Use of a combination of diaphragmatic ultrasound and muscle relaxation monitoring in predicting post-extubation adverse respiratory events among elderly patients in an anesthesia intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using a combination of diaphragmatic ultrasound and muscle relaxation monitoring in predicting adverse respiratory events after extubation among elderly patients in an anesthetic intensive care unit (AICU). METHODS: The study participants were 120 elderly patients who were in the AICU after laparoscopic radical resection for colorectal cancer. Based on whether there were critical respiratory events (CREs) after extubation, they were divided into the adverse event group and the non-adverse event group. We used logistic regression to identify factors influencing the occurrence of CREs post-extubation in elderly patients. Using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, we analyzed the value of each indicator in predicting CREs post-extubation. RESULTS: We included 109 patients in the final analysis. In the adverse event group (n = 19), the age, proportion of females, and proportion of preoperative respiratory diseases were higher than in the non-adverse event group (n = 90). The muscle relaxation value, quiet breathing diaphragmatic excursion during extubation (DE-QB), deep breathing diaphragmatic excursion during extubation (DE-DB), and deep breathing diaphragmatic thickening fraction during extubation (DTF-DB) of patients in the adverse event group were significantly lower than those in the non-adverse event group (P < 0.05). Using binary logistic regression analysis, we identified muscle relaxation value, DE-DB, and DTF-DB during extubation as significant predictors of CREs post-extubation in elderly patients (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the combination of the muscle relaxation value, DE-DB, and DTF-DB during extubation for predicting CREs after extubation in elderly patients was 0.949, which was higher than that of any single indicator. CONCLUSION: The combination of diaphragmatic ultrasound and muscle relaxation monitoring was more accurate in predicting CREs post-extubation among elderly patients in the AICU.

Case report: Malignant vasovagal reflex syndrome during percutaneous transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale.

Malignant vasovagal reflex syndrome can be induced by pulling of cardiac tissue during percutaneous transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale. In this case, a patient presented with a malignant vasovagal reflex syndrome characterized by decreased heart rate, cardiac arrest, and ventricular tachycardia. Therefore, it's particularly important to observe patients' heart rate and timely deal with vasovagal reflex syndrome during the operation.

Construction of a physically cross-linked carrageenan/chitosan/calcium ion double-network hydrogel for 3-Nitro-1, 2, 4-triazole-5-one removal.

3-Nitro-1, 2, 4-triazole-5-one (NTO) is an important insensitive explosive. The discharge of NTO wastewater not only pollutes the environment but also causes the economic loss of the valuable explosive. Currently, the NTO wastewater in industrial production is often treated with activated carbon adsorbents. There are no green, efficient and specific adsorption materials for the NTO treatment yet. In the present work, polymer materials suitable for NTO adsorption were screened by molecular dynamics simulation. With the optimized materials, a carrageenan/chitosan/calcium ion physically cross-linked double network hydrogel (KC/CTS/Ca2+ PCDNH) was successfully prepared by the semi-soluble-acidified sol-gel conversion method. The structure and NTO adsorption performance of the hydrogel were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The NTO adsorption kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamics were further studied to understand the adsorption behavior and mechanism. In addition, the adsorbed NTO was successfully released and recovered by soaking the hydrogel in NaOH solution. Our work has provided an environmentally friendly and targeted preparation method of NTO adsorbent materials for NTO wastewater treatment.

A Review of Functions of Speculative Thinking.

Speculative thinking refers to thinking about past or future possibilities; it includes counterfactual thinking, prefactual thinking, and other types. In this narrative review, we discuss the traditional function of speculative thinking in improving future performance (i.e., the preparatory function). We also explore several non-preparatory functions of speculative thinking that have not been widely covered, namely the functions of conveying information and of supporting lying. In addition, we address temporal asymmetry; one perspective focuses on psychological distance in speculative thinking about the past and future, while another focuses on temporal asymmetry and reality/hypothetical differences in the preparatory function of speculative thinking. Overall, this review suggests that a broader functional theory is needed to address non-preparatory functions and the traditional preparatory function. Such a theory should cover all speculative thinking about the past and future rather than simply counterfactual thinking.

