The impact of sphygmomanometer placement and cuff placement on blood pressure measurements.

Background: Hypertension is the most significant global risk factor for mortality and morbidity, making standardized blood pressure measurement crucial. Objectives: To investigate whether the location of blood pressure monitors and the positioning of cuffs yield differing results in blood pressure measurements. Methods: Patients admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Jiujiang College between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2023 were enrolled in this study and randomly allocated into four groups. These groups were defined based on the positioning of monitoring equipment as follows: varied placements of cuffs on automatic blood pressure monitors, different heights for mercury column blood pressure monitors, varied heights for automatic blood pressure monitors, and different orientations for the cuff airbag tubes on electrocardiogram monitors. Blood pressure was measured and recorded for each group, followed by an analysis of the variations in readings across the different setups. Results: In the first cohort of 763 individuals, mean systolic blood pressure measured at the standard upper arm site was 128.8 ± 10.5 mmHg, compared to 125.3 ± 10.4 mmHg at the elbow fossa. The corresponding diastolic pressures were 79.2 ± 10.7 and 75.0 ± 10.6 mmHg, respectively. The difference in systolic pressure between these positions was significant at 3.48 ± 3.22 mmHg (t1 = 29.91, p1 < 0.001) and for diastolic pressure at 4.23 ± 1.31 mmHg (t2 = 88.98, p2 < 0.001). For the subsequent groups, involving 253, 312, and 225 individuals, respectively, blood pressure measurements were analyzed and compared across different methods within each group. All p-values exceeded 0.05, indicating no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Blood pressure values measured at the elbow fossa position using an upper arm-type automatic sphygmomanometer were found to be lower than those measured at the upper arm position, with a difference of 3.48 mmHg for systolic and 4.23 mmHg for diastolic pressures. It is therefore essential to position the cuff correctly, specifically 2-3 cm above the elbow fossa, when utilizing an upper arm-type automatic sphygmomanometer for blood pressure monitoring. Conversely, the placement of the mercury column sphygmomanometer and the automated sphygmomanometer at varying heights had no significant effect on blood pressure readings. Similarly, the orientation of the electrocardiogram's cuffed balloon tube, whether facing upward or downward, did not influence blood pressure measurement outcomes.

Berberine hydrochloride alleviates chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome by modifying gut microbiome signaling.

ABSTRACT: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is highly prevalent worldwide and poses a significant threat to men's health, particularly affecting young men. However, the exact causes and mechanisms behind CP/CPPS remain unclear, leading to challenges in its treatment. In this research, a CP/CPPS rat model was established with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), and berberine hydrochloride was administered through daily gavage to assess its therapeutic effects. The alterations in the gut microbiome induced by CP/CPPS and berberine hydrochloride were investigated through 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing of cecum content and colonic epithelial cells. To investigate the impact of the gut microbiome on CP/CPPS, a pseudo germ-free rat model was established, and fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) was performed on these rats. In all, berberine hydrochloride demonstrated effective reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress in the prostate, offering significant therapeutic advantages for CP/CPPS. Through analysis of the gut microbiome using 16S ribosome RNA sequencing, distinct differences were observed between CP/CPPS rats and control rats, and Clostridium butyricum was identified as a key bacteria. Pseudo germ-free rats that underwent FMT from CP/CPPS rats or rats treated with berberine hydrochloride displayed varying levels of inflammatory cytokine production, oxidative stress, and activity of associated signaling pathways. In conclusion, the therapeutic potential of berberine hydrochloride in addressing CP/CPPS is highly significant. The gut microbiome has emerged as a critical factor in the development of CP/CPPS and plays a pivotal role in mediating the therapeutic effects of berberine hydrochloride.

Bacterial Susceptibility to Ceria Nanoparticles: The Critical Role of Surrounding Molecules.

Investigating the ternary relationship among nanoparticles (NPs), their immediate molecular environment, and test organisms rather than the direct interaction between pristine NPs and test organisms has been thrust into the mainstream of nanotoxicological research. Diverging from previous work that predominantly centered on surrounding molecules affecting the toxicity of NPs by modulating their nanoproperties, this study has unveiled a novel dimension: surrounding molecules altering bacterial susceptibility to NPs, consequently impacting the outcomes of nanobio interaction. The study found that adding nitrate as the surrounding molecules could alter bacterial respiratory pathways, resulting in an enhanced reduction of ceria NPs (nanoceria) on the bacterial surfaces. This, in turn, increased the ion-specific toxicity originating from the release of Ce3+ ions at the nanobio interface. Further transcriptome analysis revealed more mechanistic details underlying the nitrate-induced changes in the bacterial energy metabolism and subsequent toxicity patterns. These findings offer a new perspective for the deconstruction of nanobio interactions and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of NPs' environmental fate and ecotoxicity.

