Comparative efficacy of cryoablation versus robot-assisted partial nephrectomy in the treatment of cT1 renal tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study utilizes a meta-analytic approach to investigate the effects of cryoablation and robot-assisted partial nephrectomy on perioperative outcomes, postoperative renal function, and oncological results in patients. METHODS: This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library database) were systematically searched to identify relevant studies published in English up to November 2023. The primary outcomes were perioperative results, complications, postoperative renal function and oncologic outcomes. Review Manager 5.4 was used for this analysis. RESULTS: This study included a total of 10 studies comprising 2,011 patients. Compared to RAPN (Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy), the CA (Cryoablation) group had a shorter hospital stay [MD -1.76 days; 95% CI -3.12 to -0.41; p = 0.01], less blood loss [MD -104.60 ml; 95% CI -152.58 to -56.62; p < 0.0001], and fewer overall complications [OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.86; p = 0.004], but a higher recurrence rate [OR 7.83; 95% CI 4.32 to 14.19; p < 0.00001]. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operative time, minor complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade 1-2), major complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade 3-5), changes in renal function at 12 months post-operation, RFS (Recurrence-Free Survival), and OS (Overall Survival). CONCLUSION: The evidence provided by this meta-analysis indicates that the therapeutic effects of Cryoablation (CA) are similar to those of Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy (RAPN) in terms of perioperative outcomes and renal function. However, the recurrence rate of tumors treated with CA is significantly higher. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: The study has been registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42023465846).

JMJD2A participates in cytoskeletal remodeling to regulate castration-resistant prostate cancer docetaxel resistance.

BACKGROUND: To investigate underlying mechanism of JMJD2A in regulating cytoskeleton remodeling in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) resistant to docetaxel. METHODS: Tissue samples from CRPC patients were collected, and the expression of JMJD2A, miR-34a and cytoskeleton remodeling-related proteins were evaluated by qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry, and pathological changes were observed by H&E staining. Further, JMJD2A, STMN1 and TUBB3 were knocked down using shRNA in CRPC cell lines, and cell viability, apoptosis and western blot assays were performed. The interaction between miR-34a/STMN1/ß3-Tubulin was analyzed with dual-luciferase reporter and co-immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: In clinical experiment, the CRPC-resistant group showed higher expression of JMJD2A, STMN1, α-Tubulin, ß-Tubulin and F-actin, and lower expression of miR-34a and ß3-Tubulin compared to the sensitive group. In vitro experiments showed that JMJD2A could regulate cytoskeletal remodeling through the miR-34a/STMN1/ß3-Tubulin axis. The expression of miR-34a was elevated after knocking down JMJD2A, and miR-34a targeted STMN1. The overexpression of miR-34a was associated with a decreased expression of STMN1 and elevated expression of ß3-Tubulin, which led to the disruption of the microtubule network, decreased cancer cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, and increased apoptosis. CONCLUSION: JMJD2A promoted docetaxel resistance in prostate cancer cells by regulating cytoskeleton remodeling through the miR-34a/STMN1/ß3-Tubulin axis.

Competing-risks analysis for evaluating the prognosis of patients with microinvasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma based on the SEER database.

BACKGROUND: Utilizing the traditional Cox regression model to identify the factors affecting the risk of mortality due to microinvasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (micSCC) may produce skewed results. Since cause-specific mortality can guide clinical decision-making, this study employed the Fine-Gray model based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to identify significant predictive variables for the risk of micSCC-related mortality. METHODS: This study used the information of patients with micSCC who were listed in the SEER database during 2000-2015. Cox regression and Fine-Gray models were utilized for the multivariable analysis, and Gray's test and the cumulative incidence function were used for the univariable analyses. RESULTS: There were 100 patients who died from other reasons and 38 who died from micSCC among the 1259 qualified patients with micSCC. Most were female, white, married, had localized metastasis, etc. According to the univariable Gray's test (P < 0.05), the cumulative incidence rate for events of interest was strongly associated with age, sex, marital status, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, radiation status, summary stage, chemotherapy status, surgery status, and tumor size. Multivariable Cox regression analysis and multivariable competing-risks analysis indicated that age, tumor size, and income were independent risk variables for the prognosis of patients with micSCC. In both age and tumor size variables, the competing-risks model showed a slight decrease in the hazard ratio and a slight narrowing of the 95% confidence interval compared with the Cox regression model. However, this pattern is not evident in the income variable. CONCLUSIONS: This study established a Fine-Gray model for identifying the independent risk factors that influence the risk of mortality among patients with micSCC. This study uncovers that, in the context of competing risks, age, tumor size, and income serve as independent risk factors influencing the risk of mortality due to micSCC among patients. Our findings have the potential to provide more accurate risk assessments for patient outcomes and contribute to the development of individualized treatment plans.

