Interaction of reed litter and biochar presences on performances of constructed wetlands.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are frequently used for effective biological treatment of nitrogen-rich wastewater with external carbon source addition; however, these approaches often neglect the interaction between plant litter and biochar in biochar-amended CW environments. To address this, we conducted a comprehensive study to assess the impacts of single or combined addition of common reed litter and reed biochar (pyrolyzed at 300 and 500 °C) on nitrogen removal, greenhouse gas emission, dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics, and microbial activity. The results showed that combined addition of reed litter and biochar to CWs significantly improved nitrate and total nitrogen removal compared with biochar addition alone. Compared to those without reed litter addition, CWs with reed litter addition had more low-molecular-weight and less aromatic DOM and more protein-like fluorescent DOM, which favored the enrichment of bacteria associated with denitrification. The improved nitrogen removal could be attributed to increases in denitrifying microbes and the relative abundance of functional denitrification genes with litter addition. Moreover, the combined addition of reed litter and 300 °C-heated biochar significantly decreased nitrous oxide (30.7 %) and methane (43.9 %) compared to reed litter addition alone, while the combined addition of reed litter and 500 °C-heated biochar did not. This study demonstrated that the presences of reed litter and biochar in CWs could achieve both high microbial nitrogen removal and relatively low greenhouse gas emissions.

The water-retaining functional slow-release fertilizer modified by carboxymethyl chitosan.

To solve the problem of shortage of agricultural water resources and low utilization rate of fertilizer, a slow-release fertilizer based on chitosan modified water retention function was developed. Solution polymerization and semi-interpenetrating network technology were used to load urea aldehyde into carboxymethyl chitosan superabsorbent resin network. This technology realizes the simultaneous slow release of nutrients and water by using modified chitosan, which has important implications for the application of chitosan in agriculture to regulate the soil water and fertilizer conditions. The optimal preparation conditions were: MBA 0.07 %, KPS 0.8 %, AM to AA mass ratio of 0.3:1, CMC content of 10 %, AA neutralization degree 85 %, UF 20 %, AA+AM mass sum of 10 g, reaction temperature 70 °C and reaction time 2 h. The maximum water absorption rate of the optimized NC reached 172.3 g/g. The cumulative release of nitrogen in 30 days was 83.67 %. The application of NC in sandy soil promoted seed germination and growth. The comprehensive results indicate that NC has broad application prospects in arid areas based on its excellent water retention and nutrient release performance.

Applications of optical property measurement for quality evaluation of agri-food products: a review.

Spectroscopic techniques coupled with chemometric approaches have been widely used for quality evaluation of agricultural and food (agri-food) products due to the nondestructive, simple, fast, and easy characters. However, these techniques face the issues or challenges of relatively weak robustness, generalizability, and applicability in modeling and prediction because they measure the aggregate amount of light interaction with tissues, resulting in the combined effect of absorption and scattering of photons. Optical property measurement could separate absorption from scattering, providing new insights into more reliable prediction performance in quality evaluation, which is attracting increasing attention. In this review, a brief overview of the currently popular measurement techniques, in terms of light transfer principles and data analysis algorithms, is first presented. Then, the emphases are put on the recent advances of these techniques for measuring optical properties of agri-food products since 2000. Corresponding applications on qualitative and quantitative analyses of quality evaluation, as well as light transfer simulations within tissues, were reviewed. Furthermore, the leading groups working on optical property measurement worldwide are highlighted, which is the first summary to the best of our knowledge. Finally, challenges for optical property measurement are discussed, and some viewpoints on future research directions are also given.

HighlightsEmerging techniques for measuring optical properties are briefly introducedQualitative analyses of maturity evaluation and defect detection are reviewedQuantitative analyses of attribute prediction and microstructure estimation are presentedLight transfer simulations based on optical properties are comprehensively discussedLeading groups are summarized for the first time, to the best of our knowledgeChallenges and prospects for optical property measurement are given.

Biochar amendment reassembles microbial community in a long-term phosphorus fertilization paddy soil.

