Burden of early-onset colorectal cancer along with attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2019: a comparative study between China and other G20 countries.

PURPOSE: The credible data about the burden of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) in China when compared to other countries in the group of twenty (G20) remained unavailable. We aimed to assess the burden and trends of EOCRC and attributable risk factors in China. Meanwhile, the comparison in the burden and attributable risk factors between China and other G20 countries was also evaluated. METHODS: Data on the incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and attributable risk factors of EOCRC in China were obtained from Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 and compared with other G20countries. Temporal trends of age-standardized rates for incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs were evaluated by estimated annual percentage change (EAPC). The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used to forecast the incidence, mortality, and DALY rates of EOCRC in China from 2020 to 2029. RESULTS: From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) of EOCRC in China increased with the EAPCs of 4.61 [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.45-4.77] and 5.82 (95% CI: 5.60-6.05). When compared to G20 countries, China was ranked 13th in the ASIR in 1990 and then increased to 2nd in 2019, second only to Japan. The ASPRs increased in all G20 countries, being highest in Saudi Arabia, followed by China and Mexico. Moreover, China had the highest age-standardized mortality rate and highest age-standardized DALY rate in 2019. In China, the five leading risk factors, for both sexes, were diet low in milk [18.54% (95% UI: 12.71-24.07)], diet low in calcium [15.06% (95% UI: 10.70-20.03)], alcohol use [12.16% (95% UI: 8.87-15.64)], smoking [9.08% (95% UI: 3.39-14.11)], and diet high in red meat [9.08% (95% UI: 3.39-14.11)] in 2019. Over the next 10 years, ASIR, ASMR, and age-standardized DALY rate of EOCRC will increase continuously in males and females. CONCLUSION: The burden of EOCRC in China and other G20 countries is worrisome, indicating that coordinated efforts are needed to conduct high-quality researches, allocate medical resources, adjust screening guidelines, and develop effective treatment and prevention strategies in the G20 countries.

Natural product drupacine acting on a novel herbicidal target shikimate dehydrogenase.

Natural products are one of the important sources for the creation of new pesticides. Drupacine ((1R,11S,12S,13R,15S)-13-methoxy-5,7,21-trioxa-19-azahexacyclo[11.7.1.02,10.04,8.011,15.015,19]henicosa-2,4(8),9-trien-12-ol), isolated from Cephalotaxus sinensis (Chinese plum-yew), is a potent herbicidal compound containing an oxo-bridged oxygen bond structure. However, its molecular target still remains unknown. In this study, the targets of drupacine in Amaranthus retroflexus were identified by combining drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), cellular thermal shift assay coupled with mass spectrometry (CETSA MS), RNA-seq transcriptomic, and TMT proteomic analyses. Fifty-one and sixty-eight main binding proteins were identified by DARTS and CETSA MS, respectively, including nine co-existing binding proteins. In drupacine-treated A. retroflexus seedlings we identified 1389 up-regulated genes and 442 down-regulated genes, 34 up-regulated proteins, and 194 down-regulated proteins, respectively. Combining the symptoms and the biochemical profiles, Profilin, Shikimate dehydrogenase (SkDH), and Zeta-carotene desaturase were predicted to be the drupacine potential target proteins. At the same time, drupacine was found to bind SkDH stronger by molecular docking, and its inhibition on ArSkDH increased with the treatment concentration increase. Our results suggest that the molecular target of drupacine is SkDH, a new herbicide target, which lay a foundation for the rational design of herbicides based on new targets from natural products and enrich the target resources for developing green herbicides.

Early Warning of Gas Concentration in Coal Mines Production Based on Probability Density Machine.

