Digirseophene A promotes recovery in injured developing cerebellum via AMPK/AKT/GSK3ß pathway-mediated neural stem cell proliferation.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) exhibit a remarkable capacity for self-renewal and have the potential to differentiate into various neural lineage cells, which makes them pivotal in the management of neurological disorders. Harnessing the inherent potential of endogenous NSCs for enhancing nerve repair and regeneration represents an optimal approach to addressing diseases of the nervous system. In this study, we explored the potential of a novel benzophenone derivative named Digirseophene A (DGA), which was isolated from the endophytic fungus Corydalis tomentella. Previous experiments have extensively identified and characterized DGA, revealing its unique properties. Our findings demonstrate the remarkable capability of DGA to stimulate neural stem cell proliferation, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we established a model of radiation-induced cerebellar injury to assess the effects of DGA on the distribution of different cell subpopulations within the damaged cerebellum, thereby suggesting its beneficial role in cerebellar repair. In addition, our observations on a primary NSCs model revealed that DGA significantly increased cellular oxygen consumption, indicating increased energy and metabolic demands. By utilizing various pathway inhibitors in combination with DGA, we successfully demonstrated its ability to counteract the suppressive impacts of AMPK and GSK3ß inhibitors on NSC proliferation. Collectively, our research results strongly suggest that DGA, as an innovative compound, exerts its role in activating NSCs and promoting injury repair through the regulation of the AMPK/AKT/GSK3ß pathway.

Size and polarity fractions of mobile organic matter from manure affect the sorption of sulfadiazine, caffeine and atenolol in soil.

Waste-derived organics introduced to soils along with pharmaceutical active compounds (PhAC) are a crude mixture of compounds occurring in various size and polarity fractions. They affect the sorption of PhACs to soil; however, the relevant knowledge is still insufficient. The effects of different size and polarity fractions of manure-derived mobile organic matter (<63 µm) on the sorption of sulfadiazine, caffeine and atenolol to five topsoils were investigated. Mobilization of the PhACs was strongest in the presence of dissolved organic matter (mDOM, <0.45 µm), with a reduction of Kd of sulfadiazine, caffeine and atenolol by mean factors of 0.66, 0.57 and 0.41, respectively. The mobilizing effects of colloidal organic matter (0.45-10 µm) were slightly smaller. Fine particulate organic matter (10-63 µm) reduced the sorption of the PhACs in slightly acidic soils (pH 6.0), but increased it in strongly acidic soil (pH 4.3). Furthermore, hydrophobic (HO-mDOM) and hydrophilic (HI-mDOM) fractions of mDOM reduced the sorption capacity but increased the sorption nonlinearity of PhACs in soils. Effects of HO-mDOM and HI-mDOM were PhAC specific. It is suggested to consider the varying impacts of mobile fractions in animal manure and/or treated wastewater in evaluating the fate and environmental relevance of associated PhACs.

Balancing river water pollution and agricultural development: A tradeoff threshold approach.

Balancing environmental protection and social-economic development in agricultural land use management is a dilemma for decision-makers. Based on the modelling of the impacts of land use changes on river water pollution by SWAT model, the tradeoff between tea plantation expansion and river water quality was detected. SWAT model performs well in simulating the non-point source (NPS) pollution in agricultural watershed. The results showed that the tea plantation area expanded dramatically from 44 km2 in 2000 to 169 km2 in 2020 at the high cost of forest land. Consequently, the mean contents of NO3--N and TN have significantly increased by 100% and 91% respectively in the past 20 years. And the NO3--N in river water accounted for over 80% of TN in the tea plantation area. The NO3--N and TN concentrations were positively related with the proportions of tea plantation area (Tea%) at different periods. The high pollution levels of NO3--N and TN are priority control targets for river water quality management. The results indicated that the proportion of tea plantation thresholds lead to abrupt changes in river water quality. When the Tea% exceeded 3.0% in 2000, the probability of N pollution increased sharply. Whereas in 2020, it is suggested that the Tea% should not exceeds 18% to avoid sudden deterioration of water quality. The critical interval value of the Tea% for sudden change in N pollution showed an obvious increase tendency. The accelerating of nutrient pollution in rivers reduced the sensitivity of water quality to tea plantation expansion. Our results can provide new insights and empirical evidence for balancing the tradeoff between agricultural development and river water quality protection by demonstrating the carrying capacity threshold of river water environment for the expansion tea plantation.

