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The structural and electronic modifications of χ-Fe5C2 by MgO contribute to the high selectivity towards lower olefins and the high catalyst stability.

BACKGROUND Seventy-five percent of people with mental health disorders have an onset of illness between ages 12-24 years. Many in this age group report substantial obstacles to receiving quality youth-centered mental health care services. With the rapid development of technology, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, mobile health (mHealth) has presented new opportunities for youth mental health research, practice, and policy. OBJECTIVE The research objectives were to: 1) synthesize the current evidence supporting mHealth interventions for youth who experience mental health challenges; and 2) identify current gaps in the mHealth field related to youth mental health service access and health outcomes. METHODS Guided by the methods of Arksey and O’Malley, we conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies that used mHealth tools to improve youth mental health (Jan 2016-Feb 2022). Using MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase databases, we searched using the following key terms: 1) mHealth; 2) youth and young adults; 3) mental health. The current gaps were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS The search produced 4270 records, of which 151 met inclusion criteria. Included articles highlight the comprehensive aspects of youth mHealth intervention resource allocation for targeted conditions, mHealth delivery methods, measurement tools, evaluation of mHealth intervention, and youth engagement. The median age for participants in all studies is 17 years old (Q1:14; Q3:21). Only three studies (2%) involved participants who reported their sex or gender outside of the binary option. Many studies (n = 68, 45%) were published after the COVID-19 outbreak. Study types and designs varied, with 60 (40%) identified as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Notably, 143 out of 151 studies (95%) came from developed countries, suggesting an evidence shortfall on the feasibility of implementing mHealth services in lower-resourced settings. Additionally, the results highlighted concerns related to weak study design, expert engagement and the types of outcome measures selected to capture impact or changes over time. There is also a lack of standardized regulations and guidelines for researching mHealth technologies for youth and the use of non-youth-centered approaches to implementing results. CONCLUSIONS This study may be used to inform future work, as well as the development of youth-centered mHealth tools that can be implemented and sustained over time for diverse types of youth. Implementation science research that prioritizes youth engagement is needed to advance current understanding of mHealth implementation. As well, core outcome sets may support a youth-centered measurement strategy to capture outcomes in a systematic way that prioritizes equity, diversity, inclusion, and robust measurement science. Finally, this study suggests that future practice and policy research is needed to ensure the risk of mHealth is minimized and this innovative healthcare service is meeting the emerging needs of youth over time. CLINICALTRIAL

Objectives: To develop and validate the 4-year risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among adults with metabolic syndrome. Design: Retrospective cohort study of a large multicenter cohort with broad validation. Settings: The derivation cohort was from 32 sites in China and the geographic validation cohort was from Henan population-based cohort study. Results: 568(17.63%) and 53(18.67%) participants diagnosed diabetes during 4-year follow- up in the developing and validation cohort, separately. Age, gender, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and alanine aminotransferase were included in the final model. The area under curve for the training and external validation cohort was 0.824(95%CI, 0.759-0.889) and 0.732(95%CI, 0.594-0.871), respectively. Both the internal and external validation have good calibration plot. A nomogram was constructed to predict the probability of diabetes during 4-year follow-up, and on online calculator is also available for a more convenient usage (https://lucky0708.shinyapps.io/dynnomapp/). Conclusion: We developed a simple diagnostic model to predict 4-year risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among adults with metabolic syndrome, which is also available as web-based tools (https://lucky0708.shinyapps.io/dynnomapp/).

Background Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC) is a common type of malignant tumors of the head and neck. At present, the early biological markers of laryngeal cancer are still the focus of attention by otolaryngologists.Golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1) is a transmembrane glycoprotein present in the cis-Golgi complex.In recent years, successive findings have revealed the carcinogenic effects of GOLM1.However, the biological impact of GOLM1 on LSCC has not been clarified.Results In this study, GOLM1 expression was found to be significantly correlated with the progression and prognosis of LSCC. By silencing GOLM1, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway was downregulated, thereby inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as the progress of EMT, and promoting TU686 cell apoptosis. Conclusions Our study revealed the influence of GOLM1 through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway on the biological behavior of LSCC. GOLM1 is thus a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of LSCC.