Gas explosion has always been an important factor restricting coal mine production safety. The application of machine learning techniques in coal mine gas concentration prediction and early warning can effectively prevent gas explosion accidents. Nearly all traditional prediction models use a regression technique to predict gas concentration. Considering there exist very few instances of high gas concentration, the instance distribution of gas concentration would be extremely imbalanced. Therefore, such regression models generally perform poorly in predicting high gas concentration instances. In this study, we consider early warning of gas concentration as a binary-class problem, and divide gas concentration data into warning class and non-warning class according to the concentration threshold. We proposed the probability density machine (PDM) algorithm with excellent adaptability to imbalanced data distribution. In this study, we use the original gas concentration data collected from several monitoring points in a coal mine in Datong city, Shanxi Province, China, to train the PDM model and to compare the model with several class imbalance learning algorithms. The results show that the PDM algorithm is superior to the traditional and state-of-the-art class imbalance learning algorithms, and can produce more accurate early warning results for gas explosion.

lncRNA ROR Promotes Gastric Cancer Drug Resistance.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and for resectable tumors, the most effective treatment is surgery with chemotherapy in neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. However, the majority of patients fail to achieve the ideal initial response and/or develop resistance to chemotherapy. It was reported that long noncoding RNA regulator of reprogramming (ROR) is highly associated with the progression of gastric cancer. However, the role ROR in multidrug resistance (MDR) remains unclear. METHODS: The messenger RNA levels of 63 specimens of patients with gastric cancer were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis and were correlated with drug resistance and survival of patients. To determine the cellular functions of ROR, we generated gastric cancer MDR cells. The effect of ROR depletion on multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) expression and cell apoptosis were examined by immunoblotting analyses, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: We found that ROR expression levels are positively associated with increased MDR and poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Regulator of reprogramming expression is increased in gastric cancer cells resistant to adriamycin (ADR) and vincristine (VCR). Depletion of ROR reduced MRP1 expression and increased apoptosis of drug-resistant gastric cancer cells in response to ADR and VCR treatment. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that ROR expression promotes MRP1 expression and MDR of gastric cancer cells and is correlated with increased MDR and poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Our finding highlighted the potential of targeting ROR to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy.

Clinical value of CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy for peritoneal lesions.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the clinical value of CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy for peritoneal lesions of unknown nature. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 84 patients with peritoneal thickening for unknown reasons. There were 26 males and 58 females who underwent CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy for peritoneal lesions. RESULT: Among these 84 patients, no definite pathologic diagnosis was made in 3 patients, who were lost to the follow-up. The accuracy rate of CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy was 95.1% (77/81). Sixty lesions were pathologically-diagnosed with malignancies (74.1%), including 55 with peritoneal metastases, 4 with malignant mesotheliomas, and 1 with a lymphoma. Twenty-four patients (33.8%) were diagnosed as benign lesions, including 11 with tuberculosis and 13 with inflammatory lesions. The complications of CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy included bleeding in 1 patient and ascites leakage in 2 patients. CONCLUSION: CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a safe and effective method for diagnosing peritoneal lesions.

miR-4709 overexpression facilitates cancer proliferation and invasion via downregulating NR3C2 and is an unfavorable prognosis factor in colon adenocarcinoma.

To date, microRNA-4709 (miR-4709) has not been studied in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) on the basis of experiments. In our study, we aimed to investigate the biological roles and clinical significance of miR-4709 in COAD. The expression difference between miR-4709 and NR3C2 was measured based on The Cancer Genome Atlas database and cells. Kaplan-Meier and logrank tests were applied to determine the overall survival (OS) differences according to the miR-4709 and NR3C2 expression levels. To measure whether the miR-4709 level was associated with COAD cell growth, migration, and invasion, we respectively conducted 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, wound healing, and transwell assays. A luciferase reporter assay was applied to confirm the relationship between miR-4709 and its predicted target. High expression of miR-4709 was found in COAD tissues and cells. The OS rate in the miR-4709 low expression group was significantly higher than that in the miR-4709 high expression group. Univariate and multivariate analyses exhibited that miR-4709 expression was an independent adverse prognostic factor. Exogenous miR-4709 overexpression promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of LOVO and SW480 cells. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase assay demonstrated that miR-4709 directly binds to the 3'-untranslated region of NR3C2. NR3C2 was lowly expressed in COAD and high expression of NR3C2 had a better prognosis compared with that in the low expression of NR3C2. Correlation analysis showed that there is a close association between the level of expression of NR3C2 and miR-4709. Accordingly, miR-4709 may function as an oncogene in COAD and provide a preclinical proof for candidate management to target new miR-4709-NR3C2 signaling for COAD therapy.

