Dirammox-dominated microbial community for biological nitrogen removal from wastewater.

Direct ammonia oxidation (Dirammox) might be of great significance to advance the innovation of biological nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment systems. However, it remains unknown whether Dirammox bacteria can be selectively enriched in activated sludge. In this study, a lab-scale bioreactor was established and operated for 2 months to treat synthetic wastewater with hydroxylamine as a selection pressure. Three Dirammox strains (Alcaligenes aquatilis SDU_AA1, Alcaligenes aquatilis SDU_AA2, and Alcaligenes sp. SDU_A2) were isolated from the activated sludge, and their capability to perform Dirammox process was confirmed. Although these three Dirammox bacteria were undetectable in the seed sludge (0%), their relative abundances rapidly increased after a month of operation, reaching 12.65%, 0.69%, and 0.69% for SDU_A2, SDU_AA1, and SDU_AA2, respectively. Among them, the most dominant Dirammox (SDU_A2) exhibited higher nitrogen removal rate (32.35%) than the other two strains (13.57% of SDU_AA1 and 14.52% of SDU_AA2). Comparative genomic analysis demonstrated that the most dominant Dirammox bacterium (SDU_A2) possesses fewer complete metabolic modules compared to the other two less abundant Alcaligenes strains. Our findings expanded the understanding of the application of Dirammox bacteria as key functional microorganisms in a novel biological nitrogen and carbon removal process if they could be well stabilized. KEY POINTS: • Dirammox-dominated microbial community was enriched in activated sludge bioreactor. • The addition of hydroxylamine played a role in Dirammox enrichment. • Three Dirammox bacterial strains, including one novel species, were isolated.

Increased plasma level of kynurenic acid in drug-free patients with first-episode schizophrenia compared to patients with chronic schizophrenia and healthy controls: preliminary data.

BACKGROUND: Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a metabolite of tryptophan (TRP). KYNA levels have been reported with controversial findings in patients with schizophrenia. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the probable effects of medication and illness chronicity on peripheral KYNA levels in schizophrenia. METHODS: We assessed peripheral (plasma) TRP metabolite levels in 38 drug-free patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES), 65 patients with chronic schizophrenia (CHS), and 70 healthy controls by using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The symptom severity of patients was evaluated by using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Finally, we analyzed the association of TRP metabolites with symptom severity. RESULTS: We found significantly higher KYNA levels in FES patients than in both healthy controls (p < 0.01) and CHS patients (p < 0.05). No significant association was observed between plasma TRP metabolite levels and PANSS scores in either FES or CHS patients. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, elevated plasma KYNA levels may be a promising biomarker in FES patients. Medication and illness chronicity may affect peripheral KYNA levels with a currently unknown mechanism.

Inflammation, brain structure and cognition interrelations among individuals with differential risks for bipolar disorder.

Neuro-inflammation might impact on clinical manifestations and cognition function via changing the volumes of key brain structures such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in bipolar disorder (BD). In this study, we investigated the interrelations among interleukin (IL)-6 cytokine level, grey matter (GM) volume of the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC), and attention function among offspring of parents diagnosed with BD. The offspring were categorized as being either asymptomatic or symptomatic based on whether they manifested pre-defined sub-threshold mood symptoms. We found that the symptomatic offspring showed significantly higher serum levels of IL-6 than the asymptomatic offspring (F(1, 59) = 67.65, p < 0.001). On the brain level, we obtained significant interactive effect of group and IL6 level on the ACC GM (PFWE = 0.017). Specifically, the GM volume of the rostral ACC was negatively associated with the levels of IL-6 in the asymptomatic offspring (PFWE = 0.021), but not the symptomatic offspring (PFWE > 0.05). Mediation analyses revealed that the GM volume of the rostral ACC significantly mediated the negative association between the IL-6 levels and attention performance in the asymptomatic offspring (bootstrapping Confidence Interval (CI) = -6.0432 to -0.0731) but not the symptomatic offspring (bootstrapping CI = -0.3197 to 1.3423). Our data suggest that the asymptomatic and symptomatic bipolar offspring may exhibit different neurocognitive-inflammatory profiles, which could be further validated as viable biosignatures for BD risk and resilience.

