Preventing Atrophic Long-Bone Nonunion: Retrospective Analysis at a Level I Trauma Center.

Background: Among the risk factors for nonunion are unchangeable patient factors such as the type of injury and comorbidities, and factors that can be influenced by the surgeon such as fracture treatment and the postoperative course. While there are numerous studies analyzing unchangeable factors, there is poor evidence for factors that can be affected by the physician. This raises the need to fill the existing knowledge gaps and lay the foundations for future prevention and in-depth treatment strategies. Therefore, the goal of this study was to illuminate knowledge about nonunion in general and uncover the possible reasons for their development; Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 327 patients from 2015 to 2020 from a level I trauma center in Germany. Information about patient characteristics, comorbidities, alcohol and nicotine abuse, fracture classification, type of osteosynthesis, etc., was collected. Matched pair analysis was performed, and statistical testing performed specifically for atrophic long-bone nonunion; Results: The type of osteosynthesis significantly affected the development of nonunion, with plate osteosynthesis being a predictor for nonunion. The use of wire cerclage did not affect the development of nonunion, nor did the use of NSAIDs, smoking, alcohol, osteoporosis and BMI; Conclusion: Knowledge about predictors for nonunion and strategies to avoid them can benefit the medical care of patients, possibly preventing the development of nonunion.

Flexible Piezoresistive Sensors Based on PPy Granule-Anchored Multilayer Fibrous Membranes with a Wide Operating Range and High Sensitivity.

The employment of flexible piezoresistive sensors has sparked growing interest within the realm of wearable electronic devices, specifically in the fields of health detection and e-skin. Nevertheless, the advancement of piezoresistive sensors has been impeded by their limited sensitivity and restricted operating ranges. Consequently, it is imperative to fabricate sensors with heightened sensitivity and expanded operating ranges through the utilization of the appropriate methodologies. In this paper, piezoresistive sensors were fabricated utilizing electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride/polyacrylonitrile/polyethylene-polypropylene glycol multilayer fibrous membranes anchored with polypyrrole granules as the sensing layer, while electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibers were employed as the flexible substrate. The sensitivity of the sensor is investigated by varying the fiber diameter of the sensing layer. The experimental findings reveal that a concentration of 14 wt % in the spinning solution exhibits high sensitivity (996.7 kPa-1) within a wide working range (0-10 kPa). This is attributed to the favorable diameter of the fibers prepared at this concentration, which facilitates the uniform in situ growth of pyrrole. The highly deformable TPU flexible fibers and multilayer sensing layer structure enable different linear responses across a broad pressure range (0-1 MPa). Furthermore, the sensor demonstrates good cyclic stability and can detect human movements under different pressures. These results suggest that the piezoresistive sensor with a wide operating range and high sensitivity has significant potential for future health monitoring and artificial intelligence applications.

Construction of a prognostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma patients receiving transarterial chemoembolization treatment based on the Tumor Burden Score.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) may have varied outcomes based on their liver function and tumor burden diversity. This study aims to assess the prognostic significance of the tumor burden score (TBS) in these patients and develop a prognostic model for their overall survival. METHODS: The study involved a retrospective analysis of 644 newly diagnosed HCC patients undergoing TACE treatment. The individuals were assigned randomly to a training cohort (n = 452) and a validation cohort (n = 192). We utilized a multivariate Cox proportional risk model to identify independent preoperative predictive factors. We then evaluated model performance using the area under the curve (AUC), consistency index (c-index), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) methods. RESULTS: The multivariate analysis revealed four prognostic factors associated with overall survival: Tumor Burden Score, Tumor Extent, Types of portal vein invasion (PVI), and Child-Pugh score. The total score was calculated based on these factors. The model demonstrated strong discriminative ability with high AUC values and c-index, providing high net clinical benefits for patients. Based on the model's scoring results, patients were categorized into high, medium, and low-risk groups. These results were validated in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The tumor burden score shows promise as a viable alternative prognostic indicator for assessing tumor burden in cases of HCC. The new prognostic model can place patients in one of three groups, which will estimate their individual outcomes. For high-risk patients, it is suggested to consider alternative treatment options or provide the best supportive care, as they may not benefit significantly from TACE treatment.

Uncovering the potential molecular mechanism of liraglutide to alleviate the effects of high glucose on myoblasts based on high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technique.