This study investigates the effect of biochar amendment on microbial community structure and soil nutrient status in paddy soil that has been fertilized for an extended period of time, shedding light on sustainable agricultural practices. A 90-day incubation period revealed that biochar amendment, as opposed to long-term fertilization, significantly influenced the physicochemical properties and microbial composition of the soil. The microcosm experiment conducted using six treatments analyzed soil samples from a long-term rice ecosystem. We employed microbial biomarkers (phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs; isoprenoid and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, iGDGTs and brGDGTs; DNA) to assess microbial biomass and community structure. Biochar addition led to a decrease in PLFA biomass (15-32%) and archaeal iGDGT abundance (14-43%), while enhancing bacterial brGDGT abundance by 15-77%. Intact biochar increased archaeal and bacterial diversity, though fungal diversity remained unchanged. However, acid-washed biochar did not result in a uniform microbial diversity response. The abundance of various microbial taxa was changed by biochar amendment, including Crenarchaeota, Proteobacteria, Nitrospira, Basidiomycota, Halobacterota, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetota, and Ascomycota. Soil NH4+-N was found as the primary environmental factor impacting the composition of archaea, bacteria, and fungus in this study. These findings imply that the addition of biochar has a quick influence on the structure and activity of microbial communities, with fungi possibly having a critical role in acid paddy soil. This study contributes valuable knowledge for developing sustainable agricultural practices that promote healthy soil ecosystems. KEY POINTS: • Biochar type and phosphorus fertilization demonstrated an interactive effect on the diversity of archaea, but no such effect was observed for bacteria and fungi. • Soil fungi contribute to approximately 20% of the total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content. • Biochar, especially acid-washed rice straw biochar, increases glucose metabolism in bacteria and archaea and decreases saprophytic fungi.

MANF inhibits Sjögren's syndrome salivary gland epithelial cell apoptosis and antigen expression of Ro52/SSA through endoplasmic reticulum stress/autophagy pathway.

BACKGROUND: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a typical autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocyte infiltration accompanied by the production of Ro52/SSA and La/SSB autoantibodies against whole body ribonucleoprotein particles. The release of type I IFN can induce endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in submandibular gland cells. ERS not only produces a large number of Ro52/SSA antigens and changes their location, but also down-regulates autophagy and increases apoptosis. METHOD: We collected human submandibular gland tissue samples, established an Experimental Sjögren's syndrome (ESS) mouse model, and used submandibular gland cells to test whether Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) could reverse ERS-induced autophagy downregulation and reduce apoptosis and Ro52/SSA antigen expression. RESULT: It was found that MANF could reduce lymphocyte infiltration and the proportion of CD4+ T cell subsets in the salivary glands, reduce the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR proteins and the expression of ERS-related proteins, and increase the expression of autophagy proteins. We also found that MANF can reduce the expression of Ro52/SSA antigen on the cell membrane and reduce apoptosis. CONCLUSION: In short, we found that MANF can activate autophagy, inhibit apoptosis and reduce the expression of Ro52/SSA by regulating the AKT/mTOR/LC3B signaling pathway. The above results suggest that MANF may be a protective factor against SS.

Substituent-Controllable Cascade Regioselective Annulation of ß-Enaminones with N-Sulfonyl Triazoles for Modular Access to Imidazoles and Pyrroles.

A controllable synthesis of trisubstituted imidazoles and pyrroles has been developed through rhodium(II)-catalyzed regioselective annulation of N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-trizaoles with ß-enaminones. The imidazole ring was formed through a 1,1-insertion of the N-H bond to α-imino rhodium carbene, followed by a subsequent intramolecular 1,4-conjugate addition. This occurred when the α-carbon atom of the amino group was bearing a methyl group. Additionally, the pyrrole ring was constructed by utilizing a phenyl substituent and undergoing intramolecular nucleophilic addition. The mild conditions, good tolerance towards functional groups, gram-scale synthesis capability, and ability to undergo valuable transformations of the products qualify this unique protocol as an efficient tool for the synthesis of N-heterocycles.

Analysis of Light Penetration Depth in Apple Tissues by Depth-Resolved Spatial-Frequency Domain Imaging.

Spatial-frequency domain imaging (SFDI) has been developed as an emerging modality for detecting early-stage bruises of fruits, such as apples, due to its unique advantage of a depth-resolved imaging feature. This paper presents theoretical and experimental analyses to determine the light penetration depth in apple tissues under spatially modulated illumination. Simulation and practical experiments were then carried out to explore the maximum light penetration depths in 'Golden Delicious' apples. Then, apple experiments for early-stage bruise detection using the estimated reduced scattering coefficient mapping were conducted to validate the results of light penetration depths. The results showed that the simulations produced comparable or a little larger light penetration depth in apple tissues (~2.2 mm) than the practical experiment (~1.8 mm or ~2.3 mm). Apple peel further decreased the light penetration depth due to the high absorption properties of pigment contents. Apple bruises located beneath the surface peel with the depth of about 0-1.2 mm could be effectively detected by the SFDI technique. This study, to our knowledge, made the first effort to investigate the light penetration depth in apple tissues by SFDI, which would provide useful information for enhanced detection of early-stage apple bruising by selecting the appropriate spatial frequency.

