Measurement of the absorption cross-sections of sulfur compounds in the 180-270 nm region considering nonlinear effects.

Sulfur compounds (SO2, CS2, H2S and OCS) are common toxic pollutants in the atmospheric environment, and the absorption spectroscopy technique can indeed help to realize online monitoring of their concentrations. However, nonlinear effects that occur during absorption spectroscopy measurements have a serious impact on the measurement of the absorption cross-sections (ACSs) of sulfur compounds, leading to serious deviations in both the substance absorption properties and concentrations obtained based on ACS analysis. In this paper, the maximum effective ACSs of sulfur compounds in the linear region are obtained by considering the influence of nonlinear effects and eliminating interference factors such as oxygen and photolysis. In addition, the nonlinear effects are found to be greatly attenuated in spectra with broad band absorption characteristics by comparing the oscillatory absorption spectra before and after the differential treatment and by comparing the change in the oscillatory ACS with the broad band ACS. The experimental results show that the effective ACSs of SO2, CS2, H2S, and OCS with a resolution of 0.23 nm are 14.15 × 10-18 cm2 per molecule, 5.61 × 10-16 cm2 per molecule, 7.09 × 10-18 cm2 per molecule, and 3.20 × 10-19 cm2 per molecule, respectively. So far, it is the largest ACS obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, which is of great significance for online measurement of sulfur compounds.

A survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices among paediatric intensive care unit nurses for preventing pressure injuries: An analysis of influencing factors.

To explore the knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) status of preventing pressure injury among clinical nurses working in paediatric ICU, and to examine factors affecting nurses' KAP. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1906 paediatric ICU nurses in 18 children's hospitals by convenience sampling method. The survey tools were self-designed general data questionnaire, KAP questionnaire for the prevention of pressure injury and the influencing factors were analysed. A total of 1906 valid questionnaires were collected. The scores of overall KPA, knowledge, attitudes, and practice were 101.24 ± 17.22, 20.62 ± 9.63, 54.93 ± 5.81and 25.67 ± 6.76, respectively. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that education background, professional title, age and specialist nurse were the main influencing factor of nurses' knowledge of preventing PI; education background and specialist nurse were the main influencing factors of nurses' attitudes of preventing PI; knowledge, attitudes and education background were the main influencing factors of nurses' practice of preventing PI. Paediatric ICU nurses have a positive attitude towards the prevention of PI, but their knowledge and practice need to be improved. According to different characteristics of nurses, nursing managers should carry out training on the knowledge of prevention of PI to establish a positive attitude, so as to drive the change of nursing practice and improve the nursing practice level of ICU nurses to prevent of PI.

High-accuracy classification and origin traceability of peanut kernels based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy using Adaboost - Maximum uncertainty linear discriminant analysis.

Peanut kernels, known for their high nutritional value and palatability, are classified as nut food. In this study, peanut kernel samples from six distinct cities in Shandong Province, China, were examined to categorize and trace their origins. Near-infrared (NIR) spectra of samples were captured using a portable NIR-M-R2 spectrometer. After the application of Savitzky-Golay (SG) filtering, the classification was attempted using principal component analysis (PCA) plus linear discrimination analysis (LDA). Additionally, maximum uncertainty linear discriminant analysis (MLDA) was applied for comparison. A specific number of eigenvectors could respectively maximize the classification accuracies, 81.48% for PCA + LDA and 76.54% for MLDA. In order to further improve the classification accuracies, Adaboost-MLDA was proposed to develop a stronger classifier. This method, after 18 iterations, achieved remarkable effects, achieving a high accuracy of 95.06%. In a similar vein, the enhancement with preprocessing techniques multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) + SG and standard normal variate (SNV) + SG raised accuracies to 98.77% and 97.53%, respectively. The results of classifying first-order and second-order derivative spectra using Adaboost-MLDA were also described, achieving accuracies near 100%. The experiment demonstrates that integrating Adaboost with NIR spectroscopy offers a highly accurate method for peanut kernel classification, promising for practical applications in food quality control.

An artificial liquid-liquid phase separation-driven silk fibroin-based adhesive for rapid hemostasis and wound sealing.