Evaluation of Left Ventricular Flow Kinetic Energy by Four-Dimensional Blood Flow MRI in Nondialysis Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased, and early cardiovascular disease risk. Changes in hemodynamics within the left ventricle (LV) respond to cardiac remodeling. The LV hemodynamics in nondialysis CKD patients are not clearly understood. PURPOSE: To use four-dimensional blood flow MRI (4D flow MRI) to explore changes in LV kinetic energy (KE) and the relationship between LV KE and LV remodeling in CKD patients. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: 98 predialysis CKD patients (Stage 3: n = 21, stage 4: n = 21, and stage 5: n = 56) and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0 T/balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) cine sequence, 4D flow MRI with a fast field echo sequence, T1 mapping with a modified Look-Locker SSFP sequence, and T2 mapping with a gradient recalled and spin echo sequence. ASSESSMENT: Demographic characteristics (age, sex, height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, aortic regurgitation, and mitral regurgitation) and laboratory data (eGFR, Creatinine, hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin saturation, potassium, and carbon dioxide bonding capacity) were extracted from patient records. Myocardial T1, T2, LV ejection fraction, end diastolic volume (EDV), end systolic volume, LV flow components (direct flow, delayed ejection, retained inflow, and residual volume) and KE parameters (peak systolic, systolic, diastolic, peak E-wave, peak A-wave, E/A ratio, and global) were assessed. The KE parameters were normalized to EDV (KEiEDV). Parameters were compared between disease stage in CKD patients, and between CKD patients and healthy controls. STATISTICAL TESTS: Differences in clinical and imaging parameters between groups were compared using one-way ANOVA, Kruskal Walls and Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. Pearson or Spearman's correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis were used to compare the correlation between LV KE and other clinical and functional parameters. A P-value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, peak systolic (24.76 ± 5.40 µJ/mL vs. 31.86 ± 13.18 µJ/mL), systolic (11.62 ± 2.29 µJ/mL vs. 15.27 ± 5.10 µJ/mL), diastolic (7.95 ± 1.92 µJ/mL vs. 13.33 ± 5.15 µJ/mL), peak A-wave (15.95 ± 4.86 µJ/mL vs. 31.98 ± 14.51 µJ/mL), and global KEiEDV (9.40 ± 1.64 µJ/mL vs. 14.02 ± 4.14 µJ/mL) were significantly increased and the KEiEDV E/A ratio (1.16 ± 0.67 vs. 0.69 ± 0.53) was significantly decreased in CKD patients. As the CKD stage progressed, both diastolic KEiEDV (10.45 ± 4.30 µJ/mL vs. 12.28 ± 4.85 µJ/mL vs. 14.80 ± 5.06 µJ/mL) and peak E-wave KEiEDV (15.30 ± 7.06 µJ/mL vs. 14.69 ± 8.20 µJ/mL vs. 19.33 ± 8.29 µJ/mL) increased significantly. In multiple regression analysis, global KEiEDV (ß* = 0.505; ß* = 0.328), and proportion of direct flow (ß* = -0.376; ß* = -0.410) demonstrated an independent association with T1 and T2 times. DATA CONCLUSION: 4D flow MRI-derived LV KE parameters show altered LV adaptations in CKD patients and correlate independently with T1 and T2 mapping that may represent myocardial fibrosis and edema. TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Biochar reduces antibiotic transport by altering soil hydrology and enhancing antibiotic sorption.

The performance of biochar (BC) in reducing the transport of antibiotics under field conditions has not been sufficiently explored. In repacked sloping boxes of a calcareous soil, the effects of different BC treatments on the discharge of three relatively weakly sorbing antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, and florfenicol) via runoff and drainage were monitored for three natural rain events. Surface application of 1 % BC (1 %BC-SA) led to the most effective reduction in runoff discharge of the two sulfonamide antibiotics, which can be partly ascribed to the enhanced water infiltration. The construction of 5 % BC amended permeable reactive wall (5 %BC-PRW) at the lower end of soil box was more effective than the 1 %BC-SA treatment in reducing the leaching of the most weakly sorbing antibiotic (florfenicol), which can be mainly ascribed to the much higher plant available and drainable water contents in the 5 %BC-PRW soil than in the unamended soil. The results of this study highlight the importance of BC's ability to regulate flow pattern by modifying soil hydraulic properties, which can make a significant contribution to the achieved reduction in the transport of antibiotics offsite or to groundwater.

