Potential decoupling of CO2 and Hg uptake process by global vegetation in the 21st century.

Mercury (Hg), a potent neurotoxin posing risks to human health, is cycled through vegetation uptake, which is susceptible to climate change impacts. However, the extent and pattern of these impacts are largely unknown, obstructing predictions of Hg's fate in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we evaluate the effects of climate change on vegetation elemental Hg [Hg(0)] uptake using a state-of-the-art global terrestrial Hg model (CLM5-Hg) that incorporates plant physiology. In a business-as-usual scenario, the terrestrial Hg(0) sink is predicted to decrease by 1870 Mg yr-1 in 2100, that is ~60% lower than the present-day condition. We find a potential decoupling between the trends of CO2 assimilation and Hg(0) uptake process by vegetation in the 21st century, caused by the decreased stomatal conductance with increasing CO2. This implies a substantial influx of Hg into aquatic ecosystems, posing an elevated threat that warrants consideration during the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.

An autotransferable alloy overlayer toward stable sodium metal anodes.

Sodium (Na) metal anodes receive significant attention due to their high theoretical specific energy and cost-effectiveness. However, the high reactivity of Na foil anodes and the irregular surfaces have posed challenges to the operability and reliability of Na metals in battery applications. In the absence of inert environmental protection conditions, constructing a uniform, dense, and sodiophilic Na metal anode surface is crucial for homogenizing Na deposition, but remains less-explored. Herein, we fabricated a Tin (Sn) nanoparticle-assembled film conforming to separator pores, which provided ample space for accommodating volumetric expansion during the Na alloying process. Subsequently, a seamless Na-Sn alloy overlayer was formed and transferred onto the Na foil during Na plating through a separator-assisted technique, thereby overcoming conventional operational limitations of metallic Na. As compared to traditional volumetrically expanded cracked ones, the present autotransferable, highly sodiophilic, ion-conductive, and seamless Na-Sn alloy overlayer serves as uniform nucleation sites, thereby reducing nucleation and diffusion barriers and facilitating the compact deposition of metallic Na. Consequently, the autotransferable alloy layer enables a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.9 % at 3.0 mA cm-2 and 3.0 mAh cm-2 in the half cells as well as minimal polarization overpotentials in symmetric cells, both during prolonged cycling 1200 h. Furthermore, the assembled Na||Sn-1.0h-PP||Na3V2(PO4)3@C@CNTs full cell delivers high capacity retention of 97.5 % after 200 cycles at a high cathodic mass loading.

Effects of cooking methods on the physical properties and in vitro digestibility of starch isolated from Chinese yam.

The objective of this study was to compare the structural and functional attributes of Chinese yam starches obtained via different domestic cooking methods. Cooking changed the crystalline type from the C type to the CB type, and disrupted the short- and long-range molecular order of Chinese yam starch. The average chain length of amylopectin in BOS (boiling starch) was the smallest at 22.78, while RWS had the longest average chain length, reaching 24.24. These alterations in molecular structure resulted in variations in functional properties such as solubility, swelling power (SP), pasting characteristics, and rheological properties. Among these alterations, boiling was the most effective method for increasing the water-binding capacity and SP of starch. Specifically, its water holding capacity was 2.12 times that of RWS. In vitro digestion experiments indicated that BOS has a higher digestion rate (k = 0.0272 min-1) and lower RDS (rapidly digestible starch), which may be related to its amylopectin chain length distribution. This study can guide us to utilize yam starch through suitable cooking methods, which is relevant for the processing and application of Chinese yam starch.

