Construction of an ideotype root system architecture of subsurface flow constructed wetland macrophytes by vertical spatial stress: strengthening of rhizosphere effects and determination of appropriate substrate depth.

Strengthening rhizosphere effects to enhance pollutant removal is a hotspot of constructed wetlands (CWs) research in recent years, and improving the root traits and metabolic capacity of macrophytes is crucial for strengthening rhizosphere effects. In the field experiment, two types of subsurface flow (SSF) CWs (CW10 and CW20, with substrate depths of 10 and 20 cm, respectively) under the vertical spatial stress of roots (VSSR) and two types of non-VSSR SSF CWs (CW40 and CW60) were adopted with Typha orientalis as cultivated plants to investigate the variability of root development, metabolism, and pollutant removal at different substrate depths. VSSR induced substantial redundant root development, which significantly increased root-shoot ratio, fine and lateral root biomass, root porosity, and root activity, with lateral and fine root biomass of CW20 reaching 409.17 and 237.42 g/m2, respectively, which were 3.18 and 5.28 times those of CW60. The radical oxygen loss (ROL) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels of CW20 single plant were 1.36 and 4.57 times higher than those of CW60, respectively, and more types of root exudates were determined (e.g., aldehydes, ketones and amides). More aerobic heterotrophs (e.g., Massilia, Planomicrobium), nitrification bacteria (e.g., Ellin6067, Nitrospira), aerobic denitrification bacteria (e.g., Bacillu, Chryseobacterium, Pseudomonas) and denitrification phosphorus accumulating organisms (e.g., Flavobacterium) were enriched in the rhizosphere of CW20. This changed the main transformation pathways of pollutants and enhanced the removal of pollutants, with the COD, TN and TP average removal rates of CW20 increasing by 9.99%, 13.28% and 8.92%, respectively, compared with CW60. The ideotype root system architecture CW (RSACW; CW20) constructed in this study, which consists of a large number of fine and lateral roots, can stimulate more efficient rhizosphere effects stably and continuously.

Can zoledronic acid reduce the risk of cage subsidence after oblique lumbar interbody fusion combined with bilateral pedicle screw fixation in the elderly population? A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of zoledronic acid for reducing the incidence of cage subsidence and enhancing interbody fusion rates following oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery, particularly as the first reported evidence of the role of zoledronic acid combined with OLIF. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 108 elderly patients treated for degenerative lumbar diseases using OLIF combined with bilateral pedicle screw fixation from January 2018 to December 2021. Patients were divided into the zoledronic acid (ZOL) group (43 patients, 67 surgical segments) and the control group (65 patients, 86 surgical segments). A comparative analysis of the radiographic and clinical outcomes between the groups was performed, employing univariate and multivariate regression analyses to explore the relationships between cage subsidence and the independent variables. RESULTS: Radiographic outcomes, including anterior height, posterior height, disc height, coronal disc angle, foraminal height, and lumbar lordosis, were not significantly different between the two groups. Similarly, no statistically significant differences were noted in the back visual analog scale (VAS) scores and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores between the groups. However, at the 1-year follow-up, the leg VAS score was lower in the ZOL group than in the control group (P = 0.028). The ZOL group demonstrated a notably lower cage subsidence rate (20.9%) than did the control group (43.0%) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the interbody fusion rate between the ZOL group (93.0%) and the control group (90.8%). Non-use of zoledronic acid emerged as an independent risk factor for cage subsidence (OR = 6.047, P = 0.003), along with lower bone mineral density, lower postoperative anterior height, and concave endplate morphology. The model exhibited robust discriminative performance, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.872. CONCLUSION: The administration of zoledronic acid mitigates the risk of cage subsidence following OLIF combined with bilateral pedicle screw fixation in elderly patients; however, it does not improve the interbody fusion rate.

Targeted inhibition of STAT3 (Tyr705) by xanthatin alleviates osteoarthritis progression through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

