A study on the efficacy of microwave ablation for benign thyroid nodules and related influencing factors.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules, and analyze related influencing factors. METHODS: The clinical and ultrasound data of 115 patients with 115 benign thyroid nodules treated with MWA were retrospectively analyzed. The volume of nodules at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure was obtained, and the volume reduction rate (VRR) at each time point was calculated. With VRR > 90% as the criterion for nodule cure, binary logistic regression was employed to screen the factors that affect the efficacy. RESULTS: ① At 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure, the volume of nodules continued to decrease, the VRR gradually increased, and the differences at each time point were statistically significant (p < 0.05). A total of 29 (25.21%) nodules disappeared completely at 12 months after the procedure; ② Multivariate stepwise logistic regression showed that there was a statistically significant difference for the internal component of nodules, enhancement mode, and immediate volume after the procedure in determining the ablation efficacy (p < 0.05); ③ The ROC curve was plotted for predicting the efficacy of MWA, with the results showing that the AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 0.82, 67.50, 88.00, 79.10%, respectively; ④ 11 cases (9.56%) had side effects, 10 cases (8.70%) had minor complications, and three cases (2.61%) had major complications. CONCLUSION: MWA is safe and effective in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. The internal component of nodules, enhancement mode, and immediate volume after the procedure are independent factors that affect the efficacy of ablation.

Special strategies and management of urological diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: initial experiences from a Medical Center of China.

Although urological diseases are not directly related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), urologists need to make comprehensive plans for this disease. Urological conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and tumors are very common in elderly patients. This group of patients is often accompanied by underlying comorbidities or immune dysfunction. They are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and they tend to have severe manifestations. Although fever can occur along with urological infections, it is actually one of the commonest symptoms of COVID-19; urologists must always maintain a high index of suspicion in their clinical practices. As a urological surgeon, how we can protect medical staff during surgery is a major concern. Our hospital had early adoption of a series of strict protective and control measures, and was able to avoid cross-infection and outbreak of COVID-19. This paper discusses the effective measures that can be useful when dealing with urological patients with COVID-19.

[Screening and Research Cyathula officinalis in Cold Hardy Physiological Characteristics].

Objective: To explore the mechanism in cold-resistant of Cyathula officinalis seedlings,in order to provide a theoretical basis for variety breeding and resistance cultivation of Cyathula officinalis. Methods: Collected the materials in main producing areas of Cyathula officinalis,and the Cyathula officinalis growing into seedling with five pairs of leaves were used to research. The seeds were deal with low temperature stress,and the seedlings of morphological and physiological indicators of Cyathula officinalis were measured,membership function method and low temperature variation index were used to screen and evaluate the cold-tolerance of the Cyathula officinalis. Results: Soluble sugar,proline,soluble protein,fresh weight,plant height can be used as the evaluation indexes of cold-resistant Cyathula officinalis. The red and white Cyathula officinalis from Baoxing county in Chongxing village and the white Cyathula officinalis from Hanyuan county all had a good cold-resistance. Conclusion: The cold-resistant in Cyathula officinalis are different in different areas, and cold tolerance is positively correlated with the content of osmotic adjustment substance of Cyathula officinalis seedlings.

Boosting reactivity of water-gas shift reaction by synergistic function over CeO2-x/CoO1-x/Co dual interfacial structures.

Dual-interfacial structure within catalysts is capable of mitigating the detrimentally completive adsorption during the catalysis process, but its construction strategy and mechanism understanding remain vastly lacking. Here, a highly active dual-interfaces of CeO2-x/CoO1-x/Co is constructed using the pronounced interfacial interaction from surrounding small CeO2-x islets, which shows high activity in catalyzing the water-gas shift reaction. Kinetic evidence and in-situ characterization results revealed that CeO2-x modulates the oxidized state of Co species and consequently generates the dual active CeO2-x/CoO1-x/Co interface during the WGS reaction. A synergistic redox mechanism comprised of independent contribution from dual functional interfaces, including CeO2-x/CoO1-x and CoO1-x/Co, is authenticated by experimental and theoretical results, where the CeO2-x/CoO1-x interface alleviates the CO poison effect, and the CoO1-x/Co interface promotes the H2 formation. The results may provide guidance for fabricating dual-interfacial structures within catalysts and shed light on the mechanism over multi-component catalyst systems.

