Outcomes and Complications of Aggressive Resection Strategy for Pituitary Adenomas in Knosp Grade 4 With Transsphenoidal Endoscopy.

Surgery for pituitary adenomas (PAs) with cavernous sinus (CS) invasion in Knosp grade 4 is a great challenge and whether to adopt a conservative or aggressive surgical strategy is controversial. The aim of this study is to provide the outcomes and complications of an aggressive resection strategy for Knosp grade 4 PAs with transsphenoidal endoscopic surgery. Outcomes and complications were retrospectively analyzed in 102 patients with Knosp grade 4 PAs. Among them, primary PAs were seen in 60 patients and recurrent PAs were seen in 42 cases. Gross total resection (GTR) of the entire tumor was achieved in 72 cases (70.6%), subtotal tumor resection (STR) in 18 cases (17.6%), and partial tumor resection (PTR) in 12 cases (11.8%). Additionally, GTR of the tumor within the CS was achieved in 82 patients (80.4%), STR in 17 patients (16.7%), and PTR in 3 patients (2.9%). Statistical analyses showed that both recurrent tumors and firm consistency tumors were adverse factors for complete resection (P<0.05). Patients with GTR of the entire tumor were more likely to have favorable endocrine and visual outcomes than those with incomplete resection (P<0.05). Overall, the most common surgical complication was new cranial nerve palsy (n=7, 6.8%). The incidence of internal carotid artery (ICA) injury and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage was 2.0% (n=2) and 5.9% (n=6), respectively. Six patients (5.9%) experienced tumor recurrence postoperatively. For experienced neuroendoscopists, an aggressive tumor resection strategy via transsphenoidal endoscopic surgery may be an effective and safe option for Knosp grade 4 PAs.

The dependence of the boson peak on the thickness of Cu50Zr50 film metallic glasses.

In this study, intensive calculations were performed to investigate the behavior of the low-temperature excess heat capacity of Cu50Zr50 ultrathin film metallic glasses. Our results show that there is a well-defined boson peak in the film metallic glasses and that the boson peak height exhibits an obvious size-dependent feature. Furthermore, there is a critical thickness dc in the curves between the boson peak height and the thickness, where the boson peak height changes abruptly. Through structural analysis, we found that the low-temperature excess heat capacity of the film metallic glasses is correlated with the density layering structure near the surface. The structural parameter S is defined by atomic density and it was found that the boson peak height is highly correlated with S. Our investigation of ultrathin film metallic glasses provides a deeper understanding about the structural origin of the boson peak in metallic glasses.

New and Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting: Inexpensive, Robust Metallic Glassy Ribbons Based on Iron and Cobalt.

Efficient, stable electrocatalysts are required to promote the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to obtain hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel via water splitting. In the present work, ribbons of the metallic glass Fe40Co40P13C7 were produced using a conventional melt-spinning technique and assessed as electrocatalysts for HER. In 0.5 M H2SO4, these ribbons generated an overpotential of 118 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. This overpotential remained essentially constant over 20 h under these conditions. On the basis of the excellent properties, these glassy ribbons represent a new type of highly active, robust HER catalyst suitable for practical applications.

Evolution of microbial community diversity and enzymatic activity during composting.

The composting of organic material is dependent on microbial activity. However, the dynamics of the microbial community during the composting process remain obscure. Here, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA amplicons in a chicken manure-based compost was applied to characterize the components of the microbial community during the composting process. In addition, the activity of key microbial enzymes was monitored. Arcobacter spp. and Marinospirillum spp. were the dominant species prior to composting, whereas Thermotogae spp. became more strongly represented as the composting process proceeded. Bacillus and Cohnella spp. were featured at various phases. Correlation analysis showed that the diversity of the microbial community was positively correlated with the compost pH, its total nitrogen level, its carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and the activity of protease, and negatively correlated with its organic carbon content and seed germination indices.

[Screening of two straw-cellulose degrading actinomycetes].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen microorganisms that could degrade rice straw. METHODS: We used selective medium to screen strains and determined straw fracture tension strength, weight loss, lignocellulose decomposition rate and extracellular enzyme activity as re-screening methods after 10 days shake flask culture. RESULTS: We isolated two antinomycetes (A3 and A6), the highest cellulose enzyme activity of holoenzyme, beta3-Glucosidase, endonuclease and exonclease for A3 were 12.84, 6.23, 24.56 and 14.00 U/mL, and for A6 12.85, 6.53, 17.80 and 18.80 U/mL. The hemicelluloses enzyme activity was 83.05 for A3 and 52.98 U/mL for A6. Both strains belonged to Streptomyces. With 10 days' treatment, inoculated straws showed a decrease of straw fracture tension strength by 62.67% (A3) and 66.67% (A6), while weight loss of straw was 31.50% (A3) and 35.83% (A6). A3's decomposition rate of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin was 38.73% , 33.16% and 20.68% , and 47.69% , 28.64% and 22.59% for A6. CONCLUSION: Antinomycetes A3 and A6 could degrad cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

The addition of modified attapulgite reduces the emission of nitrous oxide and ammonia from aerobically composted chicken manure.