Overexpression of miR-21-5p promotes proliferation and invasion of colon adenocarcinoma cells through targeting CHL1.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the effect of miR-21-5p on process of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) cells and its connection with neural cell adhesion molecule L1 (CHL1). METHODS: Different expressions of mRNAs and miRNAs were calculated with microarray analysis. QRT-PCR and western blot were performed to quantify miR-21-5p and CHL1 expression. Flow Cytometry, MTT assay, colony formation assay, transwell assay and ELISA were performed to evaluate propagation and invasiveness of COAD cells. Dual luciferase reporter assay was employed to scrutinize the relationship between miR-21-5P and CHL1. We performed in vivo experiment to detect the impact of miR-21-5p and CHL1 on COAD tumor growth. RESULTS: Expression level of miR-21-5p increased in both COAD tissues and cells. MTT and Cell cycle assay showed that overexpression of miR-21-5p accelerated proliferation of COAD cells. Transwell assay indicated that miR-21-5p promoted cell invasion. The result of dual luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-21-5p targeted CHL1 directly and inhibited its expression. The result of in vivo experiments showed that down-regulation of miR-21-5p decreased the volume and weight of tumor, while knockdown of CHLI stimulated tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of miR-21-5p can promote propagation and invasiveness of COAD cells through inhibiting the expression of CHL1.

Evaluate of the effect of low tube voltage on the radiation dosage using 640-slice coronary CT angiography.

BACKGROUND: 640-slice coronary CT angiography is becoming an accurate and reliable method of diagnosing coronary heart disease. However, how to reduce the radiation dosage while ensuring the clinically acceptable image quality remains a quite challenging issue. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of low tube voltage on radiation dosage under 640-slice coronary CT angiography (CCTA). METHODS: Four hundred patients (236 males, 164 females) with coronary heart disease and underwent CCTA using DCVT were classified into A1 (tube voltage: 120 kV; exposure phase window: 30-80%), B1 (120 kV; 70-80%), A2 (100 kV; 30-80%) and B2 group (100 kV; 70-80%), respectively. Image qualities and effective dose (ED) were assessed and compared. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed among the groups in terms of age, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) (P > 0.05). ED were significantly lower in 100 kV group (P < 0.05). CT values of coronary artery in 100 kV groups were 13.5% and 17.3% higher than 120 kV group. ED in B1 group were 64.5% and 67.0% lower than A1 group. ED in B2 group were 65.4% and 65.2% lower than A2 group. CONCLUSION: When using a 640-slice CCTA prospective ECG-gating scanning mode, it is preferable to use a 100 kV tube voltage setting because compared to 120 kV tube voltage protocol, it seems to significantly decrease the mean effective radiation dose, without significantly lowering both the subjective and objective image quality.

Lubricant shear thinning behavior correlated with variation of radius of gyration via molecular dynamics simulations.

The shear thinning of a lubricant significantly affects lubrication film generation at high shear rates. The critical shear rate, defined at the onset of shear thinning, marks the transition of lubricant behaviors. It is challenging to capture the entire shear-thinning curve by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations owing to the low signal-to-noise ratio or long calculation time at comparatively low shear rates (104-106 s-1), which is likely coincident with the shear rates of interest for lubrication applications. This paper proposes an approach that correlates the shear-thinning phenomenon with the change in the molecular conformation characterized by the radius of gyration of the molecule. Such a correlation should be feasible to capture the major mechanism of shear thinning for small- to moderate-sized non-spherical molecules, which is shear-induced molecular alignment. The idea is demonstrated by analyzing the critical shear rate for squalane (C30H62) and 1-decene trimer (C30H62); it is then implemented to study the behaviors of different molecular weight poly-α-olefin (PAO) structures. Time-temperature-pressure superpositioning (TTPS) is demonstrated and it helps further extend the ranges of the temperature and pressure for shear-thinning behavior analyses. The research leads to a relationship between molecular weight and critical shear rate for PAO structures, and the results are compared with those from the Einstein-Debye equation.