Coevolutionary Dynamics of Host Immune and Parasite Virulence Based on an Age-Structured Epidemic Model.

Hosts can activate a defensive response to clear the parasite once being infected. To explore how host survival and fecundity are affected by host-parasite coevolution for chronic parasitic diseases, in this paper, we proposed an age-structured epidemic model with infection age, in which the parasite transmission rate and parasite-induced mortality rate are structured by the infection age. By use of critical function analysis method, we obtained the existence of the host immune evolutionary singular strategy which is a continuous singular strategy (CSS). Assume that parasite-induced mortality begins at infection age [Formula: see text] and is constant v thereafter. We got that the value of the CSS, [Formula: see text], monotonically decreases with respect to infection age [Formula: see text] (see Case (I)), while it is non-monotone if the constant v positively depends on the immune trait c (see Case (II)). This non-monotonicity is verified by numerical simulations and implies that the direction of immune evolution depends on the initial value of immune trait. Besides that, we adopted two special forms of the parasite transmission rate to study the parasite's virulence evolution, by maximizing the basic reproduction ratio [Formula: see text]. The values of the convergence stable parasite's virulence evolutionary singular strategies [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] increase monotonically with respect to time lag L (i.e., the time lag between the onset of transmission and mortality). At the singular strategy [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], we further obtained the expressions of the case mortalities [Formula: see text] and how they are affected by the time lag L. Finally, we only presented some preliminary results about host and parasite coevolution dynamics, including a general condition under which the coevolutionary singular strategy [Formula: see text] is evolutionarily stable.

Effect of the TERT mutation on the prognosis of patients with urothelial carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mutation represents the most prevalent genetic mutation found in urothelial carcinoma (UC) and holds potential as a prognostic indicator for tumor outcomes. However, the association between TERT mutation and prognosis in UC patients remains poorly elucidated due to conflicting findings in existing literature. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of the TERT mutation on the survival of UC patients. METHODS: We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for studies that investigated the relationship between the TERT mutation and the prognosis of UC patients. Endpoints included the 2-year and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) tool was used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies. Review Manager 5.3 was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Nine studies with a total of 1,552 patients were included in the analysis. Two studies were prospective, and seven were retrospective. The TERT promoter mutation was associated with a lower 2-year OS (relative risk [RR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.98; P = 0.007) and a lower 5-year OS (RR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.94; P = 0.008) compared with the TERT wild type. However, no significantly differences were found between two groups in terms of HR for OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.29, 95% CI 0.80-2.08; P = 0.29). Furthermore, we investigated the differences in RFS and disease-specific survival (DSS) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The TERT mutation increases the risk of death and decreases the survival time of UC patients. TERT may be a valuable marker with individual prognostic value.

Prognosis of the Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue Based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database.

Background: The objective of this study is to determine the prognostic factors of keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (KTSCC) and to establish a prognostic nomogram of KTSCC to assist clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: This study identified 3874 patients with KTSCC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and these patients were randomly divided into the training (70%, (n = 2711) and validation (30%, n = 1163) cohorts. Cox regression was then used to filter variables. Nomograms were then constructed based on meaningful variables. Finally, the concordance index (C-index), net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), calibration charts, and decision-curve analysis (DCA), were used to evaluate the discrimination, accuracy and effectiveness of the model. Results: A nomogram model was established for predicting the 3-, 5-, and 8-year overall survival (OS) probabilities of patients with KTSCC. The model indicated that age, radiotherapy sequence, SEER stage, marital status, tumor size, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, radiotherapy status, race, lymph node dissection status, and sex were factors influencing the OS of patients with KTSCC. Verified by C-index, NRI, IDI, calibration curve, and DCA curve, our model has better discrimination, calibration, accuracy and net benefit compared to the AJCC system. Conclusions: This study identified the factors that affect the survival of KTSCC patients and established a prognostic nomogram that can help clinicians predict the 3-, 5-, and 8-year survival rates of KTSCC patients.

