Nanoparticles Synergize Ferroptosis and Cuproptosis to Potentiate Cancer Immunotherapy.

The recent discovery of copper-mediated and mitochondrion-dependent cuproptosis has aroused strong interest in harnessing this novel mechanism of cell death for cancer therapy. Here the design of a core-shell nanoparticle, CuP/Er, for the co-delivery of copper (Cu) and erastin (Er) to cancer cells for synergistic cuproptosis and ferroptosis is reported. The anti-Warburg effect of Er sensitizes tumor cells to Cu-mediated cuproptosis, leading to irreparable mitochondrial damage by depleting glutathione and enhancing lipid peroxidation. CuP/Er induces strong immunogenic cell death, enhances antigen presentation, and upregulates programmed death-ligand 1 expression. Consequently, CuP/Er promotes proliferation and infiltration of T cells, and when combined with immune checkpoint blockade, effectively reinvigorates T cells to mediate the regression of murine colon adenocarcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer and prevent tumor metastasis. This study suggests a unique opportunity to synergize cuproptosis and ferroptosis with combination therapy nanoparticles to elicit strong antitumor effects and potentiate current cancer immunotherapies.

MG53 protects against Coxsackievirus B3-induced acute viral myocarditis in mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis via the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Pyroptosis, a novel programmed cell death mediated by NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, is a critical pathogenic process in acute viral myocarditis (AVMC). Mitsugumin 53 (MG53) is predominantly expressed in myocardial tissues and has been reported to exert cardioprotective effects through multiple pathways. Herein, we aimed to investigate the biological function of MG53 in AVMC and its underlying regulatory mechanism in pyroptosis. BALB/c mice and HL-1 cells were infected with Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) to establish animal and cellular models of AVMC. As inflammation progressed in the myocardium, we found a progressive decrease in myocardial MG53 expression, accompanied by a significant enhancement of cardiomyocyte pyroptosis. MG53 overexpression significantly alleviated myocardial inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, and mitochondrial damage, thereby improving cardiac dysfunction in AVMC mice. Moreover, MG53 overexpression inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß/18) release, and suppressed NF-κB signaling pathway activation both in vivo and in vitro. Conversely, MG53 knockdown reduced cell viability, facilitated cell pyroptosis, and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines release in CVB3-infected HL-1 cells by promoting NF-κB activation. These effects were partially reversed by applying the NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7082. In conclusion, our results suggest that MG53 acts as a negative regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis in CVB3-induced AVMC, partially by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. MG53 is a promising candidate for clinical applications in AVMC treatment.

Ultrathin Zincophilic Interphase Regulated Electric Double Layer Enabling Highly Stable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

The practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries for large-grid scale systems is still hindered by uncontrolled zinc dendrite and side reactions. Regulating the electrical double layer via the electrode/electrolyte interface layer is an effective strategy to improve the stability of Zn anodes. Herein, we report an ultrathin zincophilic ZnS layer as a model regulator. At a given cycling current, the cell with Zn@ZnS electrode displays a lower potential drop over the Helmholtz layer (stern layer) and a suppressed diffuse layer, indicating the regulated charge distribution and decreased electric double layer repulsion force. Boosted zinc adsorption sites are also expected as proved by the enhanced electric double-layer capacitance. Consequently, the symmetric cell with the ZnS protection layer can stably cycle for around 3,000 h at 1 mA cm-2 with a lower overpotential of 25 mV. When coupled with an I2/AC cathode, the cell demonstrates a high rate performance of 160 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and long cycling stability of over 10,000 cycles at 10 A g-1. The Zn||MnO2 also sustains both high capacity and long cycling stability of 130 mAh g-1 after 1,200 cycles at 0.5 A g-1.

Competitive Coordination Structure Regulation in Deep Eutectic Electrolyte for Stable Zinc Batteries.

