Binasal Quadrantanopia: A Rare Visual Field Defect Poses Challenges in Terms of Lesion Localization.

Binasal quadrantanopia is a rare type of visual field defect characteristic of vision loss in either the upper or lower quadrants of both nasal visual fields. The affected individuals often exhibit impairments in peripheral vision, leading to difficulties in various daily activities such as navigation, object recognition, and hazard avoidance. The consequences of binasal quadrantanopia can be profound, affecting the individual's quality of life and functional independence. However, due to its atypical presentation and overlapping clinical features with other visual field defects, accurately pinpointing the lesion's precise location for further management becomes a complex task. Here, we present an unusual case of binasal quadrantanopia caused by bilateral anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) and aim to explore the unique characteristics, etiology, and diagnostic approaches associated with binasal quadrantanopia, shedding light on the challenges encountered in lesion localization.

Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Docking Studies of Pleuromutilin Derivatives Containing Thiazole.

In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of pleuromutilin derivatives containing thiazole. The in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of these synthesized compounds was examined by using four strains. Compared with tiamulin (MIC = 0.25 µg/mL), compound 14 exhibited potency in inhibiting MRSA growth (MIC = 0.0625 µg/mL) in these derivatives. Meanwhile, the time-killing kinetics further demonstrated that compound 14 could efficiently inhibit the MRSA growth. After exposure at 4 × MIC, the postantibiotic effect (PAE) of compound 14 was 1.29 h. Additionally, in thigh-infected mice, compound 14 exhibited a more potent antibacterial efficacy (-1.78 ± 0.28 log10 CFU/g) in reducing MRSA load compared to tiamulin (-1.21 ± 0.23 log10 CFU/g). Moreover, the MTT assay on RAW 264.7 cells demonstrated that compound 14 (8 µg/mL) had no significant cytotoxicity. Docking studies indicated the strong affinity of compound 14 toward the 50S ribosomal subunit, with a binding free energy of -9.63 kcal/mol. Taken together, it could be deduced that compound 14 was a promising candidate for treating MRSA infections.

Sirolimus is effective for refractory/relapsed idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease: A single-center, retrospective study.

Refractory/relapsed idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (R/R iMCD) has limited treatment options. With studies showing increased mTOR activation in iMCD patients, sirolimus becomes an attractive and promising therapy for R/R iMCD. Here we report the results of a retrospective study involving 26 R/R iMCD patients treated with sirolimus-containing regimen. The median age at sirolimus initiation was 40.5 years (23-60), with a median prior treatment line of 2 (1-5). 18 patients (69.2%) achieved symptomatic and biochemical response, with a median time to at least overall partial remission of 1.9 months (0.5-14.6). The median follow-up time from sirolimus initiation was 11.7 months (1.6-50.7) and the median time to next treatment (TTNT) was 46.2 months. No patients died at the end of follow-up. Most of the patients in the cohort are in ongoing responses and continue sirolimus therapy. Sirolimus is well tolerated with minor adverse effects. In conclusion, sirolimus is effective for R/R iMCD patients with good tolerance.

Ferroptosis in renal fibrosis: a mini-review.

Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death that is iron-dependent and distinct from autophagy, apoptosis, and necroptosis. It is primarily characterised by a decrease in glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) activity, or by the accumulation of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Renal fibrosis is a common pathological change in the progression of various primary and secondary renal diseases to end-stage renal disease and poses a serious threat to human health with high morbidity and mortality. Multiple pathways contribute to the development of renal fibrosis, with ferroptosis playing a crucial role in renal fibrosis pathogenesis due to its involvement in the production of ROS. Ferroptosis is related to several signalling pathways, including System Xc-/GPX4, abnormal iron metabolism and lipid peroxidation. A number of studies have indicated that ferroptosis is closely involved in the process of renal fibrosis caused by various kidney diseases such as glomerulonephritis, renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury, diabetic nephropathy and renal calculus. Identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms that determine cell death would open up new insights to address a therapeutic strategy to renal fibrosis. The review aimed to browse and summarise the known mechanisms of ferroptosis that may be associated with biological reactions of renal fibrosis.

Beyond Immune Balance: The Pivotal Role of Decidual Regulatory T Cells in Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion.

