Risk factors and crucial prognostic indicators of mortality in liver transplant recipients with bloodstream infections: A comprehensives study of 1049 consecutive liver transplants over an 11-year period.

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation (LT) is a pivotal treatment for end-stage liver disease. However, bloodstream infections (BSI) in the post-operative period present a significant threat to patient survival. This study aims to identify risk factors for post-LT BSI and crucial prognostic indicators for mortality among affected patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of adults diagnosed with end-stage liver disease who underwent their initial LT between 2010 and 2021. Those who developed BSI post-LT during the same hospital admission were classified into the BSI group. RESULTS: In this cohort of 1049 patients, 89 (8.4%) developed BSI post-LT, while 960 (91.5%) did not contract any infection. Among the BSI cases, 17 (19.1%) patients died. The average time to BSI onset was 48 days, with 46% occurring within the first month post-LT. Of the 123 isolated microorganisms, 97 (78.8%) were gram-negative bacteria. BSI patients had significantly longer stays in the intensive care unit and hospital compared to non-infected patients. The 90-day and in-hospital mortality rates for recipients with BSI were significantly higher than those without infections. Multivariate analysis indicated heightened BSI risk in patients with blood loss >3000 mL during LT (odds ratio [OR] 2.128), re-operation within 30 days (OR 2.341), post-LT bile leakage (OR 3.536), and graft rejection (OR 2.194). Additionally, chronic kidney disease (OR 6.288), each 1000 mL increase in intraoperative blood loss (OR 1.147) significantly raised mortality risk in BSI patients, whereas each 0.1 mg/dL increase in albumin levels correlated with a lower risk of death from BSI (OR 0.810). CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the need for careful monitoring and management in the post-LT period, especially for patients at higher risk of BSI. It also suggests that serum albumin levels could serve as a valuable prognostic indicator for outcomes in LT recipients experiencing BSI.

Network pharmacology combined with an experimental validation study to reveal the effect and mechanism of Lonicera japonica Thunb. extracts against immunomodulation.

Lonicera japonica Thunb. (LJT) is known for its valuable medicinal properties that highlight its potential application in the pharmaceutical and health food industry. We predict that LJT polyphenols by network pharmacology may be involved in immunomodulation, and the study of LJT polyphenols regulating immunity is still insufficient; therefore, we experimentally found that LJT enhances immunity by promoting the proliferation and phagocytic activity of RAW246.7 cells. A model of an immunosuppressed mouse was constructed using cyclophosphamide-induced, and LJT was extracted for the intervention. We found that LJT restored immune homeostasis in immune deficiency mice by inhibiting the abnormal apoptosis in lymphocytes, enhancing natural killer cell cytotoxicity, promoting T lymphocyte proliferation, and increasing the CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in quantity. Moreover, LJT treatment modulates immunity by significantly downregulating lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation and oxidative stress levels. We verified the immunomodulatory function of LJT through both cell and animal experiments. The combination of potential-protein interactions and molecular docking later revealed that LJT polyphenols were associated with immunomodulatory effects on MAPK1; together, LJT intervention significantly modulates the immune, with the activation of MAPK1 as the underlying mechanism of action, which provided evidence for the utilization of LJT as a nutraceutical in immune function.

MiR-653-5p drives osteoarthritis pathogenesis by modulating chondrocyte senescence.

BACKGROUND: Due to the unclear pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA), effective treatment for this ailment is presently unavailable. Accumulating evidence points to chondrocyte senescence as a key driver in OA development. This study aims to identify OA-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) targeting chondrocyte senescence to alleviate OA progression. METHODS: We screened and identified miRNAs differentially expressed in OA and normal cartilage, then confirmed the impact of miR-653-5p on chondrocyte functions and senescence phenotypes through in vitro experiments with overexpression/silencing. We identified interleukin 6 (IL-6) as the target gene of miR-653-5p and confirmed the regulatory influence of miR-653-5p on the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway through gain/loss-of-function studies. Finally, we assessed the therapeutic efficacy of miR-653-5p on OA using a mouse model with destabilization of the medial meniscus. RESULTS: MiR-653-5p was significantly downregulated in cartilage tissues and chondrocytes from OA patients. Overexpression of miR-653-5p promoted chondrocyte matrix synthesis and proliferation while inhibiting chondrocyte senescence. Furthermore, bioinformatics target prediction and the luciferase reporter assays identified IL-6 as a target of miR-653-5p. Western blot assays demonstrated that miR-653-5p overexpression inhibited the protein expression of IL-6, the phosphorylation of JAK1 and STAT3, and the expression of chondrocyte senescence phenotypes by regulating the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. More importantly, the cartilage destruction was significantly alleviated and chondrocyte senescence phenotypes were remarkably decreased in the OA mouse model treated by agomiR-653-5p compared to the control mice. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-653-5p showed a significant decrease in cartilage tissues of individuals with OA, leading to an upregulation of chondrocyte senescence phenotypes in the articular cartilage. AgomiR-653-5p emerges as a potential treatment approach for OA. These findings provide further insight into the role of miR-653-5p in chondrocyte senescence and the pathogenesis of OA.

