Preliminary study on the diagnostic value of LEAP-2 and CK18 in biopsy-proven MAFLD.

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease. Liver biopsy, as the diagnostic gold standard, is invasive and has sampling bias, making it particularly important to search for sensitive and specific biomarkers for diagnosis. Cytokeratin 18 (CK18) M30 and M65 are products of liver cell apoptosis and necrosis, respectively, and liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) is a related indicator of glucose and lipid metabolism. Correlation studies have found that all three indicators positively correlate with the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Through comparison of diagnostic values, it was found that CK18 M65 can better distinguish between healthy individuals and MAFLD; LEAP-2 can effectively distinguish MAFLD from other liver diseases, especially ALD.

'Stress hyperglycemia ratio and in-hospital prognosis in non-surgical patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of stress hyperglycemia on the in-hospital prognosis in non-surgical patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We identified non-surgical hospitalized patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes from a large electronic medical record-based database of diabetes in China (WECODe) from 2011 to 2019. We estimated stress hyperglycemia using the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and its equation, say admission blood glucose/[(28.7 × HbA1c)- 46.7]. The primary outcomes included the composite cardiac events (combination of death during hospitalization, requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiogenic shock, and the new episode of acute heart failure during hospitalization), major acute kidney injury (AKI stage 2 or 3), and major systemic infection. RESULTS: Of 2875 eligible Chinese adults, SHR showed U-shaped associations with composite cardiac events, major AKI, and major systemic infection. People with SHR in the third tertile (vs those with SHR in the second tertile) presented higher risks of composite cardiac events ([odds ratio, 95% confidence interval] 1.89, 1.26 to 2.87) and major AKI (1.86, 1.01 to 3.54). In patients with impaired kidney function at baseline, both SHR in the first and third tertiles anticipated higher risks of major AKI and major systemic infection. CONCLUSIONS: Both high and low SHR indicates poor prognosis during hospitalization in non-surgical patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes.

Causal relationships between metabolic-associated fatty liver disease and iron status: Two-sample Mendelian randomization.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Dysregulated iron homeostasis plays an important role in the hepatic manifestation of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We investigated the causal effects of five iron metabolism markers, regular iron supplementation and MAFLD risk. METHODS: Genetic summary statistics were obtained from open genome-wide association study databases. Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis was performed to estimate the causal effect between iron status and MAFLD, including Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted, weighted median methods and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression. The Mendelian randomization-PRESSO outlier test, Cochran's Q test and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression were used to assess outliers, heterogeneity and pleiotropy respectively. RESULTS: Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted results showed that the genetically predicted per standard deviation increase in liver iron (Data set 2: odds ratio 1.193, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.074-1.326, p = .001) was associated with an increased MAFLD risk, consistent with the weighted median estimates and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression, although Data set 1 was not significant. Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted analysis showed that genetically predicted MAFLD was significantly associated with increased serum ferritin levels in both datasets (Dataset 1: ß = .038, 95% CI = .014 to .062, p = .002; Dataset 2: ß = .081, 95% CI = .025 to .136, p = .004), and a similar result was observed with the weighted median methods for Dataset 2 instead of Mendelian randomization-Egger regression. CONCLUSIONS: This study uncovered genetically predicted causal associations between iron metabolism status and MAFLD. These findings underscore the need for improved guidelines for managing MAFLD risk by emphasizing hepatic iron levels as a risk factor and ferritin levels as a prognostic factor.

A mixed virtual element method for Biot's consolidation model.

In this paper, we shall present a weak virtual element method for the standard three field poroelasticity problem on polytopal meshes. The flux velocity and pressure are approximated by the low order H(div) virtual element and the piecewise constant, while the elastic displacement is discretized by the H(div) virtual element with some tangential polynomials on element boundaries. A fully discrete scheme is then given by choosing the backward Euler for the time discretization. With some assumptions on the exact solutions, we prove that the convergence order is of order 1 with respect to the meshsize and the time step, and the hidden constants are independent of the parameters of the problems. Some numerical experiments are given to verify the results.