Association of HMGB1 Gene Polymorphisms with Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Chinese Population.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. More advanced work is required in the detection of biomarkers for CRC susceptibility and prognosis. High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is an angiogenesis-related gene reported to be associated with the development of CRC. The direct evidence of HMGB1 gene polymorphisms as biomarkers for CRC has not been reported previously. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 240 CRC patients and 480 healthy controls were periodically enrolled. DNA was extracted from blood specimens. The distributions of SNPs of HMGB1 were determined by using the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. RESULTS In this case-control study, we observed a significant association between overall CRC risk and SNP rs2249825 (CG vs. CC and GG vs. CC). Participants carrying both rs2249825 CG (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.89 to 3.78) and rs2249825 GG genotypes (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.13 to 4.73) had a significantly increased risk of developing CRC compared to those carrying GG genotype. rs2249825 was associated with the risk of CRC in the dominant model but not in the recessive model. However, we found no significant differences in the rs1412125 or rs1045411 polymorphisms in the HMGB1. Advanced analyses showed that the number of rs2249825 G alleles showed a significant relationship with risk of CRC. CONCLUSIONS Our results show an association between HMGB1 rs2249825 SNP and CRC incidence in the Chinese Han population. However, population-based studies with more subjects and prognostic effects are needed to verify the association of HMGB1 SNPs with CRC susceptibility, severity, and long-term prognosis.

Diagnostic value of computed tomography scanning in differentiating malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules: a meta-analysis.

An early diagnosis of lung cancer is crucial for early treatment and management. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the overall diagnostic accuracy of chest computed tomography (CT) scanning in differentiating malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) with meta-analysis. The PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database were searched for eligible studies published up to March 2014. The sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of accuracy of chest CT scanning in the diagnosis of SPNs were pooled along with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to summarize overall test performance. Thirty-two studies met our inclusion criteria. The summary estimates for chest CT scanning in the diagnosis of SPNs in the meta-analysis were as follows: pooled sensitivity, 0.89 (95 % CI, 0.88 to 0.91); pooled specificity, 0.70 (95 % CI, 0.68 to 0.73); positive likelihood ratio, 2.88 (95 % CI, 2.46 to 3.37); negative likelihood ratio, 0.16 (95 % CI, 0.12 to 0.21); and diagnostic odds ratio, 23.83 (95 % CI, 16.18 to 35.11). The results indicate that CT scanning has relatively high sensitivity and moderate specificity for the diagnosis of SPNs. Given the low cost and growing prevalence of the technology, CT scanning should be recommended as the initial test for the evaluation of SPNs.

δ-Cut decision-theoretic rough set approach: model and attribute reductions.

Decision-theoretic rough set is a quite useful rough set by introducing the decision cost into probabilistic approximations of the target. However, Yao's decision-theoretic rough set is based on the classical indiscernibility relation; such a relation may be too strict in many applications. To solve this problem, a δ-cut decision-theoretic rough set is proposed, which is based on the δ-cut quantitative indiscernibility relation. Furthermore, with respect to criterions of decision-monotonicity and cost decreasing, two different algorithms are designed to compute reducts, respectively. The comparisons between these two algorithms show us the following: (1) with respect to the original data set, the reducts based on decision-monotonicity criterion can generate more rules supported by the lower approximation region and less rules supported by the boundary region, and it follows that the uncertainty which comes from boundary region can be decreased; (2) with respect to the reducts based on decision-monotonicity criterion, the reducts based on cost minimum criterion can obtain the lowest decision costs and the largest approximation qualities. This study suggests potential application areas and new research trends concerning rough set theory.

Rough set approach to incomplete multiscale information system.

Multiscale information system is a new knowledge representation system for expressing the knowledge with different levels of granulations. In this paper, by considering the unknown values, which can be seen everywhere in real world applications, the incomplete multiscale information system is firstly investigated. The descriptor technique is employed to construct rough sets at different scales for analyzing the hierarchically structured data. The problem of unravelling decision rules at different scales is also addressed. Finally, the reduct descriptors are formulated to simplify decision rules, which can be derived from different scales. Some numerical examples are employed to substantiate the conceptual arguments.

