Association between sleep duration and serum neurofilament light chain levels among adults in the United States.

Background: Neurofilaments are neuron specific skeleton proteins maintaining axon transduction speed, leaked into cerebrospinal fluid and serum after axonal injury or neuron death. Sleep duration change has long related to many health issues but lack laboratory examination. Methods: This study enrolled total 10,175 participants from 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and used a multi-variable linear model to analyze the relationship between sleep duration and serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) level. Results: There was a fixed relationship between sleep duration and sNfL level (ß = 0.65, p = 0.0280). After adjusted for covariates, this relationship still (ß = 0.82, p = 0.0052). Segmented regression showed that the turning point of sleep duration was 7 h 1 h decrease in sleep duration was significantly associated with -1.26 higher sNfL level (95 % CI: 2.25, -0.28; p = 0.0115) when sleep duration <7 h; however, 1 h increase in sleep duration was significantly associated with 3.20 higher sNfL level (95 % CI: 2.13, 4.27; p < 0.0001) when sleep duration >7 h. Furthermore, the stratified analysis indicated that the associations between sleep duration and sNfL level were stronger among those normal body mass index and trouble sleeping (p-interaction <0.0001 and 0.0003). Conclusion: In summary, there was a J-shaped relationship between sleep duration and sNfL level in the United States of America representative group, these may suggest that extreme sleep duration can be deleterious judged by sNfL level. And still need large cohort study to determine the accurate relationship, and cluster analysis to infer the nervous disease connected with extreme sleep duration.

Hydrothermal-enhanced pyrolysis for efficient NOX reduction and biochar valorization from food waste digestate.

Pyrolysis has emerged as a promising technology for valorizing digestate resulting from the anaerobic digestion of food waste. However, the high NOX emissions during pyrolysis limit its application. This study proposed a hydrothermal coupled pyrolysis process to control the element transfer in digestate during biochar production. The efficient reduction of NOX emissions and the improvement of biochar adsorbability were realized. The hydrothermal process reduced the nitrogen content in solid digestate by 49.10 %-81.79 %, thus reducing the NOX precursors in syngas and the N-containing substances in bio-oil. Additionally, the specific surface area and the total pore volume of biochar were enhanced from 25 m2/g to 60-73 m2/g and 0.06 cm3/g to 0.12-0.14 cm3/g, respectively. More defects, oxygen-containing functional groups, and doped Ca on the biochar resulted in a high phosphate removal efficiency of 94 %. The proposed technology provides an efficient and environmentally friendly way to utilize the digestate.

Predicting maturity and identifying key factors in organic waste composting using machine learning models.

The measurement of germination index (GI) in composting is a time-consuming and laborious process. This study employed four machine learning (ML) models, namely Random Forest (RF), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Decision Tree (DT), to predict GI based on key composting parameters. The prediction results showed that the coefficient of determination (R2) for RF (>0.9) and ANN (>0.9) was higher than SVR (<0.6) and DT (<0.8), suggesting that RF and ANN displayed superior predictive performance for GI. The SHapley additive exPlanations value result indicated that composting time, temperature, and pH were the important features contributing to GI. Composting time was found to have the most significant impact on GI. Overall, RF and ANN were suggested as effective tools for predicting GI in composting. This study offers the reliable approach of accurately predicting GI in composting processes, thereby enabling intelligent composting practices.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (SJTUGHi003-A) from a patient with Sorsby fundus dystrophy carrying c.484G>A mutation in TIMP3 gene.

Sorsby fundus dystrophy (SFD) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder with macular dystrophy and severe visual loss. Mutations in TIMP3 gene has been related to SFD with mechanisms unclear. We have successfully reprogrammed the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from an SFD patient carrying c.484G>A mutation in TIMP3 gene to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and characterized their pluripotency and genetic stability. This line may serve as a useful tool to explore the role of TIMP3 in SFD pathogenesis.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (SJTUGHi001-A) from a patient with Retinitis Pigmentosa carrying c.77C > T mutation in RAX2 gene.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of genetically heterogeneous retinopathy resulting in irreversible loss of vision. Mutations in RAX2 gene has been related to RP with mechanisms unclear. Here, we generated a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a RP patient carrying c.77C > T mutation in RAX2 gene. This cell line was induced by integration-free episomal vectors and validated for pluripotency and differentiation capacity, which may serve as a model to study the role of RAX2 in RP pathogenesis.

