Comparative physiological and transcriptome analysis provide insights into the inhibitory effect of osthole on Penicillium choerospondiatis.

Blue mold induced by Penicillium choerospondiatis is a primary cause of growth and postharvest losses in the fruit of Phyllanthus emblica. There is an urgent need to explore novel and safe fungicides to control this disease. Here, we demonstrated osthole, a natural coumarin compound isolated from Cnidium monnieri, exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on mycelia growth, conidial germination rate and germ tube length of P. choerospondiatis, and effectively suppressed the blue mold development in postharvest fruit of P. emblica. The median effective concentration of osthole was 9.86 mg/L. Osthole treatment resulted in cellular structural disruption, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and induced autophagic vacuoles containing cytoplasmic components in fungal cells. Transcriptome analysis revealed that osthole treatment led to the differentially expressed genes mainly enriched in the cell wall synthesis, TCA cycle, glycolysis/ gluconeogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, osthole treatment led to increase genes expression involved in peroxisome, autophagy and endocytosis. Particularly, the autophagy pathway related genes (PcATG1, PcATG3, PcATG15, PcATG27, PcYPT7 and PcSEC18) were prominently up-regulated by osthole. Summarily, these results revealed the potential antifungal mechanism of osthole against P. choerospondiatis. Osthole has potentials to develop as a natural antifungal agent for controlling blue mold disease in postharvest fruits.

First report of Botryosphaeria dothidea causing fruit rot on Chinese olive (Canarium album Raeusch.) in Guangdong province of China.

Chinese olive (Canarium album Raeusch.) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, mainly cultivated in Guangdong and Fujian provinces in China (Lai et al. 2022). In October 2023, Chinese olive fruit spots were observed in all the Chinese olive orchards surveyed in Chaozhou city (23.75°N, 116.67°E) of Guangdong, with an incidence up to 15%. Early disease symptoms on fruits appeared as circular or irregular, dark brown to black spots with yellowish lesions, and later the spots slowly coalesced to form large necrotic areas, which seriously affected the fruit marketability. To isolate the causal agent, small pieces (~0.3 mm2) of fruit tissue were excised from the lesion margins, and surface-disinfested with 75% (v/v) ethanol for 1 min, followed by 1% NaClO for 3 min, and rinsed three times with sterile water. The pieces were then placed on potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) and incubated at 27°C. Ultimately, four fungal isolates were obtained with similar morphology phenotypes, colonies initially appeared white with irregular margins and after 4-6 days turned dark gray gradually with dense aerial myceliu. Microscopy revealed conidia were single-celled, hyaline, aseptate, fusiform to subclavate, and measured 18.1-22.5 µm × 6.4-9.3 µm (19.8 × 7.4 m on average, n = 30), which were consistent with those descriptions of Botryosphaeria dothidea (Vasic et al. 2013; Zhang et al. 2023). To further identity the isolates, partial sequences of ribosomal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α), and ß-tubulin (TUB2) genes were amplified using primers ITS1/ITS5, TEF-F/R, TUB2-F/R, respectively (Xu et al., 2023; Hong et al. 2006). The sequences of four isolates were identical, and those of representative strain GDCZ-1 were deposited in GenBank (ITS, OR584295; TEF1-α, OR685157; TUB2, OR685158). Using Neighbor-Joining algorithm, phylogenetic tree based on concatenated sequences of ITS, TEF1-α, and TUB2 showed that GDCZ-1 clustered with B. dothidea. To fulfill Koch's postulates, pathogenicity tests were performed on healthy Chinese olive fruits using the needle-prick inoculation method. The fruits were wounded with a sterile needle at the equatorial area (depth of 3-4 mm), and inoculated with 10 µL of spore suspension (106 /mL). The control fruits were inoculated with sterile water. Inoculated fruits were placed in sterile plastic containers to maintain high relative humidity (almost 100%) and incubated at 27°C. After 4 days, the inoculated fruits showed similar symptoms with those observed in the field infected fruits, while the control remained asymptomatic. Pathogen re-isolated from the inoculated fruits showed identical morphological characteristics to the original isolate GDCZ-1. As far as we know, fruit rot caused by Alternaria alternata has been recently reported on C. album in China (Shao et al. 2024). To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea causing fruit rot disease on C. album in Guangdong. Our report will provide crucial information for studying the epidemiology and management of this disease.

