Correlation between Preoperative Serum Albumin-Globulin Ratio and Prognosis of Patients Undergoing Low Rectal Cancer Surgery.

BACKGROUND: To explore the correlation between preoperative serum albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) and the prognosis of patients undergoing low rectal cancer surgery. METHODS: A total of 152 patients treated from June 2013 to June 2015 were selected. They were divided into survival group (n = 128) and death group (n = 24). Their general clinical data and preoperative and postoperative serum albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB) levels, and AGR were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed for influencing factors for postoperative death. A nomogram prediction model was established based on independent risk factors. The predictive value of AGR for clinical outcomes was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the optimal cut-off value was obtained. The correlation between AGR and postoperative clinical outcomes was analyzed. The patients were divided into group A and B according to cut-off value, survival curves were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, and 5-year survival rates were compared. RESULTS: There were significant differences in tumor stage, cell differentiation, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, chemotherapy, preoperative ALB, GLB, and AGR between the two groups, which were all independent risk factors for death. After operation, ALB and AGR significantly declined and were significantly lower in the death group than those in the survival group. The death group had significantly higher GLB level than that of the survival group. The optimal cut-off value of AGR for predicting death was 1.73. AGR was significantly correlated with postoperative clinical outcomes. The survival rate of patients with AGR > 1.73 significantly exceeded that of cases with AGR ≤ 1.73. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative serum AGR is an independent risk factor for the postoperative clinical outcomes of patients with low rectal cancer and has a high predictive value. Lower AGR indicates higher risk of postoperative death.

Biomass waste as a clean reductant for iron recovery of iron tailings by magnetization roasting.

The magnetization roasting with coal as primary reductants adds cost and causes environmental pollution. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate the biomass application as a reductant for magnetization roasting to recover iron from low-utilization iron tailings for emission mitigation and green utilization. This study systematically investigated the impact of biomass (pyrolysis gas from agricultural and forestry waste) as a reductant on the conversion of iron tailings to magnetite in magnetization roasting. Additionally, the thermal decomposition of biomass, phase transformation and microstructure evolution of iron tailings were analyzed by TG, XRD, BET, and other methods to elucidate the conversion mechanism for facilitating magnetized hematite in iron tailings with biomass-derived gas. The results showed that woody biomass was a more appropriate reductant for magnetization roasting; 650 °C was the optimal temperature for the complete transformation of hematite to magnetite by reduction roasting with biomass waste. Through magnetic separation, the concentrate with an iron grade of 62.04% and iron recovery of 95.29% was obtained, and the saturation magnetization was enhanced from 0.60 emu/g to 58.03 emu/g of iron tailings. During the magnetization roasting, CO and H2 generated from biomass reduced the hematite in tailings particles from interior to exterior, forming a loose structure with rich microfissures, facilitating the subsequent separation operations. This study offers a novel reference for applying biomass to exploit hematite minerals and shows the potential of biomass for energy savings and emission reduction in the utilization of iron tailing resources.

Serum Amyloid A: A Potential Biomarker Assessing Disease Activity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the association between levels of serum amyloid A (SAA) and the activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 135 patients with SLE, including 52 patients with active SLE and 83 patients with inactive SLE and 149 healthy controls. The degree of activity of SLE was assessed using the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). Serum SAA levels were measured using a Cobas 8000 c702 modular analyzer. RESULTS The levels of SAA were significantly increased in patients with active SLE compared with patients with inactive SLE (median IQR, 16.65 mg/L; range, 9.35-39.68 mg/L, and median IQR, 2.30 mg/L, range, 1.30-4.80 mg/L) (p<0.001). Levels of SAA were significantly correlated with the SLEDAI-2K scores, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) in patients with SLE (r=0.726, p<0.001; r=0.631, p<0.001; r=0.774, p<0.001, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the SAA values were independently associated with active SLE when controlled for white blood cell (WBC) count, red blood cell distribution width (RDW), ESR, and Hs-CRP (OR=1.772; p=0.01; 95% CI, 1.101-2.851). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for SAA was used to identify patients with active SLE with an area under the curve of 0.971, a sensitivity of 90.4%, and a specificity of 94.0%. CONCLUSIONS SAA levels were significantly correlated with disease activity in patients with SLE.

The enrichment and transformation mechanism of Pb and Cu in suspension magnetization roasting and magnetic separation from iron tailings.

