Robustness of the synergistic partial-denitrification, anammox, and fermentation process for treating domestic and nitrate wastewaters under fluctuating C/N ratios.

The synergistic partial-denitrification, anammox, and fermentation (SPDAF) process presents a promising solution to treat domestic and nitrate wastewaters. However, its capability to handle fluctuating C/N ratios (the ratios of COD to total inorganic nitrogen) in practical applications remains uncertain. In this study, the SPDAF process was operated for 236 days with C/N ratios of 0.7-3.5, and a high and stable efficiency of nitrogen removal (84.9 ± 7.8%) was achieved. The denitrification and anammox contributions were 6.1 ± 7.1% and 93.9 ± 7.1%, respectively. Batch tests highlighted the pivotal role of in situ fermentation at low biodegradable chemical oxygen demand (BCOD)/NO3- ratios. As the BCOD/NO3- ratios increased from 0 to 6, the NH4+ and NO3- removal rates increased, while the anammox contribution decreased from 100% to 80.1% but remained the primary pathway of nitrogen removal. The cooperation and balanced growth of denitrifying bacteria, anammox bacteria, and fermentation bacteria contributed to the system's robustness under fluctuating C/N ratios.

Isolated Ni-atom catalyst supported on Ti3C2Tx with an asymmetrical C-Ni-N structure for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs), distinguished by their exceptional atomic efficiency and modifiable coordination structures, find wide-ranging applicability, notably in the context of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we synthesized a Ti3C2Tx-based Ni single-atom catalyst (Ni SA@N-Ti3C2Tx) by immersing a single Ni atom into the Ti vacancies of Ti3C2Tx and using a N-doping strategy. X-Ray adsorption fine structure revealed the formation of local Ni-N1C1 and an unsaturated C-Ni-N bridge configuration for isolated Ni species. Moreover, Ni SA@N-Ti3C2Tx exhibited an excellent HER performance with an overpotential of 63 mV at 10 mV cm-2. This work could enable use of MXene-based SACs in the HER.

The temporal and spatial relationship between percutaneous vertebral augmentation and new symptomatic fractures.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between the time from percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) until subsequent fracture and the risk of new symptomatic fractures (NSFs) in untreated vertebrae at different distances from "augmented vertebrae". METHODS: Patients who underwent PVA for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University from May 2014 to April 2019 were retrospectively recruited. Vertebrae not treated during PVA were stratified based on their distance from the nearest augmented vertebra and the time elapsed since PVA. Survival curves were plotted to compare the risk of NSFs in untreated vertebrae at different distances from augmented vertebrae. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify risk factors of NSFs in untreated vertebrae. RESULTS: total, 162 patients with 228 NSFs (2.760 vertebrae) were analyzed. More than half of the NSFs (56.6%) occurred within the first year after PVA. Rates and hazard ratios (HRs) of NSFs were higher in vertebrae located one segment away from the augmented vertebrae (21.0%, HR: 3.99, P < 0.001), two segments away (10.6%, HR: 1.97, P = 0.003), or three segments away (10.5%, HR: 2.26, P < 0.001) than in vertebrae located five or more segments away (3.81%, HR: 1.00). Similar results were observed regardless of whether the untreated vertebrae were located in the thoracolumbar junction. In addition to distance, other risk factors of NSFs were the thoracolumbar location of untreated vertebrae, the number of augmented vertebrae, and percutaneous vertebroplasty. CONCLUSION: The risk of NSFs is greater for untreated vertebrae located closer to augmented vertebrae than for untreated vertebrae further away. This distance dependence occurs mainly within the three segments closest to the augmented vertebra. The risk of NSFs decreases with time after augmentation, and it is also related to the number of augmented vertebrae, the type of augmentation, and whether the untreated vertebrae are thoracolumbar or not.

Novel Radiomics-Clinical Model for the Noninvasive Prediction of New Fractures After Vertebral Augmentation.

