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Objective. To explore the effects of different repair and reconstruction methods combined with psychological intervention on the quality of life and negative emotion of patients with oral cancer. Methods. 180 patients with oral cancer treated in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were randomly divided into group A, group B, and group C, with 60 cases in each group. Group A and group B were repaired with submental island flap and free flap, respectively. Group C was divided into two groups, and group C was treated with routine nursing intervention. Group A and group B received psychological intervention. Clinical symptom scores, complication rate (CR), quality of life (according to the University of Washington quality of life questionnaire, UW-QOL), and negative emotion scores were compared. Results. After intervention, the clinical symptom scores and negative emotion scores of groups A and B were lower than those of group C ( P < 0.001 ), as well as the CR ( P < 0.05 ), and the UW-QOL scores of groups A and B were higher than those of group C ( P < 0.05 ), but no significant differences in these aspects were presented between group A and group B ( P > 0.05 ). The main factors affecting quality of life were swallowing/chewing, language, and saliva in group A; swallowing/chewing, language, and taste in group B; and appearance, swallowing/chewing, emotion, and language in group C. Conclusion. Psychological intervention can improve the mental state of patients with oral cancer after operation, optimize the effect of operation, and improve the quality of life. As the effect of psychological intervention on patients undergoing different repair and reconstruction methods is similar, it should be given according to patients’ actual condition in the clinic.

Background Cardiac surgery–associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI) is common in infants and is associated with negative outcomes. Nadir indexed oxygen delivery (DO2i) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with the occurrence of postoperative CS-AKI, with critical thresholds for DO2i reported to be 262 to 300 mL/min/m2 in adults. However, given that infants have a higher metabolic rate and oxygen demand, the critical DO2i in infants is not comparable with existing adult standards. This study aimed to explore the critical DO2i threshold during pediatric CPB. Methods Between March 2019 and April 2020, 106 consecutive infants undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB were admitted to this prospective observational cohort study. The DO2i levels of each patient were monitored during CPB. Pre- and intraoperative factors were tested for independent association with CS-AKI. The postoperative outcomes of patients with or without CS-AKI were compared. Results In our patient population (n = 83), we identified 25 patients (38.5%) with postoperative CS-AKI. Multivariate analysis revealed 2 independent risk factors for onset of CS-AKI: CPB duration and nadir DO2i. The lowest suitable DO2i during CPB in the present population was 353 mL/min/m2 (sensitivity, 65.6%; specificity, 74.5%). CS-AKI during pediatric CPB remained significantly associated with an increased morbidity, related mainly to a postoperative low cardiac output syndrome, but not to mortality. Conclusions The lowest suitable DO2i during CPB in the infant population undergoing cardiac surgery was 353 mL/min/m2. Below this threshold, there was a high probability of inducing CS-AKI.

The genome of an antibiotic-producing bacterium, Bacillus velezensis H208, was sequenced. Strain H208 was isolated from ginger rhizosphere in Laifeng County, China. The genome consisted of 3,929,792 bp, with a GC content of 46.5%, and contained 3,773 protein-coding genes and 118 noncoding RNA genes.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly used in patients undergoing complex thoracic surgical procedures. However, studies reporting the clinical outcomes of these patients are limited to case reports, without real consensus. Our aim was to evaluate the perioperative use of ECMO as respiratory and/or circulatory support in thoracic surgery: indications, benefits, and perioperative management. Methods: Between May 2013 and December 2018, we reviewed the clinical data of 15 patients (11 males and 4 females; mean age: 47 years old; range, 25–73 years) undergoing ECMO-assisted thoracic surgery in our hospital. Results: Of the 15 patients, 10 cases received peripheral veno-arterial (VA) ECMO and five cases received veno-venous (VV) ECMO. Indications for ECMO were pulmonary transplantation with hard-to-maintain oxygenation (n = 5), traumatic main bronchial rupture (n = 2), traumatic lung injury (n = 1), airway tumor leading to severe airway stenosis (n = 2), huge thoracic mass infiltrated vena cava (n = 5). The ECMO duration was 1–51 hours. All patients were successfully extubated and weaned from ECMO postoperatively. The main complications were hemorrhage (26.7%), infection (33.3%), acute hepatic dysfunction (33.3%), and venous thrombosis (26.7%). There was only one hospital death and postoperative one-year survival rate was 86%. Conclusion: Our experience indicates that ECMO is a feasible method for complex trachea-bronchial surgery, huge thoracic mass excision and lung transplantation, and the ECMO-related risks may be justified. With further accumulation of experience with ECMO, a more sophisticated protocol for management of critical airway or heart failure problems in thoracic surgeries can be derived.

