Surgical Outcomes in Total Neoadjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer Versus Standard Long-course Chemoradiation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis seeks to evaluate the impact of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) for rectal cancers on surgical complications and surgical pathology when compared with standard long-course chemoradiotherapy (LCRT). BACKGROUND: The oncological benefits of TNT are well published in previous meta-analyses, but there is little synthesized information on how it affects surgical outcomes. A recent study has suggested an increase in local recurrence and higher rates of breached total mesorectal excision (TME) plane in TNT patients. METHODS: This study conformed to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A search was performed in Medline (via PubMed), Cochrane databases, EMBASE and CINAHL to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing outcomes between TNT and LCRT. Meta-analyses of pooled proportions between TNT and LCRT were performed, comparing primary outcomes of surgical mortality, morbidity and all reported complications; surgical-pathology differences, namely mesorectal quality, R0 resection rates, circumferential resection margin positive rates, and sphincter preservation rates. Death and progression of disease during neoadjuvant treatment period was also compared. Risk of bias of RCTs was performed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool by 2 independent reviewers. RESULTS: A total of 3185 patients with rectal cancer from 11 RCTs were included in the analysis: 1607 received TNT and 1578 received LCRT, of which 1422 (TNT arm) and 1391 (LCRT arm) underwent surgical resection with curative intent. There was no significant difference in mortality [risk ratio (RR)=0.86, 95% CI: 0.13-5.52, P =0.88, I2 =52%] or major complications (RR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.86-1.26, P =0.70, I2 =0%) between TNT and LCRT. There was a significantly higher risk of breached TME in TNT group on pooled analysis (RR=1.49, 95% CI: 1.03-12.16, P =0.03, I2 =0%), and on subgroup analysis there is higher risk of breached TME in those receiving extended duration of neoadjuvant treatment (>17 weeks from start of treatment to surgery) when compared with LCRT (RR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.06-2.44, P =0.03). No difference in R0 resection rates (RR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.66-1.10, P =0.21, I2 =15%), circumferential resection margin positive rates (RR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.65-1.16, P =0.35, I2 =10%) or sphincter preservation rates (RR=1.02, 95% CI: 0.83-1.25, P =0.88, I2 =57%) were observed. There was a significantly lower risk of progression of disease to an unresectable stage during the neoadjuvant treatment period in TNT patients (RR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.39-0.92, P =0.03, I2 =18%). On subgroup analysis, it appears to favor those receiving extended duration of neoadjuvant treatment (RR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.26-0.80, P =0.002), and those receiving induction-type chemotherapy in TNT (RR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.07-0.88, P =0.03). CONCLUSIONS: TNT increases rates of breached TME which can contribute to higher local recurrence rates. TNT, however, improves systemic control by reducing early progression of disease during neoadjuvant treatment period. Further research is warranted to identify patients that will benefit from this strategy.

Stenting as bridge to surgery versus upfront emergency resection for non-metastatic left sided obstructing colorectal cancer: risk of peritoneal recurrence and long-term outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Oncological outcomes of stenting as a bridge to surgery (SBTS) remain a major concern, despite perioperative benefits it offers. This study aims to evaluate the differences in recurrence patterns and survival in patients with non-metastatic, obstructing left sided colon cancers treated by SBTS versus upfront emergency surgery (ES). METHODS: This is a retrospective, single-centre cohort study of 227 consecutive patients with non-metastatic, obstructing left sided colon cancer between 2007 and 2016. Primary outcomes were pattern of recurrence, and survival. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were done to determine relationships between factors and recurrence. Kaplan Meier curves and log rank tests were used to analyse survival outcomes. RESULTS: Of the 227 patients included, 62 underwent SBTS and 165 underwent upfront ES. There was a higher rate of peritoneal recurrence in SBTS group (27.4 vs 15.2% p = 0.034), with no difference observed in overall, liver or lung recurrences. No significant difference in overall survival (p = 0.11), cancer specific survival (p = 0.35), or recurrence free survival (p = 0.107) was observed. Univariate analysis showed that SBTS (OR 2.12, p = 0.036), diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR 2.58, p = 0.013), T4 (OR 2.81, p = 0.001), N + (OR 4.02, p = 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (OR 2.43, p = 0.011) contributed to a higher rate of peritoneal recurrence. Bivariate analysis showed synergistic relationship between T4 tumors and SBTS: in T4 tumors that underwent SBTS, the odds of having peritoneal recurrence was 6.8 times higher when compared to ES (p = 0.004); whilst in T2/3 tumors there was no significant difference observed (OR 1.33, p = 0.55). Multivariable analysis showed SBTS (OR 2.60, p = 0.04), DM (OR 2.88, p = 0.012), N + (OR 2.97, p = 0.026) were significant predictors for peritoneal recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: There are concerns over oncological safety of SBTS even with low rates of stent-related perforation. Higher rates of peritoneal recurrence are seen especially with T4 colon cancers treated with SBTS. SBTS, DM and nodal stage were significant predictors for peritoneal recurrence.

