Genetically identification of endometriosis and cancers risk in women through a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Endometriosis is a prevalent and chronic inflammatory gynecologic disorder affecting approximately 6-10% of women globally, and has been associated with an increased risk of cancer. Nevertheless, previous studies have been hindered by methodological limitations that compromise the validity and robustness of their findings. In this study we conducted a comprehensive two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis to explore the genetically driven causal relationship between endometriosis and the risk of cancer. We conducted the analysis via the inverse variance weighted method, MR Egger method, and weighted median method utilizing publicly available genome-wide association study summary statistics. Furthermore, we implemented additional sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness and validity of the causal associations identified. We found strong evidence of a significant causal effect of endometriosis on a higher risk of ovarian cancer via inverse-variance weighted method (OR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.29, p < 0.0001), MR-Egger regression, and weighted median methodologies. Remarkably, our findings revealed a significant association between endometriosis and an increased risk of clear cell ovarian cancer (OR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.66-2.51, p < 0.0001) and endometrioid ovarian cancer (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.27-1.65, p < 0.0001). No association between endometriosis and other types of cancer was observed. We uncovered a causal relationship between endometriosis and an elevated risk of ovarian cancer, particularly clear cell ovarian cancer and endometrioid ovarian cancer. No significant associations between endometriosis and other types of cancer could be identified.

CPT1A mediates the succinylation of SP5 which activates transcription of PDPK1 to promote the viability and glycolysis of prostate cancer cells.

Succinylation modification involves in the progression of human cancers. The present study aimed to investigate the role of CPT1A, which is a succinyltransferase in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa). CCK-8 was used to detect the cell viability. Seahorse was performed to evaluate the cell glycolysis. Luciferase assay was used to detect the transcriptional regulation. ChIP was performed to assess the binding between transcriptional factors with the promoters. Co-IP was used to assess the binding between proteins. We found that CPT1A was highly expressed in PCa tissues and cell lines. Silencing of CPT1A inhibited the viability and glycolysis of PCa cells. Mechanistically, CPT1A promoted the succinylation of SP5, which strengthened the binding between SP5 and the promoter of PDPK1. SP5 activated PDPK1 transcription and PDPK1 activated the AKT/mTOR signal pathway. These findings might provide novel targets for the diagnosis or therapy of prostate cancer.

Identification of m6A suppressor EIF4A3 as a novel cancer prognostic and immunotherapy biomarker through bladder cancer clinical data validation and pan-cancer analysis.

EIF4A3 represents a novel m6A suppressor that exerts control over the global m6A mRNA modification level, therefore influencing gene destiny. Despite increasing evidence that highlights a pivotal role of EIF4A3 in tumor progression and immunity, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of EIF4A3 has yet to be conducted, in order to ascertain whether EIF4A3 could be a viable biomarker for cancer screening, prediction of prognosis, and to facilitate accurate therapy design in various human malignancies. We analyzed the expression levels of EIF4A3 in bladder cancer compared to para-cancer tissue. Subsequently survival analysis was conducted to ascertain the potential association between EIF4A3 expression and patient prognosis. To further corroborate this evidence, we conducted an extensive data mining process of several publicly available databases, including UCSC Xena database, TCGA, and GTEx. Raw data from the UCSC Xena database was processed using online tools to obtain results that could be subjected to further analysis. Our study unveiled a considerable increase in the expression levels of EIF4A3 in bladder cancer compared to para-cancer tissue. Subsequent validation experiments confirmed that bladder cancer patients exhibiting higher levels of EIF4A3 expression have significantly worse prognostic outcomes. Next, our pan-cancer analysis found that the expression level of EIF4A3 is significantly higher in most cancers. Notably, high expression levels of EIF4A3 were negatively associated with patient prognosis across various cancer types. Furthermore, as a novel m6A suppressor, EIF4A3 was found to be correlated with numerous RNA modification genes in multiple cancer types. Meanwhile, analysis of publicly available databases revealed that EIF4A3 expression was significantly related to immune score and immune cell levels in most cancer types. Interestingly, EIF4A3 was also identified as a superior immunotherapy biomarker when compared to several traditional immunotherapy biomarkers. Lastly, genetic alterations analysis revealed that amplification was the most frequently occurring abnormality in the EIF4A3 gene. EIF4A3 emerges as a promising biomarker with the potential to significantly enhance tumor screening, prognostic evaluation, and the design of individualized treatment strategies across a diverse array of malignancies.