Emerging evidence suggests that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) ligands pretreatment may play a vital role in the progress of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. As the ligand of TLR3, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), a synthetic double-stranded RNA, whether its preconditioning can exhibit a cardioprotective phenotype remains unknown. Here, we report the protective effect of poly(I:C) pretreatment in acute myocardial I/R injury by activating TLR3/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Poly(I:C) pretreatment leads to a significant reduction of infarct size, improvement of cardiac function, and downregulation of inflammatory cytokines and apoptotic molecules compared with controls. Subsequently, our data demonstrate that phosphorylation of TLR3 tyrosine residue and its interaction with PI3K is enhanced, and protein levels of phospho-PI3K and phospho-Akt are both increased after poly(I:C) pretreatment, while knock out of TLR3 suppresses the cardioprotection of poly(I:C) preconditioning through a decreased activation of PI3K/Akt signaling. Moreover, inhibition of p85 PI3K by the administration of LY294002 in vivo and knockdown of Akt by siRNA in vitro significantly abolish poly(I:C) preconditioning-induced cardioprotective effect. In conclusion, our results reveal that poly(I:C) preconditioning exhibits essential protection in myocardial I/R injury via its modulation of TLR3, and the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling, which may provide a potential pharmacologic target for perioperative cardioprotection.

L-glutamate oxidase (GLOD) and L-amino acid oxidase (AAO) were reported to be capable of convert L-glutamic acid to α-aketoglutaric acid (α-KG). These two enzymes gene have been successfully expressed by using pHBM905BDM in Pichia pastoris to produce α-aketoglutaric acid from L-glutamic acid in our previous studies. Here these two enzymes were displayed on P. pastoris to achieve the conversion. We constructed multi-copy expression plasmids using plasmid pHBM905BDM. By using this plasmid, multi-copy strains were constructed and named as PGLOD(1–3)-AGα1 and PAAO(1–3)-AGα1, respectively. The following results showed that expression of GLOD(1–3)-AGα1 and AAO(1–3)-AGα1 in multi-copy strains increased as designed and strain PGLOD3-AGα1 and PAAO3-AGα1 was chosen for high-density fermentation and enzyme activity experiments. By using a multi-copy expression approach and high-density fermentation, we achieved a GLOD expression yield of 688.5 U/g dry cell weight and AAO expression yield of 626.7 U/g dry cell weight. By using displayed GLOD, the average production rate of L-glutamic acid to α-KG was 6.22 g/L/h and the highest α-KG titer (124.5 g/L) was converted from 135 g/L L-glutamic acid. By using displayed AAO, the average production rate of L-glutamic acid to α-KG was 5.78 g/L/h and the highest α-KG titer (115.6 g/L) was converted from 135 g/L L-glutamic acid. It showed that displaying enzymes on P. pastoris are suitable for use in industrial applications.

Cardiac arrest (CA) is the leading cause of death around the world. Survivors after CA and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) develop moderate to severe cognitive impairment up to 60% at 3 months. Accumulating evidence demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) played a pivotal role in ischemic brain injury. This study aimed to identify potential key lncRNAs associated with early cognitive deficits after CA/CPR. LncRNA and mRNA expression profiles of the hippocampus in CA/CPR or sham group were analyzed via high-throughput RNA sequencing, which exhibited 1920 lncRNAs and 1162 mRNAs were differentially expressed. These differentially expressed genes were confirmed to be primarily associated with inflammatory or apoptotic signaling pathways through GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis and coding-noncoding co-expression network analysis. Among which, five key pairs of lncRNA-mRNA were further analyzed by qRT-PCR and western blot. We found that the lncRNANONMMUT113601.1 and mRNA Shc1, an inflammation and apoptosis-associated gene, exhibited the most significant changes in hippocampus of CA/CPR mice. Furthermore, we found that the correlations between this lncRNA and mRNA mainly happened in neurons of hippocampus by in situ hybridization. These results suggested that the critical pairs of lncRNA-mRNA may act as essential regulators in early cognitive deficits after resuscitation.

