Elucidating the enhanced role of carbonate radical in propranolol degradation by UV/peroxymonosulfate system.

Carbonate radical (CO3•-) has been proved to be an important secondary radical in advanced oxidation processes due to various radical reactions involved HCO3-/CO32-. However, the roles and contributions of CO3•- in organic micropollutant degradation have not been explored systematically. Here, we quantified the impact of CO3•- on the degradation kinetics of propranolol, a representative pollutant in the UV/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system, by constructing a steady-state radical model. Substantially, the measured values were coincident with the predictive values, and the contributions of CO3•- on propranolol degradation were the water matrix-dependent. Propranolol degradation increased by 130% in UV/PMS system containing 10 mM HCO3-, and the contribution of CO3•- was as high as 58%. Relatively high pH values are beneficial for propranolol degradation in pure water containing HCO3-, and the contributions of CO3•- also enhanced, while an inverse phenomenon was shown for the effects of propranolol concentrations. Dissolved organic matter exhibited significant scavenging effects on HO•, SO4•-, and CO3•-, substantially retarding the elimination process. The developed model successfully predicted oxidation degradation kinetics of propranolol in actual sewage, and CO3•- contribution was up to 93%, which in indicative of the important role of CO3•- in organic micropollutant removal via AOPs treatment.

Parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation improves postoperative recovery for patients with Crohn's disease after bowel resection: a randomized, unblinded controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The postoperative inflammatory response is associated with postoperative recovery in surgery. n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids have been reported to lower inflammation. The postoperative role of parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation on outcomes in Crohn's disease after bowel resection is unclear. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the effects of postoperative parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation in Crohn's disease. METHODS: A prospective randomized, unblinded controlled clinical trial was conducted for patients with Crohn's disease who underwent bowel resection between May 2019 and February 2022. Postoperative complications, complete blood count, serum biochemical values, and cytokine concentrations were compared in patients with and without parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation for 5 d postoperatively. RESULTS: There were 268 patients randomly assigned in the analysis, with 134 in the control group (a mix of long-chain and medium-chain fats at 1.0 g/kg/d) and 134 in the treatment group (long-chain, medium-chain, and n-3 polyunsaturated fats at 1.2 g/kg/d). Twenty-six did not complete the allocated treatment, and 8 patients were lost to follow-up. The intention-to-treat analysis and the per-protocol analysis showed that there were a significant reduction in overall complication rates (22.4% compared with 49.3%; P < 0.001 and 21.8% compared with 38.2%; P = 0.006) and postoperative stay (8.8 ± 4.5 d compared with 11.2 ± 6.8 d; P = 0.001 and 8.7 ± 4.0 d compared with 11.5 ± 7.3 d; P < 0.001) in patients with parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation compared with patients in the control group. In the secondary outcomes, the mean ± standard deviation of interleukin (IL)-6 (17.11 ± 2.14 pg/mL compared with 30.50 ± 5.14 pg/mL; P = 0.014), IL-1ß (2.01 ± 0.05 pg/mL compared with 2.24 ± 0.09 pg/mL; P = 0.019), tumor necrosis factor-α (2.09 ± 0.06 pg/mL compared with 2.29 ± 0.06 pg/mL; P = 0.029), and C-reactive protein concentrations (51.3 ± 4.2 mg/L compared with 64.4 ± 5.3 mg/L; P = 0.050) on postoperative day 5 in the treatment group were much lower than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Parenteral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation promotes postoperative recovery in patients with Crohn's disease following bowel resection, with fewer complications and reduced inflammatory cytokines. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03901937 at https://classic. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT03901937?term=NCT03901937&cond=Crohn+Disease&draw=2&rank=1.

Wafer-Scale Periodic Poling of Thin-Film Lithium Niobate.

