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Dingqian Hao, Yisha Wu, Ping Li, Chunhao Li, Tianjiao Jiang, Qian Zhang, Shengyang Liu, Li Shi Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Li Shi; Shengyang Liu, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, People’s Republic of China, Email shili126@sina.com; 454415082@qq.comObjective: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is mainly characterised by type 1 (T1), type 2 (T2) and type 3 (T3) inflammatory endotypes. However, correlations between inflammatory endotypes and clinical features in CRSwNP have not been demonstrated sufficiently. This study aimed to determine the endotype-phenotype associations in CRSwNP.Methods: Clinical data of 31 control subjects and 106 CRSwNP patients were analysed. Interferon (IFN)-γ (T1), Charcot-Leyden crystal galectin (CLC) (T2) and Interleukin (IL)-17A (T3) were used as biomarkers to identify the inflammatory endotypes.Results: The mRNA expression level of IFN-γ was positively correlated with IL-17A (r = 0.817; P < 0.0001). Headache/facial pain (P = 0.039) was associated with T1 endotype. Smell loss (P = 0.025) was associated with T2 endotype. Purulent rhinorrhea (P = 0.001) was associated with T3 endotype. Atopy (P = 0.030), asthma (P = 0.005) and recurrence (P = 0.022) were more frequent in T2 endotype. Total Symptom Scores (TSS) of T2 (P < 0.001) and T3 (P = 0.009) endotype were higher than non-T2 and non-T3, respectively. Sino Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) total scores of T3 (P = 0.054) endotype were higher than non-T3.Conclusion: Identifications of endotype-phenotype associations are useful in clinical diagnoses and targeted therapies for patients with CRSwNP.Keywords: chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, endotype, phenotype, diagnosis, therapy

The development of novel wastewater treatment processes that use heterogeneous catalysts to activate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with bicarbonate (HCO3−) has been a subject of great interest in recent years; however, significant challenges remain, despite research into numerous metal-based catalysts. The work presented herein employed oxygen-doped graphitic carbon nitride (O/g-C3N4) as a non-metal catalyst for activating H2O2 in the presence of HCO3−, and this method represented the first system capable of removing organic pollutants in the dark, to our knowledge. The catalysts were characterized using several microscopic imaging, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and crystallographic techniques, as well as N2-physorption procedures. Analysis of the results revealed that the O/g-C3N4 catalyst possessed a high specific surface area and many defect sites. Various operational parameters, including the relative amounts of HCO3−, H2O2, and O/g-C3N4, were systemically investigated. A clear performance enhancement was observed in the degradation of organic contaminants when subjected to the HCO3−–H2O2–O/g-C3N4 system, and this result was ascribed to the synchronous adsorption and chemical oxidation processes. The novel system presented herein represented a new water treatment technology that was effective for removing organic contaminants.

Background: To demonstrate the interrelation between computed tomography (CT) characteristics and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma manifested as subsolid nodule.Method: A total of 202 patients with appearance as subsolid nodules on CT images and pathologically confirmed as early-stage lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled in this study. All of the patients divided in to EGFR mutation group and EGFR wild-type group. Correlation between clinical and radiological features and EGFR mutation status were analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the logistic regression model.Results: EGFR mutation were detected in 137 of 202 patients. In univariate analysis, female gender, non-smokers, larger tumor size, lobulation, air-containing space and pleural retraction were more commonly indicated in EGFR mutated tumors than in EGFR wild-type tumors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that smoking history (OR, 0.275; 95%CI, 0.090–0.840), tumor size (OR, 4.263; 95%CI, 1.802–9.982) and air-containing space (OR, 3.055; 95%CI, 1.266–7.372) were independent predicting factor relevant to EGFR mutation. The AUC of ROC curve for predicting model reached 0.808. In addition, air-containing space with EGFR mutations were more commonly less than 5mm, solitary and mainly in an eccentric distribution.Conclusion: Our research indicated that smoking history, tumor size and air-containing space were independent factor for predicting EGFR mutation in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma appeared as subsolid nodule. Solitary air-containing space with≤5mm and eccentric distribution would help to determine EGFR mutation status.

