Potentialities of dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) flower extracts on gastric protection against Helicobacter pylori and characterization of its bioactive constituents.

OBJECTIVES: Dandelion has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. Our study aimed to identify the effect and mechanism of dandelion flower extracts on H. pylori-induced gastritis and screen for novel antimicrobial substances. METHODS: Anti-H. pylori activities of water extracts(WEDF) and ethanol extracts (EEDF) of dandelion flowers were performed with disk diffusion method assay, MIC, and MBC. The H. pylori-induced model was constructed to examine the gastroprotective of EEDF using RUT, pathological analysis, and ELISA. RESULTS: EEDF exhibited better anti- H. pylori and urease inhibition activities than WEDF. In vivo studies, EEDF can reduce the adhesion of H. pylori to the gastric mucosa, alleviate gastric damage, and concurrently reduce the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in gastric tissues. The six phenolic compounds showed urease inhibition effect (IC50: 2.99 ± 0.15 to 66.08 ± 6.46 mmol/mL). Among them, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and luteolin also had anti-H. pylori activity (MIC: 64 - 256 µg/mL). CONCLUSION: EEDF exhibited anti-H. pylori, gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Chicoric acid and luteolin may be the main active compounds of dandelion flowers to exert anti-H. pylori, and worthy of further investigation.

PIEZO1 mechanically regulates the antitumour cytotoxicity of T lymphocytes.

The killing function of cytotoxic T cells can be enhanced biochemically. Here we show that blocking the mechanical sensor PIEZO1 in T cells strengthens their traction forces and augments their cytotoxicity against tumour cells. By leveraging cytotoxic T cells collected from tumour models in mice and from patients with cancers, we show that PIEZO1 upregulates the transcriptional factor GRHL3, which in turn induces the expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF114. RNF114 binds to filamentous actin, causing its downregulation and rearrangement, which depresses traction forces in the T cells. In mice with tumours, the injection of cytotoxic T cells collected from the animals and treated with a PIEZO1 antagonist promoted their infiltration into the tumour and attenuated tumour growth. As an immunomechanical regulator, PIEZO1 could be targeted to enhance the outcomes of cancer immunotherapies.

Designable Synthesis of Layered Silicates and Tunable Interlayer Expanded to Zeolites.

Layered zeolitic silicates and corresponding interlayer-expanded porous materials exhibit attractive application potential in wide fields. Nonetheless, designable synthesis and structure analysis of layered silicates remain challenging. Herein, two kinds of layered silicates are synthesized using different di-quaternary ammonium-type organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs). Their crystal structures are analyzed and verified by 3D electron diffraction (3D ED) and high-resolution TEM imaging. The suitable configurations of OSDA can lead to desirable interlayer states. Additionally, two new zeolite structures both with 12-membered ring (MR) channels intersected by 8 MR channels and larger interlayer spaces are constructed from layered silicate precursors by interlayer silylation. The new zeolitic material exhibits potential application in adsorption of organic pollution and catalytic reaction. This study is expected to develop versatile ways for the design and synthesis of layered silicates even zeolites and provide references in characterizing layered materials and zeolites as well.

Foliar Application of Melatonin Positively Affects the Physio-Biochemical Characteristics of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under the Combined Effects of Low Temperature and Salinity Stress.

