Sarcopenia and treatment failure in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The association between sarcopenia and treatment outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is currently a subject of controversy. METHODS: A systematic search was performed of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies published until April 2023. The quality assessment of each included study was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were included with 2,895 IBD patients. Sarcopenia exhibited an increased risk of treatment failure (OR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.43-2.79) and notably increased the need for surgery (OR=1.54,95%CI:1.06-2.23) as opposed to a pharmacologic treatment plan change (OR=1.19, 95% CI:0.71-2.01) among IBD patients. However, no significant association was found between sarcopenia and treatment failure in corticosteroid (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.55-2.64) or biologic agent (OR=1.65, 95% CI: 0.93-2.92) cohorts. Sarcopenia was also linked to elevated treatment failure risks in patients with Crohn's disease (OR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.15-2.90) and those diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (OR=2.55, 95% CI: 1.05-6.21), spanning both Asian (OR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.29-2.74) and non-Asian regions (OR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.48-3.18). CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia was considered a novel marker for use in clinical practice to predict treatment failure, specifically, the need for surgery in IBD patients. This distinct cohort necessitates clinical attention and tailored care strategies.

[Prevalence of Allergen-Specific Immunoglobulin E in 57558 Patients in 2012-2022]. / 2012­2022å¹´57558ä¾‹æ‚£è€ è¿‡æ•åŽŸç‰¹å¼‚æ€§IgE阳性特征分析.

Objective: The study aims to preliminarily investigate the prevalence characteristics of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) in 57558 patients over the past decade by examining its distribution in the province and exploring its associations with age, sex, temperature, and relative humidity, providing insights for the prevention and diagnosis of allergic diseases in the Sichuan region. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 57558 patients who underwent allergen testing (by means of EUROIMMUN immunoblotting method) at West China Hospital, Sichuan University between August 2012 and February 2022. The clinical data of these patients were collected to establish a comprehensive database, while the temperature and humidity records of the corresponding timeframe were gathered for further analysis. The positive results from the allergen tests were categorized into four levels, including weakly positive (±), positive (+), moderately positive (++), and strongly positive (+++). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0, with Chi-square tests conducted to compare count data and Pearson's correlation tests done conducted to assess the relationships between different types of allergens and temperature/relative humidity. P<0.05 was applied to determine statistically significant differences. GraphPad Prism 9.0.0 was utilized to generate visual representations of the data. Results: The overall positivity rate of allergen-specific IgE among the 57558 samples was 30.69%. The top five allergens that elicited positive results were dust mite mix 1 (14.46%), crab (6.67%), soybean (4.72%), fish mix 1 (4.64%), and cockroach (4.34%). Notably, weakly positive (±) results were predominant for allergens such as eggs, peanuts, soybeans, cow's milk, beef, mutton, crab, shrimp, fish mix 1, cockroach, humulus japonicus, ambrosia artemisifolia, artemisia vulgaris, tree mix 2, house dust, and mold mix 1, collectively constituting over 40% of the positive outcomes. In contrast, cat hair and dog dander exhibited an equal distribution of approximately 25% for each positive levels, while mite mix 1 demonstrated the highest proportion of strongly positive results (+++), accounting for 37.66% of all positive results. Sex disparities in positivity rates were evident for various allergens, with significant differences observed for peanut, soybean, crab, shrimp, fish mix 1, cockroach, ambrosia artemisifolia, tree mix 2, cat hair, dog dander, and mite mix 1. Furthermore, the study identified age-related trends in allergen positivity rates, with a general decline observed across most allergens with increasing age. The positive rate of at least one food allergen was highest in the 0-10 age group (36.18%), and the positive rate of at least one inhalation allergen was highest in the 11-20 age group (45.35%). Noteworthy correlations were observed between allergen-specific IgE positivity and environmental factors, including a strong negative correlation between cow's milk allergy and relative humidity ( r=-0.640, P<0.05), a strong negative correlation of artemisia vulgaris sensitivity with temperature ( r Mean high temperature=-0.695, r Mean low temperature=-0.692, P<0.05), and a very strong positive correlation of mold mix 1 sensitivity with relative humidity ( r=0.704, P<0.05). Conclusion: Allergen-specific IgE positivity is associated with genetic factors, demonstrates significant sex- and age-related characteristics in the population, and is influenced by changes in local temperature and relative humidity.

