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Abstract The lip-splitting approach enables excellent access to all areas of the mouth and pharynx to remove tumors; however, traditional lower lip-splitting incisions produce an unsatisfactory scar. To achieve better functional and aesthetic results, we used a Z-shaped incision and compared the functional and aesthetic outcomes of the straight and Z-shaped incisions. Sixty patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups and underwent lip-splitting between March 2021 and September 2023. Eventually, 77 patients were reviewed within 6 months and evaluated using the lip function assessment scale, patient and observer scar assessment scale, naïve observer scar assessment scale, and a clinical examination. The Z-shaped incision group performed better in terms of the lip pout movement at 3 months and in the subjective overall opinion, color, irregularity, and pigmentation at 6 months. The Z-shaped incision group had a lower incidence of notched vermilion. In conclusion, Z-shaped lower lip-splitting incisions have better functional and aesthetic outcomes than traditional straight incisions. Trial registration: Public title: Difference between the effect of Z-shaped and vertical incisions of labiobuccal flap on the recovery of lower lip scars. Registration date: 09/03/2021. Registration number: ChiCTR2100044084. Registry URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn .

Abstract Background Enhanced glycolysis is a crucial metabolic event that drives the development of liver fibrosis, but the molecular mechanisms have not been fully understood. Lactate is the endproduct of glycolysis, which has recently been identified as a bioactive metabolite binding to G-protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81). We then questioned whether GPR81 is implicated in the development of liver fibrosis. Methods The level of GPR81 was determined in mice with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis and in transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1)-activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) LX-2. To investigate the significance of GPR81 in liver fibrosis, wild-type (WT) and GPR81 knockout (KO) mice were exposed to CCl4, and then the degree of liver fibrosis was determined. In addition, the GPR81 agonist 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA) was supplemented in CCl4-challenged mice and TGF-β1-activated LX-2 cells to further investigate the pathological roles of GPR81 on HSCs activation. Results CCl4 exposure or TGF-β1 stimulation significantly upregulated the expression of GPR81, while deletion of GPR81 alleviated CCl4-induced elevation of aminotransferase, production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and deposition of collagen. Consistently, the production of TGF-β1, the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen I (COL1A1), as well as the elevation of hydroxyproline were suppressed in GPR81 deficient mice. Supplementation with DHBA enhanced CCl4-induced liver fibrogenesis in WT mice but not in GPR81 KO mice. DHBA also promoted TGF-β1-induced LX-2 activation. Mechanistically, GPR81 suppressed cAMP/CREB and then inhibited the expression of Smad7, a negative regulator of Smad3, which resulted in increased phosphorylation of Smad3 and enhanced activation of HSCs. Conclusion GPR81 might be a detrimental factor that promotes the development of liver fibrosis by regulating CREB/Smad7 pathway.

Summary: Cancer cells with mitochondrial dysfunction can be rescued by cells in the tumor microenvironment. Using human adenoid cystic carcinoma cell lines and fibroblasts, we find that mitochondrial transfer occurs not only between human cells but also between human and mouse cells both in vitro and in vivo. Intriguingly, spontaneous cell fusion between cancer cells and fibroblasts could also emerge; specific chromosome loss might be essential for nucleus reorganization and the post-hybrid selection process. Both mitochondrial transfer through tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) and cell fusion “selectively” revive cancer cells, with mitochondrial dysfunction as a key motivator. Beyond mitochondrial transfer, cell fusion significantly enhances cancer malignancy and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Mechanistically, mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells causes L-lactate secretion to attract fibroblasts to extend TNTs and TMEM16F-mediated phosphatidylserine externalization, facilitating TNT formation and cell-membrane fusion. Our findings offer insights into mitochondrial transfer and cell fusion, highlighting potential cancer therapy targets.