this study attempts to identify the independent risk factors that can predict lymph node metastasis for the patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and guide doctor adoption of individualized treatment for such patients.This study was approved by the Hospital's Ethics Committee and all patients had signed informed consent forms. We retrospectively reviewed NSCLC patients who had undergone surgical resection from December 2008 to December 2013.The statistical significance of evaluation variables and lymph node metastasis was determined with Pearson's Chi-square test. The risk factors of lymph node metastasis were determined through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. And for the age and tumor diameter factors, optimal cutoff points were determined with a receiver operating characteristic analysis.In the present study, a total of 2623 patients were included in the study, and 779 patients with lymph node metastasis. Three independent risk factors were identified: age, tumor diameter and Ki-67 index. We found that65 years of age (Adjusted-OR:1.921), ≥2.85 cm of tumor diameter (Adjusted-OR:3.141), and 5%~25% in Ki-67 group (Adjusted-OR:2.137),≥25% (Adjusted-OR:3.341) were significant. Also we found that 307 patients with lymph node metastasis and the lymph node metastasis rate was 51.0%, when the age65 years, Ki-67 index≥25%, and the tumor diameter≥2.85 cm. On the contrary, there were only 2 patients with lymph node metastasis, and the rate of lymph node metastasis was 5.1%.Identifying three independent risk factors that predict lymph node metastasis in non-small cell patients, Among NSCLC patients in whom all three predictors were identified, and over a half of the patients showed lymph node metastasis.

A low-grade and permeable sandstone uranium samples in Inner Mongolia prospect, China was subjected to Na2CO3/NaHCO3 leaching. The uranium dissolution mechanism was investigated by effects of leaching parameters and the shrinking core model was selected to model uranium leaching reactions. Agitation leach tests showed that the maximum uranium leaching rate reached 96.5% at 25 °C and had an 19% yield increase when added of 1 mg/L the anionic surfactant to the leaching solution. The optimum process operating parameters were: molar ratio of Na2CO3:NaHCO3 1:1, solid–liquid ratio 1:6, contact time 4 h, agitation speed 400 rpm and the surfactant concentration in leach liquor with 1 mg/L. The kinetics equations indicated that the reactions appear to mix control turn to layer diffusion control with the surfactants adding.

This paper provides a thorough analysis to quantify the financing needs in the Belt and Road countries during 2009 and 2014. By examining financial constraints using financial data of firms in the ...

Objective This study aimed to compare the clinical features of pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) in patients with and without central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Methods We retrospectively reviewed demographics, presenting symptoms, radiographic features, and laboratory findings of patients diagnosed with PC in 28 hospitals from 2010 to 2019. Risk factors for CNS involvement were analyzed using logistic regression models. Result A total of 440 patients were included, and 36 (8.2%) had CNS involvement. Significant differences in fever, headache, and chills occurred between the two groups (overall and with/without CNS involvement) for fever (17.8% [78/440]; 52.8% vs. 14.6% of patients, respectively), headache (4.5% [20/440]; 55.6% vs. 0% of patients, respectively), and chills (4.3% [19/440]; 13.9% vs. 3.5% of patients, respectively). The common imaging manifestation was nodules (66.4%). Multivariate analysis showed that cavitation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.552), fever (AOR = 4.182), and headache were risk factors for CNS involvement. Routine blood tests showed no differences between the groups, whereas in cerebrospinal fluid the white blood cell count increased significantly and glucose decreased significantly. Conclusion In patients with PC, the risk of CNS involvement increases in patients with headache, fever, and cavitation; these unique clinical features may be helpful in the diagnosis.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-imr-10.1177_0300060521991001 for Comparison of clinical features of pulmonary cryptococcosis with and without central nervous system involvement in China by Xinying Xue, Xuelei Zang, Lifeng Wang, Dongliang Lin, Tianjiao Jiang, Jie Gao, Chongchong Wu, Xidong Ma, Hui Deng, Dingxia Shen and Lei Pan in Journal of International Medical Research