The powerful adhesion systems of marine organisms have inspired the development of artificial protein-based bioadhesives. However, achieving robust wet adhesion using artificial bioadhesives remains technically challenging because the key element of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)-driven complex coacervation in natural adhesion systems is often ignored. In this study, mimicking the complex coacervation phenomenon of marine organisms, an artificial protein-based adhesive hydrogel (SFG hydrogel) was developed by adopting the LLPS-mediated coacervation of the natural protein silk fibroin (SF) and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS). The assembled SF/SDBS complex coacervate enabled precise spatial positioning and easy self-adjustable deposition on irregular substrate surfaces, allowing for tight contact. Spontaneous liquid-to-solid maturation promoted the phase transition of the SF/SDBS complex coacervate to form the SFG hydrogel in situ, enhancing its bulk cohesiveness and interfacial adhesion. The formed SFG hydrogel exhibited intrinsic advantages as a new type of artificial protein-based adhesive, including good biocompatibility, robust wet adhesion, rapid blood-clotting capacity, and easy operation. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the SFG hydrogel not only achieved instant and effective hemostatic sealing of tissue injuries but also promoted wound healing and tissue regeneration, thus advancing its clinical applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Marine mussels utilize the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) strategy to induce the supramolecular assembly of mussel foot proteins, which plays a critical role in strong underwater adhesion of mussel foot proteins. Herein, an artificial protein-based adhesive hydrogel (named SFG hydrogel) was reported by adopting the LLPS-mediated coacervation of natural protein silk fibroin (SF) and anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS). The assembled SFG hydrogel enabled the precise spatial positioning and easy self-adjustable deposition on substrate surfaces with irregularities, allowing tight interfacial adhesion and cohesiveness. The SFG hydrogel not only achieved instant and effective hemostatic sealing of tissue injuries but also promoted wound healing and tissue regeneration, exhibiting intrinsic advantages as a new type of artificial protein-based bioadhesives.

Engineering Interconnected Nanofluidic Channel in a Hydrogel Supernetwork toward K+ Ion Accelerating Transport and Efficient Sensing.

Ion transportation via the mixed mechanisms of hydrogels underpins ultrafast biological signal transmission in nature, and its application to the rapid and sensitive sensing detection of human specific ions is of great interest for the field of medical science. However, current research efforts are still unable to achieve transmission results that are comparable to those of bioelectric signals. Herein, 3D interconnected nanochannels based on poly(pyrrole-co-dopamine)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (P(Py-co-DA)/PVA) supernetwork conductive hydrogels are designed and fabricated as stimuli-responsive structures for K+ ions. Distinct from conventional configurations, which exhibit rapid electron transfer and permeability to biosubstrates, interconnected nanofluidic nanochannels collaborated with the P(Py-co-DA) conductive polymer in the supernetwork conductive hydrogel significantly improve conductivity (88.3 mS/cm), ion transport time (0.1 s), and ion sensitivity (74.6 mV/dec). The faster ion response time is attributed to the synergism of excellent conductivity originating from the P(Py-co-DA) polymer and the electronic effect in the interconnected nanofluidic channels. Furthermore, the supernetwork conductive hydrogel demonstrates K+ ion selectivity relative to other cations in biofluids such as Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. The DFT calculation indicates that the small solvation energy and low chemical transfer resistance are the main reasons for the excellent K+ ion selectivity. Finite element analysis (FEA) simulations further support these experimental results. Consequently, the P(Py-co-DA)/PVA supernetwork conductive hydrogels enriched with the 3D interconnected nanofluidic channels developed in this work possess excellent sensing of K+ ions. This strategy provides great insight into efficient ion sensing in traditional biomedical sensing that has not been explored by previous researchers.

What is the spatiotemporal pattern of benzene concentration spread over susceptible area surrounding the Hartman Park community, Houston, Texas?

The Hartman Park community in Houston, Texas-USA, is in a highly polluted area which poses significant risks to its predominantly Hispanic and lower-income residents. Surrounded by dense clustering of industrial facilities compounds health and safety hazards, exacerbating environmental and social inequalities. Such conditions emphasize the urgent need for environmental measures that focus on investigating ambient air quality. This study estimated benzene, one of the most reported pollutants in Hartman Park, using machine learning-based approaches. Benzene data was collected in residential areas in the neighborhood and analyzed using a combination of five machine-learning algorithms (i.e., XGBR, GBR, LGBMR, CBR, RFR) through a newly developed ensemble learning model. Evaluations on model robustness, overfitting tests, 10-fold cross-validation, internal and stratified validation were performed. We found that the ensemble model depicted about 98.7% spatial variability of benzene (Adj. R2 =0.987). Through rigorous validations, stability of model performance was confirmed. Several predictors that contribute to benzene were identified, including temperature, developed intensity areas, leaking petroleum storage tank, and traffic-related factors. Analyzing spatial patterns, we found high benzene spread over areas near industrial zones as well as in residential areas. Overall, our study area was exposed to high benzene levels and requires extra attention from relevant authorities.