Methane removal efficiencies of biochar-mediated landfill soil cover with reduced depth.

Biochar amendment for landfill soil cover has the potential to enhance methane removal efficiency while minimizing the soil depth. However, there is a lack of information on the response of biochar-mediated soil cover to the changes in configuration and operational parameters during the methane transport and transformation processes. This study constructed three biochar-amended landfill soil covers, with reduced soil depths from 75 cm (C2) to 55 cm (C3) and 45 cm (C4), and the control group (C1) with 75 cm and no biochar. Two operation phases were conducted under two soil moisture contents and three inlet methane fluxes in each phase. The methane removal efficiency increased for all columns along with the increase in methane flux. However, increasing moisture content from 10% to 20% negatively influenced the methane removal efficiency due to mass transfer limitation when at a low inlet methane flux, especially for C1; while this adverse effect could be alleviated by a high flux. Except for the condition with low moisture content and flux combination, C3 showed comparable methane removal efficiency to C2, both dominating over C1. As for C4 with only 45 cm, a high moisture content combined with a high methane flux enabled its methane removal efficiency to be competitive with other soil depths. In addition to the geotechnical reasons for gas transport processes, the evolution in methanotroph community structure (mainly type I methanotrophs) induced by biochar amendment and variations in soil properties supplemented the biological reasons for the varying methane removal efficiencies.

Manipulating soil microbial community assembly by the cooperation of exogenous bacteria and biochar for establishing an efficient and healthy CH4 biofiltration system.

Manipulating the methanotroph (MOB) composition and microbial diversity is a promising strategy to optimize the methane (CH4) biofiltration efficiency of an engineered landfill cover soil (LCS) system. Inoculating soil with exogenous MOB-rich bacteria and amending soil with biochar show strong manipulating potential, but how the two stimuli interactively shape the microbial community structure and diversity has not been clarified. Therefore, three types of soils with active CH4 activities, including paddy soil, river wetland soil, and LCS were selected for enriching MOB-dominated communities (abbreviated as B_PS, B_RWS, and B_LCS, respectively). They were then inoculated to LCS which was amended with two distinct biochar. Besides the aerobic CH4 oxidation efficiencies, the evolution of the three microbial communities during the MOB enrichment processes and their colonization in two-biochar amended LCS were obtained. During the MOB enriching, a lag phase in CH4 consumption was observed merely for B_LCS. Type II MOB Methylocystis was the primary MOB for both B_PS and B_LCS; while type I MOB dominated for B_RWS and the major species were altered by gas concentrations. Compared to biochar, a more critical role was demonstrated for the bacteria inoculation in determining the community diversity and function of LCS. Instead, biochar modified the community structures by mainly stimulating the dominant MOB but could induce stochastic processes in community assembly, possibly related to its inorganic nutrients. Particularly, combined with biochar advantages, the paddy soil-derived bacteria consortiums with diverse MOB species demonstrated the potent adaption to LCS niches, not only retaining the high CH4-oxidizing capacities but also shaping a community structure with more diverse soil function. The results provided new insights into the optimization of an engineered CH4-mitigation soil system by manipulating the soil microbiomes with the cooperation of exogenous bacteria and biochar.

Cryopreservation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells at the Optimal Stage.

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are superior cell sources for cell replacement therapy in individuals with retinal degenerative diseases; however, studies on the stable and secure banking of these therapeutic cells are scarce. Highly variable cell viability and functional recovery of RPE cells after cryopreservation are the most commonly encountered issues. In the present protocol, we aimed to achieve the best cell recovery rate after thawing by selecting the optimal cell phase for freezing based on the original experimental conditions. Cells were frozen in the exponential phase determined by using the 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine labeling assay, which improved cell viability and recovery rate after thawing. Stable and functional cells were obtained shortly after thawing, independent of a long differentiation process. The methods described here allow the simple, efficient, and inexpensive preservation and thawing of hESC-derived RPE cells. Although this protocol focuses on RPE cells, this freezing strategy may be applied to many other types of differentiated cells.

Enhanced methane oxidation efficiency by digestate biochar in landfill cover soil: Microbial shifts and carbon metabolites insights.