Partial Discharge Signal Pattern Recognition of Composite Insulation Defects in Cross-Linked Polyethylene Cables.

To investigate the pattern recognition of complex defect types in XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) cable partial discharges and analyze the effectiveness of identifying partial discharge signal patterns, this study employs the variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm alongside entropy theories such as power spectrum entropy, fuzzy entropy, and permutation entropy for feature extraction from partial discharge signals of composite insulation defects. The mean power spectrum entropy (PS), mean fuzzy entropy (FU), mean permutation entropy (PE), as well as the permutation entropy values of IMF2 and IMF13 (Pe) are selected as the characteristic quantities for four categories of partial discharge signals associated with composite defects. Six hundred samples are selected from the partial discharge signals of each type of compound defect, amounting to a total of 2400 samples for the four types of compound defects combined. Each sample comprises five feature values, which are compiled into a dataset. A Snake Optimization Algorithm-optimized Support Vector Machine (SO-SVM) model is designed and trained, using the extracted features from cable partial discharge datasets as case examples for recognizing cable partial discharge signals. The identification outcomes from the SO-SVM model are then compared with those from conventional learning models. The results demonstrate that for partial discharge signals of XLPE cable composite insulation defects, the SO-SVM model yields better identification results than traditional learning models. In terms of recognition accuracy, for scratch and water ingress defects, SO-SVM improves by 14.00% over BP (Back Propagation) neural networks, by 5.66% over GA-BP (Genetic Algorithm-Back Propagation), and by 12.50% over SVM (support vector machine). For defects involving metal impurities and scratches, SO-SVM improves by 13.39% over BP, 9.34% over GA-BP, and 12.56% over SVM. For defects with metal impurities and water ingress, SO-SVM shows enhancements of 13.80% over BP, 9.47% over GA-BP, and 13.97% over SVM. Lastly, for defects combining metal impurities, water ingress, and scratches, SO-SVM registers increases of 11.90% over BP, 9.59% over GA-BP, and 12.05% over SVM.

Arsenic shapes the microbial community structures in tungsten mine waste rocks.

Tungsten (W) is a critical material that is widely used in military applications, electronics, lighting technology, power engineering and the automotive and aerospace industries. In recent decades, overexploitation of W has generated large amounts of mine waste rocks, which generate elevated content of toxic elements and cause serious adverse effects on ecosystems and public health. Microorganisms are considered important players in toxic element migrations from waste rocks. However, the understanding of how the microbial community structure varies in W mine waste rocks and its key driving factors is still unknown. In this study, high-throughput sequencing methods were used to determine the microbial community profiles along a W content gradient in W mine waste rocks. We found that the microbial community structures showed clear differences across the different W levels in waste rocks. Notably, arsenic (As), instead of W and nutrients, was identified as the most important predictor influencing microbial diversity. Furthermore, our results also showed that As is the most important environmental factor that regulates the distribution patterns of ecological clusters and keystone ASVs. Importantly, we found that the dominant genera have been regulated by As and were widely involved in As biogeochemical cycling in waste rocks. Taken together, our results have provided useful information about the response of microbial communities to W mine waste rocks.

Intraoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous hepatocholangiostomy applied in the cholangioscopic lithotripsy for hepatolithiasis and choledocholithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic lithotripsy (PTCSL) is a minimally invasive treatment for hepatolithiasis. But it may make a long cycle of treatment so that it was further improved to complete the percutaneous hepatic choledochotomy and choledochoscopic lithotripsy in phase I surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the modified technique comparing with laparoscopic choledochotomy. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients with hepatolithiasis or choledocholithiasis consulted at our hospital from February 2018 to December 2021. The cases were divided into two groups according to surgical modality, intraoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic lithotripsy (IUG-PTCSL) and laparoscopic choledochotomy lithotripsy (LC-L). Contrast analysis determined the advantages of the two approaches. RESULTS: IUG-PTCSL was performed in 44 patients, aged 58.14 ± 14.01 years, including 9 male and 35 female. There were 15 patients underwent LC-L, aged 62.13 ± 15.03 years, including 1 male and 14 female. There was not statistically significant difference in the composition of patients' age and sex between the two groups (p = 0.356, 0.219). The success rate of intraoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous hepatic bile duct puncture was 100% followed with the success rate of hepatocholangiostomy was 100%. Although 1 (1/44) patient showed significant bleeding during choledochoscopic lithotripsy and was converted to open choledochotomy for stone extraction, 43 patients completed IUG-PTCSL with the rate of phase I surgical stones removal was 81.40% (35/43), whereas the stones removal rate of LC-L was 66.67% (10/15). There was not statistically significant difference between them (p = 0.067). Both the groups showed no significant complications with the postoperative hospital stay of 8 (6, 10) days and 10 (8, 11) days, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.028). CONCLUSION: Intraoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy might be a safe and reliable ideal method for bile duct stones with the advantages of rapid recovery for patients. Intraoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous hepatocholangiostomy may be the key technique for the successful completion of the surgery.

Wavelength-Tunable, Long Lifetime, and Biocompatible Luminescent Nanoparticles Based on a Vitamin E-Derived Material for Inflammation and Tumor Imaging.

Luminescence imaging is one of the most effective noninvasive strategies for detection and stratification of inflammation and oxidative stress that are closely related to the pathogenesis of numerous acute and chronic diseases. Herein biocompatible nanoparticles based on a peroxalate ester derived from vitamin E (defined as OVE) are developed. In combination with different fluorophores, OVE can generate luminescence systems with emission wavelengths varying from blue to the near-infrared light in its native and nanoparticle forms, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ). The OVE-based nanoprobes exhibit high luminescence signals with extremely long lifetime, upon triggering by inflammatory conditions with abnormally elevated H2 O2 . Activated neutrophils and macrophages can be illuminated by this type of luminescent nanoprobes, with luminescence intensities positively correlated with inflammatory cell counts. In mouse models of peritonitis, alcoholic liver injury, drug-induced acute liver injury, and acute lung injury, the developed luminescence nanoprobes enable precision imaging of inflammation and disease progression. Moreover, tumors expressing a high level of H2 O2 can be shined. Importantly, the OVE-based nanoplatform shows excellent in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility.

