Smartphone-based digital phenotyping for genome-wide association study of intramuscular fat traits in longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs.

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content and distribution significantly contribute to the eating quality of pork. However, the current methods used for measuring these traits are complex, time-consuming and costly. To simplify the measurement process, this study developed a smartphone application (App) called Pork IMF. This App serves as a rapid and portable phenotyping tool for acquiring pork images and extracting the image-based IMF traits through embedded deep-learning algorithms. Utilizing this App, we collected the IMF traits of the longissimus dorsi muscle in a crossbred population of Large White × Tongcheng pigs. Genome-wide association studies detected 13 and 16 SNPs that were significantly associated with IMF content and distribution, respectively, highlighting NR2F2, MCTP2, MTLN, ST3GAL5, NDUFAB1 and PID1 as candidate genes. Our research introduces a user-friendly digital phenotyping technology for quantifying IMF traits and suggests candidate genes and SNPs for genetic improvement of IMF traits in pigs.

Extracellular bioreduction is the main Cr(VI) detoxification strategy of Bacillus sp. HL1.

Bacterium with high Cr(VI) detoxification capability belonged to the genus Bacillus have been largely explored, yet their reduction strategies are still in debate. Cr(VI) removal performance and mechanism of Bacillus sp. HL1 isolated from tailings a site was comprehensively investigated in this study. Approximately 88.31% of 100 mg/L Cr(VI) was continuously removed within 72 h, while it could resist up to 300 mg/L Cr(VI). Metal ions Mn2+ and Cu2+ could effectively improve the Cr(VI) removal performance to 14.41% and 3.41% under the optimal conditions, respectively. Cr(VI) removal performances by subcellular extracts showed that nearly 45.28% of 100 mg/L extracellular Cr(VI) was efficaciously reduced to Cr(III), while only 14.27%, 6.40%, and 2.73% of the cell-free extract, resting cells, and cell debris were reduced, respectively. This suggested that extracellular bioreduction was the primary Cr(VI) detoxification strategy despite a small part of Cr(VI) reduction took place intracellularly. In particular, the reduction products of the intracellular and extracellular compounds significantly differed, with organo-Cr(III) complex outside the cell and crystalline Cr(III) precipitate inside. Such observation was also evidenced by the intracellular black precipitate observed in the TEM image. XRD, XPS, and EPR analysis showed different Cr(III) compositions of intracellular and extracellular products. This study deepens our insights into the different fates of microorganisms that reduce Cr(VI) intracellularly and extracellularly.

Efficacy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and mitomycin C on wound healing after trabeculectomy in glaucoma patients: A meta-analysis.

Trabeculectomy is the main surgical treatment for glaucoma, but scar formation during wound healing may lead to surgical failure. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) and mitomycin C (MMC) on wound healing after glaucoma surgery. We have been looking for Pubmed, Embase and other databases. The last time we looked at an electronic database was August 2023. A case control study was conducted to compare the use of anti-VEGF and mitomycin C for the treatment of glaucoma. We used the Cochrane standard methodology for collecting and analysing the data. Based on the criteria of inclusion, we have determined 369 related papers and selected seven eligible trials for data analysis. Three hundred and twenty-six cases were treated with trabeculectomy, of which 166 were injected with anti-VEGF and 160 were given MMC for trabeculectomy. In six trials, anti-VEGF and MMC were not found to have any statistical significance on postoperative wound leakage after surgery (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 0.71, 3.35 p = 0.27). The three trials showed that anti-VEGF and MMC did not differ in terms of reducing postoperative wound hypotony after surgery (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.20, 3.11 p = 0.73). Five trials demonstrated that anti-VEGF and MMC were not associated with a lower incidence of shallow anterior chamber (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.5, 2.76 p = 0.71). There is no significant difference in the effect of anti-VEGF and MMC on wound healing after glaucoma surgery. A multicentre randomized controlled trial with a larger sample size is needed to confirm this study.

Sunlight-driven CO2utilization over two-dimensional Co-based nanosheets.

Reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction is an intriguing strategy to realize carbon neutrality, however, the endothermic process usually needs high temperature that supplied by non-renewable fossil fuels, resulting in secondary energy and environmental issues. Photothermal catalysis are ideal substitutes for the conventional thermal catalysis, providing that high reaction efficiency is achievable. Two-dimensional (2D) materials are highly active as RWGS catalysts, however, their industrial application is restricted by the preparation cost. In this study, a series of 2D Co-based catalysts for photothermal RWGS reaction with tunable selectivity were prepared by self-assembly method based on cheap amylum, by integrating the 2D catalysts with our homemade photothermal device, sunlight driven efficient RWGS reaction was realized. The prepared 2D Co0.5Ce0.5Oxexhibited a full selectivity toward CO (100%) and could be heated to 318 °C under 1 kW m-2irradiation with the CO generation rate of 14.48 mmol g-1h-1, pointing out a cheap and universal method to prepare 2D materials, and zero consumption CO generation from photothermal RWGS reaction.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width as a Potential Valuable Survival Predictor in Hepatitis B Virus-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objectives: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a widely used clinical parameter recently deployed in predicting various cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of RDW in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 745 patients with HBV-related HCC, 253 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and 256 healthy individuals to compare their hematological parameters and analyze their RDW levels. Potential risk factors for long-term all-cause mortality in patients with HBV-related HCC were predicted using Multivariate Cox regression. A nomogram was generated, and its performance was evaluated. Results: The RDW of patients with HBV-related HCC was significantly higher than that of those with CHB and healthy controls. In the former, splenomegaly, liver cirrhosis, larger tumor diameter, multiple tumor number, portal vein tumor thrombus, and lymphatic or distant metastasis were significantly increased, and the later the Child-Pugh grade and Barcelona clinic liver cancer stage, the higher the RDW. Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis identified RDW as an independent risk factor for predicting long-term all-cause mortality in patients with HBV-related HCC. Finally, we successfully generated a nomogram incorporating RDW and validated its predictive ability. Conclusions: RDW is a potentially valuable hematological marker for predicting the survival and prognosis of patients with HBV-related HCC. The nomogram incorporating RDW can be used as an effective tool to plan the individualized treatment of such patients.

De-wetting of evaporating drops on regular patterns of triangular posts.

Directional wicking and spreading of liquids can be achieved by regular micro-patterns of specifically designed topographic features that break the reflection symmetry of the underlying pattern. The present study aims to understand the formation and stability of wetting films during the evaporation of volatile liquid drops on surfaces with a micro-pattern of triangular posts arranged in a rectangular lattice. Depending on the density and aspect ratio of the posts, we observe either spherical-cap shaped drops with a mobile three-phase contact line or the formation of circular or angular drops with a pinned three-phase contact line. Drops of the latter class eventually evolve into a liquid film extending to the initial footprint of the drop and a shrinking cap-shaped drop sitting on the film. The drop evolution is controlled by the density and aspect ratio of the posts, while no influence of the orientation of the triangular posts on the contact line mobility becomes evident. Our experiments corroborate previous results of systematic numerical energy minimization, predicting that conditions for a spontaneous retraction of a wicking liquid film depend weakly on the orientation of the film edge relative to the micro-pattern.

Genome-wide association study reveals a genomic region on SSC7 simultaneously associated with backfat thickness, skin thickness and carcass length in a Large White × Tongcheng advanced generation intercross resource population.

In order to identify important genetic markers associated with backfat thickness, skin thickness and carcass length, we first constructed Large White × Tongcheng (Chinese local breed), an advanced generation intercross population, then performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to reveal the key genomic region associated with these traits through whole genome sequencing. The GWAS results of backfat thickness, skin thickness and carcass length showed that all the most significant SNPs associated with these three traits were located on SSC7, and that 14.9, 27.0 and 21.1% of phenotypic variances were explained by these three SNPs, respectively. Through linkage disequilibrium analysis, we found that a 66.9 kb (30.23-30.31 Mb) genetic region was overlapped among these three traits, and that NUDT3 and HMGA1 were identified as major candidate genes for backfat thickness and carcass length, and GRM4 as a potential candidate gene for skin thickness. In addition, 13 highly linked SNPs significantly associated with the three traits were also identified in overlapped region, and three completely linked SNPs formed two haplotypes Q and q. The backfat thickness of individuals with the qq genotype was significantly lower than that of individuals with the QQ genotype, but their carcass length and skin thickness were significantly higher than those with the QQ genotype. Our detected candidate genes and SNPs will provide the foundation for genetic improvement of these three traits.