Preliminary exploration of the correlation between spectral computed tomography quantitative parameters and spread through air spaces in lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: The invasive pattern called spread through air spaces (STAS) is linked to an unfavorable prognosis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Using computed tomography (CT) signs alone to assess STAS is subjective and lacks quantitative evaluation, whereas spectral CT can provide quantitative analysis of tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between spectral CT quantitative parameters and STAS in LUAD. Methods: We retrospectively collected consecutive patients with LUAD who underwent surgical resection and preoperative spectral CT scan at our institution. The quantitative parameters included CT values at 40, 70, and 100 keV [CT40keVa/v, CT70keVa/v, and CT100keVa/v (a: arterial; v: venous)]; iodine concentration (ICa/ICv); normalized iodine concentration (NICa/NICv); and slope λHU of the spectral curve (λHUa/λHUv). Clinical and CT features of the patients were also collected. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the quantitative parameters, clinical and CT features that were significantly correlated with STAS status. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of significant factors or models which combined quantitative parameters and CT features, using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: We enrolled a total of 47 patients, with 32 positive and 15 negative for STAS. The results revealed that CT100keVa (P=0.002), CT100keVv (P=0.007), pathologic stage (P=0.040), tumor density (P<0.001), spiculation (P=0.003), maximum solid component diameter (P=0.008), and the consolidation/tumor ratio (CTR) (P=0.001) were significantly correlated with STAS status. The tumor density demonstrated a superior diagnostic capability [AUC =0.824, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.709-0.939, sensitivity =59.4%, specificity =100.0%] compared to other variables. CT100keVa exhibited the best diagnostic performance (AUC =0.779, 95% CI: 0.633-0.925, sensitivity =78.1%, specificity =80.0%) among the quantitative parameters. Combination models were then constructed by combining the quantitative parameters with CT features. The total combined model showed the highest diagnostic efficiency (AUC =0.952, 95% CI: 0.894-1.000, sensitivity =90.6%, specificity =86.7%). Conclusions: Spectral CT quantitative parameters CT100keVa and CT100keVv may be potentially useful parameters in distinguishing the STAS status in LUAD.

The potential and prospects of modified biochar for comprehensive management of salt-affected soils and plants: A critical review.

Soil salinization has become a global problem that threatens farmland health and restricts crop production. Salt-affected soils seriously restrict the development of agricultural, mainly because of sodium ion (Na+) toxicity, nutrient deficiency, and structural changes in the soil. Biochar is a carbon (C)-based substance produced by heating typical biomass waste at high temperatures in anaerobic circumstances. It has high cation exchange capacity (CEC), adsorption capacity, and C content, which is often used as a soil amendment. Biochar generally reduces the concentration of Na+ in soil colloids through its strong adsorption, or uses the calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) rich on its surface to exchange sodium ions (Ex-Na) from soil colloids through cation exchange to accelerate salt leaching during irrigation. Nowadays, biochar is widely used for acidic soils improvement due to its alkaline properties. Although the fact that biochar has gained increasing attention for its significant role in saline alkali soil remediation, there is currently a lack of systematic research on biochar improvers and their potential mechanisms for identifying physical, chemical, and biological indicators of soil eco-environment assessment and plant growth conditions affected by salt stress. This paper reviews the preparation, modification, and activation of biochar, the effects of biochar and its combination with beneficial salt-tolerant strains on salt-affected soils and plant growth. Finally, the limitations, benefits, and future needs of biochar-based soil health assessment technology in salt-affected soils and plant were discussed. This article elaborates on the future opportunities and challenges of biochar in the treatment of saline land, and a green method was provided for the integrate control to salt-affected soils.

Incidence and risk factors for pulmonary hemorrhage after percutaneous CT-guided pulmonary nodule biopsy: an observational study.