Silk fibroin-based hemostatic powders with instant and robust adhesion performance for sutureless sealing of gastrointestinal defects.

Powder-based hemostatic technology has offered unprecedented opportunities in surgical sealing and repair of irregularly shaped and noncompressible wounds. Despite their routine use, existing clinical hemostatic powders are challenged either by poor mechanical properties or inadequate adhesion to bleeding tissues in biological environments. Here, inspired by the mussel foot proteins' fusion assembly strategy, a novel silk fibroin-based hemostatic powder (named as SF/PEG/TA) with instant and robust adhesion performance is developed. Upon absorbing interfacial liquids, the SF/PEG/TA powders rapidly swell into micro-gels and subsequently contact with each other to transform into a macroscopically homogeneous hydrogel in situ, strengthening its interfacial bonding with various substrates in fluidic environments. The in vitro and in vivo results show that the SF/PEG/TA powder possesses ease of use, good biocompatibility, strong antibacterial activities, and effective blood clotting abilities. The superior hemostatic sealing capability of the SF/PEG/TA powder is demonstrated in the rat liver, heart, and gastrointestinal injury models. Moreover, in vivo investigation of rat skin incision and gastrointestinal perforation models validates that the SF/PEG/TA powder promotes wound healing and tissue regeneration. Taken together, compared to existing clinical hemostatic powders, the proposed SF/PEG/TA powder with superior wound treatment capabilities has high potential for clinical hemostasis and emergency rescue.

Ribosomal DNA and Neurological Disorders.

Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is important in the nucleolus and nuclear organization of human cells. Defective rDNA repeat maintenance has been reported to be closely associated with neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, depression, suicide, etc. However, there has not been a comprehensive review on the role of rDNA in these disorders. In this review, we have summarized the role of rDNA in major neurological disorders to sort out the correlation between rDNA and neurological diseases and provided insights for therapy with rDNA as a target.

The effect of different fixation systems on oblique lumbar interbody fusion under vibration conditions.

Despite the fact that lower back pain caused by degenerative lumbar spine pathologies seriously affects the quality of life, however, there is a paucity of research on the biomechanical properties of different auxiliary fixation systems for its primary treatment (oblique lumbar interbody fusion) under vibratory environments. In order to study the effects of different fixation systems of OLIF surgery on the vibration characteristics of the human lumbar spine under whole-body vibration (WBV), a finite element (FE) model of OLIF surgery with five different fixation systems was established by modifying a previously established model of the normal lumbar spine (L1-S1). In this study, a compressive follower load of 500 N and a sinusoidal axial vertical load of ±40 N at the frequency of 5 Hz with a duration of 0.6 s was applied. The results showed that the bilateral pedicle screw fixation model had the highest resistance to cage subsidence and maintenance of disc height under WBV. In contrast, the lateral plate fixation model exerted very high stresses on important tissues, which would be detrimental to the patient's late recovery and reduction of complications. Therefore, this study suggests that drivers and related practitioners who are often in vibrating environments should have bilateral pedicle screws for OLIF surgery, and side plates are not recommended to be used as a separate immobilization system. Additionally, the lateral plate is not recommended to be used as a separate fixation system.

Microbiota-derived I3A protects the intestine against radiation injury by activating AhR/IL-10/Wnt signaling and enhancing the abundance of probiotics.

The intestine is prone to radiation damage in patients undergoing radiotherapy for pelvic tumors. However, there are currently no effective drugs available for the prevention or treatment of radiation-induced enteropathy (RIE). In this study, we aimed at investigating the impact of indole-3-carboxaldehyde (I3A) derived from the intestinal microbiota on RIE. Intestinal organoids were isolated and cultivated for screening radioprotective tryptophan metabolites. A RIE model was established using 13 Gy whole-abdominal irradiation in male C57BL/6J mice. After oral administration of I3A, its radioprotective ability was assessed through the observation of survival rates, clinical scores, and pathological analysis. Intestinal stem cell survival and changes in the intestinal barrier were observed through immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. Subsequently, the radioprotective mechanisms of I3A was investigated through 16S rRNA and transcriptome sequencing, respectively. Finally, human colon cancer cells and organoids were cultured to assess the influence of I3A on tumor radiotherapy. I3A exhibited the most potent radioprotective effect on intestinal organoids. Oral administration of I3A treatment significantly increased the survival rate in irradiated mice, improved clinical and histological scores, mitigated mucosal damage, enhanced the proliferation and differentiation of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells, and maintained intestinal barrier integrity. Furthermore, I3A enhanced the abundance of probiotics, and activated the AhR/IL-10/Wnt signaling pathway to promote intestinal epithelial proliferation. As a crucial tryptophan metabolite, I3A promotes intestinal epithelial cell proliferation through the AhR/IL-10/Wnt signaling pathway and upregulates the abundance of probiotics to treat RIE. Microbiota-derived I3A demonstrates potential clinical application value for the treatment of RIE.