Skeletal muscle index and muscle attenuation with liver cirrhosis as survival prognosticators by sex.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been proven that skeletal muscle index (SMI) and muscle attenuation (MA) are correlated with outcomes in liver cirrhosis. However, whether there are sex differences in these factors re-mains unknown. We aimed to analyze the predictive ability of SMI and MA for the prognosis of cirrhotic patients of different sexes and promote computed tomography (CT) use in body composition assessment. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: CT images taken at the 3rd lumbar vertebra from 223 patients were quantified for body composi-tion. A Cox regression model was used to assess associations between mortality and body composition. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated to evaluate the predictive ability of SMI and MA for the 1-, 3- and 5- year mortality of cirrhotic patients. RESULTS: The majority of patients with liver cirrhosis were male (64.6%), and there was a weak linear correlation between SMI and MA in males (r=0.33, p<0.001). In the sex stratified multivariate Cox regression analysis, SMI in males (HR=0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.98; p=0.002) and MA in females (HR=0.91; 95% CI, 0.87-0.96; p<0.001) were independently associated with mortality. The areas under the curve (AUCs) of SMI (AUC=0.718) and MA (AUC=0.705) were similar in the 5-year mortality predic-tion of males, while in females, MA (AUC=0.797) had a stronger predictive ability than SMI (AUC=0.541). CONCLUSIONS: SMI in males and MA in females are independent prognostic factors for liver cirrhosis. For females, MA may be a more sensitive indicator of mortality prediction than SMI, while in males, they are equivalent.

Reference ranges of T lymphocyte subsets by single-platform among healthy population in southwest China.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate reference ranges of T lymphocyte subsets are essential for immune status evaluation of patients with immunological diseases. We aim to establish the age- and sex-related reference intervals of T lymphocyte subsets by single-platform for the southwest China population using the indirect method with the data resulting from 53,822 cases of periodic health examination individuals in the Laboratory Information System (LIS) of West China Hospital from 2018 to 2020. METHODS: We used the Box-Cox conversion combined with the Tukey method to normalize the data and eliminate the outliers, and the nonparametric method to estimate the 95% distribution reference intervals. RESULTS: We initially established the reference ranges of T lymphocyte subsets by single-platform among healthy population in southwest China by indirect method (See text for details). Using the standard normal deviate test (z-test) suggested by Harris and Boyd according to CLSI EP28-A3C, which is more scientific, we found the reference ranges of T lymphocyte subsets should be differentiated by ages and genders since the reference ranges of T lymphocyte subsets by single-platform in different ages and genders are significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: We further demonstrated the absolute count of CD3 + T cell, CD3 + CD4 + T cell, CD3 + CD8 + T cell decreased with aging, which is more marked in men and CD3 + CD8 + T cell count, and the obtained reference intervals were superior to the reference intervals derived from the reagent specification currently in use.

Reduced growth capacity of preimplantation mouse embryos in chronic unpredictable stress model.

Psychological stress can affect female reproduction by deteriorating oocyte quality, but the molecular mechanism is unclear. In this study, we used the chronic unpredictable stress model to study the effect of psychological stress on mouse oocyte competence during preimplantation stage, and RNA sequencing in single oocytes to analyze differential gene expression at the transcription level. Stress changed the serum levels of glucocorticoids and reduced oocyte developmental potential, depending on the strength of the stress. Strong stress (two stressors per day) reduced the fertilization rate and induced significant apoptosis in blastocysts. Moderate stress (one stressor per day) reduced the cleavage rate and blastocyst formation rate. Weak stress (one stressor every 2 days) did not have any significant negative effect on the fertilization, cleavage, and blastocyst formation. Hatching rate was not affected by stress, but stress retarded the development of the expanded blastocysts and inhibited the embryo development at early stages. Transcriptome analysis revealed that stress disturbed the expression of cell cycle regulators and apoptotic genes. The hub genes identified through protein-protein interaction analysis include Msln, Ceacam12, Psg16, Psg17, and Psg23, which are all carcinoembryonic or related genes involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration. Thus, stress was inhibitory on fertilization and early embryo development in mice.

