Combination of Fushengong decoction with Western medicine on patients with chronic renal failure: An observational study.

Chronic renal failure (CRF) causes a reduction in glomerular filtration rate and damage to renal parenchyma. Fushengong decoction (FSGD) showed improvement in renal function in CRF rats. This study aims to analyze the differentially expressed proteins in CRF patients treated with Western medicine alone or in combination with FSGD. Sixty patients with CRF recruited from Yongchuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital affiliated to Chongqing Medical University were randomly assigned into control (treated with Western medicine alone) and observation groups (received additional FSGD treatment thrice daily for 8 weeks). The clinical efficacy and changes in serum Bun, serum creatinine, Cystatin C, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1) before and after treatment were observed. We employed isotope relative labeling absolute quantification labeling and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify differentially expressed proteins and carried out bioinformatics Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. Patients in the observation group showed greater clinical improvement and lower levels of serum Bun, serum creatinine, Cyc-c, and TGF-ß1 than the control group. We identified 32 differentially up-regulated and 52 down-regulated proteins in the observation group. These proteins are involved in the blood coagulation system, protein serine/threonine kinase activity, and TGF-ß, which are closely related to the pathogenesis of CRF. Protein-protein-interaction network analysis indicated that candidate proteins fibronectin 1, fibrinogen alpha chain, vitronectin, and Serpin Family C Member 1 were in the key nodes. This study provided an experimental basis suggesting that FSGD combined with Western medicine could significantly improve renal function and renal fibrosis of CRF patients, which may be through the regulation of fibronectin 1, fibrinogen alpha chain, vitronectin, Serpin Family C Member 1, TGF-ß, and the complement coagulation pathway (see Graphical abstract S1, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/MD/L947).

Climate-driven mitochondrial selection in lacertid lizards.

The mitochondrion, which is an intracellular organelle responsible for most of the energy-producing pathways, can have its genome targeted for climate-driven selection. However, climate-driven mitochondrial selection remains a sparsely studied area in reptiles. Here, we reported the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of a lacertid lizard (Takydromus intermedius) and used mitogenomes from 54 species of lacertid lizards to study their phylogenetic relationships and to identify the mitochondrial genes under positive selection by climate. The length of the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of T. intermedius was 17,713 bp, which was within the range of lengths (17,224-18,943) ever reported for Takydromus species. The arrangement of mitochondrial genes in T. intermedius was the same as in other congeneric species. The 54 lacertid species could be divided into three geographically and climatically different clades. We identified three mitochondrial genes (ATP6, ATP8, and ND3) under positive selection by climate, and found that isothermality, temperature seasonality, precipitation of wettest month, and precipitation seasonality were the most important climatic variables contributing to the gene selection.

Control of Plant Height and Lateral Root Development via Stu-miR156 Regulation of SPL9 Transcription Factor in Potato.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding small-molecule RNAs that usually regulate the expression of target genes at the post-transcriptional level. miR156 is one of a class of evolutionarily highly conserved miRNA families. SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) transcription factor is one of the target genes that is regulated by miR156. SPL transcription factors are involved in regulating plant growth and development, hormone response, stress response, and photosynthesis. In the present study, transgenic potato plants with overexpressed miR156 were obtained via the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. The results showed that the expression levels of the target gene, StSPL9, were all downregulated in the transgenic plants with overexpressed Stu-miR156. Compared with those of the control plants, the plant height and root length of the transgenic plants were significantly decreased, while the number of lateral roots was significantly increased. These results revealed that the miR156/SPLs module was involved in regulating potato plant height and root growth.

Pharmacokinetic and Safety Study of Bismuth Potassium Citrate Formulations in Healthy Subjects.

BACKGROUND: Potassium bismuth citrate is a gastric mucosal protector and a key drug for treating peptic ulcers. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics and safety of 120-mg bismuth potassium citrate formulations administered orally under fasting conditions in healthy Chinese subjects. METHOD: A single-center open two-cycle trial was conducted on 12 healthy subjects who received a single oral dose of 120 mg of bismuth potassium citrate. The plasma concentration of bismuth was determined using a validated inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‒MS) method. The pharmacokinetic parameters, including maximum serum concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve concentration-time curve (AUC0-t and AUC0-∞), and safety were evaluated via noncompartment analysis. RESULTS: The ratios of the least square geometric mean ratio between the test (T) and reference (R) formulations for Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ were 44.8%, 55.5%, and 64.4%, respectively; the bilateral 95% confidence intervals (Cis) for these parameters were 20.2-99.6%, 24.1-127.5%, and 23.7-175.0%, respectively, and the non-inferior limits for these parameters were 169.4%, 198.8%, and 200.5%, respectively. The upper limits of the one-sided 97.5% confidence interval for the least squares geometric mean ratio (T/R) were lower than the non-inferior limits. No serious adverse reactions or adverse reactions leading to detachment were observed among the subjects. CONCLUSION: The concentration of bismuth in the blood of healthy subjects in the T formulation was not greater than that in the R formulation. Similarly, the safety of oral administration of 120 mg of bismuth potassium citrate formulations to healthy subjects was good. The trial registration number (TRN) was [2018] 013, 6 December 2018.