High-performance towing cable hydrophone array with an improved ultra-sensitive fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing system.

A high-performance towing cable hydrophone array based on an improved ultra-sensitive fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing system (uDAS) with picostrain sensitivity is demonstrated and tested in sea trial, for the first time. A new composite transducer is designed and optimized to enhance the acoustic pressure sensitivity significantly. A sea trial is carried out to test the performances of such a hydrophone array, including flow noise, underwater acoustic signal capture capacity, beamforming processing and localization of artificial source targets. The array exhibits high sensitivity and low noise floor. An average sensitivity of -129.23 dB re rad/µPa at frequencies from 10 Hz to 1500 Hz has been achieved. The localization at distances of 5 km and 10 km is realized, respectively, validating the excellent remote detection and positioning capability of the hydrophone system. The proposed towing cable system, with high sensitivity, simple structure and remote target localization ability, may pave a way for development of the next generation of high-performance light-weighting hydrophone arrays for towing applications.

Photoacoustic maximum amplitude projection microscopy by ultra-low data sampling.

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has attracted increasing research interest in the biomedical field due to its unique merit of combining light and sound. In general, the bandwidth of a photoacoustic signal reaches up to tens or even hundreds of MHz, which requires a high-performance acquisition card to meet the high requirement of precision of sampling and control. For most depth-insensitive scenes, it is complex and costly to capture the photoacoustic maximum amplitude projection (MAP) images. Herein, we propose a simple and low-cost MAP-PAM system based on a custom-made peak holding circuit to obtain the extremum values by Hz data sampling. The dynamic range of the input signal is 0.01-2.5 V, and the -6-dB bandwidth of the input signal can be up to 45 MHz. Through in vitro and in vivo experiments, we have verified that the system has the same imaging ability as conventional PAM. Owing to its compact size and ultra-low price (approximately $18), it provides a new performance paradigm for PAM and opens up a new way for an optimal photoacoustic sensing and imaging device.

Renal clear cancer cells regulate the differentiation of urine-derived stem cells to carcinoma-associated fibroblasts via RUNX3/TGF-ß1 signaling axis.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common pathological subtype of renal cancer, is one of the significant health concerns due to limited clinically effective treatments. Nevertheless, targeting carcinoma-associated fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment has emerged as a promising innovative strategy for renal cancer therapy. Thus, this study is aimed to explore the role and molecular mechanism of urine-derived stem cells (USCs) in the progression and metastasis of ccRCC. Initially, wound-healing and transwell experiments were used to assess the migration and invasion abilities of the cells. Then, western blot analysis (WB) and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses were used to demonstrate the relevant protein and messenger RNA expression levels. Finally, hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical stainings were performed to evaluate metastasis and protein expression in lung tumors. The coculture of USCs with the ccRCC cell lines significantly enhanced their migratory and invasive abilities. WB and qRT-PCR analyses exhibited that ccRCC cell lines significantly increased cell mobility markers transcriptional and protein levels in USCs. Finally, the in vivo investigations in nude mice showed that USCs promoted the proliferation and migration of ccRCC-based xenograft tumors. In summary, these findings demonstrated that USCs promoted ccRCC tumorigenesis and development in vivo and in vitro by regulating the Runt-related transcription factor 3/transforming growth factor-ß1 signaling axis.

Folate modified dual pH/reduction-responsive mixed micelles assembled using FA-PEG-PDEAEMA and PEG-SS-PCL for doxorubicin delivery.

Aiming at achieving the concurrent performances of high loading, well controlled release and active targeted delivery, folate (FA) modified dual pH/reduction-responsive mixed polymeric micelles were rationally assembled using FA-PEG-PDEAEMA and PEG-SS-PCL by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. The optimized polymers PEG112-PDEAEMA40, FA-PEG112-PDEAEMA40, and PEG112-SS-PCL70 were synthesized and characterized using 1H NMR, FT-IR and GPC, and their mixed micelles were applied for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. The drug loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) values of the MIX1 (FA-PEG112-PDEAEMA40/PEG112-SS-PCL70) at a DOX/polymer feeding ratio of 15 mg/30 mg were 20.22% and 50.69%, which were higher than those of single polymer micelles and MIX2 (PEG112-PDEAEMA40/PEG112-SS-PCL70). Particle size distributions, mesoscopic morphologies, DPD simulations and in vitro drug release profiles all confirmed the well-controlled release performance of the DOX-loaded micelles formed by MIX1: slow DOX release with a cumulative release of 20.46% in the neutral environment and accelerated release with a cumulative release of 74.20% at pH 5.0 + 10 mM DTT within 120 h, which were similar to those of MIX2. Cytotoxicity assay found that both MIX1 and MIX2 blank micelles were biocompatible, and a superior inhibitory effect of the FA-modified DOX-loaded micelles MIX1 on HepG2 cells was found compared to that of free DOX and non-FA-modified DOX-loaded micelles MIX2. All of these confirmed the superiority of MIX1 micelles with high loading capacity, well controlled release, and enhanced inhibitory effects on HepG2 cells, which might be a prospective candidate for anticancer drug delivery.