Maternal Deprivation Enhances Contextual Fear Memory via Epigenetically Programming Second-Hit Stress-Induced Reelin Expression in Adult Rats.

Background: Early-life stress increases the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the epigenetic mechanism of early-life stress-induced susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder in adulthood remains unclear. Methods: Rat pups were exposed to maternal deprivation during postnatal days 1 to 14 for 3 hours daily and treated with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor zebularine, L-methionine, or vehicle 7 days before contextual fear conditioning, which was used as a second stress and to mimic the reexperiencing symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder in adulthood. Long-term potentiation, dendritic spine density, DNA methyltransferase mRNA, Reelin gene methylation, and Reelin protein expression in the hippocampal CA1 were measured. Results: Maternal deprivation enhanced contextual fear memory in adulthood. Meanwhile, maternal deprivation decreased DNA methyltransferase mRNA and Reelin gene methylation in the hippocampal CA1 on postnatal days 22 and 90. Reelin protein expression was increased in the hippocampal CA1 following contextual fear conditioning in adulthood. Furthermore, compared with rats that experienced maternal deprivation alone, rats also exposed to contextual fear conditioning showed an enhanced induction of hippocampal long-term potentiation and increased dendritic spine density in the hippocampal CA1 following contextual fear conditioning in adulthood. Zebularine pretreatment led to an enhancement of contextual fear memory, hypomethylation of the Reelin gene, and increased Reelin protein expression in adult rats, while L-methionine had the opposite effects. Conclusions: Maternal deprivation can epigenetically program second-hit stress-induced Reelin expression and enhance the susceptibility to contextual fear memory in adulthood. These findings provide a new framework for understanding the cumulative stress hypothesis.

Mass Fractions, Congener Group Patterns, and Placental Transfer of Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Paired Maternal and Cord Serum.

Multiple studies have demonstrated the occurrences of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) in environmental matrixes, but human internal exposure to them has been studied rarely. Mass fractions and congener group patterns of SCCPs and MCCPs in paired maternal and cord serum were studied for the first time to investigate the placental transport mechanism and prenatal exposure risks of CPs. Samples were collected in Beijing, China, and analyzed using two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. SCCP and MCCP mass fractions in maternal serum were 21.7-373 and 3.76-31.8 ng/g ww, respectively. They were 8.51-107 and 1.33-12.9 ng/g ww, respectively, in cord serum. Significant positive correlation between SCCP and MCCP levels in maternal serum was found ( p < 0.01), suggesting SCCPs and MCCPs may undergo similar accumulation, transfer, and transformation pathways. The predominant congener groups for SCCP and MCCP in maternal serum were C10-11Cl6-7 and C14Cl7-8. The homologue profiles of CPs in cord serum were similar but with varied contribution percentage compared with those in maternal serum. By calculating and comparing cord-maternal serum ratios for each individual congener group, passive diffusion was recognized to be the possible placental transport form. The relationships between CP and thyroid hormone concentrations (THs) indicated that exposure to CPs might affect circulating TSHs. C9-CPs were also detected, improving our understanding of CPs in human serum.

Genetic variation in STAT4 predicts response to interferon-α therapy for hepatitis B e antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B.