Initial investigation on ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of lesions in the first hepatic hilum with fusion of ultrasound and multimodal imaging cognitive guidance.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of the first hepatic hilum lesion, and examine its clinical value of diagnosis and treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on patients diagnosed with the first hepatic hilum lesions at Fujian Provincial Hospital between February 2015 and October 2022. We selected patients who had lesions in the first hepatic hilum(including a 2cm surrounding area of the left/right hepatic ducts and upper-middle segment of the common bile duct) and the liver periphery(in the peripheral area of the liver, outside of the above-mentioned first hepatic porta region). These patients underwent percutaneous ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy (PUS-CNB) with cognitive fusion guidance using CT, MRI, or PET-CT. We compared the safety and efficacy of PUS-CNB in the first hepatic hilum and the liver periphery to explore the value of PUS-CNB in optimizing the clinical treatment of the first hepatic hilum lesions. Results: The studied includes 38 cases of the first hepatic hilum cases (18 females; 20 males), 23 presented with mass-forming tumors while the remaining 15 exhibited diffuse infiltrative tumors, with an average diameter of 4.65± 2.51 cm. The percutaneous biopsy procedure, conducted under ultrasound guidance, had an average operation time of 14.55 ± 2.73 minutes, and resulted in a postoperative bleeding volume of approximately 10.79 ± 2.79 ml. The diagnostic success rate was noted to be as high as 92.11% among the participants who underwent percutaneous biopsy of the first hepatic hilum. Procedural complications, such as bleeding, bile leakage, intestinal perforation, infection or needle tract seeding, did not occur during or after the biopsy procedure. Affected by biopsy results, 5 altered their clinical treatment plans accordingly, 24patients received non-surgical treatment, 9 underwent surgical treatment, 5 underwent radiofrequency ablation for the lesions. The study comprised a total of 112 cases for percutaneous biopsy of the liver periphery. The safety and effectiveness of the two biopsy techniques were comparable, with diagnostic success rates of 92.11% VS. 94.34%, respectively (p = 0.61). Conclusion: Cognitive fusion of ultrasound and multi-modal imaging for the first hepatic hilum lesion puncture biopsy is a safe and effective diagnostic procedure, with better diagnostic rate, may improve clinical value of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Puerperal mastitis caused by limited community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) clones.

Objective: To outline the epidemiology of puerperal mastitis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and evaluate the effect of an infection control bundle on its incidence. Methods: A surge in MRSA puerperal mastitis was noted in a community hospital in September 2009. MRSA samples from mastitis cases and the environment underwent typing using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), gene encoding surface protein A (spa), accessory gene regulator (agr), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The phenotypic characteristics, including superantigen toxin profiles, gene encoding Panton-Valentine leucocidin (pvl), and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against vancomycin, were ascertained. Subsequently, an infection control bundle emphasizing contact precautions was introduced, and mastitis incidence rates pre- and post-intervention were compared. Results: The majority of cases occurred within 6 weeks post-delivery in first-time mothers. Of the 42 S. aureus isolates (27 from mastitis and 15 from colonized staff and environmental sources), 25 (92.6%) clinical and 3 (20%) colonized MRSA were identified as ST59-SCCmecVT-spa t437-agr group I with a vancomycin MIC of 1 mg/L, pvl-positive, and predominantly with a consistent toxin profile (seb-selk-selr). PFGE revealed 13 patterns; pulsotype B exhibited clonal relatedness between two clinical and three colonized MRSA samples. Post-intervention, the incidence of both mastitis and MRSA mastitis notably decreased from 13.01 to 1.78 and from 3.70 to 0.99 episodes per 100 deliveries, respectively. Conclusion: Distinct community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) clones were detected among puerperal mastitis patients and colonized staff. The outbreak was effectively controlled following the implementation of a targeted infection control bundle.

