Determination of 10 mycotoxins in wine, baijiu, and huangjiu of the Chinese market by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and exposure estimation.

In this study, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to analyze the prevalence of 10 mycotoxins in 140 samples from the Chinese market, aiming to assess the exposure of Chinese individuals to these mycotoxins through the consumption of wine, baijiu, and huangjiu. Mycotoxins were detected in 98% of the samples, with fumonisins (FBs), deoxynivalenol (DON), and zearalenone (ZEN) exhibiting positive rates exceeding 50%. Regarding the exposure of the Chinese population to mycotoxins resulting from alcoholic beverage consumption, fruit wine intake made a relatively significant contribution to aflatoxin exposure, while baijiu showed a relatively significant contribution to ZEN exposure (1.84%). The analysis of the correlation between grape variety, wine region, and mycotoxin content demonstrated that FBs, ZEN, and DON were significantly influenced by grape variety and wine region. This research holds great significance in protecting human life and health, as well as in the production of safer alcoholic beverages.

Leaf nutrient traits of planted forests demonstrate a heightened sensitivity to environmental changes compared to natural forests.

Leaf nutrient content (nitrogen, phosphorus) and their stoichiometric ratio (N/P) as key functional traits can reflect plant survival strategies and predict ecosystem productivity responses to environmental changes. Previous research on leaf nutrient traits has primarily focused on the species level with limited spatial scale, making it challenging to quantify the variability and influencing factors of forest leaf nutrient traits on a macro scale. This study, based on field surveys and literature collected from 2005 to 2020 on 384 planted forests and 541 natural forests in China, investigates the differences in leaf nutrient traits between forest types (planted forests, natural forests) and their driving factors. Results show that leaf nutrient traits (leaf nitrogen content (LN), leaf phosphorus content (LP), and leaf N/P ratio) of planted forests are significantly higher than those of natural forests (P< 0.05). The impact of climatic and soil factors on the variability of leaf nutrient traits in planted forests is greater than that in natural forests. With increasing forest age, natural forests significantly increase in leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content, with a significant decrease in N/P ratio (P< 0.05). Climatic factors are key environmental factors dominating the spatial variability of leaf nutrient traits. They not only directly affect leaf nutrient traits of planted and natural forest communities but also indirectly through regulation of soil nutrients and stand factors, with their direct effects being more significant than their indirect effects.

Vortex sorting of rare particles/cells in microcavities: A review.

Microfluidics or lab-on-a-chip technology has shown great potential for the separation of target particles/cells from heterogeneous solutions. Among current separation methods, vortex sorting of particles/cells in microcavities is a highly effective method for trapping and isolating rare target cells, such as circulating tumor cells, from flowing samples. By utilizing fluid forces and inertial particle effects, this passive method offers advantages such as label-free operation, high throughput, and high concentration. This paper reviews the fundamental research on the mechanisms of focusing, trapping, and holding of particles in this method, designs of novel microcavities, as well as its applications. We also summarize the challenges and prospects of this technique with the hope to promote its applications in medical and biological research.

What's the preferences of medical staff for providing health education service? - A discrete choice experiment in Beijing, China.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify medical staff preferences for providing health education service in hospitals. METHODS: This study took medical staff in the department of internal medicine of hospitals in Beijing, China as the research subjects, and designed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to investigate the health education service provision preferences of them. Through various methods, 8 attributes and corresponding levels were determined. An online survey was conducted among the medical staff of the sample hospitals from May to June 2023. Participants' preferences were analyzed using conditional logit and mixed logit models. RESULTS: Finally, 831 respondents completed the questionnaire, among which 600 cases passed the consistency test. All the attributes included in this study had an impact on medical staff' health education service preferences (P < 0.001). The most important one with the greatest impact on the health education service delivery behavior of the respondents was "department working atmosphere-encouraging health education" (ß = 4.062, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, the departmental work atmosphere and performance bonuses emerged as crucial factors influencing the engagement of medical staff in health education work. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Hospitals should prioritize measures to improve the health education working atmosphere in departments to increase the enthusiasm of medical staff to provide services.

Preparation and sustained release of diatomite incorporated and Eudragit L100 coated hydroxypropyl cellulose/chitosan aerogel microspheres.