This paper presents a study of a new tubular vaporizing liquid micro-thruster (VLM) with induction heating. The developed micro-thruster consists of a micro-heater core, an excitation coil, a vaporizing chamber, a nozzle and a micro-channel, all integrated in a glass tube with a dimension of 3 mm (outer diameter) × 18 mm (length). The temperature of the micro-heater core is tested with experiments and an optimal AC frequency is selected for the VLM based on the experimental tests. Vaporization of water-propellant feeding with different flow rates range of 0.1 ml/min − 0.3 ml/min is demonstrated. A maximum thrust force of 680 μN at 0.3 ml/min propellant consumption rate is realized measured with a pendulum thrust stand. Comparing with other VLMs, one merit of the new VLM is that there is no physical connection between the micro-heater core and the power supply. Other merits of the new VLM proposed by this paper is that it can work with a larger input power, provide more heat energy and generate a relative larger thrust force.

Septic cardiomyopathy is a life-threatening complication of severe sepsis and septic shock. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been identified as significant abnormalities in septic cardiomyopathy. However, specific treatments are rare. This study aims to investigate the impact of β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) on septic cardiomyopathy and explore the underlying mechanism(s). We found that pretreatment of D-β-hydroxybutyrate-(R)-1,3 butanediol monoester (ketone ester, 3 mg/g body weight, once daily) by gavage for three days elevated the levels of ketone bodies, especially that of β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) in the circulation and mouse hearts, which exerted a protective effect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 20 mg/kg)-induced septic cardiomyopathy in mice. In addition, an LPS-stimulated macrophage-conditioned medium (MCM) was used to mimic the pathological process of septic cardiomyopathy. Mechanistically, β-OHB alleviated myocardial oxidative stress and improved mitochondrial respiratory function through the antioxidant FoxO3a/MT2 pathway activated via histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition, which ultimately enhanced heart performance in septic cardiomyopathy. Our results, therefore, suggested an unappreciated critical role of β-OHB in septic heart protection as well as highlighted the potential of β-OHB as a simple remedy for the septic cardiomyopathy population.

Complications after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Early detection and prompt reversion of tissue hypoperfusion during CPB are key factors to reduce organ dysfunction after cardiac surgery. CO2 (carbon dioxide)-derived variables which are easy to assess and routinely available to evaluate the adequacy of macro- and microcirculation may offer important information on the adequacy of the perfusion during CPB. However, since some practical issues remain unsolved in providing a reliable measurement of CO2 removal from the patient, CO2-derived variables are not widely monitoring during CPB. This review aims to demonstrate the basic principles of CO2-derived variables during CPB, the available techniques to assess CO2-derived variables on CPB and the clinically relevant applications.

Chitosanase hydrolyzes β-(1,4)-linked glycosidic bonds are used in chitosan chains to release oligosaccharide mixtures. Here, we cloned and expressed a cold-adapted chitosanase (CDA, Genbank: MW094131) using multi-copy expression plasmids (CDA1/2/3/4) in

Septic cardiomyopathy is a life-threatening complication of severe sepsis and septic shock. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been identified as significant abnormalities in septic cardiomyopathy. However, specific treatments are rare. This study aims to investigate the impact of

Bacillus species have a long history of widespread use in biocontrol and crop growth-promoting fields. Here, we present the genome sequence of the rhizobacterium B. badius NBPM-293. The genome sequence will provide valuable information for a better understanding of the mechanism of plant growth promotion.

An auto-inducing expression system was developed that could express target genes in S. marcescens MG1. Using this system, MG1 was constructed as a whole-cell biocatalyst to produce 2,3-butanediol/acetoin. Formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase were expressed together to build an NADH regeneration system to transform diacetyl to 2,3-butanediol. After fermentation, the extract of recombinant S. marcescens MG1ABC (pETDuet-bdhA-fdh) showed 2,3-BDH activity of 57.8 U/mg and FDH activity of 0.5 U/mg. And 27.95 g/L of 2,3-BD was achieved with a productivity of 4.66 g/Lh using engineered S. marcescens MG1(Pswnb+pETDuet-bdhA-fdh) after 6 h incubation. Next, to produce 2,3-butanediol from acetoin, NADH oxidase and 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis were co-expressed to obtain a NAD+ regeneration system. After fermentation, the recombinant strain S. marcescens MG1ABC (pSWNB+pETDuet-bdhA-yodC) showed AR activity of 212.4 U/mg and NOX activity of 150.1 U/mg. We obtained 44.9 g/L of acetoin with a productivity of 3.74 g/Lh using S. marcescens MG1ABC (pSWNB+pETDuet-bdhA-yodC). This work confirmed that S. marcescens could be designed as a whole-cell biocatalyst for 2,3-butanediol and acetoin production.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare congenital developmental disorder caused by the deletion of between 26 and 28 genes on chromosome 7q11.23. For patients with WS, in view of the particularity of the supravalvular aortic stenosis, choosing appropriate arterial cannula, maintaining higher perfusion pressure as well as strengthening myocardial protection during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is essential to the clinical outcome. Here, we report a child with pulmonary artery valvular stenosis who failed to wean off CPB because of malignant arrhythmias and cardiac insufficiency after surgical correction of pulmonary valvular stenosis. With the assistance of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), emergency cardiac catheterization revealed supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS), which suggests a suspected missed diagnosis of WS. Finally, under the support of ECMO, the cardiac function gradually returned to normal, and the child was discharged 23 days after surgery.