The L-lactate dehydrogenases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are conditionally regulated but both contribute to survival during macrophage infection.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that thrives in environments associated with human activity, including soil and water altered by agriculture or pollution. Because L-lactate is a significant product of plant and animal metabolism, it is available to serve as a carbon source for P. aeruginosa in the diverse settings it inhabits. Here, we evaluate P. aeruginosa's production and use of its redundant L-lactate dehydrogenases, termed LldD and LldA. We confirm that the protein LldR represses lldD and identify a new transcription factor, called LldS, that activates lldA; these distinct regulators and the genomic contexts of lldD and lldA contribute to their differential expression. We demonstrate that the lldD and lldA genes are conditionally controlled in response to lactate isomers as well as to glycolate and - hydroxybutyrate, which, like lactate, are -hydroxycarboxylates. We also show that lldA is induced when iron availability is low. Our examination of lldD and lldA expression across depth in biofilms indicates a complex pattern that is consistent with the effects of glycolate production, iron availability, and cross-regulation on enzyme preference. Finally, macrophage infection assays revealed that both lldD and lldA contribute to persistence within host cells, underscoring the potential role of L-lactate as a carbon source during P. aeruginosa-eukaryote interactions. Together, these findings help us understand the metabolism of a key resource that may promote P. aeruginosa's success as a resident of contaminated environments and animal hosts.

GAT TransPruning: progressive channel pruning strategy combining graph attention network and transformer.

Recently, large-scale artificial intelligence models with billions of parameters have achieved good results in experiments, but their practical deployment on edge computing platforms is often subject to many constraints because of their resource requirements. These models require powerful computing platforms with a high memory capacity to store and process the numerous parameters and activations, which makes it challenging to deploy these large-scale models directly. Therefore, model compression techniques are crucial role in making these models more practical and accessible. In this article, a progressive channel pruning strategy combining graph attention network and transformer, namely GAT TransPruning, is proposed, which uses the graph attention networks (GAT) and the attention of transformer mechanism to determine the channel-to-channel relationship in large networks. This approach ensures that the network maintains its critical functional connections and optimizes the trade-off between model size and performance. In this study, VGG-16, VGG-19, ResNet-18, ResNet-34, and ResNet-50 are used as large-scale network models with the CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 datasets for verification and quantitative analysis of the proposed progressive channel pruning strategy. The experimental results reveal that the accuracy rate only drops by 6.58% when the channel pruning rate is 89% for VGG-19/CIFAR-100. In addition, the lightweight model inference speed is 9.10 times faster than that of the original large model. In comparison with the traditional channel pruning schemes, the proposed progressive channel pruning strategy based on the GAT and Transformer cannot only cut out the insignificant weight channels and effectively reduce the model size, but also ensure that the performance drop rate of its lightweight model is still the smallest even under high pruning ratio.

The impact of preoperative nutritional status on postoperative outcomes: an insight from Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index in elderly pancreaticoduodenectomy patients.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is not uncommon among the elderly undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and is related to increased complications. Previous studies have shown that the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) predicts outcomes in various populations. Nevertheless, the research exploring the correlation between GNRI and postoperative outcomes in PD is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the preoperative malnutrition, as measured by GNRI, on outcomes in elderly patients undergoing PD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis enrolled 144 elderly patients underwent PD for periampullary tumors from November 2016 to December 2021. Patients were stratified based on the GNRI value: high/moderate nutrition risk (GNRI ≤ 92, N = 54), low nutrition risk (92 < GNRI ≤ 98, N = 35), and no nutrition risk (GNRI > 98, N = 55). Perioperative outcomes and postoperative surgical complications were compared between these groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on major postoperative complications and prolonged postoperative length of stay (PLOS). RESULTS: Patients in the high/moderate risk group were significantly older, with lower BMI (P = 0.012), higher mortality rate (11.1%, P = 0.024), longer PLOS (P < 0.001), and higher incidence of over grade IIIB complications (37.0%, P = 0.001), Univariate and multivariate analyses showed the high/moderate risk GNRI group (OR 3.61, P = 0.032), increased age (OR 1.11, P = 0.014) and operative time over 8 h (OR 3.04, P = 0.027) were significantly associated with increased major postoperative complications. The high/moderate risk GNRI group was also a significant predictor for prolonged PLOS (OR 3.91, P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative GNRI has the potential to be a predictive tool for identifying high-risk elderly patients and monitoring nutritional status preoperatively to improve postoperative surgical outcomes following PD.