The transcription factor, signal transducer, and stimulator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a potential target in osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. Although xanthatin (XA), a biologically active substance derived from Xanthium strumarium L, specifically inhibits STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705, the mechanism underlying its inhibitory effect on OA progression remains unclear. In this study, our objective was to explore the therapeutic effects exerted by XA on OA and the underlying molecular mechanisms. The effects of XA treatment on mouse OA models subjected to destabilization of the medial meniscus using medial collateral ligament transection, as well as on interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß)-induced mouse chondrocytes, were examined. Histological changes in cartilage and subchondral bone (SCB), as well as changes in the expression levels of osteophytes, cartilage degeneration- and osteoclast differentiation-related factors, and the role of XA-related signaling pathways in human cartilage tissue, were studied using different techniques. XA inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705 and further attenuated the activity of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in chondrocytes and osteoclasts. In vitro, XA administration alleviated pro-inflammatory cytokine release, extracellular matrix catabolism, and RANKL-mediated osteoclast differentiation. In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of XA exerted a protective effect on cartilage degeneration and SCB loss. Similarly, XA exerted a protective effect on human cartilage tissue by inhibiting the STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathway. Overall, our study elucidated the therapeutic potential of XA as a small-molecule inhibitor of STAT3-driven OA progression. This discovery may help enhance innovative clinical interventions against OA.

Activating transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif by (R)-PFI-2 attenuates osteoclastogenesis and prevents ovariectomized-induced osteoporosis.

Excessive osteoclast activation is a leading cause of osteoporosis. Therefore, identifying molecular targets and relevant pharmaceuticals that inhibit osteoclastogenesis is of substantial clinical importance. Prior research has indicated that transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) impedes the process of osteoclastogenesis by engaging the nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway, thereby suggesting TAZ activation as a potential therapeutic approach to treat osteoporosis. (R)-PFI-2 is a novel selective inhibitor of SETD7 methyltransferase activity, which prevents the nuclear translocation of YAP, a homolog of TAZ. Therefore, we hypothesized that (R)-PFI-2 could be an effective therapeutic agent in the treatment of osteoporosis. To test this hypothesis and explore the underlying mechanism, we first examined the impact of (R)-PFI-2 on osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) in vitro. (R)-PFI-2 treatment inhibited TAZ phosphorylation induced by NF-κB, thereby enhancing its nuclear localization, protein expression, and activation in BMMs. Moreover, (R)-PFI-2-induced TAZ activation inhibited osteoclast formation in a dose-dependent manner, which involved inhibition of osteoclastogenesis through the TAZ and downstream NF-κB pathways. Furthermore, (R)-PFI-2 inhibited osteoclastogenesis and prevented ovariectomy-induced bone loss in vivo in a mouse model. Overall, our findings suggest that TAZ activation by (R)-PFI-2 inhibits osteoclastogenesis and prevents osteoporosis, indicating an effective strategy for treating osteoclast-induced osteoporosis.

Morusin Inhibits RANKL-induced Osteoclastogenesis and Ovariectomized Osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a classic type of osteoporosis that has gradually become a significant health problem worldwide. There is an urgent need for a safe alternative therapeutic agent considering the poor therapeutic strategies currently available for this disease. The roots and bark of the Morus australis tree (Moraceae) are used to make a traditional Chinese medicine known as "Morusin", and accumulating evidence has demonstrated its multiple activities, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aim to explore the effect of Morusin on mouse osteoclasts and its mechanism. METHODS: In this study, we explored the inhibitory effects of Morusin on murine osteoclasts in vitro and its mechanism, and the protective effect of Morusin on an ovariectomy (OVX)-induced osteoporosis model in vivo. RESULTS: The results showed that Morusin prevented OVX-induced bone loss and dramatically decreased RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. Morusin interfered with RANKL-activated NF- κB, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. The expression of three master factors that control osteoclast differentiation, c-Fos, NFATc1, and c-Jun, was reduced by Morusin treatment. Collectively, in vitro results indicated that Morusin has a protective effect on OVX-induced bone loss in a mouse model. CONCLUSION: Our data provide encouraging evidence that Morusin may be an effective treatment for PMOP.

When Chinese Employees Speak Up: The Experience of Organizational Trust and Authenticity Enhances Employees' Voice Behavior.