Integrated testis transcriptome and whole genome analysis of sexual maturity in Large White and Tongcheng pigs.

Testicular development and spermatogenesis play critical roles in male fertility and sexual maturation. To explore the genetic basis and key genes related to sexual maturity, we measured serum testosterone content and analysed testis tissue sections of Large White (LW) and Tongcheng (TC) boars at an immature age. We then screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in testis development in both breeds using RNA-seq. Finally, we analysed the selection signatures of both breeds to investigate which DEGs were subjected to positive selection. Our findings showed that serum testosterone contents in TC pigs (~4 ng/mL) were much higher than those in LW pigs (<0.95 ng/mL). Haematoxylin and eosin staining of testicular sections showed that the cross-sectional areas and perimeters of the seminiferous tubules in TC testes were larger and longer than those in LW pigs. A total of 5068 DEGs were selected by filtering criteria of q value <0.05 and |log2 (fold change)| ≥ 1. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that 250 genes were enriched in 11 biological process categories involved in sexual maturity. Most candidate genes, including TRIP13, NR6A1, STRA8, PCSK4, ACRBP, TSSK1B and TSSK6, were under positive selection. These results provide a better understanding of the genetic basis for testicular maturation and are useful for enhancing boar reproductive traits through molecular breeding.

Marbling-Net: A Novel Intelligent Framework for Pork Marbling Segmentation Using Images from Smartphones.

Marbling characteristics are important traits for the genetic improvement of pork quality. Accurate marbling segmentation is the prerequisite for the quantification of these traits. However, the marbling targets are small and thin with dissimilar sizes and shapes and scattered in pork, complicating the segmentation task. Here, we proposed a deep learning-based pipeline, a shallow context encoder network (Marbling-Net) with the usage of patch-based training strategy and image up-sampling to accurately segment marbling regions from images of pork longissimus dorsi (LD) collected by smartphones. A total of 173 images of pork LD were acquired from different pigs and released as a pixel-wise annotation marbling dataset, the pork marbling dataset 2023 (PMD2023). The proposed pipeline achieved an IoU of 76.8%, a precision of 87.8%, a recall of 86.0%, and an F1-score of 86.9% on PMD2023, outperforming the state-of-art counterparts. The marbling ratios in 100 images of pork LD are highly correlated with marbling scores and intramuscular fat content measured by the spectrometer method (R2 = 0.884 and 0.733, respectively), demonstrating the reliability of our method. The trained model could be deployed in mobile platforms to accurately quantify pork marbling characteristics, benefiting the pork quality breeding and meat industry.

Performance and mechanisms for Cd(II) and As(III) simultaneous adsorption by goethite-loaded montmorillonite in aqueous solution and soil.

A series of goethite-modified montmorillonite (GMt) materials was synthesized for the amelioration of cationic cadmium (Cd) and anionic arsenic (As) complex contaminants in soil and water bodies. The results showed that goethite (Gt) was successfully loaded onto the surface of montmorillonite (Mt), which possessed more functional groups (such as Fe-O, and Fe-OH) and a larger specific surface area. GMt-0.5 (Mt loaded with Gt at a ratio of 0.5:1) showed the highest adsorption capacity for Cd(II) and As(III) with the maximum of 50.61 mg/g and 57.58 mg/g, respectively. The removal rate of Cd(II) was highly pH dependent, while the removal rate of As(III) showed little dependence on pH. The goethite on montmorillonite might contribute to the formation of surface complexes with As(III) and oxidation of As(III) to As(V). In the binary system, both, synergistic and competitive adsorption existed simultaneously. Importantly, in the binary system, the removal of As(III) was more favorable because of the electrostatic interaction, formation of a ternary complex, and co-precipitation. In addition, the amendment of GMt-0.5 significantly reduced the availability of Cd and As in the soil. This study suggests that GMt-0.5 is a promising candidate for the simultaneous immobilization of metal (loid)s in both, aqueous solution and mine soil.