UNLABELLED: The acceleration of the composting process and the improvement of compost quality have been explored by evaluating the efficacy of various additives, inoculating with specific microorganisms and the application of various biosurfactants. The magnesium-aluminum silicate attapulgite is a low-cost potential composting additive, but its effects on aerobic composting are unknown. This study investigated the effects of attapulgite application on compost production and quality during the aerobic composting of chicken manure. Addition of attapulgite significantly increased the temperature (p < 0.05) while it reduced compost total organic carbon (TOC) and seed germination indices (GIs) throughout the process. Its addition enhanced nitrate concentrations, promoted organic matter degradation, increased seed germination indices, and accelerated the composting process. Interestingly, attapulgite addition did not increase the population of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. These results suggest that attapulgite is a good additive for the composting industry. IMPLICATIONS: We investigated the addition of two forms of attapulgite during aerobic composting of chicken manure to determine their effects under strict composting environmental parameter control. Our results provides primary evidence that attapulgite may have potential for application in the composting industry. All treatments showed no increase within the first 15 days. However, emissions increased for all treatments within 15-45 days, reaching approximately 6300, 2000, and 4000 mg/m2 from the control, artifactitious attapulgite, and raw attapulgite treatments, respectively.

Improved composting of poultry feces via supplementation with ammonia oxidizing archaea.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) play an important role in the oxidation of ammonia. However, the participation of AOA in the composting process has not been established. The addition of AOA to a compost mix was able to speed up both the onset of the hyperthermic phase and the composting time. The composition of the microflora and the relative abundance were determined by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative real-time PCR, based on the presence of the archaeal amoA genes. The amplicon profiles allowed some of the major AOA species present in the final compost to be identified, and their relative abundance to be estimated from their amplification intensity. The lower pH during the lower temperature phase of compost served to enhance the nitrogen content of the final compost. The addition of AOA resulted in the expanding diversity of microflora species than that of the natural colonization.

[Screening and identification of hemicellulose degrading microorganisms in acid soil].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen hemicellulose degrading microorganisms. METHODS: The methods used to screen the effective strains included hydrolysis spot diameter measurement of hemicellulose plate and extracellular enzyme activity. The methods used to identify the strains included culture characteristics, morphological, physiological-biochemical characteristics and molecular biological methods. RESULTS: We isolated 4 actinomycetes (NA9, NA10, NA12 and NA13), 2 fungi (NF1 and NF7) with hemicellulose degrading ability and no antagonistic effect among them. The hemicellulose degrading activity of 4 actinomyces (NA9, NA10, NA12 and NA13) was 217.6, 229.8, 221.1 and 211.8 U/mL. The hemicellulose degrading activity of 2 fungi (NF1 and NF7) was 217.7 and 244.2 U/mL. The hemicellulose degrading activity of complex microbial system was 299.0 U/mL. NA9, NA10, NA12 and NA13 were Streptomyces costaricanus; NF1 was Aspergillus candidus and NF7 was Tarlaromyces flavus. CONCLUSION: the 4 actinomyces and 2 fungi screened have high hemicelluloses enzyme activity. These strains have good application value and more research value.

Effects of sulphur and Thiobacillus thioparus on cow manure aerobic composting.

A simulated aerobic composting experiment was used to explore the effects of sulphur and Thiobacillus thioparus during six manure composting treatments. The addition of sulphur led to a decrease of the pH level within the range 6-6.3, which was lower than the control treatment (CK). The concentration of ammonium nitrogen in T1 (0.25% sulphur), T2 (0.5% sulphur), T3 (0.25% sulphur + T. thioparus) and T4 (0.5% sulphur + T. thioparus) were much higher than the ammonium N in CK. The results indicated that addition of sulphur could increase the concentration of ammonium N and reduce loss of nitrogen. However, excess sulphur had a negative effect on temperature and GI. Addition of T. thioparus could increase concentration of available S, alleviate these negative influences and reduce compost biological toxicity.

Effects of alkyl polyglycoside (APG) on composting of agricultural wastes.