Periodically poled lithium niobate on insulator (PPLNOI) offers an admirably promising platform for the advancement of nonlinear photonic integrated circuits (PICs). In this context, domain inversion engineering emerges as a key process to achieve efficient nonlinear conversion. However, periodic poling processing of thin-film lithium niobate has only been realized on the chip level, which significantly limits its applications in large-scale nonlinear photonic systems that necessitate the integration of multiple nonlinear components on a single chip with uniform performances. Here, we demonstrate a wafer-scale periodic poling technique on a 4-inch LNOI wafer with high fidelity. The reversal lengths span from 0.5 to 10.17 mm, encompassing an area of ~1 cm2 with periods ranging from 4.38 to 5.51 µm. Efficient poling was achieved with a single manipulation, benefiting from the targeted grouped electrode pads and adaptable comb line widths in our experiment. As a result, domain inversion is ultimately implemented across the entire wafer with a 100% success rate and 98% high-quality rate on average, showcasing high throughput and stability, which is fundamentally scalable and highly cost-effective in contrast to traditional size-restricted chiplet-level poling. Our study holds significant promise to dramatically promote ultra-high performance to a broad spectrum of applications, including optical communications, photonic neural networks, and quantum photonics.

Enhanced NMDA receptor pathway and glutamate transmission in the hippocampal dentate gyrus mediate the spatial learning and memory impairment of obese rats.

Obesity has been linked with the impairment of spatial memory and synaptic plasticity but the molecular mechanisms remained unidentified. Since glutamatergic transmission and NMDA receptor neural pathways in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) are essential in the learning and memory, we aimed to investigate glutamate (Glu) and NMDA receptor signaling of DG in spatial learning and memory in diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats. Spatial learning and memory were assessed via Morris water maze (MWM) test on control (Ctr) and DIO rats. Extracellular concentration of Glu in the DG was determined using in vivo microdialysis and HPLC. The protein expressions of NMDA receptor subunit 2B (NR2B), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) and cAMP-response-element-binding protein (CREB) in the DG were observed by western blot. Spatial learning and memory were impaired in DIO rats compared to those of Ctr. NR2B expression was increased, while BDNF expression and CaMKII and CREB activation were decreased in DG of DIO rats. Extracellular concentration of Glu was increased in Ctr on the 3rd and 4th days of the MWM test, but significant further increment was observed in DIO rats. Microinjection of an NMDA antagonist (MK-801) into the DG reversed spatial learning and memory impairment. Such effects were accompanied by greater BDNF expression and CaMKII/CREB activation in the DG of DIO rats. In conclusion, the enhancement of Glu-NMDA receptor transmission in the hippocampal DG contributes to the impairment of spatial learning and memory in DIO rats, maybe via the modulation of CaMKII-CREB-BDNF signaling pathway.

Exhaled VOC Biomarkers from Rats Injected with PMs from Thirty-One Major Cities in China.

Particulate matter (PMs) of different origins can cause diverse health effects. Here, a homemade box was used to facilitate real-time measurements of breath-borne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry. We have tracked exhaled VOC changes in 228 Wistar rats that were injected with water-soluble PM suspension filtrates (after 0.45 µm) from 31 China cities for 1 h to up to 1-6 days during the experiments. Rats exposed to the filtrates exhibited significant changes in breath-borne VOCs within hours, featuring dynamic fluctuations in the levels of acetone, butan-2-one, heptan-2-one-M, acetic acid-M, and ethanol. Subsequently, on the fifth to sixth day after the injection, there was a notable increase in the proportion of aldehydes (including hexanal-M, hexanal-D, pentanal, heptanal-M, and (E)-2-hexenal). The 10 dynamic VOC fingerprint patterns mentioned earlier showcased the capability to indirectly differentiate urban PM toxicity and categorize the 31 cities into four distinct groups based on their health effects. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of exhaled VOCs and underscores their critical role as biomarkers for differentiating the toxicity of different PMs and detecting the early signs of potential diseases. The results from this work also provide a scientific basis for city-specific air pollution control and policy development.

ART and Serum albumin are influencing factors of the 5-year survival rate of people living with HIV undergoing maintenance hemodialysis caused by HIV: A cohort study.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most prominent public health problems worldwide. The 5-year survival rate of people living with HIV undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and the factors related to the survival rate have not been widely studied. This study calculated the 5-year survival rate of people living with HIV who were undergoing MHD and determined the risk factors that may affect the 5-year survival rate. All enrolled participants were followed up for more than 5 years from the first round of MHD. The survival rate of them was calculated, the Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis, the Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve, and the log-rank test was used to compare the survival time of different groups. A total of 121 participants were included in the study. Statistical analysis showed that the overall 5-year survival rate was 19.0%. The 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month survival rates were 71.90%, 56.20%, 41.32%, and 30.58%, respectively. Infection was the leading cause of death, accounting for 55.37%. The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the serum albumin level after dialysis were independent protective factors for patient survival. The log-rank test showed that there was a significant difference in survival time between the ART and non-ART groups.