Ecological regime shifts enhanced the contribution of microplastics to the burial of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by sediments.

Ecological regime shifts and contamination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and microplastics (MPs) were found in many waters. How ecological regime shifts influence the contribution of microplastics to the burial of PAHs in sediments is unclear. Sediment cores in the largest lagoon (Lagoon Pinqing) of China were used to address this issue. Regime shifted from phytoplankton dominance to macrophyte dominance in the late 1970s in Lagoon Pinqing. The factor affecting the contribution of microplastics to the burial of PAHs in sediments varied from total phosphorus to total nitrogen during the periods from 1965 to 1970s, and from 1970s to 1990s. Phytoplankton dominated from the late 1990s to 2017. The increased aromaticity of sediment organic matter induced by regime shifts enhanced this contribution in this period. This contribution varied from 0 to 67.2%, influenced by the regime shifts in different periods. This contribution for the PAHs with moderate hydrophobicity was more susceptible to regime shifts than other PAHs. Our results suggested the contribution of microplastics to the burial of PAHs by sediments could be influenced by ecological regime shifts, and driven by various factors.

The prognostic and immunological role of MYB: from bladder cancer validation to pan-cancer analysis.

BACKGROUND: MYB proto-oncogene is verified as a transcription factor. Although emerging evidence showed that MYB plays a critical part in tumor progression and immunity, a systematic pan-cancer analysis of MYB still remains to be performed for determining whether MYB could serve as a biomarker for cancer screening, prognosis prediction and accurate therapy design in various human cancers. METHODS: In the present study, we performed qRT-PCR, wound healing assay and transwell assay to validate the expression level and biological function of MYB in bladder cancer. Then, we utilized several open-source databases including UCSC Xena database, TCGA, GTEx, etc. Online tools was used to process the raw data from UCSC Xena database. RESULTS: We found that the expression level of MYB is significantly higher in bladder cancer cell lines than urothelial cells. Further experiments confirmed that overexpression of MYB enhanced the ability of migration in bladder cancer. Next, we found that the expression level of MYB is significantly higher in most cancers. Meanwhile, MYB expression was positively or negatively related with the prognosis in different cancer types. In addition, MYB expression is significantly related to immune score and immune cells in most cancer types. Moreover, MYB act as an immunotherapy biomarker superior to several traditional immunotherapy biomarkers. Finally, deep deletion was the most frequent genetic alteration of MYB. CONCLUSION: MYB may serve as a powerful biomarker for tumor screening, prognostic, individualized treatment strategy in a broad range of malignancies.

Catalytic mechanism of N-containing biochar on volatile-biochar interaction for the same origin pyrolysis.

Nitrogen, as a common element, is widely present in biomass. The effects of nitrogenous substances on the same origin pyrolysis of biomass and the consequences of N-containing biochar on the catalytic process of volatiles are important for further analyzing the pyrolysis mechanism of biomass. In this research, N-containing biochar was prepared under different conditions, and the interaction between N-containing biochar and biomass pyrolysis volatiles at 400-700 °C was studied. The results show that N-containing biochar can simultaneously participate in reactions as adsorbents, catalysts, and reactants. Its catalytic effect is obviously different for various N configurations. Pyridinic N and pyrrolic N can promote the cracking of lignin into methoxy phenol compounds and promote the further cracking of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Graphitic N and oxidized N can promote the further decomposition of phenol and the conversion of D-xylose into small-molecule ketones. In addition, oxidized N can also inhibit the cracking of lignin to produce guaiacol. In the long-term interaction, the highly active pyridinic N tends to convert to a more stable graphitic N.

Midpalatal Suture: Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals Intramembrane Ossification and Piezo2 Chondrogenic Mesenchymal Cell Involvement.

The midpalatal suture is mainly responsible for the growth and development of the maxillary and resistance to rapid maxillary expansion (RME). It is essential for clinical researchers to explore the intramembrane ossification and to elucidate the underlying mechanism of the maturation and ossification process of the midpalatal suture to help identify the optimum time and force of RME. However, mechanistic studies associated with the midpalatal suture are rare. The aim of this present study is to create an intramembrane osteogenesis model for the midpalatal suture region of mice. Interestingly, we discovered a type of chondrogenic mesenchymal cell expressing Piezo2, which might be related to the detection of mechanical and external stimuli. This result provides a potential molecular and cellular mechanism that explains why the midpalatal suture is not closed until adulthood. We depict a landscape of mesenchymal cells that might play an important role in the intramembrane osteogenesis of the midpalatal suture and provide new perspectives on midpalate suture maturation and ossification, which might lead to further possibilities for clinical operations.

