Self-Powered Agricultural Product Preservation and Wireless Monitoring Based on Dual-Functional Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

The global annual vegetable and fruit waste accounts for more than one-fifth of food waste, mainly due to deterioration. In addition, agricultural product spoilage can produce foodborne illnesses and threaten public health. Eco-friendly preservation technologies for extending the shelf life of agricultural products are of great significance to socio-economic development. Here, we report a dual-functional TENG (DF-TENG) that can simultaneously prolong the storage period of vegetables and realize wireless storage condition monitoring by harvesting the rotational energy. Under the illumination of the self-powered high-voltage electric field, the deterioration of vegetables can be effectively slowed down. It can not only decrease the respiration rate and weight loss of pakchoi but also increase the chlorophyll levels (∼33.1%) and superoxide dismutase activity (∼11.1%) after preservation for 4 days. Meanwhile, by harvesting the rotational energy, the DF-TENG can be used to drive wireless sensors for monitoring the storage conditions and location information of vegetables during transportation in real time. This work provides a new direction for self-powered systems in cost-effective and eco-friendly agricultural product preservation, which may have far-reaching significance to the construction of a sustainable society for reducing food waste.

Peer support as moderator of association between socioeconomic status and low-grade inflammation in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals who grow up in low-socioeconomic status (SES) families are at an increased risk of health problems across the lifespan. Although supportive social relationships are postulated to be a protective factor for the health of these individuals, the role of friend support in adolescence is not well understood. Given that low-grade inflammation is one key biological mechanism proposed to explain links between family SES and health outcomes, we examined whether adolescents' friend support buffers the association between family SES and low-grade inflammation among adolescents. METHOD: 277 dyads of adolescents (63.5% female; 39.4% White, 38.3% Black, and 32.1% Hispanic; Mage = 13.92 years) and one of their parents participated in this longitudinal study (two waves approximately 2 years apart). Parents reported family objective SES (i.e., income, savings, and education) and family subjective SES (i.e., subjective social status). Adolescents reported perceived friend support. Fasting antecubital blood was drawn from adolescents at both visits. Low-grade inflammatory activity was represented by a composite of inflammatory biomarkers and numbers of classical monocytes. RESULTS: Adolescents' friend support moderated the associations of family subjective SES with both the inflammation composite and classical monocyte counts across cross-sectional, longitudinal, and prospective change (only significant for the inflammation composite) analyses. Specifically, lower family subjective SES was associated with higher levels of low-grade inflammation only among adolescents lower, but not higher, in friend support. No moderation was observed for objective SES. CONCLUSION: Supportive peer relationships buffer the link between family subjective, but not objective, SES and low-grade inflammation in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

[Pollution Level and Risk Assessment of OPEs in Typical River Basins of China].

Organophosphate esters(OPEs), as a substitute for brominated flame retardants, are widely used in production and life, and their environmental pollution and toxic effects have attracted widespread attention. In this study, the concentrations and distribution characteristics of OPEs in seven major drainage basins of China were sorted out. The average daily dose of OPEs in Chinese adults, adolescents, and children was calculated to assess the health risks, and the reliability of the results was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. The toxic effect concentrations of 12 OPEs on aquatic organisms were investigated, and the species sensitivity distribution(SSD) curve was constructed to assess the ecological risk. The results showed that the 5th percentile concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven drainage basins was 52.61 ng·L-1 under the low exposure scenario. The median concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven basins was 499.74 ng·L-1, with trichloroethyl phosphate(TCEP), triethyl phosphate(TEP), and triethyl phosphate(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) esters(TDCP) as the main contaminants. Under the high exposure scenario, the 95th percentile concentration of ΣOPEs in the seven basins was 1904.4 ng·L-1, 3.8 times that of the intermediate exposure scenario, and the Yangtze River Basin had the highest ΣOPEs concentration under the high exposure scenario. The health risk assessment showed that the non-carcinogenic risk of OPEs exposure through drinking water was within acceptable limits for different populations. Trimethyl phosphate(TMP), triisobutyl phosphate(TiBP), and TCEP were the main contributors to cancer risk. The results of ecological risk assessment showed that TCEP had medium ecological risk at the high exposure level, tributyl phosphate(TnBP) had medium ecological risk under the intermediate exposure scenario, and there was higher ecological risk under the high exposure scenario. Triphenyl phosphate(TPhP) had a risk quotient greater than 1 under the low, intermediate, and high exposure scenarios, and there was a high ecological risk, which requires special attention.