Vast assembly of vocal marine mammals from diverse species on fish spawning ground.

Observing marine mammal (MM) populations continuously in time and space over the immense ocean areas they inhabit is challenging but essential for gathering an unambiguous record of their distribution, as well as understanding their behaviour and interaction with prey species. Here we use passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing (POAWRS) in an important North Atlantic feeding ground to instantaneously detect, localize and classify MM vocalizations from diverse species over an approximately 100,000 km(2) region. More than eight species of vocal MMs are found to spatially converge on fish spawning areas containing massive densely populated herring shoals at night-time and diffuse herring distributions during daytime. We find the vocal MMs divide the enormous fish prey field into species-specific foraging areas with varying degrees of spatial overlap, maintained for at least two weeks of the herring spawning period. The recorded vocalization rates are diel (24 h)-dependent for all MM species, with some significantly more vocal at night and others more vocal during the day. The four key baleen whale species of the region: fin, humpback, blue and minke have vocalization rate trends that are highly correlated to trends in fish shoaling density and to each other over the diel cycle. These results reveal the temporospatial dynamics of combined multi-species MM foraging activities in the vicinity of an extensive fish prey field that forms a massive ecological hotspot, and would be unattainable with conventional methodologies. Understanding MM behaviour and distributions is essential for management of marine ecosystems and for accessing anthropogenic impacts on these protected marine species.

Efficacy of Shuganjieyu capsule for treatment of neurologic disorders combined with depression: A meta-analysis.

Shuganjieyu capsule (SGJY) is the first Chinese herbal medicine approved for treatment of depression; however, the Shuganjieyu capsule efficacy in patients with neurologic disorders combined with depression remains to be determined. Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and other electronic databases were searched to obtain relevant studies through May 2019. Newcastle-Ottawa and Jadad scales are used for the quality assessed. Sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis and meta-regression were performed to evaluate sources of heterogeneity. Sixty-seven studies were selected for further analysis. Patients who had Shuganjieyu therapy had a higher effective rate and lower Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score compared to patients who had non-shuganjieyu therapy. In addition, Shuganjieyu capsule improve symptoms of patients with stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score: Weighted mean difference (WMD)= -2.64; 95% CI: -3.95 to -1.33; P<0.001), Parkinson's disease score: WMD= -2.53; 95% CI: -3.92 to -1.14; P<0.001), and sleep disorders (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score: WMD= -4.97; 95% CI: -7.56 to -2.38; P<0.001). Our results demonstrated that there were clinical benefits for patients with neurologic disorders after Shuganjieyu capsule therapy compared with non-shuganjieyu therapy with respect to effective rate and HAM-D, NIHSS, UPDRS and PSQI scores.

DPD simulations on mixed polymeric DOX-loaded micelles assembled from PCL-SS-PPEGMA/PDEA-PPEGMA and their dual pH/reduction-responsive release.