Rechargeable zinc-based batteries are finding their niche in energy storage applications where cost, safety, scalability matter, yet they are plagued by rapid performance degradation due to the lack of suitable electrolytes to stabilize Zn anode. Herein, we report a competitive coordination structure to form unique quaternary hydrated eutectic electrolyte with ligand-cation-anion cluster. Unraveled by experiment and calculation results, the competing component can enter initial primary coordination shell of Zn2+ ion, partially substituting Lewis basic eutectic ligands and reinforcing cation-anion interaction. The hydration-deficient complexes induced between competing eutectic as hydrogen bond donor-accepter and water also broaden the electrochemical window and confine free water activity. The altered coordination further leads to robust hybrid organic-inorganic enriched solid electrolyte interphase, enabling passivated surface and suppressed dendrite growth. Noticeably, stable Zn plating/stripping for 8000 cycles with high Coulombic efficiencies of 99.6 % and long cycling life of 10000 cycles for Zn-organic batteries are obtained. Even under harsh conditions (small N/P ratio, low temperature), the profits brought by the competitive eutectic electrolyte are still very prominent. This design principle leveraged by eutectic electrolytes with competitive coordination offers a new approach to improve battery performance.

Arachidonic acid alleviates autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice.

BACKGROUND: Arachidonic acid (AA) is considered to link nutrient metabolism, to inflammation and immunity, suggesting it may have a role in autoimmune diseases. Our previous study suggests that DPP-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) might regulate AA - relative signaling in type 1 diabetes. AIMS: To examine the effect of AA on autoimmune diabetes and its cross-talk with DPP-4i in The Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) mice. METHODS: The NOD mice were divided randomly and equally into three groups: AA group, AA plus DPP-4i group and control group. The incidence of diabetes, blood glucose, insulitis and cytokine profiles were monitored. At the end of the experiment, pancreatic tissues were stained by H&E. Serum cytokine profiles were examined using a Mesco Scale Discovery multiplexed-assay kit. RESULTS: Even though AA or AA plus DPP-4i treatment has no effect on incidence of diabetes and weight, AA treatment reduces blood glucose, preserves islet morphology and alleviates inflammatory cell infiltration into pancreatic islets in NOD mice, accompanying with increased serum levels of IL-10, IL-1 ß, IL-6, IL-5, KC/GRO and TNF-α and decreased serum levels of IL-2. CONCLUSION: We observed that AA treatment alleviates autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice by reducing hyperglycemia, alleviating insulitis and improving cytokine profiles. DPP-4i might alleviate the effect of AA by cross-talk. We provide evidence of AA treatment to alleviate type 1 diabetes in NOD mice, which may provide a novel therapeutic option for type 1 diabetes.

Biosynthesis of maltodextrin-derived glucan dendrimer using microbial branching enzyme.

Glucan dendrimers were developed with microbial branching enzyme (BE) treated maltodextrin. The molecular weight (Mw) of recombinant BE was 79.0 kDa, and its optimum activity was observed at pH 7.0 and 70 °C. BE converted different maltodextrins with dextrose equivalent value of 6 (MD6), 12 (MD12), or 19 (MD19) into the given glucan dendrimers, along with the marked increment of the molecular density (approximately 30-60 folds) and α-1,6 linkage percentage (up to 7.3-9.7%). Among three glucan dendrimers, the enzyme-treated MD12 showed a more homogeneous Mw distribution with the maximum Mw of 5.5 × 106 g/mol, indicating that higher substrate catalytic specificity of BE for MD12 substrate. During transglycosylation with MD12 for 24 h, the shorter chains (degree of polymerization, DP < 13) increased from 73.9% to 83.0%, accompanying by a reduction of medium chains (DP13-24) and long chains (DP > 24). Moreover, the slowly digestible and resistant nutritional fractions were increased by 6.2% and 12.5%, respectively. The results suggested that the potentiality of BE structuring glucan dendrimer with tailor-made structure and functionality for industrial application.