Global, regional, and national prevalence of hearing loss from 1990 to 2019: A trend and health inequality analyses based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

As a severe public health issue, hearing loss has caused an increasingly disease burden, especially in the elderly population. Hearing loss may inevitably induce asymmetric hearing, which makes it difficult for elderly individuals to locate sound sources, therefore resulting in increased postural instability and falling risk. To emphasize the public health emergence of hearing loss, we investigated the temporal trend of prevalence of hearing loss over the last 30 years and further predicted its changes in the next 20 years, decomposed the trend according to demographic factors and epidemiological changes, and quantified the cross-country healthy inequalities, using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. In 2019, there were more than 140 million cases of hearing loss worldwide, a 93.89% increase from 70 million cases in 1990. The age-standardized rate (ASR) also increased with an estimated annual percentage change of 0.08% per year. Population growth and aging are the major drivers contributing to the changes, accounting for 60.83% and 35.35%. Of note, the contribution of aging varies showing a gradual increasing trend with sociodemographic index (SDI) elevating. Also notable, there were significant health inequalities across 204 countries and territories, with slope index of inequality rising over time. Projection of the global burden of hearing loss from 2020 to 2040 indicated progressive increases in both case number and ASR. These reflect the heavy disease burden of hearing loss that needed more targeted and efficient strategies in its prevention and management.

Low-dose decitabine for previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy aged 65 years or older: a prospective study based on comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Background: The outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) aged ⩾65 years is poor. Effective treatment options are limited for patients with AML who cannot tolerate intensive chemotherapy. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose decitabine in previously untreated patients with AML aged ⩾65 years who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Design: We performed a prospective, multicenter, open-label, and non-randomized study. Methods: Patients were enrolled at four centers in Beijing between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020. They were treated with decitabine at a dose of 6 mg/m2 for 10 days. The treatment was repeated every 28 days for one cycle for a total of six cycles. The primary endpoint of our study was overall survival (OS) at the end of the first year after enrolment. The secondary endpoints included overall response rate, leukemia-free survival, relapse rate, treatment-related mortality (TRM), quality of life, safety, and transfusion dependence. Patients were continuously monitored for toxicity. Results: Overall, 47 patients (30 males and 17 females) participated in this study. The median age of the enrolled patients was 78 (range, 65-90) years. The median follow-up time was 22.2 (range, 4.6-38.8) months. Fifteen (31.9%) patients achieved complete remission (CR), 11 (23.4%) patients achieved partial remission, 3 (6.4%) patients achieved hematological improvement only, and 18 (38.3%) patients did not achieve remission. The median time to obtain CR was 2 months. The median CR was 8.5 months. Of the patients, 36 (76.6%) patients completed six cycles of treatment with low-dose decitabine, and the 1-year OS was 36.1%. According to instrumental activities of daily living scales, age, comorbidities, and albumin (IACA) scores, the median survival was 11.2 months in the unfit group and 6 months in the frail group. The 1-year OS rates in the unfit and frail groups were 49.2% and 23.4%, respectively. Grade ⩾3 non-hematological toxicity was observed in 70.2% (33/47) of the patients. TRM occurred in three patients. No early deaths occurred after treatment. Conclusion: In newly diagnosed older patients with AML whose IACA assessment was unfit or frail for standard chemotherapy, treatment with low-dose decitabine demonstrated clinical activity and good security in our study.