Lipoprotein A, combined with alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, contributes to predicting the occurrence of NASH: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progresses from simple nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and has a poor prognosis. Abnormal lipid metabolism is closely related to the occurrence and development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to study the relationships between serum lipid metabolites and NASH, and to improve the early diagnosis of NASH. METHODS: This study included 86 NAFLD patients (23 NASH and 63 NAFL), and 81 unaffected individuals as controls from West China Hospital between October 2018 and May 2019. With lipid metabolites as the focus of the study, the differences in lipid metabolites were compared between the control group, NAFL patients, and NASH patients. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the risk factors of NASH. Finally, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to analyze the efficacy of the metabolites in NASH prediction. RESULTS: The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lipoprotein A (LPA) increased with the severity of NAFLD. In NAFLD patients, LPA (OR:1.61; 95%CI: 1.03-2.52) was a potential risk factor for NASH, and ROC analysis showed that the combination of LPA, ALT, and AST had a greater predictive efficiency for NASH. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal apolipoprotein/lipoprotein is closely related to lipid metabolism disorder in patients with NAFLD. In NAFL, the combination of LPA, ALT, and AST contributes to predicting the occurrence of NASH. LPA may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for diagnosing and treating NASH.

Evaluation of biological variation of glycated hemoglobin and glycated albumin in healthy Chinese subjects.

BACKGROUND: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and glycated serum albumin (GSA) are used to evaluate the mean blood glucose levels. To ensure safe clinical application of HbA1c and GSA, reliable biological variation (BV) data are required. The aim of this research was to define the BV of HbA1c and GSA employing stringent rules. METHODS: Blood samples were drawn from 19 healthy subjects (10 females, nine males) once per week for 5 weeks. All samples were analyzed using enzymatic method for GSA and HPLC for HbA1c. The data were assessed for outliers, normality and variance homogeneity, and coefficient of variation (by ANOVA) for BV. Sex-stratified BV including within-subject (CVI ) and between-subject (CVG ) was defined for HbA1c and GSA. RESULTS: The following estimates for BV values for CVI and CVG , respectively, were GSA: 1.23% and 4.67%, Alb: 0.75% and 3.18%, and HbA1c: 0.12% and 2.91%. The RCV of GSA was 3.61%, and HbA1c was 1.41%. And the II was 0.26 for GSA, and 0.07 for HbA1c, both of them less than 0.6. According to the 95% CI, the CVI of HbA1c was statistically different between females and males. And both the CVG of HbA1c and GSA were statistically different between females and males. CONCLUSION: All CVI and CVG estimates were lower than those reported in the online BV database. And there is a significant difference between males and females. Analytical performance specifications derived from BV of this research can be applied internationally.

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings of malignant solid pseudopapillary tumors of the pancreas with macroscopic venous tumor thrombosis: a report of 4 cases.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the imaging findings of malignant pancreatic solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPTs) with macroscopic venous tumor thrombi. METHODS: The clinical features and imaging findings of 4 cases of malignant pancreatic SPT with venous tumor thrombi were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The tumor thrombi were located in the splenic vein (n = 3) or the main portal vein and the proximal splenic vein (n = 1). Venous thrombi were connected with the main pancreatic tumors and showed venous filling defects on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Tumor thrombi primarily consisting of necrotic component and/or hemorrhage displayed no enhancement after contrast injection (n = 3). The enhancement pattern of the tumor thrombi that consisted mainly of tumor nests was consistent with pancreatic SPT (n = 1), that is, a slight enhancement in the arterial phase and a progressive enhancement in the portal venous phase and the equilibrium phase. Venous tumor thrombi associated with hemorrhage were hyperintense on both T1-weighted and T2-weighted images. CONCLUSIONS: It is uncommon for pancreatic SPTs to spread by invading the venous system and forming macroscopic venous tumor thrombi.