The design of mixed polymeric micelles by a combination of two or more dissimilar polymers is a potential strategy to achieve multiple stimuli-response for anti-cancer drug delivery. However, their drug loading co-micellization behavior and multiple stimuli-responsive drug release mechanism have been poorly understood at the mesoscopic level, especially in the system that involves reduction-response due to the difficulty of simulation on the cleavage of chemical bonds. In this work, the co-micellization behavior, drug distribution regularities and dual pH/reduction-responsive drug release process of mixed micelles formed by disulfide-linked polycaprolactone-b-polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate (PCL-SS-PPEGMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-b-poly(N,N-diethylamino ethyl methacrylate) (PDEA-PPEGMA) were studied by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) mesoscopic simulations. A dedicated bond-breaking script was employed to accomplish the disulfide bond-breaking simulations. The results showed that PCL55-SS-PPEGMA10 and PDEA34-PPEGMA11 could be well mixed to form superior DOX-loaded micelles with good drug-loading capacity and drug-controlled release performance. To prepare the DOX-loaded micelles with optimized properties, the simulation results suggested the feed ratio of DOX:PCL55-SS-PPEGMA10:PDEA34-PPEGMA11 set to 3:4:4. Compared with the two single stimuli-response, the dual pH/reduction-response process perfectly combined both pH-response and reduction-response together, providing a higher release rate of DOX. Therefore, this study provides theoretical guidance aimed at the property optimization and micellar structure design of the dual pH/reduction-responsive mixed micelles.

A Combination of the Mayo Adhesive Probability Score and the RENAL Score to Predict Intraoperative Complications in Small Renal Masses.

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the potential predictive value of the Mayo Adhesive Probability (MAP) score combined with the RENAL score for intraoperative outcomes in retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) in an Eastern Asian population. METHODS: An initial of 388 patients undergoing retroperitoneal laparoscopic NSS were identified. MAP and RENAL scores were calculated according to CT and a logistic regression model was adopted as a combination of the RENAL score and the MAP score. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients were included. The overall intraoperative complication rate was 7.5% (21 cases). The MAP score was found to correlate with operation time (OT; r = 0.169), estimated blood loss (EBL; r = 0.318), and intraoperative complications (r = 0.242). The RENAL score was correlated with warm is-chemia time (r = 0.503), OT (r = 0.334), intraoperative complications (r = 0.178), and EBL (r = 0.218). The MAP score and the RENAL score were reliable predictors of overall intraoperative complications, with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.728 and 0.759, respectively. After combination of these 2 scores, the AUC of overall intra-operative complications was improved with statistical significance (AUC = 0.847, combination vs. RENAL score: p = 0.044 < 0.05; combination vs. MAP score: p = 0.005 < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The MAP score is an important predictor of EBL, OT, and intraoperative complications in retroperitoneal laparoscopic NSS and its combination with the RENAL score showed a superior predictive value compared to a single score in overall intraoperative complications. The MAP score might be considered in preoperative radiologic aspects as regularly as the RENAL score.

Establishment of malignantly transformed dendritic cell line SU3-ihDCTC induced by Glioma stem cells and study on its sensitivity to resveratrol.

BACKGROUND: As a factor contributing to the tumor cell drug resistance, tumor microenvironment (TME) is being paid increasingly attention. However, the drug resistance of malignantly transformed cells in TME has rarely been revealed. This paper is designed to investigate the sensitivity of malignantly transformed cell line (ihDCTC) induced by glioma stem cells (GSCs) in TME to chemotherapeutic drugs. METHODS: (1) Establishment of ihDCTC cell line,The bone marrow cells from enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgenic nude mice were employed to culture the dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro, which were then co-cultured with red fluorescence protein (RFP) transgenic GSCs (SU3) to obtain ihDCTC (2) Res and Cis were used to intervene in the growth of abovemetioned cell lines in vitro and Res treated in bearing ihDCTC tumor mice, followed by evaluating their drug sensitivity and changes in key signaling proteins via half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), tumor mass and immunostaining method. RESULTS: (1) ihDCTC could express CD11c and CD80 as well as possessed immortalized potential, heteroploid chromosomes and high tumorigenicity in nude mice in vivo. (2) At 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, the IC50 value of ihDCTC treated with Cis was 3.62, 3.25 and 2.10 times higher than that of SU3, while the IC50 value of ihDCTC treated with Res was 0.03, 0.47 and 1.19 times as much as that of SU3; (3) The xenograft mass (g) in vivo in the control, Res, Cis and Res + Cis groups were 1.44 ± 0.19, 0.45 ± 0.12, 0.94 ± 0.80 and 0.68 ± 0.35(x ± s) respectively. The expression levels of IL-6, p-STAT3 and NF-κB proteins in the xenograft tissue were significantly reduced only in the Res treatment group. CONCLUSION: In vitro co-culture with GSC can induce the malignant transformation of bone marrow derived dendritic cells, on the one hand, ihDCTC shows higher drug resistance to the traditional chemotherapeutic drug Cis than GSCs, but, on the other hand, appears to be more sensitive to Res than GSCs. Therefore, our findings provide a broader vision not only for the further study on the correlation between TME and tumor drug resistance but also for the exploration of Res anti-cancer value.