Low temperature and soil salinization during cotton sowing and seedling adversely affect cotton productivity. Exogenous melatonin (MT) can alleviate the damage caused to plants under non-biological stress; thus, applying MT is a means to improve the growth condition of crops under stress. However, achieving this goal requires a thorough understanding of the physiological regulatory mechanisms of MT on cotton seedlings under low temperature and salinity stress. This study could bring new knowledge on physio-biochemical mechanisms that improve the tolerance of cotton seedlings to combined effects of low temperature and salt stress using an exogenous foliar application of MT. The phytotron experiment comprised two temperature levels of cold stress and control and five MT treatments of 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 µM and two salinity levels of 0 and 150 mM NaCl. Compared with the control treatments (non-salinity stress under cold stress and control), the combined stress of salt and low temperature reduced cotton seedlings' biomass and net photosynthetic rate (Pn), aggravated the membrane damage, reduced the potassium (K+) content, and increased the sodium (Na+) accumulation in the leaves and roots. Under NaCl stress, exogenously sprayed 50-150 µM MT increased the biomass and gas exchange parameters of cotton seedlings under salt and low temperature combined with salt stress, reduced the degree of membrane damage, and regulated the antioxidant enzyme, ion homeostasis, transport, and absorption of cotton seedlings. The pairwise correlation analysis of each parameter using MT shows that the parameters with higher correlation with MT at cold stress are mainly malondialdehyde (MDA), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). The highest correlation coefficient at 25 °C is observed between the K+ and Na+ content in cotton seedlings. The conclusion indicates that under salt and low-temperature stress conditions, exogenous application of MT primarily regulates the levels of Pn, superoxide dismutase (SOD), andPOD in cotton seedlings, reduces Na+ and MDA content, alleviates damage to cotton seedlings. Moreover, the most significant effect was observed when an exogenous application of 50-150 µM of MT was administered under these conditions. The current study's findings could serve as a scientific foundation for salinity and low-temperature stress alleviation during the seedling stage of cotton growth.

RNA sequencing profiles reveals progressively reduced spermatogenesis with progression in adult cryptorchidism.

Introduction: The fertility of cryptorchidism patients who didn't perform corrective surgery will decrease with age. Herein, we elucidate the histological alterations and underlying molecular mechanism in patients with an increase in the disease duration from 20 to 40 years. Methods: Testicular tissues were obtained from three patients with cryptorchidism, ranging in age from 22 to 44 years. Three benign paracancerous testicular samples of matched ages were used as controls. The normal and undescended testicular tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and immunofluorescence and all six testicular samples were subjected to RNA sequencing. RNA sequencing data were subjected to gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and Gene Ontology (GO) searches. Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the DEGs. Results: The seminiferous tubules' basement membrane thickens with age in healthy testes. As the period of cryptorchidism in the cryptorchid testis extended, the seminiferous tubules significantly atrophy, the number of spermatogenic cells declines, and the amount of interstitial fibrous tissue increases in comparison to normal tissues. The number of germ cells per cross-section of seminiferous tubules was significantly lower in cryptorchidism than in normal testicular tissues, according to immunofluorescence staining, but the number of Sertoli cells remained stable. RNA sequencing analysis identified 1150 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between cryptorchidism and normal testicular tissues (fold change >2 and p<0.05), of which 61 genes were noticeably upregulated and 1089 were significantly downregulated. These genes were predominantly linked to sperm development and differentiation, and fertilization, according to GO analysis. Meiosis pathways were significantly downregulated in cryptorchidism, according to KEGG pathway analysis and GSEA (P<0.001). PPI analysis was used to identify the top seven downregulated hub genes (PLCZ1, AKAP4, IZUMO1, SPAG6, CAPZA3, and ROPN1L), which were then further verified by qPCR. Discussion: By describing the histological changes and differential gene expression patterns in adult cryptorchid patients of different age groups, we discovered the progression mechanisms of undescended testes in adults with aging and identified seven significantly downregulated hub genes (PLCZ1, AKAP4, IZUMO1, SPAG6, CAPZA3, and ROPN1L) in cryptorchid testis compared to normal testicular tissues. These genes played a role in the process of spermgenesis and are directly linked to the steady decline in fertility caused by cryptorchidism. Our study provided a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the loss of spermatogenesis in adult cryptorchidism, and give support for the development of adult cryptorchidism treatments.

Boiling Histotripsy Using Dual-Frequency Protocol on Murine Breast Tumor Model and Promotes Immune Activation.

Histotripsy is an ultrasound-guided, noninvasive, nonthermal ablation therapy that can mechanically lyse target tissues. There have been no reports of enhanced histotripsy for large-volume triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study aims to verify the ability of a novel approach of dual-frequency mode combined with two-stage millisecond-length ultrasound pulses (DF-TS) to accelerate the treatment of murine subcutaneous 4T1 tumors and determine immune changes after treatment. A custom-designed 1.1-/2.2-MHz two-element confocal-annular array was used to treat approximately 6-mm tumors under ultrasound guidance and real-time monitoring. Two-stage millisecond-length ultrasound pulses were used to generate approximate cuboid ablation volumes (diagonal 5-6 mm) within each tumor, with a dose of 100 pulses/point. Immune effects were characterized by changes of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and infiltration levels of immune cells. In all targeted treatment areas, bubble cloud activity was visualized by ultrasound monitoring. The novel protocol resulted in elliptical and controllable sized lesions, reducing the number of scanning points, and was generally well tolerated. After treatment, tumor growth experienced a seven-day stagnation period, the survival period of mice was prolonged, and the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune cell infiltration increased. This study demonstrates that DF-TS boiling histotripsy (BH) has a noninvasive, efficient, and precise ablation ability for TNBC and potentially enhances immune responses.