BACKGROUND: Myoblasts play an important role in muscle growth and repair, but the high glucose environment severely affects their function. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential molecular mechanism of liraglutide in alleviating the effects of high glucose environments on myoblasts. METHODS: MTT, western blot, and ELISA methods were used to investigate the role of liraglutide on C2C12 myoblasts induced by high glucose. The high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technique was used to sequence C2C12 myoblasts from different treated groups. The DESeq2 package was used to identify differentially expressed-mRNAs (DE-mRNAs). Then, functional annotations and alternative splicing (AS) were performed. The Cytoscape-CytoHubba plug-in was used to identify multicentric DE-mRNAs. RESULTS: The MTT assay results showed that liraglutide can alleviate the decrease of myoblasts viability caused by high glucose. Western blot and ELISA tests showed that liraglutide can promote the expression of AMPKα and inhibit the expression of MAFbx, MuRF1 and 3-MH in myoblasts. A total of 15 multicentric DE-mRNAs were identified based on the Cytoscape-CytoHubba plug-in. Among them, Top2a had A3SS type AS. Functional annotation identifies multiple signaling pathways such as metabolic pathways, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, cAMP signaling pathway and cell cycle. CONCLUSION: Liraglutide can alleviate the decrease of cell viability and degradation of muscle protein caused by high glucose, and improves cell metabolism and mitochondrial activity. The molecular mechanism of liraglutide to alleviate the effect of high glucose on myoblasts is complex. This study provides a theoretical basis for the clinical effectiveness of liraglutide in the treatment of skeletal muscle lesions in diabetes.

Development and Evaluation of Refreshable Braille Display and Active Touch-Reading System for Digital Reading of the Visually Impaired.

The traditional way of reading through Braille books is constraining the reading experience of blind or visually impaired (BVI) in the digital age. In order to improve the reading convenience of BVI, this paper proposes a low-cost and refreshable Braille display device, and solves the problems of high energy consumption and low latching force existing in existing devices. Further, the Braille display device was combined with the 3D Systems Touch device to develop an active Braille touch-reading system for digital reading of BVI with the help of the CHAI3D virtual environment. Firstly, according to the actual needs of BVI to touch and read the Braille dots, this paper utilizes the beam structure to provide a full latching function for the raised Braille dot without energy consumption. Through theoretical derivation and finite element analysis, the performance of the Braille dot actuator is optimized to provide sufficient feedback force and latching force for finger's touch-reading. Then, this paper designs a virtual Braille interactive environment based on the CHAI3D, and combines the sense of touch with audio to effectively improve the recognition accuracy and reading efficiency of BVI for Braille through the multi-modal presentation of Braille information. The performance test results of the device show that the average lifting force of the Braille dot actuator is 101.67 mN, the latching force is over 5 N, and the average refresh frequency is 17.1 Hz, which meets the touch-reading needs of BVI. User experiments show that the average accuracy rate of BVI subjects in identifying digitized Braille is 95.5%, and subjects have a high subjective evaluation of the system.

Lesion segmentation using 3D scan and deep learning for the evaluation of facial portwine stain birthmarks.

BACKGROUND: Portwine stain (PWS) birthmarks are congenital vascular malformations. The quantification of PWS area is an important step in lesion classification and treatment evaluation. AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the combination of 3D scan with deep learning for automated PWS area quantization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PWS color was measured using a portable spectrophotometer. PWS patches (29.26-45.82 cm2) of different color and shape were generated for 2D and 3D PWS model. 3D images were acquired by a handheld 3D scanner to create texture maps. For semantic segmentation, an improved DeepLabV3+ network was developed for PWS lesion extraction from texture mapping of 3D images. In order to achieve accurate extraction of lesion regions, the convolutional block attention module (CBAM) and DENSE were introduced and the network was trained under Ranger optimizer. The performance of different backbone networks for PWS lesion extraction were also compared. RESULTS: IDeepLabV3+ (Xception) showed the best results in PWS lesion extraction and area quantification. Its mean Intersection over Union (MIou) was 0.9797, Mean Pixel Accuracy (MPA) 0.9908, Accuracy 0.9989, Recall 0.9886 and F1-score 0.9897, respectively. In PWS area quantization, the mean value of the area error rate of this scheme was 2.61 ± 2.33. CONCLUSIONS: The new 3D method developed in this study was able to achieve accurate quantification of PWS lesion area and has potentials for clinical applications.