Machine learning approaches to predict the apparent rate constants for aqueous organic compounds by ferrate.

The apparent second-order rate constant with hexavalent ferrate (Fe(VI)) (kFe(VI)) is a key indicator to evaluate the removal efficiency of a molecule by Fe(VI) oxidation. kFe(VI) is often determined by experiment, but such measurements can hardly catch up with the rapid growth of organic compounds (OCs). To address this issue, in this study, a total of 437 experimental second-order kFe(VI) rate constants at a range of conditions (pH and temperature) were used to train four machine learning (ML) algorithms (lasso regression (LR), ridge regression (RR), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and the light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM)). Using the Morgan fingerprint (MF)) of a range of organic compounds (OCs) as the input, the performance of the four algorithms was comprehensively compared with respect to the coefficient of determination (R2) and root-mean-square error (RMSE). It is shown that the RR, XGBoost, and LightGBM models displayed generally acceptable performance kFe(VI) (R2test > 0.7). In addition, the shapely additive explanation (SHAP) and feature importance methods were employed to interpret the XGBoost/LightGBM and RR models, respectively. The results showed that the XGBoost/LightGBM and RR models suggestd pH as the most important predictor and the tree-based models elucidate how electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups influence the reactivity of the Fe(VI) species. In addition, the RR model share eight common features, including pH, with the two tree-based models. This work provides a fast and acceptable method for predicting kFe(VI) values and can help researchers better understand the degradation behavior of OCs by Fe(VI) oxidation from the perspective of molecular structure.

Spatial-temporal analysis of HIV/AIDS and syphilis in mainland China from 2007 to 2017.

Human immune deficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and syphilis are the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) worldwide, as well as in China. The objective of this study is to describe the trend of spatial and temporal variation of HIV/AIDS and syphilis in mainland China from 2007 to 2017. Stratified analysis was conducted according to age and the GDP per capita. Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) was calculated and spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to evaluate the epidemiology and identify clusters. The morbidity of new HIV infection increased from 2.5034/100 000 in 2007 to 6.9247/100 000 in 2017, with an EAPC of 9.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.07-10.60). From 2007 to 2017, the morbidity of syphilis presented a significant upward trend from 15.8834/100 000 to 34.4867/100 000 (EAPC = 6.48, 95% CI: 4.23-8.73). The number of new HIV infections (205 084) and syphilis (921 279) were highest in the 20-30 years old group, where the incidence decreased with age over 20 years. In general, HIV and syphilis infection had the same incidence trend according to age and time stratification. The morbidity of new HIV infection was mainly reported from Xinjiang and southwestern China. As for syphilis, the highest was found in Zhejiang in Xinjiang and southeast coastal areas. Both HIV and syphilis infection showed a nonrandom positive correlation by Moran's I value. The High-High cluster areas of HIV infection were concentrated in southwestern and eastern China due to syphilis. A highly significant positive correlation was found between gross domestic product per capita and syphilis infection (p < 0.05) but was not associated with HIV infection. The incidence of AIDS/HIV and syphilis is increasing year by year, and a higher prevalence is found in younger individuals. More attention should be paid to HIV infection in the southwest, syphilis in southeast coastal areas, and both the two diseases in Xinjiang.

Stress-driven structural and bond reconstruction in 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor VSe2.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides can be used to make high-performance electronic, spintronic, and optoelectronic devices. Recently, room-temperature ferromagnetism and semiconduction in 2D VSe2nanoflakes were attributed to the stable 2H-phase of VSe2in the 2D limit. Here, our first-principles investigation shows that a metastable semiconducting H' phase can be formed from the H VSe2 monolayer through uniaxial stress or uniaxial strain. The calculated phonon spectra indicate the dynamical stability of the metastable H' VSe2and the path of phase switching between the H and H' VSe2phases is calculated. For the uniaxial stress (or strain) scheme, the H' phase can become lower in total energy than the H phase at a transition point. The H' phase has stronger ferromagnetism and its Curier temperature can be enhanced by applying uniaxial stress or strain. Applying uniaxial stress or strain can substantially change spin-resolved electronic structures, energy band edges, and effective carrier masses for both of the H and H' phases, and can cause some flat bands near the band edges in the strained H' phase. Further analysis indicates that one of the Se-Se bonds in the H' phase can be shortened by 19% and the related Se-V-Se bond angles are reduced by 23% with respect to those of the H phase, which is believed to increase the Se-Se covalence feature and reduce the valence of the nearby V atoms. Therefore, structural and bond reconstruction can be realized by applying uniaxial stress in such 2D ferromagnetic semiconductors for potential spintronic and optoelectronic applications.

