Experimental Demonstrations of Alignment and Mode Matching in Optical Cavities with Higher-Order Hermite-Gauss Modes.

Higher-order spatial laser modes have recently been investigated as candidates for reducing test-mass thermal noise in ground-based gravitational-wave detectors such as advanced LIGO. In particular, higher-order Hermite-Gauss (HG) modes have gained attention within the community for their more robust behaviors against random test-mass surface deformations and stronger sensing and control capacities. In this Letter we offer experimental investigations on various aspects of HG mode interferometry. We have generated purified HG modes up to the twelfth order HG_{6,6} mode, with a power conversion efficiency of 38.8% and 27.7% for the HG_{3,3} and HG_{6,6} modes respectively. We demonstrate for the first time the misalignment and mode mismatch-induced power coupling loss measurements for HG modes up to the HG_{6,6}. We report an excellent agreement with the extended numerical power loss factors that in the "small power loss" region converge to 2n+1 or n^{2}+n+1 for a misaligned or mode mismatched HG_{n,n} mode. We also demonstrate the wavefront sensing (WFS) signal measurement for HG modes up to the HG_{6,6}. The measurement result is accurately in accordance with theoretical WFS gain ß_{n,n-1}sqrt[n]+ß_{n,n+1}sqrt[n+1] for an HG_{n,n} mode, with ß_{n,n-1} being the beat coefficient of the adjacent HG_{n,n} and HG_{n-1,n} modes on a split photodetector.

Qiteng Xiaozhuo granules medicated serum inhibits excessive proliferation and promotes apoptosis of human glomerular mesangial cells by targeting fat mass and obesity associated proteins.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether fat mass and obesity associated proteins (FTO) is an important target of Qiteng Xiaozhuo granules (QTXZG,) medicated serum in regulating proliferation and apoptosis of glomerular mesangial cells. METHODS: Medicated serum was obtained from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats administered intragastrically with QTXZG decoction. The optimal concentration and intervention time of medicated serum were selected with the cell counting kit 8 assay. Cell proliferation was assessed by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and cell apoptosis was investigated using flow cytometry. The expression of FTO, Proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Cyclin D1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) and BCL2 assaciated X was detected by Western blot and Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Quantification of the m6A RNA methylation was utilized to determine the total level of m6A methylation modification. RESULTS: EdU and flow cytometry assays revealed that QTXZG medicated serum can remarkably inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced human glomerular mesangial cells (HGMCs). The FTO overexpression plasmid could inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis of LPS-induced HGMCs. The FTO inhibitor (FB23-2) can significantly attenuate the effect of QTZXG medicated serum on inhibiting excessive proliferation and promoting apoptosis. QTXZG medicated serum can significantly increase FTO expression and decrease the level of m6A methylation modification. CONCLUSIONS: FTO is a key target for QTXZG medicated serum in inhibiting excessive proliferation and promoting apoptosis of human glomerular mesangial cells.

Transcription factors TgbHLH95 and TgbZIP44 cotarget terpene biosynthesis gene TgGPPS in Torreya grandis nuts.

Terpenes are volatile compounds responsible for aroma and the postharvest quality of commercially important xiangfei (Torreya grandis) nuts, and there is interest in understanding the regulation of their biosynthesis. Here, a transcriptomics analysis of xiangfei nuts after harvest identified 156 genes associated with the terpenoid metabolic pathway. A geranyl diphosphate (GPP) synthase (TgGPPS) involved in production of the monoterpene precursor GPP was targeted for functional characterization, and its transcript levels positively correlated with terpene levels. Furthermore, transient overexpression of TgGPPS in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves or tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit led to monoterpene accumulation. Analysis of differentially expressed transcription factors identified one basic helix-loop-helix protein (TgbHLH95) and one basic leucine zipper protein (TgbZIP44) as potential TgGPPS regulators. TgbHLH95 showed significant transactivation of the TgGPPS promoter, and its transient overexpression in tobacco leaves led to monoterpene accumulation, whereas TgbZIP44 directly bound to an ACGT-containing element in the TgGPPS promoter, as determined by yeast 1-hybrid test and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation, firefly luciferase complementation imaging, co-immunoprecipitation, and GST pull-down assays confirmed a direct protein-protein interaction between TgbHLH95 and TgbZIP44 in vivo and in vitro, and in combination these proteins induced the TgGPPS promoter up to 4.7-fold in transactivation assays. These results indicate that a TgbHLH95/TgbZIP44 complex activates the TgGPPS promoter and upregulates terpene biosynthesis in xiangfei nuts after harvest, thereby contributing to its aroma.