Screening of exopolysaccharide-producing Enterobacter aerogenes NJ1023 and its cadaverine biosynthesis promotion.

Enterobacter aerogenes, the gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae, lacks the ability to synthesize chemicals. However, in this study, a strain of Enterobacter aerogenes NJ1023 screened from the soil containing petrochemicals was found to be capable of producing extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs). After purification of the polysaccharide, the chemical composition and physicochemical properties of the polysaccharide were analyzed by UV-Vis spectra, FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS, etc. The results showed that: The molecular weight of the polysaccharide produced by this strain was only 2.7×103 Da, which was lower than that reported in other polysaccharides from the same genus. The polysaccharide produced by E. aerogenes NJ1023 mainly comprised xylose, glucose, galactose, and N-acetylglucosamine with a molar ratio of 0.27: 4.52: 1.74: 0.2, which differed from those reported from the same genus. The results demonstrated that lower incubation temperatures and shaking speeds were more favorable for EPSs synthesis, while higher incubation temperatures and shaking speeds favored cell growth. Additionally, the EPSs produced by E. aerogenes NJ1023 significantly protected the Escherichia coli cells against cadaverine stress. Overall, the discovery of EPSs produced by E. aerogenes increased the diversity of bacterial polysaccharides and broadened the potential applications of this species.

Ultrasound image segmentation using Gamma combined with Bayesian model for focused-ultrasound-surgery lesion recognition.

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of combined segmentation for the separation of lesions from non-ablated regions, which allows surgeons to easily distinguish, measure, and evaluate the lesion area, thereby improving the quality of high-intensity focused-ultrasound (HIFU) surgery used for the non-invasive tumor treatment. Given that the flexible shape of the Gamma mixture model (GΓMM) fits the complex statistical distribution of samples, a method combining the GΓMM and Bayes framework is constructed for the classification of samples to obtain the segmentation result. An appropriate normalization range and parameters can be used to rapidly obtain a good performance of GΓMM segmentation. The performance values of the proposed method under four metrics (Dice score: 85%, Jaccard coefficient: 75%, recall: 86%, and accuracy: 96%) are better than those of conventional approaches including Otsu and Region growing. Furthermore, the statistical result of sample intensity indicates that the finding of the GΓMM is similar to that obtained by the manual method. These results indicate the stability and reliability of the GΓMM combined with the Bayes framework for the segmentation of HIFU lesions in ultrasound images. The experimental results show the possibility of combining the GΓMM with the Bayes framework to segment lesion areas and evaluate the effect of therapeutic ultrasound.

The Particle Breakage Effect on Abrasive Wear Process of Rubber/Steel Seal Pairs under High/Low Pressure.

Pressure has a significant effect on rubber seal performance in the abrasive environments of drilling. The micro-clastic rocks intruding into the seal interface are prone to fracture, which will change the wear process and mechanism, but this process is not yet known at present. To explore this issue, abrasive wear tests were carried out to compare the failure characteristics of the particles and the variation wear process under high/low pressures. The results show that non-round particles are prone to fracture under different pressures, resulting in different damage patterns and wear loss on the rubber surface. A single particle force model was established at the soft rubber-hard metal interface. Three typical breakage types of particles were analyzed, including ground, partially fractured, and crushed. At high load, more particles were crushed, while at low load, shear failure was more likely to occur at the edges of particles. These different particle fracture characteristics not only change the particle size, but also the state of motion and thus the subsequent friction and wear processes. Therefore, the tribological behavior and wear mechanism of abrasive wear are different at high pressure and low pressure. Higher pressure reduces the invasion of the abrasive particles, but also intensifies the tearing and wear of the rubber. However, no significant differences in damage were found for steel counterpart throughout the wear process under high/low load tests. These results are critical to understanding the abrasive wear of rubber seals in drilling engineering.