Composting is the biological degradation and transformation of organic materials under controlled conditions to promote aerobic decomposition. To find effective ways to accelerate composting and improve compost quality, numerous methods including additive addition, inoculation of microorganisms, and the use of biosurfactants have been explored. Studies have shown that biosurfactant addition provides more favorable conditions for microorganism growth, thereby accelerating the composting process. However, biosurfactants have limited applications because they are expensive and their use in composting and microbial fertilizers is prohibited. Meanwhile, alkyl polyglycoside (APG) is considered a "green" surfactant. This study aims to determine whether APG addition into a compost reaction vessel during 28-day composting can enhance the organic matter degradation and composting process of dairy manure. Samples were periodically taken from different reactor depths at 0, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. pH levels, electrical conductivity (EC), ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, seed germination indices, and microbial population were determined. Organic matter and total nitrogen were also measured. Compared with the untreated control, the sample with APG exhibited slightly increased microbial populations, such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. APG addition increased temperatures without substantially affecting compost pH and EC throughout the process. After 28 days, APG addition increased nitrate nitrogen concentrations, promoted matter degradation, and increased seed germination indices. The results of this study suggest that the addition of APG provides more favorable conditions for microorganism growth, slightly enhancing organic matter decomposition and accelerating the composting process, improving the compost quality to a certain extent.

[Effects of microbial agent inoculation on bacterial community diversity in the process of pig manure composting].

PCR-DGGE method was adopted to study the effects of inoculating exogenous microbial agent on the bacterial community diversity in the process of fresh pig manure high-temperature aerobic composting. Exogenous microbial agent inoculation promoted the composting process, with the high-temperature period being advanced by 2 days than that of non-inoculation. DGGE pattern analysis showed that during composting, the dominant bacteria changed significantly, with the Shannon-Wiener index of bacterial community at different composting periods varied obviously. The sequencing of DGGE-distinguished bands showed that Clostridium stercorarium subsp. thermolacticum sp. was the dominant group in the whole composting process. Uncultured bacteria Bacillus coagulans sp. and Clostridium thermocellum sp. became the main groups on the 10th and 16th day after microbial agent inoculation, while uncultured Firmicutes sp. and delta proteobacterium became the dominant groups on the 5th and 16th days in the treatment non-inoculation, respectively. Un-dominant group Ureibacillus thermosphaericu sp. and uncultured Silvimonas sp. appeared in the late period of well rotted composting, while uncultured soil bacteria mainly appeared in the initial and high-temperature periods. UPGMC cluster analysis showed that exogenous microbial agent inoculation obviously affected the bacterial community structure in different composting periods, and the main component analysis of DGGE patterns in composting process showed that the bacterial community was mainly affected by the exogenous microbial agent inoculation.

[Effects of slow/controlled release fertilizers on the growth and nutrient use efficiency of pepper].

Pot trails were conducted from 2003 to 2005 to study the effects of slow/controlled release fertilizers on the growth and nutrient use efficiency of pepper. The results indicated that in comparison with conventional splitting fertilization (T1), basal application of polymer-coated controlled release fertilizer (T2) enhanced the single fruit mass and vitamin C concentration, improved the root activity, and increased the fruit yield by 8.4%, but no significant effect was observed on the dissoluble sugar concentration in fruit. NH4MgPO4-coated controlled release fertilizer (T3) increased the dissoluble sugar concentration by 5.67%, but had less effect on single fruit mass and vitamin C concentration. Under the application of T3, the root system had a vigorous growth at early stages but became infirm at later stages, resulting in a lower yield. Comparing with T1, the application of 3 slow release fertilizers increased the dissoluble sugar concentration in fruit, enhanced the root activity, but had less effect on the yield. All test slow/controlled release fertilizers increased the use efficiency of N, P, and K significantly, with an exception for T2 which increased the use efficiency of N and K but decreased that of P. It was demonstrated that an appropriate application of slow/controlled release fertilizers could enhance pepper' s root activity and improve nutrient use efficiency.

[CGRP may take part in the effect of electroacupuncture in resisting acute myocardial ischemic injury].

OBJECTIVE: To probe into the relationship between "Xinshu" (BL 15)-"Jueyinshu" (BL 14) of the Bladder Channel and the heart and the underlying mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in resisting acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) in rats. METHODS: A total of 24 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups with 8 cases in each group. AMI model was duplicated by intraperitoneal injection of 2% isoproterenol (ISO, 100 mg/kg). EA (pulse duration 300 micros, frequency 2-20 Hz, output voltage 3. 5-5 V) was applied to BL14 and BL15 on the left side for 30 min, twice in a day (with an interval of 12 h). After decapitation, blood samples, myocardial tissue and spinal cord (T1-T6) were collected respectively for detecting serum creatine kinase (CK, with chromatometry) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) contents in the plasma, myocardium and the spinal cord (with radioimmunoassay). RESULTS: In comparison with control group, serum CK of both model group and EA group increased significantly (P < 0. 01), and plasma CGRP content of model group lowered lightly; while compared with model group, CK content of EA group decreased obviously (P < 0.05) and plasma CGRP of EA group increased evidently (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found among 3 groups in myocardial CGRP contents and between control group and model group in spinal CGRP contents (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: EA of "Xinshu" (BL 15)-"Jueyinshu" (BL 14) may suppress isoproterenol-injection induced myocardial injury and plasma CGRP possibly takes part in the protective effect of EA in resisting myocardial ischemia injury.