[Medicinal evolution and modern research progress on Mume Fructus].

Prunus mume is an edible and medicinal material, and Mume Fructus is its processed product, which was first recorded in Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica(Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing). It is an effective drug for stopping diarrhea with astringents and promoting fluid production to quiet ascaris. By consulting the ancient herbal works of the past dynasties, modern codes, and other rela-ted literature, this paper sorted out the medicinal evolution of Mume Fructus, examined the ancient efficacy of Mume Fructus and the main indications, and summarized the inclusion of Mume Fructus in national and provincial standards. It is recorded in the ancient herbal works of the past dynasties that Mume Fructus can be processed by various methods such as roasting, stir-frying or micro-frying, stir-frying with charcoal, single steaming, steaming with wine, and steaming after soaking in wine or vinegar, and prepared into pills, powders, and ointments, which are used in the treatment of fatigue, diabetes, malaria, dysentery, ascariasis, and other diseases. Mume Fructus has been included in nine editions of Chinese Pharmacopoeia and 19 provincial and municipal preparation specifications. The processing method of Mume Fructus is determined, namely, clean P. mume should be softened by moistening in water or steaming and pitted. By reviewing the effects of processing on its chemical composition, pharmacological effects, and its modern clinical application, this paper identified the following issues. The ancient application methods of Mume Fructus are diverse but less commonly used in modern times, there is a lack of standardized research on the processing, and the research on the changes caused by the difference in Mume Fructus before and after processing is not deep. Therefore, it is necessary to further investigate the change pattern of its chemical composition before and after processing and its correlation between its medicinal activity to standardize the processing technology and provide a solid basis for the use of Mume Fructus in parts and its quality control.

Coevolving spreading dynamics of negative information and epidemic on multiplex networks.

The widespread dissemination of negative information on vaccine may arise people's concern on the safety of vaccine and increase their hesitancy in vaccination, which can seriously impede the progress of epidemic control. Existing works on information-epidemic coupled dynamics focus on the suppression effects of information on epidemic. Here we propose a negative information and epidemic coupled propagation model on two-layer multiplex networks to study the effects of negative information of vaccination on epidemic spreading, where the negative information propagates on the virtual communication layer and the disease spreads on the physical contact layer. In our model, an individual getting an adverse event after vaccination will spread negative information and an individual affected by the negative information will reduce his/her willingness to get vaccinated and spread the negative information. By using the microscopic Markov chain method, we analytically predict the epidemic threshold and final infection density, which agree well with simulation results. We find that the spread of negative information leads to a lower epidemic outbreak threshold and a higher final infection density. However, the individuals' vaccination activities, but not the negative information spreading, has a leading impact on epidemic spreading. Only when the individuals obviously reduce their vaccination willingness due to negative information, the negative information can impact the epidemic spreading significantly.

KCNQ1OT1 promotes the proliferation and migration of psoriatic keratinocytes by regulating miR-183-3p/GAB1.

BACKGROUND: Differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been reported to be involved in the proliferation and migration of keratinocyte. Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 overlapping transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) was implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including cancer, sepsis, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and atherosclerosis. In this study, the influence of KCNQ1OT1 on the proliferation and migration of psoriatic keratinocytes was explained. METHODS: Cultured human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) was incubated with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Cell viability and migration were assessed by MTT assay and wound healing, respectively. Target miRNA of KCNQ1OT1 was identified by luciferase activity and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. RESULTS: KCNQ1OT1 was up-regulated in TNF-α-treated HaCaT cell line, and knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 reduced viability and suppressed the migration of TNF-α-treated HaCaT cell line. KCNQ1OT1 was bound to microRNA-183-3p (miR-183-3p) and negatively regulated its expression. Over-expression of growth factor receptor binding 2-associated binding protein 1 (GAB1) counteracted with the suppressive effects of KCNQ1OT1-induced silence on the viability and migration of TNF-α-treated HaCaT cells. CONCLUSION: KCNQ1OT1 silence suppressed the proliferation and migration of TNF-α-treated HaCaT cells through regulation of miR-183-3p/GAB1.