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is defined as two or more consecutive pregnancy failures, which brings tremendous stress to women of childbearing age and seriously affects family well-being. However, the reason in about 50% of cases remains unknown and is defined as unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). The immunological perspective in URSA has attracted widespread attention in recent years. The embryo is regarded as a semi-allogeneic graft to the mother. A successful pregnancy requires transition to an immune environment conducive to embryo survival at the maternal-fetal interface. As an important member of regulatory immunity, regulatory T (Treg) cells play a key role in regulating immune tolerance at the maternal-fetal interface. This review will focus on the phenotypic plasticity and lineage stability of Treg cells to illustrate its relationship with URSA.

Perceived depth reversals of images on a concave screen.

Reverspectives and hollow masks cause a reversal of perceived depth when observed from a position beyond certain critical distances, even if viewed binocularly. Their 3D structures or images invariably contain a linear perspective, shading, or familiarity cue to depth. Using a concave screen, we demonstrate a novel type of perceived depth reversal in binocular viewing with a variety of depth cues.

Trends of Antihypertensive Prescription Among US Adults From 2010 to 2019 and Changes Following Treatment Guidelines: Analysis of Multicenter Electronic Health Records.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for the use of antihypertensives changed in 2014 and 2017. To understand the effect of these guidelines, we examined trends in antihypertensive prescriptions in the United States from 2010 to 2019 using a repeated cross-sectional design. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using electronic health records from 15 health care institutions for adults (20-85 years old) who had ≥1 antihypertensive prescription, we assessed whether (1) prescriptions of beta blockers decreased after the 2014 Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) report discouraged use for first-line treatment, (2) prescriptions for calcium channel blockers and thiazide diuretics increased among Black patients after the JNC 8 report encouraged use as first-line therapy, and (3) prescriptions for dual therapy and fixed-dose combination among patients with blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg increased after recommendations in the 2017 Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines. The study included 1 074 314 patients with 2 133 158 prescription episodes. After publication of the JNC 8 report, prescriptions for beta blockers decreased (3% lower in 2018-2019 compared to 2010-2014), and calcium channel blockers increased among Black patients (20% higher in 2015-2017 and 41% higher in 2018-2019, compared to 2010-2014), in accordance with guideline recommendations. However, contrary to guidelines, dual therapy and fixed-dose combination decreased after publication of the 2017 Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines (9% and 11% decrease in 2018-2019 for dual therapy and fixed-dose combination, respectively, compared to 2015-2017), and thiazide diuretics decreased among Black patients after the JNC 8 report (6% lower in 2018-2019 compared to 2010-2014). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to guidelines on prescribing antihypertensive medication was inconsistent, presenting an opportunity for interventions to achieve better blood pressure control in the US population.

[Buzhong Yiqi Decoction ameliorates spleen deficiency syndrome by regulating gut microbiota].

This study aims to decipher the mechanism of Buzhong Yiqi Decoction(BZYQD) in the treatment of spleen deficiency syndrome via gut microbiota. The mouse models of spleen deficiency syndrome were established by fecal microbiota transplantation(FMT, from patients with spleen deficiency syndrome) and administration of Sennae Folium(SF, 10 g·kg~(-1)), respectively, and treated with BZYQD for 5 d. The pseudosterile mice(administrated with large doses of antibiotics) and the mice transplanted with fecal bacteria from healthy human were taken as the controls. The levels of IgA, interleukin(IL)-2, IL-1ß, interferon(IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α), and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) in the intestinal tissue of two models were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the CD8~+/CD3~+ ratio was determined by flow cytometry. The composition and changes of the gut microbiota were determined by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and qPCR. Furthermore, the correlation analysis was performed to study the mediating role of gut microbiota in the treatment. The results showed that BZYQD elevated the IgA level, lowered the IL-1ß, TNF-α, and 5-HT levels, and decreased the CD8~+/CD3~+ ratio in the intestinal tissue of the two models. Moreover, BZYQD had two-way regulatory effects on the levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ. BZYQD inhibited the overgrowth and reduced the richness of gut microbiota in the SF model, and improved the gut microbiota structure in the two models. Algoriphagus, Mycobacterium, and CL500＿29＿marine＿group were the common differential genera in the two models compared with the control. Acinetobacter, Parabacteroides, and Ruminococcus were the differential genera unique to the FMT model, and Sphingorhabdus, Lactobacillus, and Anaeroplasma were the unique differential genera in the SF model. BZYQD was capable of regulating all these genera. The qPCR results showed that BZYQD increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and decreased that of Bacteroides uniformis in the two models. The correlation analysis revealed that the levels of above intestinal cytokines were significantly correlated with characteristic gut microorganisms in different mo-dels. The IL-1ß level had a significantly positive correlation with Acinetobacter and CL500＿29＿marine＿group in the two models, while the different levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ in the two models may be related to its different gut microbiota structures. In conclusion, BZYQD could regulate the disordered gut microbiota structure in different animal models of spleen deficiency syndrome to improve the intestinal immune status, which might be one of the mechanisms of BZYQD in treating spleen deficiency syndrome.