Risk Assessment of the Possible Intermediate Host Role of Pigs for Coronaviruses with a Deep Learning Predictor.

Swine coronaviruses (CoVs) have been found to cause infection in humans, suggesting that Suiformes might be potential intermediate hosts in CoV transmission from their natural hosts to humans. The present study aims to establish convolutional neural network (CNN) models to predict host adaptation of swine CoVs. Decomposing of each ORF1ab and Spike sequence was performed with dinucleotide composition representation (DCR) and other traits. The relationship between CoVs from different adaptive hosts was analyzed by unsupervised learning, and CNN models based on DCR of ORF1ab and Spike were built to predict the host adaptation of swine CoVs. The rationality of the models was verified with phylogenetic analysis. Unsupervised learning showed that there is a multiple host adaptation of different swine CoVs. According to the adaptation prediction of CNN models, swine acute diarrhea syndrome CoV (SADS-CoV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) are adapted to Chiroptera, swine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is adapted to Carnivora, porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis (PHEV) might be adapted to Primate, Rodent, and Lagomorpha, and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) might be adapted to Chiroptera, Artiodactyla, and Carnivora. In summary, the DCR trait has been confirmed to be representative for the CoV genome, and the DCR-based deep learning model works well to assess the adaptation of swine CoVs to other mammals. Suiformes might be intermediate hosts for human CoVs and other mammalian CoVs. The present study provides a novel approach to assess the risk of adaptation and transmission to humans and other mammals of swine CoVs.

Dynamic obstacle detection method based on U-V disparity and residual optical flow for autonomous driving.

As a core step of obstacle avoidance and path planning, dynamic obstacle detection is critical for autonomous driving. This study aimed to propose a dynamic obstacle detection method based on U-V disparity and residual optical flow for autonomous driving. First, a drivable area of an unmanned vehicle was detected using U-V disparity images. Then, obstacles in the drivable area were detected using U-V disparity images and the geometric relationship between obstacle size and its disparity. Finally, the motion likelihood of each obstacle was estimated by compensating the camera ego-motion. The innovation of the proposed method was that the searching range of the moving obstacles was greatly narrowed by detecting the obstacles in the drivable area, which greatly improved not only the moving obstacle detection efficiency but also the detection accuracy. Datasets from the KITTI benchmark and our self-acquired campus scene data were chosen as testing samples. The experimental results showed that our method could achieve high detection precision, low missed detection rate and less time consumption.

Assessment of reporting quality in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for labor pain.

Objective: To evaluate the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for labor pain, and to explore relevant factors for facilitating reporting transparency and integrity for future RCTs. Method: Eight Chinese and English databases were systematically searched from their inception until August 31, 2021. General characteristics and methodological quality of the included reports were evaluated based on the CONSORT statement and the STRICTA guidelines. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Cohen's κ-statistics were calculated to assess the agreement of all items between two reviewers. Results: A total of 84 RCTs were included. Based on the CONSORT statement, a positive reporting rate (greater than 80%) was evident for the items "trial design" "participants" "intervention" "outcomes" "numbers analyzed" and "generalizability". The quality of reporting for the items "randomized in the title or abstract" "sample size" "allocation concealment" "implementation" "blinding" "recruitment" "ancillary analyses" "harms" "interpretation" "registration" and "protocol" was poor with positive rates less than 10%. Based on the STRICTA guidelines, the items "extent to which treatment varied" "number of needle insertions per subject per session" and "control or comparator interventions" had poor reporting quality with positive rates of less than 10%. Substantial agreement was observed for most items and excellent agreement for some items. Conclusion: The reporting quality of RCTs of acupuncture for labor pain is suboptimal generally. Rigorous adherence to the CONSORT statement and the STRICTA guidelines should be emphasized in future studies to improve the quality of acupuncture RCT reports.