Radical prostatectomy after previous transurethral resection of the prostate: oncological, surgical and functional outcomes-a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to carry out a comprehensive meta-analysis on the existing evidence to quantify and compare the oncological, surgical and functional outcomes following radical prostatectomy between TURP group and Non-TURP group. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using EMBASE, PubMed and Cochrane databases to identify relevant studies published in English up to March 2019. A meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager. RESULTS: There were 13 studies included in the present study. Our results suggest that TURP group demonstrates a significantly higher positive surgical margin rate, bladder neck reconstruction rate and overall complication rate compared with Non-TURP group (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.09-1.58, P = 0.004, I2 = 0%; OR = 14.36, 95% CI 2.93-70.45, P = 0.001, I2 = 81%; OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.87-3.71, P < 0.00001, I2 = 0%); whereas TURP group demonstrates a significantly lower nerve sparing rate compared with Non-TURP group (OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.22-0.43, P < 0.00001, I2 = 40%); the operation time, blood loss and 1-year urinary continence rate are same between TURP group and Non-TURP group (MD = 4.25, 95% CI - 0.13 to 8.63, P = 0.06, I2 = 34%; MD = 27.29, 95% CI - 10.31 to 64.90, P = 0.15, I2 = 39%; OR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.43-1.06, P = 0.09, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis demonstrates that Non-TURP group may have a great advantage over TURP group in terms of positive surgical margin rate, bladder neck reconstruction rate, overall complication rate and sparing rate. The operation time, blood loss and 1-year urinary continence rate are comparable between TURP group and Non-TURP group. Therefore, important information should be given to those patients at risk of prostate cancer that TURP procedure may increase perioperative complications in case of a following radical prostatectomy. In the meantime, our meta-analysis found that each of these four subgroups (RARP, LRP, ORP and RARP/ORP) has its own advantages or disadvantages in every pool results. So when radical prostatectomy is performed on patients with TURP history, the appropriate operation method should be selected as per the conditions of patients, doctors and hospitals.

Effect of endostatin on Wnt pathway of stem-like cells in bladder cancer in tumor microenvironment.

Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway modulates miscellaneous biological events in cells including gene expression, cell growth, apoptosis, metabolism and transition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of endostatin on Wnt signaling pathway of stem-like cells in bladder cancer in tumor microenvironment. The qRT-PCR assay and western blot were conducted to evaluate related factors expressions of Wnt signaling pathway in both bladder cancer 5637 cells and stem cells. Loss of function assays were carried out to detect the influence of endostatin on the proliferation, migration, cell proliferation and apoptosis of bladder cancer cells. We demonstrated that endostatin triggered the degradation of ß-catenin, a key mediator of Wnt signaling. The activation of the endostatin blocked ß-catenin function and inhibited cell growth and migration of bladder cancer. In order to verify that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway was inhibited by endostain in 5637 bladder cancer cells and stem cells, the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway-associated molecules, including DKK1, LRP5, TCF4, ß-catenin, cyclin D1, and c-Myc, were evaluated in 5637 bladder cancer cells and stem cells. The western blotting results showed that expressions of these molecules were remarkably increased in the 5637 bladder cancer cells and stem cells compared to the control group. In summary, our study demonstrated that endostatin inhibited angiogenesis. The downregulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway may be engaged in the suppression of angiogenesis by endostatin in bladder cancer cells and cancer stem cells.

Antibiotic resistance genes removal and membrane fouling in secondary effluents by combined processes of PAC/BPAC-UF.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), as emerging environmental contaminants, are becoming a threat to human health. In this study, the combined processes of powdered activated carbon (PAC)/biological PAC (BPAC)-ultrafiltration (UF) were adopted to reduce the levels of ARGs in secondary effluents from a wastewater treatment plant. The removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and the change of normalized flux in the UF process were investigated. In addition, the structural characteristics of the microorganisms of the BPAC were analyzed. The results showed that the appropriate dosage of PAC and BPAC was 40 mg/L. At this dosage, PAC/BPAC-UF combined processes could effectively remove the ARGs in secondary effluents by 1.26-2.69-log and 1.55-2.97-log, respectively; and the removal rates of DOC would be 60.7% and 54.1%, respectively. Relative to the direct UF, the membrane fluxes of the two combined processes were increased by 15.6% and 25.1%, respectively. Significant removal correlations were found between ARGs, intI1, DOC and 16SrDNA. These results revealed that the PAC/BPAC-UF combined process might play a promising role in ARG reduction in secondary effluents from wastewater treatment plants.