Predictive value of red blood cell distribution width and hematocrit for short-term outcomes and prognosis in colorectal cancer patients undergoing radical surgery.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that low hematocrit levels indicate poor survival in patients with ovarian cancer and cervical cancer, the prognostic value of hematocrit for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients has not been determined. The prognostic value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) for CRC patients was controversial. AIM: To investigate the impact of RDW and hematocrit on the short-term outcomes and long-term prognosis of CRC patients who underwent radical surgery. METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with CRC and underwent radical CRC resection between January 2011 and January 2020 at a single clinical center were included. The short-term outcomes, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared among the different groups. Cox analysis was also conducted to identify independent risk factors for OS and DFS. RESULTS: There were 4258 CRC patients who underwent radical surgery included in our study. A total of 1573 patients were in the lower RDW group and 2685 patients were in the higher RDW group. There were 2166 and 2092 patients in the higher hematocrit group and lower hematocrit group, respectively. Patients in the higher RDW group had more intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.01) and more overall complications (P < 0.01) than did those in the lower RDW group. Similarly, patients in the lower hematocrit group had more intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.012), longer hospital stay (P = 0.016) and overall complications (P < 0.01) than did those in the higher hematocrit group. The higher RDW group had a worse OS and DFS than did the lower RDW group for tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage I (OS, P < 0.05; DFS, P = 0.001) and stage II (OS, P = 0.004; DFS, P = 0.01) than the lower RDW group; the lower hematocrit group had worse OS and DFS for TNM stage II (OS, P < 0.05; DFS, P = 0.001) and stage III (OS, P = 0.001; DFS, P = 0.001) than did the higher hematocrit group. Preoperative hematocrit was an independent risk factor for OS [P = 0.017, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.256, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.041-1.515] and DFS (P = 0.035, HR = 1.194, 95%CI: 1.013-1.408). CONCLUSION: A higher preoperative RDW and lower hematocrit were associated with more postoperative complications. However, only hematocrit was an independent risk factor for OS and DFS in CRC patients who underwent radical surgery, while RDW was not.

Is recovery enhancement after gastric cancer surgery really a safe approach for elderly patients?

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the safety of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in elderly patients with gastric cancer (GC). AIM: To evaluate the safety of ERAS in elderly patients with GC. METHODS: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were used to search for eligible studies from inception to April 1, 2023. The mean difference (MD), odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were pooled for analysis. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores. We used Stata (V.16.0) software for data analysis. RESULTS: This study consists of six studies involving 878 elderly patients. By analyzing the clinical outcomes, we found that the ERAS group had shorter postoperative hospital stays (MD = -0.51, I2 = 0.00%, 95%CI = -0.72 to -0.30, P = 0.00); earlier times to first flatus (defecation; MD = -0.30, I² = 0.00%, 95%CI = -0.55 to -0.06, P = 0.02); less intestinal obstruction (OR = 3.24, I2 = 0.00%, 95%CI = 1.07 to 9.78, P = 0.04); less nausea and vomiting (OR = 4.07, I2 = 0.00%, 95%CI = 1.29 to 12.84, P = 0.02); and less gastric retention (OR = 5.69, I2 = 2.46%, 95%CI = 2.00 to 16.20, P = 0.00). Our results showed that the conventional group had a greater mortality rate than the ERAS group (OR = 0.24, I2 = 0.00%, 95%CI = 0.07 to 0.84, P = 0.03). However, there was no statistically significant difference in major complications between the ERAS group and the conventional group (OR = 0.67, I2 = 0.00%, 95%CI = 0.38 to 1.18, P = 0.16). CONCLUSION: Compared to those with conventional recovery, elderly GC patients who received the ERAS protocol after surgery had a lower risk of mortality.

