Surface property and in vitro toxicity effect of insoluble particles given by protein corona: Implication for PM cytotoxicity assessment.

In vitro toxicological assessment helps explore key fractions of particulate matter (PM) in association with the toxic mechanism. Previous studies mainly discussed the toxicity effects of the water-soluble and organic-soluble fractions of PM. However, the toxicity of insoluble fractions is relatively poorly understood, and the adsorption of proteins is rarely considered. In this work, the formation of protein corona on the surface of insoluble particles during incubation in a culture medium was investigated. It was found that highly abundant proteins in fetal bovine serum were the main components of the protein corona. The adsorbed proteins increased the dispersion stability of insoluble particles. Meanwhile, the leaching concentrations of some metal elements (e.g., Cu, Zn, and Pb) from PM increased in the presence of proteins. The toxicity effects and potential mechanisms of the PM insoluble particle-protein corona complex on macrophage cells RAW264.7 were discussed. The results revealed that the PM insoluble particle-protein corona complex could influence the phagosome pathway in RAW264.7 cells. Thus, it promoted the intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and induced a greater degree of cell differentiation, significantly altering cell morphology. Consequently, this work sheds new light on the combination of insoluble particles and protein corona in terms of PM cytotoxicity assessment.

Treatment response assessment to chemotherapy with bevacizumab for colorectal liver metastasis by contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Background: Though contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) perfusion parameters have been approved to be potential indicators for response to chemotherapy in solid tumors, their ability in assessment of colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) to chemotherapy with bevacizumab (Bev) has rarely been investigated. Methods: From March 2021 to May 2022, 115 consecutive CRLM patients with CEUS pre- and post-2 months' chemotherapy with Bev were prospectively enrolled. One target lesion per patient underwent CEUS quantitative analysis with SonoLiver software. Rise time, time-to-peak, mean transit time, maximal intensity (IMAX), and area under the time-intensity curve (AUC) were assessed with region of interest (ROI) selected on whole lesion, lesion periphery, and internal lesion, respectively. The reduction and ratio of post- to pre-treatment in parameters were investigated in development cohort (n=89) and validated in internal validation cohort (n=26) according to the chronological order. Results: With modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor as reference, 48, 14 responders and 41, 12 non-responders were included in development and validation cohort, respectively. Significantly smaller values of IMAX and AUC on ROIwhole, ROIperipheral, and ROIinternal, were observed post-treatment in development cohort (all P<0.05). In predicting treatment response, the influence of ROI selection was observed when using ∆IMAX and ∆AUC, while no influence was observed using ratios. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) for ∆IMAX and ∆AUC on ROIperipheral were 0.939 (0.867-0.979), 0.951 (0.883-0.985), and 0.917 (0.740-0.988), 0.923 (0.748-0.990) in development and validation cohort, respectively. For ratios of IMAX and AUC, AUROCs were 0.976 (0.919-0.997), 0.938 (0.865-0.978), and 0.899 (0.717-0.982), 0.982 (0.836-1.000) in development and validation cohort, respectively. Conclusions: IMAX and AUC showed significant reductions in responders, and different analyses ROIs influence the performance of ∆IMAX and ∆AUC in response assessment. Parameters derived from ROI peripheral exhibited the most promising results in predicting treatment response.

A signal quality assessment method for fetal QRS complexes detection.

OBJECTIVE: Non-invasive fetal ECG (NI-FECG) provides a non-invasive method to monitor the health of the fetus. However, the NI-FECG is easily interfered by noise, which makes the signal quality decline, leading to the fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring becoming a challenging task. METHODS: In this work, an algorithm for dynamic evaluation of signal quality is proposed to improve the multi-channel FHR monitoring. The innovation of the method is to assess the signal quality in the process of multi-channel fetal QRS (FQRS) complexes detection. Specifically, the detected FQRS is used as quality unit. Each quality unit can be a true R peak (TR) or a false R peak (FR). It is the basic quality information in this work. The signal quality of each channel is estimated by estimating the correctness of the detection results. Further, the TRs of all channels can be fused to obtain more reliable fetal heart rate monitoring. MAIN RESULTS: Analysis results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is capable of selecting the good quality signal for FQRS detection achieving 97.40% PPV, 98.33% SE and 97.86% F1. SIGNIFICANCE: This work sheds light on the quality assessment of fetal monitoring signal.