The ability of biochar to enhance the oxidation of methane (CH4) in landfill cover soil by promoting the growth and activity of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) has attracted significant attention. However, the optimal characteristics of digestate-derived biochar (DBC) for promoting the MOB community and CH4 removal performance remain unclear. This study examined how the CH4 oxidation capacity and respiratory metabolism of MOB life process are affected by the application of DBC compared with the most commonly used woody-derived biochar (WBC). The addition of both WBC and DBC enhanced CH4 oxidation, with DBC exhibiting a nearly twofold increase in cumulative CH4 oxidation mass (7.14 mg CH4 g-1) compared to WBC. The high ion-exchange capacity of DBC was found to be more favorable for the growth of Type I MOB, which have more efficient metabolic pathways for CH4 oxidation. Type I MOB which are abundant in DBC may prefer monovalent positive ions, while the charge-rich nature of DBC may also have hindered extracellular protein aggregation. The superiority of DBC in terms of CH4 oxidation thus highlights the underlying mechanisms of biochar-MOB interactions, offering potential biochar options for landfill cover soil.

Carbon dots/TiO2 enhanced visible light-assisted photocatalytic of leachate: Simultaneous effects and Mechanism insights.

The persistence and potential fouling risks associated with humic substances and bacteria present in leachate have gained increasing attention. Therefore, developing efficient and environmentally compatible technologies for their removal is essential. This study presented the hydrothermal synthesis of a photocatalyst by coupling carbon dots (CDs) and bulk TiO2 (P25). The incorporation of CDs increased the photocatalytic performance by enhancing visible light absorption and facilitating the separation of electrons/holes. Compared to P25, the CDs/P25 exhibited optimal photocatalytic activity for humic acid (HA), fulvic acid (FA), and leachate, with 1.64, 1.02, and 1.12 times higher activity, respectively. Remarkedly, the CDs/P25 accelerated the conversion of large HA molecules into small molecules at a faster rate and higher amount than the bulk P25, due to the increase of hydroxyl radicals, monoclinic oxygen radicals, and superoxide radicals. Additionally, the CDs/P25 demonstrated better bacterial-deactivation ability than the P25, with dead bacteria percentages of 83.3% and 34.6%, respectively. This study provides a promising strategy for efficiently applying CDs/P25 photocatalysis to leachate treatment.

Spatial-temporal clogging development in leachate collection systems of landfills: Insight into chemical and biological clogging characteristics.

The clogging of leachate collection systems (LCSs) is a typical challenge for landfills operation. Although clogging occurs in different LCS components, its spatial-temporal distributions remain unclear. This study aimed to systematically investigate the dynamic clogging development in simulated LCSs by monitoring changes in clogging characteristics over time. Results revealed that clogging accumulated in all components of the simulated LCS during a 215-day period, including chemical clogging and bio-clogging. Distinct spatial variations in clogging components were observed along the leachate flow of the simulated LCS, with the geotextile being severely clogged due to bio-clogging (70.1 ± 3.0%-80.0 ± 0.5%). Additionally, chemical clogging mainly occurred at the top (85.4 ± 0.8%-95.0 ± 0.9%) and middle (91.2 ± 0.8%-94.9 ± 1.1%) gravel layers. Nevertheless, the percentage of chemical clogging decreased from 72.0 ± 2.1% (day 42) to 42.5 ± 2.7% (day 215) at the bottom gravel layer. Chemical clogging was the main type in the pipe, accounting for 69.6 ± 0.5% (day 215). In addition, the ratios of bio-clogging to chemical clogging changed over time in all LCS components. The spatial-temporal characteristics of clogging across LCS components can enhance the understanding of clogging mechanisms, facilitate the design optimization of LCSs, and promote the formulation of effective control strategies.

Inhibition insights of hydrothermal liquid digestate in anaerobic digestion: Impact on organics conversion and inhibitor degradation.

Hydrothermal liquid digestate has been widely accepted as a substrate in anaerobic digestion (AD) for energy recovery. However, the potential negative impacts of hydrothermal liquid digestate on AD remain unclear. In this study, the organic biodegradability of hydrothermal liquid digestate produced from hydrothermal treatment (HTT) at different temperatures was analyzed, and the formation and degradation process of potential inhibitory substances were discussed. Results demonstrated that the AD lag phase of hydrothermal liquid digestate increased from 3 days at raw liquid digestate to 5-21 days. When the HTT temperature reached 220 °C, the methane yield decreased by 48%, and more than 71% of the organics in the hydrothermal liquid digestate were not utilized by AD. Biorefractory substances, such as fulvic and humic acids, accumulate in the hydrothermal liquid digestate. Potential inhibitory substances from Maillard reactions mainly affect the methanogenesis of AD. Most inhibitory substances were degraded within 7-22 days, with the degradation rate following the order of pyrroles > pyrazines > ketones > imidazoles > indoles. The AD community structure and methane conversion were partially re-established after most inhibitory substances were degraded. This study provides valuable information on eliminating the potential negative effects of hydrothermal liquid digestate on AD.