PURPOSE: To investigate the noninvasive prediction model for new fractures after percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) based on radiomics signature and clinical parameters. METHODS: Data from patients who were diagnosed with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and treated with PVA in our hospital between May 2014 and April 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the T11-L5 segments taken before PVA. Different radiomics models was developed by using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and stochastic gradient descent (SGD) classifiers. A nomogram was constructed by integrating clinical parameters and Radscore that calculated by the best radiomics model. The model performance was quantified in terms of discrimination, calibration and clinical usefulness. RESULT: Four clinical parameters and 16 selected radiomics features were used for model development. The clinical model showed poor discrimination capability with area under the curves (AUCs) yielding of 0.522 in the training dataset and 0.517 in the validation dataset. The LDA, MLP and SGD classifier-based radiomics model had achieved AUCs of 0.793, 0.810, and 0.797 in the training dataset, and 0.719, 0.704, and 0.725 in the validation dataset, respectively. The nomogram showed the best performance with AUCs achieving 0.810 and 0.754 in the training and validation datasets, respectively. The decision curve analysis demonstrated the net benefit of the nomogram was higher than that of other models. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that combining clinical features with radiomics features from pre-augmentation T1-weighted MRI can be used to develop a nomogram that can predict new fractures in patients after PVA.

Hybrid Lamellar Superlattices with Monoatomic Platinum Layers and Programmable Organic Ligands.

Compared with layered materials such as graphite and transitional metal dichalcogenides with highly anisotropic in-plane covalent bonds, freestanding metallic two-dimensional (2D) films with atomic thickness are intrinsically more difficult to achieve. The omnidirectional nature of typical metallic bonds prevents the formation of highly anisotropic atomically thin metallic layers. Herein, we report a ligand regulation strategy to stabilize monoatomic platinum layers by forming a unique lamellar superlattice structure with self-assembled organic ligand layers. We show that the interlayer spacings and coordination environments could be systematically tuned by varying programmable molecular ligands with the designed length and structural motifs, which further modulate the electronic states and catalytic performances. The strategy can be extended for preparing lamellar superlattices with monoatomic metallic layers from silver and gold. Such general and delicate synthetic control provides an exciting model system for systematic investigation of the intriguing structure-property correlation of monoatomic layers and promises a molecular design pathway for heterogeneous catalysts.

Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3ß (GSK3ß) Regulates Myogenic Differentiation in Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells of Sheep.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß) has a vital role in the regulation of many cellular processes. However, the role of GSK3ß in muscle cell differentiation in sheep remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of GSK3ß in skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) of sheep. An overexpression of GSK3ß significantly inhibited myotube formation as well as the mRNA levels of myogenic genes (MyoD, MyoG, MyHC1, and MyHC2a) in sheep SMSCs. SB216763 treatment had a time-course effect on the phosphorylation levels of sheep GSK3ß. In addition, reducing the activity of GSK3ß lead to the promotion of sheep SMSCs differentiation as well as the mRNA levels of myogenic genes (MyoD, MyoG, MyHC1, and MyHC2a). This study illustrated the function of GSK3ß to inhibit myogenesis in sheep SMSCs, which provided evidence for studying the mechanisms involved in the regulation of sheep SMSCs differentiation by GSK3ß.

Sound Insulation of Corrugated-Core Sandwich Panels: Modeling, Optimization and Experiment.

With the extension of the applications of sandwich panels with corrugated core, sound insulation performance has been a great concern for acoustic comfort design in many industrial fields. This paper presents a numerical and experimental study on the vibro-acoustic optimization of a finite size sandwich panel with corrugated core for maximizing the sound transmission loss. The numerical model is established by using the wave-based method, which shows a great improvement in the computational efficiency comparing to the finite element method. Constrained by the fundamental frequency and total mass, the optimization is performed by using a genetic algorithm in three different frequency bands. According to the optimization results, the frequency averaged sound transmission of the optimized models in the low, middle, and high-frequency ranges has increased, respectively, by 7.6 dB, 7.9 dB, and 11.7 dB compared to the baseline model. Benefiting from the vast number of the evolution samples, the correlation between the structural design parameters and the sound transmission characteristics is analyzed by introducing the coefficient of determination, which gives the variation of the importance of each design parameter in different frequency ranges. Finally, for validation purposes, a sound insulation test is conducted to validate the optimization results in the high-frequency range, which proves the feasibility of the optimization method in the practical engineering design of the sandwich panel.