Podocyte pyroptosis, characterized by inflammasome activation, plays an important role in inflammation-mediated diabetic nephropathy (DN). Our study aimed to investigate whether miR-21-5p in macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) could affect podocyte injury in DN. EVs were extracted after the treatment of RAW 264.7 (mouse macrophage line) with high glucose (HG). The podocyte pyroptosis was determined using the flow cytometry and the western blot. After the knockdown of miR-21-5p in HG-induced RAW264.7 cells, we injected the extracted EVs into DN model mice. The level of miR-21-5p was higher in HG-stimulated macrophage-derived EVs than in normal glucose-cultured macrophage-derived EVs. The co-culture of EVs and podocytes promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and activation of inflammatory in MPC5 cells (mouse podocyte line). However, restraint of miR-21-5p in EVs reduced ROS production and inhibit inflammasome activation in MPC5 cells, thereby reducing podocytes injury. Meanwhile, we found that miR-21-5p inhibited the A20 expression through binding with its 3′-untranslated regions in MPC5 cells. Further studies showed that A20 was also involved in the regulation of miR-21-5p of RAW 264.7-derived EVs on MPC5 injury. At the same time, it was also proved in the DN model mice that miR-21-5p in macrophage-derived EVs could regulate podocyte injury. MiR-21-5p in macrophage-derived EVs can regulate pyroptosis-mediated podocyte injury by A20 in DN.

Previous studies reported that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether these associations are causal are still unsettled. In our study, we investigated the causal effects of genetically-predicted OSA on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD).We implemented two-sample Mendelian randomization to judge causation using summary statistics from three independent and large genome-wide association studies on OSA (cases n = 16,761, controls n = 201,194), AD (cases n = 71,880, controls n = 383,378) and PD (cases n = 33,774, controls n = 449,056). Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with genome-wide significance associated with OSA served as instrumental variables. We prioritized the inverse variance weighted method when generating unconfounded estimates. Besides, MR-Egger regression, weighted mode, and weighted median methods were adopted as a supplement to the inverse variance weighted method.We found no evidence supporting significant causal relationships between OSA and AD or PD among European population. The risk ratio of AD was 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI) [0.92,1.08]) and that of PD was 0.82 (95%CI [0.47, 1.40]). Results from alternative approaches were generally consistent with that of the inverse variance weighted method.The present study found no evidence for causal associations between OSA and the risk of AD or PD in individuals of European ancestry.

Aim: To evaluate the renal outcomes and prognostic factors among patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D) and biopsy-confirmed diabetic nephropathy (DN), non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD) and DN mixed with NDRD (MIX). Design and Methods: Patients with both T2D and chronic kidney disease (CKD) who underwent renal biopsy between January 2014 and December 2016 were recruited in this prospective observational study. Participants were divided into DN group, NDRD group, or MIX group according to the baseline pathological diagnosis. The primary endpoint was a composite renal event of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or ⩾ 40% reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Results: Among the 292 participants included, 153 (52.4%) belonged to the DN group, 30 (10.3%) belonged to the NDRD group, and 109 (37.3%) belonged to the MIX group. During the median follow-up of 27 months, the adverse renal events occurred in 132 (44.2%) patients. Compared with NDRD group, the multiple adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for renal events in patients with DN and MIX groups were 3.900 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.103–13.788) and 2.691 (95% CI: 0.662–10.936), respectively. Baseline lower eGFR (HR: 1.159, 95% CI: 1.060–1.266), severe proteinuria (HR: 2.047, 95% CI: 1.227–3.416), lower hemoglobin (HR: 1.170, 95% CI: 1.008–1.267), and a family history of diabetes (HR: 1.138, 95% CI: 1.008–2.285) were independent predictors for adverse renal outcomes in patients with DN. Conclusion: In patients with T2D and CKD, pure DN and MIX group displayed a worse renal prognosis than NDRD group. Worse renal function, severe proteinuria, lower hemoglobin, and a family history of diabetes may be associated with adverse renal outcomes in patients with DN.