Research trend of MRI application for lumbar disc degeneration with low back pain: a bibliometric analysis.

Background: Low Back Pain (LBP) is a pervasive and complex musculoskeletal condition affecting over 80% of the global population. Lumbar Disc Degeneration (LDD) significantly contributes to LBP, and MRI is crucial for its diagnosis and understanding. This study aimes to provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of MRI research on LDD with LBP, shedding light on research patterns, collaborations, and potential knowledge gaps. Methods: A comprehensive online search was conducted in the Scopus database to retrieve published literature on LDD with LBP. Bibliometric analysis was conducted to assess publication patterns, co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and co-citation analysis within the MRI applications for LDD research domain. Bibliometric analysis tools such as VOSviewer and the R package "bibliometrix" were utilized for quantitative assessments. Results: A total of 1,619 publications related to MRI and LDD were analyzed. The analysis indicated a consistent annual growth rate of 4.62% in publications related to MRI and lumbar disc degeneration, reflecting a steady increase in research output over the past two decades. The USA, China, and Japan emerged as leading contributors. "SPINE", "European Spine Journal", and "Spine Journal" were the most productive journals in this domain. Key research themes identified included lumbar spine, low back pain, and magnetic resonance imaging. Network visualization shows that low back pain and magnetic resonance imaging were the most widely used keywords. Conclusion: The comprehensive bibliometric analysis of MRI applications for Lumbar Disc Degeneration offers insights into prevailing research patterns, highlights key contributors and journals, and identifies significant research themes. This study provides a foundation for future research efforts and clinical practices in the field, ultimately contributing to the advancement of patient care for individuals suffering from LDD and associated Low Back Pain.

Spatial heterogeneity of the effects of river network patterns on water quality in highly urbanized city.

River water quality deterioration is a serious problem in urban water environments. River network patterns affect water quality by influencing the flow, mixing, and other processes of water bodies. However, the effects of urban river network patterns on water quality remain poorly understood, thereby hindering the urban planning and management decision-making process. In this study, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was used to explore the spatial heterogeneity of the relationship between river network pattern and water quality. The results showed that the river network has a complex structure, high connectivity, and relatively even distribution and morphology. Important river structure indicators affecting water quality included the water surface ratio (Wp) and multifractal features (∆α, ∆f) while important river connectivity indicators included circuitry (α) and network connectivity (γ). River structure has a more complex effect on water quality than connectivity. This study recommends that the Wp should be increased in agricultural areas and appropriately reduced in urban built-up areas, and the number of river segments and nodes should be controlled within a rational configuration. Our study provides key insights for evaluating and optimizing the river network patterns to improve water quality of urban rivers. In the future, the land use intensity, hydrological processes, and human activities should be coupled with the river network pattern to deepen our understanding of urban river environment.

A Novel Leverage Technique Using Monoaxial Pedicle Screw for Reduction of Thoracolumbar Compression Fractures: Surgical Technique and Analysis of Radiological Parameters.