Switchable Adhesive Based on Shape Memory Polymer with Micropillars of Different Heights for Laser-Driven Noncontact Transfer Printing.

Switchable adhesive is essential to develop transfer printing, which is an advanced heterogeneous material integration technique for developing electronic systems. Designing a switchable adhesive with strong adhesion strength that can also be easily eliminated to enable noncontact transfer printing still remains a challenge. Here, we report a simple yet robust design of switchable adhesive based on a thermally responsive shape memory polymer with micropillars of different heights. The adhesive takes advantage of the shape-fixing property of shape memory polymer to provide strong adhesion for a reliable pick-up and the various levels of shape recovery of micropillars under laser heating to eliminate the adhesion for robust printing in a noncontact way. Systematic experimental and numerical studies reveal the adhesion switch mechanism and provide insights into the design of switchable adhesives. This switchable adhesive design provides a good solution to develop laser-driven noncontact transfer printing with the capability of eliminating the influence of receivers on the performance of transfer printing. Demonstrations of transfer printing of silicon wafers, microscale Si platelets, and micro light emitting diode (µ-LED) chips onto various challenging nonadhesive receivers (e.g., sandpaper, stainless steel bead, leaf, or glass) to form desired two-dimensional or three-dimensional layouts illustrate its great potential in deterministic assembly.

ARMC5 controls the degradation of most Pol II subunits, and ARMC5 mutation increases neural tube defect risks in mice and humans.

BACKGROUND: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are caused by genetic and environmental factors. ARMC5 is part of a novel ubiquitin ligase specific for POLR2A, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). RESULTS: We find that ARMC5 knockout mice have increased incidence of NTDs, such as spina bifida and exencephaly. Surprisingly, the absence of ARMC5 causes the accumulation of not only POLR2A but also most of the other 11 Pol II subunits, indicating that the degradation of the whole Pol II complex is compromised. The enlarged Pol II pool does not lead to generalized Pol II stalling or a generalized decrease in mRNA transcription. In neural progenitor cells, ARMC5 knockout only dysregulates 106 genes, some of which are known to be involved in neural tube development. FOLH1, critical in folate uptake and hence neural tube development, is downregulated in the knockout intestine. We also identify nine deleterious mutations in the ARMC5 gene in 511 patients with myelomeningocele, a severe form of spina bifida. These mutations impair the interaction between ARMC5 and Pol II and reduce Pol II ubiquitination. CONCLUSIONS: Mutations in ARMC5 increase the risk of NTDs in mice and humans. ARMC5 is part of an E3 controlling the degradation of all 12 subunits of Pol II under physiological conditions. The Pol II pool size might have effects on NTD pathogenesis, and some of the effects might be via the downregulation of FOLH1. Additional mechanistic work is needed to establish the causal effect of the findings on NTD pathogenesis.

Laser-driven noncontact bubble transfer printing via a hydrogel composite stamp.

Transfer printing that enables heterogeneous integration of materials into spatially organized, functional arrangements is essential for developing unconventional electronic systems. Here, we report a laser-driven noncontact bubble transfer printing via a hydrogel composite stamp, which features a circular reservoir filled with hydrogel inside a stamp body and encapsulated by a laser absorption layer and an adhesion layer. This composite structure of stamp provides a reversible thermal controlled adhesion in a rapid manner through the liquid-gas phase transition of water in the hydrogel. The ultrasoft nature of hydrogel minimizes the influence of preload on the pick-up performance, which offers a strong interfacial adhesion under a small preload for a reliable damage-free pick-up. The strong light-matter interaction at the interface induces a liquid-gas phase transition to form a bulge on the stamp surface, which eliminates the interfacial adhesion for a successful noncontact printing. Demonstrations of noncontact transfer printing of microscale Si platelets onto various challenging nonadhesive surfaces (e.g., glass, key, wrench, steel sphere, dry petal, droplet) in two-dimensional or three-dimensional layouts illustrate the unusual capabilities for deterministic assembly to develop unconventional electronic systems such as flexible inorganic electronics, curved electronics, and micro-LED display.