Impacts of digestate-based compost on soil property and nutrient availability.

The treatment of digestate from food waste (DFW) has emerged as the bottleneck for food waste anaerobic digestion. DFW generally contains abundant nutrients that can be recycled by composting. However, the effect of DFW-based compost on soil improvement has not been extensively explored. In this study, soil properties were improved by adding various amounts of DFW-based compost, and the growth conditions of Pak choi were monitored. The results indicated that the DFW-based compost could provide nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and organic matter, thereby enhancing the growth of Pak choi, accumulating chlorophyll, and improving photosynthesis efficiency. As the amount of added DFW-based compost increased from 0% to 20%, the fresh biomass, leaf weight, and root weight of Pak choi increased by 242%, 262%, and 99%, respectively. The total chlorophyll content was 2.62 mg g-1 in control and increased to 12.45 mg g-1 in the group with 20% DFW-based compost, benefiting the photochemical efficiency of Pak choi. However, the growth was inhibited when the addition amount exceeded 20%, potentially due to excessive nutrient supplementation. Overall, the addition of 20% of DFW-based compost was suggested to promote the growth of Pak choi by providing proper nutrients.

Exercise Rehabilitation and Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Effects, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Benefits.

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), is a group of disorders, primarily chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, which are characterized by high prevalence and disability, recurrent acute exacerbations, and multiple comorbidities, resulting in exercise limitations and reduced health-related quality of life. Exercise training, an important tool in pulmonary rehabilitation, reduces adverse symptoms in patients by relieving respiratory limitations, increasing gas exchange, increasing central and peripheral hemodynamic forces, and enhancing skeletal muscle function. Aerobic, resistance, and high-intensity intermittent exercises, and other emerging forms such as aquatic exercise and Tai Chi effectively improve exercise capacity, physical fitness, and pulmonary function in patients with CRD. The underlying mechanisms include enhancement of the body's immune response, better control of the inflammatory response, and acceleration of the interaction between the vagus and sympathetic nerves to improve gas exchange. Here, we reviewed the new evidence of benefits and mechanisms of exercise intervention in the pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease, and lung cancer.

Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training and Combined High-Intensity Interval Training Programs on Cancer-Related Fatigue and Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) alone and combined HIIT programs compared with usual care on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and pain related to cancer or cancer-related treatments. METHODS: Articles published prior to January 2023 were searched in the following digital databases: PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science, Scopus and ScienceDirect. Randomized controlled trials were included that met the following criteria: (i) adult cancer patients and survivors (>18 yr old); (ii) HIIT or combined HIIT programs versus usual care; (iii) assessment of fatigue and pain. Cochrane tool was used for assessing Risk of Bias (RoB) and Review Manager (RevMan 5.2) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Based on limited number (12) of studies included, we found HIIT and combined HIIT interventions have significant effect sizes on reducing both CRF (standardized mean difference, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.84; P < 0.001) and cancer-associated pain (standardized mean difference, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.63; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that HIIT and combined HIIT programs can reduce CRF and pain.

Simultaneous determination of twenty-nine active compounds in fuzhengjiedu granules by HPLC-QQQ-MS/MS.

As an empirical medicine of traditional Chinese medicine, Fuzhengjiedu Granules have shown an effect against COVID-19 in clinical and inflammatory animal models. It is formulated with eight herbs, including Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Zingiberis Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Gleditsiae Spina, Fici Radix, Pogostemonis Herba, and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium. This study established a high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-QQQ-MS/MS) method by simultaneously determining 29 active compounds in the granules with significant content differences. Separation by gradient elution using acetonitrile and water (0.1% formic acid) as mobile phases was performed on a Waters Acquilty UPLC T3 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 µm). A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operating in positive and negative ionization modes, was used for multiple reaction monitoring to detect the 29 compounds. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r2 > 0.998). RSDs of precision, reproducibility, and stability of active compounds were all lower than 5.0%. The recovery rates were 95.4-104.9%, with RSDs< 5.0%. This method was successfully used to analyze the samples, and the results showed that 26 representative active components from 8 herbs were detected in the granules. While aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine were not detected, indicating that the existing samples were safe. The granules had the maximum and minimum content of hesperidin (27.3 ± 0.375 mg/g) and benzoylaconine (38.2 ± 0.759 ng/g). To conclude, a fast, accurate, sensitive, and reliable HPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method was established, which can simultaneously detect 29 active compounds that have a considerable difference in the content of Fuzhengjiedu Granules. This study can be used to control the quality and safety of Fuzhengjiedu Granules and provide a basis and guarantee for further experimental research and clinical application.