UNLABELLED: Interferon (IFN)-α is a first-line therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients but only initiates a response in a minority of patients. A genetic variant, rs7574865 in STAT4, was recently reported to be associated with risk of developing CHB and hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma. We aimed to determine whether this variant is associated with the response to IFNα treatment for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB patients. We studied 466 HBeAg-positive CHB patients who received either IFNα-2b (n = 224) or pegylated IFNα-2a (n = 242) therapy for 48 weeks and were followed for an additional 24 weeks. The rate of sustained virologic response (SVR), defined as HBeAg seroconversion along with hepatitis B virus DNA level <2000 copies/mL at week 72, was compared among patients with different genotypes of rs7574865. After 48 weeks of treatment and 24 weeks off treatment, the SVR rates in the IFNα-2b and pegylated IFNα-2a therapy groups were 30.4% and 28.9%, respectively. Compared to the rs7574865 GT/TT genotype, the GG genotype (a risk factor of CHB and hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma) was significantly associated with a reduced SVR rate in both patients who received IFNα-2b therapy (21.1% versus 37.2%, P = 0.01) and those who received pegylated IFNα-2a therapy (18.0% versus 41.2%, P = 9.74 × 10(-5) ). In joint analysis of the 466 patients, the GG genotype was associated with an approximately half SVR rate compared to the GT/TT genotype (19.3% versus 39.1%, P = 4.15 × 10(-6) ). A multivariate logistic regression model including rs7574865 and clinical variables showed that rs7574865 was the most significant factor for the prediction of SVR. CONCLUSION: STAT4 rs7574865 is a reliable predictor of response to IFNα therapy for HBeAg-positive CHB patients and may be used for optimizing the treatment of CHB.

Prevalence and risk factors of fatty liver disease in young and middle-aged population: one center study in Southwestern China.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Fatty liver disease has become common hepatic disease not only in western countries but also in developing countries in Asia-Pacific area. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of fatty liver disease as well as its correlation with metabolic syndrome in young and middle-aged population. METHODS: Data were collected from check-up center at the 1st Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in 2011. Relationships of fatty liver disease and age, body mass index, and metabolic syndrome were determined. Logistic regression was performed to identify the risk factors for fatty liver disease. RESULTS: Data of 18 676 subjects (mean age 40.55 ± 9.94 ranging from 18 to 59) were analyzed. The prevalence of fatty liver disease was 22.0% and increased along with age, body mass index, and the presence and severity of metabolic syndrome. In logistic regression, living area was significantly associated with fatty liver in total population. Male, overweight and obese, waist-to-height ratio ≥ 0.5, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, high triglyceride, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L were common independent risk factors for fatty liver disease in urban and rural areas. Older age and white blood cell over 5.5 ×10(9) /L were related to fatty liver disease in urban area. Obesity was the most important factors in both areas. CONCLUSION: Fatty liver disease was prevalent in young and middle-aged population and mainly associated to multiple metabolic disorders.

Optimized Adsorption-Catalytic Conversion for Lithium Polysulfides by Constructing Bimetallic Compounds for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Although lithium-sulfur batteries possess the advantage of high theoretical specific capacity, the inevitable shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides is still a difficult problem restricting its application. The design of highly active catalysts to promote the redox reaction during charge-discharge and thus reduce the existence time of lithium polysulfides in the electrolyte is the mainstream solution at present. In particular, bimetallic compounds can provide more active sites and exhibit better catalytic properties than single-component metal compounds by regulating the electronic structure of the catalysts. In this work, bimetallic compounds-nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NiCo)Se2-NCNT and (CuCo)Se2-NCNT are designed by introducing Ni and Cu into CoSe2, respectively. The (CuCo)Se2-NCNT delivers an optimized adsorption-catalytic conversion for lithium polysulfide, benefitting from adjusted electron structure with downshifted d-band center and increased electron fill number of Co in (CuCo)Se2 compared with that of (NiCo)Se2. This endows (CuCo)Se2 moderate adsorption strength for lithium polysulfides and better catalytic properties for their conversion. As a result, the lithium-sulfur batteries with (CuCo)Se2-NCNT achieve a high specific capacity of 1051.06 mAh g-1 at 1C and an enhanced rate property with a specific capacity of 838.27 mAh g-1 at 4C. The work provides meaningful insights into the design of bimetallic compounds as catalysts for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Fate of micropollutants in struvite production from swine wastewater with sacrificial magnesium anode.