Unraveling the Pathogenetic Mechanisms Underlying the Association between Specific Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups and Parkinson's Disease.

Variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been identified as risk factors for the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear. Cybrid models carrying various genotypes of mtDNA variants were tested for resistance to PD-simulating MPP+ treatment. The most resistant line was selected for transcriptome profiling, revealing specific genes potentially influencing the resistant characteristic. We then conducted protein validation and molecular biological studies to validate the related pathways as the influential factor. Cybrids carrying the W3 mtDNA haplogroup demonstrated the most resistance to the MPP+ treatment. In the transcriptome study, PPP1R15A was identified, while further study noted elevated expressions of the coding protein GADD34 across all cybrids. In the study of GADD34-related mitochondrial unfolding protein response (mtUPR), we found that canonical mtUPR, launched by the phosphate eIF2a, is involved in the resistant characteristic of specific mtDNA to MPP+ treatment. Our study suggests that a lower expression of GADD34 in the late phase of mtUPR may prolong the mtUPR process, thereby benefitting protein homeostasis and facilitating cellular resistance to PD development. We herein demonstrate that GADD34 plays an important role in PD development and should be further investigated as a target for the development of therapies for PD.

Paired Electrolysis-Enabled Arylation of Quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones.

The first paired electrolysis-enabled arylation of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones was achieved using cyanoarenes as the arylation reagents. A variety of 3-arylquinoxalin-2(1H)-ones with various important functional groups were obtained in moderate to good yields under metal- and chemical oxidant-free conditions. With a pair of reductive and oxidative processes occurring among the substrates and reaction intermediates, the power consumption can be dramatically reduced.

Comprehensive analysis of histophysiology, transcriptome and metabolome tolerance mechanisms in black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii) under low temperature stress.

Low temperature stress has adverse effects on fish growth and reproduction, causing huge economic losses to the aquaculture industry. Especially, black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii) farming industry in north of Yangtze River has been severely affected by low temperature for a long time. To explore the tolerance mechanism of black porgy to low temperature stress, the experiment was designed. The liver and gill tissues of black porgy were taken from the water temperature point of 15 °C (control group named as CG), 3.8 °C (cold sensitive group named as CS) and 2.8 °C (cold tolerant group named as CT) with a cooling rate of 3 °C/d from 15 °C for histophysiology, transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis. After cold stress, the histological results showed that the nucleus of the black porgy liver tissue appeared swelling, the cell arrangement was disordered; meanwhile the gill lamellae were twisted and broken, the epidermis was detached and aneurysm appeared. In addition, the expression of antioxidant, glucose metabolism and immune-related enzymes in the liver and gill of black porgy also changed significantly after low temperature stress. By analyzing the transcriptome and metabolome dates of black porgy liver, 3474 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 689 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) involved in low temperature stress were identified, respectively. The results of the transcriptome and metabolome combined analysis showed that individuals in the CS group mainly supplied energy to the body through lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism, and meanwhile the apoptosis pathway was activated. While, individuals in the CT group mainly through glucose metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis to supply energy for the body. The validation results of qPCR on eight functional genes further demonstrated the reliability of RNA-Seq data. In summary, the results provide molecular information about adaptation to climate change and genetic selection of black porgy.