Sirtuin 1 inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in chronic myelogenous leukemia k562 cells through interacting with the Toll-like receptor 4-nuclear factor κ B-reactive oxygen species signaling axis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative neoplasm resulting from BCR-ABL-transformed hematopoietic stem cells. Previous research has implicated multifunctional proinflammatory cytokines in CML development. It has been reported that Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) as well as ADP-ribosyltransferase and deacetylase may influence CML cell viability and inflammation. METHODS: This study was directed toward exploring the SIRT1-involved in the mechanism of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered inflammation in CML k562 cells. RESULTS: In our study, the LPS-induced inflammation in k562 cells was reflected by increases in levels of diverse inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-10, IL-1ß, IL-6, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and TNF-ß. LPS also decreased SIRT1 expression and nuclear location in k562 cells. Furthermore, SIRT1 overexpression inhibited the release of the above mentioned cytokines in LPS-treated cells. We also determined that LPS stimulation could activate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the nuclear factor κ B (NFκB) subunit, and p65 and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in k562 cells. Nevertheless, SIRT1 overexpression decreased TLR4 expression, thereby repressing the phosphorylation of the NFκB subunit and p65 and decreasing ROS production. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SIRT1 is a latent therapeutic target for mitigating LPS-induced inflammation via the TLR4-NFκB-ROS signaling axis.

Serum proteomic-based analysis identifying autoantibodies against PRDX2 and PRDX3 as potential diagnostic biomarkers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a major head and neck cancer with high occurrence in Southeast Asia and southern China. We aimed to identify autoantibodies that may contribute to early detection of NPC. METHODS: We used serological proteome analysis to identify candidate autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens. Levels of autoantibodies and Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen-IgA (VCA-IgA) were measured by ELISA in 129 patients with NPC and 100 normal controls. We employed receiver operating characteristics to calculate diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: Sera from patients with NPC yielded multiple spots, two of which were identified as PRDX2 and PRDX3. Levels of serum autoantibodies against PRDX2 and PRDX3 were significantly higher for patients with NPC than for normal controls (P < 0.01), respectively. Combined detection of autoantibodies against PRDX2 and PRDX3 and VCA-IgA provided a high diagnostic accuracy in NPC (an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.811 (95% CI 0.753-0.869), 66.7% sensitivity, and 95.0% specificity). This combination maintained diagnostic performance for early NPC with AUC value of 0.754 (95% CI 0.652-0.857), 50.0% sensitivity, and 95.0% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports autoantibodies against PRDX2 and PRDX3 identified by a proteomic approach in sera from NPC patients. Our findings suggest that autoantibodies against PRDX2 and PRDX3 may serve as supplementary biomarkers to VCA-IgA for the screening and diagnosis of NPC.

Updated incidence rates and risk factors of esophageal cancer in Nan'ao Island, a coastal high-risk area in southern China.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the updated incidence rates and risk factors of EC in Nan'ao Island, where the EC incidence rate was chronically the highest in southern China. To calculate the annual incidence rate, data on 338 EC cases from Nan'ao Cancer Registry system diagnosed during 2005-2011 were collected. A case-control study was conducted to explore the EC risk factors. One hundred twenty-five alive EC patients diagnosed during 2005-2011 and 250 controls were enrolled into the case-control study. A pre-test questionnaire on demography, dietary factors, drinking water treatment, and behavioral factors was applied to collect information of all participants. The average EC incidence rates during 2005-2011 were 66.09/105, 94.62/105, 36.83/105 for both genders, males and females, respectively, in Nan'ao Island. The EC incidence rate in males was 2.40- to 4.55-fold higher than that in females in the period from 2006 to 2011 (P < 0.05). Considering the onset age, males tend to be much younger than females and reached peak incidence rate at a younger age (P < 0.05). Drinking water treatment by filter (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.13-0.58) and fruit consumption (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.32-0.94) reduced the risk for EC. On the contrary, the pickled vegetables consumption (OR = 2.64, 95% CI = 1.46-4.76) and liquor drinking (OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.21-4.44) increased the risk for EC. These results may be of importance for future research on EC etiology and prevention strategies.

RUNX1-Evi-1 fusion gene inhibited differentiation and apoptosis in myelopoiesis: an in vivo study.