A Multifunctional Flexible Tactile Sensor Based on Resistive Effect for Simultaneous Sensing of Pressure and Temperature.

Flexible tactile sensors with multifunctional sensing functions have attracted much attention due to their wide applications in artificial limbs, intelligent robots, human-machine interfaces, and health monitoring devices. Here, a multifunctional flexible tactile sensor based on resistive effect for simultaneous sensing of pressure and temperature is reported. The sensor features a simple design with patterned metal film on a soft substrate with cavities and protrusions. The decoupling of pressure and temperature sensing is achieved by the reasonable arrangement of metal layers in the patterned metal film. Systematically experimental and numerical studies are carried out to reveal the multifunctional sensing mechanism and show that the proposed sensor exhibits good linearity, fast response, high stability, good mechanical flexibility, and good microfabrication compatibility. Demonstrations of the multifunctional flexible tactile sensor to monitor touch, breathing, pulse and objects grabbing/releasing in various application scenarios involving coupled temperature/pressure stimuli illustrate its excellent capability of measuring pressure and temperature simultaneously. These results offer an effective tool for multifunctional sensing of pressure and temperature and create engineering opportunities for applications of wearable health monitoring and human-machine interfaces.

Cognitive decline in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with glycated albumin, ratio of Glycated Albumin to glycated hemoglobin, and concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers.

Objective: To investigate the correlations of cognitive function with glycated albumin (GA), the ratio of GA to glycated hemoglobin (GA/HbA1c), and the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A total of 44 elderly T2DM patients were evaluated for cognitive function using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Patients were then divided into two groups based on the MMSE and MoCA scores: a cognitive dysfunction group and a normal cognitive function group. The correlations of the MMSE and MoCA scores with GA/HbA1c, GA, IL-6, and SOD were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent influential factors for cognitive dysfunction. The predictive value of GA and GA/HbA1c for cognitive dysfunction in elderly T2DM patients was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Among these patients, 28 had cognitive impairment. They had significantly higher GA/HbA1c, increased GA and IL-6 levels, and lower SOD concentrations than the normal cognitive function group (all P < 0.05). GA/HbA1c was negatively correlated with the MMSE (r = -0.430, P = 0.007) and MoCA (r = -0.432, P = 0.007) scores. SOD was positively correlated with the MMSE (r = 0.585, P=0.014) and MoCA (r = 0.635, P=0.006) scores. IL-6 was negatively correlated with the MoCA score (r = -0.421, P=0.015). Age and GA/HbA1c were independent factors contributing to cognitive dysfunction. The areas under the ROC curves of GA and GA/HbA1c for the diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction were 0.712 and 0.720, respectively. Conclusions: GA and GA/HbA1c are related to cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients with T2DM.

NIR to MIR ultra-broadband supercontinuum laser source based on all-silica fibers.

We demonstrated an ultra-broadband supercontinuum (SC) laser source with a wavelength range spanning the near-infrared (NIR) to mid-infrared (MIR) region. The SC spectrum was generated in a very short piece of highly nonlinear silica fiber (HNLF) which has a zero-dispersion wavelength (ZDW) of 1.55 µm. The pump source used has a spectral coverage of 1.5∼2.4 µm which covers the ZDW of HNLF, resulting in a dramatic blue and red shift of the spectrum through strong non-linear effects. As the pump laser pulse launched into HNLF, a SC spectrum with broadband range of 0.92∼2.92 µm and maximum average power of 5.09 W was achieved, which sets record coverage of HNLF-based watts magnitude SC laser sources for now, to the best of the authors' knowledge. The setup consists of silica fiber that can be considered easy-to-implement and with a cost-effectiveness scheme for ultra-broadband SC generation that could be easily applied to optical fiber sensing and spectral imaging technology.