Interplay of p62-mTORC1 and EGFR signaling promotes cisplatin resistance in oral cancer.

Cisplatin resistance poses a major challenge in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Deeper investigations into the mechanisms underlying this drug resistance is of great importance. Here, we used cellular assays and clinical immunohistochemistry to examine molecular pathways involved in both innate and acquired cisplatin resistance. We demonstrated that the p62-mTORC1 signaling complex plays a pivotal role, and is driven by the EGFR signaling network, specifically through the PI3K-Akt axis and the transcription factor C/EBP-ß. Elevated p-mTOR expression was associated with cancer relapse and poor prognosis among oral cancer patients. Additionally, we illustrated that mTOR inhibitors enhance the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin, by employing cancer stem cell characteristics. Our work unveils fundamental mechanisms for cisplatin resistance, thereby presenting therapeutic implications for OSCC.

Temporal stability of tongue microbiota in older patients - A pilot study.

Background/purpose: Healthy states of human microbiota depend on a stable community of symbiotic microbes irrespective of external challenges from the environment. Thus, long-term stability of the oral microbiota is of importance, particularly for older patient populations. Materials and methods: We used next-generation sequencing (NGS) to examine the tongue microbiota of 18 individuals receiving long-term care over a 10-month period. Results: Beta diversity analysis demonstrated temporal stability of the tongue microbiota, as microbial compositions from all time points were indistinguishable from each other (P = 0.0887). However, significant individual variation in microbial composition (P = 0.0001) was observed, underscoring the presence of a unique microbial profile for each patient. Conclusion: The temporal dynamics of tongue microbiota exhibit long-term stability, providing diagnostic implications for oral diseases within older patient populations.

The outcomes and biliary complications of a staged biliary reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation: a propensity score matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: Uncontrolled massive bleeding and bowel edema are critical issues during liver transplantation. Temporal intra-abdominal packing with staged biliary reconstruction (SBR) yields acceptable outcomes in deceased donor liver transplantation; however, data on living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) are scarce. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 1269 patients who underwent LDLT was performed. After one-to-two propensity score matching, patients who underwent LDLT with SBR were compared with those who underwent LDLT with one-stage biliary reconstruction (OSBR). The primary outcomes were graft survival (GS) and overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcomes were postoperative biliary complications. RESULTS: There were 55 and 110 patients in the SBR and OSBR groups, respectively. The median blood loss was 6500 mL in the SBR and 4875 mL in the OSBR group. Patients receiving SBR-LDLT had higher incidence of sepsis (69.0% vs. 43.6%; P < 0.01) and intra-abdominal infections (60.0% vs. 30.9%; P < 0.01). Biliary complication rates (14.5% vs. 19.1%; P = 0.47) and 1-and 5-year GS (87.27%, 74.60% vs. 83.64%, 72.71%; P = 0.98) and OS (89.09%, 78.44% vs. 84.55%, 73.70%; P = 0.752) rates were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: SBR could serve as a life-saving procedure for patients undergoing complex critical LDLT, with GS, OS, and biliary outcomes comparable to those of OSBR.

Single center experience with ALPPS and timing with stage 2 in patients with fibrotic/cirrhotic liver.

Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) is a novel procedure for major resection in patients with insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). Effective FLR augmentation is pivotal in the completion of ALPPS. Liver fibrosis/cirrhosis associated with chronic viral hepatitis impairs liver regeneration. To investigate the augmentation of FLR in associating ALPPS between patients with fibrotic/cirrhotic livers (FL) and non-fibrotic livers (NFL) and compare their short-term clinical outcomes and long-term survival. Patients were divided into two groups based on the Ishak modified staging: non-fibrotic liver group (NFL, stage 0) and fibrotic/cirrhotic liver group (FL, stage 1-5/6). Weekly liver regeneration in FLR, perioperative data, and survival outcomes were investigated. Twenty-seven patients with liver tumors underwent ALPPS (NFL, n = 7; FL, n = 20). NFL and FL patients had viral hepatitis (28.6% [n = 2] and 95% [n = 19]), absolute FLR volume increments of 134.90 ml and 161.85 ml (p = 0.825), and rates of hypertrophy were 16.46 ml/day and 13.66 ml/day (p = 0.507), respectively. In the FL group, baseline FLR volume was 360.13 ml, postoperatively it increased to a plateau (542.30 ml) in week 2 and declined (378.45 ml) in week 3. One patient (3.7%) with cirrhotic liver (stage 6) failed to proceed to ALPPS-II. The overall ALPPS-related major complication rate was 7.4%. ALPPS is feasible for fibrotic liver patients classified by Ishak modified stages ≤ 5. After ALPPS-I, 14 days for FLR augmentation seems an appropriate waiting time to reach a maximum FLR volume in these patients.

High-density via RRAM cell with multi-level setting by current compliance circuits.

In this work, multi-level storage in the via RRAM has been first time reported and demonstrated with the standard FinFET CMOS logic process. Multi-level states in via RRAM are achieved by controlling the current compliance during set operations. The new current compliance setting circuits are proposed to ensure stable resistance control when one considers cells under the process variation effect. The improved stability and tightened distributions on its multi-level states on via RRAM have been successfully demonstrated.

No Difference in Bone Tunnel Enlargement and Clinical Outcome between Cortical Suspension and Hybrid Femoral Fixation in Hamstring Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: The best method for femoral fixation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) remains controversial. The study assesses the bone tunnel enlargement and clinical outcome in hamstring ACLR using cortical suspension or hybrid (cortical suspension and compression) femoral fixation. METHODS: From January 2010 to December 2021, 102 patients who underwent quadruple hamstring ACLR using cortical suspension (39 patients) or hybrid (63 patients) fixation on the femoral side were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical evaluation was conducted using the international knee documentation committee score, the Lysholm score, the Tegner activity level scale, the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (quality of life score), the Lachman test, and the side-to-side difference by the KT-1000 arthrometer. The complications after the surgery were also evaluated. These data were compared at baseline and last follow-up. The diameters of the femoral tunnel were calculated at three sites: the width of the entrance of the femoral tunnel, 1 cm proximal to the entrance of the femoral tunnel and the largest diameter of the femoral tunnel on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coronal images. Bone tunnel widening data were contrasted between MRI images conducted at least 2 years and within 2 weeks after surgery. The morphology of bone tunnel enlargement was also observed and recorded. The categorical parameters were analyzed using the χ2-test and Fisher's exact test. The continuous variables conforming to a normal distribution were analyzed using Student's t-test, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was undertaken between the two groups without normal distribution. RESULTS: Both cortical suspension and hybrid femoral fixation in quadruple hamstring ACLR achieved significantly improved patient-reported outcome scores and knee stability compared to preoperative data. However, no significant differences were found between these two methods in clinical evaluations, postoperative complications, and patient-reported outcome scores. Although the mean diameter of the enlarged bone tunnel was lowered by an additional bioabsorbable interference screw fixation near the joint line, a statistically insignificant difference was found between the hybrid and cortical suspension fixation on the femoral side. There was no statistical difference in the distribution of enlarged bone tunnel morphology between groups. CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was found in the bone tunnel enlargement and clinical outcome between cortical suspension and hybrid femoral fixation in ACLR using hamstring autograft.