Photocatalytically renewable peptide-based electrochemical impedance method for sensing lipopolysaccharide.

A peptide (Li5-025)-modified gold nanoparticle (AuNP)/(titania (TiO2) + 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)-21H,23H-porphine (TAPP))/glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was developed for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) determination. This electrode not only performs well in the electrochemical impedance determination of LPS in serum but can also be easily regenerated under light irradiation. Using Fe(CN)63-/4- as a redox probe, LPS recognition can be indicated by the significantly increased electron-transfer resistance (Ret) as a result of the coaction of the increased steric hindrance from the peptide-LPS complex and the electrostatic repulsion between LPS and Fe(CN)63-/4-. The impedimetric signal was acquired in the frequency range 0.1 Hz ~ 100 kHz with an initial voltage of 174 mV and an amplitude of 10 mV. The resistance changes (ΔRet) are linearly related to the LPS concentrations in a broad range (0.1 pg mL-1 ~ 100 ng mL-1) with a low detection limit (0.08 pg mL-1). Importantly, the electrode shows high selectivity to LPS from Escherichia coli O55:B5 compared to other bacterial sources and considerable anti-interference to 0.1% fetal calf serum, demonstrating its potential application in clinically relevant samples. Another highlight is that the AuNP/(TiO2 + TAPP)/GCE surface can be photocatalytically regenerated under light irradiation (50 mW cm-2, 300-2500 nm) without any obvious damage to the electrode microstructure. After simple peptide re-immobilization, the regenerated electrode demonstrates LPS response similar to the peptide less one, and the deviation is only 2.89% after 5-cycle reuse. Graphical abstract A peptide (Li5-025)-modified AuNP/(TiO2 + TAPP porphine)/GCE was proposed, which not only has excellent electrochemical analytical performances for LPS assay in serum but also can be reused after light irradiation and subsequent peptide re-immobilization.

Prevalence of food-allergen and aeroallergen sensitization among people in Sichuan, Western China: An 8-year observational study.

BACKGROUND: Identifying the distribution of allergens is invaluable to effective diagnosis and treatment of allergic disease. The present study aims to analyze the epidemiology of allergens in Sichuan, Western China. METHODS: A total of 14 030 participants including 8031 men and 5999 women were enrolled in this study during 2007-2014 in West China Hospital. An assay testing for the presence of allergen-specific IgE was used to identify highly immunogenic allergens. RESULTS: Of the 14 030 total participants, 3470 (24.72%) were sensitive to at least one of tested allergens. The most immunogenic allergens were mite mix (1876, 13.38%), crab (876, 6.24%), sea-fish mix (865, 6.16%), house dust (355, 2.54%), and cockroach (292, 2.08%). The differences between population of participants who were sensitive to food allergens and aeroallergens were statistically significant in 0 to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 30, 41 to 50, and 51 to 60 year-old age-groups (all P < 0.05). Distributions of three food allergens and two aeroallergens were significantly different between male and female participants. There was also an increase in sensitization to cow's milk, mutton, sea-fish, and mould that was observed in the 71 to 90 year-old group. CONCLUSION: The most common allergens presented in Sichuan were observed to be mites, crab, sea-fish, and house dust. There was an observable difference in sensitivity to five allergens between males and females. Additionally, aeroallergens appeared to have a greater immunogenic effect in younger populations while the elderly presented with increased sensitization to specific allergens, suggesting that specific allergens' immunogenicity was age-dependent.

