Pparα activation stimulates autophagic flux through lipid catabolism-independent route.

Autophagy is a cellular process that involves the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes to degrade damaged proteins or organelles. Triglycerides are hydrolyzed by autophagy, releasing fatty acids for energy through mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Inhibited mitochondrial FAO induces autophagy, establishing a crosstalk between lipid catabolism and autophagy. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), a transcription factor, stimulates lipid catabolism genes, including fatty acid transport and mitochondrial FAO, while also inducing autophagy through transcriptional regulation of transcription factor EB (TFEB). Therefore, the study explores whether PPARα regulates autophagy through TFEB transcriptional control or mitochondrial FAO. In aquaculture, addressing liver lipid accumulation in fish is crucial. Investigating the link between lipid catabolism and autophagy is significant for devising lipid-lowering strategies and maintaining fish health. The present study investigated the impact of dietary fenofibrate and L-carnitine on autophagy by activating Pparα and enhancing FAO in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), respectively. The dietary fenofibrate and L-carnitine reduced liver lipid content and enhanced ATP production, particularly fenofibrate. FAO enhancement by L-carnitine showed no changes in autophagic protein levels and autophagic flux. Moreover, fenofibrate-activated Pparα promoted the expression and nuclear translocation of Tfeb, upregulating autophagic initiation and lysosomal biogenesis genes. Pparα activation exhibited an increasing trend of LC3II protein at the basal autophagy and cumulative p62 protein trends after autophagy inhibition in zebrafish liver cells. These data show that Pparα activation-induced autophagic flux should be independent of lipid catabolism.

Outcomes of single-procedure radiofrequency catheter ablation for idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias: a single-centre retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is the first-line treatment for idiopathic premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) and ventricular tachycardias (VTs). However, the outcomes were less compared among the categories. The study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of catheter ablation for idiopathic PVC/VTs in a single high-volume centre, using the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) as a reference. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Patient data were collected from a tertiary hospital in Guizhou, China. PARTICIPANTS: Between September 2013 and September 2022, 1028 patients (male: 41.3%; age: 46.5±15.6 years) who underwent the first catheter ablation for idiopathic monomorphic PVC/VTs were enrolled. OUTCOME MEASURES: Acute success, procedure-related complications, and long-term recurrence were assessed. Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) were not administrated after procedures unless recurrence was identified. RESULTS: The overall acute success rate was 90.3%, with 368 patients (35.8%) experiencing left ventricular PVC/VTs. No cases of third-degree atrioventricular block or death were reported. Complications were more common in patients with left ventricular PVC/VTs than those with right-sided ones (4.6% vs 0.1%, p<0.001). A total of 926 patients (90.1%) were followed up for an average of 9.7±3.7 months, and only the PVC/VTs category was found to be associated with long-term success rates. The RVOT, endocardial left ventricular outflow tract (endoLVOT), tricuspid annulus (TA) free wall, posterior septum and fascicular VT had long-term success rates exceeding 85%. Other types of PVC/VTs showed significantly higher risks of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Besides RVOT and fascicular VT, single-procedure catheter ablation without AADs is highly effective for endoLVOT, TA-free wall and posterior septum. Patients with left ventricular PVC/VTs have higher complication risks compared with right ones.

Association between blood arsenic concentration and dyslipidemia: Mediating effect of lipid peroxidation in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: The earlier investigations have revealed heavy metals exposure is implicated in the pathogenesis of dyslipidemia. The goal was to evaluated the relationship of blood arsenic (As) concentration with dyslipidemia in the elderly through a cross-sectional study. METHODS: The entire 360 elderly population were selected. Fasting blood specimens, demographic information, and clinical characteristics were obtained. The concentration of blood As was detected using ICP-MS. Serum 8-iso-PGF2α, a biomarker of lipid peroxidation, was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Pearson correlative analysis hinted there were strong relationships of blood As with liver function indices in the elderly. Besides, blood As was positively associated with total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA I). Further multivariate linear and logistic regression suggested that the incidences of TC and LDL-C elevation were upregulated with the rising tertiles of blood As. Blood As was positively related with the prevalence of dyslipidemia (OR=3.609; 95%CI: 1.353, 6.961). Additionally, serum 8-iso-PGF2α was dramatically and positively linked to the levels of blood As and lipid profiles. Mediation analyses verified that 8-iso-PGF2α partially mediated the correlations between blood As with TC (36.63%) and LDL-C (34.03%). CONCLUSION: Blood As concentration is positively related to lipid profiles in the elderly. Higher blood As concentration elevates the prevalence of dyslipidemia. Lipid peroxidation partially mediates the correlation of As exposure with dyslipidemia.