Silicon nitride (SiN) mechanical resonators with high quality mechanical properties are attractive for fundamental research and applications. However, it is challenging to maintain these mechanical properties while achieving strong coupling to an electrical circuit for efficient on-chip integration. Here, we present a SiN drum resonator covered with an aluminum thin film, enabling large capacitive coupling to a suspended top-gate. Implementing the full electrical measurement scheme, we demonstrate a high quality factor ∼10

Sharp eyespot, mainly caused by the soil-borne fungus Rhizoctonia cerealis, affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production worldwide. In this study, we isolated TaCML36 gene encoding a wheat calmodulin-like protein, and studied its defense role in protection against R. cerealis. Transcription of TaCML36 was significantly elevated by both R. cerealis infection and exogenous ethylene treatment. Transcription was higher in resistant wheat lines than in susceptible ones. There were copies of TaCML36 on chromosomes 5A, 5B, and 5D. The TaCML36 protein is composed of 183 amino acids and contains two calcium-binding EF-hand domains. Subcellular localization assays in wheat indicated that TaCML36 localizes in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. Virus-induced gene silencing and disease assessment indicated that compared to the controls, TaCML36-silenced wheat plants displayed significantly reduced resistance to R. cerealis and had greater fungal biomass, suggesting that knockdown of TaCML36 impaired host resistance. Knockdown of TaCML36 also significantly repressed expression of pathogenesis-related genes such as Chitinase 1, PDF35, and PR17C, the ethylene response factor-encoding gene TaPIE1, and ethylene biosynthesis gene ACO2. Collectively, our results suggest that TaCML36 positively participates in the innate immune response to R. cerealis infection by modulating expression of defense-associated genes possibly in the ethylene signaling pathway. Keywords: Calmodulin-like protein, Defense-associated gene, Ethylene signaling, Sharp eyespot, Triticum aestivum

Malignant hyperthermia is a well-known but potentially lethal disorder which is triggered by volatile anesthetics and depolarizing muscle relaxants. Early diagnosis and treatment could save lives. However, during cardiac surgery, hypothermia and cardiopulmonary bypass make the diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia extremely difficult than other surgeries. We report a case of almost-certain malignant hyperthermia, according to the clinical grading scale, in a patient undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. The patient underwent difficult weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass until intra-aortic balloon pump and temporary cardiac pacemaker had been implanted. Although dantrolene and corresponding treatments were administered recently, the patient died 12 days after surgery because of acute kidney failure and cardiac arrest. Therefore, it is important for us to previously recognize some specific signs of malignant hyperthermia during cardiopulmonary bypass to avoid severe outcomes.

The effect of drought on the prompt chlorophyll a fluorescence (PF) transient (OJIP), delayed chlorophyll a fluorescence (DF), modulated 820-nm reflection (MR), energy conversion efficiencies in photosystems (PS) I and II, and cyclic electron flow (CEF) activity in two maize hybrids with contrasting drought tolerance was investigated. Our aim was to identify the target site of drought stress on the photosynthetic electron transport chain and investigate the relevance of the CEF pathway to the drought tolerance of maize plants. The OJIP analysis showed that drought stress, depending on its duration, decreased FP, increased FJ, and induced a pronounced K-band and a positive L-band. Moreover, OJIP parameters, including PIABS, RC/CSO, TRO/ABS, and ETO/TRO, were significantly reduced. The DF analysis showed that the values of I1 and I2 in the induction curve and L1 and L2 derived from the decay curve decreased progressively with the duration of drought stress. The MR analysis showed that drought stress inactivated both the fast decrease and slow increase phases of the MR transient, resulting in a gradual decrease in both VPSI and VPSII-PSI. The energy conversion analysis showed that drought stress decreased the PSI photochemical quantum yield Y(I) and PSII photochemical quantum yield Y(II). Compared to the tolerant hybrid, the drought-induced changes in the sensitive hybrid were stronger and appeared at an earlier treatment stage. The CEF activity analysis showed that the CEF pathway under drought stress operated for a longer time in the tolerant hybrid than that in the sensitive hybrid. The above results indicate that drought stress damaged the donor and acceptor sides of PSII, the PSII reaction center and the acceptor side of PSI and decreased the efficiency of both PSI and PSII and the capacity of electron transfer. The CEF pathway might play an important role in the tolerance of the maize photosynthetic electron transport chain to drought stress.

