Progressive Insights into Metal-Organic Frameworks and Metal-Organic Framework-Membrane Composite Systems for Wastewater Management.

The sustainable management of wastewater through recycling and utilization stands as a pressing concern in the trajectory of societal advancement. Prioritizing the elimination of diverse organic contaminants is paramount in wastewater treatment, garnering significant attention from researchers worldwide. Emerging metal-organic framework materials (MOFs), bridging organic and inorganic attributes, have surfaced as novel adsorbents, showcasing pivotal potential in wastewater remediation. Nevertheless, challenges like limited water stability, elevated dissolution rates, and inadequate hydrophobicity persist in the context of wastewater treatment. To enhance the performance of MOFs, they can be modified through chemical or physical methods, and combined with membrane materials as additives to create membrane composite materials. These membrane composites, derived from MOFs, exhibit remarkable characteristics including enhanced porosity, adjustable pore dimensions, superior permeability, optimal conductivity, and robust water stability. Their ability to effectively sequester organic compounds has spurred significant research in this field. This paper introduces methods for enhancing the performance of MOFs and explores their potential applications in water treatment. It delves into the detailed design, synthesis strategies, and fabrication of composite membranes using MOFs. Furthermore, it focuses on the application prospects, challenges, and opportunities associated with MOF composite membranes in water treatment.

Geochemical and Statistical Analyses of Trace Elements in Lake Sediments from Qaidam Basin, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Distribution Characteristics and Source Apportionment.

The safety of lake ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has attracted increasing attention, owing to its unique location and ecological vulnerability. Previous studies have shown that the aquatic systems on the QTP have been polluted to varying degrees by trace elements. However, little is known of the distribution and sources of trace elements in lakes in the northeast QTP. Here, 57 sediment samples were collected from six lakes (Dasugan Lake, Xiaoqaidam Lake, Kreuk Lake, Toson Lake, Gahai Lake and Xiligou Lake) in the Qaidam Basin, northeast QTP, and the trace elements (V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Ba, Tl, Cd, Pb, and U) were analyzed. The results indicated that Ba, Zn, V, and Cr had a higher content and a wider distribution relative to the other tested elements. Correlation coefficient matrix results showed that the trace elements in the study area were strongly correlated, revealing their source of similarity. Self-organizing maps (SOM, an artificial neural network algorithm) results indicated that the degree of pollution in Xiaoqaidam Lake was the highest, and that of Dasugan Lake was the lowest. Furthermore, all sampling points were clustered into four categories through K-means clustering. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) results indicated that atmospheric deposition and anthropogenic inputs were the main trace elements sources in these lakes, followed by traffic emission and geological sources. Collectively, trace elements of six lakes in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presented high-content and pollution characteristics. This research provides a scientific basis for better water environment management and ecological protection on the QTP.

Removal Modeling and Experimental Verification of Magnetorheological Polishing Fused Silica Glass.

Compared to conventional polishing methods, magnetorheological polishing has no subsurface damage and a has good polishing effect, which is suitable for fused silica glass surface processing. However, the existing magnetorheological polishing material removal model has low processing efficiency and uneven removal, which cannot realize the deterministic processing of parts. The material removal (MR) model of fused silica glass is established by convolving the dwell time with the material removal function. The residence time is Fourier transformed. The consequence of process variable such as machining time, workpiece rotational frequency, machining gap and X-direction deflection on the MR of workpiece interface are analyzed. Experiments verify the validity of the material removal model. The surface precision PV value of the workpiece surface under the optimal process parameters was decreased from 7.959 nm to 0.609 nm for machining. The experiment results indicate that the established MR model can be implemented as the deterministic MR of the optical surface and ameliorate the surface accuracy of the workpiece surface.

Piezoelectric Hysteresis Modeling of Hybrid Driven Three-Dimensional Elliptical Vibration Aided Cutting System Based on an Improved Flower Pollination Algorithm.

Three-dimensional elliptical vibration assisted cutting technology has been widely used in the past few years. The piezoelectric stack drive structure is an important part of the three-dimensional elliptical vibration aided cutting system. Its piezoelectric hysteresis characteristics affects the final output of the elliptical trajectory. Aiming at this problem, a piezoelectric hysteresis modeling method based on a generalized Bouc-Wen model is presented in this paper. An improved flower pollination algorithm (IFPASO) was used to identify Bouc-Wen model parameters. Standard test result shows that IFPASO has better algorithm performance. The model identification effect experiment proved that the Bouc-Wen model obtained by IFPASO identification, the highest modeling accuracy of the three axial subsystems, can reach 98.86%. Therefore, the model can describe the piezoelectric hysteresis characteristics of the three axial subsystems of the 3D-EVC system effectively and has higher modeling accuracy and fitting accuracy.

Rhabdomyolysis is Associated with In-Hospital Mortality in Patients with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: Rhabdomyolysis (RM) has been associated with many viral infectious diseases, and associated with poor outcomes. We aim to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes of RM in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHOD: This was a single-center, retrospective, cohort study of 1,014 consecutive hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, between February 17 and April 12, 2020. RESULTS: The overall incidence of RM was 2.2%. Compared with patients without RM, those with RM tended to have a higher risk of deterioration. Patients with RM also constituted a greater percentage of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (90.9% vs. 5.3%, P < 0.001) and a greater percentage of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (86.4% vs. 2.7% P < 0.001). Moreover, patients with RM had laboratory test abnormalities, including the presence of markers of inflammation, activation of coagulation, and kidney injury. Patients with RM also had a higher risk of in-hospital death (P < 0.001). Cox's proportional hazard regression model analysis confirmed that RM indicators, including peak creatine kinase levels > 1,000 IU/L (HR = 6.46, 95% CI: 3.02-13.86) and peak serum myoglobin concentrations > 1,000 ng/mL (HR = 9.85, 95% CI: 5.04-19.28), were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. Additionally, patients with COVID-19 that developed RM tended to have delayed viral clearance. CONCLUSION: RM might be an important contributing factor to adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients. The early detection and effective intervention of RM may help reduce mortality among COVID-19 patients.