Linking PAHs concentration, risk to PAHs source shift in soil and water in epikarst spring systems, Southwest China.

A systematic assessment of the variations in the ecological risk of PAHs and the key emission sources controlling the variations is of great importance to human health and aquatic organisms. PAH concentrations, composition, source, and ecological risk in soils and water in two different periods (2010-2011 and 2019) of three typical epikarst springs in Southwest China were investigated. Results showed that PAH concentrations in soil and water have an overall downward trend (a reduction of 57 % and 93 %, respectively) in the past 10 years, which is consistent with the downward trend in the relative contribution rate of raw coal production (a 66 % reduction). In terms of composition, the proportion of low-ring PAHs decreased, medium-ring and high-ring PAHs increased in the soil profile. The proportion of low-ring PAHs did not change obviously, the proportion of medium-ring PAHs increased, and the proportion of high-ring PAHs decreased in epikarst springs. The source of PAHs changed remarkably over time, the relative contribution of coal combustion to PAHs decreased from 38 % to 20 %, and the vehicle contribution of PAHs increased from 31 % to 44 % in soils. The relative contribution rate of unburned oil and coke oven and biomass combustion change is less. Furthermore, the ecological risk of PAHs in the soils was reduced from moderate risk 2 to moderate risk 1, the risk in epikarst spring was reduced from high risk to moderate risk 2 after 10 years. This study demonstrates that substituting petroleum and coal with green energies can reduce PAH concentrations and risk.

Double-edged effect of sodium citrate in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Promoting lipid and protein deposition vs. causing hyperglycemia and insulin resistance.

Citrate is an essential substrate for energy metabolism that plays critical roles in regulating glucose and lipid metabolic homeostasis. However, the action of citrate in regulating nutrient metabolism in fish remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of dietary sodium citrate on growth performance and systematic energy metabolism in juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). A total of 270 Nile tilapia (2.81 ± 0.01 g) were randomly divided into three groups (3 replicates per group, 30 fish per replicate) and fed with control diet (35% protein and 6% lipid), 2% and 4% sodium citrate diets, respectively, for 8 weeks. The results showed that sodium citrate exhibited no effect on growth performance (P > 0.05). The whole-body crude protein, serum triglyceride and hepatic glycogen contents were significantly increased in the 4% sodium citrate group (P < 0.05), but not in the 2% sodium citrate group (P > 0.05). The 4% sodium citrate treatment significantly increased the serum glucose and insulin levels at the end of feeding trial and also in the glucose tolerance test (P < 0.05). The 4% sodium citrate significantly enhanced the hepatic phosphofructokinase activity and inhibited the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isozyme 2 and phosphor-pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component subunit alpha proteins (P < 0.05). Additionally, the 4% sodium citrate significantly increased hepatic triglyceride and acetyl-CoA levels, while the expressions of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a protein were significantly down-regulated by the 4% sodium citrate (P < 0.05). Besides, the 4% sodium citrate induced crude protein deposition in muscle by activating mTOR signaling and inhibiting AMPK signaling (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the 4% sodium citrate significantly suppressed serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities, along with the lowered expression of pro-inflammatory genes, such as nfκb, tnfα and il8 (P < 0.05). Although the 4% sodium citrate significantly increased phosphor-nuclear factor-kB p65 protein expression (P < 0.05), no significant tissue damage or inflammation occurred. Taken together, dietary supplementation of sodium citrate could exhibit a double-edged effect in Nile tilapia, with the positive aspect in promoting nutrient deposition and the negative aspect in causing hyperglycemia and insulin resistance.