Breast cancer ranks the first in the incidence of female cancer and is the most common cancer threatening the life and health of women worldwide.Tumor protein p53-regulated apoptosis-inducing protein 1 (TP53AIP1) is a pro-apoptotic gene downstream of p53. However, the role of TP53AIP1 in BC needs to be investigated. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to assess the biological functions and associated mechanisms. Several bioinformatics analyses were made, CCK8 assay, wound healing, transwell assays, colony formation assay, EDU, flow cytometry, Immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR and Western-blotting were performed. In our study, we discovered that BC samples had low levels of TP53AIP1 expression, which correlated with a lower survival rate in BC patients. When TP53AIP1 was up-regulated, it caused a decrease in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. It also induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and protective autophagy. Furthermore, the over-expression of TP53AIP1 suppressed tumor growth when tested in vivo. We also noticed that TP53AIP1 up-regulation resulted in decreased levels of phosphorylation in AKT and mTOR, suggesting a mechanistic role. In addition, we performed functional rescue experiments where the activation of AKT was able to counteract the impact of TP53AIP1 on the survival and autophagy in breast cancer cell lines. This suggests that TP53AIP1 acts as an oncogene by controlling the AKT/mTOR pathway. These findings reveal TP53AIP1 as a gene that suppresses tumor growth and triggers autophagy through the AKT/mTOR pathway in breast cancer cells. As a result, TP53AIP1 presents itself as a potential target for novel therapeutic approaches in treating breast cancer.

Abstract Objective To investigate the expression of TTC7B and its prognostic significance, biological roles, and impact on the immune system in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and Methods Clinical and genomic data were obtained from TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas), GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus), GEPIA2 (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2.0), and TIMER2.0 (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0) databases. R software was utilized to process the retrieved data. qPCR and immunohistochemical assays were performed to validate the findings obtained from the databases. Results High expression of TTC7B was observed in HNSCC, and this heightened expression is significantly associated with reduced overall survival (OS) in patients, making it an independent risk factor impacting OS. TTC7B is correlated with focal adhesions and cell migration pathways based on functional enrichment analysis. CIBERSORT analysis and TIMER2.0 show a positive link between TTC7B and multiple immune cells, particularly macrophages. Pearson's analysis reveals a significant correlation between TTC7B and ferroptosis‐related genes. Conclusion In all, TTC7B could serve as a promising prognostic indicator of HNSCC, and is closely associated with focal adhesions, immune infiltration, and ferroptosis.

With the rapid advancement of UAV technology and the increasing complexity of tasks, multi-UAV systems face growing challenges in task execution. Traditional task allocation algorithms often perform poorly when dealing with issues such as local optima, slow convergence speed, and low convergence accuracy, making it difficult to meet the demands for efficiency and practicality in real-world applications. To address these problems, this paper focuses on collaborative task allocation technology for multi-UAV. It proposes a collaborative task allocation strategy for multi-UAV in a multi-target environment, which comprehensively considers various complex constraints in practical application scenarios. The strategy utilizes Dubins curves for trajectory planning and constructs a multi-UAV collaborative task allocation model, with targets including the shortest total distance index, the minimum time index, and the trajectory coordination index. Each UAV is set as an artificial dragonfly by modifying the traditional dragonfly algorithm, incorporating differential evolution algorithms and their crossover, mutation, and selection operations to bring UAV swarms closer to the characteristics of biological dragonflies. The modifications can enhance the global scalability of artificial dragonfly swarms (ADSs), including wider search capacity, wider speed range, and more diverse search accuracy. Meanwhile, potential solutions with global convergence properties are stored to better support real-time adjustments to task allocation. The simulation results show that the proposed strategy can generate a conflict-free task execution scheme and plan the trajectory, which has advantages in changing the data scale of the UAV and the target and improves the reliability of the system to a certain extent.

In this study, the hydrophobic modification of coal gasification fly ash (FA) was investigated given the adverse effects of surface hydrophilic structures on the material field. The surface of FA was modified using stearic acid (SA), which successfully altered its hydrophilic structure. When the contact angle of S-FA increased from 23.4° to 127.2°, the activation index increased from 0 to 0.98, the oil absorption decreased from 0.564 g/g to 0.510 g/g, and the BET-specific surface area decreased from 13.973 m2/g to 3.218 m2/g. The failure temperature of SA on the surface of S-FA was 210 °C. The adsorption mechanism of FA was analyzed using density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD). The adsorption of water molecules by FA involved both chemical and physical adsorption, with active adsorption sites for Al, Fe, and Si. The adsorbed water molecules on the surface of FA formed hydrogen bonds with a bond length of 1.5–2.5 Å, leading to agglomeration. In addition, the long alkyl chain in SA mainly relied on the central carbon atom in the (-CH3) structure to obtain electrons in different directions from the H atoms in space, increasing the Coulomb repulsion with the O atoms in the water molecule and thereby achieving the hydrophobic effect. In the temperature range of 298 K to 358 K, the combination of FA and SA became stronger as the temperature increased.