OBJECTIVE: Thoracolumbar compression fractures resulting from high-energy injuries are a common type of spinal fracture. Satisfying reduction of compressive vertebra body is essential for the clinical outcome. However, traditional distraction technique may lead to complications including pedicle screw loosening, pedicle screw breakage, and postoperative back pain because of excessive distraction. In this study, we reported a novel technique for reduction. Additionally, the effect and postoperative radiological parameters of this technique were compared with those of traditional distraction technique. METHODS: The clinical data of 80 patients who had been treated with posterior pedicle screw fixation from January 2019 to December 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-six patients were performed with the leverage technique, while 22 patients were treated with the traditional distraction technique. When pedicle screw fixation was performed with either the leverage technique or the traditional distraction technique, fracture reduction was completed with monoaxial pedicle screws using either the leverage maneuver or distraction of adjacent vertebrae. Clinical evaluation, including operation time, hospital stay, blood loss volume, and postoperative complications were collected. The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score for neurological condition and the visual analog scale (VAS) score for pain were used to evaluate the patients' functional outcome. The radiographic analysis included local kyphotic angle (LKA), regional kyphotic angle (RKA), anterior vertebral height (AVH), posterior vertebral height (PVH), and sagittal compression (SC). The student t-test and the χ2-test (or the Fisher exact test) were used to compare the outcome measures between the two groups. RESULTS: The leverage group comprised 36 patients, while 44 patients were included in the distraction group. No statistically significant differences were found in the demographic data. The VAS score in the leverage group (3.0 ± 0.8) was significantly lower than that in the distraction group (4.2 ± 0.6) on postoperative day 1. Total correction of the LKA in the leverage group (11.5 ± 2.5°) was significantly higher than that in the distraction group (7.1 ± 1.3°) (p = 0.0004). Total correction of the RKA was higher in the leverage group (12.1 ± 4.3°) than in the distraction group (6.1 ± 0.9°) (p = 0.005). The ratio of rear pillar /front pillar correction was 0.35 ± 0.13 and 0.89 ± 0.18 in the leverage and distraction groups, respectively (p = 0.014). Total correction of the upper and lower foraminal height in the leverage group was significantly less than that in the distraction group. The leverage group had significantly higher correction of the upper and lower intervertebral space height than the distraction group. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel leverage technique provided better kyphotic reduction and restoration than compared to conventional distraction technique in the surgical treatment of thoracolumbar compression fractures.

The Effect of Empagliflozin on Janus Kinase 2/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Pathway in Patients with Type 2 Cardiorenal Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Empagliflozin (EMPA) demonstrates cardioprotective effects on the patients with heart failure, but its effects in cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) remain unspecified. The purpose of the exploratory study was to investigate the effect of EMPA on patients with type 2 CRS and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: This study was a randomized trial of patients with type 2 CRS and DM done between December 2020 and January 2022. Patients were randomly allocated to the control group and the EMPA group using EMPA as an add-on treatment. Serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), janus kinase 2 (JAK-2), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3) concentrations were measured in 102 patients with CRS and healthy individuals without any disease using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and after treatment. The evaluation of renal function was measured by immunoturbidimetry, and cardiac function was estimated by doppler echocardiography. Rates of adverse events and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were documented. RESULTS: The results showed that EMPA decreased the level of IL-6 but increased the level of JAK-2 and STAT-3 in patients. Additionally, the results suggest EMPA significantly reduced the incidence of MACE compared to the control group, while the rate of adverse events did not significantly differed. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that the cardiorenal benefits conferred by EMPA might be driven by anti-inflammatory effects, cooperated with the activation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways, leading to modest short-term improvements in patients with type 2 CRS. The overall safety and low complication make EMPA a significant choice for clinical application.