Background: The prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is uprising in the paralleled with the increase of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The objective of this study was to assess the value of macroalbuminuric of kidney disease in diabetic and/or hypertensive patients and the risk factors associated with microalbuminuric. Methods: A total of 3986 patients diagnosed with diabetes and/or hypertension aged 40 years and over was investigated by randomized cluster sampling in the Zhengzhou community and 1453 participants were analyzed in this study. The clinical data were investigated, including the urinary albumin–to-creatinine ratio (ACR), total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, glycated hemoglobin of HbAlc, fasting plasma glucose, 2-h postprandial plasma, and serum creatinine. The ACR was applied to designate albuminuric. The prevalence of macroalbuminuric was calculated and the risk factors associated with macroalbuminuric were evaluated by stepwise logistic regression. Results: These comprised 612 males and 841 females and the mean age of all patients was 60.6±9.3 years. The prevalence of microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric was 12.0%, 1.6%, respectively. The prevalence of microalbuminuric in patients with diabetes, hypertension and both diabetes and hypertension were 8.4%, 9.7% and 17.6%, respectively. In subjects with both diabetes and hypertension, the prevalence of microalbuminuric, macroalbuminuric were significantly higher than those who had diabetes or hypertension only. Logistic regression analysis showed microalbuminuric to be significantly associated with systolic blood pressure (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.36-2.72; P < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.02-2.28; P = 0.038), HbA1c (OR: 2.31; 95% CI: 1.64-3.26; P < 0.001). Fasting plasma glucose (OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.18-2.71; P = 0.006) and hypertension (OR: 2.45; 95% CI: 1.64-3.65; P < 0.001) were the main independent factors for microalbuminuric in diabetic patients with hypertension or not. Conclusion: The prevalence of microalbuminuric observed in patients diagnosed with diabetes and/or hypertension aged over 40 reached up to 12.0% in the Zhengzhou community. Microalbuminuric was strongly associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and HbA1c. Fasting plasma glucose and hypertension were the main independent factors for microalbuminuric in diabetic patients with hypertension or not.

We present a comprehensive mechanistic study on the highly tunable selectivity over Inx/ZrO2 catalysts in CO2 hydrogenation. By variation of the indium loading between 0.1 and 5 wt %, either an adm...

Bacteria can easily colonize on the biomaterials surface which leads to biofilm formation and serious bacterial infections. In this work, a new raspberry structured core-shell nanoparticles were developed through two-step emulsion polymerization method. Robust superhydrophobic film formed on the substrate showed both high efficient self-cleaning and bactericidal properties.

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is a common aggressive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and racial disparities have been reported to exist in it. However, its molecular mechanism and associated ethnic specificity are still unclear. Here, we leveraged mRNA expression data from 2 gene expression omnibus datasets (GSE142083 & GSE117005) of Chinese samples and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) datasets of Caucasian samples to demonstrate the expression signature of LSCC. The GSE142083 dataset was used as the discovery set since it had 53 pairs of LSCC tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues, and the GSE117005 dataset was treated as the validation set with 5 pairs of tissues. Differential gene expression analysis and enrichment pathway analysis were performed. Besides, we employed weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify hub genes in validated pathways. The TCGA datasets were used to evaluate ethnic specificity. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to further validate the hub gene. Overall, the IL-17 signaling pathway was significantly enriched for upregulated genes in two Chinese datasets while not in TCGA datasets; and IL17RC, MAPK3, S100A8, MMP3, CXCL8, and TNFA1P3 were hub genes regulating such pathway. Therein, IL17RC might be the most important one and the IHC results displayed that the IL17RC gene upregulated in the LSCC tissue. IL-17 signaling pathway has an ethnicity-specific effect in LSCC where it is upregulated in the Chinese while not in the Caucasians and IL17RC might play a key role. Targeting genes located in the IL-17 signaling pathway may be beneficial for Chinese LSCC patients.