Design of high-avidity multivalent ligand structures that target cells with high ligand economy.

Novel cell-targeting ligand structures are constructed with a spikey core scaffold, where multiple copies of coiled-coil peptide nanorods are conjugated on the surface of a peptide nanosheet. Clustering of carbohydrate and aptamer ligands at the end of the coiled coils optimizes ligand accessibility to cell-surface receptors. Display of the ligand-coil conjugates on the nanosheet generates a patchy ligand pattern bearing two levels of multivalency. With the ligand-scaffold system, high-avidity cell targeting is realized using fewer ligands than ever, which facilitates future applications in cell detection and drug delivery.

Assessment of liver fibrosis by transient elastography and multi-parameters model in young children with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic value of the single or combined applications of transient elastography (TE) and multivariate indicators with biopsy for the detection of liver fibrosis in children caused by chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: This study included 148 CHB children treated at Hunan Children's Hospital from January 1st 2015 to December 31st 2018, aged from 0.83 to 14.58 years old. All patients underwent liver biopsy (LB), of which 43 patients underwent TE. Multiple clinical data, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Platelet (PLT), and HBV-deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) of all patients were collected. The diagnostic values for CHB of TE and its combinations with these indicators were measured. The patients were classified in two ways: no hepatic fibrosis group (F0) versus fibrosis group (F ≥ 1), and no significant hepatic fibrosis group (F < 2) versus significant hepatic fibrosis group (F ≥ 2). The statistical assessment was performed between groups within each classification to compare the diagnostic value of different parameters. RESULTS: The operating characteristic area under curve (AUC) of liver fibrosis diagnosed by liver stiffness measurement (LSM) which obtained by TE, AST-to-PLT ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) were 0.740, 0.701, and 0.651, while the corresponding cut-off values were 5.9 kPa, 0.50, and 0.10, respectively. The AUC of significant liver fibrosis diagnosed by LSM, APRI and FIB-4 were 0.849, 0.701, and 0.509, while the corresponding cut-off values were 8.4 kPa, 0.76, and 0.08, respectively. While with the combinations of LSM and APRI, LSM and FIB-4, LSM and APRI and FIB-4, APRI and FIB-4, the AUC of significant liver fibrosis were 0.866, 0.855, 0.869, and 0.684, respectively. The AUC of significant liver fibrosis diagnosed by the LSM was significantly higher than APRI and FIB-4. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic value of transient elastography was better than that of APRI and FIB-4 for CHB children with significant liver fibrosis. In addition, TE also has relatively high application values on the diagnosis of patients with different degrees of liver fibrosis caused by CHB.

Intra- and peritumoral radiomics on assessment of breast cancer molecular subtypes based on mammography and MRI.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of digital mammography (DM), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), diffusion-weighted (DW) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI separately and combined in the prediction of molecular subtypes of breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 241 patients were enrolled and underwent breast MD, DBT, DW and DCE scans. Radiomics features were calculated from intra- and peritumoral regions, and selected with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to develop radiomics signatures (RSs). Prediction performance of intra- and peritumoral regions in the four modalities were evaluated and compared with area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), specificity and sensitivity as comparison metrics. RESULTS: The RSs derived from combined intra- and peritumoral regions improved prediction AUCs compared with those from intra- or peritumoral regions alone. DM plus DBT generated better AUCs than the DW plus DCE on predicting Luminal A and Luminal B in the training (Luminal A: 0.859 and 0.805; Luminal B: 0.773 and 0.747) and validation (Luminal A: 0.906 and 0.853; Luminal B: 0.807 and 0.784) cohort. For the prediction of HER2-enriched and TN, the DW plus DCE yielded better AUCs than the DM plus DBT in the training (HER2-enriched: 0.954 and 0.857; TN: 0.877 and 0.802) and validation (HER2-enriched: 0.974 and 0.907; TN: 0.938 and 0.874) cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Peritumoral regions can provide complementary information to intratumoral regions for the prediction of molecular subtypes. Compared with MRI, the mammography showed higher AUCs for the prediction of Luminal A and B, but lower AUCs for the prediction of HER2-enriched and TN.