To evaluate the current incidence of pulmonary hemorrhage and the potential factors contributing to its increased risk after percutaneous CT-guided pulmonary nodule biopsy and to summarize the technical recommendations for its treatment. In this observational study, patient data were collected from ten medical centers from April 2021 to April 2022. The incidence of pulmonary hemorrhage was as follows: grade 0, 36.1% (214/593); grade 1, 36.8% (218/593); grade 2, 18.9% (112/593); grade 3, 3.5% (21/593); and grade 4, 4.7% (28/593). High-grade hemorrhage (HGH) occurred in 27.2% (161/593) of the patients. The use of preoperative breathing exercises (PBE, p =0.000), semiautomatic cutting needles (SCN, p = 0.004), immediate contrast enhancement (ICE, p =0.021), and the coaxial technique (CoT, p = 0.000) were found to be protective factors for HGH. A greater length of puncture (p =0.021), the presence of hilar nodules (p = 0.001), the presence of intermediate nodules (p = 0.026), a main pulmonary artery diameter (mPAD) larger than 29 mm (p = 0.015), and a small nodule size (p = 0.014) were risk factors for high-grade hemorrhage. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.783. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the risks associated with percutaneous CT-guided pulmonary nodule biopsy and provide valuable insights for developing strategies to minimize pulmonary hemorrhage.

Pneumothorax after percutaneous CT-guided lung nodule biopsy: a prospective, multicenter study.

Background: Pneumothorax is a common complication induced by computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous needle biopsy, with a frequency of 17-40.4%. It remains debatable how to predict and prevent the occurrence of post-biopsy pneumothorax. In a real-world setting, we investigated the characteristics associated with pneumothorax in primary lung nodule biopsy. Methods: This clinical registry cohort study recorded patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary nodules from 10 medical centers from April 2021 to April 2022, and the data were input into the electronic data capture (EDC) system. The eligibility criteria for participants included being within the age range of 18 to 80 years and expressing a willingness to undergo percutaneous puncture biopsy, among other requirements. Conversely, the exclusion criteria included an inability to cooperate throughout the biopsy process and the emergence of new health issues during the study duration resulting in attendance delays, among other factors. This study collected data from 924 patients, out of which 593 were included after exclusion. The essential characteristics, imaging features of pulmonary nodules, and technical factors associated with percutaneous biopsy were recorded. T-tests or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed for continuous variables and Pearson's χ2 test, likelihood ratio, or Fisher's exact test were applied for categorical variables for comparison as appropriate, followed by multivariate logistic regression. Results: The overall incidence of pneumothorax was 13.0% (77/593), among which timely pneumothorax was 10.3% (61/593), delayed pneumothorax was 2.7% (16/593), and the rate of chest tube placement was 3.4% (20/593). There was no significant difference in the incidence of pneumothorax in a needle size range of 16-19 G (P=0.129), but the incidence of pneumothorax was lower with 17 G needles than with 18 G. An increased morbidity of pneumothorax was correlated with age (P=0.003), emphysema (P=0.006), and operation time (P=0.002). There was no significant increase in the incidence of pneumothorax between 1 or 2 passes through the pleura (P=0.062). However, multiple pleural passes (3 times) increased the chances of pneumothorax significantly (P=0.022). These risk factors have a certain clinical value in predicting the incidence of post-biopsy pneumothorax, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.749. Conclusions: The most common post-biopsy complication, pneumothorax, was managed conservatively in most cases. A maximum of two pleural passes does not increase the incidence of pneumothorax, and the 17 G needle is more suitable for percutaneous biopsy of pulmonary nodules in the real world.

Herbicidal Active Compound Ferulic Acid Ethyl Ester Affects Fatty Acid Synthesis by Targeting the 3-Ketoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase I (KAS I).

Exploring new herbicide targets based on natural product derivatives is an important research aspect for the generation of innovative pesticides. Ferulic acid ethyl ester (FAEE), a natural product derivative from ferulic acid, has significant herbicidal activity mainly by inhibiting the normal growth of weed seedling roots. However, the FAEE target protein underlying its herbicidal activity has not been identified. In this study, we synthesized an FAEE probe to locate its site of action. We discovered that FAEE entry point was via the root tips. Fourteen major binding proteins were identified using Drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) combined with LC-MS/MS, which included 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase I (KAS I) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase I (PAL I). The KAS I and PAL I proteins/genes expression was changed significantly after exposure to FAEE, as evidenced by combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. A molecular docking assay indicated that KAS I and FAEE had a strong binding ability. Combined with previous studies on FAEE mechanism of action, and based on our results, we conclude that FAEE targeting KAS I lead to the blockage of the fatty acid synthesis pathway and result in plant death.