Magnetic iron concentrate (MIC) and nonmagnetic tailings (NT) are obtained from magnetization roasting of iron tailings (IT). MIC containing Pb adversely affects blast furnace ironmaking, while Cu in NT poses leaching risks. This study utilizes fast pyrolysis-suspension magnetization roasting to recover iron from IT. The enrichment of Pb, Cu, and the phase transformation mechanism of Cu in the process of suspension magnetization roasting and magnetic separation were clarified. Results show 96.13 % of Cu in IT is in limonite and 47.23 % of Pb is associated with iron. At 750 °C, with 10 % dosage of biomass pyrolysis and 10 min roasting, Pb, Cu and Fe contents in MIC are 0.96, 2.14 and 3.17 times that of NT. Increasing roasting temperature enhances Cu associated with iron enrichment into the MIC, while oxidation of free copper oxide associated with iron forms magnetic copper ferrite. Increased pyrolyzed biomass leads to over-reduction of magnetite associated with Cu to FeO associated with Cu, promoting magnetic copper ferrite decomposition into FeO and free copper oxide. This research holds significant importance in controlling the quality of MIC and the storage risk of IT, and provides theoretical guidance for the regulation and recovery of valuable metals in subsequent processes.

Recovery of iron from iron tailings by suspension magnetization roasting with biomass-derived pyrolytic gas.

A major industrial solid waste, iron tailings occupy a large area and pose long-term pollution risks. The pyrolysis gas of biomass was used as reducing agent to suspension magnetize and roast iron tailings to recover iron in this study. The process conditions, phase transformation and microstructure evolution of the iron tailings, pyrolysis gas production, and reaction regulations were investigated to explain the mechanism of iron recovery by suspension magnetization roasting (SMR) under the action of biomass pyrolysis gas. These studies were conducted using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, thermo-gravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry, brunauer-emmett-teller specific surface area, and gas chromatography. The results showed that, after the grinding-magnetic separation process, the iron recovery rate was 93.32 %; the iron grade of the iron concentrate was 61.50 %. The optimal process conditions were determined as follows: fast pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C, SMR temperature of 700 °C, biomass dosage of 10 %, and SMR time of 4-5 min. The formation of Fe3O4 from the surface to the interior of the particles during the reduction process, and formation of pores and cracks led to an increase in the specific surface area. The SMR temperature not only improved the heat and mass transfer effect in the reduction process but also generated more CO and H2 through the reverse reaction of methanation, which work together to increase the saturation magnetisation of the unit sample. This method can be used to efficiently recover high quality iron from refractory iron ores.

Oxidation of simulated wastewater by Fe2+-catalyzed system: The selective reactivity of chlorine radicals and the oxidation pathway of aromatic amines.

Aromatic amines (AAs), a characteristic pollutant with electron-donating groups in textile industry, having high reactivity with reactive chlorine free radicals, is probably the precursor of chlorinated aromatic products in advanced oxidation treatment. In this study, Fe2+/peroxydisulfate (PDS)/Cl- and Fe2+/H2O2/Cl-systems were used to treat four kinds of AAs (5-Nitro-o-toluidine (NT), 4-Aminoazobenzol (AAB), O-Aminoazotoluene (OAAT), 4,4'-Methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBCA)) in simulated wastewater, and the selectivity of various reactive species to AAs, the oxidation law and pathway of AAs were explored. The results showed that dichloride anion radical (Cl2·-) could effectively oxidize four AAs, and chlorine radical (·Cl) was strongly reactive to AAB and MBCA, especially MBCA. The largest f - (Fukui function) of MBCA is 0.0822, which is the lowest of the four AAs, so ·Cl might be more sensitive to electrophilic point than hydroxyl radical (·OH). The oxidation pathway of NT and MBCA showed that ·Cl mainly played the role of electron transfer to AAs instead of generating chlorinated products, but the addition of ·OH to -NH2 generated aromatic nitro compounds with higher toxicity than NT and MBCA. Therefore, the electron transfer of ·Cl and Cl2·- could not only improve the removal of AAs but also reduce the generation of toxic products. This study found that the reactivity of reactive chlorine free radicals was not necessarily related to chlorination, which provided a theoretical basis for the further studies into the formation mechanism of chlorination products.

The role of radiomics with machine learning in the prediction of muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A mini review.

Bladder cancer is a common malignant tumor in the urinary system. Depending on whether bladder cancer invades muscle tissue, it is classified into non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). It is crucial to accurately diagnose the muscle invasion of bladder cancer for its clinical management. Although imaging modalities such as CT and multiparametric MRI play an important role in this regard, radiomics has shown great potential with the development and innovation of precision medicine. It features outstanding advantages such as non-invasive and high efficiency, and takes on important significance in tumor assessment and laor liberation. In this article, we provide an overview of radiomics in the prediction of muscle-invasive bladder cancer and reflect on its future trends and challenges.