Non-invasive assessment of cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics using phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging in communicating hydrocephalus.

This work aims to evaluate the changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamics in patients diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus. Besides, we establish the relationship between CSF flow dynamic parameters on the midbrain aqueduct and intracranial pressure (ICP). CSF hydrodynamics analysis was performed using Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PC-MRI) techniques on the midbrain aqueduct of 41 patients diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus and 22 healthy volunteers. The correlation between CSF average flow in the midbrain aqueduct and intracranial pressure measured by Lumbar Puncture (LP) was assessed in patients with hydrocephalus. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to establish the correction between the average CSF flow of midbrain aqueduct and ICP. CSF dynamic parameters of the midbrain aqueduct in hydrocephalus patients, including peak positive velocity (7.348 cm/s), average velocity (0.623 cm/s), average flow (50.799 mm3/s), and regions of interest (ROI) area (9.978 mm2) were significantly higher than in the healthy controls (p < 0.05). This was after adjusting the age, gender, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and body mass index. However, only the peak negative velocity of the midbrain aqueduct did not significantly differ between the groups (p = 0.209). A positive correlation was noted between the average flow (AF) of the midbrain aqueducts and ICP in hydrocephalus patients (y (AF) = 0.386× (ICP)-33.738, r = 0.787, p < 0.05). Reference data of CSF flow dynamic parameters was obtained through the PC-MRI in middle-aged healthy volunteers and communicating hydrocephalus patients. Although the sample size was constrained, this study has significant contributions. For instance, a significant correlation was noted between the average CSF flow of the aqueduct and ICP. This therefore provides a reference for clinicians to monitor ICP in patients with hydrocephalus.

New-Onset Postoperative Seizures in Patients With Diffuse Gliomas: A Risk Assessment Analysis.

Background: Glioma-related epilepsy (GRE) is the most common presenting sign of patients with diffuse glioma. According to clinical experience, new-onset postoperative seizures can be observed even in patients without preoperative GRE. The current study mainly aimed to explore the risk factors of new-onset postoperative seizures in those patients. In addition, the prognostic value of new-onset postoperative seizures was also discussed. Methods: Data of 313 patients without GRE were retrospectively reviewed. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test were first performed to compare categorical variables between patients with new-onset postoperative seizures and those without. Subsequently, binary logistic regression analysis was conduct to further assess risk factors of new-onset postoperative seizures. Kaplan-Meier and Cox analysis were used to investigate the prognostic value of new-onset postoperative seizures for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Patients with low-grade tumors (p = 0.006), isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutation (p = 0.040) or low Ki-67 expression (p = 0.005) showed a higher incidence of new-onset postoperative seizures. IDH1 mutation was identified as the only independent predictor for new-onset postoperative seizures (OR, 2.075; 95% CI, 1.051-4.098; p = 0.035). Additionally, new-onset postoperative seizure occurrence was demonstrated as an independent predicter of prolonged OS (OR, 0.574; 95% CI, 0.335-0.983; p = 0.043), while younger age, gross total resection, low-grade and IDH1 mutation were independently correlated with prolonged OS and PFS. Conclusions: IDH1 mutation is an independent predictor for new-onset postoperative seizures in patients without preoperative GRE. Moreover, new-onset postoperative seizures can independently predict prolonged OS in those patients. The results of the current study can contribute to improving the individualized management of diffuse glioma.

Comparative and mechanistic toxicity assessment of structure-dependent toxicity of carbon-based nanomaterials.