Quantitative parameters in novel spectral computed tomography: Assessment of Ki-67 expression in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The level of Ki-67 expression has served as a prognostic factor in gastric cancer. The quantitative parameters based on the novel dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography (DLSDCT) in discriminating the Ki-67 expression status are unclear. AIM: To investigate the diagnostic ability of DLSDCT-derived parameters for Ki-67 expression status in gastric carcinoma (GC). METHODS: Dual-phase enhanced abdominal DLSDCT was performed preoperatively in 108 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Primary tumor monoenergetic CT attenuation value at 40-100 kilo electron volt (kev), the slope of the spectral curve (λHU), iodine concentration (IC), normalized IC (nIC), effective atomic number (Zeff) and normalized Zeff (nZeff) in the arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) were retrospectively compared between patients with low and high Ki-67 expression in gastric adenocarcinoma. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the association between the above parameters and Ki-67 expression status. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to compare the diagnostic efficacy of the statistically significant parameters between two groups. RESULTS: Thirty-seven and 71 patients were classified as having low and high Ki-67 expression, respectively. CT40 kev-VP, CT70 kev-VP, CT100 kev-VP, and Zeff-related parameters were significantly higher, but IC-related parameters were lower in the group with low Ki-67 expression status than the group with high Ki-67 expression status, and other analyzed parameters showed no statistical difference between the two groups. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that CT40 kev-VP, CT70 kev-VP, CT100 kev-VP, Zeff, and nZeff exhibited a negative correlation with Ki-67 status, whereas IC and nIC had positive correlation with Ki-67 status. The ROC analysis demonstrated that the multi-variable model of spectral parameters performed well in identifying the Ki-67 status [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.967; sensitivity 95.77%; specificity 91.89%)]. Nevertheless, the differentiating capabilities of single-variable model were moderate (AUC value 0.630 - 0.835). In addition, the nZeff VP and nICVP (AUC 0.835 and 0.805) showed better performance than CT40 kev-VP, CT70 kev-VP and CT100 kev-VP (AUC 0.630, 0.631 and 0.662) in discriminating the Ki-67 status. CONCLUSION: Quantitative spectral parameters are feasible to distinguish low and high Ki-67 expression in gastric adenocarcinoma. Zeff and IC may be useful parameters for evaluating the Ki-67 expression.

Spatial variation and ecological risk assessment for heavy metals in marsh sediments in Fuzhou reach of the Min River, Southeast China.

To explore the pollution levels, sources and risks of heavy metals in sediments in Fuzhou reach of the Min River, the sediments involving in seven marsh types were sampled. Results showed that the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in sediments declined from freshwater segment to estuarine segment. Higher levels of Cu, Cr and Ni in sediments generally occurred in estuarine segment. The highest levels of Pb and Cd were observed in bush swamp, while those of Cr, Ni, Zn and Cu occurred in mudflat. Cr, Cu, Zn and Ni probably shared common source, while Pb and Cd originated from another source. Pb and Cd were identified as heavy metals of primary concerns and the former showed high potential toxicity and high contributions to ΣTUs. Next step, the metal pollutions in sediments might be more serious if effective measures were not taken to control the loading of pollutants.

Cost-Effective Calculation of Collective Electronic Excitations in Graphite Intercalated Compounds.

Graphite/graphene intercalation compounds with good and improving electrical transport properties, optical properties, magnetic properties and even superconductivity are widely used in battery, capacitors and so on. Computational simulation helps with predicting important properties and exploring unknown functions, while it is restricted by limited computing resources and insufficient precision. Here, we present a cost-effective study on graphite/graphene intercalation compounds properties with sufficient precision. The calculation of electronic collective excitations in AA-stacking graphite based on the tight-binding model within the random phase approximation framework agrees quite well with previous experimental and calculation work, such as effects of doping level, interlayer distance, and interlayer hopping on 2D π plasmon and 3D intraband plasmon modes. This cost-effective simulation method can be extended to other intercalation compounds with unlimited intercalation species.

Capturing a soil carbon economy.

Current carbon pricing and trading mechanisms, despite their efficacy in reducing GHG emissions from industry, will not be sufficient to achieve Net Zero targets. Current mechanisms that redress emissions are largely economic disincentives, in effect financial penalties for emitters. In order to attain Net Zero futures, financial incentives for activities that sequester carbon from the atmosphere are needed. Herein, we present the environmental and economic co-benefits of soil re-carbonization and justify support for soil carbon remuneration. With increasing momentum to develop green economies, and projected increases in carbon price, growth in the global carbon market is inevitable. The establishment of a soil-based carbon economy, within this emerging financial space, has the potential to deliver a paradigm shift that will accelerate climate change mitigation, and concurrently realize net gains for soil health and the delivery of soil ecosystem services. Pivotal to the emergence of a global soil carbon economy will be a consensus on certification instruments used for long-term soil carbon storage, and the development of robust institutional agreements and processes to facilitate soil carbon trading.

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A VR-BASED RADIATION SAFETY TRAINING SYSTEM FOR INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGISTS.