The clinical presentation and collateral pathway development of congenital absence of the internal carotid artery.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical presentation, risks, and collateral pathway development of the congenital absence of the internal carotid artery (ICA). METHODS: Sixty-four patients (10 new patients and 54 patients from the relevant literature) were studied. Data on demographic, clinical, and radiologic features were collected, followed by an analysis of the risks associated with ICA agenesis. RESULTS: There were 31 male and 33 female patients whose ages ranged from 5 months to 75 years, with a mean age of 31.1 years. The range of clinical symptoms recorded included transient ischemic attack (17 patients), subarachnoid hemorrhage (12 patients), developmental delay (13 patients), asymptomatic (8 patients), and other symptoms (15 patients). All 64 patients presented with absence of unilateral or bilateral ICAs, as measured by cervical computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance angiography. The carotid canal was absent in all patients on computed tomography of the base of the skull, and abnormal development of collateral circulation pathways was observed. Five patients presented with basilar artery dilation on angiography. Aneurysms were observed in the angiography results from 16 patients. Ten patients presented with variations in the ophthalmic artery origin (the ophthalmic artery originated from the ipsilateral middle meningeal artery in six patients and from the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery in four patients). CONCLUSIONS: From analysis of our 10 cases of ICA agenesis and our review of the relevant literature, we conclude that young patients with ICA agenesis may present with developmental delay, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or other developmental abnormalities, whereas older patients most commonly present with transient neurologic events. Complications of carotid agenesis are related to specific anatomic subtypes and the resulting collateral circulation development.

[Diagnostic Value of Immunofixation Electrophoresis and KAP/LAM Ratio in Multiple Myeloma Patients with Renal Injury].

OBJECTIVES: To explore the diagnostic value of immunofixation electrophoresis and Kappa/Lambda (KAP/LAM) ratio in multiple myeloma patients with renal injury. METHODS: The serum of 822 patients of renal disease were collected for the examnation of immunofixation electrophoresis, KAP/LAM ratio, serum immunoglobulin levels and renal function, including serum urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Crea), cystatin C (Cys-C) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). To analyze the diagnostic value of immunofixation and KAP/LAM ratio in the differentiation of renal injury of multiple myeloma from primary renal injury diseases. RESULTS: M protein was observed in 75 patients (9.1%). The ratio of each type was IgG 49.3%(37/75), IgA 34.7%(26/75), IgM 5.3%(4/75) and LAM 10.7%(8/75). There was significant difference of KAP/LAM ratio between M protein group and non-M protein group. The KAP/LAM ratio was significant higher in KAP group, compared to non-M protein group. Reverse result was obtained in LAM group. There were higher Crea level and lower eGFR value in pure LAM light chain group, compared with IgG, IgA and IgM groups. CONCLUSIONS: Immunofixation electrophoresis and KAP/LAM ratio may play an important role in the diagnosis of multiple myeloma patients with renal injury, so could be early screening markers.

[Comparative study of X-ray digital DTS imaging and kidney ureter bladder radiography in urinary calculi].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of X-ray digital tomosynthesis (DTS) in the diagnosis of urinary stones compared with kidney ureter bladder radiography. METHODS: Between February 2011 and February 2012, 80 consecutively enrolled patients with urinary stones proved by UMDCT, the total number of which was 138, underwent additional DTS and KUB (kidney, ureter and bladder) then the number of stones and the proportions (the sensitivity of detecting stones) were recorded under all kinds of circumstances. Any two cases were selected in comparison with each other among the following four cases (DTS and KUB before and after bowel preparation).The data from all cases were statistically processed by chi-square test of four-fold table. RESULTS: The diagnostic sensitivity of DTS before and after bowel preparation, KUB before and after preparation were 94.2%, 96.4%, 47.8% and 66.7%, respectively. No significant differences between DTS before bowel preparation and DTS after bowel preparation were found. Significant differences were observed in other five ways. CONCLUSION: DTS is hardly affected by intestinal gas, feces and bones compared with KUB. Use of DTS results in improved detection rate and definition of stones with the same positioning function as KUB.