Microplastics contributed much less than organic matter to the burial of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by sediments in the past decades: a case study from an urban lake.

The role of microplastics in burying hydrophobic organic compounds remains largely unknown. Sediment cores collected from the center of a typical urban lake (Lake Qianhu) in China were chosen to explore the contribution of microplastics to the burial of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by sediments, and to elucidate how this contribution changed with microplastic composition and the hydrophobicity of PAHs on a decade scale. Our results showed that the concentration of individual PAHs adsorbed by microplastics varied from detection limit (LOD) to 7.2 mg g-1 MP, which was much higher than the LOD to 31.0 µg g-1 TOC buried by total organic carbon. However, the amount of individual PAHs adsorbed by microplastics only contributed to 0-34.2% of that in sediments. Changes in the composition of microplastics, including the increased proportion of polyethylene and polypropylene : polyethylene polymer in sediments, resulted in the average microplastic sediment burial ratios (MSBRs) of most PAHs increasing by 0.13% to 2.7% in the period from 1997 to 2018 compared with those in the period from 1975 to 1996. The average MSBRs varied with the hydrophobicity of PAHs, which increased with log Kow value if it varied from 3.45 to 5.20, but decreased with log Kow if it was in the range of 5.30 to 6.50. Our study provides novel knowledge on the contribution of microplastics to the burial of PAHs by sediments.

Preparation and formation mechanism of biomass-based graphite carbon catalyzed by iron nitrate under a low-temperature condition.

Graphite is a widely used industrial material, which experienced a marked shortage caused by the growing demand for electrode anode material and the increased costs for raw material. Graphitic carbon from biomass is a promising approach that will result in low-cost and efficient preparation. Herein, Fe(NO3)3 was selected as the catalyst for pine sawdust, and the effects of temperature and iron content on the graphitization of biochar were investigated. Additionally, the formation mechanism of the graphitic crystallite structure was explored. Results showed that the formation of pyrolysis gas increased with the increase in the amount of catalyst added or pyrolysis temperature. The change in pyrolysis gas, such as H2 and CO, was a critical auxiliary factor reflecting the conversion process. As temperature was increased from 600 °C to 800 °C, the solid products showed high graphitization and low solid yield. Graphite structure mainly formed at 700 °C because of the formation of Fe nanoparticles. The increase in the amount of catalyst could provide more reaction sites and promote the contact between Fe and C, showing that amorphous carbon is dissolved on Fe nanoparticles and precipitated into ordered graphitic carbon. On this basis, a mechanism of "carbon dissolution-precipitation" was proposed to explain the formation of graphite structure, and the whole pyrolysis process included the transformation of the iron element were analyzed.

Effects of cooking methods on microplastics in dried shellfish.

Many studies have reported the occurrence of microplastics in live shellfish intended for human consumption. However, far fewer studies have been conducted on dried shellfish from supermarkets or fishery markets. In this study, the characteristics of microplastics in six kinds of dried shellfish products following different cooking treatments were investigated. Dietary exposure to microplastics in dried shellfish was estimated using the consumption rate of seafood among different age groups. Microplastics were detected in all the uncooked, dried shellfish products, ranging from 0.3 to 4.2 items/g. Fibres accounted for more than 80% of microplastics in razor clams, winkles, and scallops. The proportion of microplastics smaller than 1 mm in size ranged from 57.1% to 89.7% of the total microplastics found in dried shellfish. The polymer types included polyethylene terephthalate (PET), rayon, polyester, nylon, polypropylene (PP), cellophane (CP), and polyethylene (PE). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the sizes and shapes of microplastics in scallops were more susceptible to alteration by different cooking methods. Steaming and frying significantly reduced the abundance of microplastics in razor clams. In addition, significantly fewer microplastics were found in scallop products after boiling and steaming than were found in fried scallop products. The estimated dietary intake of microplastics for infants was the highest among the age groups considered (3.05 items/kg(bw)/day). Accordingly, frying was suggested for cooking mussels, boiling for clams and winkles, and steaming for scallops. Combining risks from ingesting plastics and plastic additives, steaming is suggested as the best method to cook shellfish.