Morphological changes in Parkinson's disease based on magnetic resonance imaging: A mini-review of subcortical structures segmentation and shape analysis.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in clinical symptoms, including bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. The pathophysiological changes in PD are inextricably linked to the subcortical structures. Shape analysis is a method for quantifying the volume or surface morphology of structures using magnetic resonance imaging. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in morphological analysis techniques for studying the subcortical structures in PD in vivo. This approach includes available pipelines for volume and shape analysis, focusing on the morphological features of volume and surface area.

A Nomogram Model that Predicts the Risk of Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: To construct a novel nomogram model that predicts the risk of diabetic nephropathy (DN) incidence in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: Questionnaire surveys, physical examinations, routine blood tests, and biochemical index evaluations were conducted on 1095 patients with T2DM from Guilin. A least absolute contraction selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to screen out DN risk factors. A logistic regression analysis incorporating the screened risk factors was used to establish a predictive nomogram model. The performance of the nomogram model was evaluated using the C-index, an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration plots, and a decision curve analysis. Bootstrapping was applied for internal validation. RESULTS: Independent predictors for DN incidence risk included gender, age, hypertension, medicine use, duration of diabetes, body mass index, blood urea nitrogen level, serum creatinine level, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and red blood cell distribution width. The nomogram model exhibited moderate prediction ability with a C-index of 0.819 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.783-0.853) and an AUC of 0.813 (95%CI: 0.778-0.848). The C-index from internal validation reached 0.796 (95%CI: 0.763-0.829). The decision curve analysis displayed that the DN risk nomogram was clinically applicable when the risk threshold was between 1 and 83%. CONCLUSION: Our novel and simple nomogram containing 10 factors may be useful in predicting DN incidence risk in T2DM patients.

Relative distribution of Cd2+ adsorption mechanisms on biochars derived from rice straw and sewage sludge.

Qualitative and quantitative characterization of Cd2+ adsorption mechanisms was performed with rice-straw and sewage-sludge biochars produced at different temperature (300-700 °C), respectively. The pH effect, adsorption kinetics and isotherms were investigated, and chemical analyses of Cd2+-loaded biochars were conducted by SEM-EDS, XRD, FTIR and Boehm titration. This demonstrated that rice-straw biochars (RSBs) have greater adsorption capacities for Cd2+ than sewage-sludge biochars (SSBs), which was mainly due to precipitation and cation exchange mechanisms, with their contribution proportion to total adsorption from 76.1% to 80.8%. While in SSBs, both mechanisms were overshadowed by coordination with π electrons mechanism accounting for 59.2%-62.9% of total adsorption, even the role of cation exchange was negligible in the adsorption mechanisms accounting for 2.3%-6.7%. The relationship of each mechanism with biochar's properties were discussed, which further deepen our understanding of adsorption on biochars. These results suggest RSBs have great potential for removing Cd2+ from aqueous solutions.

Quantitative contribution of Cd2+ adsorption mechanisms by chicken-manure-derived biochars.

This study investigated the efficiency and mechanisms of Cd2+ removal by chicken-manure biochar produced at different temperatures. Adsorption kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamic, and desorption were examined, and the biochars before and after adsorption were analyzed by SEM-EDS, FTIR, Boehm titration, and XRD. Kinetics of adsorption were better described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model than pseudo-first-order kinetic and intraparticle diffusion model under different initial Cd2+ concentrations of 20, 50, and 100 mg L-1. Equilibrium adsorption was better modeled by Freundlich and Temkin isotherm equations than Langmuir equation at different temperatures of 25, 35, and 45 °C. Thermodynamic parameters confirmed the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption of Cd2+ at all of temperatures. Moreover, functional group complexation, precipitation, and cation exchange jointly contributed to Cd2+ adsorption on the biochars, whose relationship with the properties of biochar were also analyzed. The new precipitate as Cd5(PO4)3OH was found during the adsorption. Complexation and precipitation were predominant mechanisms for all biochars (together accounting for 92.4-98.8%), while cation exchange made a relatively minor contribution to total Cd2+ removal (accounting for 1.2-7.6%). The relative distribution of each mechanism on the biochars was determined, which deepen our understanding of the Cd2+ adsorption process. These results are useful for future practical applications of biochar to removal heavy metals from water.