The Role and Mechanism of Nicotinamide Riboside in Oxidative Damage and a Fibrosis Model of Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

Purpose: To investigate the potential effects and mechanism of nicotinamide riboside (NR) on the oxidative stress and fibrosis model of human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cell line cells. Methods: HTM cells were pretreated with NR, followed by the induction of oxidative injury and fibrosis by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and TGF-ß2, respectively. Cell viability was tested using Hoechst staining and MTT assays, cell proliferation was assessed by EdU assay, and cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and western blotting. DCFH-DA and DHE probes were used to measure the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and MitoTracker staining was used to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Fibrotic responses, including cell migration and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, were detected via Transwell assays, qRT-PCR, and immunoblotting. Results: NR pretreatment improved the viability, proliferation, and MMP of H2O2-treated HTM cells. Compared to cells treated solely with H2O2, HTM cells treated with both NR and H2O2, exhibited a reduced rate of apoptosis and generation of ROS. Compared with H2O2 pretreatment, NR pretreatment upregulated expression of the JAK2/Stat3 pathway but inhibited mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway expression. Moreover, 10-ng/mL TGF-ß2 promoted cell proliferation and migration, which were inhibited by NR pretreatment. Both qRT-PCR and immunoblotting showed that NR inhibited the expression of fibronectin in a TGF-ß2-induced fibrosis model. Conclusions: NR has a protective effect on oxidative stress and fibrosis in HTM cells, which may be related to the JAK2/Stat3 pathway and MAPK pathway. Translational Relevance: Our research provides the ongoing data for potential therapy of NAD+ precursors in glaucoma.

Comparison of the quality of Nurse-Led palliative care with standard medical care during six months in 405 patients with Parkinson's disease and burdens of their Caregivers: A retrospective study at a single center in China.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is mainly used to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases by addressing their medical conditions and psychological problems. End-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) is also a progressive disease like cancer and could be managed by palliative care. This study was conducted at a single center in China and aimed to compare the quality of nurse-led palliative care with standard medical care during six months in 405 patients with Parkinson's disease (PPD) and their caregivers using the Chinese version of the 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the Chinese Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scale. METHODS: PPD (stage 2-5) received nurse-led palliative care (NP cohort, 103 patients; 103 caregivers) or neurologist-led standard care (NS cohort, 134 patients; 134 caregivers), or primary care practitioner-led usual care (PS cohort, 168 patients; 168 caregivers) for six months. RESULTS: Before the health professional-led care (BN), the PDQ-39 score of PPD was 68 (71-64) and their caregivers had 54.86 ± 7.64 a ZBI scale. After 6-months of the health professional-led care (AN), the PDQ-39 score of PPD and a ZBI scale of their caregivers decreased for the NP cohort as compared to those of BN condition and those of patients in the NS and PS cohorts at AN condition (p < 0.001 for all). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of life of PPD must be improved and the burden on their caregivers must be relieved. Nurse-led palliative care successfully improved the quality of life of PPD and reduced their caregiver burden.

Studies on the transfer effect of aged polyethylene microplastics in soil-plant system.

The widespread use of polyethylene (PE) agricultural films has led to a large accumulation of microplastics in soil, and the environmental effects of microplastics on soil-plants have received increasing attention. In the actual soil environment, microplastics undergo significant changes in their physicochemical properties due to aging, accompanied by complex ecological and environmental effects. However, the quantitative understanding of the environmental effects of microplastic aging in soil-plant systems is still unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of aged and unaged PE microplastics on ecological functions and microplastic transfer mechanisms in soil-plant system, and confirmed the transport behavior of micrometer-sized microplastics (26 µm) within maize plants, expanding the upper size limit of existing studies on microplastic transport within plants. The accumulation of microplastics in maize was also quantitatively assessed in combination with the self-established method of Eu marked PE. The mobility ratio of microplastics from soil to roots, roots to stems, and stems to leaves was 1.07%, 0.76%, and 103.28%, respectively. This study provides a scientific understanding for the environmental effects of microplastics in soil-plants systems quantitatively.

The Causal Relationship between Inflammatory Cytokines and Liver Cirrhosis in European Descent: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study and the First Conclusions.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have highlighted the pivotal role of inflammatory cytokines in cirrhosis progression. However, the existence of a causal link between inflammatory cytokines and cirrhosis remains uncertain. In this study, we conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis at a summarized level to illuminate the potential causal relationship between the two variables. METHODS: This study utilized genetic variance in cirrhosis and inflammatory cytokines from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of European descent. The MR-PRESSO outlier test, Cochran's Q test, and MR-Egger regression were applied to assess outliers, heterogeneity, and pleiotropy. The inverse variance weighted method and multiple sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate causalities. Furthermore, the validation set was used for simultaneous data validation. RESULTS: The inflammatory cytokine monocyte chemoattractant protein 3 (MCP-3) was supposedly associated with a greater risk of cirrhosis. And cirrhosis was significantly correlated with increased levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that MCP-3 might be associated with the etiology of cirrhosis, while several inflammatory cytokines could potentially play a role in its downstream development. Additionally, the progression of cirrhosis was associated with elevated levels of HGF, suggesting a possible role for liver repair functions.