[Research on the differentially expressed genes related to the relatively specific connection between the heart meridian and the heart].

OBJECTIVE: To study the scientific basis of specific correlation between the meridian and the Zang- or Fu organ by using gene differential expression (gene-chip technique) in the rat. METHODS: Twenty-one SD rats were randomly and evenly divided into control group, sham-myocardial ischemia (MI) group, MI group, electroacupuncture (EA)-Heart-Meridian (HT) group, EA-Lung-Meridian (LU) group and EA-Small-Intestine-Meridian (SI) group. EA (frequency 2 Hz, stimulating strength 5 V, pulse duration 300 mus) was applied to "Shenmen" (HT 7)- "Tongli" (HT 5) (Heart Meridian), "Y anglao" (SI 6)- "Zhizheng" (SI 7) (Small Intestine Meridian), "Taiyuan" (LU 9)-"Lieque" (LU 7) (Lung Meridian) for 20 min, once daily and continuously for 3 days. Myocardial ischemia model was duplicated by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery, and myocardial tissue of the left ventricle was taken 3 days after EA treatment for analyzing the differentially expressed genes in different groups with rat whole gene U 230 sequence chips (offered by Affymetrix Company). RESULTS: Compared with model group, among the differentially expressed genes being twofolds and above, the up-regulated and the down-regulated were 20 and 70 in EA-HT group, 18 and 26 in EA-SI group, and 14 and 20 in EA-LU group separately. Few same genes with the same differential expression were found among the 3 EA groups. CONCLUSION: There is exactly a molecular basis in the correlation between Heart Meridian and the heart, and EA of Heart Meridian, Small Intestine Meridian and Lung Meridian have their own special signaling pathways.

[Plasticity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells differentiating into cardiomyocytes and the potential of cardiac therapeutics].

Current treatments for ischemic cardiomyopathy aim at minimizing the deteriorated consequences of damaged myocardium. Recent stem cell researches have provided major impetus for the possibility of treating heart failure by generating new myocardium and vascular structures. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) , also referred to as marrow stromal cells, differentiate readily into chondrocytes, adipocytes, and osteocytes. Recent provocative data suggest that they can also express phenotypic characteristics of endothelial, neural, smooth muscle, skeletal myoblasts, and cardiac myocytes. The multilineage potential, no immune reaction if self-transplantation, and the relative easiness of expansion in culture make MSCs a promising source of cells for medical therapies. Recent researches demonstrate that implantation of intramyocardial MSCs can prevent deteriorated remodeling and improve cardiac function, although the underlying mechanisms need to be further clarified. This review summarized recent studies in the recognition of MSCs, particularly the MSC plasticity into cardiomyocytes, factors and signal pathways that mediate MSC differentiation, and animal studies as well as clinic trials of the implantation of MSCs in postinfarct myocardium.

Passage-restricted differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have limited ability to differentiate into cardiomyocytes and the factors affect this process are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the passage (P)-related transdifferentiation potential of MSCs into cardiomyocyte-like cells and its relationship to the proliferation ability. After 5-azacytidine treatment, only P4 but not P1 and P8 rat bone marrow MSCs (rMSCs) showed formation of myotube and expressed cardiomyocyte-associated markers. The growth property analysis showed P4 rMSCs had a growth-arrest appearance, while P1 and P8 rMSCs displayed an exponential growth pattern. When the rapid proliferation of P1 and P8 rMSCs was inhibited by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine, a mitosis inhibitor, only P1, not P8 rMSCs, differentiated into cardiomyocyte-like cells after 5-azacytidine treatment. These results demonstrate that the differentiation ability of rMSCs into cardiomyocytes is in proliferation ability-dependent and passage-restricted patterns. These findings reveal a novel regulation on the transdifferentiation of MSCs and provide useful information for exploiting the clinical therapeutic potential of MSCs.

[Nutrient use efficiency and yield-increasing effect of single basal application of rice specific controlled release fertilizer].

A series of pot and field experiments and field demonstrations showed that in comparing with the commonly used specific-fertilizers containing same amounts of nutrients, single basal application of rice-specific controlled release fertilizer could increase the use efficiency of N and P by 12.2% - 22.7% and 7.0% - 35.0%, respectively in pot experiment, and the use efficiency of N by 17.1% in field experiment. In 167 field demonstrations successively conducted for 3 years in various rice production areas of Guangdong Province, single basal application of the fertilizer saved the application rate of N and P by 22.1% and 21.8%, respectively, and increased the yield by 8.2%, compared with normal split fertilization.