The drug encapsulation efficiency, release rate and time, sustained release, and stimulus-response of carriers are very important for drug delivery. However, these always cannot obtained for the carrier with a single component. To improve the comprehensive performance of chitosan-based carriers for 5-Fu delivery, diatomite-incorporated hydroxypropyl cellulose/chitosan (DE/HPC/CS) composite aerogel microspheres were fabricated for the release of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), and the release performance was regulated with the content of diatomite, pH value, and external coating material. Firstly, the 5-Fu loaded DE/HPC/CS composite aerogel microspheres and Eudragit L100 coated microspheres were prepared with cross-linking followed by freeze-drying, and characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, DSC, TG, and swelling. The obtained aerogel microspheres have a diameter of about 0.5 mm, the weight percentage of F and Si elements on the surface are 0.55 % and 0.78 % respectively. The glass transition temperature increased from 179 °C to 181 °C and 185 °C with the incorporation of DE and coating of Eudragit, and the equilibrium swelling percentage of DE/HPC/CS (1.5:3:2) carriers are 101.52 %, 45.27 %, 67.32 % at pH 1.2, 5.0, 7.4, respectively. Then, the effect of DE content on the drug loading efficiency of DE/HPC/CS@5-Fu was investigated, with the increase of DE content, the highest encapsulation efficiency was 82.6 %. Finally, the release behavior of DE incorporated and Eudragit L100 Coated microspheres were investigated under different pH values, and evaluated with four kinetic models. The results revealed that the release rate of 5-Fu decreased with the increase of DE content, sustained release with extending time and pH-responsive were observed for the Eudragit-coated aerogel microspheres.

[Ginsenoside Re regulates mitochondrial biogenesis through Nrf2/HO-1/PGC-1α pathway to reduce hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 cells].

This article explored the mechanism by which ginsenoside Re reduces hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R) injury in H9c2 cells by regulating mitochondrial biogenesis through nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)/peroxisome prolife-rator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α(PGC-1α) pathway. In this study, H9c2 cells were cultured in hypoxia for 4 hours and then reoxygenated for 2 hours to construct a cardiomyocyte H/R injury model. After ginsenoside Re pre-administration intervention, cell activity, superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity, malondialdehyde(MDA) content, intracellular reactive oxygen species(Cyto-ROS), and intramitochondrial reactive oxygen species(Mito-ROS) levels were detected to evaluate the protective effect of ginsenoside Re on H/R injury of H9c2 cells by resisting oxidative stress. Secondly, fluorescent probes were used to detect changes in mitochondrial membrane potential(ΔΨ_m) and mitochondrial membrane permeability open pore(mPTP), and immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression level of TOM20 to study the protective effect of ginsenoside Re on mitochondria. Western blot was further used to detect the protein expression levels of caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, Cyto C, Nrf2, HO-1, and PGC-1α to explore the specific mechanism by which ginsenoside Re protected mitochondria against oxidative stress and reduced H/R injury. Compared with the model group, ginse-noside Re effectively reduced the H/R injury oxidative stress response of H9c2 cells, increased SOD activity, reduced MDA content, and decreased Cyto-ROS and Mito-ROS levels in cells. Ginsenoside Re showed a good protective effect on mitochondria by increasing ΔΨ_m, reducing mPTP, and increasing TOM20 expression. Further studies showed that ginsenoside Re promoted the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, and PGC-1α proteins, and reduced the activation of the apoptosis-related regulatory factor caspase-3 to cleaved caspase-3 and the expression of Cyto C protein. In summary, ginsenoside Re can significantly reduce I/R injury in H9c2 cells. The specific mechanism is related to the promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis through the Nrf2/HO-1/PGC-1α pathway, thereby increasing the number of mitochondria, improving mitochondrial function, enhancing the ability of cells to resist oxidative stress, and alleviating cell apoptosis.

[Tetrahydropalmatine inhibiting mitophagy through ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway to alleviate hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 cells].