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 1-Evi-1 is a chimeric gene generated by the t (3; 21) (q26; q22) translocation, which leads into malignant transformation of hematopoietic stem cells by unclear mechanisms. This in vivo study aimed to establish a stable line of zebrafish expressing the human RUNX1-Evi-1 fusion gene under the control of a heat stress-inducible bidirectional promoter, and investigate its roles in hematopoiesis and hematologic malignancies. METHODS: We introduced human RUNX1-Evi-1 fusion gene into embryonic zebrafish through a heat-shock promoter to establish Tg(RE:HSE:EGFP) zebrafish. Two males and one female mosaic F0 zebrafish embryos (2.1%) were identified as stable positive germline transgenic zebrafish. RESULTS: The population of immature myeloid cells and hematopoietic blast cells were accumulated in peripheral blood and single cell suspension from kidney of adult Tg(RE:HSE:EGFP) zebrafish. RUNX1-Evi-1 presented an intensive influence on hematopoietic regulatory factors. Consequently, primitive hematopoiesis was enhanced by upregulation of gata2 and scl, while erythropoiesis was downregulated due to the suppression of gata1. Early stage of myelopoiesis was flourishing with the high expression of pu.1, but it was inhibited along with the low expression of mpo. Microarray analysis demonstrated that RUNX1-Evi-1 not only upregulated proteasome, cell cycle, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, tyrosine metabolism, drug metabolism, and PPAR pathway, but also suppressed transforming growth factor ß, Jak-STAT, DNA replication, mismatch repair, p53 pathway, JNK signaling pathway, and nucleotide excision repair. Interestingly, histone deacetylase 4 was significantly up-regulated. Factors in cell proliferation were obviously suppressed after 3-day treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitor, valproic acid. Accordingly, higher proportion of G1 arrest and apoptosis were manifested by the propidium iodide staining. CONCLUSION: RUNX1-Evi-1 may promote proliferation and apoptosis resistance of primitive hematopoietic cell, and inhibit the differentiation of myeloid cells with the synergy of different pathways and factors. VPA may be a promising choice in the molecular targeting therapy of RUNX1-Evi-1-related leukemia.

Analysis of depression status and influencing factors in middle-aged and elderly patients with chronic diseases.

Objectives: To explore prevalence of depression and its influencing factors in middle-aged and elderly patients with chronic diseases. Method: Data were extracted from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Tracking Survey (CHARLS) for 6,704 middle-aged and elderly patients ≥45 years with chronic diseases. The influencing variables were selected based on LASSO-logistic regression model, and a nomogram was further drawn to visualize regression results. Results: Comorbidity between chronic diseases and depression symptoms were detected in 3058 individuals (45.6%). Female, rural, lower education, poor, insomnia, multiple chronic disease, and functional impairment were associated with a higher proportion of depression. Meanwhile, family interaction, intergenerational financial support, social activity intensity, and satisfaction with life can protect against depression. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms are common in Chinese older adults with chronic diseases. They need regular assessment and intervention, especially those with multiple diseases, female, rural, alone, impaired, poor sleep, or poor economy. These high-risk elders also need family, medical, and social support and care.

Spatio-seasonal patterns and sources of major ions in the Longjiang River catchment, Southern China.

River water quality is closely related to the major ion sources and hydrological conditions. However, there is a limited cognition about the geochemical sources and the seasonal variations of major ions. Thus, in this study, a total of 90 water samples were collected from the Longjiang River and its three tributaries in the dry and wet seasons. The samples were analyzed, including major ion concentrations and physicochemical parameters. Statistical analysis, such as correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), was employed to investigate the spatial and seasonal variations in major ion composition and their respective sources. Our study revealed that the predominant major ions in the studied samples are Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO - 3, and SO2 - 4. Most of ions exhibited notable spatial disparities attributable to variations in geological settings and human activities. Regions characterized by igneous rock outcrops tend to exhibit higher levels of K+ and Na+, while areas with higher population densities in the middle and downstream segments show elevated concentrations of Cl-, NO - 3, SO2 - 4, Na+, and K+. The observed peak SO2 - 4 levels may be attributed to active mining operations. Most parameters displayed higher values in flood season than those in dry season due to dilution effects. Stoichiometric analysis indicated that carbonate weathering inputs contribute to over 85% of the mean total cation concentrations in the water, followed by contributions from silicates, atmospheric deposition, and anthropogenic inputs. On the whole, although the water quality remains non-polluted and is suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes, the enrichment of SO2 - 4 and NO - 3 may contribute to water eutrophication. Caution is warranted during the dry season due to reduced water flow resulting from dam interceptions and limited dilution capacity, potentially leading to elevated pollutant concentrations. Taken together, our results provided a scientific basis for water quality managements of monsoon rivers.