High-performance sorbents from ionic liquid activated walnut shell carbon: an investigation of adsorption and regeneration.

In this paper, walnut shells were selected to make activated charcoal using ionic activators. Based on the physical/chemical activation process and the properties of activated carbon products, the Fourier Transform Infrared reflection and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis methods were adopted to comparatively analyse activation principles and pore-structure parameters. Also ciprofloxacin adsorption was compared among various activated carbon. Then, an absence of microporous structure in both walnut shells and their carbonized derivatives was found. Moreover, the specific surface area of activated carbon, prepared via KOH wet activation within physical/chemical procedures, attains a noteworthy 1787.06 m2 g-1, underlining its commendable adsorption performance. The specific surface areas of five distinct activated carbons, processed via ionic activation, extend from 1302.01 to 2214.06 m2 g-1. Concurrently, the micropore volumes span from 0.47 to 0.93 cm3 g-1. Obviously, the adsorption proficiency of ion-activated carbon markedly exceeds that of carbons activated physically or chemically. Of all materials investigated in this paper, ion-activated carbon D consistently exhibits superior performance, maintaining a ciprofloxacin removal rate nearing 100% at 40 °C. Remarkably, the maximum regeneration frequency of ion-activated carbons can reach up to 10 cycles. In conclusion, these five ion-activated carbons, demonstrating superior pore-structure parameters and adsorptive capacities, outperform those prepared through physical/chemical methods. They emerge as promising contenders for new, high-performing adsorbents.

Efficacy of press needle on immune function and quality of life in female breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Radical mastectomy may lead to suppression of cellular immune function in patients with malignant tumors, and affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients. Immune suppression is a common cause of complications and adverse reactions in adjuvant therapy after radical mastectomy of breast cancer. Currently, there are few proven effective treatments for immune suppression. Therefore, it's necessary to develop a new treatment method. Press needle is widely used in clinical practice. However, there have been relatively few studies that evaluate the effects of press needle on postoperative immune function. The aim of the present study is to assess the effects of press needle on immune function and QOL in female breast cancer patients undergoing radical mastectomy. This study will be a single-center, randomized and single-blinded trial. Totally 78 eligible patients will be randomized in a ratio of 1:1 to the press needle group or the sham press needle group. During the treatment phase, patients will undergo five times weekly of verum press needle or sham press needle for 2 weeks. The primary outcome measures will be the peripheral blood levels of CD8+, CD4+, CD3+, and CD4+/CD8+ T cells. The secondary outcome measures will be the changes of patients' QOL, evaluated by the Karnofsky Performance Scale score and the EORTC core quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Furthermore, 5-year survival rate and recurrence rate will be evaluated. Safety and adverse events will be assessed at each visit. The results of this on-going study will provide clinical evidence for the effects and safety of press needle on immune function and QOL in patients after breast cancer resection compared with sham press needle. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000040100. Registered on 21 November 2020.

Optimization of underground open intermediary space comfort in TOD complexes: A case study of Chongqing, China.

Rapid urbanization drives social development, but at the same time brings sustainable development Rapid urbanization drives social development, but at the same time brings sustainable development advantages of expanding underground space and relieving urban traffic congestion. High quality TOD complexes with natural elements in the intermediary space have been considered as one of the important means to address sustainable urban development. Nevertheless, intermediary spaces in TOD complexes face various challenges, such as significant contradictory factors in their physical environment spaces. This study classifies the underground open intermediary space into four types according to the characteristics of TOD complexes. And for these four types'Cthe physical environment-generated by various influencing factors of planar geometric, three-dimensional geometric, and detailed construction elements-is simulated using a numerical simulation method based on a static Taguchi experiment. The results demonstrate that space shape is a primary influencing factor for luminous and thermal environments; the window-atrium ratio (W/A ratio) and hole-atrium ratio (H/A ratio) comprise contradictory factors between the luminous and thermal environments of these spaces; profile inclination angle and sunken plaza height are primary impact factors for the acoustic environment; and skylight type has minimal influence on the physical environment. On average, their luminous and acoustic environment comfort can be improved by 200%; whereas, their thermal environment comfort can be improved by 21% and the potential for optimizing it in their shallow space (underground space depth ≤ 10 m) is relatively low. Subsequently, the necessity of comfort optimization as the passive optimization design of underground open intermediary spaces' physical environment in TOD complexes in the future is discussed. Finally, the feasible path and prospect of how to improve the livability and comfort of the spatial physical environment of TOD complexes are discussed and prospected.