This study explored the specific mechanism by which tetrahydropalmatine(THP) inhibited mitophagy through the UNC-51-like kinase 1(ULK1)/FUN14 domain containing 1(FUNDC1) pathway to reduce hypoxia/reoxygenation(H/R) injury in H9c2 cells. This study used H9c2 cells as the research object to construct a cardiomyocyte H/R injury model. First, a cell viability detection kit was used to detect cell viability, and a micro-method was used to detect lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) leakage to evaluate the protective effect of THP on H/R injury of H9c2 cells. In order to evaluate the protective effect of THP on mitochondria, the chemical fluorescence method was used to detect intracellular reactive oxygen species, intramitochondrial reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, and autophagosomes, and the luciferin method was used to detect intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate(ATP) content. Western blot was further used to detect the ratio of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3) membrane type(LC3-Ⅱ) and slurry type(LC3-Ⅰ) and activated cleaved caspase-3 expression level. In addition, ULK1 expression level and its phosphorylation degree at Ser555 site, as well as the FUNDC1 expression level and its phosphorylation degree of Ser17 site were detected to explore its specific mechanism. The results showed that THP effectively reduced mitochondrial damage in H9c2 cells after H/R. THP protected mitochondria by reducing the level of reactive oxygen species in cells and mitochondria, increasing mitochondrial membrane potential, thereby increasing cellular ATP production, enhancing cellular activity, reducing cellular LDH leakage, and finally alleviating H/R damage in H9c2 cells. Further studies have found that THP could reduce the production of autophagosomes, reduce the LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio, and lower the expression of the apoptosis-related protein, namely cleaved caspase-3, indicating that THP could reduce apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy. In-depth studies have found that THP could inhibit the activation of the ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway of mitophagy and the occurrence of mitophagy by reducing the phosphorylation degree of ULK1 at Ser555 and FUNDC1 at Ser17. The application of ULK1 agonist BL-918 reversely verified the effect of THP on reducing the phosphorylation of ULK1 and FUNDC1. In summary, THP inhibited mitophagy through the ULK1/FUNDC1 pathway to reduce H/R injury in H9c2 cells.

Liraglutide Protects Pancreatic Islet From Ischemic Injury by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Activating Akt Signaling During Cold Preservation to Improve Islet Transplantation Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Islet transplantation is a promising therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes. However, ischemic injury to the donor islets during cold preservation leads to reduced islet quality and compromises transplant outcome. Several studies imply that liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has a positive effect on promoting islet survival, but its impact on islet cold-ischemic injury remains unexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether liraglutide can improve islet transplantation efficacy by inhibiting cold-ischemic injury and to explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Liraglutide was applied in a mouse pancreas preservation model and a human islets cold-preservation model, and islet viability, function, oxidative stress levels were evaluated. Furthermore, islet transplantation was performed in a syngeneic mouse model and a human-to-nude mouse islet xenotransplantation model. RESULTS: The supplementation of liraglutide in preservation solution improved islet viability, function, and reduced cell apoptosis. Liraglutide inhibited the oxidative stress of cold-preserved pancreas or islets through upregulating the antioxidant enzyme glutathione levels, inhibiting reactive oxygen species accumulation, and maintaining the mitochondrial membrane integrity, which is associated with the activation of Akt signaling. Furthermore, the addition of liraglutide during cold preservation of donor pancreas or donor islets significantly improved the subsequent transplant outcomes in both syngeneic mouse islet transplantation model and human-to-nude mouse islet xenotransplantation model. CONCLUSIONS: Liraglutide protects islets from cold ischemia-related oxidative stress during preservation and hence improved islet transplantation outcomes, and this protective effect of liraglutide in islets is associated with the activation of Akt signaling.

NFMCLDA: Predicting miRNA-based lncRNA-disease associations by network fusion and matrix completion.

In recent years, emerging evidence has revealed a strong association between dysregulations of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and sophisticated human diseases. Biological experiments are adequate to identify such associations, but they are costly and time-consuming. Therefore, developing high-quality computational methods is a challenging and urgent task in the field of bioinformatics. This paper proposes a new lncRNA-disease association inference approach NFMCLDA (Network Fusion and Matrix Completion lncRNA-Disease Association), which can effectively integrate multi-source association data. In this approach, miRNA information is used as the transition path, and an unbalanced random walk method on three-layer heterogeneous network is adopted in the preprocessing. Therefore, more effective information between networks can be mined and the sparsity problem of the association matrix can be solved. Finally, the matrix completion method accurately predicts associations. The results show that NFMCLDA can provide more accurate lncRNA-disease associations than state-of-the-art methods. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves are 0.9648 and 0.9713, respectively, through the cross-validation of 5-fold and 10-fold. Data from published case studies on four diseases - lung cancer, osteosarcoma, cervical cancer, and colon cancer - have confirmed the reliable predictive potential of NFMCLDA model.