Heteromultivalent scaffolds fabricated by biomimetic co-assembly of DNA-RNA building blocks for the multi-analysis of miRNAs.

Heteromultivalent scaffolds with different repeated monomers have great potential in biomedicine, but convenient construction strategies for integrating various functional modules to achieve multiple biological functions are still lacking. Here, taking advantage of the heteromultivalent effect of dendritic nucleic acids and the specific biochemical properties of microRNAs (miRNAs), we assembled novel heteromultivalent nucleic acid scaffolds by biomimetic co-assembly of DNA-RNA building blocks. In our approach, two miRNAs were used to initiate and maintain dendritic structures in an interdependent manner; so, the heteromultivalent nanostructure can only form in the presence of both miRNAs. The proposed nanostructure can be used for one-step analysis of two miRNAs in an AND logic format. Taking miR-18b-5p and miR-342-3p which are associated with Alzheimer's disease as an example, a FRET sensing system was fabricated for the simultaneous analysis of two miRNAs within one hour at picomolar concentration. Further studies show that the designed device may have the potential to distinguish between AD patients and the healthy population by analysis of two miRNAs in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) samples, suggesting its possible applicability in clinics.

The Clinical Effect of Topical Application of Tranexamic Acid in Arthroscopic Synovectomy of Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis of the Knee.

This study investigated the clinical effect of topical application of tranexamic acid (TXA) in arthroscopic synovectomy of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) of the knee. Eighty patients who were diagnosed with unilateral knee PVNS underwent arthroscopic synovectomies from January 2017 to January 2021 and were retrospectively investigated in this study. Patients were divided into two groups: group A was the control group, whereas patients in group B received an intra-articular injection of 50 mL of TXA (1 g:100 mL) immediately after the synovectomies. The primary outcome measurement was the drainage volume of the affected knee in each postoperative stage, as well as the hematological parameters. Secondary outcomes included visual analog scale score, knee range of motion, and Lysholm score. Postoperative complications were also recorded. A lower volume of drainage was found in group B than in group A on postoperative day (POD) 1, on POD 2, and in total (POD 1, P=.000; POD 2, P=.000; total, P=.000). A lower visual analog scale pain score in group B was noticed on POD 1 (P=.000) and POD 2 (P=.005). Range of motion (P=.019) and Lysholm score (P=.001) were significantly superior in group B compared with group A on POD 14. Regarding complications, 3 patients in group A and 1 patient in group B developed deep venous thrombosis after surgery. Hematomas were found intra-articularly in 5 patients in group A during follow-up. Intraarticular topical application of TXA was effective in reducing postoperative bleeding and early postoperative pain for patients who underwent arthroscopic synovectomy of PVNS. [Orthopedics. 2023;46(3):e179-e185.].

Purse-string contraction guides mechanical gradient-dictated heterogeneous migration of epithelial monolayer.

Mechanical heterogeneity has been recognized as an important role in mediating collective cell migration, yet the related mechanism has not been elucidated. Herein, we fabricate heterogeneous stiffness gradients by leveraging microelastically-patterned hydrogels with varying periodic distance. We observe that a decrease in the periodic distance of the mechanical heterogeneity is accompanied by an overall increase in the velocity and directionality of the migrating monolayer. Moreover, inhibition of ROCK- and myosin ⅡA- but not Rac1-mediated contraction reduces monolayer migration on the mechanically heterogeneous substrates. Furthermore, we find that F-actin and myosin ⅡA form purse-string at the leading edge on the mechanically heterogeneous substrates. Together, these findings not only show that the orientational cell-cell contraction promotes collective cell migration under the mechanical heterogeneity, but also demonstrate that the mechanosensation arising from large-scale cell-cell interactions through purse-string formation mediated cell-cell orientational contraction can feed back to regulate the reorganization of epithelial tissues. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: By detecting the links between heterogenous rigidity and collective cell migration behavior at the molecular level, we reveal that collective cell migration in the mechanical heterogeneity is driven by ROCK- and myosin-ⅡA-dependent cytoskeletal tension. We confirm that cytoskeletal tension across the epithelial tissue is holistically linked through F-actin and myosin-ⅡA, which cooperate to form purse-string structures for modulating collective tissue behavior on the exogenous matrix with mechanical heterogeneity. Mechanical heterogeneity initiates tissue growth, remodelling, and morphogenesis by orientating cell contractility. Therefore, tensional homeostasis across large-scale cell interactions appears to be necessary and sufficient to trigger collective tissue behavior. Overall, these findings shed light on the role of mechanical heterogeneity in tissue microenvironment for reorganization and morphogenesis.