Prognostic Prediction Value and Biological Functions of Non-Apoptotic Regulated Cell Death Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Objective To explore the potential biological functions and prognostic prediction values of non-apoptotic regulated cell death genes (NARCDs) in lung adenocarcinoma.Methods Transcriptome data of lung adenocarcinoma were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. We identified differentially expressed NARCDs between lung adenocarcinoma tissues and normal tissues with R software. NARCDs signature was constructed with univariate Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression. The prognostic predictive capacity of NARCDs signature was assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve, receiver operating characteristic curve, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Functional enrichment of NARCDs signature was analyzed with gene set variation analysis, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. In addition, differences in tumor mutational burden, tumor microenvironment, tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion score, and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity were analyzed between the high and low NARCDs score groups. Finally, a protein-protein interaction network of NARCDs and immune-related genes was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape software. Results We identified 34 differentially expressed NARCDs associated with the prognosis, of which 16 genes (ATIC, AURKA, CA9, ITGB4, DDIT4, CDK5R1, CAV1, RRM2, GAPDH, SRXN1, NLRC4, GLS2, ADRB2, CX3CL1, GDF15, and ADRA1A) were selected to construct a NARCDs signature. NARCDs signature was identified as an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.001). Functional analysis showed that there were significant differences in mismatch repair, p53 signaling pathway, and cell cycle between the high NARCDs score group and low NARCDs score group (all P < 0.05). The NARCDs low score group had lower tumor mutational burden, higher immune score, higher tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion score, and lower drug sensitivity (all P < 0.05). In addition, the 10 hub genes (CXCL5, TLR4, JUN, IL6, CCL2, CXCL2, ILA, IFNG, IL33, and GAPDH) in protein-protein interaction network of NARCDs and immune-related genes were all immune-related genes. Conclusion The NARCDs prognostic signature based on the above 16 genes is an independent prognostic factor, which can effectively predict the clinical prognosis of patients of lung adenocarcinoma and provide help for clinical treatment.

The occurrence of "yellowing" phenomenon and its main driving factors after the remediation of chromium (Cr)-contaminated soils: A literature review.

Chromium (Cr) is a highly toxic element, which is widely present in environment due to industrial activities. One of most applicable technique to clean up Cr pollution is chemical reduction. However, the Cr(VI) concentration in soil increases again after remediation, and meanwhile the yellow soil would appear, which is commonly called as "yellowing" phenomenon. To date, the reason behind the phenomenon has been disputed for decades. This study aimed to introduce the possible "yellowing" mechanism and the influencing factors based on the extensive literature review. In this work, the concept of "yellowing" phenomenon was explained, and the most potential reasons include the reoxidation of manganese (Mn) oxides and mass transfer were summarized. Based on the reported finding and results, the large area of "yellowing" is likely to be caused by the re-migration of Cr(VI), since it could not sufficiently contact with the reductant under the effects of the mass transfer. In addition, other driving factors also control the occurrence of "yellowing" phenomenon. This review provides valuable reference for the academic peers participating in the Cr-contaminated sites remediation.

Cobalt exposure and dyslipidemia in elderly population: the mediating role of systemic inflammation and lipid peroxidation.

Heavy metal exposure has been reported to be correlated with lipid profile alteration and dyslipidemia. While the associations between serum cobalt (Co) with lipid profile levels and risk of dyslipidemia have not been explored in elderly population, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. All eligible 420 elderly people were recruited in three communities of Hefei City in this cross-sectional study. Peripheral blood samples and clinical information were collected. The level of serum Co was detected through ICP-MS. The biomarkers for systemic inflammation (TNF-α) and lipid peroxidation (8-iso-PGF2α) were measured with ELISA. Each 1-unit increase of serum Co was related with 0.513 mmol/L, 0.196 mmol/L, 0.571 mmol/L, and 0.303 g/L in TC, TG, LDL-C, and ApoB, respectively. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that the prevalence of elevated TC, elevated LDL-C, and elevated ApoB were gradually increased according to tertiles of serum Co concentration (all P trend < 0.001). The risk of dyslipidemia was positively correlated with serum Co (OR = 3.500; 95% CI 1.630 ~ 7.517). Moreover, the levels of TNF-α and 8-iso-PGF2α were gradually risen in parallel with elevating serum Co. The elevation of TNF-α and 8-iso-PGF2α partially mediated Co-caused elevation of TC and LDL-C. Environmental Co exposure is associated with elevated lipid profile levels and dyslipidemia risk among elderly population. Systemic inflammation and lipid peroxidation partially mediate the associations of serum Co with dyslipidemia.