Feasibility of diffusion tensor imaging in cervical spondylotic myelopathy using MUSE sequence.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The most frequent type of spinal cord injury is cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Conventional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold diagnosis standard for CSM. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) could reflect microstructural changes in the spinal cord by tracing water molecular diffusion in early stages of CSM. However, due to the complex local anatomical structure and small field of view of the spinal cord, the imaging effect of traditional DTI imaging on the spinal cord is limited. MUSE (MUltiplexed Sensitivity-Encoding) -DTI is a novel diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequence that achieves higher signal intensity through multiple excitation acquisition. MUSE sequence may improve the quality of spinal cord DTI imaging. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the clinical diagnosis value of a novel protocol of MUSE-DTI in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). PATIENT SAMPLE: From August 2021 to March 2022, a total of 60 subjects (22-71 years) were enrolled, including 51 CSM patients (22 males, 29 females) and 9 healthy subjects (4 males and 5 females). Each subject underwent a MUSE-DTI examination and a clinical Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scale. OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured values of FA (Fractional Anisotropy), MD (Mean Diffusivity), AD (Axial Diffusivity), and RD (Radial Diffusivity), and collected the clinical JOA scores of each subject before the MR examination. METHODS: A 3.0T MR scanner (Signa Architect, GE Healthcare) performed the MUSE-DTI sequence on each subject. The cervical canal stenosis of subjects was classified from grade 0 to grade Ⅲ according to the method of an MRI grading system. FA, MD, AD, and RD maps were generated by postprocessing MUSE-DTI data on the GE workstation. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn at the C2 vertebral body level and C2/3-C6/7 intervertebral disc levels by covering the whole spinal cord. The clinical severity of myelopathy of subjects was assessed by the clinical Japanese Orthopedic Association scale (JOA). RESULTS: MUSE-DTI can acquire a high-resolution diffusion image compared to traditional DTI. The FAMCL values showed a decreasing trend from grade 0 to grade Ⅲ, while the MDMCL, ADMCL, and RDMCL values showed an overall increasing trend. Significant differences in MDMCL, ADMCL, and RDMCL values were found between adjacent groups among grades Ⅰ-Ⅲ (p<.05). The ADC2 values in CSM patients (grade I-Ⅲ) were significantly lower than in healthy individuals (grade 0) (p=.019). The clinical JOA score has a significant correlation with FAMCL (p=.035), MDMCL (p<.001), ADMCL (p<.001), and RDMCL (p<.001) values. CONCLUSIONS: MUSE-DTI displayed a better image quality compared to traditional DTI. MUSE-DTI parameters displayed a grade-dependent trend. All the MUSE-DTI parameters at MCL were correlated with the clinical JOA scores. The ADC2 values can reflect the secondary damage of distal spinal cord. Therefore, MUSE-DTI could be a reliable biomarker for clinical auxiliary diagnosis of spinal cord injury severity in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Controlling laser-dressed resonance line shape using attosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulse with a spectral minimum.

High-harmonic generation from a gas target exhibits sharp spectral features and rapid phase variation near the Cooper minimum. By applying spectral filtering, shaped isolated attosecond pulses can be generated where the pulse is split into two in the time domain. Using such shaped extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulses, we theoretically study attosecond transient absorption (ATA) spectra of helium [Formula: see text] autoionizing state which is resonantly coupled to the [Formula: see text] dark state by a time-delayed infrared laser. Our simulations show that the asymmetric [Formula: see text] Fano line shape can be readily tuned into symmetric Lorentzian within the time delay of a few tens of attoseconds. Such efficient control is due to the destructive interference in the generation of the [Formula: see text] state when it is excited by a strongly shaped XUV pulse. This is to be compared to prior experiments where tuning the line shape of a Fano resonance would take tens of femtoseconds. We also show that the predicted ATA spectral line shape can be observed experimentally after propagation in a gas medium. Our results suggest that strongly shaped attosecond XUV pulses offer the opportunity for controlling and probing fine features of narrow resonances on the few-ten attoseconds timescale.

Effect of urbanization and urban forests on water quality improvement in the Yangtze River Delta: A case study in Hangzhou, China.

In the context of rapid global urbanization, the sustainable development of ecosystems should be considered. Accordingly, the Planetary Boundaries theory posits that reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants entering bodies of water is necessary as excess levels may harm the aquatic environment and reduce in water quality. Thus, based on the long-term monitoring data of representative urban rivers in the Yangtze River Delta region, we evaluated the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of water bodies in different urbanization stages and further quantified the effect of urban forests on water quality improvement. The results showed that, with the continuous progression of urbanization, the proportion of impervious surface area increased, along with the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in water bodies. The critical period of water quality deterioration in urban rivers occurred during the medium urbanization level when the proportion of impervious surface area reached 55-65 %, and the probability of an abrupt increase in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentration exceeded 95 %. However, increasing the area of urban forests during this period reduced TN pollution by 36.64 % and TP pollution by 49.03 %. The results of this study support the expansion of urban forests during the medium urbanization stage to improve water quality. Furthermore, our results provide a reference and theoretical basis for urban forest construction as a key aspect of the sustainable development of the urban ecosystem in the Yangtze River Delta and similar regions around world.

A novel tool for tracing water sources of streamflow in a mixed land-use catchment.