Pyrolysis of Precious Chinese Xuan Paper Containing Ammonium Phytate as a Flame Retardant.

Xuan paper with outstanding cultural and artistic values is one of the most precious Chinese handmade papers and is widely used in traditional calligraphy and painting. However, the highly combustible cellulosic raw materials of Xuan paper present potential fire hazards. Ammonium phytate (AP) originating from biosourced phytic acid has been used for the flame-retardant treatment of Chinese Xuan paper by facile spray coating. The limiting oxygen index value of the treated Xuan paper increased to higher than 40%, demonstrating that the flammability of Xuan paper was greatly reduced by this treatment. The excellent flame retardancy afforded by this treatment was confirmed by cone calorimetry. TGA was used to demonstrate that the presence of AP changed the thermal decomposition process to promote char formation during the degradation of Xuan paper. The flame-retardant mode of action of phytate-coated Xuan paper was investigated using TG-FTIR, SEM, and XPS spectra. A P-N cooperative effect was proposed to account for both the condensed phase and gas-phase flame-retardant actions. The phosphorus component promotes char formation in the condensed phase, while the nitrogen component releases inert species to dilute the fuel load in the gas phase. The ink-wetting property of the coated Xuan paper was influenced negligibly by the coating process. The development of fire-resistant Xuan paper using ecofriendly flame retardants through simple and convenient spray coating has been demonstrated.

[Evaluation and diagnosis of knee joint diagonal lesion and surgical strategy and effectiveness].

Objective: To investigate the evaluation, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of knee joint diagonal lesion and to observe its effectiveness. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 9 patients with knee joint diagonal lesion admitted between November 2011 and November 2019, including 7 males and 2 females, aged 18-61 years, with an average age of 38.3 years. According to the clinical staging criteria of multiple ligament injury of knee joint, 6 patients with acute stage injury (≤3 weeks), the time from injury to operation was 5-16 days, with an average of 9.3 days; 3 patients with old stage injury (>3 weeks), the time from injury to operation was 7, 12, 144 months, respectively. Posterolateral complex injuries were all type C according to Fanelli classification, and the posterior cruciate ligament injury was grade 3 according to American Medical Association (AMA) classification. According to the three columns classification of tibial plateau fracture, there were 2 cases of zero column fracture and 7 cases of medial column fracture. Patients with acute injury were treated with posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, posterolateral complex repair and/or reinforcement reconstruction, and tibial plateau fracture was treated with conservative treatment or internal fixation. Patients with malunion of tibial plateau in old stage were treated with limited osteotomy, bone grafting, and internal fixation; the stability of the knee joint was further evaluated during operation, then the posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and/or posterolateral complex repair and reconstruction were performed as needed. Lysholm score and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score before and after operation were used to evaluate knee function and effectiveness. Results: All patients were followed up 24-119 months, with an average of 51.7 months. All the incisions healed by first intention, and no complication such as incision infection, deep venous thrombosis of lower extremities occurred, and there was no reoperation during follow-up. The full-length X-ray films of both lower extremities at 6 months and 1, 2 years after operation showed that the alignment of both lower extremities returned to normal, and the stress position X-ray films showed that the stability in all directions recovered well. The X-ray films of the knee joint at 6 months after operation showed that the fracture of the tibial plateau healed well. At 1 year after operation, MRI showed that the signal of the repaired and reconstructed ligament was good, and there was no reconstruction failure such as ligament absorption or rupture occurred. At 1 year after operation, the muscle strength of the affected limbs was all rated as grade Ⅴ, and the active and passive range of motion of the knee joint recovered to 0°-130°. At 2 years after operation, the Lysholm score and IKDC score significantly improved when compared with those before operation (P<0.05). Conclusion: Knee joint diagonal lesion is a special type of posterior cruciate ligament and posterolateral complex injury with anteromedial split and collapse fracture of tibial plateau, which requires correct evaluation and diagnosis of the injured structure, and detailed surgical and rehabilitation programs to achieve better effectiveness.