Correlation between thyroid function, sensitivity to thyroid hormones and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in euthyroid subjects with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and to evaluate the associations between thyroid parameters, MAFLD and liver fibrosis in euthyroid patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: Overall, 776 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and 120 subjects without diabetes were included. All the participants were euthyroid, and were categorized as non-MAFLD and MAFLD. Demographic information, biochemical parameters, and serum thyroid hormones were collected. The thyroid hormone sensitivity indices were calculated. MAFLD was defined according to abdominal ultrasound and clinical manifestations. Noninvasive fibrosis indices were calculated to identify advanced liver fibrosis. RESULTS: The prevalence of MAFLD was significantly higher in patients with T2DM than in subjects without diabetes. Levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3) and FT3 to free thyroxine (FT4) ratio were significantly higher in subjects with MAFLD. In patients with T2DM, levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), Thyroid feedback quantile-based index (TFQIFT3) calculated using FT3 and TSH, thyrotroph T3 resistance index (TT3RI) and thyrotroph T4 resistance index (TT4RI) were significantly higher in subjects with MAFLD. The prevalence of MAFLD increased with the rise of FT3, FT3/FT4, TSH, and sensitivity to thyroid hormone indices (TFQIFT3, TT3RI, and TT4RI). But significant correlations were not found between thyroid hormones, sensitivity to thyroid hormones and MAFLD, after adjustment for BMI and HOMA-IR. The incidence of advanced fibrosis tended to increase as the rise of TSH and sensitivity to thyroid hormone indices (TFQIFT3, TT3RI, TT4RI, and TSHI). CONCLUSION: MAFLD was prevalent in euthyroid patients with newly diagnosed T2DM. Higher normal FT3, TSH and impaired sensitivity to thyroid hormones are associated with increased incidence of MAFLD, being dependent on other metabolic factors.

Within-day variation and health risk assessment of trihalomethanes (THMs) in a chlorinated indoor swimming pool in China.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the most common species of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in swimming pools and have received widespread attention due to their risk to public health. However, studies examining within-day variation and the carcinogenic health risks from exposure to THMs in indoor swimming pools are limited. Our study aimed to detect the within-day variation of four THMs categories and carcinogenic health risk in indoor swimming pool water in Taiyuan, China, and to examine the correlations between THMs and environmental parameters. Our results showed chloroform (TCM) was the most abundant component in THMs with median concentrations from 0.038-0.118 µg/m3. TCM and THMs were significantly positively correlated with FCl and significantly negatively correlated with the cumulative number of swimmers (CNS) in the swimming pool. The concentration of total THMs and TCM, lifetime average daily doses (LADD) of TCM, and the total lifetime cancer risks (ELCR) values of THMs declined with time with the highest level occurring at 8:00 am. ELCR values of THMs were in the range of 1.368 × 10-5-1.968 × 10-5, which exceeded the negligible risk level (10-6) defined by US EPA. Our results suggest that THM occurrence and the carcinogenic health risks in pool water varied temporally. Exposure to pool water THMs may pose a carcinogenic risk to human health, especially at the pool's opening time.

Downregulation of MCF2L Promoted the Ferroptosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through PI3K/mTOR Pathway in a RhoA/Rac1 Dependent Manner.

Methods and Results: The levels of MCF2L were detected by PCR and western blotting assay. The effect of MCF2L on ferroptosis was confirmed by MTT, colony formation assay, Brdu, in vivo animal experiment, and the content of Iron, GSH, ROS, and MDA. The underlying mechanisms were explored by PCR, western blotting, and affinity precipitation assay. Our findings demonstrated that MCF2L is remarkedly upregulated in HCC tissues, and sorafenib can induce the levels of MCF2L, suggesting that MCF2L might function in sorafenib resistance of HCC. Further analysis showed that downregulation of MCF2L enhances HCC cell death induced by sorafenib, and ferroptosis inhibitor can reverse this process. Subsequent experiments showed that downregulation of MCF2L elevates the content of Iron, ROS, and MDA, which are all indicators of ferroptosis. Finally, mechanism analysis showed that MCF2L regulates the PI3K/AKT pathway in a RhoA/Rac1 dependent manner. Conclusions: Our study showed that targeting MCF2L may be a hopeful method to overcome sorafenib-resistance through inducing ferroptosis in HCC.