Assessing the ecological security of the Three Gorges reservoir complex ecosystem based on the improved three-dimensional emergy ecological footprint model.

The ecological security (ES) of the reservoir complex ecosystem (RCE) is one of the critical components of watershed water security and sustainable development. Hence, accurately assessing the ES of the RCE is of utmost importance. This study proposed a novel ecological security assessment model based on the improved three-dimensional emergy ecological footprint (ESM-IEEF3D), which integrated various emergy flows during the RCE's construction and operation into a three-dimensional emergy ecological footprint (EEF3D) calculation account. The Three Gorges Project (TGP) is selected as a case study to evaluate the ES from 1993 to 2022 comprehensively. The results showed that the Three Gorges RCE mainly showed an ecological remainder state, and the inflow runoff enormously promoted the TGP's sustainability. The EEF3D indicated a fluctuation decrease trend with a mean value of 7.18 × 102 ha, illustrating that TGP's ecological security and sustainability levels are gradually improving. Regarding the ES evaluation indicators, the TGP's resource dependency and ecological pressure on the natural ecosystem and the external socio-economic system are steadily relieved. Furthermore, the Three Gorges RCE's resource utilization condition is safe, the structural characteristics are healthy, and the eco-economic coordination degree is continuously enlightening. Finally, applicable policy implications for improving the ecological security of Three Gorges RCE were provided. This study helps to understand the complex relationship between humans and ecosystems. It provides a novel framework to be used as an evaluation index and policy insights for hydropower ecological security and sustainable development.

Unlocking interfaces in photovoltaics.

Eliminating defects at interfaces enables perovskites to approach efficiency limits.

Integrase-LEDGF/p75 complex triggers the formation of biomolecular condensates that modulate HIV-1 integration efficiency in vitro.

The pre-integration steps of the HIV-1 viral cycle are some of the most valuable targets of recent therapeutic innovations. HIV-1 integrase (IN) displays multiple functions, thanks to its considerable conformational flexibility. Recently, such flexible proteins have been characterized by their ability to form biomolecular condensates as a result of Liquid-Liquid-Phase-Separation (LLPS), allowing them to evolve in a restricted microenvironment within cells called membrane-less organelles (MLO). The LLPS context constitutes a more physiological approach to study the integration of molecular mechanisms performed by intasomes (complexes containing viral DNA, IN, and its cellular cofactor LEDGF/p75). We investigated here if such complexes can form LLPS in vitro and if IN enzymatic activities were affected by this LLPS environment. We observed that the LLPS formed by IN-LEDGF/p75 functional complexes modulate the in vitro IN activities. While the 3'-processing of viral DNA ends was drastically reduced inside LLPS, viral DNA strand transfer was strongly enhanced. These two catalytic IN activities appear thus tightly regulated by the environment encountered by intasomes.