D-K-type bauxite from Guizhou can be used as an unburned ceramic, adsorbent, and geopolymer after low-temperature calcination. It aims to solve the problem where the color of the D–K-type bauxite changes after calcination at different temperatures. Digital image processing technology was used to extract the color characteristics of bauxite images after 10 min of calcination at various temperatures. Then, we analyzed changes in the chemical composition and micromorphology of bauxite before and after calcination and investigated the correlation between the color characteristics of images and composition changes after bauxite calcination. The test results indicated that after calcining bauxite at 500 °C to 1000 °C for 10 min, more obvious dehydration and decarburization reactions occurred. The main component gradually changed from diaspore to Al2O3, the chromaticity value of the image decreased from 0.0980 to 0.0515, the saturation value increased from 0.0161 to 0.2433, and the brightness value increased from 0.5890 to 0.7177. Studies have shown that changes in bauxite color characteristics are strongly correlated with changes in composition. This is important for directing bauxite calcination based on digital image processing from engineering viewpoints.

In the existing healing strategies, the consideration of the general homogeneous network model prevails, wherein conceptual nodes and edges are treated as the same type. The heterogeneity of combat entities within equipment systems is not considered in these studies, rendering the proposed algorithm inapplicable to the analysis of heterogeneous UAV combat networks. Furthermore, the current research on combat task allocation exhibits a relatively singular focus, primarily addressing tasks such as covering reconnaissance operation areas or segmenting tasks into independent categories like reconnaissance, decision-making, and strike, without delving into the coordinated operations of distinct tasks. This paper delves into the realm of task assignment within heterogeneous UAV combat networks through optimal trace planning. A novel trace planning model is devised based on the optimal subtask division, fragmenting all tasks into individual subtasks. In the event of a collapse in the UAV combat swarm following an attack, a robust task-adjusting algorithm is formulated to mitigate various faults. Two adjustment schemes are proposed: dynamic task adjustment and swarm healing in the face of communication link breakdowns. In instances where UAV swarm construction encounters failure, the task adjustment model should possess a degree of elasticity to facilitate the dragging of the failed swarm for restoration. The task adjustment is designed with significant elasticity to enhance network robustness and compatibility. Simulation results indicate that our algorithms and models exhibit high efficiency and incur minimal adjustment costs in adapting to the battlefield.

Abstract Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) are precursors of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Deregulated cellular energy metabolism is a critical hallmark of cancer cells. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC1α) plays vital role in mitochondrial energy metabolism. However, the molecular mechanism of PGC1α on OPMDs progression is less unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of knockdown PGC1α on human dysplastic oral keratinocytes (DOKs) comprehensively, including cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, xenograft tumor, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes (ETC), reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxygen consumption rate (OCR), extracellular acidification rate (ECAR), and glucose uptake. We found that knockdown PGC1α significantly inhibited the proliferation of DOKs in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, induced S-phase arrest, and suppressed PI3K/Akt signaling pathway without affecting cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, downregulated of PGC1α decreased mtDNA, ETC, and OCR, while enhancing ROS, glucose uptake, ECAR, and glycolysis by regulating lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA). Moreover, SR18292 (an inhibitor of PGC1α) induced oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction of DOKs and declined DOK xenograft tumor progression. Thus, our work suggests that PGC1α plays a crucial role in cell proliferation by reprograming energy metabolism and interfering with energy metabolism, acting as a potential therapeutic target for OPMDs.

Abstract Single phase‐earth faults are the most frequent faults likely to occur but hard to identify in distribution system, especially in a neutral un‐effectively grounded system. To address this issue, this paper innovatively proposes a typical distribution system structure, in which it only introduces one three‐phase isolated power transformer (PT)‐based subnetwork division mode that can effectively limit the zero‐sequence current flow from other sound lines. Second, following the qualitative discussions about the effect of the proposed structures on power supply reliability and probability of bushfires caused by high impedance earth faults (HIEFs), a novel detecting judgement criterion merely using vector‐based variation via pre‐fault and post‐fault zero‐sequence voltage is mathematically formulated. In general, the proposed structure takes into account the the fault current suppression while manifesting fault feature at the same time, and in contrast with current detecting methods, vectorized form can present a wider exploring space and a higher identifying sensitivity, especially in detecting HIEFs. Numerical simulations and field tests validate the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed detecting approach towards single phase‐earth fault identification field.