CONUT can be a predictor of postoperative complications after laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy for elderly gastric cancer patients.

Compared with young patients, elderly patients with gastric cancer usually have lower muscle mass, poorer nutritional status, lower immunity, and worse cardiopulmonary function. Therefore, how to improve the prognosis of elderly gastric cancer patients after laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy is the focus and difficulty of clinician. The aim of our study was to investigate the risk factors for postoperative complications of these patients. The data of gastric cancer patients aged ≥ 60 years who underwent laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy were analyzed. Univariate was used to determine the potential risk factors and then multivariate analyses was used to determine the independent risk factors for postoperative complications. Univariate analysis showed that age, preoperative red blood cell (RBC), preoperative albumin (ALB), preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP), preoperative hemoglobin (Hb), preoperative blood transfusion, preoperative lymphocytes, total cholesterol, CRP-to-ALB ratio, controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, TNM stage were all the potential risk factors for postoperative complications. Binary logistic regression showed that CONUT, age and preoperative RBC were correlated with postoperative complications. For elderly gastric cancer patients after laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy, CONUT, age and preoperative RBC were all the independent risk factors for overall postoperative complications and could be used as reliable indicators for judging the short-term prognosis.

Associations between non-coding RNAs genetic polymorphisms with ovarian cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis update with trial sequential analysis.

BACKGROUND: This systemic review and meta-analysis seeks to systematically analyze and summarize the association between non-coding RNA polymorphisms and ovarian cancer risk. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI for available articles on non-coding RNA polymorphisms in patients with ovarian cancer from inception to March 1, 2023. The quality of each study included in the meta-analysis was rated according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.Odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to assess associations. Chi-square Q-test combined with inconsistency index (I2) was used to test for heterogeneity among studies. Lastly, trial sequential analysis (TSA) software was used to verify the reliability of meta-analysis results, and in-silico miRNA expression were also performed. The meta-analysis was registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42023422091). RESULTS: A total of 17 case-control studies with 18 SNPs were selected, including 2 studies with H19 rs2107425 and HOTAIR rs4759314, and 5 studies with miR-146a rs2910164 and miR-196a rs11614913. Significant associations were found between H19 rs2107425, miR-146a rs2910164, and miR-196a rs11614913 and ovarian cancer risk. Three genetic models of H19 rs2107425 (CT vs TT (heterozygote model): OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.22-1.52, P < .00001; CC + CT vs TT (dominant model): OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.24, P = .02; and CC vs CT + TT (recessive model): OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.16-1.31, P < .00001), 2 genetic models of miR-146a rs2910164 (allele model: OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.05-2.91, P = .03; and heterozygote model: OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.11-0.98, P = .05), 3 genetic models of miR-196a rs11614913 (allele model: OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.59-0.82, P < .0001; dominant model: OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.18-2.24, P = .0001; and recessive model: OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.57-0.87, P = .03) were statistically linked to ovarian cancer risk. Subgroup analysis for miR-146a rs2910164 was performed according to ethnicity. No association was found in any genetic model. The outcomes of TSA also validated the findings of this meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: This study summarizes that H19 rs2107425, miR-146a rs2910164, and miR-196a rs11614913 polymorphisms are significantly linked with the risk of ovarian cancer, and moreover, large-scale and well-designed studies are needed to validate our result.

HLA-DQ and alcohol in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome in college students: a case-control study.