Anti-Cancer Effects of CDK4/6 Inhibitor LEE011 and Chemotherapy Drugs on Lymphocytic Leukemia L1210 Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a slowly-progressing disease in which symptoms often do not manifest until years after disease onset. In advanced stages, infection and bleeding are common. Past studies have shown that the interaction between CDK4/6 inhibitors and chemotherapy drugs can enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of drugs and limit toxicity. Therefore, in this study, the treatment effects of combining the CDK4/6 inhibitor LEE011 with chemotherapy drugs bendamustine or hydroxyurea were investigated in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mouse lymphocytic leukemia cell line L1210 was treated with LEE011 combined with hydroxyurea or bendamustine. Western blot and flow cytometry were performed to elucidate the mechanisms behind tumor suppression. RESULTS: LEE011 combined with hydroxyurea or bendamustine significantly inhibited proliferation of L1210 cell lines in a concentration- and time-dependent manner as well as increased the arrest of cells in G1 and S phases. The combination of LEE011 with hydroxyurea also reduced the phosphorylation of Rb while increased the expression of total Rb protein. Furthermore, reduced expression of GPX4, which is a key protein in ferroptosis, indicates that the tumor suppression effects of this drug combination could involve ferroptosis. CONCLUSION: CDK4/6 inhibitor LEE011 treatment alone may not be a suitable treatment option for lymphocytic leukemia; however, our findings in vitro support the combination of LEE011 with chemotherapy drugs to enhance anti-tumor activity in lymphocytic leukemia.

Application of bulk segregant RNA-Seq (BSR-Seq) and allele-specific primers to study soybean powdery mildew resistance.

BACKGROUND: Powdery mildew (PM) is one of the important soybean diseases, and host resistance could practically contribute to soybean PM management. To date, only the Rmd locus on chromosome (Chr) 16 was identified through traditional QTL mapping and GWAS, and it remains unclear if the bulk segregant RNA-Seq (BSR-Seq) methodology is feasible to explore additional PM resistance that might exist in other varieties. RESULTS: BSR-Seq was applied to contrast genotypes and gene expressions between the resistant bulk (R bulk) and the susceptible bulk (S bulk), as well as the parents. The ∆(SNP-index) and G' value identified several QTL and significant SNPs/Indels on Chr06, Chr15, and Chr16. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) located within these QTL were identified using HISAT2 and Kallisto, and allele-specific primers (AS-primers) were designed to validate the accuracy of phenotypic prediction. While the AS-primers on Chr06 or Chr15 cannot distinguish the resistant and susceptible phenotypes, AS-primers on Chr16 exhibited 82% accuracy prediction with an additive effect, similar to the SSR marker Satt431. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of additional AS-primers in the linkage disequilibrium (LD) block on Chr16 further confirmed the resistant locus, derived from the resistant parental variety 'Kaohsiung 11' ('KS11'), not only overlaps with the Rmd locus with unique up-regulated LRR genes (Glyma.16G213700 and Glyma.16G215100), but also harbors a down-regulated MLO gene (Glyma.16G145600). Accordingly, this study exemplified the feasibility of BSR-Seq in studying biotrophic disease resistance in soybean, and showed the genetic makeup of soybean variety 'KS11' comprising the Rmd locus and one MLO gene.

Hydrodynamic behavior of freshwater-saltwater mixing zone in the context of subsurface physical barriers.

The seawater intrusion (SWI) process lasts for decades in real world, thus the research on dynamic process of SWI is essential. The freshwater-saltwater mixing zone plays a crucial role in governing the groundwater movement and the solute transport in coastal aquifers. To date, there has been a lack of research on the hydrodynamic behavior of the mixing zone in the presence of subsurface physical barriers. In this work, we employed laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to investigate the dynamics of the mixing zone, comparing scenarios with and without subsurface physical barriers. The findings indicate that the construction of a subsurface physical barrier will not immediately slow down the seawater intrusion velocity and change the salinity distribution of mixing zone. The block effect of subsurface physical barriers with different heights or bottom opening sizes became apparent only when the wedge toe approached the physical barriers. The widening effect of increasing longitudinal dispersivity on the mixing zone width was more pronounced during the dynamic process compared to the steady state. Furthermore, the widening effect of increasing longitudinal dispersivity on the mixing zone was more significant compared to transverse dispersivity in both the SWI and subsurface dam scenarios throughout the intrusion process. However, in the cutoff wall scenarios, the widening effect of increasing transverse dispersivity became more obvious during the later intrusion period. Our conclusions provide a reference for the groundwater management in coastal aquifers. According to the current seawater intrusion situation, the local water bureau can predict the seawater intrusion velocity and the temporal changes of mixing zone after the construction of physical barriers.