Tracing water sources of streamflow in a mixed land-use catchment is critical for predicting pollutant emissions from various human activities to streams but remains a major challenge. A rain event based field monitoring study was conducted in the Jieliu catchment located in the hilly area of central Sichuan Province, southwest China. The ratio of the maximum fluorescence intensities (Fmax) of the two humic-like dissolved organic matter (DOM) components at excitation/emission wavelengths of 255 (315)/415 nm (component 1; C1) and 260 (375)/480 nm (component 2; C2) was proposed as a tracer for quantifying streamflow water sources. Satisfactory performance of using the Fmax(C1)/Fmax(C2) ratio in hydrograph separation of streamflow at the outlet of a forest sub-catchment was verified by through comparison with the hydrograph separation results based on δ18O data. The Fmax(C1)/Fmax(C2) ratio was then applied to estimate the contributions of rainwater and pre-event water sources under different land use types to the streamflow in an agro-forest sub-catchment and the entire catchment. The hydrograph separation results using the Fmax(C1)/Fmax(C2) ratio can be used to support the optimization of water resource management and the quantification of pollutant loadings from major water sources to streams at the catchment scale.

Leveraging synthetic lethality to uncover potential therapeutic target in gastric cancer.

Since trastuzumab was approved in 2012 for the first-line treatment of gastric cancer (GC), no significant advancement in GC targeted therapies has occurred. Synthetic lethality refers to the concept that simultaneous dysfunction of a pair of genes results in a lethal effect on cells, while the loss of an individual gene does not cause this effect. Through exploiting synthetic lethality, novel targeted therapies can be developed for the individualized treatment of GC. In this study, we proposed a computational strategy named Gastric cancer Specific Synthetic Lethality inference (GSSL) to identify synthetic lethal interactions in GC. GSSL analysis was used to infer probable synthetic lethality in GC using four accessible clinical datasets. In addition, prediction results were confirmed by experiments. GSSL analysis identified a total of 34 candidate synthetic lethal pairs, which included 33 unique targets. Among the synthetic lethal gene pairs, TP53-CHEK1 was selected for further experimental validation. Both computational and experimental results indicated that inhibiting CHEK1 could be a potential therapeutic strategy for GC patients with TP53 mutation. Meanwhile, in vitro experimental validation of two novel synthetic lethal pairs TP53-AURKB and ARID1A-EP300 further proved the universality and reliability of GSSL. Collectively, GSSL has been shown to be a reliable and feasible method for comprehensive analysis of inferring synthetic lethal interactions of GC, which may offer novel insight into the precision medicine and individualized treatment of GC.

[Characteristics of Antibiotic Resistance Genes Distribution in Different Types of Agricultural Land Soils in Highly Cultivated Hilly Areas].

To characterize the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs) in different types of agricultural soil in highly cultivated hilly areas, the abundance and diversity of ARGs in vegetable, orchard, and arable soils were analyzed in this study. The results showed that 70 ARGs and four mobile genetic elements(MGEs) were detected in all soil samples, with ß-lactam cphA-01 being the most abundant genes in the agricultural soils. In vegetable and orchard soils, the main ARG subtypes were cphA-01 and cmx(A) genes, whereas the mexF and aacC genes were predominant in cropland soils. The relative abundance and diversity of soil ARGs showed that cropland

[Effect of Manure Application on the Adsorption of Antibiotics to Soil].