Roles and mechanisms of the m6A reader YTHDC1 in biological processes and diseases.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a key area in Epigenetics and has been increasingly focused these years. In the m6A process, readers recognize the m6A modification on mRNAs or noncoding RNAs and mediate different downstream events. Emerging studies have shown that YTHDC1, an important m6A reader, plays a key role in many biological functions and disease progression, especially cancers. Here we summarized the current mechanisms of YTHDC1 in biological functions and diseases and offered guidance for future researches to provide potential strategy for clinical diagnose and therapy.

An Image Registration Method Based on Correlation Matching of Dominant Scatters for Distributed Array ISAR.

Distributed array radar provides new prospects for three-dimensional (3D) inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging. The accuracy of image registration, as an essential part of 3D ISAR imaging, affects the performance of 3D reconstruction. In this paper, the imaging process of distributed array ISAR is proposed according to the imaging model. The ISAR images of distributed array radar at different APCs have different distribution of scatters. When the local distribution of scatters for the same target are quite different, the performance of the existing ISAR image registration methods may not be optimal. Therefore, an image registration method is proposed by integrating the feature-based method and the area-based method. The proposed method consists of two stages: coarse registration and fine registration. In the first stage, a dominant scatters model is established based on scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). In the second stage, sub-pixel precision registration is achieved using the local correlation matching method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparison with other image registration methods. The 3D reconstruction of the registered experimental data is carried out to assess the practicability of the proposed method.

Implications of Virtual CBCT-Based Immediate Implant Planning for Maxillary and Mandibular First Molars.

The purpose of his study was to investigate the projected ridge-implant dimensions derived from virtual superimposition of implants on intact first molars mimicking immediate implantation in the mandible (Md1) and maxilla (Mx1) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The CBCT records of 41 patients (19 males and 22 females) with Md1 or Mx1 were collected. Ten-millimeter-long cylindrical implants with different diameters were virtually positioned at prosthetically ideal angles into interradicular septum using CBCT software. Radiographic alveolar ridge height (ARH), alveolar ridge width (ARW), gap distance, and vertical distance from the implant platform to the alveolar crest were measured. Twenty Mx1s (48.8%) and 21 Md1s (51.2%) were included. The mean ARH values were 7.13 ± 4.32 and 15.64 ± 1.80 mm for Mx1 and Md1, respectively; 87.8% of mesiobuccal sites had gap distance of >2 mm when 6-mm-diameter implants were used. Increasing implant diameter from 6 to 9 mm decreased the percentage of sites with ARW > 2 mm from 80.5% to 41.5% buccally and from 86.4% to 26.8% lingually. The mean vertical distance from the implant platform to the alveolar crest was 1.41 ± 1.09 mm buccally and 1.11 ± 1.10 mm lingually. Immediate implant placement of first molars, especially in the maxilla, requires stringent presurgical evaluation. Implants no wider than 6 mm placed into the interradicular septum may meet acceptable running room and alveolar plate thickness criteria if the jumping distance is grafted. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings in this virtual study.

Ash formation and the inherent heavy metal partitioning behavior in a 100 t/d hazardous waste incineration plant.

Hazardous waste incineration (HWI) ash is also defined as hazardous waste and its disposal performance depends largely on the ash compositions as well as the potential environmental risk of heavy metals. In this work, HWI ashes of four sampling sites were collected in a 100 t/d hazardous waste incineration plant with rotary kiln over three consecutive days. The formation characteristics of ash samples including heavy metal partitioning were given, with further discussions on the melting disposal of HWI ash mixtures. Results showed significant differences in the ash compositions among the sampling sites. Caused by NaHCO3 injection as de-acidizing adsorbent, the sum of Na, S and Cl content in bag filter ash even exceeded 70%. Cu/Mn/Cr tended to transfer into the bottom ash due to low volatilities, while Zn/Pb/Cd/Se/As were more likely to be enriched in the ash particles. In particular, chemical adsorption at medium- to high- temperature range was dominant for As enrichment in the waste heat boiler ash. Despite the complexity and diversity of raw hazardous wastes, little difference was found in the melting temperature of bottom ash during the sampling period. However, it could vary by more than 200 °C for fly ash due to the fluctuation of alkali components in raw wastes. Moreover, slagging medium was encouraged in order to achieve rapid and complete melting of ash mixtures. The objective of this study is to gain knowledge on the HWI ash formation and inherent heavy metal partitioning behavior, expecting to provide guidelines on the deep harmless disposal of HWI ash in future.

Recent trends in therapeutic strategies for repairing endometrial tissue in intrauterine adhesion.