Voice behavior is important for innovation, mistake prevention and organizational performance. Because organizational trust increases employees' possibility of disclosing their real inner ideas, we examined the relationships between organizational trust and voice behavior, focusing especially on the avenue of impelling people to feel a higher level of authenticity. We used multiple methods to analyze the relationship. First, we used two separate surveys (Studies 1a and 1b) with different questionnaires and populations to analyze the mediation relationship and generalize the results. Then, to test the causal path, an experiment (Study 2a) in which organizational trust was manipulated was designed. The results showed that employees' authenticity mediated the relation between organizational trust and voice behavior. To further test the causal effect of authenticity in the above mediation, authenticity was manipulated in another experiment (Study 2b). The results illustrated that higher levels of authenticity directly led to higher levels of voice behavior. These results support the hypothesis and expound on the psychological mechanism of how organizational trust increases voice behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Comparative efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal injections combined with transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization in treatment of liver cancer: a bayesian network Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To address the optimal Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) against liver cancer, the present network Meta-analysis is designed to investigate the comparative efficacy and safety of different CHIs. METHODS: Several electronic databases were searched up to June 1st, 2017. The quality assessment was conducted and network Meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of different CHIs plus transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Primary outcomes were 1-year and 2-year survival rate, the secondary outcomes includes the clinical effective rate, performance status and the adverse reactions (ADRs). Data analysis was applied Stata 13.0 and WinBUGS 1.4 software. RESULTS: A total of 105 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified for inclusion in this analysis, with data for 7683 patients and 13 CHIs. The results suggested that Javanica oil emulsion, Huachansu injection plus TACE were more favorable for 1-year and 2-year survival rate than other CHIs. Kanglaite, Astragalus polysaccharide injection plus TACE showed superiority in the clinical effective rate and performance status over other CHIs. And Shenmai injection plus TACE was superior to reducing ADRs than other CHIs for patients with liver cancer. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that receiving CHIs combined with TACE may have therapeutic benefits for patients with liver cancer in improving survival rate, clinical effective rate, the performance status and alleviating the ADRs.

[Study on the accuracy of cardiopulmonary physiological measurements by a wearable physiological monitoring system under different activity conditions].

This paper aims to study the accuracy of cardiopulmonary physiological parameters measurement under different exercise intensity in the accompanying (wearable) physiological parameter monitoring system. SensEcho, an accompanying physiological parameter monitoring system, and CORTEX METALYZER 3B, a cardiopulmonary function testing system, were used to simultaneously collect the cardiopulmonary physiological parameters of 28 healthy volunteers (17 males and 11 females) in various exercise states, such as standing, lying down and Bruce treadmill exercise. Bland-Altman analysis, correlation analysis and other methods, from the perspective of group and individual, were used to contrast and analyze the two types of equipment to measure parameters of heart rate and breathing rate. The results of group analysis showed that the heart rate and respiratory rate data box charts collected by the two devices were highly consistent. The heart rate difference was (-0.407 ± 3.380) times/min, and the respiratory rate difference was (-0.560 ± 7.047) times/min. The difference was very small. The Bland-Altman plot of the heart rate and respiratory rate in each experimental stage showed that the proportion of mean ± 2SD was 96.86% and 95.29%, respectively. The results of individual analysis showed that the correlation coefficients of the whole-process heart rate and respiratory rate data were all greater than 0.9. In conclusion, SensEcho, as an accompanying physiological parameter monitoring system, can accurately measure the human heart rate, respiration rate and other key cardiopulmonary physiological parameters under various sports conditions. It can maintain good stability under various sports conditions and meet the requirements of continuous physiological signal collection and analysis application under sports conditions.

Synthesis and Characterization of Quaternized Poly(ß-amino ester) for Highly Efficient Delivery of Small Interfering RNA.

The development of non-viral vectors for gene delivery has gained attention over the past decades. Specifically, poly(ß-amino ester) (PBAE) has shown great potential for improving the delivery of gene therapeutics. It has been observed that low-molecular-weight PBAE displayed low transfection activities, while quaternization could enhance the transgene expression efficacy of PBAE. Herein, PBAE quaternary ammonium salt (PBAEQAS) was synthesized to increase the positive charge of the polymers, which resulted in an increase in siRNA binding efficiency based on self-assembly electrostatic interaction. Specifically, the nanoparticle surface was positively charged, which increased the uptake ability of siRNA. Compared with acrylate-PBAEQAS/siNC nanoparticles and amine-PBAEQAS/siNC nanoparticles, acrylate-PBAEQAS/siSurvivin nanoparticles and amine-PBAEQAS/siSurvivin nanoparticles induced more-efficient cell apoptosis and gene silencing. All these results suggest that PBAEQAS would be a promising gene delivery vector for cancer treatment.