The wide application of carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs) has resulted in the ubiquity of CNMs in the natural environment and they potentially impose adverse consequences on ecosystems and human health. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated and compared potential toxicological effects and mechanisms of seven CNMs in three representative types (carbon blacks, graphene nanoplatelets, and fullerenes), to elucidate the correlation between their physicochemical/structural properties and toxicity. We employed a recently-developed quantitative toxicogenomics-based toxicity testing system with GFP-fused yeast reporter library targeting main cellular stress response pathways, as well as conventional phenotype-based bioassays. The results revealed that DNA damage, oxidative stress, and protein stress were the major mechanisms of action for all the CNMs at sub-cytotoxic concentration levels. The molecular toxicity nature were concentration-dependent, and they exhibited both similarity within the same structural group and distinctiveness among different CNMs, evidencing the structure-driven toxicity of CNMs. The toxic potential based on toxicogenomics molecular endpoints revealed the remarkable impact of size and structure on the toxicity. Furthermore, the phenotypic endpoints derived from conventional phenotype-based bioassays correlated with quantitative molecular endpoints derived from the toxicogenomics assay, suggesting that the selected protein biomarkers captured the main cellular effects that are associated with phenotypic adverse outcomes.

Tongue image quality assessment based on a deep convolutional neural network.

BACKGROUND: Tongue diagnosis is an important research field of TCM diagnostic technology modernization. The quality of tongue images is the basis for constructing a standard dataset in the field of tongue diagnosis. To establish a standard tongue image database in the TCM industry, we need to evaluate the quality of a massive number of tongue images and add qualified images to the database. Therefore, an automatic, efficient and accurate quality control model is of significance to the development of intelligent tongue diagnosis technology for TCM. METHODS: Machine learning methods, including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Adaptive Boosting Algorithm (Adaboost), Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree (DT), Residual Neural Network (ResNet), Convolution Neural Network developed by Visual Geometry Group at University of Oxford (VGG), and Densely Connected Convolutional Networks (DenseNet), were utilized to identify good-quality and poor-quality tongue images. Their performances were made comparisons by using metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-Score. RESULTS: The experimental results showed that the accuracy of the three deep learning models was more than 96%, and the accuracy of ResNet-152 and DenseNet-169 was more than 98%. The model ResNet-152 obtained accuracy of 99.04%, precision of 99.05%, recall of 99.04%, and F1-score of 99.05%. The performances were better than performances of other eight models. The eight models are VGG-16, DenseNet-169, SVM, RF, GBDT, Adaboost, Naïve Bayes, and DT. ResNet-152 was selected as quality-screening model for tongue IQA. CONCLUSIONS: Our research findings demonstrate various CNN models in the decision-making process for the selection of tongue image quality assessment and indicate that applying deep learning methods, specifically deep CNNs, to evaluate poor-quality tongue images is feasible.

Assessment of chronic allograft injury in renal transplantation using diffusional kurtosis imaging.

BACKGROUND: Chronic allograft injury (CAI) is a significant reason for which many grafts were lost. The study was conducted to assess the usefulness of diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) technology in the non-invasive assessment of CAI. METHODS: Between February 2019 and October 2019, 110 renal allograft recipients were included to analyze relevant DKI parameters. According to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (mL/min/ 1.73 m2) level, they were divided to 3 groups: group 1, eGFR ≥ 60 (n = 10); group 2, eGFR 30-60 (n = 69); group 3, eGFR < 30 (n = 31). We performed DKI on a clinical 3T magnetic resonance imaging system. We measured the area of interest to determine the mean kurtosis (MK), mean diffusivity (MD), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the renal cortex and medulla. We performed a Pearson correlation analysis to determine the relationship between eGFR and the DKI parameters. We used the receiver operating characteristic curve to estimate the predicted values of DKI parameters in the CAI evaluation. We randomly selected five patients from group 2 for biopsy to confirm CAI. RESULTS: With the increase of creatinine, ADC, and MD of the cortex and medulla decrease, MK of the cortex and medulla gradually increase. Among the three different eGFR groups, significant differences were found in cortical and medullary MK (P = 0.039, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). Cortical and medullary ADC and MD are negatively correlated with eGFR (r = - 0.49, - 0.44, - 0.57, - 0.57, respectively; P < 0.001), while cortical and medullary MK are positively correlated with eGFR (r = 0.42, 0.38; P < 0.001). When 0.491 was set as the cutoff value, MK's CAI assessment showed 87% sensitivity and 100% specificity. All five patients randomly selected for biopsy from the second group confirmed glomerulosclerosis and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis. CONCLUSION: The DKI technique is related to eGFR as allograft injury progresses and is expected to become a potential non-invasive method for evaluating CAI.