Insecticidal potential and risk assessment of diamide pesticides against Spodoptera frugiperda in maize crops.

The effectiveness, tolerance, and safety of pesticides must be established before their scientific or rational. This study evaluates the field control efficacy of broflanilide, tetraniliprole, and chlorantraniliprole in combating Spodoptera frugiperda in maize crops, as well as the resistance of S. frugiperda to these three diamide pesticides after exposure. By assessing field control efficiency, toxicity, effects on development and reproduction, and detoxification enzyme activity of these diamide pesticides on S. frugiperda, highlights broflanilide's significant insecticidal potential. A highly sensitive and efficient method using QuEChERS/HPLCMS/MS was developed to simultaneously detect residues of these three pesticides on maize. Initial concentrations of broflanilide, tetraniliprole, and chlorantraniliprole ranged from 2.13 to 4.02 mg/kg, with their respective half-lives varying between 1.23 and 1.51 days. Following foliar application, by the time of harvest, the terminal residue concentrations of these pesticides were all under 0.01 mg/kg. Chronic dietary intake risk assessments and cumulative chronic dietary exposure for three pesticides indicated that the general population's terminal residue concentration was within acceptable limits. Not only does this research provide valuable insights into field control efficiency, insecticidal effects, resistance, residues, and risk assessment results of broflanilide, tetraniliprole, and chlorantraniliprole on maize, but additionally, it also paves the way for setting suitable Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) values based on pre-harvest interval values, rational dosage, and application frequency.

Regulatory role of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MtrA on dormancy/resuscitation revealed by a novel target gene-mining strategy.

Introduction: The unique dormancy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis plays a significant role in the major clinical treatment challenge of tuberculosis, such as its long treatment cycle, antibiotic resistance, immune escape, and high latent infection rate. Methods: To determine the function of MtrA, the only essential response regulator, one strategy was developed to establish its regulatory network according to high-quality genome-wide binding sites. Results and discussion: The complex modulation mechanisms were implied by the strong bias distribution of MtrA binding sites in the noncoding regions, and 32.7% of the binding sites were located inside the target genes. The functions of 288 potential MtrA target genes predicted according to 294 confirmed binding sites were highly diverse, and DNA replication and damage repair, lipid metabolism, cell wall component biosynthesis, cell wall assembly, and cell division were the predominant pathways. Among the 53 pathways shared between dormancy/resuscitation and persistence, which accounted for 81.5% and 93.0% of the total number of pathways, respectively, MtrA regulatory genes were identified not only in 73.6% of their mutual pathways, but also in 75.4% of the pathways related to dormancy/resuscitation and persistence respectively. These results suggested the pivotal roles of MtrA in regulating dormancy/resuscitation and the apparent relationship between dormancy/resuscitation and persistence. Furthermore, the finding that 32.6% of the MtrA regulons were essential in vivo and/or in vitro for M. tuberculosis provided new insight into its indispensability. The findings mentioned above indicated that MtrA is a novel promising therapeutic target for tuberculosis treatment since the crucial function of MtrA may be a point of weakness for M. tuberculosis.

Probing the Electron Accepting Ability of Phosphaphenalenes.

Phosphaphenalenes, extended π conjugates with the incorporation of phosphorus, are attractive avenues towards molecular materials for the applications in organic electronics, but their electron accepting ability have not been investigated. In this study, we present systematic studies on the reductive behavior of a representative phosphaphenalene and its oxide by chemical and electrochemical methods. The chemical reduction of the phosphaphenalene by alkali metals reveals the facile P‒C bond cleavage to form phosphaphenalenide anion, which functions as a transfer block for structure modification on the phosphorus atom. In contrast, the pentavalent P-oxide reacts with one or two equivalents of elemental sodium to form stable radical anion and dianion salts, respectively.

High-Performance Macroporous Free-Standing Microbial Fuel Cell Anode Derived from Grape for Efficient Power Generation and Brewery Wastewater Treatment.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have the potential to directly convert the chemical energy in organic matter into electrical energy, making them a promising technology for achieving sustainable energy production alongside wastewater treatment. However, the low extracellular electron transfer (EET) rates and limited bacteria loading capacity of MFCs anode materials present challenges in achieving high power output. In this study, three-dimensionally heteroatom-doped carbonized grape (CG) monoliths with a macroporous structure were successfully fabricated using a facile and low-cost route and employed as independent anodes in MFCs for treating brewery wastewater. The CG obtained at 900 °C (CG-900) exhibited excellent biocompatibility. When integrated into MFCs, these units initiated electricity generation a mere 1.8 days after inoculation and swiftly reached a peak output voltage of 658 mV, demonstrating an exceptional areal power density of 3.71 W m-2. The porous structure of the CG-900 anode facilitated efficient ion transport and microbial community succession, ensuring sustained operational excellence. Remarkably, even when nutrition was interrupted for 30 days, the voltage swiftly returned to its original level. Moreover, the CG-900 anode exhibited a superior capacity for accommodating electricigens, boasting a notably higher abundance of Geobacter spp. (87.1%) compared to carbon cloth (CC, 63.0%). Most notably, when treating brewery wastewater, the CG-900 anode achieved a maximum power density of 3.52 W m-2, accompanied by remarkable treatment efficiency, with a COD removal rate of 85.5%. This study provides a facile and low-cost synthesis technique for fabricating high-performance MFC anodes for use in microbial energy harvesting.