Early postoperative complications after transverse colostomy closure, a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Ostomy is a common surgery usually performed to protect patients from clinical symptoms caused by distal anastomotic leakage after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery and perforation or to relieve intestinal obstruction. AIM: To analyze the complications after transverse colostomy closure. METHODS: Patients who underwent transverse colostomy closure from Jan 2015 to Jan 2022 were retrospectively enrolled in a single clinical center. The differences between the complication group and the no complication group were compared. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to find independent factors for overall complications or incision infection. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients who underwent transverse colostomy closure were enrolled in the current study. Seventy (68.6%) patients underwent transverse colostomy because of CRC related causes. Postoperative complications occurred in 30 (29.4%) patients and the most frequent complication occurring after transverse colostomy closure was incision infection (46.7%). The complication group had longer hospital stays (P < 0.01). However, no potential risk factors were identified for overall complications and incision infection. CONCLUSION: The most frequent complication occurring after transverse colostomy closure surgery in our center was incision infection. The operation time, interval from transverse colostomy to reversal, and method of anastomosis might have no impact on the postoperative complications. Surgeons should pay more attention to aseptic techniques.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the risk factors of major complications after radical rectal cancer surgery.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to establish a validated nomogram to predict risk factors for major post-operative complications in patients with rectal cancer (RC) by analyzing the factors contributing to major post-operative complications in RC patients. Methods: We retrospectively collected baseline and surgical information on patients who underwent RC surgery between December 2012 and December 2022 at a single-center teaching hospital. The entire cohort was randomly divided into two subsets (60% of the data for development, 40% for validation). Independent risk factors for major post-operative complications were identified using multivariate logistic regression analyses, and predictive models were developed. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) to assess predictive probability, calibration curves were plotted to compare the predicted probability of the nomogram with the actual probability, and the clinical efficacy of the nomogram was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Our study included 3151 patients who underwent radical surgery for RC, including 1892 in the development set and 1259 in the validation set. Forty (2.1%) patients in the development set and 26 (2.1%) patients in the validation set experienced major post-operative complications. Through multivariate logistic regression analysis, age (p<0.01, OR=1.044, 95% CI=1.016-1.074), pre-operative albumin (p<0.01, OR=0.913, 95% CI=0.866-0.964), and open surgery (p<0.01, OR=2.461, 95% CI=1.284-4.761) were identified as independent risk factors for major post-operative complications in RC, and a nomogram prediction model was established. The AUC of the ROC plot for the development set was 0.7161 (95% Cl=0.6397-0.7924), and the AUC of the ROC plot for the validation set was 0.7191 (95% CI=0.6182-0.8199). The predicted probabilities in the calibration curves were highly consistent with the actual probabilities, which indicated that the prediction model had good predictive ability. The DCA also confirmed the good clinical performance of the nomogram. Conclusion: In this study, a validated nomogram containing three predictors was created to identify risk factors for major complications after radical RC surgery. Due to its accuracy and convenience, it could contribute to personalized management of patients in the perioperative period.

Neoadjuvant pertuzumab plus trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer: a real-world retrospective single-institutional study in China.

INTRODUCTION: Real-world studies on neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy combined with chemotherapy for breast cancer (BC) are scarce in China. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy combined with chemotherapy in a real-world setting. Moreover, differences in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and proliferation cell nuclear antigen (Ki-67) expression pre- and post-neoadjuvant therapy were analyzed. METHODS: Clinical and pathological data of patients with HER2-positive BC who received neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy combined with chemotherapy at Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, China, between September 2021 and September 2023, were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Among 179 included patients, a pathologic complete response (pCR) was achieved in 109 patients (60.9%). The univariate analysis results indicated that the hormone receptor (HR) status (P = 0.013), HER2 status (P = 0.003), and cycles of targeted treatment (P = 0.035) were significantly correlated with pCR. Subsequent multivariable analysis showed that HR negative and HER2 status 3 + were independent predictive factors of pCR. Anemia was the most common adverse event (62.0%), and the most common grade 3-4 adverse event was neutropenia (6.1%). The differences in HER2 (34.5%) and Ki-67 (92.7%) expression between core needle biopsy and the residual tumor after neoadjuvant therapy were statistically significant, whereas the differences were insignificant in terms of ER or PR status. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of neoadjuvant trastuzumab and pertuzumab with chemotherapy showed good efficiency, and the toxic side effects were tolerable in patients with BC. In cases where pCR was not achieved after neoadjuvant therapy, downregulation of HER2 and Ki-67 expressions was observed.