Network interpenetrating slow-release nitrogen fertilizer based on carrageenan and urea: A new low-cost water and fertilizer regulation carrier.

Modern agriculture presents new requirements of low cost, high water retention and degradability for superabsorbent and slow-release fertilizers. In this study, carrageenan (CG), acrylic acid (AA), N, N '-methylene diacrylamide (MBA), urea and ammonium persulfate (APS) were used as raw materials. A kind of high water absorption, water retention, nitrogen slow release and biodegradable carrageenan superabsorbent (CG-SA) was prepared by grafting copolymerization. The optimal CG-SA was obtained with a water absorption rate of 680.45 g/g by orthogonal L18(3)7 experiments and single-factor experiments. The water absorption behavior of CG-SA in deionized water and salt solution were studied. The CG-SA was characterized before and after degradation by FTIR, SEM. The nitrogen release behavior and kinetic characteristics of CG-SA were investigated. In addition, CG-SA degraded 58.33 % and 64.35 % in soil at 25 °C and 35 °C after 28 days. All the results indicated that the low-cost and degradable CG-SA can achieve simultaneous slow release of water and nutrients, which is expected to be widely used as a new water-fertilizer integration technology in arid and poor areas.

Effects of the fungicide trifloxystrobin on the structure and function of soil bacterial community.

Trifloxystrobin has been widely applied to prevent fungal diseases because of its high efficiency and desirable safety characteristics. In the present study, the effects of trifloxystrobin on soil microorganisms were integrally investigated. The results showed that trifloxystrobin inhibited urease activity, promoted dehydrogenase activity. Downregulated expressions of the nitrifying gene (amoA), denitrifying genes (nirK and nirS), and carbon fixation gene (cbbL) were also observed. Soil bacterial community structure analysis showed that trifloxystrobin changed the abundance of bacteria genera related to nitrogen and carbon cycle in soil. Through the comprehensive analysis of soil enzymes, functional gene abundance, and soil bacterial community structure, we concluded that trifloxystrobin inhibited both nitrification and denitrification of soil microorganisms, and also diminished the carbon-sequestration ability. Integrated biomarker response analysis showed that dehydrogenase and nifH were the most sensitive indicators of trifloxystrobin exposure. It provides new insights about trifloxystrobin environmental pollution and its influence on soil ecosystem.

Characterization of the responses of soil micro-organisms to azoxystrobin and the residue dynamics of azoxystrobin in wheat-corn rotation fields over two years.

Azoxystrobin, a high-efficiency and broad-spectrum strobilurin fungicide, has been widely used in global agricultural production. However, the effects of azoxystrobin on soil micro-organisms have scarcely been studied, and relevant experiments are usually conducted under laboratory conditions using active ingredient. Therefore, the effects of azoxystrobin on soil micro-organisms when applied to actual farmland are unknown. We sought to address this knowledge gap in this study, where we studied the effects of azoxystrobin on soil micro-organisms in a wheat-corn rotation field over two years. The results indicate that after two years of azoxystrobin application the activities of soil enzymes were inhibited, and the abundance of functional genes related to the nitrogen and carbon cycle were inhibited, which change the abundance of soil microbial bacteria of genera. As a consequence, the soil nitrogen and carbon cycles were disturbed. In addition, azoxystrobin inhibited the abundance of functional bacteria related to organic pollutant degradation and soil metabolism, where the rate of azoxystrobin degradation diminished over time. Moreover, azoxystrobin significantly inhibited the soil-culturable microbial population. The integrated biomarker response (IBR) indicated that the soil-culturable microbial population can be used as a sensitive indicator of the effect of azoxystrobin on soil micro-organisms. The final levels of azoxystrobin residues measured in grains were less than 0.004 mg/kg, lower than the maximum residue limits in European Union and China. The results of this study provide a basis for suggestions regarding the appropriate use of azoxystrobin in addition to support for elucidating the interaction between biological macromolecules and pollutants.

Numerical Simulation of Failure Behavior of Brittle Heterogeneous Rock under Uniaxial Compression Test.