Evaluation of the Thyroid Characteristics and Correlated Factors in Hospitalized Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction (TD) are two closely associated disorders. The objective of the present study was to investigate the thyroid status and the relationships between thyroid hormones, diabetic complications and metabolic parameters in hospitalized patients with newly diagnosed type 2 DM (T2DM). Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study, conducting on 340 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM who were admitted to ward of endocrinology department and 120 matched individuals without diabetes. Anthropometric, clinical and biochemical data were collected. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the correlations between thyroid hormones and other variables. Factors associated with diabetic nephropathy (DN) was analyzed with multivariate logistic regression. Results: Levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were significantly lower in patients with T2DM as compared to control group without diabetes. The prevalence of TD was 21.2% in patients with diabetes, higher than that in controls (4.2%). The low T3 syndrome was the most frequent TD, shown in 14.7% of patients. The presence of diabetic complications DN, diabetic ketosis or ketoacidosis), metabolic and demographic factors, including age, glycemic control and insulin resistance were factors significantly associated with levels of thyroid hormones. FT3 level was inversely correlated with the level of urinary total protein (mg/24h) and the presence of DN. Multivariate analysis indicated low FT3 level as a strong independent risk factor (OR = 0.364, P = 0.001) for DN. Conclusion: TD is not rarely seen in hospitalized patients with newly diagnosed T2DM. Diabetic complications and diabetes-related metabolic and demographic factors are related to thyroid hormone levels. Decreased FT3 is strongly correlated with the presence of DN.

Fabrication, Structure and Functional Characterizations of pH-Responsive Hydrogels Derived from Phytoglycogen.

The pH-responsive hydrogels were obtained through successive carboxymethylation and phosphorylase elongatation of phytoglycogen and their structure and functional characterizations were investigated. Phytoglycogen (PG) was first carboxymethylated to obtain carboxymethyl phytoglycogen (CM-PG) with degree of substitution (DS) at 0.15, 0.25, 0.30, and 0.40, respectively. Iodine staining and X-ray diffraction analysis suggested that the linear glucan chains were successfully phosphorylase-elongated from the non-reducing ends at the CM-PG surface and assembled into the double helical segments, leading to formation of the hydrogel. The DS of CM-PG significantly influenced elongation of glucan chains. Specifically, fewer glucan chains were elongated for CM-PG with higher DS and the final glucan chains were shorter, resulting in lower gelation rate of chain-elongated CM-PG and lower firmness of the corresponding hydrogels. Scanning electron microscope observed that the hydrogels exhibited a porous and interconnected morphology. The swelling ratio and volume of hydrogels was low at pH 3-5 and then became larger at pH 6-8 due to electrostatic repulsion resulting from deprotonated carboxymethyl groups. Particularly, the hydrogel prepared from chain-elongated CM-PG (DS = 0.25) showed the highest sensitivity to pH. These results suggested that phosphorylase-treated CM-PG formed the pH-responsive hydrogel and that the elongation degree and the properties of hydrogels depended on the carboxymethylation degree. Thus, it was inferred that these hydrogels was a potential carrier system of bioactive substances for their targeted releasing in small intestine.

The Moderation Effect of Processing Efficiency on the Relationship Between Visual Working Memory and Chinese Character Recognition.

To investigate the underlying mechanism of the relationship between visual working memory (VWM) and Chinese character recognition, and the moderation effect of processing efficiency on this relationship, 154 first-grade students were administered a battery of tasks for VWM, rapid temporal processing, and Chinese character reading. In the VWM task, the children were asked to remember the jumping routes of a frog and report these routes in reverse sequence. The longest span for which each participant could respond correctly at least four times out of six was the VWM index. In the task of temporal order judgement, the participants were asked to select which of two balls was presented first, with stimulus onset asynchronies varying from 8 to 492 ms according to an adaptive psychophysical procedure. Visual temporal order threshold (VTOT) was utilized as an indicator of processing efficiency. The participants were asked to read 100 characters aloud to measure their word-level reading abilities in Chinese character recognition. After controlling age, non-verbal intelligence, visual short-term memory, morphological awareness, and orthographic awareness, the results of a moderation effect analysis showed that (1) both VWM and visual VTOT predicted Chinese character reading, and (2) the moderation effect of VTOT on the VWM-reading link was significant (p = 0.001). The correlation between VWM and Chinese character reading was positive and significant when VTOTs were above average (i.e., smaller than 87.14 ms); however, the correlation was negative at relatively poor levels of VTOTs (i.e., larger than 231.44 ms).