Intrauterine adhesion (IUA) is a common gynaecological disease that develops from infection or trauma. IUA disease may seriously affect the physical and mental health of women of childbearing age, which may lead to symptoms such as hypomenorrhea or infertility. Presently, hysteroscopic transcervical resection of adhesion (TCRA) is the principal therapy for IUAs, although its function in preventing the recurrence of adhesion and preserving fertility is limited. Pharmaceuticals such as hormones and vasoactive agents and the placement of nondegradable stents are the most common postoperative adjuvant therapy methods. However, the repair of injured endometrium is relatively restricted due to the different anatomical structures of the endometrium. Recently, the treatment outcome of IUAs has improved with the advancement of hysteroscopic techniques. In particular, the application of bioactive scaffolds combined with tissue engineering technology has proven to have high therapeutic potential or endometrial repair in IUA treatment. Herein, this review has summarized past therapeutic strategies, including postoperative adjuvant therapy, cell or therapeutic molecular delivery therapy methods and bioactive scaffold-based tissue engineering methods. Therefore, this review presented the recent therapeutic strategies for repairing endometrium treatment and pointed out the issues of clinical concern to provide alternative methods for the management of IUAs.

Overexpressed MPS-1 contributes to endometrioma development through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease that shares some characteristics with malignant tumors and affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. Endometrioma refers to endometriosis that appears in the ovary. Metallopanstimulin-1 (MPS-1) is a component of the 40S subunit of ribosomes that has extra-ribosomal functions that contribute to the development of diseases. This study aimed to explore the expression pattern and role of MPS-1 in endometrioma development. METHODS: Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to determine the expression of MPS-1 in patients with endometrioma. Following the successful knockdown of MPS-1 by siRNA, CCK-8 assays, flow cytometry, and transwell assays were performed to detect ectopic endometrial stromal cells (EcESCs) proliferation, the rate of apoptosis, and cell cycle, migration, and invasion, respectively. Western blotting was used to explore the effect of MPS-1 knockdown on protein levels in the NF-κB signaling pathway. RESULTS: The expression of MPS-1 was significantly higher in endometrioma and the serum of endometrioma patients than in the patients without endometriosis. In addition, the downregulation of MPS-1 expression inhibited EcESCs proliferation, migration, and invasion. This downregulation led to the arrest of the EcESCs cycle in the G0/G1 phase and apoptosis and depressed the NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: MPS-1 can regulate EcESCs proliferation, motility, invasion, apoptosis, and cell cycle via the NF-κB signaling pathway in endometrioma. This may contribute to the formation or development of endometriotic foci. This study suggests the potential role of MPS-1 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and enabled further research into the use of MPS-1 in the clinical diagnosis of endometrioma.

Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of endometriosis provides insights into fibroblast fates and immune cell heterogeneity.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is an oestrogen-dependent disease with an unclear aetiology and pathogenesis affecting 6-10% of the global female population, predominantly those of reproductive age. Herein, we profile the transcriptomes of approximately 55,000 single cells from three groups including ectopic endometrium, eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis, and eutopic endometrium from healthy women to create a single-cell transcriptome atlas of endometriosis. RESULTS: We have identified 9 cell types and performed single-cell analysis of fibroblasts, and determined a potential developmental trajectory associated with endometriosis. We also identified fibroblast subpopulations related to endometriosis development and found that StAR played an important role in this process. Moreover, T cells in endometriosis were less activated or inflammatory with decreased effector CD8 + T cells, while the composition ratio of natural killer cells decreased and the percentage of monocytes/macrophages increased in endometriosis cysts. In addition, the effectiveness of immune cells in endometriosis lesions, eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis, and eutopic endometrium from healthy women was distinct. Cell-cell interaction analyses highlighted the imbalanced immune environment in endometriosis lesions and immune cells in endometriosis could promote the development of the disease. CONCLUSION: Our study provided a systematic characterisation of endometriosis and insights into the aetiology and pathology of endometriosis.