Urinary exosomal miRNAs can reflect the physiological and possibly pathophysiological state of cells lining the kidney and participate in the regulation of transcription and translation of proteins, which are playing an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease. In the present study, urine was collected from DM and DKD patients with a duration more than 10 years and urinary exosomal miRNA profiling was conducted in urinary exosomes obtained from three patients with type 2 diabetes (DM) and three patients with type 2 diabetic kidney disease (DKD) using Exiqon's microRNA arrays. In total, the expression of 14 miRNAs (miR-4491, miR-2117, miR-4507, miR-5088-5P, miR-1587, miR-219a-3p, miR-5091, miR-498, miR-4687-3p, miR-516b-5p, miR-4534, miR-1275, miR-5007-3p, and miR-4516) was up-regulated (>2-fold) in DKD patients compared to healthy controls and DM patients. We used qRT-PCR based analysis of these 14 miRNAs in urinary exosomes from 14 DKD to 14 DM patients in confirmation cohort, among which seven miRNAs were consistent with the microarray results. The expressions of miR-4534 and miR-516b-5p correlated with trace proteinuria levels in the confirmation cohort. In conclusion, it has been confirmed that the expression of urinary exosomal miRNA in patients with type 2 diabetes DKD has changed. Mir-4534 might affect the FoxO signaling pathway by targeting BNIP3, and is expected to become a new biomarker for the progression of type 2 DKD disease, which will provide further research on the pathogenesis of DKD.

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) still remains the most frequent long term complication after cataract surgery, while endophthalmitis is rare but severe and should be prevented at all cost. Intraocular lenses (IOLs) with different designs (eg. edge and body-haptics angle) and materials (acrylic hydrophobic and acrylic hydrophilic surfaces) have been studied to reduce PCO. For the prevention of endophthalmitis, intracameral injection followed or not by topical treatment with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories are usually prescribed. The objective of this work was to investigate the use of IOLs as controlled release platforms of two drugs, the antibiotic moxifloxacin (MXF) and the anti-inflammatory ketorolac (KTL) that could advantageously substitute the usual treatment. Two types of IOLs were chosen, hydrophobic and hydrophilic. Hydrophobic IOLs have shown better results in the prevention of PCO because they adhere better to the posterior capsular bag, while hydrophilic IOLs are advised in the case of patients with uveitis, glaucoma or diabetes. The IOLs were loaded with MXF + KTL and sterilized by high hydrostatic pressure. Both IOLs reduced the tendency for adhesion of LECs. In vivo tests were done to compare the concentration of the drugs in the aqueous humor obtained after eye drops administration and drug-loaded IOLs implantation. The developed IOLs were able to release MXF and KTL at therapeutic levels, in a sustained way, which contrasts with the eye drops prophylaxis. No PCO signs were detected and histological analyses demonstrated biocompatibility of these devices.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer, remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling is an effective approach to the treatment of NSCLC. Small molecules have been proven to be good resource for discovery of inhibitors of VEGF signalling. DMH4 is a small molecule that we previously developed and demonstrated to have the property of selectively inhibiting VEGF signalling by targeting VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). In this study, we reported that DMH4 can effectively block phosphorylation of VEGFR2 in both H460 and A549 NSCLC cells, which resulted in significant reduction of NSCLC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, and the growth inhibition (GI50) of DMH4 against H460 and A549 cell lines were 13.27 and 2.75 mm respectively at 24 h. Our further studies demonstrated that DMH4 significantly suppressed migration and invasion of A549 and H460 cells, and induced apoptosis in those cells. Therefore, DMH4 as a small molecular VEGFR2 inhibitor may represent a new valuable drug lead for NSCLC treatment.