Ethylene treatment promotes umami taste-active amino acids accumulation of Torreya grandis nuts post-harvest by comparative chemical and transcript analyses.

Amino acids play critical roles in physiological processes and also contribute significantly to fruit quality. In this study, the effect of exogenous ethylene on amino acids metabolism and related genes expression in Torreya grandis were investigated. The results revealed that ethylene treatment (3000 µL L-1 for 24 h) significantly increased amino acids level. Umami amino acids were distinctly upregulated in ethylene-treated versus control nuts, with glutamic and aspartic acids to demonstrate 1.9-fold and 2.1-fold increase. Transcriptome analysis revealed that deferentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in alanine aspartate and glutamate metabolism. RT-qPCR confirmed that ethylene treatment up-regulated expression of their biosynthesis genes (TgGOGAT1, TgAATC1, TgAATC4) concurrent with suppression of their degradation enzymes (TgGS2, TgGAD1, TgGAD3, TgASNS1). Ethylene treatment appears to promote umami taste-active amino acids and improve T. grandis nut quality post-harvest.

mTORC1-Dependent and GSDMD-Mediated Pyroptosis in Developmental Sevoflurane Neurotoxicity.

Developmental sevoflurane exposure leads to neuronal cell death, and subsequent learning and memory cognitive defects. The underlyi\ng mechanism remains to be elucidated. Gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis is a form of inflammatory cell death and participates in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Several studies illustrated that dysregulation of mTOR activity is involved in pyroptotic cell death. The current study was designed to interrogate the role of GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and mTOR activity in developmental sevoflurane exposure. We found that inhibition of GSDMD pore formation with Disulfiram (DSF) or Necrosulfonamide (NSA) significantly attenuated sevoflurane neurotoxicity in vitro. In addition, treatment with DSF or NSA also mitigated damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) release and subsequent plasma membrane rupture (PMR) induced by sevoflurane challenge. Further investigation showed that the overactivation of mTOR signaling is involved in sevoflurane induced pyroptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, we found that the DAMPs release and subsequent PMR triggered by developmental sevoflurane priming were compromised by knocking down the expression of mTORC1 component Raptor, but not mTORC2 component Rictor. Moreover, sevoflurane induced pyroptosis could also be restored by suppressing mTOR activity or knocking down the expressions of Ras-related small GTPases RagA or RagC. Finally, administration of DSF or NSA dramatically improved the spatial and emotional cognitive disorders without alternation of locomotor activity. Taken together, these results indicate that mTORC1-dependent and GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis contributes to the developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity. Characterizing these processes may provide experimental evidence for the possible prevention of developmental sevoflurane neurotoxicity.

A Hybrid Two-Stage Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization Algorithm for Feature Selection in Bioinformatics.

The "curse of dimensionality" brings new challenges to the feature selection (FS) problem, especially in bioinformatics filed. In this paper, we propose a hybrid Two-Stage Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization (TS-TLBO) algorithm to improve the performance of bioinformatics data classification. In the selection reduction stage, potentially informative features, as well as noisy features, are selected to effectively reduce the search space. In the following comparative self-learning stage, the teacher and the worst student with self-learning evolve together based on the duality of the FS problems to enhance the exploitation capabilities. In addition, an opposition-based learning strategy is utilized to generate initial solutions to rapidly improve the quality of the solutions. We further develop a self-adaptive mutation mechanism to improve the search performance by dynamically adjusting the mutation rate according to the teacher's convergence ability. Moreover, we integrate a differential evolutionary method with TLBO to boost the exploration ability of our algorithm. We conduct comparative experiments on 31 public data sets with different data dimensions, including 7 bioinformatics datasets, and evaluate our TS-TLBO algorithm compared with 11 related methods. The experimental results show that the TS-TLBO algorithm obtains a good feature subset with better classification performance, and indicates its generality to the FS problems.