Struvite recovery shows significant potential for simultaneously recovering nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from swine wastewater but is challenged by the occurrence and transformation of antibiotic residuals. Electrochemically mediated struvite precipitation with sacrificial magnesium anode (EMSP-Mg) is promising due to its automation and chemical-free merits. However, the fate of antibiotics remains underexplored. We investigated the behavior of sulfadiazine (SD), an antibiotic frequently detected but less studied than others within the EMSP-Mg system. Significantly less SD (≤ 5%) was co-precipitated with recovered struvite in EMSP-Mg than conventional chemical struvite precipitation (CSP) processes (15.0 to 50.0%). The reduced SD accumulation in struvite recovered via EMSP was associated with increased pH and electric potential differences, which likely enhanced the electrostatic repulsion between SD and struvite. In contrast, the typical strategies used in enhancing P removal in the EMSP-Mg system, including increasing the Mg/P ratio or the Mg-release rates, have shown negligible effects on SD adsorption. Furthermore, typical coexisting ions (Ca2+, Cl-, and HCO3-) inhibited SD adsorption onto recovered products. These results provide new insights into the interactions between antibiotics and struvite within the EMSP-Mg system, enhancing our understanding of antibiotic migration pathways and aiding the development of novel EMSP processes for cleaner struvite recovery.

Short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in breast milk in Shanghai, China: Occurrence, characteristics, and risk assessment.

As novel contaminants, short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) have been of great concern in the past several years. Shanghai was one of the provinces with the largest chlorinated paraffins (CPs) emission in China; nevertheless, there is currently little information on the human exposure to SCCPs and MCCPs, particularly MCCPs. In this study, 25 breast milk samples were collected in Shanghai from 2016 to 2017. The concentrations of SCCPs and MCCPs were determined using two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC × GC-orbitrap-HRMS) to investigate their characteristics and assess the associated health risks for breast-fed infants. Compared with the previous studies in other areas, the current study presented the higher CPs concentrations, with median concentrations of SCCPs and MCCPs up to 771 and 125 ng/g lipid weight (lw), respectively. The exposure profiles of the CPs were characterized by C10 and Cl6-7 as the predominant congeners of SCCPs, while C14 and Cl7-9 were identified as the dominant groups of MCCPs. CP-42 and CP-52 were identified as potential sources of CPs found in breast milk samples collected in Shanghai. The concentrations of MCCPs exhibited a positive correlation (p value < 0.05) with the dietary consumption of meat and poultry. No significant positive correlations were observed for SCCPs and MCCPs with polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) congeners. A preliminary exposure assessment showed that SCCPs in breast milk potentially posed high risks to the breast-fed infants in Shanghai.

Effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide on cytokines in adolescents with subthreshold depression: a randomized controlled study.

JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202409000-00036/figure1/v/2024-01-16T170235Z/r/image-tiff Strong evidence has accumulated to show a correlation between depression symptoms and inflammatory responses. Moreover, anti-inflammatory treatment has shown partial effectiveness in alleviating depression symptoms. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), derived from Goji berries, exhibits notable antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. In our recent double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial, we found that LBP significantly reduced depressive symptoms in adolescents with subthreshold depression. It is presumed that the antidepressant effect of LBP may be associated with its influence on inflammatory cytokines. In the double-blinded randomized controlled trial, we enrolled 29 adolescents with subthreshold depression and randomly divided them into an LBP group and a placebo group. In the LBP group, adolescents were given 300 mg/d LBP. A 6-week follow up was completed by 24 adolescents, comprising 14 adolescents from the LBP group (15.36 ± 2.06 years, 3 men and 11 women) and 10 adolescents from the placebo group (14.9 ± 1.6 years, 2 men and 8 women). Our results showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, the interleukin-17A level in the LBP group was lower than that in the placebo group. Network analysis showed that LBP reduced the correlations and connectivity between inflammatory factors, which were associated with the improvement in depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that 6-week administration of LBP suppresses the immune response by reducing interleukin-17A level, thereby exerting an antidepressant effect.

Electrochemical route outperforms chemical struvite precipitation in mitigating heavy metal contamination.

