Identification of the nitrate pollution in surface water of Dongshan Bay based on stable isotope technology.

Identifying and quantifying water nitrate pollution is crucial for managing aquatic environment of a bay. Dongshan Bay, a significant semi-enclosed bay in the southeastern coastal area of Fujian Province, features mangrove and coral reef ecosystems at its estuary and bay mouth, respectively. Dongshan Bay is impacted by human activities such as mariculture. We quantified and analyzed nitrate pollution status in the surface waters of Dongshan Bay by measuring physicochemical parameters, stable isotopes (δ15N-NO3-, δ18O-NO3- and δ15N-NH4+) of the surface waters, and using statistical methods including the MixSIAR isotope mixing model. The results showed that the concentrations of chlorophyll a and dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the surface waters exhibited a noticeable gradient change, decreasing from the estuary of the Zhangjiang River to the mouth of Dongshan Bay. The maximum concentrations of chlorophyll a, NH4+, NO3- and NO2- were 45.2 µg·L-1, 52.67 µmol·L-1, 379.2 µmol·L-1 and 3.93 µmol·L-1, respectively. The nitrogen and oxygen isotope values of NH4+ and NO3- in the surface waters showed significant spatial variations. According to the MixSIAR model results, nitrogen sources in the surface waters of Dongshan Bay were mainly freshwater inputs of the Zhangjiang River estuary, aquaculture wastewater, and groundwater. The freshwater input from the Zhangjiang River estuary contributed the most (25.2%), while aquaculture wastewater, groundwater and urban sewage accounted for 24.6%, 19.0%, and 15.1%, respectively. It is evident that freshwater input from the Zhangjiang River estuary is the primary source of nitrate in the surface waters of Dongshan Bay.

Prediction of lateral lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer patients based on MRI using clinical, deep transfer learning, radiomic, and fusion models.

Introduction: Lateral lymph node (LLN) metastasis in rectal cancer significantly affects patient treatment and prognosis. This study aimed to comprehensively compare the performance of various predictive models in predicting LLN metastasis. Methods: In this retrospective study, data from 152 rectal cancer patients who underwent lateral lymph node (LLN) dissection were collected. The cohort was divided into a training set (n=86) from Tianjin Union Medical Center (TUMC), and two testing cohorts: testing cohort (TUMC) (n=37) and testing cohort from Gansu Provincial Hospital (GSPH) (n=29). A clinical model was established using clinical data; deep transfer learning models and radiomics models were developed using MRI images of the primary tumor (PT) and largest short-axis LLN (LLLN), visible LLN (VLLN) areas, along with a fusion model that integrates features from both deep transfer learning and radiomics. The diagnostic value of these models for LLN metastasis was analyzed based on postoperative LLN pathology. Results: Models based on LLLN image information generally outperformed those based on PT image information. Rradiomics models based on LLLN demonstrated improved robustness on external testing cohorts compared to those based on VLLN. Specifically, the radiomics model based on LLLN imaging achieved an AUC of 0.741 in the testing cohort (TUMC) and 0.713 in the testing cohort (GSPH) with the extra trees algorithm. Conclusion: Data from LLLN is a more reliable basis for predicting LLN metastasis in rectal cancer patients with suspicious LLN metastasis than data from PT. Among models performing adequately on the internal test set, all showed declines on the external test set, with LLLN_Rad_Models being less affected by scanning parameters and data sources.

Effect Evaluation of Comfort Nursing Materials Assisted Nursing for Patients with Advanced Malignant Tumor.

In order to explore the effect of comfort care on patients with advanced malignant tumors assisted by bioceramics, 82 patients with advanced malignant tumors admitted to a cancer hospital were selected as the research object control group: 26 males and 15 females and the observation group: 25 males and 16 females. The control group was given routine care, and the observation group was given comfort care on the basis of the control group. The quality of life (QLQ-C30 functional scale) and nursing satisfaction before and after nursing were compared between the two groups. The results of the study indicate that after care, the physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social, general health, and symptom scores of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group, the nursing satisfaction degree of the observation group was 97.56%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group of 82.93%, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Comfortable care has a definite effect on the care of patients with advanced malignant tumors; it can improve the overall comfort and satisfaction of patients, effectively reduce adverse events, and improve the quality of life of patients.

Enhanced Removal of Heavy Metals from Water by Hydrous Ferric Oxide-Modified Biochar.

Biochar has become an attractive adsorbent for heavy metal removal, but its application potential is very limited because of the relatively low adsorption capacity and poor selectivity. In the present study, we decorated the biochar (BC) by impregnating hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) within the pore of biochar and consequently obtained a new hybrid adsorbent denoted as HFO-BC. The results show HFO-BC exhibited excellent performance to two representative heavy metals, i.e., Cd(II) and Cu(II), with maximal experimental sorption capacities of 29.9 mg/g for Cd(II) and 34.1 mg/g for Cu(II). HFO-BC showed satisfactory anti-interference ability for Cd(II) and Cu(II) removal in the presence of high levels of Ca(II) and Mg(II) owing to the specific inner-sphere complexation between the immobilized HFO and Cd(II) and Cu(II), which was probed by XPS analysis. Cd(II) and Cu(II) removal onto HFO-BC experienced two distinct stages prior to be adsorbed, i.e., migration from solution to the outside surface of adsorbent and pore diffusion and approached equilibrium within 100 min. In the laboratory-scale small column adsorption experiment, HFO-BC can generate ∼129 and 300 BV effluents for Cd(II) and Cu(II), equivalent to 774- and 1854-fold of its own weight, to meet their treatment standards. Moreover, the exhausted HFO-BC can be effectively regenerated using HCl-CaCl2 binary solution with a desorption rate more than 95%. All results validate that impregnating HFO inside the pores of BC is a promising approach to promote the practical applicability of BC for removing heavy metals from the polluted water.

[Study on drug-guide effect of Achyranthes bidentata in Sanmiao pill in arthritic rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the drug-guiding mechanism of Achyranthes bidentata from Sanmiao pill in arthritic rats. METHOD: The rats were treated by Ferud's complet adjuvant and hot water -bath to establish rat adjuvant arthritis model, then the model rats were divided into three groups, model group, Sanmiao pill groups with A. bidentata. (18 g x kg(-1)) and without A. bidentata. (10 g x kg(-1)), respectively. The heart and foot joints were washed and homogenated to determine the berberine concentration by HPCL in different time after ig and the foot edema was tested by volume method. The pathological changes were observed and hemorheologic parameters were also tested. RESULT: The berberine concentration of foot joint was significantly higher in 2, 4, 6 hour and 14 day in the rats with A. bidentata. The berberine concentration ratio of foot joint and heart was significantly higher in rats with A. bidentata. pharmacodynamic researches showed that A. bidentata could enhance the edema inhibition effect of Sanmiao pill. Hemorheologic researches showed that A. bidentata. could significantly improve the blood viscosity of model rats, the blood high shear viscosity, the blood low shear viscosity and the plasma viscosity were (6.47 +/- 0.57), (9.28 +/- 1.2), (1.94 +/- 0.19) mPa x s respectively. CONCLUSION: A. bidentata. could facilitate the targeted tissue distribution of berberine. The effect was correlative with its blood viscosity improvement.