Tissue-selecting-technique mega-window stapler combined with anal canal epithelial preservation operation in prolapsed hemorrhoids.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the efficiency of these two combined surgeries [prolapse and hemorrhoids (PPH) combined with the external hemorrhoidectomy and inferior internal hemorrhoid ligation; tissue selecting technique with mega-window stapler (TST-MS) combined with anal canal epithelial preservation operation]. METHODS: This is a single-center, evaluator-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT). A total of 204 participants were randomly divided into the two groups. The anal function, reoccurrence, intraoperative variables, and operative complications were assessed. The measurement data were compared by paired t test and rank sum test. Chi-squared or Fisher's exact test was used for count data and rank sum test for ranked data. To assess differences within each group in different time points, the repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted. RESULTS: TST-MS combined with anal canal epithelial preservation operation had lower Wexner score of anal incontinence (Z = 3.062, P = 0.002), higher patients' satisfaction degree (t = 7.32, P < 0.001), less residual skin tags (χ2 = 18.141, P < 0.001), longer operative time (Z = -2.281, P = 0.023), and bigger volume of excised rectal mucosa (t = 2.35, P = 0.020). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the anal canal circumference, recurrence, intraoperative blood loss, weight of excised rectal mucosa, anal pain, bleeding, urinary retention, anal edge edema, and anatomical anal stenosis (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TST-MS combined with anal canal epithelial preservation operation showed better clinical efficiency in the treatment of prolapsed hemorrhoids. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000038533).

Evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety of TST33 mega hemorrhoidectomy for severe prolapsed hemorrhoids.

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of hemorrhoids is mainly anal cushion prolapse. Although the traditional treatment has a certain curative effect, it is not ideal. The remission rate of postoperative symptoms is low. Even if temporary remission is achieved, patients with hemorrhoids easily relapse after 1-2 years. The new technique of using staplers to treat prolapsed hemorrhoids has good therapeutic effects in clinical practice. AIM: To explore the effect of TST33 mega stapler prolapse and hemorrhoid mucosal resection in the treatment of patients with severe prolapsed hemorrhoids. METHODS: A total of 204 patients with severe prolapse hemorrhoids who were admitted to the department of anorectal in our hospital from April 2018 to June 2020 were selected, and the patients were randomly divided into group A and group B with 102 cases in each group using a randomized controlled clinical research program. Patients in Group A were treated with a TST33 mega stapler and hemorrhoid mucosal resection to treat prolapse, and patients in Group B were treated according to the Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids; the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, the difference in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, pain degree before and after operation, degree of anal edema, anal Wexner score, and surgical complications were compared between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: The operation time, intraoperative blood loss and hospitalization time in Group A were significantly lower than those in Group B (P < 0.05). The cure rate of Group A was 98.04%, compared with 95.10% cure rate of Group B, and the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The visual analogue scale (VAS) at 12 h and 24 h postoperatively in Group A were significantly lower than those in Group B (P < 0.05). The comparison of the VAS scores between Group A and Group B at 48 h, 72 h and 96 h postoperatively revealed that the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). One day postoperatively, the degree of perianal edema in Group A was compared with that in Group B, and the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Seven days postoperatively, the degree of perianal edema in Group A was significantly lower than that in Group B (P < 0.05). The comparison of anal Wexner scores between the two groups preoperatively and at 1 mo, 3 mo and 6 mo postoperatively showed that the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The Wexner scores of the two groups at 1 mo, 3 mo and 6 mo postoperatively were significantly lower than the scores preoperatively (P < 0.05). The postoperative complication rate of Group A was 2.94% lower than that of Group B (11.76%), which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: TST33 mega anastomotic hemorrhoidectomy treatment for patients with severe prolapse hemorrhoids, leads to less postoperative pain, the rapid recovery of perianal edema and has fewer complications.

Cardioprotective effect of NRG-4 gene expression on spontaneous hypertension rats and its mechanism through mediating the activation of ErbB signaling pathway.