Abstract Accumulating evidence indicates that metabolic responses are deeply integrated into signal transduction, which provides novel opportunities for the metabolic control of various disorders. Recent studies suggest that itaconate, a highly concerned bioactive metabolite catalyzed by immune responsive gene 1 (IRG1), is profoundly involved in the regulation of apoptosis, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully understood. In the present study, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the apoptosis-modulatory activities of IRG1/itaconate have been investigated in mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-Gal)-induced apoptotic liver injury. The results indicated that LPS/D-Gal exposure upregulated the level of IRG1 and itaconate. Deletion of IRG1 resulted in exacerbated hepatocytes apoptosis and liver injury. The phospho-antibody microarray analysis and immunoblot analysis indicated that IRG1 deletion enhanced the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway in LPS/D-Gal exposed mice. Mechanistically, IRG1 deficiency impaired the anti-oxidative nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling and then enhanced the activation of the redox-sensitive AMPK/JNK pathway that promotes hepatocytes apoptosis. Importantly, post-insult supplementation with 4-octyl itaconate (4-OI), a cell-permeable derivate of itaconate, resulted in beneficial outcomes in fulminant liver injury. Therefore, IRG1/itaconate might function as a negative regulator that controls AMPK-induced hepatocyte apoptosis in LPS/D-Gal-induced fulminant liver injury.

Herein, activated red mud particles are used as adsorbents for phosphorus adsorption. HCl solutions with different concentrations and deionized water are employed for desorption tests, and the desorption mechanism under the following optimal conditions is investigated: HCl concentration = 0.2 mol/L, desorbent dosage = 0.15 L/g, desorption temperature = 35 °C, and desorption time = 12 h. Under these conditions, the phosphate desorption rate and amount reach 99.11% and 11.29 mg/g, respectively. Notably, the Langmuir isothermal and pseudo-second-order kinetic linear models exhibit consistent results: monomolecular-layer surface desorption is dominant, and chemical desorption limits the rate of surface desorption. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that phosphorus desorption by the desorbents is spontaneous and that high temperatures promote such desorption. Moreover, an intraparticle diffusion model demonstrates that the removal of phosphorus in the form of precipitation from the surface of an activated hematite particle adsorbent primarily occurs via a chemical reaction, and surface micromorphological analysis indicates that desorption is primarily accompanied by Ca dissolution, followed by Al and Fe dissolutions. The desorbents react with the active elements in red mud, and the vibrations of the [SiO4]4− functional groups of calcium–iron garnet and calcite or aragonite disappear. Further, in Fourier-transform infrared spectra, the intensities of the peaks corresponding to the PO43− group considerably decrease. Thus, desorption primarily involves monomolecular-layer chemical desorption.

Red mud (RM), a bauxite residue, contains hazardous radioactive wastes and alkaline material and poses severe surface water and groundwater contamination risks, necessitating recycling. Pretreated RM can be used to make adsorbents for water treatment. However, its performance is affected by many factors, resulting in a nonlinear correlation and coupling relationship. This study aimed to identify the best formula for an RM adsorbent using a mathematical model that examines the relationship between 11 formulation types (e.g., pore-assisting agent, component modifier, and external binder) and 9 properties (e.g., specific surface area, wetting angle, and Zeta potential). This model was built using a back-propagation neural network (BP) based on single-factor experimental data and orthogonal experimental data. The model trained and predicted the established network structure to obtain the optimal adsorbent formula. The RM particle adsorbents had a pH of 10.16, specific surface area (BET) of 48.92 m2·g−1, pore volume of 2.10 cm3·g−1, compressive strength (ST) of 1.12 KPa, and 24 h immersion pulverization rate (ηm) of 3.72%. In the removal of total phosphorus in flotation tailings backwater, it exhibited a good adsorption capacity (Q) and total phosphorous removal rate (η) of 48.63 mg·g−1 and 95.13%, respectively.

Red mud of low cost is regarded as a promising alternative to heterogeneous catalysts for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade m-cresol. Improper valence states of metal oxides and coated active substances in red mud greatly hampered its wide application. To solve this problem, the modified red mud (WRMG/700) was prepared by the pyrolysis reduction of glucose in N2 atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) analysis confirmed the production of Fe3O4, MnO and NiO in red mud and their gathering on the surface of particles. WRMG/700 exhibited the excellent performance toward PMS activation for the m-cresol degradation with 99.02% degradation efficiency and a pH-independent catalytic activity between initial pH 3–8. The removal efficiency of COD increased with the reaction time under the optimized degradation conditions. The free radical scavenging experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) test confirmed 1O2 played a dominant role during m-cresol degradation in the WRMG/700/PMS system, implying m-cresol degradation was a non-radical oxidation process. Accordingly, the possible reaction mechanism was proposed. WRMG/700 retained its activation performance even after five recycles. This study showed a low cost and simple operation process for m-cresol elimination. HIGHLIGHTS The washed red mud and glucose were annealed at 700 °C in N2 atmosphere and exhibited the excellent performance for m-cresol degradation (WRMG/700).; Fe3O4, MnO and NiO forming in WRMG/700 played a crucial role during m-cresol degradation.; WRMG/700 exhibited a pH-independent catalytic activity between initial pH 3–8.; WRMG/700 retained its activation performance even after five recycles.;