To help minimise occupational radiation exposure in interventional radiology, we conceptualised a virtual reality-based radiation safety training system to help operators understand complex radiation fields and to avoid high radiation areas through game-like interactive simulations. The preliminary development of the system has yielded results suggesting that the training system can calculate and report the radiation exposure after each training session based on a database precalculated from computational phantoms and Monte Carlo simulations and the position information provided by the Microsoft HoloLens headset. In addition, real-time dose rate and cumulative dose will be displayed to the trainee to help them adjust their practice. This paper presents the conceptual design of the overall hardware and software design, as well as preliminary results to combine HoloLens headset and complex 3D X-ray field spatial distribution data to create a mixed reality environment for safety training purpose in interventional radiology.

Influences of operator head posture and protective eyewear on eye lens doses in interventional radiology: A Monte Carlo Study.

PURPOSE: To quantify the effects of operator head posture and different types of protective eyewear on the eye lens dose to operators in interventional radiology (IR). METHODS: A deformable computational human phantom, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Adult Male, consisting of a high-resolution eye model, was used to simulate a radiologist who is performing an interventional radiology procedure. The radiologist phantom was deformed to a set of different head postures. Three different protective eyewear models were incorporated into the posture-deformed radiologist phantom. The eye lens dose of the radiologist was calculated using the Monte Carlo code, MCNP. Effects of the radiologist's head posture and different types of protective eyewear on eye lens doses were studied. The relationship between efficacy of protective eyewear and the radiologist's head posture was investigated. Effects of other parameters on efficacy of protective eyewear were also studied, including the angular position of the radiologist, the gap between the eyewear and the face of the radiologist, and the lead equivalent thickness. RESULTS: The dose to both lenses decreased by 80% as the head posture moved from looking downward to looking upward. Sports wrap glasses were found to reduce doses further than the other two studied models. The efficacy of eyewear was found to be related to radiologist's head posture as well. When the radiologist was looking up, the protective eyewear almost provided no protection to both lenses. Other factors such as the face-to-eyewear distance and the lead equivalent thickness were also found to have an impact on the efficacy of protective eyewear. The dose reduction factor (DRF), defined as the ratio of the dose to the lens without protection to that with protection, decreased from 4.25 to 1.07 as the face-to-eyewear distance increased. The DRF almost doubled when the lead equivalent thickness increased from 0.07 to 0.35 mm. However, further increase in lead equivalent thickness showed little improvement in dose reduction. CONCLUSION: The radiologist's head posture has a significant influence on the eye lens dose in IR. Sports wrap protective eyewear which conforms to the curve of the face is essential for the radiation protection of the eye lens. However, the radiologist's head posture and other exposure parameters should be considered when evaluating the protection of the radiologist's eyes.

Assessment of GSK1904529A as a promising anti-osteosarcoma agent.

The insulin growth factor-I receptor (IGF1R) signaling is a key mechanism for osteosarcoma (OS) cell proliferation. GSK1904529A is a novel small molecule IGF1R kinase inhibitor. Its activity against OS cells was tested. In both established OS cell lines (Saos-2 and MG-63) and primary human OS cells, treatment with GSK1904529A (at nM concentrations) significantly inhibited cell proliferation. At the molecular level, GSK1904529A almost completely blocked IGF1R activation in OS cells, and inhibited downstream AKT-ERK activation. IGF1R silence by targeted shRNA also inhibited AKT-ERK activation and Saos-2 cell proliferation. Significantly, GSK1904529A was unable to further inhibit proliferation of IGF1R-silenced Saos-2 cells. In vivo, GSK1904529A administration orally inhibited Saos-2 tumor growth in nude mice. Together, these results suggest that targeting IGF1R by GSK1904529A inhibits OS cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

Understanding the Surgical Margin: A Molecular Assessment.

The inclusion of molecular characteristics into surgical margin analysis may not only yield a more sensitive and accurate assessment of the cells in these margins, but may also provide insight into their impacts on patients' postoperative prognosis. This concept of the "molecular surgical margin" is advantageous, as it integrates recent advances in our understanding of head and neck carcinogenesis, while also retaining the established methodology of histopathology. This multidisciplinary approach may facilitate the development of a uniform criterion for defining the surgical margin, which will likely result in a reduced recurrence rate and improved overall patient survival.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma - progresses from risk assessment to treatment.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer type in head and neck with approximately 500,000 new cases diagnosed each year worldwide. Advances have been made from cancer risk assessment to treatment. However, the clinical impact of these advances has been modest so far. With an increased understanding of genetic and epigenetic features in oral tumorigenesis, novel biomarkers have emerged and been tested for their potential use in assessing oral cancer risk and OSCC classification. New therapeutic strategies targeting molecules critical for OSCC maintenance and progression have shown promise. This article provides a general picture of the current status in the field of OSCC clinical and translational research for the oral health community.

