Neurological features of Hansen disease: a retrospective, multicenter cohort study.

To elucidate the neurological features of Hansen disease. The medical records of patients with confirmed Hansen disease transferred from the neurology department were reviewed, and all medical and neurological manifestations of Hansen disease were assessed. Eleven patients with confirmed Hansen disease, 10 with newly detected Hansen disease and 1 with relapsed Hansen disease, who visited neurology departments were enrolled. The newly detected patients with Hansen disease were classified as having lepromatous leprosy (LL, n = 1), borderline lepromatous leprosy (BL, n = 2), borderline leprosy (BB, n = 2), borderline tuberculoid leprosy (BT, n = 1), tuberculoid leprosy (TT, n = 2), or pure neural leprosy (PNL, n = 2). All of the patients with confirmed Hansen were diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy (100.00%, 11/11). The symptoms and signs presented were mainly limb numbness (100.00%, 11/11), sensory and motor dysfunction (100.00%, 11/11), decreased muscle strength (90.90%, 10/11), and skin lesions (81.81%, 9/11). Nerve morphological features in nerve ultrasonography (US) included peripheral nerve asymmetry and segmental thickening (100.00%, 9/9). For neuro-electrophysiology feature, the frequency of no response of sensory nerves was significantly higher than those of motor nerves [(51.21% 42/82) vs (24.70%, 21/85)(P = 0.0183*)] by electrodiagnostic (EDX) studies. Nerve histological features in nerve biopsy analysis included demyelination (100.00%, 5/5) and axonal damage (60.00%, 3/5). In addition to confirmed diagnoses by acid-fast bacteria (AFB) staining (54.54%, 6/11) and skin pathology analysis (100.00%, 8/8), serology and molecular technology were positive in 36.36% (4/11) and 100.00% (11/11) of confirmed patients of Hansen disease, respectively. It is not uncommon for patients of Hansen disease to visit neurology departments due to peripheral neuropathy. The main pathological features of affected nerves are demyelination and axonal damage. The combination of nerve US, EDX studies, nerve biopsy, and serological and molecular tests can improve the diagnosis of Hansen disease.

MicroRNA miR-212-5p Regulates the MEK/ERK Signaling Pathway by Targeting A-Raf proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase (ARAF) to Regulate Cowshed PM2.5-Induced NR8383 Apoptosis.

Objective: To investigate the role of miR-212-5p-targeted ARAF during the apoptosis of rat alveolar macrophages induced by cowshed PM2.5. Methods: miRNA and related target genes and pathways were predicted using the KEGG, TargetScan, and other prediction websites. NR8383 macrophages were treated with cowshed PM2.5 to establish an in vitro lung injury model in rats; meanwhile, for the assessment of cell viability, apoptosis, intracellular calcium ions, and mitochondrial membrane potential in NR8383 cells, RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-212-5p and the target gene ARAF. Results: The bioinformatic analyses showed that miR-212-5p and ARAF were involved in PM2.5-associated cellular damage. Exposure to different concentrations (0 µg/mL, 60 µg/mL, 180 µg/mL, 300 µg/mL) with different durations (0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h) of cowshed PM2.5 resulted in apoptosis, increased intracellular calcium ions, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. The miR-212-5p mimic group showed an up-regulation of Bax and cleaved Caspase 3 expression but decreased Bcl2 expression compared to the NC group, and overexpression of ARAF up-regulated the expression of p-MEK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 and simultaneously reversed the above phenomena. Conclusions: miR-212-5p targets ARAF to affect the cowshed PM2.5-induced apoptosis through the MEK/ERK signaling pathway, providing a potential target for relevant farming industry and pathology studies.

Enhanced ultrathin ultraviolet detector based on a diamond metasurface and aluminum reflector.

Metasurface is a kind of sub-wavelength artificial electromagnetic structure, which can resonate with the electric field and magnetic field of the incident light, promote the interaction between light and matter, and has great application value and potential in the fields of sensing, imaging, and photoelectric detection. Most of the metasurface-enhanced ultraviolet detectors reported so far are metal metasurfaces, which have serious ohmic losses, and studies on the use of all-dielectric metasurface-enhanced ultraviolet detectors are rare. The multilayer structure of the diamond metasurface-gallium oxide active layer-silica insulating layer-aluminum reflective layer was theoretically designed and numerically simulated. In the case of gallium oxide thickness of 20 nm, the absorption rate of more than 95% at the working wavelength of 200-220 nm is realized, and the working wavelength can be adjusted by changing the structural parameters. The proposed structure has the characteristics of polarization insensitivity and incidence angle insensitivity. This work has great potential in the fields of ultraviolet detection, imaging, and communications.