Uniform Al Doping in LiCoO2 for 4.55 V Lithium-Ion Pouch Cells.

As the classic cathode material, lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2, LCO) suffers from severe structural and interfacial degradation at voltage >4.5 V, which induces fast capacity decay of the cells. Herein, we adopt a simple and effective method, doping aluminum (Al) cations in precursors, to improve the structural stability of LCO and systematically investigate the effect of Al doping on the electrochemical performances. Doping in precursors rather than bulk particles is beneficial to realize uniform Al ions distribution. Even at 4.5 V charging voltage, the LCO/graphite pouch cells with high Al doping levels (8500 ppm) deliver initial and reversible discharge capacities of 386 and 369 mAh after 500 cycles, respectively. The capacity retention is as high as 95.5%. When the cutoff voltage reaches 4.55 V, the pouch cell maintains 79.0% of the first-cycle discharge capacity after 500 cycles. With optimized electrolyte, the pouch cell realizes 87.3% of the initial discharge capacity after 500 cycles at 45 °C. Moreover, the thermal safety performance of the pouch cells with Al doping is promising. Our work displays an excellent inspiration for developing high-voltage, long-cycle, and safe LCO cathode for commercial lithium-ion batteries.

Patient-reported unmet supportive care needs in long-term colorectal cancer survivors after curative treatment in an Asian population.

OBJECTIVES: Despite an increase in colorectal cancer (CRC) survival, less is known about CRC-specific long-term unmet supportive needs in Asian patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of long-term unmet needs and identify clinical and socio-demographic factors associated with increased unmet needs in Asian CRC survivors. DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a cross-sectional study that assessed unmet needs using the Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs scale. CRC survivors of at least two years after undergoing curative surgery were recruited from an outpatient clinic of a large public hospital in Singapore. RESULTS: In total, 400 CRC survivors with a mean age of 64 and a median survival time post-surgery of 78 months participated in the study. Approximately half of patients (52%) reported at least one unmet need. Male gender (RR 1.19, p = 0.01), age greater than 65 years (RR 0.63, p < 0.0001), longer follow up of more than 5 years (RR 0.80, p = 0.009), presence of a permanent stoma (RR 1.78, p < 0.0001), prior radiotherapy in treatment course (RR 1.99, p < 0.0001), higher educational status (RR 1.30, p = 0.0002), currently employed (RR 0.84, p = 0.014), currently married (RR 0.84, p = 0.01) were significant predictors for increased unmet needs. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of unmet needs in long-term Asian CRC survivors, which underscores the importance of screening patients to allow for early detection of unmet needs. Our findings on sociodemographic and clinical predictors can inform the development of targeted interventions tailored to the need domains and improvement of survivorship programmes.

The rhizosphere microbiome reduces the uptake of arsenic and tungsten by Blechnum orientale by increasing nutrient cycling in historical tungsten mining area soils.

The growth of pioneer plants in metal mining area soil is closely related to their minimal uptake of toxic elements. Pioneer plants can inhibit the uptake of toxic elements by increasing nutrient uptake. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms by which the rhizosphere microbiome affect nutrient cycling and their impact on the uptake of toxic elements by pioneer plants. In this study, we selected Blechnum orientale to investigate the potential roles of the rhizosphere microbiome in nutrient cycling and plant growth in a historical tungsten (W) mining area. Our results showed that while the arsenic (As) and W contents in the soil were relatively high, the enrichment levels of As and W in the B. orientale were relatively low. Furthermore, we found that the As and W contents in plants were significantly negatively correlated with soil nutrients (S, P and Mo), suggesting that elevated levels of these soil nutrients could inhibit As and W uptake by B. orientale. Importantly, we found that these nutrients were also identified as the most important factors shaping rhizosphere microbial attributes, including microbial diversity, ecological clusters, and keystone OTUs. Moreover, the genera, keystone taxa and microbial functional genes enriched in the rhizosphere soils from mining areas played a key role in nutrient (S, P and Mo) bioavailability, which could further increase the nutrient uptake by B. orientale. Taken together, our results suggest that rhizosphere microorganisms can improve pioneer plant growth by inhibiting toxic element accumulation via the increase in nutrient cycling in former W mining areas.