Inflammatory cytokines are associated with the development of symptom burden in patients with NSCLC undergoing concurrent chemoradiation therapy.

Elevations in cancer treatment-induced circulating inflammatory cytokines may be partially responsible for the development of significant symptom burden (e.g., pain, fatigue, distress, disturbed sleep) during concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CXRT). Sixty-two patients undergoing CXRT for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) reported symptoms weekly for 15 weeks via the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). Serum inflammatory cytokines were assessed weekly during therapy via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Dynamic changes in cytokines and associated symptom profiles were estimated using mixed-effect models. MDASI symptom severity increased gradually as CXRT dose accumulated and peaked at week 8. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and serum soluble receptor 1 for tumor necrosis factor (sTNF-R1) increased significantly by week 8 (all p<.05). During CXRT, controlled for age, sex, race, body mass index, cancer recurrence, previous treatment status, total radiotherapy dose, and CXRT delivery technique, an increase in sTNF-R1 was significantly related to an increase in the mean score for all 15 MDASI symptoms (estimate, 1.74; SE, 0.69; p<.05) and to a larger radiation dose to normal lung volume (estimate, 1.77; SE, 0.71; p<.01); an increase in serum IL-6 was significantly related to increased mean severity for the five most severe symptoms (pain, fatigue, disturbed sleep, lack of appetite, sore throat) (estimate, 0.32; SE, 0.16; p<.05). These results suggest a role for over-expressed pro-inflammatory cytokines in significant worsening of symptoms in NSCLC patients undergoing CXRT, and warrant further study to identify biological targets for ameliorating treatment-related symptom burden.

[Developing an evaluative indicator system for the institutional development of community health services in Sichuan].

OBJECTIVE: To develop an evaluative index system for the institutional development of community health services in Sichuan. METHODS: An index system was developed through literature review, followed by focus group discussions and Delphi consultation. The weights of the indicators were established by analytical hierarchy process (AHP). RESULTS: The activity coefficients were 100% and 96.43% for the two rounds of expert consultation, respectively. The concordance coefficients were 0.714 and 0.888 for the two rounds of expert consultation, respectively. The Cronbach's alpha were 0.9812 and 0.8873 for the two rounds of expert consultation, respectively. The authority coefficient reached 0.9093. The final indicators comprised 3 primary index, 12 secondary index and 29 tertiary index. CONCLUSION: The expert consultation has achieved reliable results. The established index system can serve as an instrument for the standardized development of community health services institutions.

[Health values and health-related behaviors in ethnic minority groups in Guizhou Province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the perceived health values and its impact on health-related behaviors of the ethnic minority people in Guizhou province, with an aim to developing culturally appropriate health education and health promotion strategies. METHODS: A self-designed questionnaire survey was undertaken in 722 Miao, Gelao, Dong and Buyi people aged 15 years or over. The questionnaire contained six items evaluating perceived health values. The health-related behaviors covered smoking, alcohol drinking, safe water drinking, blood pressure check, reading health information, and seeking medical attention for illness. Kruskal-Wallis Test and Spearman correlation analysis were used to test the relationship between health values and health-related behaviors. RESULTS: Smoking and alcohol drinking were more prevalent in the minority men than in the minority women (P<0. 001). The health-related behaviors including smoking, alcohol drinking and reading changed with age and education levels. Those who had less health risk behaviors (except for smoking) tended to put more values on health. Each of the six health value items was associated with at least three health-related behaviors. Blood pressure check and reading were positively correlated with all of the six health values items. CONCLUSION: There is a need to increase perceived values of health in the ethnic minority people through education so that health promotion can be effectively implemented.

[Study on the quality of life and its influencing factors in Miao and Gelao Minority groups in Guizhou province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and evaluate the quality of life and its influencing factors in Miao and Gelao Minority groups in Guizhou province with the aim of providing evidence for valid health promotion measures. METHODS: Based on a self-designed questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life on 582 subjects. Kruskal-wallis test and stepwise regression analysis were used to test the quality of life and its influencing factors. RESULTS: There were significant differences among the groups of quality of life and its influencing factors. The quality of life of Miao Minority was the highest and Gelao the lowest. Sex, age, acute disease prevalence of the past two-weeks, prevalence of chronic diseases, drinking unboiled water, tobacco-smoking habit, educational level and the family expenditure on life were correlated with all or most of the domains of quality of life. CONCLUSION: The key steps on quality of life promotion should include: strengthening the basis medical health service, pushing cooperative medical service, enhancing prevention and care of chronic diseases, speeding the development of economics etc.