Correction to "Eocene Paleoclimate Evolution under the Background of Warmhouse-Hothouse Conditions in the Continental Fushun Basin: Implications from Magnetic Susceptibility and Color Reflectance".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c02445.].

Eocene Paleoclimate Evolution under the Background of Warmhouse-Hothouse Conditions in the Continental Fushun Basin: Implications from Magnetic Susceptibility and Color Reflectance.

Paleocene-Eocene hyperthermal events are a current research focus in the fields of sedimentology and paleoclimatology. The Fushun Basin in northeast China contains continuous continental Eocene fine-grained rocks, and a series of Eocene hyperthermal events in the Fushun Basin have been identified. Because of the high cost of high-precision isotope data testing, it is necessary to find new and alternative paleoclimate parameters. In this study, Eocene coal and oil shale-bearing layers in the Fushun Basin are used as research objects. The high-precision data of magnetic susceptibility, color reflectance, rock composition, and cluster analyses are used to conduct a vertical comparison in the same category and compare that analysis with the identified Eocene hyperthermal events in the Fushun Basin. The preliminary results show that high-frequency-dependent susceptibility, high color reflectance a* (redness)/L* (lightness) values, and high kaolinite content in the study area have good correspondence with global hyperthermal events and can be used as effective parameters for the identification of continental basin hyperthermal events. The detailed magnetic susceptibility and color reflectance data also reveal that the Eocene strata in the Fushun Basin recorded the Late Lutetian Thermal Maximum (LLTM) and 13 short-term hyperthermal events during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). These results indicate that the parameters of rock physical properties can be used to study the evolution of the paleoclimate in geological history, and it has universal practicability in continental and marine fine-grained sedimentary rocks.

The Shift of Soil Bacterial Community After Afforestation Influence Soil Organic Carbon and Aggregate Stability in Karst Region.

Soil microbes regulate the carbon cycle and affect the formation and stabilization of soil aggregates. However, the interactions between the soil microbial community and soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions, organic carbon (OC) content in aggregates, and soil aggregate stability after afforestation are remain poorly understood. In our study, we investigated SOC fractions in bulk soil, aggregate-associated OC content, soil aggregate stability, and soil bacterial community with high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing at sites representing natural secondary forest (NF) and managed forest (MF), with cropland (CL) as reference in a degraded karst region of Southwest China. Our results showed that afforestation remarkably increased the SOC fraction and OC content in aggregates, the mean weight diameter (MWD), and the mean geometric diameter (GMD). The most dominant bacterial phyla detected were Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, and Chloroflexi across all soils. Afforestation remarkably altered the relative abundances of most of the dominant soil bacteria at the phylum, class, and order levels. Interestingly, such changes in the abundance of soil bacteria taxa had significantly effects on SOC fraction, aggregate-associated OC content, MWD, and MGD. The abundance of dominant bacterial taxa such as Methylomirabilota, Latescibacterota, Methylomirabilia, MB-A2-108, norank_Latescibacterota; Dehalococcoidia, Rokubacteriales, Gaiellales, Microtrichales, norank_c__MB-A2-108, norank_c__norank_p__Latescibacterota, Rhizobiales, and S085 not only remarkably increased but also had significant positive effects on SOC fractions and aggregate-associated OC content after afforestation. Moreover, MWD and MGD were positively correlated with the relative abundance of Methylomirabilota, Methylomirabilia, Rokubacteriales, Latescibacterota, and Rhizobiales. Results indicated the importance of certain soil bacteria for regulating SOC storage and soil aggregate stability. We concluded that afforestation on cropland could alter the abundance of soil bacteria, and these changes modulate the stability of soil aggregates and SOC fractions.

Self-referenced refractive index sensor based on double-dips method with bimetal-dielectric and double-groove grating.