Double positive CD4+CD8+ T cells: key suppressive role in the production of autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The presence of CD4+CD8+ (double positive) T cells (DPT) in the target organs of several autoimmune diseases has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the pathogenic role of DPT in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: A total of 175 SLE cases and 125 matched healthy controls were investigated for CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ lymphocytes and DPT by flow cytometry. Serum samples from SLE patients and controls were tested for antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-double strain deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), anti-U1 ribonucleoprotein (anti-U1 RNP), anti-sjogren syndrome A (anti-SSA), anti-ribosomal P protein (anti-rib-P), anti-Smith (anti-Sm), anti-Sjogren syndrome B (anti-SSB), complement 3 (C3) and complement 4 (C4). RESULTS: The DPT median and 5-95 per cent range of SLE cases and healthy controls were 0.50 [0.10-2.60] and 0.80 [0.20-2.74] respectively (P<0.001). SLE patients were divided into a ≥1:1000 subgroup and a <1:1000 subgroup according to the ANA titre. The DPT of the former subgroup was significantly lower than that of the latter (P=0.032). The DPT medians of positive subgroups with anti-dsDNA (P<0.001), anti-U1RNP (P=0.018), anti-SSA (P=0.021) or anti-rib-P (P=0.039) were also significantly lower than the negative subgroups. Likewise, DPT was significantly lower in SLE subgroups with low concentration of C3 or C4 than those with high concentration (P<0.006). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that the DPT cells may play a key suppressive role in the production of autoantibodies in SLE. Direct evidence that DPT regulates the pathogenesis of SLE needs to be investigated in future work.

Machine learning unveils RNA polymerase II binding as a predictor for SMAD2-dependent transcription dynamics in response to Actvin signalling.

The transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) superfamily, including Nodal and Activin, plays a critical role in various cellular processes. Understanding the intricate regulation and gene expression dynamics of TGF-ß signalling is of interest due to its diverse biological roles. A machine learning approach is used to predict gene expression patterns induced by Activin using features, such as histone modifications, RNA polymerase II binding, SMAD2-binding, and mRNA half-life. RNA sequencing and ChIP sequencing datasets were analysed and differentially expressed SMAD2-binding genes were identified. These genes were classified into activated and repressed categories based on their expression patterns. The predictive power of different features and combinations was evaluated using logistic regression models and their performances were assessed. Results showed that RNA polymerase II binding was the most informative feature for predicting the expression patterns of SMAD2-binding genes. The authors provide insights into the interplay between transcriptional regulation and Activin signalling and offers a computational framework for predicting gene expression patterns in response to cell signalling.

Diffusion-weighted imaging-based radiomics model using automatic machine learning to differentiate cerebral cystic metastases from brain abscesses.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a radiomics model based on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) utilizing automated machine learning method to differentiate cerebral cystic metastases from brain abscesses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 186 patients with cerebral cystic metastases (n = 98) and brain abscesses (n = 88) from two clinical institutions were retrospectively included. The datasets (129 from institution A) were randomly portioned into separate 75% training and 25% internal testing sets. Radiomics features were extracted from DWI images using two subregions of the lesion (cystic core and solid wall). A thorough image preprocessing method was applied to DWI images to ensure the robustness of radiomics features before feature extraction. Then the Tree-based Pipeline Optimization Tool (TPOT) was utilized to search for the best optimized machine learning pipeline, using a fivefold cross-validation in the training set. The external test set (57 from institution B) was used to evaluate the model's performance. RESULTS: Seven distinct TPOT models were optimized to distinguish between cerebral cystic metastases and abscesses either based on different features combination or using wavelet transform. The optimal model demonstrated an AUC of 1.00, an accuracy of 0.97, sensitivity of 1.00, and specificity of 0.93 in the internal test set, based on the combination of cystic core and solid wall radiomics signature using wavelet transform. In the external test set, this model reached 1.00 AUC, 0.96 accuracy, 1.00 sensitivity, and 0.93 specificity. CONCLUSION: The DWI-based radiomics model established by TPOT exhibits a promising predictive capacity in distinguishing cerebral cystic metastases from abscesses.

Human-influenced changes in pollution status and potential risk of sediment heavy metals in Xincun Bay, a typical lagoon of Hainan, China.

Pollution status and ecological risks associated with sediment heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr) were investigated around Xincun Bay, assessing their spatial variations and relationship with sediment physiochemical factors. Higher concentrations and associated risks were observed in the central region, where mariculture activities were concentrated, compared to non-maricultured areas. Despite with overall low concentrations, Cd had a higher ecological risk. Correlation and principal component analyses revealed similar sources for all metals in Xincun Bay. Heavy metal concentrations varied with expansion of mariculture operations in terms of quantity and scale, confirming the influence of mariculture activities. Sediments around mariculture had higher contents of clay, silt, and total organic carbon (TOC), and finer particle sizes. Quantitative analyses through correlation and linear regression indicated that TOC significantly regulated heavy metal concentration and distribution (p < 0.05). Considering its significant association with TOC, the influence of mean grain size should not be overlooked.