Some researchers have shown that genetics contribute to the incidence of IBS. However, no research has focused on the interaction between HLA-DQ and living habits in the pathogenesis of IBS. The present study explored the risk factors for IBS in college students of Guangxi Han nationality and explored the interaction between HLA-DQ and living habits on the pathogenesis of IBS. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the risk factors for IBS. Logistic interaction analysis and the Excel table made by Andersson were used to explore the interaction between genes and living habits in the context of IBS. We found that low expression of HLA-DQ2 and DQ8 were associated with the pathogenesis of IBS, while mild to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with the occurrence of IBS symptoms. Only the HLA-DQ8 gene and alcohol consumption had additive interactions in the context of the occurrence of IBS. In other words, for college students of Guangxi Han nationality, HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 might be protective against IBS, while alcohol consumption might be an independent risk factor. There was an additive interaction between HLA-DQ8 and alcohol consumption in the occurrence of IBS.

Development of a risk nomogram predicting urinary tract infection in patients with indwelling urinary catheter after radical surgery for cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer (CC) patients receiving indwelling catheterization after radical hysterectomy (RH) are vulnerable to urinary tract infection (UTI). However, no model or method is available to predict the risk of UTIs. Therefore, our aim was to develop and verify a risk model to predict UTI for patients receiving indwelling catheterization after radical cervical cancer surgery (ICa-RCCS). METHODS: We first collected clinical information of 380 patients receiving ICa-RCCS from January 2020 to December 2021 as a training cohort to develop the risk nomogram. UTI was then evaluated using 19 UTI predictor factors. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was utilized for the extraction characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was then conducted to create the risk model for UTI prediction. The consistency coefficient and calibration curve were utilized to assess the model's fit accuracy. We performed bootstrapping with 1000 random samples for internal validation of the model, and decision curve analysis (DCA) for clinical application. RESULTS: Predictors in the risk nomogram included indwelling catheterization duration, whether it is secondary indwelling catheterization, history of UTIs, age, and history of chemotherapy before surgery. The risk nomogram presented good discrimination and calibration (C-index: 0.810, 95% CI: 0.759-0.861). During interval validation, the model reached a high C-index up to 0.7930. DCA revealed the clinical utility of predictive model for UTI. Clinical benefit was initiated at the decision threshold≥3%. CONCLUSION: We developed a novel UTI nomogram incorporating the age, history of chemotherapy before surgery, indwelling catheterization duration, whether it is secondary indwelling catheterization, and history of UTI to predict UTI risk for patients receiving ICa-RCCS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: B: 3a.

Red mud with enhanced dealkalization performance by supercritical water technology for efficient SO2 capture.

The total de-alkalization treatment of industrial solid waste red mud (RM) has been a worldwide challenge. Removing the insoluble structural alkali fraction from RM is the key to enhancing the sustainable utilization of RM resources. In this paper, supercritical water (SCW) and leaching agents were used for the first time to de-alkalize the Bayer RM and to remove sulfur dioxide (SO2) from flue gas with the de-alkalized RM slurry. The results showed that the optimum alkali removal and Fe leaching rates of RM-CaO-SW slurry were 97.90 ± 0.88% and 82.70 ± 0.95%, respectively. Results confirmed that the SCW technique accelerated the disruption of (Al-O) and (Si-O) bonds and the structural disintegration of aluminosilicate minerals, facilitating the conversion of insoluble structural alkalis to soluble chemical alkalis. The exchangeable Ca2+ displaced Na+ in the remaining insoluble base, producing soluble sodium salts or alkalis. CaO consumed SiO2, which was tightly bound to Fe2O3 in RM, and released Fe2O3, which promoted Fe leaching. RM-SCW showed the best desulfurization performance, which maintained 88.99 ± 0.0020% at 450 min, followed by RM-CaO-SW (450 min, 60.75 ± 6.00%) and RM (180 min, 88.52% ± 0.00068). The neutralization of alkaline components, the redox of metal oxides, and the liquid-phase catalytic oxidation of Fe contributed to the excellent desulfurization performance of the RM-SCW slurry. A promising approach shown in this study is beneficial to RM waste use, SO2 pollution control, and sustainable growth of the aluminum industry.

Inhibiting mechanisms of metal ion complexation on photogenerated reactive intermediates derived from dissolved black carbon.