The inherent defects of porous graphene (PG) formed during reduction etching process could serve as nanopores, making PG emerge a potential application for the preparation of micrometre-sized separation membranes. Here, we introduced PG as inorganic nanofiller to fabricate thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes for CO 2 capture via interfacial polymerization technique. The PG selective nanolayers not only possessed a good adhesion with polymers but also benefited from hydrogen bonding actions, simultaneously, thus ensuring the formation of high-efficiency molecular sieving passageway in the separation layer of membranes. Furthermore, the thin PG nanosheets were verified to have an significantly affect for permeability and selectivity of membranes (PG, 0.05 wt%, 1 bar), with exhibiting about 21% and 20.8% enhancement of the CO 2 permeance and the CO 2 /N 2 selectively compared to that of the membrane without PG separately. Simultaneously, the membrane also showed higher stability and the porous surface morphology of PG shortened greatly the gas transfer path. The approach offers a potential promising to exploit the ultra-thin film composite membrane for efficient gas separation.

Montmorillonite (MMT) and Mg-Al hydrotalcite (HT) nanosheets were prepared via vigorous agitation and ultrasonic, respectively. In order to increase the permeability of CO 2 , poly (PEA-MMT-TMC)/PS and poly (PEA-HT-TMC)/PS composite membranes were prepared via interfacial polymerization by adding the dimensional (2D) inorganic nanosheets (MMT and HT) into the aqueous phase of PEA. And in consequence, the poly (PEA-MMT-TMC)/PS composite membrane showed CO 2 permeability of 15.87 barrer and the CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 37 at 1.0 bar when the MMT concentration was 0.068 wt%. The poly (PEA-HT-TMC)/PS composite membrane also showed CO 2 permeability of 15.3 barrer and the CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 40 at 1.0 bar when the HT concentration was 0.25 wt%. Compared with the controlled membrane (CO 2 permeability: 6.9 barrer, CO 2 /N 2 selectivity: 103), the CO 2 permeability increased after incorporating the inorganic nanosheets into the membranes and maintained the pretty CO 2 /N 2 selectivity. The addition of exfoliated MMT and HT could facilitate the gas permeation to improve the gas separation performance of the composite membranes. Also, the combination of inorganic nanosheets with organic membrane has a great potential application in the gas separation.

To determine the triamcinolone concentration in the aqueous humor after anterior sub-Tenon injection versus posterior sub-Tenon injection and the possible association between the levels of triamcinolone in the aqueous and the elevation in intraocular pressure (IOP).University teaching hospitals at Wenzhou and Shanghai, China.Prospective case series.The aqueous humor was sampled and triamcinolone quantitated after anterior sub-Tenon injection or posterior sub-Tenon injection in a cohort of patients and in experimental rabbits. Patients' IOPs were measured before and up to 3 months after triamcinolone acetonide injection.The study comprised 46 patients and 18 rabbits. The mean aqueous humor triamcinolone concentration in rabbit eyes and human eyes was significantly higher after an anterior sub-Tenon injection than that after a posterior sub-Tenon injection (rabbit eye: anterior sub-Tenon injection, 2.67 ng/mL ± 0.78 [SD] and posterior sub-Tenon injection 1.38 ± 0.48 ng/mL; human eye: 133.8 ± 149.2 ng/mL and 10.2 ± 10.9 ng/mL, respectively) (both P .0001). After anterior sub-Tenon injection, the mean triamcinolone concentration in the aqueous humor was significantly higher in human eyes than in rabbit eyes (133.8 ± 149.2 ng/mL versus 11.0 ± 8.1 ng/mL) (P = .0003). The levels of triamcinolone in the human aqueous humor had a significant positive association with the elevation in IOP (β = 0.12, P = .026).The triamcinolone level in aqueous humor was associated with IOP elevation after sub-Tenon application. Posterior sub-Tenon injection with a small injection volume of concentrated suspension offered a better targeted delivery and might significantly reduce steroid-associated IOP elevation.