Survivorship of the fixed-bearing medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: mean 14-year follow-up in a single medical center.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to report the long-term survival of fixed-bearing medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) with a mean of 14-year follow-up, and to determine possible risk factors of failure. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 337 fixed-bearing medial UKAs implanted between 2003 and 2014. Demographic and radiographic parameters were measured, including pre-operative and post-operative anatomical femorotibial angle (aFTA), posterior tibial slope (PTS), and anatomical medial proximal tibial angle (aMPTA). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to figure out risk factors. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 14.0 years. There were 32 failures categorized into implant loosening (n = 11), osteoarthritis progression (n = 7), insert wear (n = 7), infection (n = 4), and periprosthetic fracture (n = 3). Cumulative survival was 91.6% at 10 years and 90.0% at 15 years. No statistically significant parameters were found between the overall survival and failure groups. Age and hypertension were significant factors of implant loosening with odds ratio (OR) 0.909 (p = 0.02) and 0.179 (p = 0.04) respectively. In the insert wear group, post-operative aFTA and correction of PTS showed significance with OR 0.363 (p = 0.02) and 0.415 (p = 0.03) respectively. Post-operative aMPTA was a significant factor of periprosthetic fracture with OR 0.680 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The fixed-bearing medial UKA provides successful long-term survivorship. Tibial component loosening is the major cause of failure. Older age and hypertension were factors with decreased risk of implant loosening.

High Dietary Folic Acid Supplementation Reduced the Composition of Fatty Acids and Amino Acids in Fortified Eggs.

AIMS: The study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary folic acid (FA) on the production performance of laying hens, egg quality, and the nutritional differences between eggs fortified with FA and ordinary eggs. METHODS: A total of 288 26-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens (initial body weights 1.65 ± 0.10 kg) with a similar weight and genetic background were used. A completely randomized design divided the birds into a control group and three treatment groups. Each group consisted of six replicates, with twelve chickens per replicate. Initially, all birds were fed a basal diet for 1 week. Subsequently, they were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg FA in a premix for a duration of 6 weeks. RESULTS: Supplementation of FA could significantly (p < 0.05) enhance the FA content in egg yolks, particularly when 10 mg/kg was used, as it had the most effective enrichment effect. Compared to the control group, the Glu content in the 10 and 15 mg/kg FA groups showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease. Additionally, the contents of Asp, Ile, Tyr, Phe, Cys, and Met in the 15 mg/kg FA group were significantly (p < 0.05) lower compared to the other groups. Adding FA did not have significant effects on the levels of vitamin A and vitamin E in egg yolk, but the vitamin D content in the 5 and 10 mg/kg FA groups showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase. Furthermore, the addition of FA did not have a significant effect on the levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, and Zn in egg yolk. The dietary FA did not have a significant effect on the total saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in egg yolk. However, the total monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content in the 5 and 10 mg/kg groups significantly (p < 0.05) increased. These changes in nutritional content might be attributed to the increased very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) protein content. The significant decrease in solute carrier family 1 Member 1 (SLC1A1), solute carrier family 1 Member 2 (SLC1A2), and solute carrier family 1 Member 3 (SLC1A3) gene expression compared to the control group appeared to be the reason for the decrease in amino acid content in egg yolk within the dietary FA group. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the appropriate addition of FA can enhance the levels of MUFA and vitamin D in egg yolks, thereby improving their nutritional value. Excessive intake of FA can decrease the effectiveness of enriching FA in egg yolk and impact the enrichment of certain amino acids. The yolk of eggs produced by adding 10 mg/kg of FA to the feed contains the optimal amount of nutrients. This study informs consumers purchasing FA-fortified eggs.

A robust Spearman correlation coefficient permutation test.

In this work, we show that Spearman's correlation coefficient test about H0:ρs=0 found in most statistical software is theoretically incorrect and performs poorly when bivariate normality assumptions are not met or the sample size is small. There is common misconception that the tests about ρs=0 are robust to deviations from bivariate normality. However, we found under certain scenarios violation of the bivariate normality assumption has severe effects on type I error control for the common tests. To address this issue, we developed a robust permutation test for testing the hypothesis H0:ρs=0 based on an appropriately studentized statistic. We will show that the test is asymptotically valid in general settings. This was demonstrated by a comprehensive set of simulation studies, where the proposed test exhibits robust type I error control, even when the sample size is small. We also demonstrated the application of this test in two real world examples.