Dissolved black carbon (DBC), an important photosensitizer in surface waters, can influence the photodegradation of various organic micropollutants. In natural water systems, DBC often co-occurs with metal ions as DBC-metal ion complexes; however, the influence of metal ion complexation on the photochemical activity of DBC is still unclear. Herein, the effects of metal ion complexation were investigated using common metal ions (Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Al3+, Ca2+, and Mg2+). Complexation constants (logKM) derived from three-dimensional fluorescence spectra revealed that Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, and Al3+ quenched the fluorescence components of DBC via static quenching. The steady-state radical experiment suggested that in the complex systems of DBC with various metal ions, Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+ and Al3+ inhibited the photogeneration of 3DBC* via dynamic quenching, which reduced the yields of 3DBC*-derived 1O2 and O2·-. Moreover, 3DBC* quenching by metal ions was associated with the complexation constant. A strong positive linear relationship existed between logKM and the dynamic quenching rate constant of metal ions. These results indicate that the strong complexation ability of metal ions enabled 3DBC quenching, which highlights the photochemical activity of DBC in natural aquatic environments enriched with metal ions.

Magnetotransport property of oxygen-annealed Fe1+yTe thin films.

Fe-based superconductors are one of the current research focuses. FeTe is unique in the series of FeSe1-xTex, since it is nonsuperconducting near the FeTe side in the phase diagram in contrast to the presence of superconductivity in other region. However, FeTe thin films become superconducting after oxygen annealing and the mechanism remains elusive. Here, we report the temperature dependences of resistivity, Hall effect and magnetoresistance (MR) of a series of FeTe thin films with different amounts of excess Fe and oxygen. These properties show dramatic changes with excess Fe and oxygen incorporation. We found the Hall coefficients are positive for the oxygen-annealed samples, in contrast to the transition from positive to negative below 50 K for the vacuum-annealed samples. For all samples, both the resistivity and Hall coefficient show a dramatic drop, respectively, at around 50 K-75 K, implying coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order for the oxygen-annealed samples. The vacuum-annealed samples show both positive and negative values of MR depending on temperature, while negative MR dominates for the oxygen-annealed samples. We also found that oxygen annealing reduces the excess Fe in FeTe, which has been neglected before. The results are discussed in terms of several contributions, and a comparison is made between the oxygen-annealed FeTe thin films and FeSe1-xTex. This work is helpful for shedding light on the understanding of oxygen-annealed FeTe thin films.

HLA-A and HLA-B genes are involved in the pathogenesis of IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder. The pathogenesis of IBS has not yet been fully elucidated, and the relationship between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules and IBS is not clear. The present case-control study investigated the correlation between HLA-A and HLA-B genes and IBS. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 102 IBS patients and 108 healthy volunteers at Nanning First People's Hospital. DNA was extracted using a routine procedure, and HLA-A and HLA-B gene polymorphisms were identified by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers to determine the genotype and distribution frequency of HLA-A and HLA-B in IBS patients and healthy controls. Susceptibility and protective genes for IBS were identified using univariate and multivariate analyses. The frequency of HLA-A11 gene expression in the IBS group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group, while the frequencies of HLA-A24, 26, and 33 gene expression were significantly higher in the healthy control group than in the IBS group (all P < .05). The frequencies of HLA-B56 and 75 (15) gene expression in the IBS group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group, while the frequencies of HLA-B46 and 48 gene expression were significantly higher in the healthy control group than in the IBS group (all P < .05). Genes that may be related to the prevalence of IBS were included in the multivariate logistic regression, and the results suggested that the HLA-B75 (15) gene is a susceptibility gene for IBS (P = .031, odds ratio [OR] = 2.625, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.093-6.302), while the HLA-A24 (P = .003, OR = 0.308, 95% CI: 0.142-0.666), A26 (P = .009, OR = 0.162, 95% CI: 0.042-0.629), A33 (P = .012, OR = 0.173, 95% CI: 0.044-0.679), and B48 (P = .008, OR = 0.051, 95% CI: 0.006-0.459) genes are protective genes for IBS.

Recent Advances in Decellularized Matrix-Derived Materials for Bioink and 3D Bioprinting.