The Role of Widefield Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in the Diagnosis and Management of Acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease.

PURPOSE: We explore the choroid vasculature changes of acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease using widefield optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: In this retrospective, observational, longitudinal study, 16 patients with acute VKH disease (32 eyes, mean age: 42.19 ±13.66 years) were measured using widefield OCTA. RESULTS: In this study, we first described the multiple dark foci in choriocapillaris and Sattler's layer in the panoramic montage of the five 12x12mm images in 30 eyes (93.8%) of acute VKH disease. OCTA follow-up in these 30 eyes demonstrated the diminished size and number of these dark foci in choriocapillaris and Sattler's layer after the initiation of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Widefield OCTA enables noninvasive identification of characteristics of flow void at the level of superficial choroidal vessels in the acute phase and may be a novel valuable tool for diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression in VKH disease in the future.

Ferroptosis is a new therapeutic target for spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury is a serious traumatic disease. As Ferroptosis has been increasingly studied in recent years, it has been found to be closely related to the pathophysiological processes of spinal cord injury. Iron overload, reactive oxygen species accumulation, lipid peroxidation and glutamate accumulation associated with Ferroptosis are all present in spinal cord injury, and thus Ferroptosis is thought to be involved in the pathological processes secondary to spinal cord injury. This article highlights the relationship between Ferroptosis and spinal cord injury, lists substances that improve spinal cord injury by inhibiting Ferroptosis, and concludes with a discussion of the problems that may be encountered in the clinical translation of Ferroptosis inhibitors as a means of enabling their faster use in clinical treatment.

Isolation and characterization of quorum quenching bacteria from municipal solid waste and bottom ash co-disposal landfills.

Co-landfilling of bottom ash (BA) accelerates the clogging of leachate collection systems (LCSs) and increases the risk of landfill failure. The clogging was mainly associated with bio-clogging, which may be reduced by quorum quenching (QQ) strategies. This communication reports on a study of how isolated facultative QQ bacterial strains from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills and BA co-disposal landfills. In MSW landfills, two novel QQ strains (Brevibacillus agri and Lysinibacillus sp. YS11) can degrade the signal molecule hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) and octanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C8-HSL), respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa could degrade C6-HSL and C8-HSL in BA co-disposal landfills. Moreover, P. aeruginosa (0.98) was observed with a higher growth rate (OD600) compared to that of B. agri (0.27) and Lysinibacillus sp. YS11 (0.53). These results indicated that the QQ bacterial strains were associated with leachate characteristics and signal molecules and could be used for controlling bio-clogging in landfills.

Insights into the influence of digestate-derived biochar upon the microbial community succession during the composting of digestate from food waste.

The by-product from the anaerobic digestion of food waste (FW) called the digestate (DFW) needs proper disposal because of its high environmental burden. Composting can transform DFW into a nutrient-containing soil improver via a series of microbial metabolic activities. However, the long composting time and high amount of ammonia emission are the key concerns of DFW composting. In the present study, the effect of DFW-derived biochar (BC-DFW) on microbial succession and its involvement in nitrogen transformation and humification during DFW composting were investigated. The results indicated that the BC-DFW accelerated bacterial and fungal evolution, and the bacterial diversity was augmented by increasing the amount of BC-DFW. In particular, Cryomorpha, Castellaniella, Aequorivita, and Moheibacter were enriched by the addition of BC-DFW, thereby enhancing the degradation of organic matter and nitrogen transformation and increasing the germination index. The group with 25% BC-DFW contained a higher relative abundance of Cryomorpha (2.08%, 2.47%) than the control (0.39%, 1.72%) on days 19 and 35 which benefited the degradation of organic matter. The group with 25% BC-DFW quickly enhanced the growth of Nitrosomonas, thereby accelerating the conversion of ammonium-nitrogen to nitrate-nitrogen and reducing the phytotoxicity of the composting product.