Changes in the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community in the Roots of Eucalyptus grandis Plantations at Different Ages in Southern Jiangxi, China.

Eucalyptus roots form symbiotic relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soil to enhance adaptation in challenging environments. However, the evolution of the AM fungal community along a chronosequence of eucalypt plantations and its relationship with soil properties remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the tree growth, soil properties, and root AM fungal colonization of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden plantations at different ages, identified the AM fungal community composition by high-throughput sequencing, and developed a structural equation model among trees, soil, and AM fungi. Key findings include the following: (1) The total phosphorus (P) and total potassium (K) in the soil underwent an initial reduction followed by a rise with different stand ages. (2) The rate of AM colonization decreased first and then increased. (3) The composition of the AM fungal community changed significantly with different stand ages, but there was no significant change in diversity. (4) Paraglomus and Glomus were the dominant genera, accounting for 70.1% and 21.8% of the relative abundance, respectively. (5) The dominant genera were mainly influenced by soil P, the N content, and bulk density, but the main factors were different with stand ages. The results can provide a reference for fertilizer management and microbial formulation manufacture for eucalyptus plantations.

Taxonomic revision of the Southeast Asian brook barb genus Poropuntius Smith, 1931 (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) with description of a new species from Vietnam.

Molecular data from samples encompassing 22 nominal species of Poropuntius indicate that the species-level diversity in the genus has been vastly overestimated, likely due to inadequate taxon and geographic sampling and reliance on morphological characters that vary intra-specifically. The latter includes discrete mouth morphologies related to alternate feeding strategies (ecomorphs) within populations. One new species is described, Poropuntiusanlaoensis Hoàng, Pham & Tran, sp. nov., and 17 synonyms of six valid species names of Poropuntius, P.krempfi, P.alloiopleurus, P.huangchuchieni, P.laoensis, P.kontumensis, and P.deauratus, are recognised. Additional taxonomic changes in this widespread and generally poorly known genus are likely as more molecular and morphological data become available.

The roles of nuclear orphan receptor NR2F6 in anti-viral innate immunity.

Proper transcription regulation by key transcription factors, such as IRF3, is critical for anti-viral defense. Dynamics of enhancer activity play important roles in many biological processes, and epigenomic analysis is used to determine the involved enhancers and transcription factors. To determine new transcription factors in anti-DNA-virus response, we have performed H3K27ac ChIP-Seq and identified three transcription factors, NR2F6, MEF2D and MAFF, in promoting HSV-1 replication. NR2F6 promotes HSV-1 replication and gene expression in vitro and in vivo, but not dependent on cGAS/STING pathway. NR2F6 binds to the promoter of MAP3K5 and activates AP-1/c-Jun pathway, which is critical for DNA virus replication. On the other hand, NR2F6 is transcriptionally repressed by c-Jun and forms a negative feedback loop. Meanwhile, cGAS/STING innate immunity signaling represses NR2F6 through STAT3. Taken together, we have identified new transcription factors and revealed the underlying mechanisms involved in the network between DNA viruses and host cells.

Sodium thiosulfate: A donor or carrier signaling molecule for hydrogen sulfide?

Sodium thiosulfate has been used for decades in the treatment of calciphylaxis and cyanide detoxification, and has recently shown initial therapeutic promise in critical diseases such as neuronal ischemia, diabetes mellitus, heart failure and acute lung injury. However, the precise mechanism of sodium thiosulfate remains incompletely defined and sometimes contradictory. Although sodium thiosulfate has been widely accepted as a donor of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), emerging findings suggest that it is the executive signaling molecule for H2S and that its effects may not be dependent on H2S. This article presents an overview of the current understanding of sodium thiosulfate, including its synthesis, biological characteristics, and clinical applications of sodium thiosulfate, as well as the underlying mechanisms in vivo. We also discussed the interplay of sodium thiosulfate and H2S. Our review highlights sodium thiosulfate as a key player in sulfide signaling with the broad clinical potential for the future.

Oxidative Tandem Cyclization of Aromatic Acids with (Benzo)thiophenes: One-Pot Access to Planar Sulfur-Containing Polycyclic Heteroarenes for Lipid-Droplet-Targeted Probes.