Self-referenced refractive index sensors allow more accurate measurements and reduce the influence of extraneous factors. This work proposed a high-sensitivity, self-referenced surface plasmon resonance sensor with Na grating and Au-ZnS composite grating. When Transverse Magnetic-polarized light is incident into the prism, three surface plasmon resonances are excited at the interface of Na-MgF2 grating and Au-ZnS grating. The first one is treated as the reference angle, the second and third are forward and backward surface plasmon resonance, respectively. Using the angular modulation, the single-dip sensitivities are 329.41 deg/RIU and 788.24 deg/RIU in the range of 1.330-1.347. To further improve the performance of the sensor, the double-dips method is adopted, and the average sensitivity in the range of 1.330-1.347 is 1117.65 deg/RIU, while the maximum reaches 4390 deg/RIU. Due to high sensitivity, a good figure of merit can be obtained even with a larger full width at half maximum of 3.30°. This proposed sensor provides potential application in the research of biomolecular detection and chemical testing.

Seismic Random Noise Denoising Using Mini-Batch Multivariate Variational Mode Decomposition.

Seismic noise attenuation plays an important role in seismic interpretation. The empirical mode decomposition, synchrosqueezing wavelet transform, variational mode decomposition, etc., are often applied trace by trace. Multivariate empirical mode decomposition, multivariate synchrosqueezing wavelet transform, and multivariate variational mode decomposition were proposed for lateral continuity consideration. Due to large input data, mini-batch multivariate variational mode decomposition is proposed in this paper. The proposed method takes advantages both of variational mode decomposition and multivariate variational mode decomposition. This proposed method firstly segments the input data into a series of smaller ones with no overlapping and then applies multivariate variational mode decomposition to these smaller ones. High frequency-domain noise is filtered through sifting. Finally, the denoised smaller ones are concatenated to form components (or intrinsic mode functions) of the input signal. Synthetic and field data experiments validate the proposed method with different batch sizes and achieve higher signal-to-noise ratio than the variational mode decomposition method.

Mildronate triggers growth suppression and lipid accumulation in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) through disturbing lipid metabolism.

Many metabolic diseases in fish are often associated with lowered mitochondrial fatty acid ß-oxidation (FAO). However, the physiological role of mitochondrial FAO in lipid metabolism has not been verified in many carnivorous fish species, for example in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmonids). In the present study, a specific mitochondrial FAO inhibitor, mildronate (MD), was used to investigate the effects of impaired mitochondrial FAO on growth performance, health status, and lipid metabolism of largemouth bass. The results showed that the dietary MD treatment significantly suppressed growth performance and caused heavy lipid accumulation, especially neutral lipid, in the liver. The MD-treated fish exhibited lower monounsaturated fatty acid and higher long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the muscle. The MD treatment downregulated the gene expressions in lipolysis and lipogenesis, as well as the expressions of the genes and some key proteins in FAO without enhancing peroxisomal FAO. Additionally, the MD-treated fish had lower serum aspartate aminotransferase activity and lower pro-inflammation- and apoptosis-related genes in the liver. Taken together, MD treatment markedly induced lipid accumulation via depressing lipid catabolism. Our findings reveal the pivotal roles of mitochondrial FAO in maintaining health and lipid homeostasis in largemouth bass and could be hopeful in understanding metabolic diseases in farmed carnivorous fish.

Rosiglitazone Protects against Acetaminophen-Induced Acute Liver Injury by Inhibiting Multiple Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathways.

Background: Excessive acetaminophen (APAP) use can lead to acute liver injury (ALI) by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). We previously found that pretreatment with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) ligand rosiglitazone (RSG) alleviated ALI in APAP-treated mice. Objective: To examine if RSG-mediated hepatoprotection is associated with ERS suppression. Methods: Forty-eight male CD-1 mice were randomly divided into control, RSG, APAP 4 h, APAP 24 h, RSG + APAP 4 h, and RSG + APAP 24 h groups. The RSG and RSG + APAP groups received RSG (20 mg/kg) by gavage 48, 24, and 1 h before intraperitoneal injection of 300 mg/kg APAP, while the APAP group received APAP alone and the control group received only normal saline. Animals were sacrificed immediately (RSG and control groups), 4 h (APAP 4 h and RSG + APAP 4 h), or 24 h (APAP 24 h and RSG + APAP 24 h) post-APAP injection. Liver tissues were collected for hematoxylin-eosin staining, TUNEL staining, and Western blotting for ERS-associated proteins. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were also measured. A second cohort received APAP or RSG + APAP as described and were monitored for survival over one week. Results: At 4 and 24 h following APAP injection alone, serum ALT and AST levels were significantly elevated, and central lobular necrosis of the liver was observed. Necrosis area reached 21.7% at 4 h and 32.1% at 24 h post-APAP, while apoptotic fractions reached 25.6% and 32.4%. Further, 50% of mice in the survival analysis cohort died within one week post-APAP. At 4 h post-APAP, the ERS marker glucose-regulated protein-78 (GRP78) and ERS-associated proteins pJNK, GRP78, p-eIF2α, pPERK, and pIRE were all significantly upregulated. Pretreatment with RSG significantly reduced serum ALT and AST, liver necrosis area, apoptosis rate, and expression of ERS-associated proteins compared to APAP alone, while increasing survival to 80%. Conclusions: Rosiglitazone pretreatment can alleviate APAP-induced ALI by suppressing three branches of ERS signaling.