Comparative study of imaging and pathology of primary mucinous adenocarcinoma with different imaging manifestations.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma is a special type of lung cancer. Its imaging manifestations are diverse, which brings challenges to clinical diagnosis. However, its formation mechanism is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to analyse the relevant mechanisms of the formation of pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma by observing its different imaging and pathological manifestations. DATA AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted on imaging manifestations and pathological data of 103 patients with pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma confirmed intraoperatively or pathologically. RESULTS: Forty-three patients had pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma with a solitary nodule/mass, 41 patients with localized pneumonia and 19 patients with diffuse pneumonia. Their CT manifestations included 'falling snowflake sign', ground-glass opacity close to the heart, vacuous signs/honeycombing and withered tree branches. Under the microscope, all the three types of pulmonary mucinous adenocarcinoma had visibly formed mucus lakes but were made of tumour cells with totally different shapes, which included the goblet-like shape (tall column-like shape) and quasi-circular shape. Tall column-shaped tumour cells were negative or weakly positive for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and strongly positive for ALK mutation, whereas quasi-circular tumour cells were positive for TTF-1 and less positive for ALK mutation. CONCLUSION: The different imaging manifestations of mucinous adenocarcinoma are possibly due to the different amounts or viscosity of mucus produced, and the mechanisms of its formation may include (1) tumour cells in different shapes have different abilities to produce mucus; (2) tumours in different stages produce different amounts or viscosity of mucus; and (3) the TTF-1 and ALK genes affect the production of mucus.

Continuous and low-carbon production of biomass flash graphene.

Flash Joule heating (FJH) is an emerging and profitable technology for converting inexhaustible biomass into flash graphene (FG). However, it is challenging to produce biomass FG continuously due to the lack of an integrated device. Furthermore, the high-carbon footprint induced by both excessive energy allocation for massive pyrolytic volatiles release and carbon black utilization in alternating current-FJH (AC-FJH) reaction exacerbates this challenge. Here, we create an integrated automatic system with energy requirement-oriented allocation to achieve continuous biomass FG production with a much lower carbon footprint. The programmable logic controller flexibly coordinated the FJH modular components to realize the turnover of biomass FG production. Furthermore, we propose pyrolysis-FJH nexus to achieve biomass FG production. Initially, we utilize pyrolysis to release biomass pyrolytic volatiles, and subsequently carry out the FJH reaction to focus on optimizing the FG structure. Importantly, biochar with appropriate resistance is self-sufficient to initiate the FJH reaction. Accordingly, the medium-temperature biochar-based FG production without carbon black utilization exhibited low carbon emission (1.9 g CO2-eq g-1 graphene), equivalent to a reduction of up to ~86.1% compared to biomass-based FG production. Undoubtedly, this integrated automatic system assisted by pyrolysis-FJH nexus can facilitate biomass FG into a broad spectrum of applications.

Intelligentization helps the green and energy-saving transformation of power industry-evidence from substation engineering in China.

The coordinated development of intelligence and greening is an intrinsic demand for high-quality economic and social development. Intelligentization and greening are the leading directions of sustainable development of the power industry. This paper directs of sustainable development of the power industry. This paper empirically analyzes the effect and mechanism of intelligence on the green environmental friendliness of electric power substations by using a panel fixed-effects model and instrumental variable regression, using substation engineering data from China southern power grid during 2013-2022. It is found that the level of intelligence significantly promotes the green performance of substation projects, and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. Intelligence can reduce material waste and pollutant emissions by improving the engineering environmental monitoring capability and the refinement of engineering resource control, thus improving the environmental friendliness of the project. The research in this paper helps to promote the integrated development of intelligent and green power engineering, to better achieve economic and green goals.

Intramedullary nailing for irreducible spiral subtrochanteric fractures: A comparison of cerclage and non-cerclage wiring.