Rocks have formed heterogeneous characteristics after experiencing complex natural geological processes. Studying the heterogeneity of rocks is significant for rock mechanics. In this study, a linear parallel bond model with Weibull distribution in two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC2D) is adopted to study the mechanical characteristics and brittle failure mode of granite rock specimens with different heterogeneity. Firstly, we selected several combinations of key micro-parameters of the parallel bond model. Then, we subjected them to a Weibull distribution to satisfy heterogeneity, respectively. Finally, we chose one optimal combination plan after comparing the stress-strain curves of heterogeneous rock specimens. We analyzed the simulated results of heterogeneous rock specimens. The crack distribution of rock specimens under peak stress shows different characteristics: a diagonal shape in rock specimens with low heterogeneity indexes, or a rotated "y" shape in rock specimens with high heterogeneity indexes. As for failure mode, the numerical simulation results show high consistency with the laboratory experiment results. The rock specimen breaks down almost diagonally, and the whole specimen tends to form an x-shaped conjugate shear failure or the well-known "hour-glass" failure mode. With the increase of the homogeneity index of the rock specimen, the shear rupture angle becomes larger and larger. Generally, the crack number increases with time, and when the rock specimen reaches the peak failure point, the number of cracks increases sharply. The development of cracks in numerical rock specimens under compression test is a result of the coalescence of many microscopic cracks. Furthermore, tensile cracks formed initially, followed by shear behavior along the macroscopic crack plane. We also preliminarily study the mechanical characteristics of heterogeneous rock specimens with discontinuous structural planes. The discontinuous structural planes are simulated by the smooth-joint model. We can conclude that the discontinuous structural planes and the microscopic structural planes which contribute to the heterogeneity have a mutual influence on each other.

Effects of particle size distribution of potato starch granules on rheological properties of model dough underwent multiple freezing-thawing cycles.

In order to elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of different-sizes potato starch on dough during freeze-thaw treatment, the rheological properties, moisture distribution, secondary structure, and relative crystallinity of dough were investigated. The results showed that the storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G″), and complex modulus (|G*|) of dough increased as a result of the freeze-thaw treatment, and the effect was more obvious as the starch granular sizes increased. The higher ß -sheet and T22 contents reflected the higher viscoelasticity and freeze-thaw sensitivity, which may be related to the higher degree expansion of amylose. In contrast, dough with small-sized starch had higher intermolecular interactions, and denser structure, lower water migration, showing that this has better resistance and higher stability. The presented mechanisms may contribute to the better understanding of the effects of freeze-thaw process on model dough properties.

Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) induce cardiotoxicity and behavioral changes in zebrafish at early developmental stages.

Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) are widely present in the environment, and their health risks are of increasing concern. Available studies primarily confirm their dioxin-like toxicity mechanism based on biomarkers, such as aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and CYP1A1, while few studies have investigated their actual toxic effects at the level of individual organisms. In the present study, the developmental toxicity of two typical PHCZs with a high detection rate and high concentration in the environment (3,6-dichlorocarbazol (3,6-DCCZ) and 3,6-dibromocarbazole (3,6-DBCZ)) was investigated based on a fish embryo acute toxicity test (FET, zebrafish) and transcriptomics analysis. The 96 h LC50 values of 3,6-DCCZ and 3,6-DBCZ were 0.636 mg/L and 1.167 mg/L, respectively. Both tested PHCZs reduced the zebrafish heart rate and blocked heart looping at concentrations of 0.5 mg/L or higher. The swimming/escaping behavior of zebrafish larvae was more vulnerable to 3,6-DBCZ than 3,6-DCCZ. Transcriptomics assays showed that multiple pathways linked to organ development, immunization, metabolism and protein synthesis were disturbed in PHCZ-exposed fish, which might be the internal mechanism of the adverse effects. The present study provides evidence that PHCZs cause cardiac developmental toxicity and behavioral changes and improves our understanding of their health risks.

Effects of applying different carbon substrates on nutrient removal and greenhouse gas emissions by constructed wetlands treating carbon-depleted hydroponic wastewater.