Background: Detailed catalog of lung cancer-associated gene mutations provides valuable information for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. In China, there has never been a wide-ranging study cataloging lung cancer-associated gene mutations. This study aims to reveal a comprehensive catalog of lung cancer gene mutations in china, focusing on EGFR, ALK, KRAS, HER2, PIK3CA, MET, BRAF, HRAS, and CTNNB1 as major targets. Additionally, we also aim to correlate smoking history, gender, and age distribution and pathological types with various types of gene mutations. Patients and Methods: A retrospective data acquisition was conducted spanning 6 years (2013-2018) among all patients who underwent lung cancer surgeries not bronchial or percutaneous lung biopsy at three major tertiary hospitals. Finally, we identified 1,729 patients who matched our inclusion criteria. Results: 1081 patients (62.49%) harbored EGFR mutation. ALK (n = 42, 2.43%), KRAS (n = 201, 11.62%), CTNNB1 (n = 28, 1.62%), BRAF (n = 31, 1.79%), PIK3CA (n = 51, 2.95%), MET (n = 14, 0.81%), HER2 (n = 47, 2.72%), HRAS (n = 3, 0.17%), and other genes(n = 232, 13.4%). Females expressed 55.38% vs. males 44.62% mutations. Among subjects with known smoking histories, 32.82% smokers, 67.15% non-smokers were observed. Generally, 51.80% patients were above 60 years vs. 48.20% in younger patients. Pathological types found includes LUADs 71.11%, SQCCs 1.68%, ASC 0.75%, LCC 0.58%, SCC 0.35%, ACC 0.17%, and SC 0.06%, unclear 25.19%. Conclusion: We offer a detailed catalog of the distribution of lung cancer mutations. Showing how gender, smoking history, age, and pathological types are significantly related to the prevalence of lung cancer in China.

Self-other merging can arise not only between acquainted people but also between strangers. To date, the factors determining self-other merging between strangers remain to be elucidated. We investigate whether strangers' facial appearance (i.e. gaze direction) modulates such initial processes of self-other merging. In the two experiments, participants viewed strangers' faces whose gaze either directed to or averted from them. The extent of self-other merging was measured in terms of perception of face resemblance, Inclusion of the Other in the Self (IOS) scale, and correlations of personality judgments. We found that direct gaze blurred the self-other boundaries at both facial and conceptual levels. Participants felt a stranger who directly gazed at them to be closer and more similar to themselves about face and personality.

A large amount of uranium-containing wastewater is produced by the nuclear industry, which causes harm to human health and the environment. Goethite (α-FeOOH) is highly insoluble in water and has a net positive surface charge, making it an effective sorbent for metal–anion complexes in aqueous solutions. In this study, goethite (α-FeOOH) and Fe2+-modified magnetic goethite (M-α-FeOOH) were prepared using an easy one-pot chemical precipitation method and used to remove uranium from solution. The adsorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), BET surface area analysis, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). When Fe2+ partially substitutes for Fe3+, the material is magnetic, has a larger specific surface area and can be rapidly separated in a magnetic field. The uranium adsorption performance of M-α-FeOOH was substantially better than that of α-FeOOH, and its maximum adsorption capacity increased by 46.09%. The data fitted well with the quasi-second order kinetic model and the Langmuir isothermal adsorption model. According to the results of this study, the increase in the uranium removal performance of M-α-FeOOH was attributed to its higher specific surface area, better dispersion, and larger quantity of activated adsorption sites. These results, along with its low-cost, environmentally friendly, and facile synthesis, reveal M-α-FeOOH is a promising material for uranium capture.