CT-determined low skeletal muscle index predicts poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is highly prevalent among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Computed tomography (CT)-based assessment of low skeletal muscle index (SMI) is widely used for diagnosing sarcopenia. However, there are conflicting findings on the association between low SMI and overall survival (OS) in CRC patients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether CT-determined low SMI can serve as a valuable prognostic factor in CRC. METHODS: We collected data from patients with CRC who underwent radical surgery at our institution between June 2020 and November 2021. The SMI at the third lumbar vertebra was calculated using CT scans, and the cutoff values for defining low SMI were determined using receiver operating characteristic curves. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the associations between clinical characteristics and postoperative major complications. RESULTS: A total of 464 patients were included in the study, 229 patients (46.7%) were classified as having low SMI. Patients with low SMI were older and had a lower body mass index (BMI), a higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and higher nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS2002) scores compared to those with normal SMI. Furthermore, patients with sarcopenia had a higher rate of major complications (10.9% vs. 1.3%; p < 0.001) and longer length of stay (9.09 ± 4.86 days vs. 8.25 ± 3.12 days; p = 0.03). Low SMI and coronary heart disease were identified as independent risk factors for postoperative major complications. Moreover, CRC patients with low SMI had significantly worse OS. Furthermore, the combination of low SMI with older age or TNM stage II + III resulted in the worst OS in each subgroup analysis. CONCLUSIONS: CT-determined low SMI is associated with poor prognosis in patients with CRC, especially when combined with older age or advanced TNM stage.

[Photo-Degradation Mechanism and Pathway for Tetracycline in Simulated Seawater Under Irradiation of Visible Light].

To explore the mechanism and pathway for pollutant degradation in seawater by heterogeneous photocatalysts, the degradation of tetracycline (TC) in pure water and simulated seawater with different mesoporous TiO2 under the excitation of visible light was first investigated; then the effect of different salt ions on the photocatalytic degradation process was clarified. Combined with radical trapping experiments, electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, and intermediate product analysis, the main active species for photodegrading pollutants and the pathway of TC degradation in simulated seawater were investigated. The results showed that the photodegradation for TC in simulated seawater was significantly inhibited. Compared with the TC photodegradation in pure water, the reaction rate of the chiral mesoporous TiO2 photocatalyst for TC was reduced by approximately 70%, whereas the achiral mesoporous TiO2 photocatalyst could hardly degrade TC in seawater. Anions in simulated seawater had little effect on photodegradation, but Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions significantly inhibited the TC photodegradation process. Whether in water or simulated seawater, the active species generated by the catalyst after excitation by visible light were mainly holes, and each salt ion did not inhibit the generation of active species; thus, the degradation pathway both in simulated seawater and in water was the same. However, Mg2+ and Ca2+ would be enriched around the highly electronegative atoms in TC molecules, hindering the attack of holes to highly electronegative atoms in TC molecules, thereby inhibiting the photocatalytic degradation efficiency.

A Lightweight convolutional neural network for nicotine prediction in tobacco by near-infrared spectroscopy.

The content of nicotine, a critical component of tobacco, significantly influences the quality of tobacco leaves. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a widely used technique for rapid, non-destructive, and environmentally friendly analysis of nicotine levels in tobacco. In this paper, we propose a novel regression model, Lightweight one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN), for predicting nicotine content in tobacco leaves using one-dimensional (1D) NIR spectral data and a deep learning approach with convolutional neural network (CNN). This study employed Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing to preprocess NIR spectra and randomly generate representative training and test datasets. Batch normalization was used in network regularization to reduce overfitting and improve the generalization performance of the Lightweight 1D-CNN model under a limited training dataset. The network structure of this CNN model consists of four convolutional layers to extract high-level features from the input data. The output of these layers is then fed into a fully connected layer, which uses a linear activation function to output the predicted numerical value of nicotine. After the comparison of the performance of multiple regression models, including support vector regression (SVR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), 1D-CNN, and Lightweight 1D-CNN, under the preprocessing method of SG smoothing, we found that the Lightweight 1D-CNN regression model with batch normalization achieved root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.14, coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.95, and residual prediction deviation (RPD) of 5.09. These results demonstrate that the Lightweight 1D-CNN model is objective and robust and outperforms existing methods in terms of accuracy, which has the potential to significantly improve quality control processes in the tobacco industry by accurately and rapidly analyzing the nicotine content.