To explore the myocardial protective effect of Neuregulin-4 (NRG-4) gene expression on spontaneous hypertension (SHR) rats and its mechanism through mediating the activation of the ErbB signaling pathway, this study was conducted. For this purpose, forty 24-week-old male SPF SHR rats were selected as the experimental group, and 10 age and sex-matched Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were selected as the control group. Cardiac tissues were collected for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, Masson staining, and immunohistochemical staining. Following tail vein injection of recombinant lentiviral vectors, the experimental groups were constructed as the control group (SHR rats without any treatment), Empty vector group (Empty Vector transfection), shRNA negative control (NC) group (LV-shRNA-NRG-4 NC transfection to silence the expression of NRG-4), shRNA group (LV-shRNA-NRG-4 transfection), pcDNA3.1(-) NC group (pcDNA3.1(-)-NRG-4 empty vector transfection) and pcDNA3.1(-) group (pcDNA3.1(-)-NRG-4 transfection to overexpress NRG-4). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression levels In addition, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium salt (MTT) assay and flow cytometry were performed to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, respectively. Results showed that in the SHR group, the cardiomyocytes showed hypertrophy, disordered arrangement, hyperchromatic nucleus, irregular shape, obvious rupture of myocardial fibers, and obvious proliferation of fibrous stroma; obvious myocardial fibrosis, and there were more blue collagen fibers around cardiomyocytes and myocardial arterioles; cardiomyocytes were swollen, muscle fibers arranged disorderly, collagen around the coronary artery and myocardial interstitium increased significantly with a cross-linking appearance; besides, compared with WKY group, the apoptosis index of cardiomyocytes in SHR group was significantly increased (P<0.05). The expression of NRG-4 protein was decreased in the SHR group compared with the WKY group (P<0.05). In vitro, there was no difference in the mRNA expression of NRG-4, ErbB2 and ErbB4, MMP2, TGFß1 and α-SMA, as well as Caspase3, Bax and Bcl-2 among the control group, Empty vector group, shRNA NC group and pcDNA3.1(-) NC group (P>0.05). While shRNA group showed decreased expressions of NRG-4, ErbB2, ErbB4, MMP2, TGFß1, α-SMA and Bcl-2, while increased Caspase3 and Bax expressions, as well as promoted cell proliferation and cell apoptosis when compared with the shRNA NC group (P<0.05); while compared with pcDNA3.1(-) NC group, pcDNA3.1(-) group had highly increased expressions of NRG-4, ErbB2, ErbB4, MMP2, TGFß1, α-SMA and Bcl-2, while decreased Caspase3 and Bax expressions, inhibited cell proliferation and cell apoptosis (all P<0.05). It is concluded Upregulation of NRG-4 gene expression can promote the activation of the ErbB signaling pathway, thus inhibiting the proliferation and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in SHR rats, reversing myocardial fibrosis, and playing its cardioprotective role.

Rapid Detection of Wheat Ears in Orthophotos From Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Fields Based on YOLOX.

Wheat ears in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) orthophotos are characterized by occlusion, small targets, dense distribution, and complex backgrounds. Rapid identification of wheat ears in UAV orthophotos in a field environment is critical for wheat yield prediction. Three improvements were achieved based on YOLOX-m: mosaic optimized, using BiFPN structure, and attention mechanism, then ablation experiments were performed to verify the effect of each improvement. Three scene datasets were established: images were acquired during three different growing periods, at three planting densities, and under three scenarios of UAV flight heights. In ablation experiments, three improvements had increased recognition accuracies on the experimental dataset. Compared the accuracy of the standard model with our improved model on three scene datasets. Our improved model during three different periods, at three planting densities, and under three scenarios of the UAV flight height, obtaining 88.03%, 87.59%, and 87.93% accuracies, which were, respectively, 2.54%, 1.89%, and 2.15% better than the original model. The results of this study showed that the improved YOLOX-m model can achieve UAV orthophoto wheat recognition under different practical scenarios in large fields, and that the best combination were obtained images from the wheat milk stage, low planting density, and low flight altitude.