The existing methods of preparing lightweight gypsum blocks are to make hollow slats or to make foamed blocks, both of which are defective and fail to meet the standards. In order to prepare lightweight gypsum blocks, this paper investigates the method of increasing the proportion of moisture to reduce the weight of gypsum blocks. To further understand the performance relation between β -hemihydrate gypsum ( β -hemihydrate phosphogypsum and β -hemihydrate flue-gas desulfurization gypsum) and its products, the effect of borax on the hydration and hardening of β -hemihydrate gypsum at high water–plaster ratio was studied. The results showed that with an increase in borax dosage, the setting time of β -hemihydrate phosphogypsum ( β -HPG) was evidently prolonged; the initial setting time increased from 15 to 62 min, and the final setting time increased from 22 to 93 min. The difference between the initial and final setting times also increased, and the fluidity of the gypsum slurry was improved. When the borax dosage reached 0.5%, the flexural strength of β -hemihydrate flue-gas desulfurization gypsum ( β -HFGD) increased from 5.2 to 6.3 MPa and the compressive strength increased from 4.7 to 9.3 MPa after 28 d. By analyzing the changes in phase transition, hydration degree, infrared spectrum, particle size, and crystal microstructure during the hydration of β -hemihydrate gypsum, it was found that β -HPG was more sensitive to borax than β -HFGD at high water–plaster ratio and β -HFGD showed superior mechanical properties. The study findings will provide a theoretical basis for the application of β -hemihydrate gypsum products under humid conditions and expand the application range of gypsum products.

The first gene therapy product, recombinant adenovirus human p53 (rAd-p53), has been approved by CFDA since 2013. During these years, most of the clinical trials and the relevant basic research were carried out by Chinese oncologists. Gendicine was proved to be a safe and promising gene therapy drug for patients who suffered from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The basic therapeutic theories of gene therapy were totally different from the traditional ones, such as surgeries or radio- and chemotherapy, and the evaluation of treatment outcomes should also be changed simultaneously. However, there still existed a lot of misunderstandings about gene therapy, which resulted in improper administration, insufficient dosage calculation, and treatment cycles, and the treatment outcomes were unsatisfactory, especially for inexperienced oncologists or hospitals. Therefore, we will provide some practical guidance here on the gene therapy of rAd-p53 based on our previous research and experience, which focused on the basic theories and clinical issues, to answer the questions arising during the clinical of gene therapy and to accelerate the development of gene therapy for the benefit of patients bearing malignant tumors.

The initial microprocess of a major cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans forming biofilm at a single-cell level via sucrose-dependent adhesion has not been observed because the cells’ high moisture content caused measurement challenges. To develop a high-sensitivity biosensor chip and a real-time, label-free method to observe bioactive molecule interactions with single cells from oral biofilms. We made the chips of immobilized bacteria by micronano-processing. A surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) system was used to detect and record the association and dissociation microprocess of S. mutans with sucrose/dextran solutions of various concentrations, and the calculus model was adopted to treat the data. At the location of S. mutans, a unique ‘comet-tail’ SPRI signal was observed. The binding patterns of S. mutans differed between individual cells exposed to the same solution as well as between sucrose and dextran. The different cells exhibited different affinities with dissociation constants for sucrose being 5.697 × 10−3 to 3.689 M and for dextran 1.235 × 10−3 to 1.282 M, indicating cell-to-cell heterogeneity. Our SPRI detection method is effective in investigating microbial binding, initial biofilm formation, and oral microecology. It offers new possibilities for studying oral microorganism characteristics and development of oral diseases.

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane structures enclosing proteins, lipids, RNAs, metabolites, growth factors, and cytokines. EVs have emerged as essential intercellular communication regulators in multiple physiological and pathological processes. Previous studies revealed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could either support or suppress tumor progression in different cancers by paracrine signaling via MSC-derived EVs. Evidence suggested that MSC-derived EVs could mimic their parental cells, possessing pro-tumor and anti-tumor effects, and inherent tumor tropism. Therefore, MSC-derived EVs can be a cell-free cancer treatment alternative. This review discusses different insights regarding MSC-derived EVs' roles in cancer treatment and summarizes bioengineered MSC-derived EVs’ applications as safe and versatile anti-tumor agent delivery platforms. Meanwhile, current hurdles of moving MSC-derived EVs from bench to bedside are also discussed.