As an emerging 3D printing technology, 3D bioprinting has shown great potential in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Decellularized extracellular matrices (dECM) have recently made significant research strides and have been used to create unique tissue-specific bioink that can mimic biomimetic microenvironments. Combining dECMs with 3D bioprinting may provide a new strategy to prepare biomimetic hydrogels for bioinks and hold the potential to construct tissue analogs in vitro, similar to native tissues. Currently, the dECM has been proven to be one of the fastest growing bioactive printing materials and plays an essential role in cell-based 3D bioprinting. This review introduces the methods of preparing and identifying dECMs and the characteristic requirements of bioink for use in 3D bioprinting. The most recent advances in dECM-derived bioactive printing materials are then thoroughly reviewed by examining their application in the bioprinting of different tissues, such as bone, cartilage, muscle, the heart, the nervous system, and other tissues. Finally, the potential of bioactive printing materials generated from dECM is discussed.

An observational study of the effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-supplemented parenteral nutrition on postoperative complications in patients with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease. Most patients with CD require surgery but exhibit an elevated incidence of postoperative complications. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) are considered beneficial for nutrition, anti-inflammation, immunity, and intestinal microflora balance in humans. This study assessed the effects of ω-3 PUFA-supplemented parenteral nutrition (PN) on postoperative complications in CD patients. METHODS: Overall, 186 CD patients undergoing bowel resection were recruited for this study. The patient data were collected from a prospectively maintained database. After surgery, 83 patients received ω-3 PUFA-supplemented PN, and 103 did not. The postoperative complications were compared between the groups. Complication risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Patients who received ω-3 PUFA-supplemented PN after surgery had lower C-reactive protein (CRP) levels on postoperative day 3 (57.2±5.3 vs. 43.5±3.9 mg/L, P=0.047) and shorter postoperative hospital stays (12.1±1.1 vs. 9.3±0.6 days, P=0.041) than those who did not. The ω-3 PUFA group exhibited significantly fewer overall complications (40.8% vs. 24.1%, P=0.016) and major complications (23.3% vs. 9.6%, P=0.014) than the control group. Postoperative complications were associated with infliximab, ω-3 PUFAs, CRP levels, operative time, and laparoscopic surgery. The multivariate regression revealed that preoperative infliximab use was a positive risk factor and postoperative ω-3 PUFA-supplemented PN was a negative risk factor for postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: ω-3 PUFA-supplemented PN reduced post-surgery inflammatory response of CD patients, which in turn decreased the postoperative complications and accelerated recovery.

Topologically preserved registration of 3D CT images with deep networks.

Objective. Computed Tomography (CT) image registration makes fast and accurate imaging-based disease diagnosis possible. We aim to develop a framework which can perform accurate local registration of organs in 3D CT images while preserving the topology of transformation.Approach. In this framework, the Faster R-CNN method is first used to detect local areas containing organs from fixed and moving images whose results are then registered with a weakly supervised deep neural network. In this network, a novel 3D channel coordinate attention (CA) module is introduced to reduce the loss of position information. The image edge loss and the organ labelling loss are used to weakly supervise the training process of our deep network, which enables the network learning to focus on registering organs and image structures. An intuitive inverse module is also used to reduce the folding of deformation field. More specifically, the folding is suppressed directly by simultaneously maximizing forward and backward registration accuracy in the image domain rather than indirectly by measuring the consistency of forward and inverse deformation fields as usual.Main results. Our method achieves an average dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.954 and an average Similarity (Sim) of 0.914 on publicly available liver datasets (LiTS for training and Sliver07 for testing) and achieves an average DSC of 0.914 and an average Sim of 0.947 on our home-built left ventricular myocardium (LVM) dataset.Significance. Experimental results show that our proposed method can significantly improve the registration accuracy of organs such as the liver and LVM. Moreover, our inverse module can intuitively improve the inherent topological preservation of transformations.