Steroids are classes of natural products widely distributed in nature, which have been demonstrated to exhibit broad biological functions, and have also attracted increasing interest from bioorganic and pharmaceutical researches. In order to develop novel chemical entities as potential cytotoxic agents, a series of steroidal isatin conjugations derived from epiandrosterone and androsterone were efficiently prepared and characterized, and all these obtained compounds were screened for their potential cytotoxic activities. The preliminary bioassay indicated that most of the newly synthesized compounds exhibited good cytotoxic activities against human gastric cancer (SGC-7901), melanoma (A875), and hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines compared with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which might be considered as promising scaffold for further development of potential anticancer agents.

This paper explores the dynamic relationship among bank credit, house prices and carbon dioxide emissions in China by systematically analyzing related data from January 2000 to December 2019 with the help of the time-varying parameter vector autoregression with stochastic volatility (TVP-SV-VAR) model and the Bayesian DCC-GARCH model. Empirical results show the expansion of bank credit significantly drives up house prices and increases carbon dioxide emissions in mosttimes. The rise in house prices inhibits the expansion of bank credit but increases carbon dioxide emissions and aggravates environment pollution, and that the increase in carbon dioxide is helpful to stimulate bank credit expansion and house price rise. In addition, bank credit and house prices are most relevant, followed by bank credit and carbon dioxide emissions, then by house prices and carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, we believe that in order to stabilize skyrocketing house prices, restrain carbon dioxide emissions, and secure a stable and healthy macro-economy, the government should strengthen management of bank credit, and effectively control its total volume.

Trapa (Lythraceae) is an aquatic plant genus widely distributed in the old world. Although Trapa species have great edible and medical value, studies related to species identification and utilization are still lacking. Here, we reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of a cultivated species, T. bicornis. The chloroplast genome size of T. bicornis was 155,539 bp, consisting of a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (24,386 bp), separated by a large single copy (LSC) region (88,493 bp) and a small single copy (SSC) region (18,274 bp). A total of 130 genes were annotated, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenomic analysis supported the monophyly of Trapa, and a sister relationship between T. bicornis and T. natans.

The energy storage process becomes very important due to the imbalances in energy supply and demand. Therefore some factors need to be considered to increase the efficiency of the energy storage system, such as cost–benefit analysis and technological improvements. This study aims to examine the inventive problem-solving capacities for renewable energy storage investments. A new model is suggested for this objective by considering fuzzy decision-making methodology. It is concluded that prior action and dynamicity are the most essential capacities of renewable energy storage investments. Additionally, dynamicity plays the most critical role when all factors are considered in renewable energy investment projects in a collaborative manner. Hence, it is recommended that the companies should mainly consider the initial developments of the storage facilities. Moreover, location selection for effective energy storage should also be considered to increase the performance of these investments. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

International audience; Silicon nitride (SiN) mechanical resonators with high quality mechanical properties are attractive for fundamental research and applications. However, it is challenging to maintain these mechanical properties while achieving strong coupling to an electrical circuit for efficient on-chip integration. Here, we present a SiN drum resonator covered with an aluminum thin film, enabling large capacitive coupling to a suspended top-gate. Implementing the full electrical measurement scheme, we demonstrate a high quality factor ~ 1E4 (comparable to that of bare drums at room temperature) and present our ability to detect ? 10 mechanical modes at low temperature. The drum resonator is also coupled to a microwave cavity, so that we can perform optomechanical sideband pumping with a fairly good coupling strength G and demonstrate mechanical parametric amplification. This SiN drum resonator design provides efficient electrical integration and exhibits promising features for exploring mode coupling and signal processing.