BackgroundAged people are maintaining many natural teeth due to improved oral health. However, compromised general health and poor oral hygiene habits at earlier ages resulted in poor status of preserved teeth. Therefore, tooth extraction is required in many aged people. More knowledge is needed because there are many risk factors during the surgery in frail aged adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular response of such a population during tooth extraction and analyze risk factors to provide clinical guidance.MethodsA retrospective study was performed on aged patients with systemic diseases who underwent tooth extraction. Data regarding demographic profiles and cardiovascular parameters of heart rate and blood pressure were collected preoperative, when local anesthesia was administered, at the beginning of tooth extraction, 5 min after tooth extraction, and postoperative. The effects of risk factors, including age, sex, and systemic diseases on these parameters were analyzed with a multilevel model.ResultsHeart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of aged patients increased significantly when performing local anesthesia and tooth extraction. During the operation, the older patients (β = 2.011, P = 0.005) and the diabetics (β = 3.902, P < 0.0001) were associated with higher SBP, while those with more tooth extractions exhibited higher HR (β = 0.893, P = 0.007). Women patients showed both significantly elevated HR (β = 1.687, P < 0.0001) and SBP (β = 2.268, P < 0.0001). However, for coronary artery disease patients, HR (β = −2.747, P < 0.0001) and blood pressure [SBP (β = −4.094, P < 0.0001) and DBP (β = −0.87, P = 0.016)] were markedly lower than those of patients without a diagnosis of coronary artery disease.ConclusionCardiovascular response of aged outpatients with systemic diseases during tooth extraction is quite significant. Age, sex, systemic diseases, and the number of tooth extraction could be risk factors closely associated with cardiovascular response. The findings might provide safety guidance for dentists on tooth extraction in this population.

Abstract C18 ceramide plays an important role in the occurrence and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the function of ceramide synthase 1, a key enzyme in C18 ceramide synthesis, in oral squamous cell carcinoma is still unclear. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between ceramide synthase 1 and oral cancer. In this study, we found that the expression of ceramide synthase 1 was downregulated in oral cancer tissues and cell lines. In a mouse oral squamous cell carcinoma model induced by 4-nitroquinolin-1-oxide, ceramide synthase 1 knockout was associated with the severity of oral malignant transformation. Immunohistochemical studies showed significant upregulation of PCNA, MMP2, MMP9, and BCL2 expression and downregulation of BAX expression in the pathological hyperplastic area. In addition, ceramide synthase 1 knockdown promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Overexpression of CERS1 obtained the opposite effect. Ceramide synthase 1 knockdown caused endoplasmic reticulum stress and induced the VEGFA upregulation. Activating transcription factor 4 is responsible for ceramide synthase 1 knockdown caused VEGFA transcriptional upregulation. In addition, mild endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by ceramide synthase 1 knockdown could induce cisplatin resistance. Taken together, our study suggests that ceramide synthase 1 is downregulated in oral cancer and promotes the aggressiveness of oral squamous cell carcinoma and chemotherapeutic drug resistance.