Goethite is a common iron hydroxide, which can be substituted by manganese (Mn) in the goethite structure. It is important to investigate the immobilization of uranium(VI) on Mn-substituted goethite (Mn-Goe) to understand the fate and migration of uranium in soils and sediments. In this study, the sorption of uranium(VI) by Mn-Goe was investigated as a function of pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, and initial uranium concentration in batch experiments. Several material analysis techniques were used to characterize manganese substituted materials. Results indicated that Mn was successfully introduced into the goethite structure, the length of particles increased gradually, the surface clearly exhibited higher roughness with increasing Mn content, and that uranium(VI) sorption of synthetic Mn-Goe appeared to be higher than that of goethite. The sorption kinetics supported the results presented by the pseudo-second-order model. The sorption capacity of uranium on Mn-Goe was circa 77 mg g−1 at pH = 4.0 and 25 °C. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses revealed that uranium ions were adsorbed through functional groups containing oxygen on the Mn-Goe structure. The enhancement of Mn-substitution for the uranium(VI) sorption capacity of goethite was revealed. This study suggests that goethite and Mn-Goe can both play a significant role in controlling the mobility and transport of uranium(VI) in the subsurface environment, which is helpful for material development in environmental remediation.

Goethite is a stable and widespread mineral present in soil with many uses, and it affects the transportation and immobilization of heavy metals in solution. Nanogoethite was synthesized by a chemical precipitation method and used to batch adsorb U(VI) in solution. Adsorption experiments were used to understand the role of nanogoethite in controlling the U(VI) adsorption behavior in soil. The morphology and the crystallinity of nanogoethite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and wide-angle X-ray powder diffractometry, respectively. The results showed that the crystallinity of nanogoethite after the adsorption of uranium did not change, but small particles appeared on the surface of the scales. The surface area was determined from N2 adsorption–desorption experiments using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller to be 81.86 m2/g. The effects of factors such as the contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage, and the initial concentration of uranium on the adsorption of U(VI) were investigated. The experimental results showed that nanogoethite removed over 85% of the U(VI) in an aqueous 5.0 mg/L U(VI) solution at pH 4.0 and at 298 K. The pseudo-second-order model was used to simulate the adsorption process. The results show that chemisorption plays a major role in the adsorption process. The results of this study suggest that nanogoethite may play a significant role in controlling the migration and transfer of U(VI) in the soil, thus controlling the presence of U(VI) in soil.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is considered to be an effective material for removing U(VI), but its application in in-situ remediation is limited due to its easy oxidation and agglomeration. In order to solve this problem, nZVI@Mg(OH)2 was synthesized by modified liquid phase reduction method and used to remove U(VI) from aqueous solution. The effects of pH, contact time, dosage and initial concentration on the removal of U(VI) by nZVI@Mg(OH)2 were studied by batch experiments. The results showed that nZVI@Mg(OH)2 presented better removal efficiency than nZVI, the removal ratio and amount reached 97.8 % and 122.3 mg/g respectively at 0.4 g/L dosage with 50 mg/L U(VI) solution. Various techniques were implemented to characterize nZVI@Mg(OH)2. The results indicated that Mg(OH)2 was successfully coated on the nZVI surface, thus turned rough, aggregation and oxidation of Fe° particles was minimized, then the removal performance of U(VI) increased. Mechanisms were also explored by a comparative study of the phase, morphology, and surface valence state of composite before and after reaction, indicating that nZVI@Mg(OH)2 remove U(VI) mainly through reduction and adsorption. The results of column experiments and sedimentation experiments showed that the suspension stability and mobility of nZVI have been improved after coating. It can be seen that nZVI@Mg(OH)2 has certain potential for in-situ remediation of U(VI).

Concrete has a proven ability to attenuate gamma rays and neutrons without compromising structural property; therefore, it is widely used as the primary shielding material in many nuclear facilities. Recently, there is a tendency toward using various additives to enhance the shielding properties of these concrete mixtures. However, most of these additives being used either pose hygiene hazards or require special handling processes. It would be ideal if environmentally friendly additives were available for use. The bismuth oxide (Bi 2 O 3 ) additive shows promise in various shielding applications due to its proven radiation attenuation ability and environmentally friendly nature. To the best of our knowledge, however, Bi 2 O 3 has never been used in concrete mixtures. Therefore, for this research, we fabricated the Bi 2 O 3 -based concrete mixtures by adding Bi 2 O 3 powder in the ordinary concrete mixture. Concrete mixtures with lead oxide (PbO) additives were used for comparison. Radiation shielding parameters like the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of all these concrete mixtures showing the effects of the Bi 2 O 3 additions are presented. The mechanical performances of concrete mixtures incorporated with Bi 2 O 3 additive were also investigated. It suggested that the concrete mixture containing 25% Bi 2 O 3 powder (B5 in this study) provided the best shielding capacity and mechanical performance among other mixes. It has a significant potential for application as a structural concrete where radiological protection capability is required.