High-Voltage All-Solid-State Thin-Film Lithium Batteries Enabled by LiF Interlayer.

All-solid-state thin-film lithium batteries (TFBs) with high voltage are crucial for powering microelectronics systems. However, the issues of interfacial instability and poor solid contact of cathode/electrolyte films have limited their application. In this work, the preferentially orientated LiCoO2 (LCO) nanocolumns and the LCO/LiPON/Li TFBs are fabricated by in situ heating sputtering. By introducing the LiF interlayer, the solid contact of the LCO/LiPON interface is improved, enabling the high-voltage TFBs. The elemental diffusion, morphology change, and interfacial deterioration are suppressed, as demonstrated by various in situ and ex situ tests. As a result, the LCO/LiF/LiPON/Li TFB exhibits a more stable and higher capacity compared to other TFBs. This work provides guidance to improve the solid contact of TFBs and increase the performance of all-solid-state lithium batteries.

Using kin discrimination to construct synthetic microbial communities of Bacillus subtilis strains impacts the growth of black soldier fly larvae.

Using synthetic microbial communities to promote host growth is an effective approach. However, the construction of such communities lacks theoretical guidance. Kin discrimination is an effective means by which strains can recognize themselves from non-self, and construct competitive microbial communities to produce more secondary metabolites. However, the construction of cooperative communities benefits from the widespread use of beneficial microorganisms. We used kin discrimination to construct synthetic communities (SCs) comprising 13 Bacillus subtilis strains from the surface and gut of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae. We assessed larval growth promotion in a pigeon manure system and found that the synthetic community comprising 4 strains (SC 4) had the most profound effect. Genomic analyses of these 4 strains revealed that their complementary functional genes underpinned the robust functionality of the cooperative synthetic community, highlighting the importance of strain diversity. After analyzing the bacterial composition of BSF larvae and the pigeon manure substrate, we observed that SC 4 altered the bacterial abundance in both the larval gut and pigeon manure. This also influenced microbial metabolic functions and co-occurrence network complexity. Kin discrimination facilitates the rapid construction of synthetic communities. The positive effects of SC 4 on larval weight gain resulted from the functional redundancy and complementarity among the strains. Furthermore, SC 4 may enhance larval growth by inducing shifts in the bacterial composition of the larval gut and pigeon manure. This elucidated how the SC promoted larval growth by regulating bacterial composition and provided theoretical guidance for the construction of SCs.

Poor oral health was associated with higher risk of gastric cancer: Evidence from 1431677 participants.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the association between oral health and the risk of gastric cancer (GC) has gradually attracted increased interest. However, in terms of GC incidence, the association between oral health and GC incidence remains controversial. Periodontitis is reported to increase the risk of GC. However, some studies have shown that periodontitis has no effect on the risk of GC. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess whether there is a relationship between oral health and the risk of GC. AIM: To assess whether there was a relationship between oral health and the risk of GC. METHODS: Five databases were searched to find eligible studies from inception to April 10, 2023. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score was used to assess the quality of included studies. The quality of cohort studies and case-control studies were evaluated separately in this study. Incidence of GC were described by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Funnel plot was used to represent the publication bias of included studies. We performed the data analysis by StataSE 16. RESULTS: A total of 1431677 patients from twelve included studies were enrolled for data analysis in this study. According to our analysis, we found that the poor oral health was associated with higher risk of GC (OR = 1.15, 95%CI: 1.02-1.29; I2 = 59.47%, P = 0.00 < 0.01). Moreover, after subgroup analysis, the outcomes showed that whether tooth loss (OR = 1.12, 95%CI: 0.94-1.29; I2 = 6.01%, P > 0.01), gingivitis (OR = 1.19, 95%CI: 0.71-1.67; I2 = 0.00%, P > 0.01), dentures (OR = 1.27, 95%CI: 0.63-1.19; I2 = 68.79%, P > 0.01), or tooth brushing (OR = 1.25, 95%CI: 0.78-1.71; I2 = 88.87%, P > 0.01) had no influence on the risk of GC. However, patients with periodontitis (OR = 1.13, 95%CI: 1.04-1.23; I2 = 0.00%, P < 0.01) had a higher risk of GC. CONCLUSION: Patients with poor oral health, especially periodontitis, had a higher risk of GC. Patients should be concerned about their oral health. Improving oral health might reduce the risk of GC.