To demonstrate the rationalization of multi-longitudinal swirls in heat exchanger tubes, this paper investigates the thermohydraulic performance of heat exchanger tube with rectangular vortex generator using numerical simulation. Comparative analyses of rectangular vortex generators and their different slotted structures are conducted, along with the investigation of the effect of the longitudinal pitch (P = 0.1 m, 0.2 m and 0.3 m) of the rectangular vortex generators on the thermohydraulic performance. The research reveals that the multi-longitudinal swirls induced by the vortex generator inside the tube accelerate the exchange of cold and hot fluids, improve the field synergies of velocity vectors and temperature gradients, and enhance the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger tube. The slotted structure reduces the flow resistance and lowers the degree of disturbance to the fluid, which reduces the strength of the multi-longitudinal swirls, thus weakening the overall performance of the heat exchanger. The strength of the multi-longitudinal swirls has a direct influence on the overall performance of the heat exchanger tube. With the increase of P, the performance evaluation criteria (PEC) of the heat exchanger tubes decreases, and the maximum PEC = 1.44 is obtained for P = 100 mm at the studied Reynolds number range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For better modeling the vertical distribution and variations of water vapor, a 10-year time-series of a newly derived water vapor parameter (termed IRPWV), defined as the ratio of water vapor density (WVD) to the total precipitable water vapor (TPWV), was statistically analyzed. This research showed that the vertical distribution of IRPWV presents a periodic pattern and is highly correlated with the relative magnitude of its corresponding TPWV when compared with the other TPWVs in the same time range. Six TPWV ranges were first chosen to determine the relative magnitude and then used to classify the IRPWV vertical distributions of TPWV. For the periodic variations in each of the six classified IRPWV vertical distribution time-series, a temporal IRPWV model was developed accordingly with six sets of coefficients. The new models were validated by comparing their predictions against the reference values from sounding data at 12 radiosonde stations in China, and their performance was also evaluated against that of the commonly used exponential model. Results showed that, first, the proportions of the height range that had reduced annual root mean square error (RMSE) of WVD in all height ranges within all TPWV ranges were over 75% at the 12 stations. Then, the annual RMSEs of the WVD for all the stations were reduced by at least 11%, 20%, 43%, 48%, 40%, 38%, 32%, 35%, 32%, and 28% in each of the 10 selected height ranges, respectively.

One of the main challenges of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) tomography is in solving ill-conditioned system equations. Vertical constraint models are typically used in the solution procedure and play an important role in the quality of the GNSS tomography, in addition to helping resolve ill-posed problems in system equations. In this study, based on a water vapor (WV) parameter, namely IRPWV, a new vertical constraint model with six sets of coefficients for six different WV states was developed and tested throughout 2019 in the Hong Kong region with four tomographic schemes, which were carried out with the model and the traditional vertical constraint model using three different types of water vapor scale height parameters. Experimental results were numerically compared against their corresponding radiosonde-derived WV values. Compared with the tests that used the traditional model, our results showed that, first, for the daily relative error of WV density (WVD) less than 30%, the new model can lead to at least 10% and 49% improvement on average at the lower layers (below 3 km, except for the ground surface) and the upper layers (about 5–10 km), respectively. Second, the skill score of the monthly root-mean-square error (RMSE) of layered WVD above 10 accounted for about 83%, 87%, and 64%. Third, for the annual biases of layered WVD, the new model significantly decreased by 1.1–1.5 g/m3 at layers 2–3 (about 1 km), where all schemes showed the maximal bias value. Finally, for the annual RMSE of layered WVD, the new model at the lower (about 0.6–3 km) and upper layers improved by 13–42% and 5–47%, respectively. Overall, the new model performed better on GNSS tomography and significantly improved the accuracy of GNSS tomographic results, compared to the traditional model.

IntroductionThe oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is detrimental to patients’ physical and mental health. The prognosis of OSCC depends on the early diagnosis of OSCC in large populations.ObjectivesHere, the present study aimed to develop an early diagnostic model based on the relationship between OSCC and oral microbiota.MethodsOverall, 164 samples were collected from 47 OSCC patients and 48 healthy individuals as controls, including saliva, subgingival plaque, the tumor surface, the control side (healthy mucosa), and tumor tissue. Based on 16S rDNA sequencing, data from all the five sites, and salivary samples only, two machine learning models were developed to diagnose OSCC.ResultsThe average diagnostic accuracy rates of five sites and saliva were 98.17% and 95.70%, respectively. Cross-validations showed estimated external prediction accuracies of 96.67% and 93.58%, respectively. The false-negative rate was 0%. Besides, it was shown that OSCC could be diagnosed on any one of the five sites. In this model, Actinobacteria, Fusobacterium, Moraxella, Bacillus, and Veillonella species exhibited strong correlations with OSCC.ConclusionThis study provided a noninvasive and inexpensive way to diagnose malignancy based on oral microbiota without radiation. Applying machine learning methods in microbiota data to diagnose OSCC constitutes an example of a microbial assistant diagnostic model for other malignancies.