The geochemical behaviors of potentially toxic elements in a typical lead/zinc (Pb/Zn) smelter contaminated soil with quantitative mineralogical assessments.

This study comprehensively investigated the potential roles of soil mineralogy identified by the automated mineral liberation analysers (MLA) in the prediction of geochemical behavior of toxic metals in the smelter polluted soils. The results from modal mineralogy revealed that the non-reactive silicate phases such as quartz (42.05%) and biotite (40.43%) were the major mineralogical phases. The element deportment showed that fayalite, lead oxide, apatite, galena and wollastonite were identified as the dominant As, Cd, Pb and Zn bearing minerals. Furthermore, MLA analysis also confirmed that Pb was most concentrated in the smaller particles of lead oxide, which significantly enhanced Pb release in reaction with the chemical extractant during chemical kinetic tests. The results from pH-dependent leaching tests indicated that the leaching concentrations of As, Pb and Zn increased at low and high pH values, but were lowest at the neutral pH range. In addition, the results from the kinetic study demonstrated that the second order model provided the best description for the release patterns of the main metal contaminants in the bioavailability and bioaccessibility tests. The integrated geochemical analysis demonstrated that among these studied elements, As showed a typical geochemical pattern, which was predominantly controlled by 90.09% of fayalite. The above study results would have significant implications for soil remediation and risk management of smelter contaminated sites.

Keyframe image processing of semantic 3D point clouds based on deep learning.

With the rapid development of web technologies and the popularity of smartphones, users are uploading and sharing a large number of images every day. Therefore, it is a very important issue nowadays to enable users to discover exactly the information they need in the vast amount of data and to make it possible to integrate their large amount of image material efficiently. However, traditional content-based image retrieval techniques are based on images, and there is a "semantic gap" between this and people's understanding of images. To address this "semantic gap," a keyframe image processing method for 3D point clouds is proposed, and based on this, a U-Net-based binary data stream semantic segmentation network is established for keyframe image processing of 3D point clouds in combination with deep learning techniques.

The Adaptive Characteristics of Cholesterol and Bile Acid Metabolism in Nile Tilapia Fed a High-Fat Diet.

Since high-fat diet (HFD) intake elevates liver cholesterol and enhanced cholesterol-bile acid flux alleviates its lipid deposition, we assumed that the promoted cholesterol-bile acid flux is an adaptive metabolism in fish when fed an HFD. The present study investigated the characteristic of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after feeding an HFD (13% lipid level) for four and eight weeks. Visually healthy Nile tilapia fingerlings (average weight 3.50 ± 0.05 g) were randomly distributed into four treatments (4-week control diet or HFD and 8-week control diet or HFD). The liver lipid deposition and health statue, cholesterol/bile acid, and fatty acid metabolism were analyzed in fish after short-term and long-term HFD intake. The results showed that 4-week HFD feeding did not change serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transferase (AST) enzyme activities, along with comparable liver malondialdehyde (MDA) content. But higher serum ALT and AST enzyme activities and liver MDA content were observed in fish fed 8-week HFD. Intriguingly, remarkably accumulated total cholesterol (mainly cholesterol ester, CE) was observed in the liver of fish fed 4-week HFD, along with slightly elevated free fatty acids (FFAs) and comparable TG contents. Further molecular analysis in the liver showed that obvious accumulation of CE and total bile acids (TBAs) in fish fed 4-week HFD was mainly attributed to the enhancement of cholesterol synthesis, esterification, and bile acid synthesis. Furthermore, the increased protein expressions of acyl-CoA oxidase 1/2 (Acox1 and Acox2), which serve as peroxisomal fatty acid ß-oxidation (FAO) rate-limiting enzymes and play key roles in the transformation of cholesterol into bile acids, were found in fish after 4-week HFD intake. Notably, 8-week HFD intake remarkably elevated FFA content (about 1.7-fold increase), and unaltered TBAs were found in fish liver, accompanied by suppressed Acox2 protein level and cholesterol/bile acid synthesis. Therefore, the robust cholesterol-bile acid flux serves as an adaptive metabolism in Nile tilapia when fed a short-term HFD and is possibly via stimulating peroxisomal FAO. This finding enlightens our understanding on the adaptive characteristics of cholesterol metabolism in fish fed an HFD and provides a new possible treatment strategy against metabolic disease induced by HFD in aquatic animals.