Postoperative outcomes after prehabilitation for colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized studies.

PURPOSE: Prehabilitation (PH) is purported to improve patients' preoperative functional status. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to compare short-term postoperative outcomes between patients who underwent a protocolized PH program and the existing standard of care among colorectal cancer patients awaiting surgery. METHODS: A search in MEDLINE/PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and CINAHL was conducted to identify relevant articles. Repetitive and exhaustive combinations of MeSH search terms ("prehabilitation," "colorectal cancer," "colon cancer," and "rectal cancer") were used to identify randomized and nonrandomized studies comparing PH versus standard of care for colorectal cancer patients awaiting surgery. The primary outcomes included postoperative morbidity, length of hospital stay, and readmission rates. RESULTS: Seven studies including 1,042 colorectal cancer patients (PH, 382) were included. No significant differences were found in intraoperative outcomes. The postoperative complication rates were comparable between groups (Clavien-Dindo grades I and II: risk ratio, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-1.07; P=0.15; Clavien-Dindo grades ≥III: risk ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.44; P=0.92). There were also no significant differences in length of hospital stay (P=0.21) or the risk of 30-day readmission (P=0.68). CONCLUSION: Although PH does not appear to improve short-term postoperative outcomes following colorectal cancer surgery, the quality of evidence is impaired by the limited trials and heterogeneity. Thus, further large-scale trials are warranted to draw definitive conclusions and establish the long-term effects of PH.

A Weakly Solvating Ether Electrolyte Enables Fast-Charging and Wide-Temperature Lithium-Ion Pouch Cells.

Graphite-based lithium-ion batteries have succeeded greatly in the electric vehicle market. However, they suffer from performance deterioration, especially at fast charging and low temperatures. Traditional electrolytes based on carbonated esters have sluggish desolvation kinetics, recognized as the rate-determining step. Here, a weakly solvating ether electrolyte with tetrahydropyran (THP) as the solvent is designed to enable reversible and fast lithium-ion (Li+) intercalation in the graphite anode. Unlike traditional ether-based electrolytes which easily cointercalate into the graphite layers, the THP-based electrolyte shows fast desolvation ability and can match well with the graphite anode. In addition, the weak interconnection between Li+ and THP allows more anions to come into the solvating shell of Li+, inducing an inorganic-rich interface and thus suppressing the side reactions. As a result, the lithium iron phosphate/graphite pouch cell (3 Ah) with the THP electrolyte shows a capacity retention of 80.3% after 500 cycles at 2 C charging, much higher than that of the ester electrolyte system (7.6% after 200 cycles). At 4 C charging, the discharging capacity is increased from 2.29 Ah of esters to 2.96 Ah of THP. Furthermore, the cell can work normally over wide working temperatures (-20 to 60 °C). Our electrolyte design provides some understanding of lithium-ion batteries at fast charging and wide temperatures.

Developing a deep learning model for predicting ovarian cancer in Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System Ultrasound (O-RADS US) Category 4 lesions: A multicenter study.