Potent insecticidal activity of Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin peel extract and its main components against aphids.

BACKGROUND: Aphids are significant pests of cash crops and food farm crops. Botanical insecticides are safe for aphid control, especially for organic farming. In this study, Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. peel extract (EDPE), a new botanical insecticide, was investigated for its active compositions against several agricultural aphids. RESULTS: The results showed that the EDPE had high insecticidal activity against Sitobion avenae Fabricius, Aphis gossypii Glover, Megoura crassicauda Mordvilko, and Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, with half-lethal concentration (LC50 ) values of 95.92, 81.04, 140.31, and 255.73 mg/L after 48 h of treatment. In the pot culture assay, the aphicidal effects of 25% EDPE soluble liquid (SL) at a concentration of 0.016% were 68.98 ± 5.61%, 79.33 ± 8.27%, and 88.82 ± 3.91% after the first, third, and seventh days of treatment, respectively. Nine compounds were identified by bioactivity-directed fractionation: 4',5'-dimethoxy-6,6-dimethylpyranoisoflavone (1), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxylonchocarpin (2), 4-hydroxylonchocarpin (3), 4-methoxylonchocarpin (4), barbigerone (5), lonchocarpusone (6), 6a,12a-dehydrodeguelin (7), 13-homo-13-oxa-6a, 12a-dehydrodeguelin (8) and deguelin (9). Among them, 4-hydroxylonchocarpin (3) showed the highest aphidicidal activity against M. crassicauda, S. avenae, and A. pisum, with LC50 values of 97.24, 140.63, and 112.31 mg/L, respectively. CONCLUSION: These data contribute to a better understanding of the aphicidal activity of EDPE and its main component, 4-hydroxylonchocarpin. This will help to develop new botanical insecticides to contro aphids. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

TiO2 Nanocontainers Coconstructed Using Polymers and Corrosion Inhibitors for Anticorrosion Reinforcement of Waterborne Epoxy Coatings.

Stimulus-responsive coatings can provide active corrosion protection in response to environmental changes, but they have not reached their anticipated application prospects because of the intricate preparation processes of hollow materials and methods for loading corrosion inhibitors. Herein, polyaniline molybdate corrosion inhibitor and polydopamine-wrapped titanium dioxide nanocontainers (named TiO2/PANI-MoO42-/PDA) are synthesized via a simple three-step electrostatic assembly technique. Introducing TiO2/PANI-MoO42-/PDA nanocontainers in smart waterborne epoxy (WEP) coatings affords the latter with high barriers and long-term corrosion protection. The successful deposition of each layer on the TiO2 nanocontainer surface was validated via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Release test results show that the molybdate corrosion inhibitor exhibits notable pH-responsive activity under acidic conditions and slow release in neutral environments, which improves the corrosion resistance of coatings. The addition of synthetic nanocontainers greatly improves the impermeability of WEP coatings. The charge transfer resistance of WEP/TiO2/PANI-MoO42-/PDA coatings is 1.79 × 1011 Ω cm2 after 30 day immersion in a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution, which is 3.32 × 105 times higher than that of WEP coatings. WEP/TiO2/PANI-MoO42-/PDA coatings remain uniform and reliable, even after 50 days of salt spray exposure. The excellent corrosion protection of WEP/TiO2/PANI-MoO42-/PDA coatings is attributed to (1) the enhanced dispersion and compatibility of PDA in the coating for nanocontainers, (2) the combination of phenolic hydroxyl groups of PDA and Fe, which inhibit corrosion activity on the exposed metal surface, and (3) the on-demand release of the MoO42- inhibitor, which provides sustained passivation protection. This work proposes a strategy to simplify the preparation of responsive long-term anticorrosion coatings and extend their service lives.