Racing Crystallization Mechanism for Economical Design of Single-Crystal Hollow ZSM-5 with the Broken Limit of Si/Al Ratio and Improved Mass Transfer.

Development of economic strategy to synthesize hollow zeolite with widely tunable Si/Al ratios providing variable acidity is of great significance in industry. Here, a one-step and low-cost strategy without mesoporogen was successfully developed to synthesize single-crystal hollow ZSM-5 containing mesopores/macropores, with variable Si/Al ratios of about 14-∞ and 114-∞ at critical TPA+/SiO2 ratios of 0.05-0.1 and 0.05, respectively. This is the first time the usage of a large amount of TPAOH was avoided while breaking the traditional limitation of Si/Al ratio (25-50). The component of synthesis system and crystallization temperature acting as the vital roles in hollow structure has been confirmed by a series of characterization. Moreover, according to the investigation of the evolution process, a novel racing crystallization mechanism based on the competition relationship between surface crystallization and the internal dissolution rate was proposed for the first time. The racing crystallization mechanism and internal nonprotective aluminum become the crucial factors for synthesis. The prepared hollow ZSM-5 zeolites exhibit superior catalytic performance in the different acidity-catalyzed condensation involving large molecules between benzaldehyde and n-butyl alcohol as well as 2-hydroxyacetophenone, which is mainly attributed to the property acidity, more accessible active Al sites on the surface, and shorter diffusion path. By calculating, the effectiveness factor (η) of hollow zeolite is close to 1, further confirming its better mass transfer ability. The strategy has also been successfully extended to the synthesis of high-amount Fe-doped, Ga-doped, and B-doped hollow silicate-1.

[Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Qingliangshan Reservoir in the Meijiang Basin].

Reservoir sediment is an important sink for pollutants such as heavy metals. Under the changes in acid-base and redox conditions, there is a potential risk of heavy metals release into the water environment, which are transmitted through the food chain and threaten human health. Therefore, this study investigates the Qingliangshan Reservoir in the Meijiang River Basin, and conducts research concerning the contents and speciation of heavy metals in the sediments, potential ecological risks, and source apportionment. This study found that the content of heavy metals in the sediments of the reservoir area was in the order:Xitian tributary > dam front and reservoir center > Xintian-Baishui tributary. There is a large difference in the speciation of heavy metals in the sediments. Zn is mainly acid-soluble and in the residual state, Pb is mainly in an Fe/Mn oxide bound state, Cd is mainly in an acid-soluble state, and Cu, Ni, and Cr are in the residual state. Mainly, the percentage of bioavailable states are Cd(89%) > Pb(76%) > Zn(54%) > Cu(43%) > Ni(28%) > Cr(10%). The geoaccumulation index method shows that the pollution degree of heavy metal elements in reservoir sediments is in the order Cd > Pb > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni, and the potential hazard ecological index method shows that the pollution degree of heavy metals is Cd > Pb > Cu > Ni > Zn > Cr. The potential ecological risk of Cd in the reservoir sediments is the largest, and the biological impact is greatest. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis results show that heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd in reservoir sediments are mainly from agricultural pollution, and Ni and Cr are mainly from natural background. Combined with the analysis of soil heavy metal content in the watershed, heavy metal pollution in the Qingliangshan Reservoir sediments originates from the effect of rainfall runoff and the use of agricultural chemical fertilizers before flooding in the upstream of the reservoir tributaries. There are significant spatial differences in heavy metal pollution in the sediments of the reservoir area. The Xintian-Baishui River recharge area is the least polluted, and it is closely related to the land use in the controlled watershed, which is mainly forest land, with fewer sources of pollution. The Xitian River replenishment area has the heaviest pollution. It controls many tea gardens and farmlands in the watershed, and the load of external fertilizer pollution is the largest. The pollution degree of heavy metals in front of the dam and the center of the reservoir area is between the two tributary replenishment areas, showing an obvious mixing effect.