Activation of UPR Signaling Pathway is Associated With the Malignant Progression and Poor Prognosis in Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the role of UPR signaling in prostate cancer (PCa) is unclear. To evaluate the relationship between UPR signaling pathway and the prognosis of PCa, we explored the expression of IRE1, PERK, and ATF6 in tissues. METHODS: A total of 160 PCa and 30 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) tissues were collected. The expression of UPR signaling factors was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The staining characteristics were identified and evaluated for associations with clinicopathologic parameters, PSA recurrence survival, and prostate cancer-specific morality. RESULTS: The expressions of ATF6α, PERK, and IRE1α were significantly associated with Gleason grade, PSA level, T stages and M stage, while this association was not significant in N stage. Additionally, UPR signaling factors expressed correlatively with each other. In further studies, high expression level of UPR signaling factors was usually detected in patients who suffered poor prognosis. Patients with positive UPR signaling factors meet shorter survival duration both on cancer-specific morality and PSA recurrence. Multivariate analysis showed that IRE1α (HR = 4.461 95%CI = 1.270-15.670 P = 0.020) could be a potential factor in predicting PSA recurrence independently. CONCLUSIONS: UPR signaling factors were co-activated and activation of UPR signaling was implicated to the malignant progression and worse prognosis of PCa. The mechanism and function of UPR signaling in PCa are still to be determined. Prostate 77:274-281, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rce1 expression in renal cell carcinoma and its regulatory effect on 786-O cell apoptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Ras and a-factor-converting enzyme 1 (Rce1) is located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is thought to be responsible for endoproteolytic processing of the vast majority of CAAX proteins. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) plays an important role in renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, the expression and role of Rce1 in RCC have not been extensively studied. We aimed to investigate the expression of Rce1 in RCC tissues and its molecular mechanism in ERS-induced apoptosis in RCC 786-O cells. We first used western blotting, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry to detect the Rce1 expression in renal carcinoma tissues and paracancerous tissues. It was found that Rce1 expression was upregulated in RCC tissues, and its positive expression level was strongly associated with clinicopathologic features. Next, we detected the expression of Rce1 in human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293 and human renal carcinoma cell lines 786-O, ACHN, and A498. Higher expression of Rce1 was found in human renal carcinoma cell lines, especially in 786-O cells. Knockdown of Rce1 in 786-O cells increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation (P < 0.05). Moreover, downregulation of Rce1 upregulated the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, but downregulated the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Further studies showed that downregulation of Rce1 also affected the expression of ERS factors. In conclusion, our results indicated that Rce1 plays a key role in RCC. Low expression of Rce1 might indirectly increase apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of renal carcinoma cells through ERS.

[Dosimetric comparison of non-small cell lung cancer treatment with multi fields dynamic-MLC IMRT].

OBJECTIVE: We compared the dosimetric differences between the target and surrounding tissues/organs of the 5-field and 7,9-field (Hereinafter referred to as F5, F7, F9) treatment plan in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by the dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (dIMRT), to provide reference for clinical application. METHODS: Using Varian planning system (Eclipse 7.3), we randomly selected 30 cases of patients who received dIMRT to study, all patients were 5, 7, 9 fixed field dynamics intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans to meet the target prescription requirements (95% dose curve enveloping 100% of the PTV), by comparing dose-volume histogram DVH evaluation, and the maximum dose D(max), the minimum dose D(min), and the mean dose D(mean), and conformal index CI of PTV,organs at risk of spinal cord the maximum dose D(max), lung V(5), V(10), V(20), V(30), heart V(30) and esophageal V(50), V(60) of F5,F7 and F9 dIMRT plans,and compare the mu of the three treatment programs. RESULT: The D(max), D(min) and D(mean) values of F5's PTV are (7 203 ± 128), (5 493 ± 331), (6 900 ± 138) cGy respectively; the D(max), D(min) and D(mean) values of F7's PTV are (7 304 ± 96), (5 526 ± 296), (6 976 ± 130) cGy respectively; and the D(max), D(min) and D(mean) values of F9's PTV are (7 356 ± 54), (5 578 ± 287), (7 019 ± 56) cGy respectively. The data shows that while we increased the numbers of fields, the isodose line surrounding the target area would also promote slightly. The conformity index CI of target became better with the increase of radiation fields. The whole lung V(5) and V(10) slightly became larger with increase of fields and the V(20) showed no significant difference in three models, V(30) of double lungs slightly decreased with the increase of fields. The above date was statistically meaningless (P > 0.05). With the increase of fields esophagus V(50) were reduced by 3% and 5% respectively, V(60) of the esophagus were reduced by 6% and 11%, the average dose reduced by 5% and 10% and spinal cord D(max) decreased by 9% and 13%. In the F7 and F9, heart V5 were lower than F5 plan by 11%, 19%. The mu of them were increased with the increase of radiation fields, Treatment time of F7 and F9 plan were longer by 15% and 25%. CONCLUSION: Through comparing the three fixed dIMRT plans, we could draw a conclusion that the three multi-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer can meet the clinical target volume dose requirements. If the treatment is required to protect the patient's spinal cord, esophagus and heart, we can choose 7 or 9 fields. While other ordinary patients should be treated with 5 fields plan, to shorten the treatment time and improve the biological effects of lesions, and lower mu of plans to avoid unnecessary irradiation of normal tissues.