PURPOSE: Intramedullary nailing is the preferred internal fixation technique for the treatment of subtrochanteric fractures because of its biomechanical advantages. However, no definitive conclusion has been reached regarding whether combined cable cerclage is required during intramedullary nailing treatment. This study was performed to compare the clinical effects of intramedullary nailing with cerclage and non-cerclage wiring in the treatment of irreducible spiral subtrochanteric fractures. METHODS: Patients with subtrochanteric fractures admitted to our center from January 2013 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were enrolled in the case-control study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into the non-cerclage group and the cerclage group. The patients' clinical data, including the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, reoperation rate, fracture union time, and Harris hip score, were compared between these 2 groups. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Continuous variables with normal distribution were presented as mean ± standard deviation and analyzed with Student's t-test. Non-normally distributed variables were expressed as median (Q1, Q3) and assessed using the Mann-Whitney test. A p value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: In total, 69 patients were included in the study (35 patients in the non-cerclage group and 34 patients in the cerclage group). The baseline data of the 2 groups were comparable. There were no significant difference in the length of hospital stay (z = -0.391, p = 0.696), operative time (z = -1.289, p = 0.197), or intraoperative blood loss (z = -1.321, p = 0.186). However, compared with non-cerclage group, the fracture union time was shorter (z = -5.587, p < 0.001), the rate of nonunion was lower (χ2 = 6.030, p = 0.03), the anatomical reduction rate was higher (χ2 = 5.449, p = 0.03), and the Harris hip score was higher (z = -2.99, p = 0.003) in the cerclage group, all with statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Intramedullary nailing combined with cable cerclage wiring is a safe and reliable technique for the treatment of irreducible subtrochanteric fractures. This technique can improve the reduction effect, increase the stability of fracture fixation, shorten the fracture union time, reduce the occurrence of nonunion, and contribute to the recovery of hip joint function.

Rapid formed temperature-sensitive hydrogel for the multi-effective wound healing of deep second-degree burn with shikonin based scar prevention.

Burns are a significant public health issue worldwide, resulting in prolonged hospitalization, disfigurement, disability and, in severe cases, death. Among them, deep second-degree burns are often accompanied by bacterial infections, insufficient blood flow, excessive skin fibroblasts proliferation and collagen deposition, all of which contribute to poor wound healing and scarring following recovery. In this study, SNP/MCNs-SKN-chitosan-ß-glycerophosphate hydrogel (MSSH), a hydrogel composed of a temperature-sensitive chitosan-ß-glycerophosphate hydrogel matrix (CGH), mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MCNs), nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and anti-scarring substance shikonin (SKN), is intended for use as a biomedical material. In vitro tests have revealed that MSSH has broad-spectrum antibacterial abilities and releases NO in response to near-infrared (NIR) laser to promote angiogenesis. Notably, MSSH can inhibit excessive proliferation of fibroblasts and effectively reduce scarring caused by deep second-degree burns, as demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo tests.

Tyrosine hydroxylase inhibits HCC progression by downregulating TGFß/Smad signaling.

The alteration of metabolic processes has been found to have significant impacts on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, the effects of dysfunction of tyrosine metabolism on the development of HCC remains to be discovered. This research demonstrated that tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), which responsible for the initial and limiting step in the bio-generation of the neuro-transmitters dopamine and adrenaline, et al. was shown to be reduced in HCC. Increased expression of TH was found facilitates the survival of HCC patients. In addition, decreased TH indicated larger tumor size, much more numbers of tumor, higher level of AFP, and the presence of cirrhosis. TH effectively impairs the growth and metastasis of HCC cells, a process dependent on the phosphorylation of serine residues (S19/S40). TH directly binds to Smad2 and hinders the cascade activation of TGFß/Smad signaling with the treatment of TGFß1. In summary, our study uncovered the non-metabolic functions of TH in the development of HCC and proposes that TH might be a promising biomarker for diagnosis as well as an innovative target for metastatic HCC.

Industrial Distillation Fractions of Garlic Essential Oil, Design, Synthesis, and Antifungal Activity Evaluation of Aliphatic Substituted Trisulfide Derivatives.

Garlic oil has a wide range of biological activities, and its broad-spectrum activity against phytopathogenic fungi still has the potential to be explored. In this study, enzymatic treatment of garlic resulted in an increase of approximately 50 % in the yield of essential oil, a feasible GC-MS analytical program for garlic oil was provided. Vacuum fractionation of the volatile oil and determination of its inhibitory activity against 10 fungi demonstrated that garlic oil has good antifungal activity. The antifungal activity levels were ranked as diallyl trisulfide (S-3)>diallyl disulfide (S-2)>diallyl monosulfide (S-1), with an EC50 value of S-3 against Botrytis cinerea reached 8.16 mg/L. Following the structural modification of compound S-3, a series of derivatives, including compounds S-4~7, were synthesized and screened for their antifungal activity. The findings unequivocally demonstrated that the compound dimethyl trisulfide (S-4) exhibited exceptional antifungal activity. The EC50 of S-4 against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum reached 6.83 mg/L. SEM, In vivo experiments, and changes in mycelial nucleic acids, soluble proteins and soluble sugar leakage further confirmed its antifungal activity. The study indicated that the trisulfide bond structure was the key to good antifungal activity, which can be developed into a new type of green plant-derived fungicide for plant protection.