The removal of antibiotic resistance genes in secondary effluent by the combined process of PAC-UF.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), as emerging environmental contaminants, have become a threat to human health. Here, we use the combined process of powdered activated carbon (PAC) and ultrafiltration (UF) to investigate the removal of ARGs, the class I integron (intI1), 16S rDNA and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in wastewater effluent. Additionally, the removal mechanisms of ARGs by PAC-UF were investigated. Our results show that a higher PAC concentration might increase DOC and ARGs removal. The maximum removal of DOC and ARGs was 63.2% and 1.35-log-3.35-log, respectively. At the same time, the ARGs are positively correlated with DOC, intI1 and 16S rDNA, indicating that reducing their concentration would contribute to the reduction of ARGs. We also found that the optimal PAC dose could effectively increase membrane flux, reduce membrane fouling resistance and alleviate membrane fouling. This study demonstrates that the PAC-UF process is a potential deep water purification process and control technology for reducing ARGs risk.

[The Correlation Between Serum Hcy Level and Clinical Indicators in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the serum homocysteine (Hcy) level and its influence factors in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: 90 SLE patients were included in the study. According to the systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) score, 41 patients were in active stage (> 9 scores), 49 patients were in inactive stage (≤9 scores), while 46 healthy individuals were selected as controls. Total cholesterol (TC), triacylglyceride (TG), serum creatinine (Ser), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum cystatin (cystin c, CysC) and Hcy level were measured. Analysis on the relationship between Hcy level and SLEDAI score, as well as serum indicators was conducted. RESULTS: The levels of Hcy, TG, TC, CRP and CysC in SLE patients were higher than healthy controls (P < 0.05), and the serum level in active SLE patients was higher than inactive SLE patients (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in Ser level among the active SLE patients, inactive SLE patients and healthy controls (P>0.05). There was a positive correlation between Hcy level and SLEDAI score (r=0.698 3, P < 0.01), as well as CysC (r=0.597 5, P < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between Hcy level and CRP, TC, TG and Ser levels (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The Hcy level in SLE patients was higher than healthy controls. The level of Hcy was positively correlated with the degree of disease activity. The Hcy level and SLEDAI score can be used as indicators to evaluate the activity of SLE.

Association Between Psoriasis and Erectile Dysfunction: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown a relationship between psoriasis and erectile dysfunction (ED), but a meta-analysis of the data has not been performed. AIM: To conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis of existing evidence to quantify and compare the risk of ED with psoriasis. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, and Google Scholar. We calculated pooled odds ratios (OR), standardized mean difference (SMD), and 95% CI. OUTCOMES: Outcome measures included characteristics of included studies, association between psoriasis and ED risk, and association for adjusted-for-covariates studies between psoriasis and ED risk. RESULTS: In total, 9 studies with 36,242 psoriasis patients and 1,657,711 controls (participants without psoriasis) met inclusion criteria and showed that there was statistically significant association between psoriasis and ED risk (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.29-1.41; P < .00001; I2 = 44%). A significant association for adjusted-for-covariates studies between psoriasis and ED risk was also observed (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.08-1.37; P = .002; I2 = 43.8%). It revealed the International Index of Erectile Function-5 score was statistically significantly lower in the psoriasis group than controls (SMD -3.09; 95% CI -4.81 to -1.37; P = .0004; I2 = 77%). A subgroup analysis was performed to potentially explain heterogeneity. It examined the main potential sources of inter-study variance including variance sample sizes and different assessment tools for ED. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: The risk of ED in psoriasis patients should also be assessed by physicians. CONCLUSIONS: This study is a well-designed and comprehensive meta-analysis to examine the relationship between psoriasis and risk of ED. However, the included studies are mostly cross-sectional or have small sample cohorts, which could bring bias and heterogeneity into the analysis. Our findings support the hypothesis that psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of ED. Furthermore, additional prospective cohort studies are needed to elucidate these relationships and to advance knowledge in this field. Wu T, Duan X, Chen S, et al. Association Between Psoriasis and Erectile Dysfunction: A Meta-analysis. J Sex Med 2018;15:839-847.

The membrane fouling mechanisms of the PAC/BPAC-UF combined process used to treat the secondary effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plant.