Surface Functional Modification by Ti3 C2 Tx MXene on PLLA Nanofibers for Optimizing Neural Stem Cell Engineering.

Optimizing cell substrates by surface modification of neural stem cells (NSCs), for efficient and oriented neurogenesis, represents a promising strategy for treating neurological diseases. However, developing substrates with the advanced surface functionality, conductivity, and biocompatibility required for practical application is still challenging. Here, Ti3 C2 Tx MXene is introduced as a coating nanomaterial for aligned poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) nanofibers (M-ANF) to enhance NSC neurogenesis and simultaneously tailor the cell growth direction. Ti3 C2 Tx MXene treatment provides a superior conductivity substrate with a surface rich in functional groups, hydrophilicity, and roughness, which can provide biochemical and physical cues to support NSC adhesion and proliferation. Moreover, Ti3 C2 Tx MXene coating significantly promotes NSC differentiation into both neurons and astrocytes. Interestingly, Ti3 C2 Tx MXene acts synergistically with the alignment of nanofibers to promote the growth of neurites, indicating enhanced maturation of these neurons. RNA sequencing analysis further reveals the molecular mechanism by which Ti3 C2 Tx MXene modulates the fate of NSCs. Notably, surface modification by Ti3 C2 Tx MXene mitigates the in vivo foreign body response to implanted PLLA nanofibers. This study confirms that Ti3 C2 Tx MXene provides multiple advantages for decorating the aligned PLLA nanofibers to cooperatively improve neural regeneration.

[Gene Detection Analysis of Thalassemia in 2 494 Cases of Childbearing Couples in Haikou City].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the genotypes and composition ratio of thalassemia in couples of reproductive age, and provide a reference for the prevention and control of thalassemia in Haikou. METHODS: Gene diagnosis was performed in 2 494 subjects who were screened for thalassemia before marriage or prenatal by cross-breakpoint PCR, PCR-reverse dot hybridization, and PCR-electrophoresis. RESULTS: A total of 1 037 thalassemia gene carriers were detected in 2 494 samples, with a detection rate of 41.57%, of which 75.02% was α-thalassemia, 18.61% was ß-thalassemia, and 6.36% was α-ß complex thalassemia. There were 778 cases of α-thalassemia, mainly of deletion type, accounting for 76.99% (599/778). Twenty genotypes were detected, the highest three was --SEA/αα (33.42%, 260/778), -α3.7/αα(23.91%, 186/778), and -α4.2/αα(19.02%, 148/778), respectively. A rare HKαα/-α3.7 was detected, who immigrated from other province. There were 193 cases of ß-thalassemia, all of them were light (ß0/ßA or ß+/ßA). Eight genotypes were detected, the highest two was 41-42M/N (74.61%, 144/193) and 654M/N (10.36%, 20/193), respectively. There were 66 cases of α-ß compound type of thalassemia, 15 genotypes were detected, the highest three was ααWS/αα complex 41-42M/N (28.79%, 19/66), -α3.7/αα complex 41-42M/N, and -α4.2/αα complex 41-42M/N (16.67%, 11/66 for both). CONCLUSION: In Haikou city, the gene carrying rate of thalassemia is very high, and the genotype distribution is different from other cities in Hainan Province, attention should be paid to the impact of population inflow on the frequency spectrum change of local thalassemia gene.

TERF1 downregulation promotes the migration and invasion of the PC3 prostate cancer cell line as a target of miR­155.