Electrochemically mediated struvite precipitation (EMSP) offers a robust, chemical-free process towards phosphate and ammonium reclamation from nutrients-rich wastewater, i.e., swine wastewater. However, given the coexistence of heavy metal, struvite recovered from wastewater may suffer from heavy metal contamination. Here, we systematically investigated the fate of Cu2+, as a representative heavy metal, in the EMSP process and compared it with the chemical struvite precipitation (CSP) system. The results showed that Cu2+ was 100% transferred from solution to solid phase as a mixture of copper and struvite under pHi 9.5 with 2-20 mg/L Cu2+ in the CSP system, and varying pH would affect struvite production. In the EMSP system, the formation of struvite was not affected by bulk pH, and struvite was much less polluted by co-removed Cu2+ (24.4%) at pHi 7.5, which means we recovered a cleaner and safer product. Specifically, struvite mainly accumulates on the front side of the cathode. In contrast, the fascinating thing is that Cu2+ is ultimately deposited primarily to the back side of the cathode in the form of copper (hydro)oxides due to the distinct thickness of the local high pH layer on the two sides of the cathode. In turn, struvite and Cu (hydro)oxides can be harvested separately from the front and back sides of the cathode, respectively, facilitating the subsequent recycling of heavy metals and struvite. The contrasting fate of Cu2+ in the two systems highlights the merits of EMSP over conventional CSP in mitigating heavy metal pollution on recovered products, promoting the development of EMSP technology towards a cleaner recovery of struvite from waste streams.

The validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the biological rhythms interview of assessment in neuropsychiatry in the community: a large Chinese college student population.

Objective: To test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the biological rhythms interview of assessment in neuropsychiatry (C-BRIAN) in a group of young adults with and without depressive symptoms. Methods: Three hundred and seventy-eight university students were recruited as participants. Based on the scores from Center for Epidemiological Survey Depression Scale (CES-D), students were divided into the depressed group and healthy group. Explorative factor analysis was applied to assess the construct validity of the C-BRIAN. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and CES-D were compared with the C-BRIAN to test the convergent validity. The internal consistency of the C-BRIAN was also examined. Results: Three factors were extracted (activities, eating patterns, and sleep factors) explaining 63.9% of the total variance. The internal consistencies were very good with a coefficient of 0.94 (overall) and 0.89-0.91 for three factors. The domains of activities, eating patterns, and sleep were moderately correlated with PSQI (r=0.579) and CES-D (r=0.559) (ps<0.01). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that C-BRIAN has good validity and reliability which can be used to assess the biological rhythm in the young adult population with depressive symptoms. C-BRIAN would be a reliable tool to detect depressive symptoms for timely prevention and intervention in the community.

[Ornithine aspartate and naloxone combined therapy for hepatic encephalopathy affects cognitive function, prognosis, and neuropeptide levels].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential effects on cognitive function, prognosis, and neuropeptide levels of patients in response to combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone for hepatic encephalopathy. METHODS: Eighty-four consecutive patients diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy were randomly divided into two equal groups. The control group (n = 42) received traditional medical treatment, and the research group (n = 42) received the traditional medical treatment as well as the combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone. The supplemental treatment was comprised of daily intravenous injection of 10-15 g ornithine aspartate in 250 ml of 5% glucose plus intravenous drip of 3 mg naloxone in 100 ml of 5% glucose, and was given in 7-day cycles for one or two cycles. The cognitive function of patients was assessed by Hasegawa Intelligence Scale (HDS) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaires. The effective rate and time duration from coma to consciousness were recorded. Changes in blood ammonia level, markers of liver function, and neuropeptide levels were measured by standard biochemical assays. Intergroup differences were assessed by the Chi-squared test. RESULTS: The HDS and MMSE scores of the research group were significantly higher than those of the control group after therapy. The effective rate, time duration from coma to consciousness, blood ammonia, the liver function markers alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase and total bilirubin, and the neuropeptides arginine vasopressin and beta-endorphin were remarkably improved after treatment in the research group, as compared with that in the control group. CONCLUSION: Supplementing the traditional treatment for hepatic encephalopathy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone combination therapy provides better therapeutic outcome than traditional treatment alone.

Basket anode filled with CaCO3 particles: A membrane-free electrochemical system for boosting phosphate recovery and product purity.