Hepatitis B virus infection in patients with Wilson disease: A large retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Wilson disease (WD) is the most common genetic metabolic liver disease. Some studies have shown that comorbidities may have important effects on WD. Data on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with WD are limited. AIM: To investigate the prevalence and clinical impact of HBV infection in patients with WD. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with WD were analyzed retrospectively, and the data of patients with concurrent WD and HBV infection were compared with those of patients with isolated WD. RESULTS: Among a total of 915 WD patients recruited, the total prevalence of current and previous HBV infection was 2.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2%-3.0%] and 9.2% (95%CI: 7.3%-11.1%), respectively. The main finding of this study was the identification of 19 patients with concurrent WD and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. The diagnosis of WD was missed in all but two patients with CHB infection. The mean delay in the diagnosis of WD in patients with concurrent WD and CHB infection was 32.5 mo, which was significantly longer than that in patients with isolated WD (10.5 mo). The rates of severe liver disease and mortality in patients with concurrent WD and CHB infection were significantly higher than those in patients with isolated WD (63.1% vs 19.3%, P = 0.000 and 36.8% vs 4.1%, P < 0.001, respectively). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed a significantly higher risk of severe liver disease at the diagnosis of WD in patients with current HBV infection [odds ratio (OR) = 7.748; 95%CI: 2.890-20.774; P = 0.000)] or previous HBV infection (OR = 5.525; 95%CI: 3.159-8.739; P = 0.000) than in patients with isolated WD. CONCLUSION: The total prevalence of current HBV infection in patients with WD was 2.1%. The diagnosis of WD in CHB patients is usually missed. HBV infection is an independent risk factor for severe liver disease in WD patients. The diagnosis of WD should be ruled out in some patients with CHB infection.

Micrometer-scale single crystalline particles of niobium titanium oxide enabling an Ah-level pouch cell with superior fast-charging capability.

Wadsley-Roth phase niobium titanium oxide (TiNb2O7) is widely regarded as a promising anode candidate for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries due to its safe working potential and doubled capacity in comparison to the commercial fast-charging anode material (lithium titanium oxide, Li4Ti5O12). Although good fast charge/discharge performance was shown for nanostructured TiNb2O7, the small size would cause the low electrode compensation density and energy density of batteries, as well as parasitic reactions. Fundamental understanding of the electrochemical lithium insertion/extraction process and the structural evolution for the micrometer-scale single crystalline TiNb2O7 (MSC-TiNb2O7) could provide insights to understand its inherent properties and possibility for fast-charging application. Here, we revealed the highly reversible structural evolution of the MSC-TiNb2O7 during the lithiation/delithiation processes. Interestingly, an ion-conductive lithium niobate interphase was in situ formed on the MSC-TiNb2O7 surface during the formation cycle, which could facilitate fast ion diffusion on the material surface and support fast electrochemical reaction kinetics. Experimentally, the MSC-TiNb2O7 delivered a high reversible capacity of 291.9 mA h g-1 at 0.5C with a high initial Coulombic efficiency (>95%), and showed superb rate capability with a reasonable capacity of 55.6 mA h g-1 under a high current density of 40C. An Ah-level pouch cell with a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathode exhibited 91.5% capacity retention at 3C charging rate, which revealed the significant role of high crystallinity and in situ formation of an ion conductive nano-interphase in realizing fast charging capability of practical TiNb2O7-based lithium-ion batteries.

Switch of cell migration modes orchestrated by changes of three-dimensional lamellipodium structure and intracellular diffusion.

Cell migration plays important roles in many biological processes, but how migrating cells orchestrate intracellular molecules and subcellular structures to regulate their speed and direction is still not clear. Here, by characterizing the intracellular diffusion and the three-dimensional lamellipodium structures of fish keratocyte cells, we observe a strong positive correlation between the intracellular diffusion and cell migration speed and, more importantly, discover a switching of cell migration modes with reversible intracellular diffusion variation and lamellipodium structure deformation. Distinct from the normal fast mode, cells migrating in the newly-found slow mode have a deformed lamellipodium with swollen-up front and thinned-down rear, reduced intracellular diffusion and compartmentalized macromolecule distribution in the lamellipodium. Furthermore, in turning cells, both lamellipodium structure and intracellular diffusion dynamics are also changed, with left-right symmetry breaking. We propose a mechanism involving the front-localized actin polymerization and increased molecular crowding in the lamellipodium to explain how cells spatiotemporally coordinate the intracellular diffusion dynamics and the lamellipodium structure in regulating their migrations.

Nano-Ni/Co-PBA as high-performance cathode material for aqueous sodium-ion batteries.