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) has been applied to the sounding of precipitable water vapor (PWV) due to its high accuracy and high spatiotemporal resolutions. PWV obtained from GNSS (GNSS-PWV) can be used to investigate extreme weather phenomena, such as the formation mechanism and prediction of rainfalls. In the study, a new, improved model for rainfall forecasting was developed based on GNSS data and rainfall data for the 9-year period from 2010 to 2018 at 66 stations located in the USA. The new model included three prediction factors—PWV value, PWV increase, maximum hourly PWV increase. The two key tasks involved for the development of the model were the determination of the thresholds for each prediction factor and the selection of the optimal strategy for using the three prediction factors together. For determining the thresholds, both critical success index (CSI) and true skill statistic (TSS) were tested, and results showed that TSS outperformed CSI for all rainfall events tested. Then, various strategies by combining the three prediction factors together were also tested, and results indicated that the best forecast result was from the case that any two of the prediction factors were over their own thresholds. Finally, the new model was evaluated using the GNSS data for the 2-year period from 2019 to 2020 at the above mentioned 66 stations, and the probability of detection (POD) and false-alarms rate (FAR) were adopted to measure the model performances. Over the 66 stations, the POD values ranged from 73% to 97% with the mean of 87%, and the FARs ranged from 26% to 77% with the mean of 53%. Moreover, it was also found that both POD and FAR values were related to the region of the station; e.g., the results at the stations that are located in humid regions were better than the ones located in dry regions. All these results suggest the feasibility and good performance of using GNSS-PWV for forecasting rainfall.

In order to enhance the heat transfer effect and improve the energy utilization efficiency of the circular tube under turbulent flow, rhombic and triangular winglet vortex generators are proposed on the basis of rectangular winglet vortex generator. The effects of three vortex generators on flow and heat transfer in the tube are investigated by numerical simulations. The results indicate that, the rectangular and triangular winglets generate two pairs of longitudinal vortices and the triangular winglets generate four pairs of longitudinal vortices due to additional shrinkage regions. The multiple longitudinal vortices increase the mixing between the fluids, raise the temperature in the central region of the tube, and enhance the heat transfer effect. Furthermore, the triangular winglet enhanced tube has the largest direct flow area and the least effect on resistance. The triangular winglet enhanced tube had the best comprehensive performance, followed by the rhombic winglet enhanced tube, and finally, the rectangular winglet enhanced tube. The performance evaluation criterion reached 1.04-1.13, 1.05-1.15, and 1.08-1.21 for the three enhanced tubes in the given flow rate interval. In addition, the effect of inclination angle on the triangular winglet enhanced tube was further investigated, and the results show that the best comprehensive performance of enhanced heat transfer is achieved at an inclination angle of 45°, with a maximum performance evaluation criterion of 1.25. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence indicates that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a vital transcription factor, plays crucial roles in the regulation of inflammation. STAT3 has become a novel therapeutic target for intervention in inflammation-related disorders. However, it remains unclear whether STAT3 plays a part in acute hepatic damage. To investigate the effects of STAT3 here, LPS/ d -GalN-induced hepatic damage was induced in mice, the STAT3 inhibitor Stattic was administered, and the degree of liver injury, inflammation, and hepatocyte apoptosis were investigated. The results showed that Stattic mitigated the hepatic morphologic abnormalities and decreased the level of aminotransferase in LPS/ D -GalN-insulted mice. The results also indicated that Stattic decreased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6, prevented the activation of the caspase cascade, suppressed cleavage of PARP, and decreased the quantity of TUNEL-positive cells. These results suggest that Stattic provided protective benefits in LPS/ d -GalN-induced hepatic damage, and the protective effects might be associated with its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Therefore, STAT3 might become a novel target for intervening in inflammation-based and apoptosis-based hepatic disorders.

Abstract Recent studies have proven that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) exhibit regulatory functions of both DNA damage response (DDR) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Herein, ER stress‐induced lncRNA transcriptomic changes are reported in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells and a novel lncRNA HITTERS (H ERPUD1 intronic transcript of ER stress) is identified as the most significantly upregulated lncRNA. It is shown that HITTERS is a nucleus‐located lncRNA including two transcript variants. HITTERS lacks an independent promoter but shares the same promoter with HERPUD1. HITTERS is transcriptionally regulated by Activating Transcription Factor (ATF) 6, ATF4, X‐Box Binding Protein 1 (XBP1), and DNA methylation. In human OSCC tissues, HITTERS is significantly correlated with OSCC clinicopathological features and prognosis. Gain‐ and loss‐of‐function studies reveal that HITTERS promotes OSCC proliferation and invasion via influencing the expression of growth factor receptors and the downstream pathways. Once ER stress is triggered, HITTERS significantly attenuates ER stress‐induced apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, HITTERS functions as RNA scaffold to promote MRE11‐RAD50‐NBS1 complex formation in the repair of ER stress‐induced DNA damage. To sum up, this study presents a novel lncRNA, namely HITTERS, which links ER stress and DDR together in OSCC.