Dendrimer-like glucan nanoparticulate system improves the solubility and cellular antioxidant activity of coenzyme Q10.

Aqueous coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) dispersions were prepared using sugary maize dendrimer-like glucan (SMDG) with solid-dispersion treatment. After measuring solubility, recovery rate and loading rate, the initial weight ratio of CoQ10:SMDG was optimized to be 1:27, with the solubility markedly increasing up 188.8-folds compared to pure CoQ10 solution. The structural characterizations of CoQ10-SMDG formulation showed crystal CoQ10 was entrapped in SMDG matrix for amorphous state, associated with the strong interactions with glucan chains. The antioxidant activity of CoQ10-SMDG was assessed via DPPH and FRAP assay. DPPH scavenging activity and FRAP value of it were as high as 95.1% and 0.87 mM, respectively. The cellular uptake of CoQ10 in CoQ10-SMDG group was significantly higher than that of natural CoQ10. CoQ10-SMDG also exhibited significant protective effects against cellular damage in H2O2-induced HaCaT cell model. The results indicated that dendrimer-like glucan is an excellent platform to encapsulate and improve biological activity of hydropholic compounds.

Development of a Novel Task-oriented Rehabilitation Program using a Bimanual Exoskeleton Robotic Hand.

A robot-assisted hand is used for the rehabilitation of patients with impaired upper limb function, particularly for stroke patients with a loss of motor control. However, it is unclear how conventional occupational training strategies can be applied to the use of rehabilitation robots. Novel robotic technologies and occupational therapy concepts are used to develop a protocol that allows patients with impaired upper limb function to grasp objects using their affected hand through a variety of pinching and grasping functions. To conduct this appropriately, we used five types of objects: a peg, a rectangular cube, a cube, a ball, and a cylindrical bar. We also equipped the patients with a robotic hand, the Mirror Hand, an exoskeleton hand that is fitted to the subject's affected hand and follows the movement of the sensor glove fitted to their unaffected hand (bimanual movement training (BMT)). This study had two stages. Three healthy subjects were first recruited to test the feasibility and acceptability of the training program. Three patients with hand dysfunction caused by stroke were then recruited to confirm the feasibility and acceptability of the training program, which was conducted on 3 consecutive days. On each day, the patient was monitored during 5 min of movement in a passive range of motion, 5 min of robot-assisted bimanual movement, and task-oriented training using the five objects. The results showed that both healthy subjects and subjects who had suffered a stroke in conjunction with the robotic hand could successfully grasp the objects. Both healthy subjects and those who had suffered a stroke performed well with the robot-assisted task-oriented training program in terms of feasibility and acceptability.

A multi-channel parameters adjustable magnetic field generator.

In order to increase the security and flexibility of the magnetic field generator, a multi-channel parameters adjustable (MCPA) magnetic field generator is designed and implemented in this paper. The circuit topology of the MCPA magnetic field generator is presented. The working principle of MCPA is analyzed. The pulse current is measured and verified by experiments. The results show that the pulsed current amplitude is adjustable under 1000 A, the adjustment range of the effective pulse width is 0-160 µs, and the adjustment range of the frequency is 1-10 Hz. The magnetic field intensity at 2.5 cm below the scalp of the brain was measured when the three channels were working at the same time. It can be seen that the intensity of the magnetic field in the central area is apparently higher than that in the surrounding. The channels of MCPA can also be chosen flexibly as needed. Therefore, it has a very high application and research value in the field of biological magnetism therapy.

Quantitative contribution study and comparison between electrocoagulation, anode-electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation using polymer-flooding sewage.