Early hyperbaric oxygen therapy through regulating the HIF-1α signaling pathway attenuates Neuroinflammation and behavioral deficits in a mouse model of Sepsis-associated encephalopathy.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) presents a significant clinical challenge, associated with increased mortality and healthcare expenses. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), involving inhaling pure or highly concentrated oxygen under pressures exceeding one atmosphere, has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in various conditions. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its protective actions against sepsis-associated brain injury remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether HBOT protects against SAE and to elucidate the impact of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) signaling pathway on SAE. METHODS: The experiment consisted of two parts. In the first part, C57BL/6 J male mice were divided into five groups using a random number table method: control group, sham surgery group, sepsis group, HBOT + sepsis group, and HBOT + sham surgery group. In the subsequent part, C57BL/6 J male mice were divided into four groups: sepsis group, HBOT + sepsis group, HIF-1α + HBOT + sepsis group, and HIF-1α + sepsis group. Sepsis was induced via cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was administered at 1 h and 4 h post-CLP. After 24 h, blood and hippocampal tissue were collected for cytokine measurements. HIF-1α, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 expression were assessed via ELISA and western blotting. Microglial expression was determined by immunofluorescence. Blood-brain barrier permeability was quantified using Evans Blue. Barnes maze and fear conditioning were conducted 14 days post-CLP to evaluate learning and memory. RESULTS: Our findings reveal that CLP-induced hippocampus-dependent cognitive deficits coincided with elevated HIF-1α and increased TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 levels in both blood and hippocampus. Observable activation of microglial cells in the hippocampus and increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability were also evident. HBOT mitigated HIF-1α, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 levels, attenuated microglial activation in the hippocampus, and significantly improved learning and memory deficits in CLP-exposed mice. Additionally, these outcomes were corroborated by injecting a lentivirus that overexpressed HIF-1α into the hippocampal region of the mice. CONCLUSION: HIF-1α escalation induced peripheral and central inflammatory factors, promoting microglial activation, BBB impairment, and cognitive dysfunction. However, HBOT ameliorated these effects by reducing HIF-1α levels in Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy.

Alpha-tocopherol inhibits ferroptosis and promotes neural function recovery in rats with spinal cord injury via downregulating Alox15.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a type of central nervous system (CNS) injury in which ferroptosis is becoming a promising target for treatment. Alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E, Vit E) is a compound with anti-ferroptosis activity. The mechanism of alpha-tocopherol in regulating ferroptosis after SCI has not been deeply studied. In this study, rats with SCI were treated by Alpha-tocopherol based on bioinformatic analysis and molecular docking prediction. Behavioral tests and histological findings showed that Alpha-tocopherol promoted neural function recovery and tissue repairment in rats with SCI. Subsequently, regulatory effects of Alpha-tocopherol on Alox15 and ferroptosis were detected and then localized by immunofluorescence. In vitro, alpha-tocopherol improved the ROS accumulation, iron overload, lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial dysfunction. The effects of Alpha-tocopherol on the expression of Alox15, Ptgs2 and 4Hne were validated in vitro. Finally, the inhibitory effects of Alpha-tocopherol on Alox15 and ferroptosis were weakened by the mutation of 87th residue of Alox15. In summary, alpha-tocopherol could alleviate SCI-induced ferroptosis by downregulating Alox15 to promote neural function recovery in rats with SCI. Findings in this study could help further our understanding on SCI-induced ferroptosis and provide a novel insight for treating SCI.

Identification of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using hybrid transformer network.

Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is extensively implemented in drug detection due to its sensitivity and non-destructive nature. Deep learning methods, which are represented by convolutional neural network (CNN), have been widely applied in identifying the spectra from SERS for powerful learning ability. However, the local receptive field of CNN limits the feature extraction of sequential spectra for suppressing the analysis results. In this study, a hybrid Transformer network, TMNet, was developed to identify SERS spectra by integrating the Transformer encoder and the multi-layer perceptron. The Transformer encoder can obtain precise feature representations of sequential spectra with the aid of self-attention, and the multi-layer perceptron efficiently transforms the representations to the final identification results. TMNet performed excellently, with identification accuracies of 99.07% for the spectra of hair containing drugs and 97.12% for those of urine containing drugs. For the spectra with additive white Gaussian, baseline background, and mixed noises, TMNet still exhibited the best performance among all the methods. Overall, the proposed method can accurately identify SERS spectra with outstanding noise resistance and excellent generalization and holds great potential for the analysis of other spectroscopy data.

Rewritable printing of ionic liquid nanofilm utilizing focused ion beam induced film wetting.

Manipulating liquid flow over open solid substrate at nanoscale is important for printing, sensing, and energy devices. The predominant methods of liquid maneuvering usually involve complicated surface fabrications, while recent attempts employing external stimuli face difficulties in attaining nanoscale flow control. Here we report a largely unexplored ion beam induced film wetting (IBFW) technology for open surface nanofluidics. Local electrostatic forces, which are generated by the unique charging effect of Helium focused ion beam (HFIB), induce precursor film of ionic liquid and the disjoining pressure propels and stabilizes the nanofilm with desired patterns. The IBFW technique eliminates the complicated surface fabrication procedures to achieve nanoscale flow in a controllable and rewritable manner. By combining with electrochemical deposition, various solid materials with desired patterns can be produced.