Analysis of crude oil price and tanker freight rate volatility attract more attention as the mechanism is not only the basis of industrialization but also a vital role in economics, especially after the year 2008 when financial crisis notably blew the maritime transportation. In this paper, we studied the cross-correlations between the West Texas International crude oil (WTI) and Baltic Exchange Dirty Tanker Index (BDTI) employing the Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis (MF-DCCA). Empirical results show that the degree of short-term cross-correlation is higher than that in the long term and that the strength of multifractality after financial crisis is larger than that before. Moreover, the components of multifractal spectrum are quantified with the finite-size effect taken into consideration and an improved method in terms of constructing the surrogated time series provided. Numerical results show that the multifractality is generated mostly from the nonlinear and the fat-tailed probability distribution (PDF) part. Also, it is apparent that the PDF part changes a lot after the financial crisis. The research is contributory to risk management by providing various instructions for participants in shipping markets. Our main contribution is that we investigated both the multifractal features and the origin of multifractality and provided confirming evidence of multifractality through numerical results while applying quantitative analysis based on MF-DCCA; furthermore, the research is contributory to risk management since it provides instructions in both economic market and stock market simultaneously. However, constructing the surrogated series in order to obtain consistence seems less convincing which requires further discussion and attempts.

Increasing evidence shows that matrix stiffness plays a critical role in affecting the phenotype and behavior of tumor cells. We report that matrix stiffness significantly regulated the proliferation and chemotherapeutic response of Hep-2 cells. Increasing substrate stiffness promotes the proliferation of Hep-2 cells. When cultured on soft gels, Hep-2 cells expressed higher level of stem cell markers. Following treatment with cisplatin or 5-FU, we observed reduced apoptosis in Hep-2 cells cultured on soft supports. Sox2 is essential for the chemoresistance of Hep-2 cells cultured in soft stiffness. Our results demonstrated that Sox2 promotes chemoresistance of Hep-2 cells in soft stiffness via upregulating the expression of ABCG2. Our findings will provide a new platform for the future design of anticancer drugs based on the biophysical properties of the tumor site.

Due to the effect of credit crunch and slowdown in marine transportation, analysis of freight rate volatility characters under structural breaks is of great importance after year 2008. In this pape...

Highly dispersed FeMn bimetallic nanoparticles prepared by a low-temperature co-precipitation method were employed for direct CO hydrogenation for light olefins (C2∼C4=). An outstanding selectivity (60.6 %) for light olefins at a CO conversion level of 7.6 % was obtained over FeMn (4:1) catalyst activated by syngas (5%CO/5%H2). Characterization indicated that a strong interaction between Fe and Mn resulted in significant effects on stabilization of Fe1-xMnxO phase during activation period. Responding to the morphology effect, Mn decreased the surface energy of nanocrystals and weakened the agglomeration of nanoparticles, thus resulted in a decrease in particle size of Mn-promoted catalysts. The combined effects of inhibited carburization and improved metal dispersion contributed to the volcano pattern in the catalytic activity of Mn-promoted catalysts. In addition, Mn may act as an effective electron donor to Fe, enhancing CO dissociative adsorption while inhibiting secondary hydrogenation of olefins, thus giving rise to high olefin selectivity in CO hydrogenation.

Analysis of freight rate volatility characteristics attracts more attention after year 2008 due to the effect of credit crunch and slowdown in marine transportation. The multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis technique is employed to analyze the time series of Baltic Dry Bulk Freight Rate Index and the market trend of two bulk ship sizes, namely Capesize and Panamax for the period: March 1st 1999–February 26th 2015. In this paper, the degree of the multifractality with different fluctuation sizes is calculated. Besides, multifractal detrending moving average (MF-DMA) counting technique has been developed to quantify the components of multifractal spectrum with the finite-size effect taken into consideration. Numerical results show that both Capesize and Panamax freight rate index time series are of multifractal nature. The origin of multifractality for the bulk freight rate market series is found mostly due to nonlinear correlation.