The combined processes of powdered activated carbon/biological powdered activated carbon- ultrafiltration (PAC/BPAC-UF) were used to treat secondary effluent. In this study, the effect of PAC and BPAC on membrane flux, membrane resistance and the removal of different molecular weight organic compounds were investigated. In addition, the structure characteristics of the microorganisms of the BPAC were analyzed. The results showed that the optimum dosage of PAC and BPAC was 10 mg/L and 40 mg/L respectively. The reversible membrane fouling resistance of BPAC-UF was higher than that of PAC-UF, and the two processes had the least irreversible resistance at the best dosage. The biodegradation of BPAC increased the concentration of small molecular weight organic matter up to 10,000 Da in the membrane effluent. So the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal effect of BPAC-UF process worsened. Microorganisms such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes and other microorganisms on the surface of the BPAC enhanced the removal of organic matter in water. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) scans showed that there was net mucus membrane on the UF membrane surface before the backwashing of the BPAC-UF process which increased the proportion of reversible pollution resistance. The physical flushing effect of BPAC-UF was better than that of direct UF and PAC-UF processes.

[The Preliminary Study on Anti-photodamaged Effect of Astaxanthin Liposomes in Mice Skin].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effects of astaxanthin liposome (Asx-lipo) on photodamage by UVB in mice skin. METHODS: 40 C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups: The blank group (no irradiation, no drug use), model group (UVB light injury group, no drug use), control group (irradiation + astaxanthin), experimental group (irradiation + astaxanthin liposome), each group with 10 mice. Each group was given the corresponding light (the radiation intensity was 2 mW·cm2, the time of irradiation was 60 s, 1 times a day for the first 5 days, and 1 times every other day for the next 9 days, 10 times in a total of 2 weeks.) and drug intervention (topically treated with 4 mL 0.2‰ astaxanthin or 4 mL 0.2‰ Asx-lipo 10 min before the irradiation) for two weeks. After that, samples were examined by the following indicators: the histological changes of skin, Ki-67, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG), superoxide dismutase(SOD) activities and serum matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13). RESULTS: HE staining the model group and the control group showed that the dermis became thin, the dermal collagen fibers were long and thin, and the arrangement was loose and disordered. Compared with the blank group, the expression of Ki-67, MMP-13 and 8-OHdG increased and SOD activity decreased, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the pathological changes of skin tissues in the experimental group were significantly improved, with decreased expressions of Ki-67, MMP-13 and 8-OHdG and increased SOD activity, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The photodamage of mice skin can be improved by topical Asx-lipo. The mechanism may be related to the strong antioxidation of Asx-lipo.

Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy versus Laparoscopic Ureterolithotomy or Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in the Management of Large Proximal Ureteral Stones: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing ureterolithotripsy (URS) with percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) or laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (LU) techniques for the management of large proximal ureteral stones (diameter greater than 10 mm). METHODS: A literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify suitable studies until November 2016. We used weighted mean difference to measure operative time and hospital stay, OR to measure stone free rate (SFR), and complication rate. Subgroup analyses were assessed for heterogeneity. RESULTS: Fourteen publications strictly met our eligibility criteria of which 7 were randomized control studies (RCTs) and 7 non-RCTs. Meta-analysis of extractable data showed that LU and PCNL had higher SFR than URS. URS led to a similar hospital stay like that of LU. However, it had a shorter operative time and lower complication rate than LU. When we compared URS with PCNL, we found a shorter hospital stay in the URS group. However, there was no significant difference in terms of the operative time and complication rate between URS and PCNL. CONCLUSION: URS should be considered standard therapy for treating large proximal ureteral stones.

The removal of typical pollutants in secondary effluent by the combined process of powdered activated carbon-ultrafiltration.

This paper focused on the effects of powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosage on ultrafiltration (UF) membrane flux caused by natural organic matter (NOM). Three model foulants, humic acid (HA), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium alginate (SA), were adopted to represent different NOM fractions in secondary effluent treated by the combined process of PAC-UF. Moreover, the membrane fouling resistance and fouling mechanism were also analyzed. The results indicated that the best PAC dosage for the membrane flux variation was 20 mg/L for HA and SA, and 10 mg/L for BSA. SA caused the most serious membrane fouling, which was mainly reversible fouling. The membrane fouling caused by HA and BSA was mainly irreversible membrane fouling. The membrane fouling caused by organics happened mainly at the initial stage of filtration. Because the filter cake layer formed by a moderate amount of PAC could intercept organics, the membrane fouling, especially the irreversible fouling, could be reduced.