Morphologic analysis of alveolar bone in maxillary and mandibular incisors on sagittal views.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the morphologic features of alveolus in relatively healthy maxillary and mandibular incisors using cone-beam-computed tomography (CBCT). METHODS: CBCT images of 318 patients were retrospectively acquired. Alveolar bone in incisive area was divided into: type 1 (thick), type 2 (relatively thick with mono-plate concavity), type 3 (thin with double-plate concavities), and type 4 (vulnerably thin). Alveolus prevalence and widths were analyzed statistically relative to age, gender, and molar relationship. RESULTS: Prevalence of type 1 alveolus was 78.9% in maxillary central incisors, 15.1% in maxillary lateral incisors, 24.1% in mandibular central incisors, and 5.0% in mandibular lateral incisors. Type 2 alveolus was commonly observed in the maxillary lateral incisors (82.2%), mandibular central incisors (66.2%), and mandibular lateral incisors (87.9%). Prevalence of type 3 and 4 alveoli ranged from 0.0 to 9.4%. As for maxillary central incisors, type 1 was the widest both at the alveolar crest (7.77 ± 0.58 mm) and apical area (9.05 ± 1.86 mm), while type 3 had the lowest width at the apical region (4.08 ± 0.51 mm). Among maxillary central incisors, prevalence of type 1 tended to decrease with age. At all maxillary and mandibular incisor sites, alveolus widths were significantly thicker in males than in females. At maxillary lateral incisor and mandibular incisor sites, prevalence of alveolus type was significantly different among three molar relationships. CONCLUSION: A 4-type classification system was suggested for alveolus morphology in incisive region. Identification of alveolus type might aid in the corresponding treatment.

Allergy-Related Sialodochitis: A Preliminary Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To explore the clinically feasible diagnosis criteria and treatment outcomes of allergy-related sialodochitis (ARS). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective Cohort Study. METHODS: Ninety-six consecutive patients were enrolled by the following criteria: 1) recurrent swelling of ≥2 large salivary glands that lasted for ≥3 months; 2) with mucus plug exudations; 3) with atopic diseases; 4) ductal stenosis and/or ectasia. Sixty-four patients with elevation of peripheral blood eosinophil (PBE) and/or serum IgE level comprised group A (highly-suspected ARS group), while the remaining 32 comprised group B (patients without confirmed evidence of ARS). These patients were treated with interventional endoscopy. A chronic obstructive sialadenitis symptom (COSS) questionnaire was used to quantify the treatment outcomes. RESULTS: In group A, Serum IgE was elevated in 84.4% of patients and PBE was elevated in 34.4% of patients. Percentage of submandibular gland involvement was higher in group A than group B (48.4% vs. 18.8%). On sialograms, the snowflake changes of branch ducts were seen in higher percentage of group A compared with group B (59% vs. 35% for parotid glands, 27% vs. 8% for submandibular glands, respectively). Mucus plug smears showed abundant eosinophils in 14 group A patients. Biopsy of five group A patients revealed significant eosinophil infiltration around the main and interlobular ducts. During follow-up, the COSS scores were significantly decreased in both groups, and group B was improved better than group A. CONCLUSION: PBE and serum IgE are important diagnostic indexes of ARS. Mucus plug smear or histopathology verifies the diagnosis. Interventional endoscopy is helpful for ARS cases. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 131:2030-2035, 2021.

Investigation on the transformation behaviours of Fe-bearing minerals of coal in O2/CO2 combustion atmosphere containing H2O.

The transformation behaviors of Fe-bearing minerals in coals of Xinjiang (XJC) and Shenhua (SHC) were investigated in an O2/CO2 atmosphere containing H2O in a drop-tube-furnace (DTF). The solid products were characterized using XRD, Mössbauer spectroscopy, particle size analyzer and SEM-EDX techniques. The results show that the change in the combustion atmosphere does not significantly alter the main phases of Fe-bearing minerals in the coal ashes, but does affect their relative contents. The ratio of Fe2+-glass to Fe3+-glass in the ashes produced from the O2/CO2 combustion atmosphere was significantly increased. During the XJC combustion and under different combustion conditions examined, the content of Fe-glass phases remained almost unaltered. However, in SHC samples, combustion under O2/CO2 atmosphere resulted in a higher amount of iron melting into Fe-glass phases and less amount of iron oxide formation. This could be attributed mainly to the presence of Fe-bearing minerals mostly included in nature in SHC samples, which more easily interacted with clays or other silicates inside coal-formed Fe-glass phases. Increasing the O2 level of the O2/CO2 atmosphere during SHC combustion could promote the formation of iron oxides. In O2/CO2 atmosphere, with the same oxygen level, the replacement of 10% of CO2 with H2O promoted the formation of iron oxides, regardless of the occurrence form (included or excluded) of iron minerals in coal. Furthermore, the addition of steam resulted in an increase in the size of the particles in ash, resulting probably in a decrease in the deposition and slagging propensity of coal ash.