Aberrant dynamic functional network connectivity in progressive supranuclear palsy.

BACKGROUND: The clinical symptoms of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may be mediated by aberrant dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC). While earlier research has found altered functional network connections in PSP patients, the majority of those studies have concentrated on static functional connectivity. Nevertheless, in this study, we sought to evaluate the modifications in dynamic characteristics and establish the correlation between these disease-related changes and clinical variables. METHODS: In our study, we conducted a study on 53 PSP patients and 65 normal controls. Initially, we employed a group independent component analysis (ICA) to derive resting-state networks (RSNs), while employing a sliding window correlation approach to produce dFNC matrices. The K-means algorithm was used to cluster these matrices into distinct dynamic states, and then state analysis was subsequently employed to analyze the dFNC and temporal metrics between the two groups. Finally, we made a correlation analysis. RESULTS: PSP patients showed increased connectivity strength between medulla oblongata (MO) and visual network (VN) /cerebellum network (CBN) and decreased connections were found between default mode network (DMN) and VN/CBN, subcortical cortex network (SCN) and CBN. In addition, PSP patients spend less fraction time and shorter dwell time in a diffused state, especially the MO and SCN. Finally, the fraction time and mean dwell time in the distributed connectivity state (state 2) is negatively correlated with duration, bulbar and oculomotor symptoms. DISCUSSION: Our findings were that the altered connectivity was mostly concentrated in the CBN and MO. In addition, PSP patients had different temporal dynamics, which were associated with bulbar and oculomotor symptoms in PSPRS. It suggest that variations in dynamic functional network connectivity properties may represent an essential neurological mechanism in PSP.

Is RNA editing truly absent in the complex thalloid liverworts (Marchantiopsida)? Evidence of extensive RNA editing from Cyathodium cavernarum.

RNA editing is a crucial modification in plants' organellar transcripts that converts cytidine to uridine (C-to-U; and sometimes uridine to cytidine) in RNA molecules. This post-transcriptional process is controlled by the PLS-class protein with a DYW domain, which belongs to the pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein family. RNA editing is widespread in land plants; however, complex thalloid liverworts (Marchantiopsida) are the only group reported to lack both RNA editing and DYW-PPR protein. The liverwort Cyathodium cavernarum (Marchantiopsida, Cyathodiaceae), typically found in cave habitats, was newly found to have 129 C-to-U RNA editing sites in its chloroplast and 172 sites in its mitochondria. The Cyathodium genus, specifically C. cavernarum, has a large number of PPR editing factor genes, including 251 DYW-type PPR proteins. These DYW-type PPR proteins may be responsible for C-to-U RNA editing in C. cavernarum. Cyathodium cavernarum possesses both PPR DYW proteins and RNA editing. Our analysis suggests that the remarkable RNA editing capability of C. cavernarum may have been acquired alongside the emergence of DYW-type PPR editing factors. These findings provide insight into the evolutionary pattern of RNA editing in land plants.

Risk factors for migration of retrievable covered expandable metallic stent in patients with persistent benign ureter strictures.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and salvage management of retrievable covered expandable metallic stent (RCEMS) migration in patients with persistent benign ureter strictures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 117 consecutive patients who underwent implantation of RCEMS. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify prognostic factors for stent migration, including stricture location and length, hydronephrosis-cortex ratio, ureteral dilation, and the diameter of the narrowest portion of the stricture. RESULTS: Stent migration occurred in 22 (19.5%) of 113 patients who met inclusion criteria. Of the 22 patients, 16 (72.7%) had ordinary ureteral stricture, 3 (13.6%) had stricture in transplanted kidneys, and 3 patients (13.6%) had ureter stricture in orthotopic neobladders. The mean creatinine for the entire cohorts showed significant improvement (p = 0.038). Multivariate analysis identified the following prognostic factors for migration: distal ureteral stricture (p = 0.006), patients who underwent balloon dilation (p = 0.003), hydronephrosis-cortex ratio ≧10 (p = 0.017), larger diameter of wasting of RCEMS (p < 0.001), and patients with a shorter stricture length (p = 0.006). Salvage management was required in 4 of the 22 patients. The strictures in the remaining 18 patients improved with observation. CONCLUSIONS: Stent migration is more likely to occur in patients with the five prognostic factors mentioned above. Our study developed a nomogram to predict stent migration in patients with ureteral strictures treated using RCEMS.