The corneal biomechanical differences after wearing orthokeratology lenses and multifocal soft lenses in children: A self-control study.

BACKGROUND: To compare the changes in corneal biomechanics after orthokeratology (OK) lens and Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) lens treatment. METHODS: Of 28 myopic children were recruited, with one eye wearing OK lens and the other eye wearing DISC lens for one year, and the data after discontinued for 4 weeks were also collected. Major outcomes were corneal biomechanics and axial length (AL) elongation. RESULTS: Throughout the follow-up period, the DISC group had longer the first applanation (A1) time, larger A1 deformation amplitude, A1 deflection length (A1 DLL), and A1 deflection amplitude than the OK group. AL elongation was less in the OK group at each visit (all P < 0.05) but faster in the OK group than in the DISC group after discontinuation (P = 0.006). Moreover, AL elongation was related to baseline A1 time, A1 velocity and whole eye movement max in the DISC group, and in the OK group, was related to the baseline the second applanation (A2) DLL, A2 delta arc length and stiffness parameter A1 (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The cornea was more deformable after wearing DISC lens than OK lens, and corneal biomechanical parameters were associated with AL elongation. Eyes showed less AL elongation during OK lens treatment while faster AL elongation after discontinuation than DISC lens. The baseline corneal biomechanics may help to predict AL elongation in myopic control strategies.

LncRNA HOTAIR down-expression inhibits the invasion and tumorigenicity of epithelial ovarian cancer cells by suppressing TGF-ß1 and ZEB1.

BACKGROUND: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a pathological type with a higher mortality rate among gynecological cancers today. Long-chain noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate the transcription and expression of cellular genes. However, the downstream molecules regulated by lncRNA HOTAIR have not been well studied. The effects of downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR on EOC invasiveness and tumorigenicity in nude mice, along with TGF- ß1 and ZEB1 in epithelial ovarian cancer cells, need to be investigated in further research. RESULTS: RT-qPCR was used to detect lncRNA HOTAIR and TGF-ß1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression in EOC SKOV3 cells. The expression of lncRNA HOTAIR in SKOV3 cells transfected with the recombinant shHOTAIR interference plasmid was significantly lower than that of the negative control. Compared with the negative control, the matrix gel invasion ability of shHOTAIR SKOV3 cells in vitro and their tumorigenicity in nude mice were significantly reduced. Moreover, compared with the control, the expression of ZEB1 protein in shHOTAIR-SKOV3 xenograft tumors was significantly reduced. Downregulation of lncRNA HOTAIR expression significantly reduced TGF-ß1 and ZEB1 mRNA expression, but increased the expression of E-cadherin mRNA. In summary, downregulated lncRNA HOTAIR in EOC SKOV3 cells transfected with shHOTAIR can inhibit TGF-ß1, reduce ZEB1, increase E-cadherin, and significantly reduce the invasiveness and tumorigenicity of ovarian epithelial cancer SKOV3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the lncRNA HOTAIR may be an effective target for the treatment of human EOC.

Gluteal Muscle Fatty Atrophy: An Independent Risk Factor for Surgical Treatment in Elderly Patients Diagnosed with Type-III Fragility Fractures of the Pelvis.

BACKGROUND: Gluteal muscle fatty atrophy (gMFA) might impair pelvic stability and negatively influence remobilization in patients with fragility fractures of the pelvis (FFP). This study aimed to investigate the association between gMFA and surgical indication in patients with FFP. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective analysis of 429 patients (age ≥80) diagnosed with FFP was performed. gMFA of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus was evaluated using a standard scoring system based on computer tomography images. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in gMFA between genders or among FFP types. The severity of gMFA did not correlate with age. The severity of gMFA in the gluteus medius was significantly greater than in the gluteus maximus, whereas the most profound gMFA was found in the gluteus minimus. gMFA was significantly more severe in patients who underwent an operation than in conservatively treated patients with type-III FFP, and an independent correlation to surgical indication was found using logistic regression. CONCLUSION: Our findings imply that gMFA is an independent factor for surgical treatment in patients with type-III FFP. Besides focusing on the fracture pattern, the further evaluation of gMFA could be a feasible parameter for decision making toward either conservative or surgical treatment of type-III FFP.