Using a coherent hydrophone array for observing sperm whale range, classification, and shallow-water dive profiles.

Sperm whales in the New England continental shelf and slope were passively localized, in both range and bearing, and classified using a single low-frequency (<2500 Hz), densely sampled, towed horizontal coherent hydrophone array system. Whale bearings were estimated using time-domain beamforming that provided high coherent array gain in sperm whale click signal-to-noise ratio. Whale ranges from the receiver array center were estimated using the moving array triangulation technique from a sequence of whale bearing measurements. Multiple concurrently vocalizing sperm whales, in the far-field of the horizontal receiver array, were distinguished and classified based on their horizontal spatial locations and the inter-pulse intervals of their vocalized click signals. The dive profile was estimated for a sperm whale in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Maine with 160 m water-column depth located close to the array's near-field where depth estimation was feasible by employing time difference of arrival of the direct and multiply reflected click signals received on the horizontal array. By accounting for transmission loss modeled using an ocean waveguide-acoustic propagation model, the sperm whale detection range was found to exceed 60 km in low to moderate sea state conditions after coherent array processing.

[Malignant transformation of glioma stromal cells induced by glioma stem cells heterotopically inoculated in host liver].

OBJECTIVE: Tumor stromal cells have the potential of undergoing malignant transformation induced by glioma stem cells (GSCs) in orthotopic glioma model. The purpose of this study was to explore whether malignant transformation of tumor stromal cells induced by GSCs is dependent on specific local microenvironment. METHODS: Human glioma stem/progenitor cell line SU3 transfected with red fluorescent protein (SU3-RFP) gene were implanted into the liver of nude mice with whole-body expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP). Then hepatic tumors were harvested to prepare single cell suspension and analyzed with routine pathological examinations. GFP cells with high proliferative abilities were obtained from the cultivation of single cell suspension. Immortalized glioma stromal cells only expressing GFP and double expressing GFP/RFP were further monocloned with micro-pipetting techniques and under continuous passages. Cell phenotypic analysis and tumorigenicity tests were also performed. RESULTS: SU3-RFP was transplanted into liver with a tumor formation rate of 83%. Immortalized glioma stromal cells were obtained from re-cultured xenograft tumor tissue. Three monoclonal cell lines B4, B9, B10 were established and proved to be host-derived cells. B4 was found to be a fusion cell co-expressing GFP/RFP and dendritic cell markers CD1 a, CD83 and CD86. Both B9 and B10 were GFP⁺ cells. B9 expressed macrophage markers CD68 and F4/80 while B10 produced fibroblast marker proteins FAP-α, α-SMA and S100. Three cells were all aneuploid with a tumorigenicity rate of 100% in nude mice. CONCLUSION: Tumor stromal cells have the potential of malignant transformation in a heterotopic xenograft glioma model. Malignant transformation may also occur outside the central nervous system and contribute to tumor heterogeneity. Further studies are warranted for elucidating the relationship between tumorigenesis, evolution and tumor microenvironment.