Phosphorus (P) is often regarded as the primary stimulant for eutrophication, while its importance as a crucial life element is also well acknowledged. Given its future scarcity, P recycling from waste streams is suggested and practiced. Electrochemically mediated precipitation (EMP) is a robust and chemical-free process for P removal and recovery, yet it requires further developments. The first generation of the CaCO3-packed electrochemical precipitation column successfully solved the problem of H+-OH- recombination, achieving enhanced P removal efficiency with less energy consumption but suffering from low Ca-phosphate purity in recovered products. Herein, a new concept of a basket-anode electrochemical system is proposed and validated to prevent direct H+-OH- recombination and enhance product purity. The CaCO3 pellets packed basket anode alleviates the OH- depletion by CaCO3-H+ interaction and provides extra Ca2+ for enhanced P removal. The novel structure of the basket anode, by its derived acidic anode region and alkaline cathode region, completely avoids the precipitation of Ca-phosphate on the packed CaCO3 and greatly facilitates the collection of high-quality Ca-phosphate product. Our results suggest that almost 100% of the removed P was in high-purity, highly crystalline Ca-phosphate on the cathode. The recovered products contained significantly more P (13.5 wt%) than in the previous study (0.1 wt%) at similar energy consumptions (29.8 kWh/kg P). The applied current density, pellets size, and influent P concentration were critical for P removal performance, product purity, and power consumption. We further demonstrated the long-term stability of this novel system and its technical and economic feasibility in treating real stored urine. Our study provides new cell architectural designs to enhance the performance of EMP systems and may inspire innovations and developments in other electrochemical water treatment processes.

Exercise effect on the gut microbiota in young adolescents with subthreshold depression: A randomized psychoeducation-controlled Trial.

This 3-month randomized psychoeducation-controlled trial (RCT) of exercise was undertaken in young adolescents with subthreshold depression to examine the impact on gut microbiota. Participants (aged 12-14 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise or a psychoeducation-controlled group. The exercise intervention arm took moderate-intensity exercise, comprised of 30 min of running per day, 4 days a week for 3 months. Psychoeducation intervention consisted of 6 sessions of group activity including gaming, reading, and singing. The gut microbiota was assessed by metagenomic sequencing. After 3-month moderate-intensity exercise, the intervention group increased the relative abundance of Coprococcus, Blautia, Dorea, Tyzzerella at the genus level, as well as Tyzzerella nexilis, Ruminococcus obeum at species level when compared to the psychoeducation-controlled group. Moreover, EggNOG analyses showed that the defense and signal transduction mechanism were highly enriched after the active intervention, and changes were correlated with improvements in depressive symptoms measured by Chinese Patient Depression Questionnaire 9. The KEGG pathway of neurodegenerative diseases was depleted in the microbiome in young adolescents with subthreshold depression after exercise intervention. This 3-month RCT suggests that at both the genus and species levels, aerobic group exercise intervention improved in depressive symptoms and revealed changes in gut microbiota suggesting beneficial effects.

Narrow band imaging diagnosis of bladder cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.