Analysis of Related Risk Factors and Prognostic Factors of Gastric Cancer with Bone Metastasis: A SEER-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is among the most common malignant tumors at home and abroad, because its early symptoms are mostly insidious, which leads to distant metastasis when gastric cancer is first diagnosed. The common metastatic sites of gastric cancer are mainly the liver, lung, and peritoneum, but bone metastasis is relatively rare, and the prognosis of gastric cancer bone metastasis is very poor. Therefore, this study is built on the SEER database to analyze the related risk factors of gastric cancer bone metastasis and related factors affecting the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, aiming at improving clinicians' understanding of clinical diagnosis and prognosis of bone metastasis of gastric cancer, thus reducing misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. METHODS: The SEER database was collected to screen out patients with gastric cancer bone metastases and nonbone metastases matched with them from 2010 to 2016, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves, and the comparison between survival curves was performed by Log-rank test to analyze the overall survival of the two groups of patient's time. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related risk factors of gastric cancer bone metastasis, and the Cox regression proportional hazard model was used to analyze the relationship between gastric cancer bone metastasis and patient prognosis. RESULTS: Using Kaplan-Meier survival curve to analyze the 1, 3, and 5-year survival rates of gastric cancer patients with bone metastasis and non-metastasis groups were 14.2%, 1.8%, 0.6% and 71.4%, 44.3%, 36.4%, respectively; the average survival rate of the metastatic group was The time was 4.0 months (95%CI: 3.475~4.525), and the average survival time of the non-metastatic group was 30.0 months (95%CI: 26.778~33.222). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ 2 = 1076.866, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that race (P = 0.007, OR = 1.296), grade (P < 0.001, OR = 0.575), marital status (P < 0.001, OR = 0.040), tumor size (P = 0.006, OR = 0.752), TNM stage (P < 0.001), T stage (P = 0.023, OR = 0.882), and M stage (P < 0.001, OR = 44.958) are independent risk factors for gastric cancer bone metastasis. The Cox univariate analysis suggests that gastric cancer bone metastasis is a risk factor for the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. The Cox multivariate analysis validates that gastric cancer bone metastasis (HR = 0.584, 95% CI: 0.497~0.688, P < 0.001) is independent of the overall survival rate of gastric cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Race, grade, marital status, tumor size, TNM stage, T stage, and M stage are independent risk factors for gastric cancer bone metastasis; and gastric cancer bone metastasis is an independent risk factor that affects the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. Therefore, for such high-risk groups, large range screening of the above indicators can effectively improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients to a certain extent.

Use of computed tomography for the diagnosis of surgical sarcopenia: Review of recent research advances.

Sarcopenia, also known as muscle decay, is associated with high morbidity among surgical patients. It is highly correlated with adverse clinical outcomes, such as increased postoperative complications, prolonged hospital stay, and increased mortality. Computed tomography (CT) is one of the main methods for diagnosing sarcopenia, which has the advantages of intuitiveness, rapidity, and accuracy. Clinical studies have shown that CT-defined sarcopenia can help predict the clinical outcomes and prognosis of surgical patients and provide an important reference for the formulation of antitumor treatment protocols. In recent years, some scholars have tried to construct an intelligent CT-based diagnostic model, which is expected to improve the diagnostic efficiency and establish standardized diagnostic criteria for CT-defined sarcopenia. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the understanding of the diagnosis of sarcopenia and its potential prognostic value in surgery.

Correlation analysis between preoperative systemic immune inflammation index and prognosis of patients after radical gastric cancer surgery: based on propensity score matching method.

BACKGROUND: To explore the correlation between the preoperative systemic immune inflammation index (SII) and the prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma (GC). METHODS: The clinical data of 771 GC patients surgically treated in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital from June 2010 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed, and their preoperative SII was calculated. The optimal cut-off value of preoperative SII was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the confounding factors between the two groups were eliminated using the propensity score matching (PSM) method, and the correlation between preoperative SII and clinicopathological characteristics was assessed by chi-square test. Moreover, the overall survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier method, the survival curve was plotted, and log-rank test was performed for the significance analysis between the curves. Univariate and multivariate analyses were also conducted using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: It was determined by the ROC curve that the optimal cut-off value of preoperative SII was 489.52, based on which 771 GC patients were divided into high SII (H-SII) group and low SII (L-SII) group, followed by PSM in the two groups. The results of Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that before and after PSM, the postoperative 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates in L-SII group were superior to those in H-SII group, and the overall survival rate had a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). Before PSM, preoperative SII [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.707, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.074-3.533, P < 0.001] was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of GC patients. After 1:1 PSM, preoperative SII (HR = 2.669, 95%CI 1.881-3.788, P < 0.001) was still an independent risk factor for the prognosis of GC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative SII is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of GC patients. The increase in preoperative SII in peripheral blood indicates a worse prognosis.