Changes of serum cortisol during pregnancy and labor initiation: an onsite cross-sectional study.

Background: Increased maternal cortisol secretion has been observed during pregnancy and labor. However, due to the limitations in diagnostic methods, the dynamic change of cortisol during the short period between threatened labor and labor is unknown. In this study, we aim to evaluate the changes in serum cortisol during late pregnancy and full-term labor initiation, verifying if cortisol could serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of labor initiation from threatened labor. Methods: This cross-sectional onsite study involved 564 participants of 6 different gestational stages (C: Control; T1: Trimester 1; T3: Trimester 3; E: expectant; TL: threatened labor; L: labor), all patients in the E, TL, and L groups were at full term. The serum cortisol concentration was quantified with a point-of-care test (POCT), and the gestation, age, parity, and BMI of participants were documented. Morning serum cortisol was collected between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., except for the TL and L group women who were tested upon arrival or during latent labor. With cortisol levels or all five variables, L was distinguished from TL using machine learning algorithms. Results: Significant elevation of cortisol concentration was observed between T1 and T3, or TL and L group (P< 0.001). Women belonging to the E and TL group showed similar gestation week and cortisol levels. Diagnosis of labor initiation using cortisol levels (cutoff = 21.46 µg/dL) yielded sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of 86.50%, 88.60%, and 0.934. With additional variables, a higher specificity (89.29%) was achieved. The diagnostic accuracy of all methods ranged from 85.93% to 87.90%. Conclusion: Serum cortisol could serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of L form TL. The rapid onsite detection of serum cortisol with POCT could facilitate medical decision-making for admission and special treatments, either as an additional parameter or when other technical platforms are not available.

Multiparametric simultaneous hybrid 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (18F-FDG PET/MRI) incorporating intratumoral and peritumoral regions for grading of glioma.

Background: Preoperative grading gliomas is essential for therapeutic clinical decision-making. Current non-invasive imaging modality for glioma grading were primarily focused on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) of the tumor region. However, these methods overlook the peritumoral region (PTR) of tumor and cannot take full advantage of the biological information derived from hybrid-imaging. Therefore, we aimed to combine multiparameter from hybrid 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/MRI of the solid component and PTR were combined for differentiating high-grade glioma (HGG) from low-grade glioma (LGG). Methods: A total of 76 patients with pathologically confirmed glioma (41 HGG and 35 LGG) who underwent simultaneous 18F-FDG PET, arterial spin labelling (ASL), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with hybrid PET/MRI were retrospectively enrolled. The relative maximum standardized uptake value (rSUVmax), relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and relative minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (rADCmin) for the solid component and PTR at different distances outside tumoral border were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied to assess the grading performance. A nomogram for HGG prediction was constructed. Results: HGGs displayed higher rSUVmax and rCBF but lower rADCmin in the solid component and 5 mm-adjacent PTR, lower rADCmin in 10 mm-adjacent PTR, and higher rCBF in 15- and 20-mm-adjacent PTR. rSUVmax in solid component performed best [area under the curve (AUC) =0.865] as a single parameter for grading. Combination of rSUVmax in the solid component and adjacent 20 mm performed better (AUC =0.881). Integration of all 3 indicators in the solid component and adjacent 20 mm performed the best (AUC =0.928). The nomogram including rSUVmax, rCBF, and rADCmin in the solid component and 5-mm-adjacent PTR predicted HGG with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.906. Conclusions: Multiparametric 18F-FDG PET/MRI from the solid component and PTR performed excellently in differentiating HGGs from LGGs. It can be used as a non-invasive and effective tool for preoperative grade stratification of patients with glioma, and can be considered in clinical practice.

Impact of glioma peritumoral edema, tumor size, and tumor location on alternating electric fields (AEF) therapy in realistic 3D rat glioma models: a computational study.