Transcriptome profiling of Microbacterium resistens MZT7 reveals mechanisms of 17ß-estradiol response and biotransformation.

17ß-estradiol (E2) pollution has attracted much attention, and the existence of E2 poses certain risks to the environment and human health. However, the mechanism of microbial degradation of E2 remains unclear. In this study, the location of E2-degrading enzymes was investigated, and transcriptome analysis of Microbacterium resistens MZT7 (M. resistens MZT7) exposed to E2. The degradation of E2 by M. resistens MZT7 was via the biological action of E2-induced intracellular enzymes. With the RNA sequencing, we found 1109 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Among them, 773 genes were up-regulated and 336 genes were down-regulated. The results of the RNA sequencing indicated the DEGs were related to transport, metabolism, and stress response. Genes for transport, transmembrane transport, oxidoreductase activity, ATPase activity, transporter activity and quorum sensing were up-regulated. Genes for the tricarboxylic acid cycle, ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation and carbon metabolism were down-regulated. In addition, heterologous expression of one enzymes efficiently degraded E2. These findings provide some new insights into the molecular mechanism of biotransformation of E2 by M. resistens MZT7.

Characterization and Degradation Pathways of Microbacterium resistens MZT7, A Novel 17ß-Estradiol-Degrading Bacterium.

Due to the ecotoxicity of 17ß-estradiol (E2), residual E2 in the environment poses potential risks to human and animal health and ecosystems. Biodegradation is considered one of the most effective strategies to remove E2 from the environment. Here, a novel, efficient E2-degrading bacterial strain Microbacterium resistens MZT7 was isolated from activated sludge and characterized. The genome of strain MZT7 contained 4,011,347 bp nucleotides with 71.26% G + C content and 3785 coding genes. There was 86.7% transformation efficiency of 10 mg/L E2 by strain MZT7 after incubation for 5 d at optimal temperature (30 °C) and pH (7.0). This strain was highly tolerant to ranges in pH (5.0-11.0), temperature (20-40 °C), and salinity (2-8%). Adding sources of carbon (glucose, maltose, sucrose, or lactose) or nitrogen sources (urea, peptone, or beef extract) promoted the degradation of E2 by strain MZT7. However, when yeast extract was added as a nitrogen source, the degradation efficiency of E2 was inhibited. Metabolites were analyzed by LC-MS and three metabolic pathways of E2 degradation were proposed. Further, the intermediates dehydroepiandrosterone and androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione were detected, as well as identification of kshB and fadD3 genes by KEGG, confirming one E2 degradation pathway. This study provided some insights into E2 biodegradation.

Construction of Magnetic Composite Bacterial Carrier and Application in 17ß-Estradiol Degradation.

Estrogen contamination is widespread and microbial degradation is a promising removal method; however, unfavorable environments can hinder microbial function. In this study, a natural estrogen 17ß-estradiol (E2) was introduced as a degradation target, and a new combination of bacterial carrier was investigated. We found the best combination of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) was 4% total concentration, PVA:SA = 5:5, with nano-Fe3O4 at 2%, and maltose and glycine added to promote degradation, for which the optimal concentrations were 5 g·L-1 and 10 g·L-1, respectively. Based on the above exploration, the bacterial carrier was made, and the degradation efficiency of the immobilized bacteria reached 92.3% in 5 days. The immobilized bacteria were reused for three cycles, and the degradation efficiency of each round could exceed 94%. Immobilization showed advantages at pH 5, pH 11, 10 °C, 40 °C, and 40 g·L-1 NaCl, and the degradation efficiency of the immobilized bacteria was higher than 90%. In the wastewater, the immobilized bacteria could degrade E2 to about 1 mg·L-1 on the 5th day. This study constructed a bacterial immobilization carrier using a new combination, explored the application potential of the carrier, and provided a new choice of bacterial immobilization carrier.