PURPOSE: To develop a deep learning (DL) model for differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian tumors of Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System Ultrasound (O-RADS US) Category 4 lesions, and validate its diagnostic performance. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 1619 US images obtained from three centers from December 2014 to March 2023. DeepLabV3 and YOLOv8 were jointly used to segment, classify, and detect ovarian tumors. Precision and recall and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were employed to assess the model performance. RESULTS: A total of 519 patients (including 269 benign and 250 malignant masses) were enrolled in the study. The number of women included in the training, validation, and test cohorts was 426, 46, and 47, respectively. The detection models exhibited an average precision of 98.68% (95% CI: 0.95-0.99) for benign masses and 96.23% (95% CI: 0.92-0.98) for malignant masses. Moreover, in the training set, the AUC was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94-0.97), whereas in the validation set, the AUC was 0.93(95% CI: 0.89-0.94) and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91-0.96) in the test set. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values for the training set were 0.943,0.957,0.951,0.966, and 0.936, respectively, whereas those for the validation set were 0.905,0.935, 0.935,0.919, and 0.931, respectively. In addition, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the test set were 0.925, 0.955, 0.941, 0.956, and 0.927, respectively. CONCLUSION: The constructed DL model exhibited high diagnostic performance in distinguishing benign and malignant ovarian tumors in O-RADS US category 4 lesions.

Pathogenesis-Guided Rational Engineering of Nanotherapies for the Targeted Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm by Inhibiting Neutrophilic Inflammation.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains a fatal disease in the elderly. Currently, no drugs can be clinically used for AAA therapy. Considering the pivotal role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of AAA, herein we propose the targeted therapy of AAA by site-specifically regulating neutrophilic inflammation. Based on a luminol-conjugated α-cyclodextrin material (LaCD), intrinsically anti-inflammatory nanoparticles (NPs) were engineered by simple nanoprecipitation, which were examined as a nanotherapy (defined as LaCD NP). After efficient accumulation in the aneurysmal aorta and localization in pathologically relevant inflammatory cells in rats with CaCl2-induced AAA, LaCD NP significantly alleviated AAA progression, as implicated by the decreased aortic expansion, suppressed elastin degradation, inhibited calcification, and improved structural integrity of the abdominal aorta. By functionalizing LaCD NP with alendronate, a calcification-targeting moiety, the in vivo aneurysmal targeting capability of LaCD NP was considerably enhanced, thereby affording significantly potentiated therapeutic outcomes in AAA rats. Mechanistically, LaCD NP can effectively inhibit neutrophil-mediated inflammatory responses in the aneurysmal aorta. Particularly, LaCD NP potently attenuated the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), thereby suppressing NETs-mediated pro-inflammatory events and NETosis-associated negative effects responsible for AAA progression. Consequently, we demonstrated the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of anti-NETosis nanotherapies for the targeted treatment of AAA. Our findings provide promising insights into discovering precision therapies for AAA and other inflammatory vascular diseases.

No association of age-related maculopathy susceptibility protein 2/HtrA serine peptidase 1 or complement factor H polymorphisms with early age-related maculopathy in a Chinese cohort.

PURPOSE: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of age-related maculopathy susceptibility protein 2/HtrA serine peptidase 1 (ARMS2/HTRA1) and complement factor H (CFH) have been reported to be associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of ARMS2/HTRA1 and CFH SNPs with early age-related maculopathy (ARM) in a Han Chinese cohort. METHODS: The cohort consisted of 315 unrelated subjects, including 158 patients with early ARM and 157 recruited controls. Early ARM was diagnosed and graded according to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study criteria. Four SNPs in ARMS2/HTRA1 and six SNPs in CFH previously reported to be associated with AMD were genotyped using TaqMan genotyping assays. Logistic regression implemented with the R statistical language was used for association analysis. RESULTS: None of the ARMS2/HTRA1 and CFH SNPs showed any significant association with early ARM (all p>0.453), with the odds ratios ranging from 0.88 to 1.17. None of the SNPs were associated with unilateral or bilateral early ARM or any grade of early ARM (all p>0.249). CONCLUSIONS: The association of ARMS2/HTRA1 and CFH SNPs in early ARM was not detected in our cohort. The findings in the current study indicated that the effects of ARMS2/HTRA1 and CFH in early ARM could be much lower compared to those in AMD.