Application of robotic surgery and traditional laparoscopic surgery in lymph node dissection for gynecological cancer: A meta­analysis.

Since the advantages of robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery in the number of lymph node resections are not well understood, this meta-analysis used evidence-based medicine to assess the difference in the number of lymph nodes retrieved in gynecological cancer between the two surgical methods to guide clinical treatment. In the present meta-analysis, the Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang libraries were searched for articles that were published from the time of the database's inception to January 2021, including cohort studies and randomized controlled trials, where the observation group underwent robotic surgery to treat gynecological cancers and the control group underwent laparoscopic surgery to treat gynecological cancers, including cervical and ovarian cancers and endometrial cancers. Duplicate publications, studies with no full text, incomplete information or where the authors were unable to perform data extraction, animal experiments, reviews and systematic reviews were excluded. STATA 15.1 was used to analyze the data. Robotic surgery resulted in a significant increase in the number of lymph nodes retrieved from the pelvis [standard mean difference (SMD)=0.24; 95% CI, 0.04-0.45; P=0.007] and para-aortic (SMD=0.41; 95% CI, 0.13-0.69; P=0.004) regions compared with the number retrieved by laparoscopic surgery. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in operating time between robotic and laparoscopic surgery, despite the use of different instruments (SMD=0.12; 95% CI, -0.35-0.58; P=0.616). The amount of blood lost during robotic surgery was significantly less compared with that lost during laparoscopic surgery [SMD=-0.40; 95% CI, -0.58-(-0.22); P<0.001]. The present study evaluated cancer recurrence and death in further detail, and no statistically significant difference was demonstrated between robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery in terms of recurrence rate [odds ratio (OR)=0.59; 95% CI, 0.21-1.65; P=0.318] and mortality rate (OR=0.31; 95% CI, 0.08-1.30; P=0.109). The present study demonstrated that robotic surgery was able to retrieve more pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes than traditional laparoscopic surgery, which was consistent with previous reports. With regards to blood loss, The difference in operation time between the two surgical methods was not statistically significant, whereas the estimated blood loss of robotic surgery was significantly lower than that of traditional laparoscopic surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate and mortality rate of the two surgical modality.

Did the modern Yellow River form at the Mid-Pleistocene transition?

The incision of the Sanmen Gorge marks the birth of the modern Yellow River, but its timing varies from the late Miocene-early Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (∼0.15 Ma), and the suggested forcing mechanisms vary from the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau to global climate change. Here, we report sedimentologic, geochronologic, and provenance data from a drill core near the Sanmen Gorge, the last gorge along the main course of the Yellow River. Our results indicate that typical river channel deposits, with detritus from the Ordos Block in the upstream regions, started to accumulate in the Sanmen Gorge at ∼1.25 Ma. When integrated with river terrace evidence from the upstream and downstream regions, the results provide robust evidence that the final integration of the modern Yellow River occurred at ∼1.25 Ma, consistent with the beginning of the Mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT). We propose that the accelerated lowering of eustatic sea level during the MPT may play as important a role as tectonism in driving the birth and evolution of the modern Yellow River.

Low Protein Diet Improves Meat Quality and Modulates the Composition of Gut Microbiota in Finishing Pigs.

This study investigated the effect of a low protein (LP) diet on growth performance, nitrogen emission, carcass traits, meat quality, and gut microbiota in finishing pigs. Fifty-four barrows (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly assigned to three treatments with six replicates (pens) of three pigs each. The pigs were fed with either high protein (HP, 16% CP), medium protein (MP, 12% CP), and LP diets (10% CP), respectively. The LP diets did not influence the growth performance, but significantly decreased the plasma urea nitrogen contents and fecal nitrogen emission (P < 0.05). The LP diet significantly decreased the plasma contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased the plasma glutathione (GSH) contents (P < 0.05). The LP diets significantly increased the backfat thickness at the first and last ribs, L* (lightness) value of meat color, and muscle fiber density in the longissimus dorsi (P < 0.05). The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of fatty acid synthetase (FAS), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ), leptin, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) was significantly downregulated, while that of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) and myosin heavy chain (MYHC) IIx in the longissimus Dorsi muscle was significantly upregulated by LP diets (P < 0.05). The 16S sequencing analysis showed that the abundance of unidentified Bacteria at the phylum level, and Halanaerobium and Butyricicoccusat at the genus level in the colonic digesta were significantly decreased by LP diet (P < 0.05). The LP diet significantly decreased the observed species of α-diversity in both ileal and colonic microbiota (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis identified a significant positive correlation between the abundance of the ileal genera Streptococcus and L* value at 24 and 48 h, and a significant negative correlation between unidentified_Ruminococcasceae in both ileum and colon with L* value at 24 h (P < 0.05). Collectively, the LP diet supplemented with lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan could reduce the fecal nitrogen emission without affecting growth performance and improve meat quality by regulating the antioxidant capacity and gene expression involved in fat metabolism as well as modulating the gut microbiota composition in finishing pigs.