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are reliable and promising cathode materials for aqueous sodium-ion batteries (ASIBs) owing to their open three-dimensional frameworks, outstanding stability, and low production costs. However, PBAs containing only a single type of transition-metal ion often have limited charge-storage capacities in aqueous systems. This study reports the first example of K0.11Ni0.39Co0.79[Fe(CN)6]·2.04H2O nanoparticles (Ni/Co-PBA) being used as a high-capacity cathode material for ASIBs. Owing to multi-electron redox reactions involving Co and Fe ions, Ni/Co-PBA has an initial capacity of 65 mAh g-1and a capacity retention rate of 80% after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g-1, indicating its outstanding cycle performance and capacity retention. Ex-situ x-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique were used to analyze the redox mechanisms and kinetics of Ni/Co-PBA. Ni/Co-PBA-based ASIBs are among the most promising energy-storage technologies for large-scale fixed energy-storage systems because of their outstanding electrochemical performance, low costs, and high efficiency.

Near-infrared pumped, octave-tunable, on-chip mid-infrared Raman soliton source.

This article proposes and numerically demonstrates a widely tunable on-chip Raman soliton source based on a cascaded As2Se3 waveguide. The cascaded sub-waveguides (input and output) with varying widths act as nonlinear devices, while a tapered waveguide is arranged between them to achieve low-loss transmission. The input waveguide provides anomalous dispersion in the near-infrared band, thereby enabling the 1.96 µm source for Raman soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) pumping. The output waveguide exhibits large anomalous dispersion and good mode confinement in the mid-infrared band thus supporting further SSFS process. A 2.29∼4.57 µm tunable Raman source is theoretically realized in this on-chip platform. This work presents a simple and easy-to-implement strategy to extend the tuning range of on-chip sources. Notably, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the cascading strategy for SSFS process in an on-chip platform. The proposed tunable source has great potential in integrated spectroscopy, gas sensing, and LiDAR applications.

Association of bone turnover biomarkers with severe intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

BACKGROUND: Intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis is associated with cerebral infarction. Vascular calcification and atherosclerosis are the main causes of stenosis and major risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Bone turnover biomarkers (BTMs) are associated with vascular calcification, atherosclerosis, glucose, and lipid metabolism. AIM: To investigate the association of circulating BTM levels with severe intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis in patients with T2DM. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study including 257 T2DM patients, levels of the BTMs serum osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), and procollagen type I N-peptide were measured by electrical chemiluminescent immunoassay, and artery stenosis was assessed by color Doppler and transcranial Doppler. Patients were grouped according to the existence and location (intracranial vs. extracranial) of artery stenosis. Correlations between BTM levels, previous stroke, stenosis location, and glucose and lipid metabolism were analyzed. RESULTS: T2DM patients with severe artery stenosis had a higher frequency of previous stroke and levels of all three tested BTMs (all P < 0.05) than patients without. Some differences in OC and CTX levels were observed according to the location of artery stenosis. Significant associations were also observed between BTM levels and some glucose and lipid homeostasis parameters. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, all BTMs were significant predictors of artery stenosis in T2DM patients with and without adjustment for confounding factors (all P < 0.001), and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated the ability of BTM levels to predict artery stenosis in T2DM patients. CONCLUSION: BTM levels were found to be independent risk factors for severe intracranial and extracranial artery stenosis and were differentially associated with glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with T2DM. Therefore, BTMs may be promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for artery stenosis.

Deep learning enables super-resolution hydrodynamic flooding process modeling under spatiotemporally varying rainstorms.

Real-time information on flooding extent, severity, and duration is necessary for effective metropolitan flood emergency management. Existing pluvial flood analysis methods are unable to simulate real-time regional flooding processes under spatiotemporally varying rainstorms. This paper presents a deep learning-enabled super-resolution hydrodynamic flood analysis method to simulate the real-time pluvial flooding process over a large area under spatiotemporally varying rainstorms. Compared with existing flood downscaling techniques, which are limited to flow depth, the proposed method produces high-resolution flow depth and velocity predictions, providing more comprehensive information for flood emergency management. The proposed method adopts a coarse-grid hydrodynamic model to generate a low-resolution flood map time series, which is subsequently converted to high-resolution flood maps by a deep learning model. The deep learning model can be trained using a limited number of assumed rainfall scenarios, which greatly reduces data preparation effort. The proposed method is applied to a complex terrain of 352 km2 in Hong Kong that covers both mountainous and urban areas. Results show that the proposed method simulates the spatiotemporal variations of flood depth and velocity with root mean square errors as low as 0.082 m and 0.088 m/s, respectively, and correlation coefficients of 0.962 and 0.921, respectively. The computation time for a 48-h rainfall event in the study area is less than 30 s, which is 2690 times faster than the direct fine-grid hydrodynamic analysis. The deep learning-enabled super-resolution hydrodynamic flood analysis method provides a promising computational tool for emergency flood risk management.