Simultaneous adsorption and determination of bisphenol compounds in water medium with a Zr(IV)-based metal-organic framework.

A chemically stable Zr(IV)-based metal-organic framework (BUT-17) has been explored for simultaneous adsorption and determination of bisphenol compounds (BPs) in aqueous medium. The prepared BUT-17 possesses a large surface area (2936 m2 g-1) and excellent fluorescent performance. An adsorption capacity of 111 mg g-1 for bisphenol A (BPA) with a rapid adsorption rate (1.76 g mg-1 min-1) is achieved by BUT-17. The excellent adsorption performance could be attributed to the hydrogen bond interaction between BPs and BUT-17. Furthermore, the fluorescent intensity of BUT-17 was quenched up to 92% due to the formation of complexes between BPs and BUT-17. Thus, a BUT-17-based fluorescent sensing method for the rapid determination of BPs has been established with the limit of detection of 10.0 ng mL-1 for BPA and a linear range from 2.0 to 23.0 µg mL-1. These results indicate that as an outstanding multifunctional platform, BUT-17 is promising for the simultaneous removal and determination of BPs in water medium. Simultaneous removal and detection of BPs with BUT-17.

Effective Removal of Clenbuterol and Ractopamine from Water with a Stable Al(III)-Based Metal-Organic Framework.

Clenbuterol (CLE) and ractopamine (RAC) are two kinds of typical ß2-adrenergic agonists which pose a serious threat to the health of human beings. In this work, 10 kinds of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high stability and various pore features are screened to assess adsorption performance for CLE and RAC. An Al(III)-MOF (BUT-19) with abundant ethyl groups exhibits exceptional performance in removing CLE and RAC from water. The maximum adsorption capacity for CLE and RAC are up to 294.1 and 366.3 mg/g under the optimum adsorption conditions, respectively. Meanwhile, the adsorption mechanism effects of pH, temperature, and coexisted ions are investigated systematically. It is found that the MOF pore size and weak hydrogen-bond interactions between CLE/RAC molecules and the MOF are the main causes leading to the extraordinary adsorption. This study provides a new idea for the purposeful design and synthesis of MOFs for removing environmental pollutants and sheds light on the depuration of contaminated water.

Risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: To systematically review the risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation, and to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and management of new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library databases and other databases for case-control studies related to risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation published between January 2005 and July 2019. A meta-analysis of data on risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation from the included studies was carried out. A narrative review of risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation was also carried out. RESULTS: A total of 24 case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis, with a total of 7,140 patients. There were 1,598 patients with new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation, and 5,542 patients without new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation. The meta-analysis results showed that age, polycystic kidney disease, family history of diabetes, body mass index, acute rejection, tacrolimus use, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection and hypertension were associated with new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation, whereas sex, sirolimus use, cyclosporin A use, steroid use and cytomegalovirus infection were not associated with new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Older age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, tacrolimus use, history of hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, acute rejection, hepatitis B virus infection and hepatitis C virus infection are risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation. Therefore, the clinical implications of these factors warrant attention.

A case report: renal cystic tumoural calcinosis with ossification and bone marrow formation.