Growth mechanism and microstructures of Cu2O/PVP spherulites.

Cu2O spherulites are solvothermaly fabricated by using Cu(NO3)2 as the starting material and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a multifunctional growth agent. The specimens at different growth stages are investigated by using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, soft X-ray emission spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The formation mechanism of Cu2O spherulites is proposed accordingly. Hierarchically, the spherulites are composed of needle-like submicron-rods lying along the radial orientations. The submicron-rods are constructed by piling up of small Cu2O/PVP spheres. The embedded Cu2O nanocrystallites can generate a dipolar field in each along the [100] direction. They deposit at the surface of a negatively charged PVP-containing spherical core, and self-oriented along the radial directions. Therefore, all the Cu2O nanocrystallites would have their positively charged (100) facet facing to the core and their negatively charged (1̄00) facet turning towards to the spherulite surface, leading to a negatively charged surface of spherulites. Unlike randomly oriented nanocrystallites embedded in polymer microspheres, the spherulites would not undergo surface recrystallisation into a single crystal shell due to the restricted potential of local shift and rotation of the nanocrystallites by the Coulomb force from the core. This work provides new perspective towards the formation of spherulites and their structural properties.

Different Responses in Root Water Uptake of Summer Maize to Planting Density and Nitrogen Fertilization.

Modifying farming practices combined with breeding has the potential to improve water and nutrient use efficiency by regulating root growth, but achieving this goal requires phenotyping the roots, including their architecture and ability to take up water and nutrients from different soil layers. This is challenging due to the difficulty of in situ root measurement and opaqueness of the soil. Using stable isotopes and soil coring, we calculated the change in root water uptake of summer maize in response to planting density and nitrogen fertilization in a 2-year field experiment. We periodically measured root-length density, soil moisture content, and stable isotopes δ18O and δD in the plant stem, soil water, and precipitation concurrently and calculated the root water uptake based on the mass balance of the isotopes and the Bayesian inference method coupled with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that the root water uptake increased asymptotically with root-length density and that nitrogen application affected the locations in soil from which the roots acquired water more significantly than planting density. In particular, we find that reducing nitrogen application promoted root penetration to access subsoil nutrients and consequently enhanced their water uptake from the subsoil, while increasing planting density benefited water uptake of the roots in the topsoil. These findings reveal that it is possible to manipulate plant density and fertilization to improve water and nutrient use efficiency of the summer maize and the results thus have imperative implications for agricultural production.

Efficient and Fast Removal of Aqueous Tungstate by an Iron-Based LDH Delaminated in L-Asparagine.

High concentrations of tungstate in aqueous systems pose a severe threat to the environment and human health. This study explored the potential of iron-based LDHs to remove tungstate from water. To improve its tungstate uptake capacity, environment-friendly L-asparagine was used to delaminate iron-based LDH synthesized via a coprecipitation method. The successful delamination was proved by AFM, revealing that the thickness of the obtained nanoparticles was approximately 1-2 times that of a single LDH layer. XRD, TEM, and XPS analyses confirmed that the delaminated LDHs were amorphous and ultrathin and had surface defects within their nanosheets that acted as active sites, leading to a very fast tungstate sorption rate and superior tungstate uptake capacity. Notably, the original layered structure of the L-asparagine-treated LDH was recovered upon its reaction with tungstate-bearing solutions, and therefore, the high availability of aqueous tungstate to the interlayer regions during the structural restoration of the delaminated iron-based LDH contributed to its excellent capability of tungstate removal as well. In addition, the tungstate uptake by the delaminated iron-based LDH was not affected substantially by the presence of coexisting anions, implying that the strong inner-sphere complexation between the tungstate and LDH layers with defects (i.e., Fe-O bonds) was the primary mechanism responsible for the tungstate removal. The delamination process described in this paper was validated to be an effective way to enhance the immobilization of tungstate by iron-based LDHs without inducing secondary pollutions, and delaminated iron-based LDHs are promising to be used extensively in the practice of treating tungstate-rich waters.