Single-port laparoscopic appendectomy using new surgical procedure versus conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy.

The aim of this study was to compare the clinic outcomes between new single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (NSLA) and conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CTLA) for patients with acute appendicitis. Patients who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis and underwent appendectomy were retrospectively collected from a single clinical center from September 2021 to June 2023. Baseline characteristics, surgical information, and postoperative information were compared between the NSLA group and the CTLA group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to find out the predictors of overall complications. A total of 296 patients were enrolled from a single clinical medical center. There were 146 (49.3%) males and 150 (50.7%) females. There were 54 (18.2%) patients in the NSLA group and 242 (81.8%) patients in the CTLA group. After data analysis, we found the patients in the NSLA group had a shorter postoperative hospital stay (P < 0.01) than the CTLA group. The other outcomes including intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.167), operation time (P = 0.282), nature of the appendix (P = 0.971), and overall complications (P = 0.543) were not statistically different. After univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that age (P = 0.018, OR = 1.039, 95% CI = 1.007-1.072), neutrophil percentage (P = 0.018, OR = 1.070, 95% CI = 1.011-1.132), and fever (P = 0.019, OR = 6.112, 95% CI = 1.340-27.886) were the predictors of overall complications. However, the surgical procedure (NSLA versus CTLA) was not a predictor of overall complications (P = 0.376, OR = 1.964, 95% CI = 0.440-8.768). Compared with CTLA, there was no significant increase in postoperative overall complications with NSLA, making it a safe and feasible new surgical procedure. More studies are needed to evaluate the long-term results.

The effect of surgical starting time on elective colorectal cancer surgery: A propensity score matching analysis.

The purpose of the current study is to analyze whether surgical starting time affects the short-term outcomes of elective colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery. We retrospectively collected CRC patients who underwent elective surgery from Jan 2008 to Jan 2021 in a single clinical center. The effect of surgical starting time (morning surgery vs afternoon surgery, day surgery vs night surgery) on elective CRC surgery was analyzed using propensity score matching (PSM). A total of 6783 patients were included in the current study. There were 5751 patients in day surgery group and 1032 patients in night surgery group, and there were 2920 patients in morning surgery group and 2831 patients in afternoon surgery group. After 1:1 ratio PSM, there were no significant difference in terms of the baseline information (P > .05). Day surgery group had longer operation time (P = .000) and longer hospital stay (P = .029) than night surgery group after PSM. Morning surgery group had longer operation time than afternoon surgery group before PSM (P = .000) and after PSM (P = .000). Univariate and multivariate analysis of the total of 6783 patients were conducted to find predictors of complications, and found that night surgery was a predictor of major complications (P = .002, OR = 1.763, 95% CI = 1.222-2.543) but not a predictor of overall complications (P = .250, OR = 1.096, 95% CI = 0.938-1.282). Night surgery is a predictor of major complications after elective CRC surgery, therefore, surgeons should be careful when operating at night.

Si@Fe3O4/AC composite with interconnected carbon nano-ribbons network for high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes.