Pueraria lobata Potentially Treating Prostate Cancer on Single-Cell Level by Network Pharmacology and AutoDock: Clinical Findings and Drug Targets.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the common malignant tumors of the urological system, and metastasis often occurs in advanced stages. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for advanced PCa but has limitations in terms of efficacy, side effects, multidrug resistance, and high treatment costs. Therefore, new treatment modalities for PCa need to be explored and improved. Methods: R language and GEO database were used to obtain differentially expressed genes for PCa single-cell sequencing. TCMSP, STITCH, SwissTargetPrediction, and PubChem databases were used to obtain the active ingredients and targets of Pueraria lobata (PL). Next, Cytoscape software was used to draw the interactive network diagram of "drug-active component-target pathway." Based on the STRING database, the protein-protein interaction network was constructed. Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were applied for the genes. Molecular docking was used to visualize the drug-target interaction via AutoDock Vina and PyMOL. Finally, prognosis-related genes were found by survival analysis, and Protein Atlas was used for validation. Results: Four active components and 31 target genes were obtained through the regulatory network of PL. Functional enrichment analysis showed that PL played a pharmacological role in the treatment of PCa by regulating the metabolic processes of reactive oxygen species, response to steroid hormones, and oxidative stress as well as IL-17 signaling pathway, PCa, and estrogen signaling pathway. Single-cell data showed that AR, MIF, HSP90B1, and MAOA genes were highly expressed, and molecular docking analysis showed that representative components had a strong affinity with receptor proteins. Survival analysis found that APOE, CA2, IGFBP3, MIF, F10, and NR3C1 could predict progression-free survival (PFS), and some of them could be validated in PCa. Conclusion: In this paper, a drug-active ingredient-target pathway network of PL at the single-cell level of PCa was constructed, and the findings revealed that it acted on genes such as AR, MIF, HSP90B1, and MAOA to regulate several biological processes and related signaling pathways to interfere with the occurrence and development of PCa. APOE, CA2, IGFBP3, MIF, F10, and NR3C1 were also important as target genes in predicting PFS.

Identification of key genes and pathways associated with diabetes of the exocrine pancreas.

This study aimed to identify potential essential genes and pathways in diabetes of the exocrine pancreas (DEP) and explore possible molecular mechanisms. The array dataset GSE76895 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Pancreatic tissue samples from 20 Diabetes of the exocrine pancreas and 32 nondiabetic individuals were selected for analysis. GEO2R analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the 2 groups. Gene ontology annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes and Reactome pathway enrichment analyses and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis were performed in this study. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed using Cytoscape software, and core networks were identified using MCODE plugins. A total of 62 genes, including 59 up-regulated and 3 down-regulated genes, were differentially expressed in DEP samples compared with nondiabetic patients. PPI network with 53 nodes and 138 edges was established. HLA-DRA is identified as the central gene of the PPI network and maybe a marker gene for DEP. Furthermore, up-regulated DEGs are mainly enriched in pathways related to the immune system and infection. The results of this study suggest that HLA-DRA and immune system pathways may play essential roles in DEP.

Enhancive and inhibitory effects of copper complexation on triplet dissolved black carbon-sensitized photodegradation of organic micropollutants.

Excited-triplet dissolved black carbon (DBC) was deemed as a significant reactive intermediate in the phototransformation of environmental micropollutants, but the impacts of concomitant metal ions on photochemical behavior of excited-triplet DBC (3DBC*) are poorly understood. Here, the photolytic kinetics of sulfadiazine and carbamazepine induced by 3DBC* involving Cu2+ was explored. The presence of Cu2+ reduced the 3DBC*-induced photodegradation rate of sulfadiazine; whereas for carbamazepine, Cu2+ enhanced 3DBC*-induced photodegradation. Cu(II)-DBC complex was formed due to the decreasing fluorescence intensities of DBC in the presence of Cu2+. Cu2+ complexation caused the decrease of 3DBC* steady-state concentrations, which markedly reduced 3DBC*-induced photodegradation rate of sulfadiazine due to its high triplet reactivity. Kinetic model showed that 3DBC* quenching rate by Cu2+ was 7.98 × 109 M-1 s-1. Cu2+ complexation can also enhance the electron transfer ability, thereby producing more ∙OH in Cu(II)-DBC complex, which explains the promoting effect of Cu2+ complexation on carbamazepine photodegradation in view of its low triplet reaction rate. These indicate that 3DBC* reactivity differences of organic micropollutants may explain their photodegradation kinetics differences in DBC system with/without Cu2+, which was supported by the linearized relationship between the photodegradation rate ratios of ten micropollutants with/without Cu2+ and their triplet reaction activity.