The addition of external carbon sources is crucial for effective biological treatment of nutrient-rich but carbon-depleted hydroponic wastewater using constructed wetlands. In this study, we examined the effects of applying three types of carbon substrates, namely sucrose, hydroponic kale residues, and common reed litter, on the nutrient removal efficiency and greenhouse gas emission rate of vertical flow constructed wetlands. The addition of sucrose and common reed litter was shown to perform equally well in enhancing the removal of total nitrogen (84.9-93.5%), nitrate (98.3-99.8%) and phosphate (53.8-55.2%) as compared to the control. Moreover, the application of common reed litter led to significantly lower mean CH4 and N2O emissions than that of kale residues. These findings suggested that Phragmites reed litter, which is easily found in wetlands worldwide, could be an effective, low-cost and climate-friendly carbon substrate to be applied in constructed wetlands for hydroponic wastewater treatment.

Metal loadings in estuarine bivalve and gastropod shellfish in response to socioeconomic development in watershed.

Metal contamination in estuary was monitored globally using shellfish while estuarine metal loadings were influenced by socioeconomic development in watershed, i.e., a watershed-estuary chain effect. Socioeconomic pattern of metal loadings in estuarine shellfish has scarcely been studied. Eight metals and metalloids (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) highly associated with anthropogenic activities were quantified in tissue and shell of bivalves and gastropods (two feeding-habits) among 7 estuaries along the Southeastern China coast in the period 2016-2019. Results indicated that Cu and Zn in shellfish had the greatest loadings at 1,663 and 6,828 mg kg-1 dry mass in tissue and 387 and 151 mg kg-1 dry mass in shell, respectively, in the most developed Estuary Yong. Metal loadings in tissue and shell of bivalves (6 common species) and gastropods (3 common species) in the estuaries were highly associated with urbanization and socioeconomic indicators in their watersheds. The socioeconomic patterns had evident shellfish class-specification and metal-dependency due to the feeding-habit. The class-specification was confirmed by the fractionation of stable isotope compositions for the socioeconomic pattern of Pb loadings in both tissue and shell. In short, both shellfish class-specification and metal-dependency hinted that multi-bioindicators might be required for a comprehensive understanding of the estuarine environment quality, in particular at two dimensions of water and sediment.

MPZ gene variant site in Chinese patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

BACKGROUND: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a hereditary monogenic peripheral nerve disease. Variants in the gene encoding myelin protein zero (MPZ) lead to CMT, and different variants have different clinical phenotypes. A variant site, namely, c.389A > G (p.Lys130Arg), in the MPZ gene has been found in Chinese people. The pathogenicity of this variant has been clarified through pedigrees, and peripheral blood-related functional studies have been conducted. METHOD: Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were used to detect the c.389A > G (p.Lys130Arg) variant in the MPZ gene in family members of the proband. Physical examination was performed in the case group to assess the clinical characteristics of MPZ site variants. The expression of MPZ and phosphorylated MPZ in the blood of 12 cases and 12 randomly selected controls was compared by RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and ELISA. RESULTS: The proband and 12 of her family members presented the AG genotype with different clinical manifestations. The expression of MPZ mRNA in the case group was increased compared with that in the control group, and the levels of MPZ and phosphorylated MPZ in peripheral blood were higher than those in normal controls. CONCLUSION: The heterozygous genotype of the c.389A > G (p.Lys130Arg) variant in the MPZ gene mediated the increase in MPZ and phosphorylated MPZ levels in peripheral blood and was found to be involved with CMT.

Legacy organochlorines in estuarine sediment in relation to socioeconomic pattern in multi-coastal watersheds.

Estuarine sediment quality is highly associated with anthropogenic activities in watersheds. This study attempts to couple socioeconomic patterns with estuarine sediment quality via legacy organochlorines in 14 Chinese coastal watersheds. Sedimentary concentrations of HCHs, DDTs, and PCBs showed a significant spatiality in estuary, up to 48.7 ± 15.1, 89.0 ± 46.4, and 54.5 ± 17.2 ng g-1, which were predominated by ß-HCH, p,p'-DTs, and tri- to penta-PCBs, respectively. Ecological risk of organochlorines was negligible except few moderate risks for DDTs and PCBs against the first class quality of the marine sediment quality guidelines of China. Sedimentary DDT and PCB concentrations were significantly delineated by an environmental Kuznets curve model as a function of non-agricultural GDP per capita in watersheds, while HCHs by an increasing linear model. Findings of this study provide a tool to quantify the contribution of anthropogenic development in watershed to environmental change in estuary across the world.

Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with percutaneous ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can detect lesions hidden in inflammatory regions and find necrosis or areas of severe fibrosis within the lesion. This retrospective study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of solid pancreatic lesions using percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) with or without CEUS assessment. METHODS: Clinical, imaging, and pathologic data of 181 patients from January 2014 to December 2018 in Pecking Union Medical College Hospital, with solid pancreatic masses who underwent percutaneous US-FNA and ThinPrep cytologic test were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into CEUS and US groups according to whether CEUS was performed before the biopsy. According to FNA cytology diagnoses, we combined non-diagnostic, neoplastic, and negative cases into a negative category. The positive category included malignant, suspicious, and atypical cases. The final diagnosis was confirmed by pathology or clinical and radiological follow-up for at least 12 months. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of US-FNA were evaluated between the two groups. RESULTS: This study enrolled 107 male and 74 female patients (average age: 60 years). There were 58 cases in the US group and 123 cases in the CEUS group. No statistically significant differences in age, gender, or lesion size were found between the two groups. The diagnostic accuracy of the CEUS group was 95.1% (117/123), which was higher than the 86.2% (50/58) observed in the US group (P = 0.036). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the CEUS group were increased by 7.5%, 16.7%, 3.4%, and 18.8%, respectively, compared with the US group. However, the differences of the two groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the conventional US, the use of CEUS could improve the biopsy accuracy and avoid the need for a repeat biopsy, especially for some complicated FNA cases.

Deficiency of ß-arrestin2 alleviates apoptosis through GRP78-ATF6-CHOP signaling pathway in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

The etiology of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) remains unknown, and there is no ideal drug for the specific treatment of pSS. ß-arrestin2 is a key protein that mediates desensitization and internalization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and it participates in inflammatory and immune responses that have been found to mediate apoptosis in autoimmune disease. In this study, we established an experimental Sjögren's syndrome (ESS) mouse model to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of ß-arrestin2 in pSS. First, excessive activation of ß-arrestin2 and GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling were detected in specimens from pSS patients. In vivo, we found that inhibition of GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling improved ESS symptoms, and the targeted deletion of ß-arrestin2 significantly increased saliva flow, alleviated salivary gland indices, and improved tissue integrity in the ESS model by downregulating GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling. In vitro, we used IFNα to stimulate human salivary gland epithelial cells (HSGECs), and the results showed that IFNα activated GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling, decreased cell viability, and induced apoptosis, which were negatively regulated by the ERS inhibitor 4-PBA. In addition, ß-arrestin2 depletion downregulated GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling to alleviate cell apoptosis, and the effect depended on the interaction between GRP78 and ß-arrestin2. In summary, our results suggest that excessive activation of GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of pSS and that ß-arrestin2 encourages inflammation-induced epithelial apoptosis through GRP78-ATF6-CHOP apoptosis signaling. This research further clarified the underlying role of ß-arrestin2 and provided an experimental foundation for ß-arrestin2 depletion in the treatment of the human autoimmune disorder pSS.

Correlation Between Enhancement Patterns on Transabdominal Ultrasound and Survival for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the CEUS enhancement patterns of PDAC and analyse correlations between the CEUS enhancement pattern and both the degree of tumour tissue differentiation and overall survival (OS). METHODS: The study included 56 patients with locally advanced PDAC, performed conventional ultrasound and CEUS, and analysed characteristics of the CEUS enhancement patterns. In addition, clinical data, such as serum level of CA19-9, TNM stage were collected, and patients' survival times were followed up. TICs of dynamic CEUS images were acquired using image processing software to obtain the peak, TP, sharpness, and AUC. Correlations of the CEUS enhancement patterns of PDAC with the degree of differentiation of tumour tissue and OS were quantitatively analysed, as were the correlations of the TIC parameters and CEUS enhancement patterns with OS. RESULTS: Enhancement in the arterial phase included iso-enhancement (30.3%) and hypo-enhancement (69.6%), and was not significantly correlated with sex, age at disease onset, or lesion size. Also was not significantly correlated with tumour tissue differentiation. Clear survival times were obtained for 50 patients during follow-up, and the median survival time was significantly longer for the patients with iso-enhancement than hypo-enhancement. Among the TIC parameters, peaktumour, sharpnesstumour, AEsharpness, and REsharpness differed significantly between the group with iso-enhancement and hypo-enhancement (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The CEUS enhancement patterns of PDAC in the arterial phase include iso-enhancement and hypo-enhancement. Enhancement pattern was not significantly correlated with the degree of differentiation of tumour tissue, but patient survival time differed significantly between the two enhancement patterns, with longer survival for patients with iso-enhancement.