Short-term Changes in Epithelial and Optical Redistribution Induced by Different Orthokeratology Designs.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate corneal epithelial and topographic changes caused by two commercial myopia orthokeratology (ortho-k) designs. METHODS: Twenty-six subjects fitted with vision shape treatment (VST) lenses and 30 subjects fitted with corneal reshaping therapy (CRT) lenses were reviewed 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after lens initiation. A spectral-domain optical coherence tomography system was used to create epithelial maps that were in turn used to determine the average epithelial thickness of each zone and the diameter of treatment zone. By measuring the topographic tangential differential map, the treatment zone diameter and the power and width of the high convex zone (HCZ) were obtained. All epithelial thicknesses and topographic corneal variations recorded were analyzed. RESULTS: At the central zone, the epithelial thickness changes (△ET) decreased significantly after 1 day of ortho-k in two groups. At 2- to 9-mm peripheral zone, ortho-k increased △ET until 1 week in the VST group, whereas it kept increasing in the CRT group after 1 week. At 1 month, the central △ET is -9.51±2.38 mm in the VST group, which was comparable to -8.72±3.43 mm in the CRT group. The nasal HCZ power and the △ET of nasal and inferior nasal were significantly larger in the CRT group. A positive correlation was found between the HCZ power and △ET generated by VST-type lenses inferiorly and temporally. For the CRT group, a positive correlation was found between inferior HCZ power and △ET. CONCLUSIONS: At the early stage of ortho-k, epithelial thickness and topography change quickly and simultaneously. Epithelial changes were in line with corneal topography reshaping. Epithelial and optical remodelling were affected by different lens types.

Efficacy of hemoporfin-PDT on port-wine stains: A retrospective analysis of 2952 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a retrospective analysis of Hemoporfin photodynamic therapy (HMME-PDT) in the treatment of port-wine stains (PWS). METHOD: A retrospective analysis was conducted based on the clinical data from March 2017 to December 2022, so as to summarize the demographic characteristics, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions. The effectiveness of HMME-PDT was examined with respect to treatment times, age, gender, subtype, and location of PWS lesions. RESULT: The age of the 2952 cases ranged from 8 months to 56 years old (median, 2.8 years), with 1419 males (48.07 %), and 1533 females (51.93 %). There were 669 cases of pink type (22.66 %), 2184 cases of purplish red type (73.98 %), and 99 cases of nodular thickening type (3.35 %). The prevalence location was face (88.04 %), neck (14.94 %), limbs and trunk. 1602 cases (54.27 %) had never received treatment, 661 cases (22.39 %) had been treated by pulse dye laser (PDL), 229 cases (7.76 %) had previously been treated by PDT, 296 cases (10.03 %) had received both the modalities. The 2952 cases completed totally 7996 HMME-PDT times. Cure rate and effective rate increased continuously with the number of treatments. The pink type has the highest cure rate and effective rate, followed by the purplish red type and the last was the nodular thickening type. The therapeutic effects are considerably influenced by age, subtype, and treatment site (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of HMME-PDT between both genders. The local adverse reactions after the first treatment included edema (97.73 %), itching (82.62 %), purpura-like change (79.51 %), crusts (24.59 %), infection (4.07 %), scars (1.08 %), hyperpigmentation (0.61 %), and depigmentation (0.41 %). Nausea and vomiting occurred in 2 juveniles and 1 young adult (5, 6 and 22 years old respectively) immediately after treatment, and did not interfere with the administration of the treatment. Patients aged 21-30 were found to have a 3.4-fold higher likelihood of undergoing HMME-PDT under general anesthesia compared to those aged 15 or younger. There was no distinct systemic adverse reaction, such as allergic responses, cardiovascular effects, neurological symptoms, hematological abnormalities, respiratory symptoms, or musculoskeletal issues. CONCLUSION: HMME-PDT is preferred in treating PWS, with relatively high effective rate and cure rate, mild local reactions and no distinct systemic adverse reaction.

Correction to "Carboxymethyl Chitosan Oligosaccharide Holds Promise for Treatment of Stenosis Crohn's Disease".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00035.].

Evolution of aniline degradation and nitrogen removal performance in electro-enhanced sequence batch reactor under salinity stress: Sludge characteristics and microbial diversity.