Telomeric repeat binding factor 1 (TERF1) has been identified as a tumor suppressor gene in numerous types of human cancer. However, the expression of TERF1 and its mechanism in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the expression and functions of TERF1 in PCa. The UALCAN database was used to analyze the differential expression of TERF1 between normal prostate tissue and primary PCa tissue. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V/propidium iodide staining, and wound healing and Transwell assays were used to detect the cell migration and invasion abilities, respectively. The cell viability was analyzed using an MTT assay. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and western blotting were used to analyze the mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively, of epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers following TERF1 knockdown in the PC3 cell line. A dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the association between TERF1 and microRNA (miR)­155 predicted by bioinformatics analysis. Rescue experiments were performed to determine the role of the miR­155/TERF1 axis in regulating the cellular behaviors of PCa. The results demonstrated that the expression levels of TERF1 in the primary prostate tumors were significantly downregulated compared with in prostate normal tissue. TERF1 silencing was discovered to significantly promote cell viability, migration and invasion, while suppressing cell apoptosis. The impact of TERF1 on PC3 cells was suggested to occur through the EMT pathway. TERF1 was confirmed to be the direct target of miR­155. The overexpression of miR­155 promoted the viability, migration and invasion, while suppressing the apoptosis of the PC3 cell line, while the knockdown of miR­155 in PC3 cells achieved the opposite trends. In addition, TERF1 overexpression reversed the promotive effects of upregulated miR­155 expression levels on the migration and apoptosis of PC3 cells. On the contrary, the knockdown of TERF1 reversed the migration and apoptosis abilities of the downregulated miR­155 expression levels on the cellular behaviors of PC3 cells. In conclusion, TERF1, as a direct target of miR­155, was discovered to be significantly downregulated in PCa, which was suggested to promote the migration and invasion of PCa via the EMT pathway.

Potential urine biomarkers for gestational hypertension and preeclampsia.

Differential proteomic technology was used to identify urine proteomic profile of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. Urine samples were collected from 10 patients with gestational hypertension, 10 patients with mild preeclampsia, 10 patients with severe preeclampsia and 10 normal pregnancies and analyzed by 2­D difference gel electrophoresis, then matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry was used to identify differential proteins. Subsequently, ELISA was used to verify the content variation of the identified proteins in 200 urine samples. In total, 30 differential proteins were identified. For prostaglandin­H2 D­isomerase (L­PGDS), perlecan and other 15 proteins, the contents in patients with gestational hypertension were higher than that of normal pregnancies, but lower in mild and severe preeclampsia. By contrast, serum albumin and α­1­antitrypsin was lower in samples from patients with gestational hypertension and higher in patients with mild and severe preeclampsia compared with normal pregnancies. ELISA verified that the urinary concentration of L­PGDS and perlecan were significantly lower in patients with preeclampsia than in normal pregnancies (P<0.05). Urine proteomics is a useful tool to identify potential biomarkers to distinguish between different types of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. L­PGDS and perlecan could potentially be used as markers to reflect the state of renal function, and may participate in the genesis and development of renal injury during preeclampsia.

[Aerobic Degradation Characteristics of the Quinoline-Degrading strain Ochrobactrum sp. and Its Bioaugmentation in Coking Wastewater].

Quinoline is one of the common refractory organic pollutants in coking wastewater. An aerobic bacterial strain KDQ3 capable of utilizing quinoline as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy was isolated from activated sludge of a coking wastewater treatment plant. The morphological properties and the 16S rDNA sequence identified KDQ3 as Ochrobactrum sp.. The optimized temperature and initial pH for quinoline degradation were 37℃ and 7.0-8.0, and the degradation kinetics fit with Haldane's model. KDQ3 could degrade 200 mg·L-1 quinoline in the presence of 10.4 mg·L-1 hexavalent chromium. In addition, KDQ3 was able to degrade quinoline in real coking wastewater of aerobic tank and improve the removal of COD, indicating that KDQ3 had the potential of bioaugmentation for removal of quinoline from coking wastewater.