The efficient construction of π-conjugated polycyclic heteroarenes represents a significant task in the field of functional materials. A one-step oxidative tandem cyclization of aromatic acids with (benzo)thiophenes was developed to access planar sulfur-containing polycyclic heteroarenes. This protocol undergoes intermolecular cross-dehydrogenative coupling followed by intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation and provides a facile pathway to planar polycyclic compounds from inexpensive reactants. The synthesized heteroarenes serving as lipid-droplet-targeted probes exhibit outstanding performance with favorable biocompatibility and photostability.

Ultrasensitive monitoring of PCB77 in environmental samples using a visible-driven photoelectrochemical sensing platform coupling with exonuclease I assisted in target recycling.

Due to the urgent need for detecting trace amounts of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77) in the environment, we have developed an efficient and visible-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform based on carbon quantum dots (CQDs) modified titanium dioxide nanorods (TiO2 NRs), coupling with exonuclease I (Exo I) assisted in target recycling for significant signal amplification. CQDs/TiO2 NRs with high visible-light absorption ability and electron-hole separation efficiency is used as photoactive substrate for anchoring anti-PCB77 aptamer and its complementary DNA (cDNA). With the addition of PCB77, the specific interaction between PCB77 and its aptamer forces aptamer to separate from the electrode surface, resulting in an increase in photocurrent density. Adding Exo I in the test system, a self-catalytic target cycle was motivated, which significantly increased the PEC signal by more than twice, achieving signal amplification. The relationship between the photocurrent density changes and the concentrations of PCB77 are utilized to achieve quantitative detection of PCB77. The designed PEC sensing platform has good analytical performance with a detection limit as low as 0.33 pg L-1, high selectivity and stability. Moreover, the PEC sensor is successfully used to evaluate the content of PBC77 in the environment samples. The established sensing platform provides a simple and efficient method for detecting trace amounts of PCB77 in the environment.

High-throughput screening carbon and nitrogen sources to promote growth and sporulation in Rhizopus arrhizus.

Rhizopus arrhizus is a saprotrophic, sometimes clinically- and industrially-relevant mold (Mucorales) and distributed worldwide, suggesting it can assimilate a broad spectrum of substrates. Here, 69 strains of R. arrhizus were investigated by using the Biolog FF MicroPlate for the profiles of utilizing 95 carbon and nitrogen substrates. The study showed that most R. arrhizus strains were similar in average well color development (AWCD) and substrate richness (SR). Nevertheless, 13 strains were unique in principal component analyses, heatmap, AWCD, and SR analyses, which may imply a niche differentiation within R. arrhizus. The species R. arrhizus was able to utilize all the 95 carbon and nitrogen substrates, consistent with the hypothesis of a great metabolic diversity. It possessed a substrate preference of alcohols, and seven substrates were most frequently utilized, with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and L-phenylalanine ranking at the top of the list. Eight substrates, especially L-arabinose and xylitol, were capable of promoting sporulation and being applied for rejuvenating degenerated strains. By phenotyping R. arrhizus strains in carbon and nitrogen assimilation capacity, this study revealed the extent of intra-specific variability and laid a foundation for estimating optimum substrates that may be useful for industrial applications.

A Hydration Model to Evaluate the Properties of Cement-Quartz Powder Hybrid Concrete.

Although quartz powder is a common concrete filling material, the importance and originality of this study lies in the development of a hydration model for quartz powder-cement binary mixtures and the adoption of this model to predict the development of concrete material properties. The purpose of this study is to use this model to promote the material design of environmentally friendly concrete and to elucidate the relationships in the development of the various properties of quartz powder concrete. The method used in this study was as follows: The parameters of the hydration model were obtained through seven days of hydration heat experiments. The hydration heat up to 28 days was also calculated, and the various properties of the concrete were predicted from the heat of hydration. The main findings of this study were as follows: (1) The ultimate hydration heat released per gram of cement for the different quartz powder substitution rates and quartz powder particle fineness was the same, at 390.145 J/g cement, as was the shape index of the hydration model at -1.003. (2) Moreover, through the model calculations, we found that, at the twenty-eighth day of the curing period for the quartz powder specimens with different quartz powder substitution amounts and different fineness, the reaction level of the cement was similar, at 0.963, as were the values of the cumulative heat of hydration, with both at 375.5 J/g cement. (3) The model showed that, in the late stage (28 days) of hydration for quartz powders of different fineness and when the substitution amount was the same, the cumulative heat of hydration over 28 days was similar. (4) The properties of concrete were evaluated using the calculated hydration heat. Overall, the predictive performance of the power and linear functions was similar, with no significant differences being found.

Correction: Establishment of a prediction model for prehospital return of spontaneous circulation in out-of-hospital patients with cardiac arrest.

[This corrects the article on p. 508 in vol. 15, PMID: 37900904.].