Valley polarization transition driven by biaxial strain in Janus GdClF monolayer.

The valley degree of freedom of carriers in crystals is useful to process information and perform logic operations, and it is a key factor for valley application to realize valley polarization. Here, we propose a model that the valley polarization transition at different valley points (-K and K points) is produced by biaxial strain. Using first-principles calculations, we illustrate our idea with a concrete example of a Janus GdClF monolayer. The predicted GdClF monolayer is dynamically, mechanically and thermally stable, and is a ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), valence band maximum (VBM) at valley points and a high Curie temperature (TC). Due to its intrinsic ferromagnetism and spin-orbit coupling (SOC), a spontaneous valley polarization will be induced, but the valley splitting is only -3.1 meV, which provides an opportunity to achieve valley polarization transition at different valley points by strain. In the considered strain range (a/a0: 0.94-1.06), the strained GdClF monolayer always has an energy bandgap, strong FM coupling and PMA. The compressive strain is in favour of -K valley polarization, while the tensile strain is favorable for K valley polarization. The corresponding valley splittings at 0.96 and 1.04 strains are -44.5 meV and 29.4 meV, respectively, which are higher than the thermal energy at room temperature (25 meV). Due to its special Janus structure, both in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric polarizations can be observed. It is found that the direction of in-plane piezoelectric polarization can be overturned by strain, and the d11 values at 0.96 and 1.04 strains are -1.37 pm V-1 and 2.05 pm V-1, respectively. Our work paves the way to design ferrovalley materials for application in multifunctional valleytronic and piezoelectric devices by strain.

Piezoelectric ferromagnetism in Janus monolayer YBrI: a first-principles prediction.

Coexistence of intrinsic ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity, namely piezoelectric ferromagnetism (PFM), is crucial to advance multifunctional spintronic technologies. In this work, we demonstrate that Janus monolayer YBrI is a PFM, which is dynamically, mechanically and thermally stable. The electronic correlation effects on the physical properties of YBrI are investigated by using generalized gradient approximation plus U (GGA+U) approach. For out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, YBrI is a ferrovalley (FV) material, and its valley splitting is larger than 82 meV within the considered U range. The anomalous valley Hall effect (AVHE) can be achieved under an in-plane electric field. However, for in-plane magnetic anisotropy, YBrI is a common ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor. When considering intrinsic magnetic anisotropy, the easy axis of YBrI is always in-plane, and its magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) varies from 0.309 meV to 0.237 meV (U = 0.0 eV to 3.0 eV). However, the magnetization can be adjusted from the in-plane to out-of-plane direction by an external magnetic field, and then lead to the occurrence of valley polarization. Moreover, the missing centrosymmetry along with broken mirror symmetry results in both in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectricity in the YBrI monolayer. At a typical U = 2.0 eV, the piezoelectric strain coefficient d11 is predicted to be -5.61 pm V-1, which is higher than or comparable with the ones of other known two-dimensional (2D) materials. The electronic and piezoelectric properties of YBrI can be effectively tuned by applying biaxial strain. For example, tensile strain can enhance valley splitting and d11 (absolute value). The predicted magnetic transition temperature of YBrI is higher than those of experimentally synthesized 2D FM materials CrI3 and Cr2Ge2Te6. Our findings of these distinctive properties could pave the way for designing multifunctional spintronic devices, and bring forward a new perspective for constructing 2D materials.

A piezoelectric quantum spin Hall insulator VCClBr monolayer with a pure out-of-plane piezoelectric response.