UNLABELLED: What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? In recent years, more attention has focused on the role of narrow band imaging (NBI) in bladder cancer detection and NBI technology has spread rapidly. It is an important method for diagnosing new or recurrent bladder cancer. But its diagnostic accuracy is still uncertain. This paper summarizes the diagnostic accuracy of NBI in bladder cancer and compares NBI with white light imaging. The results show that NBI cystoscopy significantly improves the detection accuracy in bladder cancer, compared with white light imaging. However, some limitations still exist. Multicentre randomized studies are recommended to determine whether the visual advantages of NBI can translate into real therapeutic benefit for individual patients. OBJECTIVE: • To assess the test performance and clinical effectiveness of narrow band imaging (NBI) cystoscopy compared with white light imaging (WLI) cystoscopy in people suspected of new or recurrent bladder cancer. METHODS: • Literature on NBI cystoscopy in the diagnosis of bladder cancer was searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE and CNKI, with hand searching of relevant congress abstracts and journals. • The literature was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Meta-DiSc1.4 software was used to review management and analysis. RESULTS: • Eight studies including 1022 patients assessed test performance. • On a per-person analysis, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio of NBI and WLI were respectively 0.943 (95% CI 0.914-0.964) and 0.848 (95% CI 0.803-0.885), 0.847 (95% CI 0.812-0.878) and 0.870 (95% CI 0.831-0.903), 7.038 (95% CI 3.357-14.754) and 6.938 (95% CI 2.052-23.465), 0.054 (95% CI 0.012-0.237) and 0.181 (95% CI 0.091-0.361), and 185.32 (95% CI 45.714-751.26) and 42.931 (95% CI 8.088-227.88). • The area under the curve and Q* of NBI and WLI were respectively 0.9781 and 0.8944, and 0.9337 and 0.8253. • For the characterization of carcinoma in situ, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio of NBI were 0.927 (95% CI 0.878-0.960), 0.768 (95% CI 0.730-0.802), 4.545 (95% CI 2.820-7.325), 0.125 (95% CI 0.051-0.304) and 48.884 (95% CI 15.642-152.77) on a per-person analysis. • The area under the curve and Q* were 0.9391 and 0.8763. CONCLUSION: • NBI is an effective method for the identification of abnormal lesions including carcinoma in situ and can provide higher diagnostic precision of bladder cancer than WLI.

Soil microbiomes divergently respond to heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in contaminated industrial sites.

Contaminated sites from electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling and coking plants feature high concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. Mixed contamination (HMs + PAHs) hinders land reclamation and affects the microbial diversity and function of soil microbiomes. In this study, we analyzed HM and PAH contamination from an e-waste dismantling plant and a coking plant and evaluated the influences of HM and PAH contamination on soil microbiomes. It was noticed that HMs and PAHs were found in all sites, although the major contaminants of the e-waste dismantling plant site were HMs (such as Cu at 5,947.58 ± 433.44 mg kg-1, Zn at 4,961.38 ± 436.51 mg kg-1, and Mn at 2,379.07 ± 227.46 mg kg-1), and the major contaminants of the coking plant site were PAHs (such as fluorene at 11,740.06 ± 620.1 mg kg-1, acenaphthylene at 211.69 ± 7.04 mg kg-1, and pyrene at 183.14 ± 18.89 mg kg-1). The microbiomes (diversity and abundance) of all sites were determined via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and redundancy analysis was conducted to investigate the relations between soil microbiomes and contaminants. The results showed that the microbiomes of the contaminated sites divergently responded to HMs and PAHs. The abundances of the bacterial genera Sulfuritalea, Pseudomonas, and Sphingobium were positively related to PAHs, while the abundances of the bacterial genera Bryobacter, Nitrospira, and Steroidobacter were positively related to HMs. This study promotes an understanding of how soil microbiomes respond to single and mixed contamination with HMs and PAHs.

Individualized rTMS Treatment for Depression using an fMRI-Based Targeting Method.

To achieve greater clinical efficacy, a revolution in treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly anticipated. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive and safe neuromodulation technique that immediately changes brain activity. Despite its wide application in the treatment for MDD, the treatment response remains different among individuals, which may be attributable to the inaccurate positioning of the stimulation target. Our study aims to examine whether the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-assisted positioning improves the efficacy of rTMS in treating depression. We intend to identify and stimulate the subregion of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in MDD with strongest anti-correlation with the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), and to conduct a comparative investigation of this novel method and the traditional 5-cm rule. To achieve more precise stimulation, both methods were applied under the guidance of neuronavigation system. We expected that the TMS treatment with individualized positioning based on resting state functional connectivity may show better clinical efficacy than the 5-cm method.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Target Location Methods for Depression.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial global public health problem in need of novel and effective treatment strategies. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive and promising treatment for depression that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the methodological weaknesses of existing work impairs the universal clinical use of rTMS. The variation of stimulated targets across the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may account for most of the heterogeneity in the efficacy of rTMS. Many rTMS target location methods for MDD have been developed in recent decades. This review was conducted to assess this emerging field and to improve treatment outcomes in clinical practice.