Comparative efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal injections combined with the FOLFOX regimen for treating gastric cancer in China: a network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) have been proven beneficial to patients with gastric cancer for improving clinical efficacy and relieving adverse reactions (ADRs) of chemotherapy. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted in this study to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of CHIs combined with FOLFOX regimen for treating gastric cancer. RESULTS: A total of 2316 records were searched, and 81 eligible RCTs involving 15 types of CHIs and 5978 patients were included in the NMA. The results showed that patients who received Shengqifuzheng+ FOLFOX, Compound kushen+ FOLFOX, Huachansu+ FOLFOX, Astragalus+ FOLFOX, Kangai+ FOLFOX, and Lentinan injection + FOLFOX could significantly improve clinical efficacy than using FOLFOX single, and their odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI)s were 1.57 (1.19,2.09), 2.12 (1.62,2.78),1.72 (1.08,2.80), 3.06 (1.01,8.99), 2.01 (1.52,2.70), and 1.99 (1.20,3.38) respectively. Furthermore, the therapy of Aidi+ FOLFOX, Shenqifuzheng+ FOLFOX, Compound Kushen+ FOLFOX, Huachansu+ FOLFOX, Astragalus polysaccharides+ FOLFOX, Kangai+ FOLFOX, Ginseng polysaccharide+ FOLFOX, Lentinan+ FOLFOX, Xiaoaiping+ FOLFOX, and Shenmai injection + FOLFOX could also achieve a higher performance status compared with FOLFOX regimen alone. Similarly, patients who received CHIs combine with FOLFOX regimen were associated with a significantly decrease the incidence of leucopenia, gastrointestinal reaction and hepatic dysfunction. Cluster analysis demonstrated that Astragalus polysaccharides+ FOLFOX, and Kangai+ FOLFOX seemed optimal therapies in improving clinical efficacy and performance status; Astragalus polysaccharides+ FOLFOX was superior in reducing leucopenia and gastrointestinal reaction; Disodium Cantharidinate and Vitamin B6+ FOLFOX was associated with favorable effects in reducing gastrointestinal reaction and hepatic dysfunction. By contrary, receiving FOLFOX regimen single was proved to rank the worst for these outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in several electronic databases to identify randomized controlled trial (RCTs) regarding CHIs for gastric cancer until January 10, 2017. The quality assessment was accomplished according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the methodological section of the CONSORT statement. And a random-effects model NMA was utilized to compare different CHIs combined with FOLFOX regimen with regard to efficacy and safety. Data were analyzed using STATA 12.0 and Win-BUGS 1.4 software. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this NMA suggested that among 15 types of CHIs, Astragalus polysaccharides injection combined with FOLFOX regimen seemed optimal for patients with gastric cancer in improving clinical efficacy and performance status, and relieving ADRs. However, our findings should be confirmed by more prospectively designed, large-sample and multi-center RCTs.

Design and evaluation of a ubiquitous chest-worn cardiopulmonary monitoring system for healthcare application: a pilot study.

Ambulatory recording of physiological data will provide us deep insight into the physical condition of patients and athletes, and assessing treatment effects and training performances. This study presents a miniature wearable cardiopulmonary monitoring system called "Smart Chest Strap," which consists of an elastic band worn around the user's chest with integrated sensors, a physiological signals acquisition unit, and a mobile phone. The physiological signals including electrocardiogram, respiratory inductance plethysmograph, and accelerations (ACC) are sampled, digitalized, stored, and simultaneously transmitted to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. A medical validation test with participants performing discontinuous incremental treadmill (0-12 km/h) exercise was conducted. The results indicate nearly perfect correlations (0.999, 0.996, 0.994), small mean bias (0.60 BPM, 0.51 BPM, 0.05 g), and narrow limits of agreement (±2.90 BPM, ±1.81 BPM, ±0.09 g) for heart rate (HR), breathing rate (BR), and ACC represented as vector magnitude units (VMUs). There is a general trend of decrease in accuracy, precision, and correlation for HR, BR, and VMU as velocity increases, but these validity statistics are all within acceptable error limits and clinically accepted. The findings demonstrate that the Smart Chest Strap is valid and will have wider applications in healthcare, sports, and scientific research areas.

A robust approach for ECG-based analysis of cardiopulmonary coupling.

Deriving respiratory signal from a surface electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement has advantage of simultaneously monitoring of cardiac and respiratory activities. ECG-based cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) analysis estimated by heart period variability and ECG-derived respiration (EDR) shows promising applications in medical field. The aim of this paper is to provide a quantitative analysis of the ECG-based CPC, and further improve its performance. Two conventional strategies were tested to obtain EDR signal: R-S wave amplitude and area of the QRS complex. An adaptive filter was utilized to extract the common component of inter-beat interval (RRI) and EDR, generating enhanced versions of EDR signal. CPC is assessed through probing the nonlinear phase interactions between RRI series and respiratory signal. Respiratory oscillations presented in both RRI series and respiratory signals were extracted by ensemble empirical mode decomposition for coupling analysis via phase synchronization index. The results demonstrated that CPC estimated from conventional EDR series exhibits constant and proportional biases, while that estimated from enhanced EDR series is more reliable. Adaptive filtering can improve the accuracy of the ECG-based CPC estimation significantly and achieve robust CPC analysis. The improved ECG-based CPC estimation may provide additional prognostic information for both sleep medicine and autonomic function analysis.