Case Report: Long-term survival of a patient with advanced rectal cancer and multiple pelvic recurrences after seven surgeries.

Background: Rectal cancer has a high risk of recurrence and metastasis, with median survival ranging from 24 months to 36 months. K-RAS mutation is a predictor of poor prognosis in rectal cancer. Advanced rectal cancer can be stopped in its tracks by pelvic exenteration. Case summary: A 51-year-old woman was diagnosed with advanced rectal cancer (pT4bN2aM1b, stage IV) with the KRAS G12D mutation due to a change in bowel habits. The patient had experienced repeated recurrences of rectal cancer after initial radical resection, and the tumor had invaded the ovaries, sacrum, bladder, vagina and anus. Since the onset of the disease, the patient had undergone a total of seven surgeries and long-term FOLFIRI- or XELOX-based chemotherapy regimens, with the targeted agents bevacizumab and regorafenib. Fortunately, the patient was able to achieve intraoperative R0 resection in almost all surgical procedures and achieve tumor-free survival after pelvic exenteration. The patient has been alive for 86 months since her diagnosis. Conclusions: Patients with advanced rectal cancer can achieve long-term survival through active multidisciplinary management and R0 surgery.

Mg2+ Ion Pre-Insertion Boosting Reaction Kinetics and Structural Stability of Ammonium Vanadates for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) attract much attention owing to their high safety, environmentally friendliness and low cost. However, the unsatisfactory performance of cathode materials is one of the unsolved important factors for their widespread application. Herein, we report NH4 V4 O10 nanorods with Mg2+ ion preinsertion (Mg-NHVO) as a high-performance cathode material for AZIBs. The preinserted Mg2+ ions effectively improve the reaction kinetics and structural stability of NH4 V4 O10 (NHVO), which are confirmed by electrochemical analysis and density functional theory calculations. Compared with pristine NHVO, the intrinsic conductivity of Mg-NHVO is improved by 5 times based on the test results of a single nanorod device. Besides, Mg-NHVO could maintain a high specific capacity of 152.3 mAh g-1 after 6000 cycles at the current density of 5 A g-1 , which is larger than that of NHVO (only exhibits a low specific capacity of 30.5 mAh g-1 at the same condition). Moreover, the two-phase crystal structure evolution process of Mg-NHVO in AZIBs is revealed. This work provides a simple and efficient method to improve the electrochemical performance of ammonium vanadates and enhances the understanding about the reaction mechanism of layered vanadium-based materials in AZIBs.

The antibacterial mechanism of compound preservatives combined with low voltage electric fields on the preservation of steamed mussels (Mytilus edulis) stored at ice-temperature.

Mussels are a kind of economically valuable ocean bivalve shellfish. It has a short harvest period and is susceptible to contamination during storage and processing. Having proper preservation methods is critical to prevent quality deterioration. However, the effect of low voltage variable frequency electric field and compound preservative on the freshness of steamed mussels in ice-temperature storage are still unknown. We utilized the method of coefficient variation weighting to calculate the overall scores of steamed mussels stored under different preservation conditions. The protein physicochemical properties of samples, the growth curves of two dominant spoilage bacteria; Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas in the mussels as well as the Structural changes of the cell membranes were mensurated. The results show that compared with the preservative group and the low voltage variable frequency electric field group, the compound preservatives combined with the electric field group had the highest overall score and thus the best preservation effect. Compared with the blank group, the total sulfhydryl content and myogenic fibrin content of the combined group decreased at the slowest rate, 19.46%, and 44.92%, respectively. The hydrophobicity of the protein surface increased by only 5.67%, with the best water retention, indicating that the samples of the combined group had the least protein deterioration in the combined group. The inhibition mechanism of the combined group inhibited the growth of two dominant spoilage bacteria: Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas, in the mussels, destroying the integrity of the cell membrane structure and changing the cell morphology. Overall, we found that the combination of the composite preservatives and the low voltage variable frequency electric field can maintain the best quality of steamed mussels during ice-temperature storage and slow down the rate of protein deterioration during storage. This study proposed a new method of mussel preservation, which provides a new idea for the application of low voltage variable frequency electric field and compound preservative in the preservation of aquatic products.