To explore the influence mechanism of different concentrations of salinity on the electro-enhanced aniline biodegradation system, a control group and experimental groups (0%-NaCl, 0.5%-NaCl, 1.5%-NaCl, 2.5%-NaCl, 3.5%-NaCl) were established. The experimental results showed that the electric field strengthened the denitrification performance, while salinity had little effect on the degradation efficiency of aniline and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The removal rate of TN reached 79.6% and 74.9% in 0.5%-NaCl and 1.5%-NaCl, respectively, which were superior than 0%-NaCl. As salinity increased, the nitrogen removal effect was negatively affected. Microbial diversity analysis indicated that the microbial community structure was uniform in the control group, 0%-NaCl, and 0.5%-NaCl, with the dominant genus OLB8 ensuring the nitrogen removal performance. In contrast, in the 2.5%-NaCl and 3.5%-NaCl experimental groups, the organic degrading bacteria were still active, while nitrifiers and denitrifiers were severely damaged. In conclusion, this study suggested that low concentrations of salinity can improve the decontamination performance of the electro-enhanced aniline biodegradation system, while high concentrations of salinity could lead to the collapse of the decontamination mechanism.

A novel prognostic signature based on immunogenic cell death score predicts outcomes and response to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The phenomenon of immunogenic cell death (ICD) is intricately linked to numerous antitumor treatments and exerts a profound regulatory function in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). We aimed to establish a prognostic signature from the ICD-related biomarkers to differentiate the TIME in hepatocellular carcinoma and predict diverse outcomes for patients with liver cancer. METHODS: ICD score-related genes (ICDSGs) were identified using the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The ICD score-related signature (ICDSsig) was established by applying LASSO and Cox regression. Model precision was verified using the external datasets. We used independent prognostic variables in clinicopathologic factors to develop a nomogram. Further, clinical characteristics, immune and molecular landscapes, the responses of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and immunotherapy, and chemotherapy sensitivity were analyzed for high- and low-risk patients. RESULTS: ICD score-calculated using the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA)-displayed strong associations with the TIME in HCC. We identified 34 ICDSGs after integrating the TCGA and GSE104580 datasets. Then, three novel ICDSGs (DNASE1L3, KLRB1, and LILRB1) were screened out to construct the ICDSsig; the prognostic signature performed well in the external databases. The high-risk patients had worse outcomes owing to their advanced pathological state, non-response of TACE, and immune-cold phenotype in the immune landscapes. The immune checkpoint genes, N6-methyladenosine-relevant genes, and microsatellite instability score were increased in the high-risk subgroup, thereby indicating a favorable sensitivity to immunotherapy. Common chemotherapy drugs were more effective in high-risk patients due to low half-maximal inhibitory concentration values. CONCLUSION: The ICDSsig can potentially predict outcomes and therapeutic responses for patients with liver cancer and may assist clinicians in designing individualized treatment strategies.

Efficient methods for multiple types of precise gene-editing in Chlamydomonas.

Precise gene-editing using CRISPR/Cas9 technology remains a long-standing challenge, especially for genes with low expression and no selectable phenotypes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a classic model for photosynthesis and cilia research. Here, we developed a multi-type and precise genetic manipulation method in which a DNA break was generated by Cas9 nuclease and the repair was mediated using a homologous DNA template. The efficacy of this method was demonstrated for several types of gene editing, including inactivation of two low-expression genes (CrTET1 and CrKU80), the introduction of a FLAG-HA epitope tag into VIPP1, IFT46, CrTET1 and CrKU80 genes, and placing a YFP tag into VIPP1 and IFT46 for live-cell imaging. We also successfully performed a single amino acid substitution for the FLA3, FLA10 and FTSY genes, and documented the attainment of the anticipated phenotypes. Lastly, we demonstrated that precise fragment deletion from the 3'-UTR of MAA7 and VIPP1 resulted in a stable knock-down effect. Overall, our study has established efficient methods for multiple types of precise gene editing in Chlamydomonas, enabling substitution, insertion and deletion at the base resolution, thus improving the potential of this alga in both basic research and industrial applications.

Trichalcogenasupersumanenes and its concave-convex supramolecular assembly with fullerenes.