Effects of Fermented Feed on the Growth Performance, Intestinal Function, and Microbiota of Piglets Weaned at Different Age.

The beneficial function of fermented feed in livestock industry has been widely investigated. However, little is known about the effects of fermented feed on different weaned-day piglets. This study aimed to investigate the effects of fermented diet on the growth performance, intestinal function, and microbiota of piglets weaned at the age of 21 and 28 days. The results found that weaning on day 21 significantly increased (p < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG), and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (calculated based on wet weight and dry matter), while reduced (p < 0.05) feed to gain ratio (F:G), the activities of trypsin and lipase of jejunum and the villus height of ileum, compared with 28-days weaning. The protein levels of Occludin, Claudin-1, and ZO-1 of ileum in the groups weaning on day 21 were less (p < 0.05) than the groups weaning on day 28. Moreover, dietary supplementation with fermented diet upregulated (p < 0.05) the Occludin, Claudin-1, and ZO-1 proteins of ileum, compared with the groups treated with control diet both weaning on day 21 and 28. In addition, dietary supplementation with fermented diet decreased (p < 0.05) the relative abundance of Clostridia (class) and increased (p < 0.05) the Bacteroidia (class) level of cecal microbiota, compared with the groups treated with control diet both weaning on day 21 and 28. However, supplementation with fermented diet did not affect the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in the cecum (p > 0.05). Therefore, our data suggest that the feed digestibility is improved in piglets weaned at 21 days, but intestinal barrier function is weaker than in piglets weaned at 28 days. However, compared with feeding control diet, supplementation with fermented diet both improved the feed conversion and intestinal barrier function of weaned piglets by modulating intestinal microbiota.

CT Image Features of the FBP Reconstruction Algorithm in the Evaluation of Fasting Blood Sugar Level of Diabetic Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients and Early Diet Nursing.

The study was aimed at exploring the application value of the CT image based on a filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm in the diagnosis of patients with diabetes complicated with tuberculosis and at analyzing the influence of dietary nursing on patients with diabetes complicated with tuberculosis. In this study, the FBP algorithm was used to optimize CT images to effectively obtain reconstructed ROI images. Then, the deviation from measurement values of reconstructed images at different pixel levels was analyzed. 138 patients with diabetes complicated with tuberculosis were selected as research subjects to compare the number of lung segments involved and the CT imaging manifestations at different fasting glucose levels. All patients were divided into the control group (routine drug treatment) and observation group (diet intervention on the basis of drug treatment) by random number table method, and the effect of different nursing methods on the improvement of patients' clinical symptoms was discussed. The results showed that the distance measurement value decreased with the increase in pixel level, there was no significant difference in the number of lung segments involved in patients with different fasting glucose levels (P > 0.05), and there were statistically significant differences in the incidence of segmental lobar shadow, bronchial air sign, wall-less cavity, thick-walled cavity, pulmonary multiple cavity, and bronchial tuberculosis in patients with different fasting glucose levels (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, 2 h postprandial blood glucose level in the observation group was significantly improved (P < 0.05), there was a statistical significance in the number with reduced pleural effusion and the number with reduced tuberculosis foci in the two groups (P < 0.05), and the level of hemoglobin in the observation group was 7.1 ± 1.26, significantly lower than that in the control group (8.91 ± 2.03, P < 0.05). It suggested that the changes of CT images based on the FBP reconstruction algorithm were correlated with fasting blood glucose level. Personalized diet nursing intervention can improve the clinical symptoms of patients, which provides a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with diabetes complicated with tuberculosis.

Hetero-aggregation of goethite and ferrihydrite nanoparticles controlled by goethite nanoparticles with elongated morphology.

The dispersities of goethite nanoparticles (GTNPs) and ferrihydrite nanoparticles (FHNPs) affect the transport and retention of nanoparticle-associated contaminants. However, the effects of interaction on nanoparticle stability under varying environmental conditions have not been previously investigated. This study utilized settling experiments, a semi-empirical model, and the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to study the homo-aggregation and hetero-aggregation of GTNPs and FHNPs. The pure system of GTNPs tended to aggregate more easily than that of FHNPs, especially under the conditions of high pH (7.0-9.0), high ionic strength (IS, 10 mM), and low concentrations of humic acid (HA) (2 mg L-1). This aggregation was attributed to the elongated morphology of GTNPs, which contributed to surface heterogeneity. The GTNPs and FHNPs mixtures rapidly coagulated, particularly under the surface-charge disequilibrium caused by an increase in negative charges or IS. Hetero-aggregation increased with increase in the GTNPs ratio, indicating that the elongated GTNPs dominated the coagulation of the Fe mineral nanoparticle mixture, which was attributed to the surface heterogeneity and high probability collisions between the GTNPs. Although DLVO neglects the influence of heterogeneity on the nanoparticle surfaces, SEM revealed that hetero-aggregation of GTNPs and FHNPs occurred. The results obtained in this study provide novel and valuable insights into the behaviors of GTNPs and FHNPs mixtures and suggest that during the gradual transformation of FHNPs to GTNPs in soil or aquatic environments, the hetero-aggregation of GTNPs and FHNPs may be enhanced, thus promoting contaminant immobilization.