[Studies on chemical components of essential oil of crude semen sinapis and roasted semen sinapis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical components of the essential oil of the Semen Sinapis with the different processing methods. METHOD: The essential oils of the crude Semen Sinapis and the roasted Semen Sinapis were extracted by steam distillation. The chemical components were analyzed by means of GC-MS-DS. The relative content of each component was calculated by area normalization. RESULT: The main chemical components of the essential oil of the crude Semen Sinapis and the roasted Semen Sinapis were similar. The main chemical components were allyl isothiocyanate and 4-isothio-cyanato-1-butene. The chemical components of the essential oil of the crude Semen Sinapis were more than that of the roasted Semen Sinapis. CONCLUSION: The effect of different processing methods on the chemical components of the essential oil of Semen Sinapis was significant. Certain chemical components such as isothiocyanato-containing substances, were found in the crude Semen Sinapis.

Special strategies and management of urological diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: initial experiences from a Medical Center of China

ABSTRACT Although urological diseases are not directly related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), urologists need to make comprehensive plans for this disease. Urological conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and tumors are very common in elderly patients. This group of patients is often accompanied by underlying comorbidities or immune dysfunction. They are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and they tend to have severe manifestations. Although fever can occur along with urological infections, it is actually one of the commonest symptoms of COVID-19; urologists must always maintain a high index of suspicion in their clinical practices. As a urological surgeon, how we can protect medical staff during surgery is a major concern. Our hospital had early adoption of a series of strict protective and control measures, and was able to avoid cross-infection and outbreak of COVID-19. This paper discusses the effective measures that can be useful when dealing with urological patients with COVID-19.

Association between the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk: a meta-analysis.

Several studies have suggested associations between MDM2 (mouse double minute 2 homolog) polymorphisms and leukemia risk, but they reported contradictory results. For better understanding of the effect of MDM2 T309G polymorphism on leukemia risk, we performed a meta-analysis. All eligible studies were identified through a search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) databases before May 2014. Assessment of associations between the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk was conducted by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Finally, a total of 11 publications covering 12 case-control studies with 2, 362 cases and 5, 562 controls concerning MDM2 T309G polymorphism with respect to leukemia were included in the meta-analysis. Significant associations were found between MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk in four models in overall populations (G vs T: OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.11- 1.49, p=0.001; GG vs TT: OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.21-2.30, p=0.002; GG vs TG/TT: OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.21-2.00, p=0.001; GG/TG vs TT: OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.05-1.57, p=0.015). In the sub-group analysis according to ethnicity, increased leukemia risks were observed in three genetic models among Asians but not Caucasians. In conclusion, the results of our meta-analysis suggest that the MDM2 T309G polymorphism can increase the risk of leukemia, especially among Asian populations.

Immunophenotype and increased presence of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), cancer of the white blood cells, is a heterogeneous disease that mainly occurs due to the malignant cloning of original and naive lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to explore the immunophenotype, the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) and the expression of cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10 and TGF-ß in patients with ALL. The immunophenotype and levels of CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs were detected using flow cytometry in the peripheral blood of 35 ALL patients, with 18 healthy individuals being selected as controls. The results suggested that 22 patients had B cell ALL (B-ALL) and 13 had T cell ALL (T-ALL) among the 35 ALL patients. In B-ALL patients, the surface antigen CD19 was most commonly expressed; in T-ALL patients, CD7 was most common. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells in the peripheral blood of B-ALL and T-ALL patients was higher compared to that of healthy individuals (P<0.05). Additionally, IL-10 and TGF-ß levels in cell culture supernatants from B-ALL and T-ALL patients were higher compared to those in the controls (P<0.05); IL-2 levels were lower in ALL patients. No significant differences were observed in the levels of CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells, IL-2, IL-10 or TGF-ß in B-ALL versus T-ALL patients. The authors concluded that CD19 and CD7 may serve as diagnostic markers of B-ALL and T-ALL, respectively. The increased presence of CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells and the altered levels of secreted cytokines are indicative of an immunosuppressive mechanism in the pathogenesis of ALL.