Si-based anode materials have a relatively high theoretical specific capacity and low operating voltage, greatly enhancing the energy density of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, their practical application is seriously hindered by the instability of active particles and anode electrodes caused by the huge swelling during cycling. How to maintain the stability of the charge transfer network and interface structure of Si particles is full of challenges. To address this issue, we have developed a novel Si@Fe3O4/AC/CNR anode by in-situ growing one-dimensional high elastic carbon nano-ribbons to wrap Si nanoparticles. This special structure can construct fast channels of electron transport and lithium ion diffusion, and stabilize the surface structure of Si nanoparticles during cycling. With these promising architectural features, the Si@Fe3O4/AC/CNR composite possesses a high specific capacity of 1279.4 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g, and a superior cycling life with 80 % capacity retention after 700 cycles. Even at a high current density of 20.0 A/g, the composite still delivers a capacity of 621.2 mAh/g. The facile synthetic approach and high performance of Si@Fe3O4/AC/CNR anodes provide practical insight into advanced anode materials with large volume expansion for high-energy-density LIBs.

Effect of intraoperative blood loss on postoperative complications and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer: A meta­analysis.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether the amount of intraoperative blood loss (IBL) affects the complications and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases were used to search for eligible studies from inception to November 30, 2020. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (Cls) were pooled up. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between the larger IBL group and the smaller IBL group. The present study was performed with RevMan 5.3 (The Cochrane Collaboration). A total of seven studies involving 1,540 patients with CRC were included in the present study. The smaller IBL group had a higher rate of OS (HR=1.45, 95% CI=1.17 to 1.8, P=0.0007) and a higher rate of DFS (HR=1.76, 95% CI=1.40 to 2.21, P<0.00001). Furthermore, the larger IBL group had a higher rate of postoperative complications than the smaller IBL group (odds ratio=2.06, 95% CI=1.72 to 2.15, P<0.00001). In conclusion, a smaller IBL was associated with better OS and DFS, and a lower risk of postoperative complications compared with a larger IBL in patients with CRC, suggesting that surgeons should pay more attention during perioperative management and surgical operation to reduce IBL.

Self-Assembled Preparation of Porous Nickel Phosphide Superparticles with Tunable Phase and Porosity for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution.

Self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles enables the easy building of assembly units into higher-order structures and the bottom-up preparation of functional materials. Nickel phosphides represent an important group of catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from water splitting. In this paper, the preparation of porous nickel phosphide superparticles and their HER efficiencies are reported. Ni and Ni2 P nanoparticles are self-assembled into binary superparticles via an oil-in-water emulsion method. After annealing and acid etching, the as-prepared Ni-Ni2 P binary superparticles change into porous nickel phosphide superparticles. The porosity and crystalline phase of the superparticles can be tuned by adjusting the ratio of Ni and Ni2 P nanoparticles. The resulting porous superparticles are effective in driving HER under acidic conditions, and the modulation of porosity and phase further optimize the electrochemical performance. The prepared Ni3 P porous superparticles not only possess a significantly enhanced specific surface area compared to solid Ni-Ni2 P superparticles but also exhibit an excellent HER efficiency. The calculations based on the density functional theories show that the (110) crystal facet exhibits a relatively lower Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption. This work provides a self-assembly approach for the construction of porous metal phosphide nanomaterials with tunable crystalline phase and porosity.

Colonoscopy plays an important role in detecting colorectal neoplasms in patients with gastric neoplasms.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are the fifth and third most common cancer worldwide, respectively. Nowadays, GC is reported to have a potential predictive value for CRC, especially for advanced CRC. AIM: To evaluate the necessity of colonoscopy for gastric neoplasm (GN) patients. METHODS: Four databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Ovid, were used to perform the search strategy on May 2, 2023. The prevalence of colorectal neoplasms (CRN) and baseline characteristics were compared between the neoplasm group and the control group. Continuous variables are expressed as the mean difference and standard deviation. Relationships of categorical variables in the two groups are expressed as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Subgroup analysis according to different kinds of GNs was conducted for more in-depth analysis. The results of this study are represented by forest plots. Publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot. All data analyses were performed by STATA SE 16.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 3018 patients with GNs and 3905 healthy controls (age and sex matched) were enrolled for analysis. After comparing the prevalence of CRNs between the two groups, CRNs were detected significantly more frequently in GN patients than in controls (OR = 1.69, 95%CI = 1.28 to 2.23, I2 = 85.12%, P = 0.00), especially in patients with GC (OR =1.80, 95%CI = 1.49 to 2.18, I2 = 25.55%, P < 0.1). Moreover, other risk factors including age (OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 1.00 to 1.17, I2 = 90.13%, P = 0.00) and male sex (OR = 2.31, 95%CI = 1.26 to 4.22, I2 = 87.35%, P = 0.00), were related to the prevalence of CRNs. For patients in the GN group, body mass index (BMI, OR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.80 to 0.98, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.92) and smoking (OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.01 to 1.05, I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.57) were protective and risk factors for CRNs, respectively. CONCLUSION: Patients are recommended to undergo colonoscopy when diagnosed with GNs, especially GC patients with a low BMI and a history of smoking.