Evaluation of the Effect of Lymph Node Status on the Survival of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients With Brain Metastases: Applications of a Novel Grade Prognostic Assessment Score Model Involving N Stage.

BACKGROUND: Grade prognostic assessment (GPA) is widely used to evaluate the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases (BMs). This study aimed to investigate whether lymph node status (LNS) could be included as one of the GPA variables for NSCLC with BMs. METHODS: Overall, 586 patients with NSCLC and BMs were retrospectively analyzed. Overall survival stratified by LNS was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis was also performed to identify independent prognostic factors using the Cox proportional hazards progression model. In the updated GPA index, prognostic factors and criteria of GPA score were weighted by effect magnitude relative risk (RR) and statistical significance. RESULTS: In NSCLC patients with BMs, those with lymph node involvement had worse overall survival (mOS, 13.4 months vs. 25.9 months, P <0.001) than those without lymph node involvement. Multivariate analysis showed that LNS might be an independent prognostic factor (RR: 1.702, CI: 1.340-2.162, P <0.001). Finally, five prognostic factors including LNS, the age of the patient, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), the number of BMs, and extracranial metastases were enrolled in our novel GPA index. With the updated GPA index involving the N stage, survival analysis was also performed. Prognostic results were significantly different among these four subgroups (Class A vs. Class B, P=0.047; Class B vs. Class C, P<0.001; Class C vs. Class D, P=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that LNS might be an indispensable prognostic factor in NSCLC with BM. The novel GPA model involving the N stage could provide more reliable evidence to estimate the survival of NSCLC patients with BMs.

Loss of Coilia nasus habitats in Chinese freshwater lakes: An otolith microchemistry assessment.

Loss of valued diadromous fishes and their habitats is one of the most critical problems in aquatic habitat connection and resource management worldwide. In China, the Poyang, Dongting, Gaobao, Gucheng, Dongping, and Taihu lakes were known to be historical migratory spawning sites of the anadromous estuarine tapertail anchovy Coilia nasus. However, except for Poyang Lake, it is believed that these lakes are no longer used by anadromous fish owing to overfishing, water pollution, and loss of connectivity. To confirm this assumption, we used an electron probe microanalyzer to analyze elemental strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) microchemical patterns in the otoliths of C. nasus individuals sampled from these lakes, in accordance with our previous analysis of the otolithic patterns of the same species sampled from habitat areas characterized by different salinity gradients. The results of line transect analysis of Sr/Ca ratios and Sr X-ray intensity maps of the otoliths indicated that all individuals from Dongting, Gaobao, Gucheng, Taihu, and Dongping lakes were characterized by a freshwater-resident life history. In contrast, individuals from Poyang Lake exhibited both freshwater-resident and anadromous life histories. The findings of this pilot study suggest that anadromous C. nasus can be found in Poyang Lake but are unlikely to be found in Dongting, Gaobao, Gucheng, Dongping, or Taihu lakes, despite these lakes being historical distribution areas or even spawning sites. This anchovy can possibly be used as a good model species for understanding the aforementioned global problem. Given that C. nasus is a commercially important species, restoration of its natural habitats and maintenance of their connections are recommended for its management and conservation.