This work aimed to quantify the contribution of electrocoagulation(EC) mechanisms on emulsified oil removal from polymer-flooding sewage (PFS), and also to quantitatively compare the performance of EC, anode-electrocoagulation(AEC) and chemical coagulation(CC) on PFS treatment. An apparatus which introduced the salt bridge was proposed to help separate the anode and cathode. To quantify the contribution of coagulation and oxidation individually, the EDTA, a chemical addictive which can inhibit the ability of Al3+ was added to shield the effect of coagulation. The experimental results show that in the PFS treatment by EC method, about 80% of emulsified oil in anode zone was removed by coagulation while only 11%-13% was oxidized; In cathode zone, about 13%-14% of the oil was removed by flotation. Besides, the results suggest that the separation of anode and cathode not only result in the low demulsification efficiency but also generated the fragile flocs. During the comparison and contrast of purification performance of EC, AEC and CC, the effects of treatment time and current densities(aluminum doses) on oil removal was investigated, the pH and absorption spectra evolution over time were also analyzed. The results showed that under all conditions studied, the EC performance outperforms AEC and far beyond CC.

Effect of a balanced nutrition meal replacement diet with altered macromolecular composition along with caloric restriction on body weight control.

The prevalence of obesity and its related metabolic syndrome (MetS) has shown an upsurge in recent years due to modified lifestyle patterns. The present study was designed to investigate the impact of a nutritionally balanced conventional meal replacement diet with modified macromolecular composition (rich in soy/pea protein and soluble fibers) and caloric restriction on Taiwanese obese subjects. Obese subjects (BMI > 27; n = 50, male 23, female 27) were recruited and requested to replace two meals per day (breakfast and lunch or dinner) with the balanced nutritional meal replacement diet (equal to 240 kcal) for 8 weeks with one regular meal and make sure that the daily target calorie limit (caloric restriction) was less than 1500 kcal day-1 for men and 1200 kcal day-1 for women. After eight weeks of intervention with a calorie-restricted balanced partial meal replacement diet, the levels of body weight, body fat, and waist circumference were significantly reduced by 4.1 kg, 2.38%, and 5.06 cm, respectively. The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with a significant increase (p < 0.05) in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels after 8 weeks of intervention with the meal replacement diet. Moreover, the levels of insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), leptin, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and cardiovascular risk factors were significantly attenuated (p < 0.05). To conclude, the present intervention with meal replacement and caloric restriction on obese subjects could concomitantly decrease the body weight and glycemic and cardiovascular risk factors and thereby lower the risk of various metabolic disorders.

A multi-module energy-saving pulsed magnetic field generator.

In order to generate the unipolar and bipolar pulsed magnetic fields and improve the energy efficiency of the magnetic field generator, a multi-module energy-saving (MMES) pulsed magnetic field generator is designed. The circuit topology of the MMES pulsed magnetic field generator is presented and the experimental data are measured by experiments. The results show that the peak current values of unipolar and bipolar pulsed magnetic fields are 156 A and 154 A by discharging two capacitors, and the intensities are 87.6 mT and 86.5 mT, respectively. The energy-saving rates of unipolar and bipolar pulsed magnetic fields can be up to 17.64% and 19.36%, respectively. Therefore, it has very high application and research value in the field of biological magnetism therapy.

Experimental study on the transport characteristics of buried pipeline leakage and the performance of groundwater remediation system.

Enhanced understanding of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) infiltration into sandy porous medium is significant to the effective design of remediation strategies. A system for buried pipeline leakage in 2-D sandbox was conducted to investigate the migration of diesel through a sandy porous medium, and the system could also be conducted to investigate groundwater remediation. Two groups of experiments were carried out. The first experiment consisted of diesel infiltration into a fine sand matrix. We could notice that diesel spilled in dry sand layer at a constant speed and the diesel front kept longitudinal movement due to the gravity before it arrived at the edge of the capillary zone. The diesel front broadened as a whole because of the capillary force jacking after it reached the capillary zone. Finally, the bulk of the diesel was contained on top of the capillary zone. To protect groundwater, the second experiment consisted of remediating soils and groundwater. The results indicated that the voltage of electrocoagulation apparatus had a great influence on the treatment effect, and the removal rate of diesel was found to be more than 90% with a constant voltage of 20 V. The efficiency of groundwater remediation was influenced by the flow velocity, and it took 11 h when the flow velocity was 2.089 L/min. To summarize, the research was conducive to the study on diesel pollution control and pollution prediction.