Filtering with a syringe filter is a common operation in pharmaceutical analysis. Ophthalmic research often has a limited amount of sample and low amount of drug which is vulnerable to filtering membrane adsorption loss but not well recognized in the research community. Current study investigated drug adsorption by 11 types of syringe filters for 4 hydrophobic compounds commonly encountered in transscleral drug delivery. Among the 11 types of syringe filters surveyed, polytetrafluoroethylene - NBA, polytetrafluoroethylene - NLA, and polypropylene filters caused the least adsorptive drug loss for these four drugs studied. The magnitude of drug adsorption was filter- and drug-specific. Polytetrafluoroethylene-NLA caused the least adsorptive loss (1%) for triamcinolone acetonide, polytetrafluoroethylene-NBA caused the least adsorptive loss (5.4%) for diclofenac, and polypropylene caused the least adsorptive loss for cyclosporine A, 16.8% on average. Tacrolimus had the least adsorptive loss to the filters of polytetrafluoroethylene - NLA and polypropylene; however, the percentage of adsorptive loss from filtration was the highest (32% loss in average) among the four drugs surveyed. CONCLUSION: Low drug concentrations as seen in samples from ophthalmic researches are vulnerable to filtration drug loss. Selecting the right filter via validation is critical to avoid underestimating the drug level and distorting the resultant distribution/clearance profile in the ocular pharmacokinetic analysis.

Bacterial infections and biofilm formation on the surface of implants are important issues that greatly affect biomedical applications and even cause device failure. Construction of high drug loading systems on the surface and control of drug release on-demand is an efficient way to lower the development of resistant bacteria and biofilm formation. In the present study, (montmorillonite/hyaluronic acid-gentamicin)10 ((MMT/HA-GS)10) organic/inorganic hybrid multilayer films were alternately self-assembled on substrates. The loading dosage of GS was as high as 0.85 mg/cm2, which could be due the high specific surface area of MMT. The obtained multilayer film with high roughness gradually degraded in hyaluronidase (HAS) solutions or a bacterial infection microenvironment, which caused the responsive release of GS. The release of GS showed dual enzyme and bacterial infection responsiveness, which also indicated good drug retention and on-demand self-defense release properties of the multilayer films. Moreover...

The present study aimed to identify potentially critical differentially methylated genes associated with the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methylation profiling data of GSE62336 deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus database were used to identify differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and differentially methylated CpG islands (DMIs). Concurrently, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using a meta-analysis of three gene expression datasets (GSE53819, GSE13597 and GSE12452). Subsequently, methylated DEGs were identified by comparing DMRs and DEGs. Furthermore, functional associations of these methylated DEGs were analyzed via constructing a functional network using GeneMANIA prediction server. In total, 1,676 hypermethylated genes, 28 hypomethylated genes, 17 DMIs and 2,983 DEGs (1,655 upregulated and 1,328 downregulated) were identified. Among these DEGs, 135 downregulated genes were hypermethylated; of these, dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) and tenascin XB (TNXB) contained DMIs. In the functional network, 154 genes and 1,651 association pairs were included. DUSP6 was predicted to exhibit genetic interactions with other hypermethylated DEGs such as malic enzyme 3 and ST3 β-galactoside α-2,3-sialyltransferase 5; TNXB was predicted to be co-expressed with a set of hypermethylated DEGs, including EPH receptor B6, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member L1 and glutathione peroxidase 3. The hypermethylated DEGs may be involved in the progression of NPC, and they may become novel therapeutic targets for NPC.

Copper nanoparticle supported halloysite nanotubes with a 15 nm lumen and 30 nm external diameterviasurface initiation reverse atom transfer radical polymerization were fabricated and showed good antibacterial activity againstEscherichia coli(E. coli).

The rise of cloud computing brings virtualization technology continues to heat up. Based on Xen's I/O virtualization subsystem, under the virtual machine environment which has multi-type tasks, the existing schedulers can't achieve response with I/O-bound tasks in time. This paper presents ECredit scheduler combined complexity evaluation of I/O task in Xen's I/O virtualization subsystem. It prioritizes the I/O-bound task realizing fair scheduling. The experiments show that the optimized scheduling algorithm can reduce the response time of I/O-bound task and improve the performance of the virtual system.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. On page 1607 and 1608, the figure legends for Fig 5 and 6 should be interchanged. Figure 5 shows images obtained from a 64-year-old female with a nonfunctioning macroadenoma who underwent the two-nostril approach. Figure 6 comprises images obtained from a 51-year-old man with a GH-secretingmacroadenomawho underwent the one-nostril approach.