Identification of carbohydrate in Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et Hemsl and inhibiting oxidative stress.

The specific structure of Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et Hemsl polysaccharide (PKP) has been rarely reported. In this study, an inulin-type fructan PKP-1, was extracted and purified from Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et Hemsl, and its structural characteristics and antioxidants activity were evaluated. The molecular weights of PKP-1 was determined to be 4.802 kDa. Monosaccharide composition analysis evidenced that PKP-1 was composed of galactose, glucose and fructose in a molar ratio of 0.8 %:7.2 %:92.0 %. Glycosidic linkage and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis revealed that PKP-1 exhibited a primary sugar residue linkage of →1-ß-d-Fruf-2→2,6-ß-d-Fruf-1→, where ß-d-Fruf-2→ acts as the side chain and links to the C-6 position of →2,6-ß-d-Fruf-1→. In vitro antioxidant activity assays demonstrated that PKP-1 enhanced the mitigation of hepatic oxidative stress in HepG2 cells induced by free fatty acids. This effect was marked by increased enzymatic activities of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), along with elevated glutathione (GSH) levels. These findings indicate that PKP-1 could be used as a potential natural antioxidant.

A comparative evaluation of the structure, functionality and volatile profiles of Trichosanthes kirilowii seed protein isolates based on different extraction methods.

In the present study, we hypothesised that Trichosanthes kirilowii seed protein isolate (TPI) obtained by different extraction methods have distinct structure, functional attributes and volatile profiles. Alkaline-extracted isolate (AE-TPI) exhibited lower protein content and a darker colour than the other two isolates because more polyphenols and pigments were coextracted. Salt-extracted isolate (SE-TPI) and AE-TPI had higher in vitro protein digestibility than reverse micelle-extracted isolate (RME-TPI) due to higher degrees of denaturation, which enabled them to be more susceptible to proteolysis. The SE-TPI gel resulted in a stronger gel network and greater hardness than the other two isolate gels. In the volatile profile, SE-TPI (22) yielded the largest number of volatile compounds, followed by AE-TPI (20) and RME-TPI (15). The current results indicated that the structure, functional properties and volatile profiles of TPI are largely influenced by the extraction technique.

Tailoring Li Deposition by Regulating Structural Connectivity of Electrochemical Li Reservoir in Li-metal Batteries.

Irregular Li deposition is the major reason for poor reversibility and cycle instability in Li metal batteries, even leading to safety hazards, the causes of which have been extensively explored. The structural disconnection induced by completely dissolving Li in the traditional testing protocol is a key factor accounting for irregular Li growth during the subsequent deposition process. Herein, the critical role played by the structural connectivity of electrochemical Li reservoir in subsequent Li deposition behaviors is elucidated and a morphology-performance correlation is established. The structural connection and resultant well-distributed morphology of the in situ electrochemical Li reservoir ensure efficient electron transfer and Li+ diffusion pathway, finally leading to homogenized Li nucleation and growth. Tailoring the geometry of Li reservoir can improve the coulombic efficiency and cyclability of anode-free Li metal batteries by optimizing Li deposition behavior.