Laparoscopic versus open surgery for hilar cholangiocarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study on short-term and long-term outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic surgery (LS) for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCa) remains under development, and its feasibility and safety remain controversial. This study therefore evaluated the outcomes of this technique and compared them to those of open surgery (OS). METHODS: In total, 149 patients underwent surgical resection for HCCa at our center between February 2017 and September 2020. After screening and propensity score matching, 47 OS group patients and 20 LS group patients remained, and their baseline characteristics, pathologic findings, surgical outcomes, and long-term outcomes were compared. RESULT: The baseline characteristics and pathologic findings were comparable between the two groups. The mean incision length was longer in the OS group than in the LS group (21.0 cm vs. 13.2 cm, P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the other surgical outcomes between the two groups. Regarding long-term outcomes, the overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate of the OS group were significantly higher than those of the LS group (P = 0.0057, P = 0.043). However, the two groups had significantly different follow-up times (19.2 months vs. 14.7 months, P = 0.041). CONCLUSION: LS for HCCa is technically achievable, and our study revealed that it is equivalent to OS in terms of short-term outcomes but was poorer in terms of long-term outcomes.

Effects of ploidy level on the cellular, photochemical and photosynthetic characteristics in Lilium FO hybrids.

Polyploidy plays an important role in plant breeding, inducing a wide range of effects on photosynthetic performance, cellular and photochemical aspects of photosynthesis. Although the impacts of polyploidization on photosynthesis have been examined in several genera, comparatively little is known about the photosynthetic responses to polyploidy in Lilium. In this study, diploid and colchicine-induced tetraploid Lilium FO hybrids were used to study the effects of polyploidization on cellular, photochemical and photosynthetic characteristics in Lilium. Polyploidization caused a significant change in leaf anatomical structure, chloroplast ultrastructure and photosynthetic pigment contents. Thicker epidermal and spongy tissue, more and thicker thylakoid lamellae and higher chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were observed in the tetraploid than in the diploid. More regularly and tightly arranged thylakoids were closely associated with more efficient light-harvesting machinery. And the tetraploid plants showed a higher net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pmax) than the diploid plants, under both natural conditions and gradients of light intensity/CO2 concentration. In addition, the tetraploid had a significantly higher light saturation point (LSP), but a lower light compensation point (LCP) than the diploid, indicating that tetraploid plants acquired light energy more efficiently. These results suggested that cellular and photochemical alterations caused by polyploidization improve the capacity for light absorption and conversion and further enhanced the photosynthetic performance in Lilium FO hybrids.

[Simultaneous determination of 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients by dispersive solid-phase extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

A method for the simultaneous determination of the residues of 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients by quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method (UPLC-MS/MS) was established. The sample was extracted with acetonitrile (containing 5% formic acid) and followed by stratifying with a salting-out agent. Clean-up of the extracts was processed by C18 and PSA, a modified QuEChERS procedure. The analytes were then separated on a Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column, and finally detected by tandem mass spectrometry in positive ESI mode. The linearity of all the 11 quinolones in the range from 1.0 to 100.0 microg/kg had correlation coefficients greater than 0.998. The limits of detection (LOD) of the method were from 1.8 to 3.1 microg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were from 6.0 to 10.3 microg/kg. The average recoveries of the 11 quinolones were in the range from 70.1% to 100.3%, with relative standard deviations from 2.42% to 10.88%. The established method is sensitive and of good recoveries. It can be applied as a rapid and reliable method for the determination of the 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients.

[Study of luminescence properties of nano-size ZnO embedded in SiO2 layer grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering].

Nano-size ZnO embedded in SiO2 layers were grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Absorption spectra and PL spectra were employed to study the optical character of the samples at room temperature. Absorption spectra blue-shifted when the size of nano-meter ZnO decreased, which indicated that quantum size effect became stronger with decreasing the size of ZnO. PL spectra show two peaks at about 387 and 441 nm, respectively. It was concluded that the UV emission originates from the radiative recombination of free-exciton, and the blue emission is due to the electron transition from donor levels of oxygen vacancies to the top of valence band. The origin of the two peaks is demonstrated by time-resolved spectra and luminescence decay curve.