BACKGROUND: Tumoural calcinosis (TC) is a rare disorder characterized by nonneoplastic amorphous calcium deposition that tends to occur in soft tissues around the large joint. Here, we report a case of cystic TC with ossification and bone marrow formation in the kidney. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 63-year-old woman who presented with a complaint of intermittent right lumbar pain for 2 months. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a large cystic lesion on the lateral side of the right kidney, with a circular calcified wall around the lesion, which compressed, deformed and displaced the right kidney. To relieve the symptoms of right lumbar pain, the patient underwent surgical resection of this cystic lesion without partial removal of the renal parenchyma. The pathological results further confirmed the diagnosis of cystic TC with ossification and bone marrow formation in the right kidney. No recurrence was detected 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The main differential diagnoses of TC in the kidney are kidney stone, renal tuberculosis, renal cyst with a calcified wall, and tumour. Patients are treated mainly by complete surgical resection of the lesion.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram Predicting the Prognosis of Renal Cell Carcinoma After Nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a nomogram for predicting the overall survival (OS) of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients after nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 488 patients with RCC who underwent nephrectomy at the Urology Department of the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between January 2013 and December 2018 were randomly divided into a development cohort (n = 344) and a validation cohort (n = 144). The development cohort was used to build a prediction model, and the validation cohort was used for validation. Single-factor and multifactor analyses were carried out with R software, and the nomogram, calibration chart, ROC curve and C index were constructed. RESULTS: The median follow-up time of the development and validation cohorts was 34 months. The total 3-year and 5-year survival rates of the development cohort were 93.3% and 91.6%, respectively; those of the validation cohort were 92.4% and 91.0%, respectively. Cox univariate analysis of the development cohort showed that age, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), smoking history, type of surgery, T stage, N stage, M stage and Fuhrman nuclear grade were prognostic factors for OS in RCC patients undergoing nephrectomy. Cox multivariate analysis showed that T2DM, smoking history and T stage were independent prognostic factors for OS in RCC patients undergoing nephrectomy (P < 0.05). According to the univariate and multivariate analyses, a nomogram was constructed. In the development cohort, the C index of predicted OS was 0.875 (95% CI, 0.820-0.930). The calibration curve of the 3-year and 5-year survival rates showed that the predicted value of the nomogram was consistent with the actual observed value. The area under the 3-year and 5-year survival ROC curves was 0.861 and 0.901, respectively. In the validation cohort, the C index was 0.880 (95% CI, 0.778-0.982). The calibration curve of the 3-year and 5-year survival rates showed that the predicted value of the nomogram was consistent with the actual observed value. The area under the 3-year and 5-year survival ROC curves was 0.813 and 0.799, respectively. CONCLUSION: We developed and verified a new and accurate nomogram with available clinicopathological data that can effectively predict the OS of RCC patients after nephrectomy.

Textile-Based Capacitive Sensor for Physical Rehabilitation via Surface Topological Modification.

Wearable sensor technologies, especially continuous monitoring of various human health conditions, are attracting increased attention. However, current rigid sensors present obvious drawbacks, like lower durability and poor comfort. Here, a strategy is proposed to efficiently yield wearable sensors using cotton fabric as an essential component, and conductive materials conformally coat onto the cotton fibers, leading to a highly electrically conductive interconnecting network. To improve the conductivity and durability of conductive coatings, a topographical modification approach is developed with genus-3 and genus-5 structures, and topological genus structures enable cage metallic seeds on the surface of substrates. A textile-based capacitive sensor with flexible, comfortable, and durable properties has been demonstrated. High sensitivity and convenience of signal collection have been achieved by the excellent electrical conductivity of this sensor. Based on results of deep investigation on capacitance, effects of distance and angles between two conductive fabrics contribute to the capacitive sensitivity. In addition, the textile-based capacitive sensor has successfully been used for real-time monitoring human breathing, speaking, blinking, and joint motions during physical rehabilitation exercises.

Analysis of the factors influencing the survival time of patients with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma.