Coupling process for preparing biomass-based furfural and levulinic acid from corncob: Extraction, green chemistry and techno-economic assessment.

The purpose of this study is to design and investigate two coupling processes for acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of corncob, achieving the simultaneous preparation of biomass-based furfural and levulinic acid (LA). Meanwhile, high concentration and yield of LA were obtained through a situ feeding strategy of pretreated furfural residue with high solids loading (20%, w/v). In Scenario A, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran was selected as the solvent for the LA extraction process compared with the neutralization process in Scenario B. Techno-economic assessment results show that Scenario A is technically feasible and cost-competitive, with an internal rate of return of 21.92%, a net present value of 121 million US dollars, a carbon efficiency of 72%, an environmental factor of 4.38, and a process mass intensity of 32.19. This study will provide new insights for fully utilizing lignocellulosic biomass to prepare renewable energy resources, comprehensively evaluating the economic feasibility, and promoting green and low-carbon development.

IWP-2 modulates the immunomodulatory properties of human dental pulp stem cells in vitro.

AIM: To investigate the effect of IWP-2, Wnt inhibitor, on human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) responses. METHODOLOGY: hDPSCs were isolated from human dental pulp tissues. Cells were treated with 25 µM IWP-2 for 24 h, and subsequently, the gene expression profile was examined using high-throughput RNA sequencing. The mRNA expression was analysed using qPCR. The effect of IWP-2 was investigated in both normal and LPS-induced hDPSCs (inflamed hDPSCs). CD4+ T cells and CD14+ monocyte-derived macrophages were cultured with conditioned media of IWP-2 treated hDPSCs to observe the immunosuppressive property. RESULTS: RNA sequencing indicated that IWP-2 significantly downregulated several KEGG pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, IL-17 signalling pathway, and TNF signalling pathway. In both normal and inflamed conditions, IWP-2 markedly upregulated TGFB1 mRNA expression while the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNFA, IL1B, IFNG, and IL6, was inhibited. In the inhibition experiment, the pretreatment with p38, MAPK, or PI3K inhibitors abolished the effects of IWP-2 in LPS-induced inflammation. In terms of immune cells, IWP-2-treated-inflamed hDPSCs conditioned media attenuated T cell proliferation and regulated regulatory T cell differentiation. In addition, the migratory property of macrophage was decreased after being exposed to IWP-2-treated inflamed hDPSCs conditioned media. CONCLUSION: IWP-2 suppressed inflammatory cytokine expression in both normal and inflamed hDPSCs. Moreover, hDPSCs exerted the immunosuppressive property after IWP-2 treatment. These results suggest the role of Wnt in inflammatory responses and immunomodulation in dental pulp tissues.

Risk factors for pre-transplantation bacteremia in adults with end-stage liver disease: Effects on outcomes of liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Limited data are available regarding pre-liver transplantation (LT) bacteremia in adults with end-stage liver disease. In this study, we investigated the risk factors independently associated with pre-LT bacteremia and their effects on clinical outcomes of LT. METHODS: This retrospective study performed between 2010 and 2021 included 1287 LT recipients. The study population was categorized into patients with pre-LT bacteremia and those without pre-LT infection. Pre-LT bacteremia was defined as bacteremia detected within 90 days before LT. RESULTS: Among 1287 LT recipients, 92 (7.1%) developed pre-LT bacteremia. The mean interval between bacteremia and LT was 28.3 ± 19.5 days. Of these 92 patients, seven (7.6%) patients died after LT. Of the 99 microorganisms isolated in this study, gram-negative bacteria were the most common microbes (72.7%). Bacteremia was mainly attributed to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The most common pathogen isolated was Escherichia coli (25.2%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.2%), and Staphylococcus aureus (15.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that massive ascites (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.67, 95% confidence Interval [CI] 1.048-2.687) and a prolonged international normalized ratio for prothrombin time (adjusted OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.074-1.257) were independent risk factors for pre-LT bacteremia in patients with end-stage liver disease. Intensive care unit and in-hospital stay were significantly longer, and in-hospital mortality was significantly higher among LT recipients with pre-LT bacteremia than among those without pre-LT infection. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights predictors of pre-LT bacteremia in patients with end-stage liver disease. Pre-LT bacteremia increases the post-transplantation mortality risk.