Localization of the nerve entry points of thigh adductor muscles by spiral computed tomography: a novel anatomical guide for chemical neurolysis in treating muscle spasticity / Localización de los puntos de entrada del nervio de los músculos aductores del muslo mediante tomografía computarizada espiral: una nueva guía anatómica para la neurolosis química en el tratamiento de la espasticidad muscular

The nerve entry points (NEPs) cannot yet be accurately localized for the treatment of thigh adductor muscles spasticity in chemical neurolysis. The aim of this study was to identify the location and depth of the NEPs of thigh adductor muscles by spiral computed tomography (CT) and bony landmarks. Forty lower limbs of twenty adult cadavers were dissected in supine position. A curved line on skin surface from the tip of greater trochanter of femur to the center of pubic tubercle was designated as the horizontal reference line (H). Another curved line from the tip of great trochanter to the lateral epicondyle of femur was designated as the longitudinal reference line (L). Following dissection, the NEPs were labeled with barium sulfate, and their body surface projection points (P) were determined by spiral CT. Projection of NEP in the opposite direction was designated as P'. The percentage location of the intersections (PH and PL) of P with the H and L and the percentage depth of NEPs were determined with the Syngo system. The PH for the NEP of pectineus, gracilis, adductor longus, adductor brevis and adductor magnus muscles branch were located at 76.41±0.71 %, 93.85±2.07 %, 92.05±2.15 %, 80.75±1.20 % and 88.08±1.09 % of the H, respectively. The PLwere at 1.64±0.04 %, 29.89±1.90 %, 16.06±1.32 %, 11.66±0.11 % and 22.94±0.90 % of the L, respectively. The depth of NEP from P points were at 17.52±0.52 %, 38.38±2.75 %, 20.88±0.79 %, 20.35±0.82 % and 39.52±0.67 % of PP', respectively. These results help to carry out more precise localization of the NEPs. It should provide a novel anatomical guide for improving the efficacy and efficiency of chemical neurolysis in treating thigh adductor muscle spasticity.

Aún no se pueden localizar con precisión los puntos de entrada del nervio (PEN) para el tratamiento de la espasticidad de los músculos aductores del muslo a través de la neurólisis química. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar la ubicación y la profundidad de los PEN de los músculos aductores del muslo mediante tomografía computarizada espiral (TC) y puntos de referencia óseos. Se disecaron loa miembros inferiores de 20 cadáveres adultos en posición supina. Se trazó una línea curva en la superficie de la piel desdeel ápice del trocánter mayor del fémur hasta el centro del tubérculo púbico y se designó como línea de referencia horizontal (H). Otra línea curva desde el ápice del trocánter mayor hasta el epicóndilo lateral del fémur se designó como línea de referencia longitudinal (L). Después de la disección, los PEN se marcaron con sulfato de bario y sus puntos de proyección de la superficie del cuerpo (P) se determinaron mediante TC helicoidal. La proyección de PEN en la dirección opuesta se designó como P '. El porcentaje de ubicación de las intersecciones (PH y PL) de P con H y L y la profundidad porcentual de los PEN se determinaron con el sistema Syngo. Los PH para los PEN de los músculos pectineus, gracilis, adductor longus, aductor brevis y rama aductora del músculo aductor magnus se localizaron en 76,41±0,71 %, 93,85±2,07 %, 92,05±2,15 %, 80,75±1,20 % y 88,08±1,09 % de H, respectivamente. Los PL estuvieron en 1,64±0,04 %, 29,89±1,90 %, 16,06±1,32 %, 11,66±0,11 % y 22,94±0,90 % de la L, respectivamente. La profundidad de PEN de P puntos fue de 17,52±0,52 %, 38,38±2,75 %, 20,88±0,79 %, 20,35±0,82 % y 39,52±0,67 % de PP ', respectivamente. Estos resultados ayudan a realizar una localización más precisa de los PEN. Se debe proponer una nueva guía anatómica para mejorar la eficacia y la eficiencia de la neurólisis química en el tratamiento de la espasticidad del músculo aductor del muslo.