The aim of the present study was to identify the factors influencing the survival time of patients with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (SRCC). Between January 2000 and September 2017, a total of 21 patients were enrolled, all of whom were diagnosed with SRCC. In total, eight prognostic factors were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, a log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazards model. The log-rank test results revealed that there was a significant association between the proportion of sarcoma elements and survival time of patients with SRCC (P<0.05). In addition, there was a significant association between post-operative drug treatment and SRCC survival time (P<0.05). The results of the Kaplan-Meier estimate demonstrated that the survival curve of post-operative drug treatment was significantly greater compared with the survival curve of patients who did not undergo drug treatment (P<0.05). The survival curve of patients with a proportion of sarcoma elements <50% was significantly greater compared with the survival curve of patients with a proportion of sarcoma elements ≥50% (P<0.05). Furthermore, the Cox's proportional hazards model revealed that the mortality risk in post-operative patients without drug treatment was 5.822 times greater compared with that of patients with drug treatment (P<0.05). Mortality risk in patients with a proportion of sarcoma elements ≥50% was 4.682 times higher compared with that of patients with sarcoma elements <50% (P<0.05). Finally, post-operative drug therapy was revealed to be a protective factor which significantly affected the survival time of patients with SRCC [risk ratio (RR)=0.172], in addition to the proportion of sarcoma elements ≥50% (RR=4.682). In conclusion, drug therapy should be promoted upon patient diagnosis with SRCC and attention should be given to the proportion of sarcomatoid components.

Determination and removal of clenbuterol with a stable fluorescent zirconium(IV)-based metal organic framework.

A metal organic framework (MOF) based adsorbent of type UiO-66 was hydrothermally prepared and applied to simultaneous sensing and removal of the asthma drug clenbuterol. The MOF possesses a large specific surface area (1460 cm2·g-1) and a stable structure, and has a large adsorption capacity for clenbuterol (160 mg·g-1). If clenbuterol binds to the MOF, the fluorescence of the sorbent (best measured at excitation/emission wavelengths of 290/396 nm) is quenched by up to 88%. Based on these findings, a fluorometric assay has been developed for the rapid determination of clenbuterol. The adsorption equilibrium of UiO-66 for CLB can be achieved at 60 min and the adsorption efficiency is above 80%. The method has a linear response in the 4.0 to 40 ng·mL-1 concentration range, and the lower limit of detection is 0.17 µM. All of this indicates that UiO-66 is promising for simultaneous detection and the removal of CLB in water. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the detection and removal of clenbuterol in water medium by a stable fluorescent Zr(IV)-based metal organic framework. This method exhibited a large adsorption capacity for clenbuterol (160 mg/g) and low limit of detection (0.17 µM).

Pre-existing type 2 diabetes is an adverse prognostic factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a risk factor for various cancers, but its prognostic role in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is controversial and understudied. This study investigated the prognostic value of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in RCC patients. METHODS: The clinicopathological and follow-up data of 451 RCC patients undergoing radical or partial nephrectomy at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from 2013 to 2018 were reviewed. Associations of T2D with clinicopathological parameters of RCC were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method for survival estimates and Cox regression univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Of 451 patients, 74 (16.4%) had T2D. These patients were older, had a higher body mass index, higher incidence rates of hypertension and cardiovascular morbidity, a higher rate of laparoscopic surgery, and smaller neoplasms (all P < .05). Patients with T2D exhibited shorter overall survival (OS; P = .009), cancer-specific survival (CSS; P = .043), and recurrence-free survival (RFS; P = .008) than patients without T2D. Fuhrman grade (hazard ratio [HR] 2.542, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.115-5.795, P = .026) and T2D (HR 3.391, CI 1.458-7.886, P = .005) were independent predictors of OS; T2D was an independent predictor of CSS (HR = 4.637, 95% CI 1.420-15.139, P = .011) and RFS (HR 3.492, 95% CI 1.516-8.044, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Renal cell carcinoma patients with T2D have a shorter OS and higher recurrence rate and mortality risk than those without T2D.