The interaction of temperature and relative humidity affects the main aromatic components in postharvest Torreya grandis nuts.

The postharvest ripening stage is necessary for Torreya grandis (T. grandis) nuts to complete aromatic synthesis, which requires appropriate temperature and relative humidity (RH). Currently, scarce information is available regarding the changes in aroma profiles in T. grandis nuts and the relationship with their response to different environmental conditions. Therefore, the interaction of temperature (20 °C or 30 °C) and relative humidity (70% RH or 90% RH) was investigated on aromatic substances after harvest. The results showed that 56 aromatic components were detected by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and mainly divided into five categories, among which terpenes were the most abundant (56.2-86.7%). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that both temperature and humidity can affect the aroma composition, and terpenes were mainly influenced by humidity. Specifically, d-limonene occupied the largest proportion of terpenes (63.0-90.8%) and was significantly upregulated by high humidity.

Plant growth-promoting activities of bacterial endophytes isolated from the medicinal plant Pairs polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

Pairs polyphylla var. yunnanensis (Paris L.) is a valuable medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. The market demand for P. polyphylla has increased over time, but it has slow growth and a low natural propagation rate. Endophytic bacteria are bioactive microorganisms that form a mutualistic relationship with host plants in long-term coordinated evolution, and they can promote the growth and accumulation of effective components in host plants. The aims of this study were to identify endophytic bacteria of P. polyphylla and to characterize their properties in promoting plant growth. A total of 10 endophytic bacteria were isolated from rhizomes of P. polyphylla. The isolated endophytes exhibited a variable capacity for indole acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation. To investigate the effects of the endophytes on plant growth, four endophyte strains, G5, J2, G20, and Y2, were selected to compare their ability to promote plant growth. The results indicated that microbial endophytes isolated from P. polyphylla rhizomes play a vital role in improving P. polyphylla plant growth and could be used as inoculants to establish a sustainable crop production system.

Power coupling losses for misaligned and mode-mismatched higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes.

This paper analytically and numerically investigates misalignment and mode-mismatch-induced power coupling coefficients and losses as a function of Hermite-Gauss (HG) mode order. We show that higher-order HG modes are more susceptible to beam perturbations when, for example, coupling into optical cavities: the misalignment and mode-mismatch-induced power coupling losses scale linearly and quadratically with respect to the mode indices, respectively. As a result, the mode-mismatch tolerance for the ${{\rm HG}_{3,3}}$ mode is reduced to a factor of 0.28 relative to the currently used ${{\rm HG}_{0,0}}$ mode. This is a potential hurdle to using higher-order modes to reduce thermal noise in future gravitational-wave detectors.

Appetite during the second and third trimesters mediates the impact of prenatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure on symmetric full-term low birth weight.

Objective: To examine the relationship of prenatal environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and full-term low birth weight (FT-LBW) when taking anthropometric proportionality into consideration, and explore whether appetite mediates their association.Study design: We conducted a case-control study among pregnant women at two Women and Children's Hospitals in Guangdong, China. Information was collected through interview and medical records review. A series of logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the relationships of prenatal ETS exposure, appetite, and FT-LBW.Results: After adjusting for the potential confounders, prenatal ETS exposure was significantly negatively associated with FT-LBW (OR: 1.83, 95%CI: 1.35-2.48) and negatively correlated with maternal appetite in second and third trimester during pregnancy (ß: -0.11, standard error: 0.03). Moreover, mediation analysis illustrated that maternal appetite partially mediated 12.00% of their relationship. However, subgroup analysis showed that prenatal ETS exposure was linked to higher risk of symmetric FT-LBW (OR: 2.26, 95%CI: 1.56-3.26) but not asymmetric FT-LBW. And maternal appetite explained only 6.45% of their relationship.Conclusions: Maternal prenatal ETS exposure increased risk of having symmetric FT-LBW infant, and appetite might mediate their relationship partially. This study emphasizes the importance of sample homogeneity and stresses the needs to improve the public awareness of the harmful effects of ETS.