Sulfonamide antibiotics and florfenicol(FFC) are commonly used antibiotics in Zhejiang Province. They have weak adsorption on soil and are easy to migrate, with high environmental risks. In recent years, most of the studies on the potential risk of fecal-derived antibiotics to farmland soil were conducted by adding manure under laboratory conditions; therefore, it is impossible to assess the risk of antibiotic pollution under natural fertilization. Therefore, batch balance experiments were conducted to explore the effects of different soil types and manure types on the adsorption of antibiotics in the soil, in which five types of dryland farmland soils[Lin'an(LA), Jiashan(JS), Longyou(LY), Kaihua(KH), and Jinhua(JH)]in Zhejiang Province that have been used with different fertilizers(chicken manure, pig manure, and chemical fertilizer) for a long time were chosen, and four types of commonly used antibiotics[sulfadiazine(SD), sulfamethazine(SMT), sulfamethoxazole(SMZ), and FFC]were selected. The results showed that the adsorption of the four antibiotics in the experimental soil was weak, and the adsorption capacity decreased in the order of:SMT(1.44-13.23 mg1-(1/n)·L1/n·kg-1)>SMZ(0.73-6.05 mg1-(1/n)·L1/n·kg-1)>SD(0.16-5.57 mg1-(1/n)·L1/n·kg-1)>FFC(0.27-3.81 mg1-(1/n)·L1/n·kg-1). The Freundlich model was superior to the linear model in fitting the isotherm adsorption of SD, SMT, and FFC, in which SD and FFC belonged to "S" type adsorption, and SMT belonged to "L" type adsorption. For SMZ, the fitting effect of the linear model was better than that of the Freundlich model. The contents of total organic carbon(TOC) and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) could better predict the adsorption capacity of the four antibiotics(r=0.548-0.808), and the values of cation exchange capacity(CEC) and electrical conductivity(EC) could better predict the adsorption capacity of SMT and FFC(r=0.758-0.841). Compared with the application of chemical fertilizer, manure application increased the values of TOC, DOC, CEC, and EC in acidic and neutral soils, which was conducive to the adsorption of antibiotics on the soil. Meanwhile, manure application also increased pH in acidic and neutral soils, which was not conducive to the adsorption of antibiotics on the soil. In addition, manure application reduced the values of TOC, DOC, CEC, EC, and pH in alkaline soils. The lower pH was conducive to antibiotic adsorption on the soil, whereas the lower content of the other four was not conducive to antibiotic adsorption on the soil. For the acidic soil with low fertility, the application of manure increased soil fertility and thus increased the adsorption of antibiotics on the soil, such as the LA soil with chicken manure, the LY(1) soil with pig manure, and the JH soil with chicken manure and pig manure. However, for the acidic and neutral soils with high fertility, the application of manure had significantly increased soil pH and thus reduced the adsorption of antibiotics on the soil, such as the JS soil with chicken manure and pig manure and the LY(2) soil with chicken manure. For calcareous soil with high fertility and pH(such as KH soil), the adsorption profiles of the four types of antibiotics on the soil showed diversity after the application of manure:the adsorption capacity of SD increased significantly after the application of chicken manure and pig manure, whereas the adsorption capacity of SMT and SMZ decreased significantly, and the adsorption capacity of FFC declined significantly after the application of chicken manure. Therefore, manure application according to soil fertility could effectively control the environmental risk of fecal antibiotics.

In Different Gender Groups, What Is the Impact of the Fibular Notch on the Severity of High Ankle Sprain: A Retrospective Study of 360 Cases.

OBJECTIVES: The role of the distal tibiofibular ligament in the occurrence of high ankle sprain (HAS) has been widely studied. But previous studies have overlooked the physiological and anatomical differences between males and females and have not further refined gender. Therefore, the impact of the anatomical morphology of fibular notch (FN) on HAS in different genders is still unclear. This study aimed to explore the impact of different types of FN on the severity of HAS and to estimate the prognosis of patients with HAS while excluding anatomical differences caused by gender. METHODS: One hundred and eighty patients with HAS were included in this study as the experimental group (i.e., HAS group). They were further divided into four groups according to gender and FN depth, with deep concave FN ≥ 4 mm and shallow flat FN < 4 mm. Another 180 normal individuals were set as the control group. The FN morphological indicators, tibiofibular distance (TFD), and ankle mortise indexes were measured and compared with those in HAS group. The independent t-test was used to compare continuous variables between groups, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the reliability of intra-observer measurement, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to verify the correlation between FN and the severity of HAS. RESULTS: In males with shallow flat type, the measurements of anterior tibiofibular distance (aTFD), middle tibiofibular distance (mTFD), posterior tibiofibular distance (pTFD), front ankle mortise width (fAMW), middle ankle mortise width (mAMW), posterior ankle mortise width (pAMW), and depth of ankle mortise (DOAM) in HAS group were significantly larger than those in normal group (p < 0.05). In male patients with deep concave type, the measurements of aTFD, mTFD, fAMW, mAMW, and DOAM were significantly larger than those in normal group (p < 0.05). Among female patients with shallow flat type, the measurements of aTFD, mTFD, pTFD, fAMW, mAMW, pAMW, and DOAM were found to be significantly larger than those in normal group (p < 0.05). Among female patients with deep concave type, the measurements of mTFD, pTFD, fAMW, mAMW, and DOAM were found to be significantly larger than those of the normal group (p < 0.05). The depth of FN was negatively correlated with TFD, and the AOFAS score of patients with shallow flat type was significantly lower than that of patients with deep concave type after treatment (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In different gender groups, compared with the normal controls, the TFD and partial ankle mortise indices were significantly different in HAS patients. Moreover, FN depth was negatively correlated with TFD, and the AOFAS score of shallow flat patients was significantly lower than that of deep concave patients. These suggested that shallow flat FN may be associated with more severe distal tibiofibular ligament injury and ankle mortise widening, leading to poorer prognosis. This should be taken seriously in clinical practice.