Although research shows that competitive banks spur corporate growth, less is known about the impact of bank competition on corporate risk. Using a sample of more than 70,000 firm-year observations covering the period from 1975 through 1994, we find that deregulation that intensified competition among banks materially reduced corporate risk, especially among firms that rely heavily on bank finance. We find that competition-enhancing bank deregulation reduced corporate volatility by easing credit constraints when firms experience adverse shocks and reducing the procyclicality of borrowing.

Goethite is a stable and widespread mineral in soil, which affects the transportation and immobilization of heavy metals in soil. Here, the three-dimensional flower-like goethite (TDFLG) was synthesized by refluxing precipitation method. The modified three-dimensional flower-like goethite (MTDFLG) was prepared by NaH2PO4 with dipping method. The obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, N2 adsorption–desorption (BET), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM images showed that the modification of phosphate had no major changes on the morphology of the original sample and the morphology of MTDFLG after adsorbed U(VI) had clearly change. For the goethite and modified goethite, the BET-specific surface area was 229.96 and 203.17 m2/g, respectively. Moreover, the effects of adsorption time, sorbent dose, solution pH, and initial uranium concentration on the uranium adsorption behaviors were investigated using the two materials as adsorbent for the treatment of uranium-containing wastewater. The results showed that MTDFLG had better adsorption capacity than TDFLG on uranium. The increase in uranium removal on MTDFLG was due to the formation of ternary surface complexes (≡FePO4UO2). TDFLG and MTDFLG followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, which indicated that uranium adsorption on TDFLG or MTDFLG is mainly based on chemisorption, and the maximum adsorption capacity of two adsorbents is 48.24 and 112.36 mg/g, respectively.

Despite tremendous efforts made for years, trajectory tracking control (TC) of a nonholonomic mobile robot (NMR) without global positioning system remains an open problem. The major reason is the difficulty to localize the robot by using its onboard sensors only. In this paper, a newly designed adaptive trajectory TC method is proposed for the NMR without its position, orientation, and velocity measurements. The controller is designed on the basis of a novel algorithm to estimate position and velocity of the robot online from visual feedback of an omnidirectional camera. It is theoretically proved that the proposed algorithm yields the TC errors to asymptotically converge to zero. Real-world experiments are conducted on a wheeled NMR to validate the feasibility of the control system.

This paper tries to quantify the financing needs in the Belt and Road countries and industries by using firm-level data from 2009 to 2014. By examining financial constraints of firms in the Belt and Road countries, this study constructs a Financing Needs Index for Belt and Road countries and highlights the characteristics of financing needs across 36 countries, 80 industries and 6 years. By further incorporating information from World Bank Enterprise Surveys, this paper builds an Augmented Financing Needs Index for 56 Belt and Road countries. The findings of this paper show that countries can achieve higher economic growth by further financial liberalization, improving business climate and institutional quality to address the financing needs of their indigenous firms.

Despite the increasing evidence suggesting that power processing can activate vertical space schema, it still remains unclear whether this power-space is dichotomic or continuous. Here we tested the nature of the power-space by the distance effect, a continuous property of space cognition. In two experiments, participants were required to judge the power of one single word (Experiment 1) or compare the power of two words presented in pairs (Experiment 2). The power distance was indexed by the absolute difference of power ratings. Results demonstrated that reaction time decreased with the power distance, whereas accuracy increased with the power distance. The findings indicated that different levels of power were presented as different vertical heights, implying that there was a common mechanism underlying space and power cognition.