Invisibility Cloak Technology of Anti-Infrared Detection Materials Prepared Using CoGaZnSe Multilayer Nanofilms.

The development of infrared stealth clothing technology and materials has been widely studied. However, the research of near-infrared stealth clothing still faces some challenges including complex preparation processes, narrow spectral ranges, and poor antidetection efficiency. To solve these questions, a CoGaZnSe multilayer film used for anti-near-infrared detection is designed and prepared by pulse laser deposition (PLD) at different pressures from 2 to 12 Pa. Microstructures of the film can transform from amorphous to crystal at different Ar atmospheres demonstrated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations. The films with different transmittances from 10 to 95% are combined with multilayer films for reducing the infrared reflection, which results in the lowest energy loss per unit thickness of 1.01 × 10-11 dB/cm. The light propagation in the multilayer is calculated by finite-difference time domain, revealing the regular sinusoidal propagation and absorption in multilayers. The multilayer films are coated on the surface of common clothing materials and tested using an infrared detector in the range of 400-6000 nm. The results prove that the quantum efficiency of infrared detection can be effectively reduced by CoGaZnSe multilayer films, especially for wool (83% in the range of 400-1800 nm and 86% in the range of 2000-6000 nm). Finally, a physical model is established to discover the mechanism of the antireflection and infrared effect and a theory of anti-infrared radiation. This research provides a new idea and method supporting the stealth technology and materials, which improves the efficiency of anti-infrared detection and makes it feasible to be applied in military, detection, and stealth technology.

GARP and GARP-Treated tDC Prevented the Formation of Atherosclerotic Plaques in ApoE-/- Mice.

PURPOSE: This study aims to clarify the specific mechanism by which GARP affects the atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE-/- mice and the effect of GARP-tDC on atherosclerosis. METHODS: The mice were randomly divided into three groups: the control group, the GARP-overexpressed group and the GARP-inhibited group. After 12 weeks, all the mice were euthanized, and the specimens were collected. In vitro, experiments were conducted to observe the effect of GARP on DC phenotype and the changes of the proportion of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells when GARP-tDCs were co-cultured with CD4+ T cells. Furthermore, adoptive transmission of GARP-tDCs was used to observe the effect on atherosclerotic plaque in mice. RESULTS: The GARP-overexpressed group enhanced the biological activity of Foxp3+ CD4+CD25+ Tregs and resulted in increased expression of LAP in T cells. In addition, the GARP-overexpressed group significantly suppressed the function of Th1 and Th17, and decreased the secretion of INF-γ and IL-17A. Thus, GARP had a protective effect on atherosclerosis. In vitro, we found that GARP-tDC had a tolerance-inducing phenotype, and GARP-tDC also had the ability to induce tolerance when co-cultured with CD4+ T cells. More importantly, adoptive transmission of GARP-tDCs reduced the size of atherosclerotic plaques. CONCLUSION: GARP and the GARP-tDC play protective roles in atherosclerosis. The protective effect of GARP on atherosclerosis is achieved by increasing CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells and inhibiting the production of IFN-γ and IL-17A.

A review of statistical methods for dietary pattern analysis.

BACKGROUND: Dietary pattern analysis is a promising approach to understanding the complex relationship between diet and health. While many statistical methods exist, the literature predominantly focuses on classical methods such as dietary quality scores, principal component analysis, factor analysis, clustering analysis, and reduced rank regression. There are some emerging methods that have rarely or never been reviewed or discussed adequately. METHODS: This paper presents a landscape review of the existing statistical methods used to derive dietary patterns, especially the finite mixture model, treelet transform, data mining, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and compositional data analysis, in terms of their underlying concepts, advantages and disadvantages, and available software and packages for implementation. RESULTS: While all statistical methods for dietary pattern analysis have unique features and serve distinct purposes, emerging methods warrant more attention. However, future research is needed to evaluate these emerging methods' performance in terms of reproducibility, validity, and ability to predict different outcomes. CONCLUSION: Selection of the most appropriate method mainly depends on the research questions. As an evolving subject, there is always scope for deriving dietary patterns through new analytic methodologies.