The combination of piezoelectricity with a nontrivial topological insulating phase in two-dimensional (2D) systems, namely piezoelectric quantum spin Hall insulators (PQSHI), is intriguing for exploring novel topological states toward the development of high-speed and dissipationless electronic devices. In this work, we predict a PQSHI Janus monolayer VCClBr constructed from VCCl2, which is dynamically, mechanically and thermally stable. In the absence of spin orbital coupling (SOC), VCClBr is a narrow gap semiconductor with a gap value of 57 meV, which is different from Dirac semimetal VCCl2. The gap of VCClBr is due to a built-in electric field caused by asymmetrical upper and lower atomic layers, which is further confirmed by the external-electric-field induced gap in VCCl2. When including SOC, the gap of VCClBr is increased to 76 meV, which is larger than the thermal energy of room temperature (25 meV). The VCClBr is a 2D topological insulator (TI), which is confirmed by Z2 topological invariant and nontrivial one-dimensional edge states. It is proved that the nontrivial topological properties of VCClBr are robust against strain (biaxial and uniaxial cases) and external electric fields. Due to broken horizontal mirror symmetry, only an out-of-plane piezoelectric response can be observed, when a biaxial or uniaxial in-plane strain is applied. The predicted piezoelectric strain coefficients d31 and d32 are -0.425 pm V-1 and -0.219 pm V-1, respectively, and they are higher than or compared with those of many 2D materials. Finally, Janus monolayer VCFBr and VCFCl (dynamically unstable) are also constructed, and they are still PQSHIs. Moreover, the d31 and d32 of VCFBr and VCFCl are higher than those of VCClBr, and the d31 (absolute value) of VCFBr is larger than one. According to out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficients of VCXY (X ≠ Y = F, Cl and Br), CrX1.5Y1.5 (X = F, Cl and Br; Y = I) and NiXY (X ≠ Y = Cl, Br and I), it is concluded that the size of the out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficient has a positive relation with the electronegativity difference of X and Y atoms. Our studies enrich the diversity of Janus 2D materials, and open a new avenue in the search for PQSHI with a large out-of-plane piezoelectric response, which provides a potential platform in nanoelectronics.

Degradation of Alginate by a Newly Isolated Marine Bacterium Agarivorans sp. B2Z047.

Alginate is the main component of brown algae, which is an important primary production in marine ecosystems and represents a huge marine biomass. The efficient utilization of alginate depends on alginate lyases to catalyze the degradation, and remains to be further explored. In this study, 354 strains were isolated from the gut of adult abalones, which mainly feed on brown algae. Among them, 100 alginate-degrading strains were gained and the majority belonged to the Gammaproteobacteria, followed by the Bacteroidetes and Alphaproteobacteria. A marine bacterium, Agarivorans sp. B2Z047, had the strongest degradation ability of alginate with the largest degradation circle and the highest enzyme activity. The optimal alginate lyase production medium of strain B2Z047 was determined as 1.1% sodium alginate, 0.3% yeast extract, 1% NaCl, and 0.1% MgSO4 in artificial seawater (pH 7.0). Cells of strain B2Z047 were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile by flagella, short rod-shaped, and approximately 0.7-0.9 µm width and 1.2-1.9 µm length. The optimal growth conditions were determined to be at 30 °C, pH 7.0-8.0, and in 3% (w/v) NaCl. A total of 12 potential alginate lyase genes were identified through whole genome sequencing and prediction, which belonged to polysaccharide lyase family 6, 7, 17, and 38 (PL6, PL7, PL17, and PL38, respectively). Furthermore, the degradation products of nine alginate lyases were detected, among which Aly38A was the first alginate lyase belonging to the PL38 family that has been found to degrade alginate. The combination of alginate lyases functioning in the alginate-degrading process was further demonstrated by the growth curve and alginate lyase production of strain B2Z047 cultivated with or without sodium alginate, as well as the content changes of total sugar and reducing sugar and the transcript levels of alginate lyase genes. A simplified model was proposed to explain the alginate utilization process of Agarivorans sp. B2Z047.