Understanding Senior Adults' Needs, Preferences, and Experiences of Commercial Exergames for Health: Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Many senior adults are at risk of mental and physical disorders due to a lack of sufficient exercise. Therefore, adherent exercise should be urgently promoted to improve senior adults' muscle strength, preventing falls and conditions caused by physical and cognitive decline. However, off-the-shelf exercise games, so-called exergames, are mainly targeted at the younger generation or children, while senior adults are neglected, when this age group strongly needs exercise. Exergames could serve as a health intervention for promoting exercise. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate senior adults' experience, perceptions, and acceptance of game technology to promote exercise in order to suggest game design guidelines. METHODS: In this usability study, participants engaged in playing Nintendo Switch and Xbox Kinect games, after which semistructured interviews were conducted. Before the gameplay, the participants provided their background information, exercise habits, and use of technology products. Next, all participants completed a workshop including 3 activities (brief instructions on how to play the games: 20 minutes; playing the selected exergames: 80 minutes; semistructured interviews: 20 minutes) for 2 hours a day for 3 days each. The participants played the latest Nintendo Switch games (eg, Just Dance, Boxing, Ring Fit Adventure) and Xbox Kinect games (eg, Kinect Adventures!, Mini Games). Just Dance, Zumba, and Boxing were played in activity 1; Ring Fit Adventure and Mini Games in activity 2; and Kinect Adventures! in activity 3. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied to identify the relative themes generated from the interviews. RESULTS: In total, 22 participants (mean age 70.4, SD 6.1 years) were enrolled in the workshop in May 2021. The results of the generated themes included incomprehension of game instructions, psychological perception of game technology, and game art preferences. The subthemes generated from game art preferences included favorite game genres, characters, and scenes. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant need for customized game tutorials considering senior adults' cognitive and physical aging. Furthermore, the adventure game genre is preferable to other games. Humanlike game characters are preferable, especially those with a fit and healthy body shape. Nature scenes are more enjoyable than indoor stages or rooms. Furthermore, the game intensity design and playing time should be carefully planned to meet the World Health Organization's criteria for physical activity in older adults. Intelligent recommendation systems might be helpful to support older adults with various health conditions. The guidelines suggested in this study might be beneficial for game design, exercise training, and game technology adoption of exergames for older adults to improve health.

Construction of microgravity biological knowledge graph and its applications in anti-osteoporosis drug prediction.

Microgravity in the space environment can potentially have various negative effects on the human body, one of which is bone loss. Given the increasing frequency of human space activities, there is an urgent need to identify effective anti-osteoporosis drugs for the microgravity environment. Traditional microgravity experiments conducted in space suffer from limitations such as time-consuming procedures, high costs, and small sample sizes. In recent years, the in-silico drug discovery method has emerged as a promising strategy due to the advancements in bioinformatics and computer technology. In this study, we first collected a total of 184,915 literature articles related to microgravity and bone loss. We employed a combination of dependency path extraction and clustering techniques to extract data from the text. Afterwards, we conducted data cleaning and standardization to integrate data from several sources, including The Global Network of Biomedical Relationships (GNBR), Curated Drug-Drug Interactions Database (DDInter), Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals (STITCH), DrugBank, and Traditional Chinese Medicines Integrated Database (TCMID). Through this integration process, we constructed the Microgravity Biology Knowledge Graph (MBKG) consisting of 134,796 biological entities and 3,395,273 triplets. Subsequently, the TransE model was utilized to perform knowledge graph embedding. By calculating the distances between entities in the model space, the model successfully predicted potential drugs for treating osteoporosis and microgravity-induced bone loss. The results indicate that out of the top 10 ranked western medicines, 7 have been approved for the treatment of osteoporosis. Additionally, among the top 10 ranked traditional Chinese medicines, 5 have scientific literature supporting their effectiveness in treating bone loss. Among the top 20 predicted medicines for microgravity-induced bone loss, 15 have been studied in microgravity or simulated microgravity environments, while the remaining 5 are also applicable for treating osteoporosis. This research highlights the potential application of MBKG in the field of space drug discovery.

Synergizing Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on Single Atom Fe-N-C for Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia at Industrial Current Densities.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrates (NO3 -) enables a pathway for the carbon neutral synthesis of ammonia (NH3), via the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR), which has been demonstrated at high selectivity. However, to make NH3 synthesis cost-competitive with current technologies, high NH3 partial current densities (jNH3) must be achieved to reduce the levelized cost of NH3. Here, the high NO3RR activity of Fe-based materials is leveraged to synthesize a novel active particle-active support system with Fe2O3 nanoparticles supported on atomically dispersed Fe-N-C. The optimized 3×Fe2O3/Fe-N-C catalyst demonstrates an ultrahigh NO3RR activity, reaching a maximum jNH3 of 1.95 A cm-2 at a Faradaic efficiency (FE) for NH3 of 100% and an NH3 yield rate over 9 mmol hr-1 cm-2. Operando XANES and post-mortem XPS reveal the importance of a pre-reduction activation step, reducing the surface Fe2O3 (Fe3+) to highly active Fe0 sites, which are maintained during electrolysis. Durability studies demonstrate the robustness of both the Fe2O3 particles and Fe-Nx sites at highly cathodic potentials, maintaining a current of -1.3 A cm-2 over 24 hours. This work exhibits an effective and durable active particle-active support system enhancing the performance of the NO3RR, enabling industrially relevant current densities and near 100% selectivity.