The efficacy of peritoneal flap fixation on symptomatic lymphocele formation following robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic lymphocele is the most common complication after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), of which symptomatic lymphocele (sLC) ranges up to 10% and is associated with poorer perioperative outcomes. Peritoneal flap fixation (PFF) is a promising intraoperative modification to reduce sLC formation but the clinical evidence failed to reach consistency. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized and nonrandomized comparative studies comparing postoperative sLC occurrence with or without PFF after RARP with PLND were identified through a systematic literature search via MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CENTRAL up to July 2023. Outcome data of sLC occurrence (primary) and major perioperative events (secondary) were extracted. Mean difference and risk ratio with 95% CI were synthesized as appropriate for each outcome to determine the cumulative effect size. RESULTS: Five RCTs and five observatory studies involving 3177 patients were finally included in the qualitative and quantitative analysis. PFF implementation significantly reduced the occurrence of sLC (RR 0.35, 95% CI: 0.24-0.50), and the specific lymphocele-related symptoms, without compromised perioperative outcomes including blood loss, operative time, and major nonlymphocele complications. The strength of the evidence was enhanced by the low risk of bias and low inter-study heterogeneity of the eligible RCTs. CONCLUSION: PFF warrants routine implementation after RARP with PLND to prevent or reduce postoperative sLC formation.

Relationship between workplace violence, job satisfaction, and burnout among healthcare workers in mobile cabin hospitals in China: Effects of perceived stress and work environment.

Background: Although workplace violence is prevalent in the healthcare system, the relationship between workplace violence, job satisfaction, and burnout among healthcare workers (HCWs) in mobile cabin hospitals in China during the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been investigated. This study analyzes the mediating effects of perceived stress and work environment in the relationship between workplace violence, job satisfaction, and burnout. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022 on 1,199 frontline HCWs working in mobile cabin hospitals in Chongqing, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple linear regression and mediation analysis were performed. Results: A positive correlation was observed between workplace violence and burnout (r = 0.420, P < 0.01) and perceived stress (r = 0.524, P < 0.01), and a negative correlation was observed with job satisfaction (r = -0.254, P < 0.01). The perceived stress was positively correlated with burnout (r = 0.528, P < 0.01) and negatively with job satisfaction (r = -0.397, P < 0.01). Job satisfaction was negatively correlated with burnout (r = -0.300, P < 0.01). Perceived stress plays a significant mediating role between workplace violence and job burnout and between workplace violence and job satisfaction. The work environment has a significant moderating effect between workplace violence and job burnout and between workplace violence and job satisfaction. Conclusion: To reduce burnout among HCWs, hospital administrators should focus on reducing the incidence of workplace violence and perceived stress from work and on improving the work environment and job satisfaction.

Machine learning-based identification of contrast-enhancement phase of computed tomography scans.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans (CECT) are routinely used in the evaluation of different clinical scenarios, including the detection and characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Quantitative medical image analysis has been an exponentially growing scientific field. A number of studies reported on the effects of variations in the contrast enhancement phase on the reproducibility of quantitative imaging features extracted from CT scans. The identification and labeling of phase enhancement is a time-consuming task, with a current need for an accurate automated labeling algorithm to identify the enhancement phase of CT scans. In this study, we investigated the ability of machine learning algorithms to label the phases in a dataset of 59 HCC patients scanned with a dynamic contrast-enhanced CT protocol. The ground truth labels were provided by expert radiologists. Regions of interest were defined within the aorta, the portal vein, and the liver. Mean density values were extracted from those regions of interest and used for machine learning modeling. Models were evaluated using accuracy, the area under the curve (AUC), and Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC). We tested the algorithms on an external dataset (76 patients). Our results indicate that several supervised learning algorithms (logistic regression, random forest, etc.) performed similarly, and our developed algorithms can accurately classify the phase of contrast enhancement.

A detector of an invisible carpet cloaking structure.

Based on transformation optics, we propose a device to detect the presence of a carpet cloaking structure at near field. By using complementary media, the detective device can optically cancel a certain volume of reflective metal and reveal the hidden medium inside the metal. The detective performance of this device is confirmed by full-wave finite-element simulations. It is shown that the detective device is invisible when there is no carpet cloak in the system, yet it becomes visible with the presence of the carpet cloak. The device works at near field, but the response can be found even at the far field. Furthermore, it is shown that the device can detect both anisotropic and isotropic carpet cloaking structures. The investigation may provide a unique method to detect a carpet cloak and contribute to the design of novel optical devices, such as far field detectors for a nanoscale medium.