Evaluation of Analgesic Efficacy and Opioid-sparing Effect of Duloxetine After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and opioid-sparing effect of duloxetine in adults having arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, as well as its clinical safety. METHODS: In this randomized trial, 120 adults having arthroscopic rotator repair were randomized to receive perioperative oral duloxetine or placebo. The primary outcome was patient self-reported pain score (Visual Analog Scale: 0 to 10) at rest and opioid consumption within postoperative 2 days. Other outcomes included adverse effects, changes of thromboelastogram, and hemoglobin indicators before and after the operation. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis, of which 60 received duloxetine and 60 received placebo. Groups were similar on the demographic, baseline, and intraoperative variables. There were significant differences in pain scores at rest at postoperative 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours (3 h: P=0.001; 6 h: P=0.001; 12 h: P=0.001; 24 h: P=0.005; 48 h: P=0.034) and at movement at postoperative 6, 12, and 48 hours (6 h: P=0.004; 12 h: P=0.002; 48 h: P=0.033), while none of the differences met the minimum clinically important difference. There were no significant differences in opioid consumption and in hemoglobin and thromboelastogram before and after operation between the duloxetine group and the placebo group (all P>0.05). For adverse effects, the incidence of nausea and vomiting in the duloxetine group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group (P=0.018). DISCUSSION: For patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs, duloxetine resulted in a significant reduction in pain within postoperative 2 days, but the reduction was not clinically meaningful. Duloxetine did not decrease the opioid consumption within postoperative 2 days and did not increase the risk of bleeding within postoperative 2 days. The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the duloxetine group was significantly greater than that in the placebo group.

Effects of different nitrogen application rates on soil water stable aggregates and N2O emission in winter wheat field.

Excessive nitrogen application would deteriorate soil structure and increase greenhouse gas emission. We set up six treatments, i.e., N0, N120, N180, N240, N300and N360(nitrogen application rates of 0, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 kg·hm-2, all straws returned into the field in situ) in the nitrogen fertilizer experimental site to investigate the effects of different nitrogen application rates on soil N2O emission, soil water-filled porosity (WFPS), soil temperature, nitrate and ammonium contents, composition and stability of water stable aggregates in winter wheat filed in 2018-2020. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between soil N2O emission and nitrogen application rate. There was no correlation between WFPS and nitrogen application rate. Soil temperature in the 0-10 cm layer decreased significantly with the increases of nitrogen application rates. There was a significant positive correlation between nitrate and ammonium contents and nitrogen application rate. With the increases of nitrogen application rates, the content of water stable aggregates with diameter >2 mm decreased, while that of water-stable aggregates with diameter <0.5 mm increased. The particle size of soil water-stable aggregates also decreased gradually. There was a significant negative correlation between nitrogen application rate with mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter, while no correlation with fractal dimension. The fitting equation between MWD and N2O emission flux was y=3928.3e-2.171x (R2=0.55, P<0.001), indicating that N2O emission increased markedly as MWD decreasing. The increases in nitrogen application rate reduced soil temperature in the 0-10 cm layer, increased nitrate and ammonium contents, decreased the average particle size of soil water stable aggregates, and the stability of soil aggregates, and increased soil N2O emission.

Axillary lymph node metastasis prediction by contrast-enhanced computed tomography images for breast cancer patients based on deep learning.

When doctors use contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images to predict the metastasis of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) for breast cancer patients, the prediction performance could be degraded by subjective factors such as experience, psychological factors, and degree of fatigue. This study aims to exploit efficient deep learning schemes to predict the metastasis of ALN automatically via CECT images. A new construction called deformable sampling module (DSM) was meticulously designed as a plug-and-play sampling module in the proposed deformable attention VGG19 (DA-VGG19). A dataset of 800 samples labeled from 800 CECT images of 401 breast cancer patients retrospectively enrolled in the last three years was adopted to train, validate, and test the deep convolutional neural network models. By comparing the accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity indices, the performance of the proposed model is analyzed in detail. The best-performing DA-VGG19 model achieved an accuracy of 0.9088, which is higher than that of other classification neural networks. As such, the proposed intelligent diagnosis algorithm can provide doctors with daily diagnostic assistance and advice and reduce the workload of doctors. The source code mentioned in this article will be released later.