VPS33B interacts with NESG1 to suppress cell growth and cisplatin chemoresistance in ovarian cancer.

The pathogenesis and cisplatin chemoresistance of ovarian cancer (OC) are still unclear. Vacuolar protein sorting-associated 33B (VPS33B) has not been reported in OC to date. In this study, immunohistochemistry was used to detect VPS33B protein expression between OC and ovarian tissues. MTT, EdU, colony formation, cell cycle, in vivo tumorigenesis, western blot, ChIP, EMSA, co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP), qRT-PCR, and microconfocal microscopy were used to explore the function and molecular mechanisms of VPS33B in OC cells. The results of the present study demonstrated that VPS33B protein expression was obviously reduced in OC compared with that in ovarian tissues. Overexpressed VPS33B suppressed cell cycle transition, cell growth, and chemoresistance to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo. Analysis of the mechanism indicated that overexpressed VPS33B regulated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/PI3K/AKT/c-Myc/p53/miR-133a-3p feedback loop and reduced the expression of the cell cycle factor CDK4. Nasopharyngeal epithelium-specific protein 1 (NESG1) as a tumor suppressor not only interacted with VPS33B, but was also induced by VPS33B by the attenuation of PI3K/AKT/c-Jun-mediated transcription inhibition. Overexpressed NESG1 further suppressed cell growth by mediating VPS33B-modulated signals in VPS33B-overexpressing OC cells. Finally, NESG1 induced VPS33B expression by reducing the inhibition of PI3K/AKT/c-Jun-mediated transcription. Our study is the first to demonstrate that VPS33B serves as a tumor suppressor, and VPS33B can interact with NESG1 to suppress cell growth and promote cisplatin sensitivity by regulating the EGFR/PI3K/AKT/c-Myc/p53/miR-133a-3p feedback loop in OC cells.

IGFBP2 promotes the EMT of colorectal cancer cells by regulating E-cadherin expression.

This study aimed to investigate the expression of insulin like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) in colorectal cancer cells and its effect on the biological characteristics of cancer cells. We first established IGFBP2 knockdown (HCT116-shIGFBP2) and overexpression (HT29-IGFBP2) cell lines. Western blotting was used to evaluate the overexpression and knockdown efficiency. Next, the effect of IGFBP2 on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and migration was evaluated through cell proliferation and wound healing assays, respectively. Cell proliferation experiments showed that the upregulation of IGFBP2 promoted the proliferation of HT29 cells, but the downregulation of IGFBP2 inhibited the proliferation of HCT116 cells. Moreover, a wound healing assay showed that the migration ability of HCT116 cells was significantly reduced after the downregulation of IGFBP2. Also, the level of E-cadherin in HCT116-shIGFBP2 cells was significantly upregulated following IGFBP2 knockdown. Further analyses showed that colorectal cancer cells secreted high levels of IGFBP2 into the extracellular matrix, which inhibited E-cadherin expression as well. Overall, the results of this study showed that IGFBP2 inhibits the expression of E-cadherin and promotes the proliferation and migration of colorectal cancer cells.

Herbicidal Spectrum, Absorption and Transportation, and Physiological Effect on Bidens pilosa of the Natural Alkaloid Berberine.

Berberine is a natural herbicidal alkaloid from Coptis chinensis Franch. Here we characterized its herbicidal spectrum and absorption and transportation in the plant, along with the possible mechanism. Berberine showed no effect on the germination of the 10 tested plants. The IC50 values of berberine on the primary root length and fresh weight of the 10 tested plants ranged from 2.91 to 9.79 mg L-1 and 5.76 to 35.07 mg L-1, respectively. Berberine showed a similar herbicidal effect on Bidens pilosa as the commercial naturally derived herbicide cinmethylin. HPLC and fluorescence analysis revealed that berberine was mainly absorbed by B. pilosa root and transported through vascular bundle acropetally. Enzyme activity studies, GC-MS analysis, and SEM and TEM observations indicated that berberine might first function on the cell membrane indicated by variation of the IUFA percent and then cause POD, PPO, and SOD activity changes and cellular structure deformity, which was eventually expressed as the decrease of cell adaptation ability and abnormal cell function and may even result in cell death. Environmental safety evaluation tests revealed that berberine was low in toxicity to Brachydanio rerio. These indicate that berberine has the potential to be a bioherbicide and/or a lead molecule for new herbicides.