Synthesis of buckybowls have stayed highly challenging due to the large structural strain caused by curved π surface. In this paper, we report the synthesis and properties of two trichalcogenasupersumanenes which three chalcogen (sulfur or selenium) atoms and three methylene groups bridge at the bay regions of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene. These trichalcogenasupersumanenes are synthesized quickly in three steps using an Aldol cyclotrimerization, a Scholl oxidative cyclization, and a Stille type reaction. X-ray crystallography analysis reveals that they encompass bowl diameters of 11.06 Å and 11.35 Å and bowl depths of 2.29 Å and 2.16 Å for the trithiasupersumanene and triselenosupersumanene, respectively. Furthermore, trithiasupersumanene derivative with methyl chains can form host-guest complexes with C60 or C70, which are driven by concave-convex π ⋯ π interactions and multiple C-H ⋯ π interactions between bowl and fullerenes.

Understanding the impacts of intermittent electro field on the bioelectrochemical aniline degradation system: Performance, microbial community and functional enzyme.

On account of the lack of a sustainable electron donor source and the inhibitory effect of aniline on denitrogenation make it tough to achieve simultaneous removal of aniline and nitrogen. Herein, the strategy of adjusting electric field mode was applied to the electro-enhanced sequential batch reactors (E-SBRs: R1 (continuous ON), R2 (2 h-ON/2 h-OFF), R3 (12 h-ON/12 h-OFF), R4 (in the aerobic phase ON), R5 (in the anoxic phase ON)) to treat aniline wastewater. Aniline removal rate reached approximately 99% in the five systems. Decreasing electrical stimulation interval from 12 to 2 h significantly improved the electron utilization efficiency for aniline degradation and nitrogen metabolism. The total nitrogen removal was achieved from 70.31% to 75.63%. Meanwhile, the hydrogenotrophic denitrifiers of Hydrogenophaga, Thauera, and Rhodospirillales, enriched in reactors of minor electrical stimulation interval. Accordingly, the expression of functional enzyme related to electron transport was incremental with the proper electrical stimulation frequency.

Unraveling the nexus of Cr (VI), aniline, and microbial ecology on aniline-degrading biosystem: Removal efficiency, sludge type, microbial ecology.

In order to explore the stress principle of Cr (Ⅵ) on aniline biodegradation system, a control group and experimental groups with the concentration of Cr (Ⅵ) at 2, 5, 8 mg/L were set up. The results demonstrated that Cr (Ⅵ) had minimal effects on the degradation efficiency of aniline but significantly inhibited nitrogen removal function. When Cr (Ⅵ) concentration was below 5 mg/L, the nitrification performance recovered spontaneously, while denitrification performance was severely impaired. Furthermore, the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and its fluorescence substance concentration were strongly inhibited with increasing Cr (Ⅵ) concentration. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the experimental groups were enriched with Leucobacter and Cr (Ⅵ)-reducing bacteria, but the abundance of nitrifiers and denitrifiers was significantly decreased compared to the control group. Overall, the effects of Cr (Ⅵ) stress at different concentrations on nitrogen removal performance were more significant than those on aniline degradation.

Association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency and muscle strength: results from a sample of Chinese adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Although sugar-sweetened beverage consumption has become an important and widespread concern, there are few studies on the association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency and muscle strength in Chinese adolescents. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency and muscle strength in Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A stratified whole-group sampling method was used to survey 25,893 adolescents aged 13-15 years old in China for sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency and muscle strength for grip strength and standing long jump. The subjects' basic information, body mass index (BMI), and covariates were investigated. The association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency and muscle strength was analyzed by multivariate logisitc regression analysis. RESULTS: The proportions of Chinese adolescents who consumed sugar-sweetened beverage ≥ 3 times/week, 1-2 times/week, and < 1 time/week were 12.23%, 52.79%, and 34.98%, respectively. The differences in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption frequency were statistically significant when compared across gender, parental education, duration of physical activity, snacks, and mode of commuting to school (χ2 values = 228.570, 51.422, 275.552, 3165.656, 10.988, P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that overall Chinese adolescents with sugary drinks 1-2 times/week (OR = 1.207, 95% CI:1.132-1.287) and sugary drinks ≥ 3 times/week (OR = 1.771, 95% CI:1.611-1.947) were associated with lower muscle strength compared to sugary drinks < 1 time/week showed a positive association (P < 0.01). The same trend was found for boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Chinese adolescents' sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is common, and high-frequency sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with lower muscle strength. In the future, we should control the use of sugar-sweetened beverages and increase muscular strength training in Chinese adolescents to promote healthy growth.