Contrasting effects of different light regimes on the photoreactivities of allochthonous and autochthonous chromophoric dissolved organic matter.

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) plays an important role in ultraviolet (UV) light absorption in the ocean. CDOM is known to originate from either an allochthonous or autochthonous source and has varying compositions and levels of reactivity; however, the effects of individual radiation treatments and the combined effects of UVA and UVB on allochthonous and autochthonous CDOM remain poorly understood. Thus, here, we measured changes in the common optical properties of CDOM collected from China's marginal seas and the Northwest Pacific, using full-spectrum, UVA (315-400 nm), and UVB (280-315 nm) irradiation to induce photodegradation over the same time period (60 h). Excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) combined with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) identified four components: marine humic-like C1, terrestrial humic-like C2, soil fulvic-like C3, and tryptophan-like C4. Although the behaviours of these components during full-spectrum irradiation exhibited similar decreasing tendencies, three components (C1, C3, and C4) underwent direct photodegradation under UVB exposure, whereas C2 was more susceptible to UVA degradation. The diverse photoreactivities of the source-dependent components to different light treatments led to differing photochemical behaviours of other optical indices [aCDOM(355), aCDOM(254), SR, HIX, and BIX]. The results indicate that irradiation preferentially reduced the high humification degree or humic substance content of allochthonous DOM, and promoted the transformation from the allochthonous humic DOM components to recently produced components. Although values for the samples from different sources overlapped frequently, principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the overall optical signatures could be linked to the original CDOM source features. The degradation of CDOM humification, aromaticity, molecular weight, and autochthonous fractions under exposure can drive the CDOM biogeochemical cycle in marine environments. These findings can aid in a better understanding of the effects of different combinations of light treatments and CDOM characteristics on CDOM photochemical processes.

Prediction of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma based on preoperative Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI: Comparison of predictive performance among 2D, 2D-expansion and 3D deep learning models.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the predictive performance of different deep learning models using gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI in predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: The data of 233 patients with pathologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated at our hospital from June 2016 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Three deep learning models were constructed based on three different delineate methods of the region of interest (ROI) using the Darwin Scientific Research Platform (Beijing Yizhun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., China). Manual segmentation of ROI was performed on the T1-weighted axial Hepatobiliary phase images. According to the ratio of 7:3, the samples were divided into a training set (N=163) and a validation set (N=70). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive performance of three models, and their sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were assessed. Results: Among 233 HCC patients, 109 were pathologically MVI positive, including 91 men and 18 women, with an average age of 58.20 ± 10.17 years; 124 patients were MVI negative, including 93 men and 31 women, with an average age of 58.26 ± 10.20 years. Among three deep learning models, 2D-expansion-DL model and 3D-DL model showed relatively good performance, the AUC value were 0.70 (P=0.003) (95% CI 0.57-0.82) and 0.72 (P<0.001) (95% CI 0.60-0.84), respectively. In the 2D-expansion-DL model, the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 0.7143, 0.739 and 0.688. In the 3D-DL model, the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 0.6714, 0.800 and 0.575, respectively. Compared with the 3D-DL model (based on 3D-ResNet), the 2D-DL model is smaller in scale and runs faster. The frames per second (FPS) for the 2D-DL model is 244.7566, which is much larger than that of the 3D-DL model (73.3374). Conclusion: The deep learning model based on Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI could preoperatively evaluate MVI in HCC. Considering that the predictive performance of 2D-expansion-DL model was almost the same as the 3D-DL model and the former was relatively easy to implement, we prefer the 2D-expansion-DL model in practical research.