[Study on perceived fatigue evaluating model during simulated load carriage].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a perceived fatigue evaluating model during simulated load carriage that is based on objective variables through analyzing the characteristics and trends of shoulder force, shoulder pressure, waist pressure, back pressure, and perceived fatigue, and to provide an analytical technique for research on load carriage. METHODS: A 50-min simulated walking (at a speed of 5 km/h and a slope of 0%) experiment including 14 healthy male adults was conducted under four levels of backpack payloads (25, 29, 34, 37 kg). Shoulder force and trunk pressure were sampled simultaneously and analyzed with time- and frequency- domain methods. Multivariable linear regression was used to build a perceived fatigue evaluating model during load carriage. RESULTS: The perceived fatigue evaluating model based on shoulder force, trunk pressure distribution ratio, load, and body mass index (BMI) was established. Its adjusted determination coefficient (aR2) was 0.709 and the absolute percentage error (APE) at the end of the experiment was less than 20%. The goodness of fit of the model based on frequency-domain independent variables was much higher compared with the model based on time-domain independent variables. The addition of BMI that represents the individual differences to the model obviously improved the goodness of fit. CONCLUSION: The perceived fatigue evaluating model established in this study does not rely on the physiological changes of individuals, and thus can be used to establish an evaluation system for human load carriage with dummy as a substitution for human in experiments and to provide a scientific basis for efficient human load carriage.

Adaptive motion artefact reduction in respiration and ECG signals for wearable healthcare monitoring systems.

Wearable healthcare monitoring systems (WHMSs) have received significant interest from both academia and industry with the advantage of non-intrusive and ambulatory monitoring. The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of an adaptive filter to reduce motion artefact (MA) in physiological signals acquired by WHMSs. In our study, a WHMS is used to acquire ECG, respiration and triaxial accelerometer (ACC) signals during incremental treadmill and cycle ergometry exercises. With these signals, performances of adaptive MA cancellation are evaluated in both respiration and ECG signals. To achieve effective and robust MA cancellation, three axial outputs of the ACC are employed to estimate the MA by a bank of gradient adaptive Laguerre lattice (GALL) filter, and the outputs of the GALL filters are further combined with time-varying weights determined by a Kalman filter. The results show that for the respiratory signals, MA component can be reduced and signal quality can be improved effectively (the power ratio between the MA-corrupted respiratory signal and the adaptive filtered signal was 1.31 in running condition, and the corresponding signal quality was improved from 0.77 to 0.96). Combination of the GALL and Kalman filters can achieve robust MA cancellation without supervised selection of the reference axis from the ACC. For ECG, the MA component can also be reduced by adaptive filtering. The signal quality, however, could not be improved substantially just by the adaptive filter with the ACC outputs as the reference signals.

Buccal partial pressure of carbon dioxide outweighs traditional vital signs in predicting the severity of hemorrhagic shock in a rat model.

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhagic shock (HS) is a leading cause of death in both military and civilian settings. Researchers have investigated different parameters as predictors of HS, but reached inconsistent conclusions. We hypothesized that buccal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) was a better predictor of HS than traditional vital signs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four anesthetized Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: one control group (no bleeding) and three surgical groups (25%, 35%, and 45% blood loss). Hemorrhage was induced by withdrawing blood from the left femoral artery over a period of 30 min. After that, resuscitation was performed on animals in surgical groups using the Ringer lactate solution. Buccal PCO2 was continuously measured by a newly designed sensor holder during the experiments. Traditional vital signs, cardiac output, base excess, and microvascular perfusion (MPF) were also measured or calculated. RESULTS: Buccal PCO2 differed significantly among four groups beginning at 20 min, approximately 10 min earlier than the shock index and more earlier than the heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure. Buccal PCO2 correlated well with cardiac index and the changes in MPF. The correlation coefficients with cardiac index, chest MPF, and upper-limb MPF for buccal PCO2 were 0.781, -0.879, and -0.946, respectively. Besides, buccal PCO2 showed a good value for predicting mortality. Furthermore, an approximate critical threshold of buccal PCO2 was also identified for predicting the severity of HS. CONCLUSIONS: Buccal PCO2 was a noninvasive, sensitive indicator of HS than traditional vital signs and may help on-scene rescuers administer early treatment of injured patients.