Acute kidney injury defined by cystatin C may be superior for predicting the outcomes of liver cirrhosis with acute gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is conventionally evaluated by a dynamic change of serum creatinine (Scr). Cystatin C (CysC) seems to be a more accurate biomarker for assessing kidney function. This retrospective multicenter study aims to evaluate whether AKI re-defined by CysC can predict the in-hospital outcomes of patients with liver cirrhosis and acute gastrointestinal bleeding. METHODS: Overall, 677 cirrhotic patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding, in whom both Scr and CysC levels were detected at admissions, were screened. eGFRScr, eGFRCysC, and eGFRScr-CysC were calculated. MELD-Na score and AKI were re-evaluated by CysC instead of Scr. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated in the logistic regression analyses. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed. RESULTS: Univariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that baseline Scr and CysC levels, eGFRScr, eGFRCysC, eGFRScr-CysC, original MELD-Na score defined by Scr, MELD-Na score re-defined by CysC, and AKI re-defined by CysC, but not conventional AKI defined by Scr, were significantly associated with in-hospital death. ROC analyses showed that baseline CysC level, eGFRScr, eGFRCysC, eGFRScr-CysC, original MELD-Na score defined by Scr, and MELD-Na score re-defined by CysC, but not baseline Scr level, could significantly predict the risk of in-hospital death. CONCLUSIONS: AKI re-defined by CysC may be superior for predicting the in-hospital mortality of cirrhotic patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding.

[Efficacy Analysis of Transcatheter Arterial Embolization in Acute Non-Variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding].

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in the treatment of acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (ANVUGIB), and to guide clinical practice and continue to optimize diagnosis and treatment strategies. Methods: This retrospective study included 266 patients who underwent angiography due to ANVUGIB between March 2016 and March 2021. Data on the positive rate of angiography, the technical success rate and clinical success rate of TAE, and the rebleeding rate and the all-cause mortality within 30 days after TAE treatment were collected, and the influencing factors relevant to the above events were analyzed accordingly. Results: All 266 patients completed angiography--the positive rate of angiography was 54.1% (144/266), the total technical success rate was 97.3% (217/223), the clinical success rate was 73.1% (155/212), and the rebleeding rate and all-cause mortality within 30 days were 26.9% (57/212) and 16.1% (35/217), respectively. This study found that shock index>1 ( OR=5.950; 95% CI: 1.481-23.895; P=0.012), computed tomography angiography (CTA) positive result ( OR=6.813; 95% CI: 1.643-28.252; P=0.008) and interval<24 h ( OR=10.530; 95% CI: 2.845-38.976; P<0.001) were independent predictors of positive angiography. Shock index>1 ( OR=2.544; 95% CI: 1.301-4.972; P=0.006) and INR>1.5 ( OR=3.207; 95% CI: 1.381-7.451; P=0.007) were independent risk factors for rebleeding. Patients with postoperative bleeding ( OR=3.174; 95% CI: 1.164-8.654; P=0.024) and patients with rebleeding after embolization ( OR=34.665; 95% CI: 11.471-104.758; P<0.001) had a higher risk of death within 30 days. Conclusion: TAE is safe and effective in the treatment of ANVUGIB. Patients with shock index>1 and positive CTA are more likely to be angiographic positive, and should undergo angiography as early as possible after bleeding. In addition, rebleeding after embolization deserves high attention.

iTRAQ-Based Proteomic Profiling of Potential Biomarkers in Rat Serum for Uranium Tailing Suspension Intratracheal Instillation.

Protection against low-dose ionizing radiation is of great significance. Uranium tailings are formed as a byproduct of uranium mining and a potential risk to organisms. In this study, we identified potential biomarkers associated with exposure to low-dose radiation from uranium tailings. We established a Wistar rat model of low dose rate irradiation by intratracheal instillation of a uranium tailing suspension. We observed pathological changes in the liver, lung, and kidney tissues of the rats. Using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification, we screened 17 common differentially expressed proteins in three dose groups. We chose alpha-1 antiproteinase (Serpina1), keratin 17 (Krt17), and aldehyde dehydrogenase (Aldh3a1) for further investigation. Our data showed that expression of Serpina1, Krt17, and Aldh3a1 had changed after the intratracheal instillation in rats, which may be potential biomarkers for uranium tailing low-dose irradiation. However, the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.