Additional Evidence Supports Association of Common Variants in COL11A1 with Increased Risk of Hip Osteoarthritis Susceptibility.

OBJECTIVE: In a recent study single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the COL11A1 gene were found to be associated with hip osteoarthritis (OA) among European populations. In this study, our aim was to identify common genetic variants in COL11A1 predisposing to primary hip OA in Han Chinese individuals. METHODS: We designed a case-control study that included 313 hip OA patients and 911 unrelated healthy controls. Fourteen tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped, and single SNP and haplotypic association analyses were performed. RESULTS: Two SNPs (rs1241164 and rs4907986) were found to be significantly associated with hip OA risk (adjusted p = 0.000731 and 0.000477). An increased risk of OA was associated with possession of the C allele of rs1241164 (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27-2.36) and the T allele of rs4907986 (adjusted OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.24-2.35). Similar results were confirmed via genotypic association analyses. Moreover, two different haplotype blocks, including rs1241164 and rs4907986, respectively, were found to be strongly associated with hip OA risk as well. CONCLUSION: Variants in the COL11A1 gene modify individual susceptibility to hip OA in the Han Chinese population.

Analysis of gene translation using a communications theory approach.

Rapid advances in both genomic data acquisition and computational technology have encouraged the development and use of advanced engineering methods in the field of bioinformatics and computational genomics. Processes in molecular biology can be modeled through the use of these methods. Such processes include identification and annotation of all the functional elements in the genome, including genes and regulatory sequences, which are a fundamental challenge in genomics and computational biology. Since regulatory elements are often short and variable, their identification and discovery using computational algorithms is difficult. However, significant advances have been made in the computational methods for modeling and detection of DNA regulatory elements. This paper proposes a novel use of techniques and principles from communications engineering, coding, and information theory for modeling, identification, and analysis of genomic regulatory elements and biological sequences. The methods proposed are not only able to identify regulatory elements (REs) at their exact locations, but can also "interestingly" distinguish coding from non-coding regions. Therefore, the proposed methods can be utilized to identify genes in the mRNA sequence.

Effect of mutations on the detection of translational signals based on a communications theory approach.

Gene and regulatory sequence identification is the first step in the functional annotation of any genome. Identification and annotation of such elements in the genome is a fundamental challenge in genomics and computational biology. Since regulatory elements are often short and variable, their identification and discovery using computational algorithms is difficult. However, significant advances have been made in the computational methods for modeling and detection of DNA regulatory elements. This paper proposes a novel use of techniques and principles from communications engineering and coding theory for modeling, identification and analysis of genomic regulatory elements and biological sequences. The last 13 bases sequence in the 16S rRNA molecule was used as a test sequence and was detected using the proposed models. Results show that the proposed models are not only able to identify this regulatory element (RE) in the mRNA sequence, but also can help identify coding from noncoding regions. The models described in this work where used to study the effect of mutations in the last 13 bases sequence of the 16S rRNA molecule. The obtained results showed total agreement with published investigations on mutations which further certify the biological relevance of the proposed models.

A novel gene detection method based on period-3 property.

Processing of biomolecular sequences using communication theory techniques provides powerful approaches for solving highly relevant problems in bioinformatics by properly mapping character strings into numerical sequences. We provide an optimized procedure for predicting protein-coding regions in DNA sequences based on the period-3 property of coding region. We present a digital correlating and filtering approach in the process of predicting these regions, and find out their locations by using the magnitude of the output sequence. These approaches result in improved computational techniques for the solution of useful problems in genomic information science and technology.