Estrogen administration reduces the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension by modulating the miR-133a signaling pathways in rats.

We aimed to investigate how estrogen (ES) is implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) potentially by reducing the extent of vascular remodeling in females. HE assay, Western Blot, IHC, and real-time PCR were carried out to observe the role of ES in regulating miR-133a expression and the levels of MYOSLID, SRF, CTGF, and vascular remodeling in rats. In addition, MTT assay and flow cytometry were utilized to observe how ES affects cell proliferation and cell cycle in PAH. Moreover, luciferase assays were carried out to clarity the regulatory relationship between miR-133a and its downstream targets. ES administration relieved the deregulation of miR-133a, MYOSLID, SRF, and CTGF in PAH rats. In addition, ES also reduced the thickening of blood vessels in PAH rats. ES could activate miR-133a promoter and arrest the cells in the G0/G1 cycle, thus dose-dependently suppressing the proliferation of cells. In addition, the presence of ES, MYOSLID siRNA, or miR-133a precursor all altered the expression of MYOSLID, SP1, SRF, and CTGF, thus establishing a molecular signaling pathway among these factors. Furthermore, miR-133a could bind to SP1, MYOSLID, SRF, and CTGF to reduce their expression. Moreover, SRF was proved to function as an activator of miR-133a promoter. Two feedback loops were established in this study: a negative feedback loop between SRF and miR-133a, and a positive loop among miR-133a/SRF/MLK1/MYOSLID. ES treatment upregulates miR-133a expression and reduces the incidence of PAH and vascular remodeling.

Efficacy and safety of programmed death 1 inhibitors in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

Objective: This study aims to perform systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials that compare the efficacy and safety of programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors versus chemotherapy alone in previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and methods: Several databases, including Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science, were searched. The main outcome measures included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and adverse events (AEs). Results: The results of meta-analysis are expressed as the hazard ratio (HR) or risk ratio (RR) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The final analysis included six trials for 3,930 patients. PD-1 inhibitors led to a statistically superior survival benefit over chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. OS was longer in patients who received PD-1 inhibitors (HR =0.71, 95% CI =0.62-0.74, P=0.000). Furthermore, PD-1 inhibitors had significantly higher objective response rate than chemotherapy (RR =0.20，95% CI =0.17-0.23, P=0.000). Meta-analysis showed that the AEs of any grade with PD-1 inhibitors were lower than those with chemotherapy (RR =0.78; 95% CI =0.75-0.81, P=0.000). Conclusion: PD-1 inhibitors showed a clinically meaningful survival benefit and an improved safety profile in patients with previously treated NSCLC.

Bioinformatics Analysis of Key Differentially Expressed Genes in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mice Models.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health problem characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the liver without effect of other pathological factors including hepatitis infection and alcohol abuse. Current studies indicate that gene factors play important roles in the development of NAFLD. However, the molecular characteristics of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and associated mechanisms with NAFLD have not been well elucidated. Using two microarray data associated with the gene expression profiling in liver tissues of NAFLD mice models, we identified and selected several common key DEGs that contributed to NAFLD. Based on bioinformatics analysis, we discovered that the DEGs were associated with a variety of biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions and were also related to several significant pathways. Via pathway crosstalk analysis based on overlapping DEGs, we observed that the identified pathways could form large and complex crosstalk networks. Besides, large and complex protein interaction networks of DEGs were further constructed. In addition, many hub host factors with a high degree of connectivity were identified based on interaction networks. Furthermore, significant modules in interaction networks were found, and the DEGs in the identified modules were found to be enriched with distinct pathways. Taken together, these results suggest that the key DEGs, associated pathways, and modules contribute to the development of NAFLD and might be used as novel molecular targets for the treatment of NAFLD.

Genetic polymorphisms of the CASP8 gene promoter may not be associated with colorectal cancer in Han Chinese from southwest China.

PURPOSE: Caspase 8 (CASP8) plays a critical role in the apoptotic pathway and aberrant regulation of this pathway causes many diseases including cancers. Genetic variants rs3834129 (CTTACT/-) and rs3769821 (T/C) in the promoter region of the CASP8 gene were documented to be associated with multiple solid cancers and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), respectively, despite of some controversies. We aimed to discern potential association of these two variants and rs113686495 (CTGTCATT/-), as well as CASP8 mRNA and protein expression levels with colorectal cancer (CRC) in Han Chinese. METHODS: We genotyped CASP8 genetic variants in 305 CRC patients and 342 healthy individuals from Kunming, Southwest China. Expression levels of CASP8 mRNA and protein were quantified in paired cancerous and paracancerous normal tissues by using real-time quantitative PCR and western blot, respectively. We compared the frequencies of alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes between the cases and controls. Correlation of CASP8 mRNA and protein expression levels in paired cancerous and paracancerous normal tissues from patients with different genotypes and clinical expression were also evaluated. RESULTS: There was no association of the CASP8 genetic variants with CRC in our case-control study. The CASP8 gene mRNA expression levels in cancerous and paracancerous normal tissues were similar and there was no significant difference between subjects with different genotypes and clinical features. However, we found that CASP8 protein level was significantly lower in cancerous tissues than in paired paracancerous normal tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the three CASP8 genetic variants may not be associated with CRC risk in Han Chinese from southwest China. Aberrant CASP8 protein expression may play a role in the pathogenesis of CRC.