Efficacy and safety of bismuth quadruple regimens containing tetracycline or furazolidone for initial eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection can cause chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and even gastric cancer, so effective eradication is critical.This study compared the efficacy and safety of bismuth quadruple regimens including either tetracycline or furazolidone for initial eradication.Patients newly diagnosed with H pylori infection from January 2020 to January 2021 were randomly assigned to receive either the tetracycline-containing regimen (n = 116) or furazolidone-containing regimen (n = 168). Both regimens included 1 proton pump inhibitor (rabeprazole 20 mg, or esomeprazole 20 mg, or eprazole 5 mg), colloidal pectin bismuth 300 mg, and amoxicillin 1000 mg in addition to tetracycline 1.0 g or furazolidone 0.1 g. All drugs were administered twice daily for 12 consecutive days. The 14C urea breath test was used for diagnosis, and re-test negativity at one-month follow-up was considered successful eradication. Adverse events were recorded during follow-up by telephone interview.In total, 109 patients in the tetracycline group and 157 in the furazolidone group were re-examined at 1 month. In the tetracycline group, 101 patients tested negative at follow-up, yielding an eradication rate of 92.7% according to per-protocol analysis and 87.1% by intention-to-treat analysis. In the furazolidone group, 141 patients tested negative, yielding eradication rates of 89.8% by PP and 83.9% by ITT. Eradication rates did not differ significantly between regimens (per-protocol: χ2 = 0.637, P = .517; intention-to-treat: χ2 = 0.537, P = .501). However, total adverse events incidence was significantly lower in the tetracycline group (20.2% vs 37.6%; χ2 = 9.193, P = .003).Both bismuth quadruple regimens produce high initial eradication, but the tetracycline regimen appears safer.

Bioavailability Assessment of Heavy Metals Using Various Multi-Element Extractants in an Indigenous Zinc Smelting Contaminated Site, Southwestern China.

Despite recent studies have investigated the strong influences of smelting activities on heavy metal contamination in the soil environment, little studies have been conducted on the current information about the potential environmental risks posed by toxic heavy metals in smelting contaminated sites. In the present study, a combination of the bioavailability, speciation, and release kinetics of toxic heavy metals in the indigenous zinc smelting contaminated soil were reliably used as an effective tool to support site risk assessment. The bioavailability results revealed that the bioavailable metal concentrations were intrinsically dependent on the types of chemical extractants. Interestingly, 0.02 mol/L EDTA + 0.5 mol/L CH3COONH4 was found to be the best extractant, which extracted 30.21% of Cu, 31.54% of Mn, 2.39% of Ni and 28.89% of Zn, respectively. The sequential extraction results suggested that Cd, Pb, and Zn were the most mobile elements, which would pose the potential risks to the environment. The correlation of metal bioavailability with their fractionation implied that the exchangeable metal fractions were easily extracted by CaCl2 and Mehlich 1, while the carbonate and organic bound metal fractions could be extracted by EDTA and DTPA with stronger chelating ability. Moreover, the kinetic modeling results suggested that the chemical desorption mechanism might be the major factor controlling heavy metal release. These results could provide some valuable references for the risk assessment and management of heavy metals in the smelting contaminated sites.