Five new eremophilane-type sesquiterpenes from the fresh roots of Rehmannia glutinosa.

Five undescribed eremophilane-type sesquiterpenes, remophilanetriols E-I (1-5), along with seven known compounds (6-12) were isolated from the fresh roots of Rehmannia glutinosa. Their structures were characterized by extensive spectroscopic data analysis and their absolute configurations were determined by comparing their calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra and experimental ECD spectra. The anti-pulmonary fibrosis activities of all compounds were evaluated in vitro by MTT methods, and compounds 2, 8, 10, and 12 exhibited excellent anti-pulmonary fibrosis activities. In addition, compound 2 can reduce the levels of ROS and apoptosis in TGF-ß1-induced BEAS-2B cells.

Changes of soil nutrients and organic carbon fractions in Caragana korshinskii forests with different restoration years in mountainous areas of southern Ningxia, China.

Vegetation restoration can effectively enhance soil quality and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. In this study, the distribution characteristics of soil nutrients and SOC along soil profile (0-100 cm), and their responses to restoration years (16, 28, 38 years) were studied in Caragana korshinskii plantations in the southern mountainous area of Ningxia, compared with cropland and natural grassland. The results showed that: 1) the contents of SOC, soil total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) and the proportion of particulate organic carbon to total organic carbon (POC/SOC) all decreased with increasing soil depth. The ratio of mineral-associated organic carbon to total organic carbon (MAOC/SOC) exhibited an opposite trend. 2) The contents of SOC, TN, TP, C:P, N:P, POC and MAOC gra-dually decreased as the restoration years increased. However, the C:N ratio showed no significant change. The POC/SOC ratio initially increased and then decreased, while the MAOC/SOC ratio decreased initially and then increased. 3) In three different types of vegetation, POC, MAOC, and SOC showed a highly significant positive linear correlation, with the increase in SOC mainly depended on the increase in MAOC. The SOC, TN, TP, POC and MAOC contents in natural grassland and C. korshinskii plantations were significantly higher than those in cropland. In conclusion, soil nutrients and POC and MAOC contents of C. korshinskii plantations gradually decreased with the increases in restoration years. However, when compared with cropland, natural grassland and C. korshinskii plantations demonstrated a greater capacity to maintain and enhance soil nutrient and carbon storage.

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Criteria for Differentiated-type Early Gastric Cancer Are Applicable to Mixed-type Differentiated Predominant.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of sufficient evidence on whether mixed-type differentiated predominant early gastric cancer (MD-EGC) can be treated endoscopically by referring to the criteria for differentiated-type early gastric cancer (EGC). This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in MD-EGC. METHODS: Patients with differentiated-type EGC treated with ESD first from January 2015 to June 2021 were reviewed, including MD-EGC and pure differentiated-type EGC (PD-EGC). Clinical data, including the clinicopathological characteristics, resection outcomes of ESD, and recurrence and survival time, were collected, and the difference between MD-EGC and PD-EGC was tested. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients (48 lesions) with MD-EGC and 850 patients (890 lesions) with PD-EGC were included. Compared with PD-EGC, MD-EGC had a higher submucosal invasion rate (37.5% vs. 13.7%, P<0.001) and lymphatic invasion rate (10.4% vs. 0.4%, P<0.001). The rates of complete resection (70.8% vs. 92.5%, P<0.001) and curative resection (54.2% vs. 87.4%, P<0.001) in MD-EGC were lower than those of PD-EGC. Multivariate analysis revealed that MD-EGC (OR 4.26, 95% CI, 2.22-8.17, P<0.001) was an independent risk factor for noncurative resection. However, when curative resection was achieved, there was no significant difference in the rates of recurrence (P=0.424) between the 2 groups, whether local or metachronous recurrence. Similarly, the rates of survival(P=0.168) were no significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the greater malignancy and lower endoscopic curative resection rate of MD-EGC, patients who met curative resection had a favorable long-term prognosis.