Role of the Porras factor in phase matching of high-order harmonic generation driven by focused few-cycle laser pulses.

We investigate the role of the Porras factor (or laser focusing effect) on the macroscopic high-order harmonic generation (HHG) driven by a focused broadband few-cycle laser beam. By employing a non-adiabatic phase-matching analysis method, we reveal that phase mismatch due to the induced-dipole phase varies with the Porras factor, which is dominant in phase matching at low gas pressure. We also find that in a strongly ionized medium when gas pressure is high, the nonlinear propagation is dominated by a plasma effect such that the focusing effect is mitigated, resulting in similar poor phase matching of HHG regardless of the Porras factor. Our results are expected to assist experimentalists identifying optimal conditions for HHG using ultrashort laser pulses.

Co-assembly of stearoylated cellulose nanocrystals and GO (or CNTs) for the construction of superhydrophobic hierarchical structure with enhanced photothermal conversion.

The development of photothermal materials with high photothermal-conversion efficiencies is important in a range of applications, such as power generation, sterilization, desalination, and energy-production. To date, a few reports have been published related to improving the photothermal conversion performances of photothermal materials based on self-assembled nanolamellae. Herein, hybrid films of co-assembled stearoylated cellulose nanocrystals (SCNCs) and polymer-grafted graphene oxide (pGO)/polymer-grafted carbon nanotubes (pCNTs) were prepared. The chemical compositions, microstructures, and morphologies of these products were characterized, and it was found that the self-assembled SCNC structures exhibited numerous surface nanolamellae due to crystallization of the long alkyl chains. The hybrid films (i.e., SCNC/pGO and SCNC/pCNTs films) consisted of ordered nanoflake structures, confirming the co-assembly behavior of the SCNCs with pGO or pCNTs. The melting temperature (~65 °C) and latent heat of melting (87.87 J/g) of SCNC1.07 indicate its potential to induce the formation of nanolamellar pGO or pCNTs. Under light irradiation (50-200 mW/cm2), the pCNTs exhibited a higher light absorption capacity than pGO, and as a result, the SCNC/pCNTs film exhibited the best photothermal performance and electrical conversion, ultimately demonstrating its potential for use as a solar thermal device in practical applications.

Quantitative evaluation of the spinal cord compression in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy using synthetic MRI.

Objectives: This work aimed to investigate the feasibility and diagnostic value of synthetic MRI, including T1, T2 and PD values in determining the severity of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Methods: All subjects (51 CSM patients and 9 healthy controls) underwent synthetic MRI scan on a 3.0T GE MR scanner. The cervical canal stenosis degree of subjects was graded 0-III based on the method of a MRI grading system. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn at the maximal compression level (MCL) by covering the whole spinal cord to generate T1MCL, T2MCL, and PDMCL values in grade I-III groups. Besides, anteroposterior (AP) and transverse (Trans) diameters of the spinal cord at MCL were measured in grade II and grade III groups, and relative values were calculated as follows: rAP = APMCL/APnormal, rTrans = TransMCL/Transnormal. rMIN = rAP/rTrans. Results: T1MCL value showed a decreasing trend with severity of grades (from grade 0 to grade II, p < 0.05), while it increased dramatically at grade III. T2MCL value showed no significant difference among grade groups (from grade 0 to grade II), while it increased dramatically at grade III compared to grade II (p < 0.05). PDMCL value showed no statistical difference among all grade groups. rMIN of grade III was significantly lower than that of grade II (p < 0.05). T2MCL value was negatively correlated with rMIN, whereas positively correlated with rTrans. Conclusion: Synthetic MRI can provide not only multiple contrast images but also quantitative mapping, which is showed promisingly to be a reliable and efficient method in the quantitative diagnosis of CSM.