Forest Age Drives the Resource Utilization Indicators of Trees in Planted and Natural Forests in China.

Specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) are key leaf functional traits commonly used to reflect tree resource utilization strategies and predict forest ecosystem responses to environmental changes. Previous research on tree resource utilization strategies (SLA and LDMC) primarily focused on the species level within limited spatial scales, making it crucial to quantify the spatial variability and driving factors of these strategies. Whether there are discrepancies in resource utilization strategies between trees in planted and natural forests, and the dominant factors and mechanisms influencing them, remain unclear. This study, based on field surveys and the literature from 2008 to 2020 covering 263 planted and 434 natural forests in China, using generalized additive models (GAMs) and structural equation models (SEMs), analyzes the spatial differences and dominant factors in tree resource utilization strategies between planted and natural forests. The results show that the SLA of planted forests is significantly higher than that of natural forests (p < 0.01), and LDMC is significantly lower (p < 0.0001), indicating a "faster investment-return" resource utilization strategy. As the mean annual high temperature (MAHT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) steadily rise, trees have adapted their resource utilization strategies, transitioning from a "conservative" survival tactic to a "rapid investment-return" model. Compared to natural forests, planted forest trees exhibit stronger environmental plasticity and greater variability with forest age in their resource utilization strategies. Overall, forest age is the dominant factor influencing resource utilization strategies in both planted and natural forests, having a far greater direct impact than climatic factors (temperature, precipitation, and sunlight) and soil nutrient factors. Additionally, as forest age increases, both planted and natural forests show an increase in SLA and a decrease in LDMC, indicating a gradual shift towards more efficient resource utilization strategies.

Rapid Intravenous Glyceryl Trinitrate in Ischemic Damage (RIGID): A potential neuroprotection strategy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients.

Despite advances in intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy, numerous acute ischemic stroke survivors continue to experience various disability levels. The nitric oxide (NO) donor, Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN), has been identified as a potential neuroprotective agent against ischemic damage. We evaluated the safety and feasibility of intravenous GTN in AIS patients. Subsequently, we conducted a secondary analysis to assess for possible efficacy of GTN as a neuroprotectant. We conducted a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial in the Stroke Intervention & Translational Center (SITC) in Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University (ChiCTR2100046271). AIS patients within 24 h of stroke onset were evenly divided into GTN or control groups (n = 20 each). The GTN group received intravenous GTN (5 mg in 50 ml saline at a rate of 0.4 mg/h for 12.5 h/day over 2 days), while controls were administered an equivalent volume of 0.9% saline. Both groups followed standard Stroke Guidelines for treatment. Safety measures focused on SBP<110 mmHg and headache occurrence. Efficacy was assessed via the 90-day modified rankin score (mRS) and the national institutes of health stroke score (NIHSS). Of the 40 AIS patients, baseline characteristics such as age, gender, risk factors, and pre-mRS scores showed no significant difference between the groups. Safety measures of SBP<110 mmHg and headache occurrence were comparable. Overall, 90-day mRS (1 vs. 1) and NIHSS (1 vs. 1) did not significantly differ between groups. However, the GTN-treated group had a benefit in enhancing NIHSS recovery (△NIHSS 4.5 vs. 3, p = 0.028), indicating that GTN may augment recovery. Subgroup analyses revealed a benefit in the GTN group at the 90-day NIHSS score and △NIHSS follow up for non-thrombolysis patients (1 vs. 2, p = 0.016; 5 vs. 2, p = 0.001). Moreover, the GTN group may benefit mild stroke patients in NIHSS score at 90 day and △NIHSS observed at 90 days (1 vs. 1, p = 0.025; 3 vs. 2 p = 0.002). Overall, while preliminary data suggest GTN might aid recovery in NIHSS improvement, the evidence is tempered due to sample size limitations. The RIGID study confirms the safety and feasibility of intravenous GTN administration for AIS patients. Preliminary data also suggest that the GTN group may provide improvement in NIHSS recovery compared to the control group. Furthermore, a potential benefit for non-thrombolysis patients and those with mild stroke symptoms was identified, suggesting a possible potential role as a tailored intervention in specific AIS subgroups. Due to the limited sample size, further larger RCT will be necessary to replicate these results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www.chictr.org.cn, identifier: ChiCTR2100046271.