovery, Desorption at fixed pressure, Recovery extent