Influence of a Lewis acid and a Brønsted acid on the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in a single-phase reaction system of water and 1,2-dimethoxyethane.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a typical dehydration product of C6 carbohydrates, and it can be converted into a series of chemicals and liquid fuels. In this study, an advanced low-boiling single-phase reaction system consisting of water and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DMOE) was proposed for the production of HMF from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). AlCl3 and H3PO4 were selected as the Lewis acidic catalyst and Brønsted acidic catalyst, respectively, and the influence of these two catalysts on the conversion behavior of MCC was studied. The results showed that MCC could be selectively converted into HMF or levulinic acid (LA) by altering the solvent composition. As for the composition of the catalyst, high AlCl3 content favored the generation of HMF, whereas high H3PO4 content could decrease the HMF yield and promote the formation of glucose and fructose. The highest HMF yield of 49.42% was obtained at an AlCl3-H3PO4 ratio of 1 : 0.8. GC-MS analysis suggested that much MCC was transformed into furans and cyclopentenones in the presence of AlCl3, while anhydrosugars tended to be generated with a high H3PO4 proportion in the catalyst. Besides, FTIR analysis of the insoluble humin formed during MCC conversion indicated that AlCl3 could also facilitate the depolymerization of MCC.

A comparison study on polysaccharides from novel hybrids of Amomum villosum and its female parent.

The present study is a comparative study on preliminary characterizations and immunostimulatory activities of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) from newly hybrid Amomum villosum and its female parent. First, two kinds of WSP were extracted, respectively from the newly hybrid A. villosum called Spring No.1 (WSPH) and its female parent-Longfruit No.2 (WSPP). Then, the differences of preliminary characterizations and immunostimulatory activities in vivo for these two WSP samples were compared. Experimental results showed that WSPH and WSPP had the same monosaccharide composition, and similar ultraviolet and infrared spectra characteristics of polysaccharides, while their immunostimulatory activities, in terms of the weights of spleen and thymus, pinocytic activity and the level of serum hemolysin, showed no significant differences between the groups treated with WSPH and WSPP, respectively. Combined with the findings from other studies in our research group, these results suggested that this novel hybrid could be an acceptable alternative for cultivation of A. villosum.

Effect of extraction methods on property and bioactivity of water-soluble polysaccharides from Amomum villosum.

In the present study, effect of different extraction methods on property and bioactivity of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) from the seeds of Amomum villosum were investigated. Firstly, four different extraction methods were used to extract WSP, which include hot water extraction (HWE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE). As a result, four WSP samples, WSP(H), WSP(U), WSP(M) and WSP(E) were acquired. Then, the difference of four WSP samples in yield, characterization and antioxidant activities in vitro were further compared. Experimental results showed that the four WSP samples had the same monosaccharide composition, but mere difference in the content; they all had typical IR spectra characteristic of polysaccharides. WSP(U) contained the highest contents of uronic acid and sulfate. The yield of WSP(U) was the highest and its antioxidant activity was the best. These results suggested that ultrasonic-assisted extraction was the best extraction method for WSP.

Reversible switch between bulk MgCO3·3H2O and Mg(OH)2 micro/nanorods induces continuous selective preconcentration of anionic dyes.

It is still a big challenge to treat large amount of water with low concentration of pollutant. In this study, a hierarchical (micro/nano) structured Mg(OH)2 adsorbent was introduced by the in situ hydration of porous MgO in the dye solution. The adsorbent showed high selective adsorption capacity (Q0 ≈ 155 mg/g for acid alizarine blue) and fast adsorption rate for the removal of anionic dyes down to the mg/L levels. Moreover, the adsorbed dye was successfully desorbed by carbonation, resulting in a ~4000 fold enrichment of the dye solution. It was demonstrated that by establishing a reversible switch between the Mg(OH)2 micro/nanorod and the bulk MgCO3·3H2O, a continuous preconcentration of low-concentration dye wastewater could be achieved.

Genome-wide association study in Han Chinese identifies four new susceptibility loci for coronary artery disease.

We performed a meta-analysis of 2 genome-wide association studies of coronary artery disease comprising 1,515 cases and 5,019 controls followed by replication studies in 15,460 cases and 11,472 controls, all of Chinese Han ancestry. We identify four new loci for coronary artery disease that reached the threshold of genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10(-8)). These loci mapped in or near TTC32-WDR35, GUCY1A3, C6orf10-BTNL2 and ATP2B1. We also replicated four loci previously identified in European populations (in or near PHACTR1, TCF21, CDKN2A-CDKN2B and C12orf51). These findings provide new insights into pathways contributing to the susceptibility for coronary artery disease in the Chinese Han population.