Objective.Alternating electric fields (AEF) therapy is a treatment modality for patients with glioblastoma. Tumor characteristics such as size, location, and extent of peritumoral edema may affect the AEF strength and distribution. We evaluated the sensitivity of the AEFs in a realistic 3D rat glioma model with respect to these properties.Approach.The electric properties of the peritumoral edema were varied based on calculated and literature-reported values. Models with different tumor composition, size, and location were created. The resulting AEFs were evaluated in 3D rat glioma models.Main results.In all cases, a pair of 5 mm diameter electrodes induced an average field strength >1 V cm-1. The simulation results showed that a negative relationship between edema conductivity and field strength was found. As the tumor core size was increased, the average field strength increased while the fraction of the shell achieving >1.5 V cm-1decreased. Increasing peritumoral edema thickness decreased the shell's mean field strength. Compared to rostrally/caudally, shifting the tumor location laterally/medially and ventrally (with respect to the electrodes) caused higher deviation in field strength.Significance.This study identifies tumor properties that are key drivers influencing AEF strength and distribution. The findings might be potential preclinical implications.

AIEgens-enhanced rapid sensitive immunofluorescent assay for SARS-CoV-2 with digital microfluidics.

BACKGROUND: Sensitive and rapid antigen detection is critical for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, but conventional ELISAs including chemiluminescence-based assays are limited in sensitivity and require many operation steps. Fluorescence immunoassays are fast and convenient but often show limited sensitivity and dynamic range. RESULTS: To address the need, an aggregation-induced emission fluorgens (AIEgens) enhanced immunofluorescent assay with beads-based quantification on the digital microfluidic (DMF) platform was developed. Portable DMF devices and chips with small electrodes were fabricated, capable of manipulating droplets within 100 nL and boosting the reaction efficiency. AIEgen nanoparticles (NPs) with high fluorescence and photostability were synthesized to enhance the test sensitivity and detection range. The integration of AIEgen probes, transparent DMF chip design, and the large magnetic beads (10 µm) as capture agents enabled rapid and direct image-taking and signal calculation of the test result. The performance of this platform was demonstrated by point-of-care quantification of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein. Within 25 min, a limit of detection of 5.08 pg mL-1 and a limit of quantification of 8.91 pg mL-1 can be achieved using <1 µL sample. The system showed high reproducibility across the wide dynamic range (10-105 pg mL-1), with the coefficient of variance ranging from 2.6% to 9.8%. SIGNIFICANCE: This rapid, sensitive AIEgens-enhanced immunofluorescent assay on the DMF platform showed simplified reaction steps and improved performance, providing insight into the small-volume point-of-care testing of different biomarkers in research and clinical applications.

Associations of recurrent lumbar disc herniation after percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy with age, body mass index, modic change, disc degeneration and sacral slope: A quantitative review.

Recurrent lumbar disc herniation (rLDH) seriously affects the quality of life of patients and increases the medical burden. The purpose of the present study was to determine the risk factors for rLDH after percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD). The PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase databases were searched for studies on the factors associated with rLDH after PELD. The databases were searched from inception to March 30, 2023. The combined effects of categorical variables and continuous variables were measured using odds ratios (ORs) and weighted mean differences (WMDs), respectively, and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RevMan 5.3 software was used for data analysis. A total of 9 case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis, comprising 5,446 patients. This study explored a total of 18 potential risk factors for rLDH after PELD; ultimately, 5 factors were associated with the risk of rLDH. Meta-analysis showed that older age (WMD=6.49, 95% CI: 2.52 to 10.46), greater body mass index (WMD=1.16, 95% CI: 0.69 to 1.62), modic change (OR=2.48, 95% CI: 1.54 to 3.99), Pfirrmann grade ≥4 (OR=2.84, 95% CI: 1.3 to 6.16) and greater sacral slope angle (WMD=3.48, 95% CI: 0.53 to 6.42) were risk factors for rLDH after PELD. The risk factors identified in the present study may enable clinicians to identify high-risk populations early and to select appropriate surgical procedures to reduce the risk of rLDH. Perioperative interventions targeting the modifiable factors identified in this study may be beneficial for reducing the risk of rLDH.

Self-Aligned Ionic Doping of TiO2 Thin-Film Transistors for Enhanced Current Drivability via Postfabrication Superacid Treatment.

Oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) have shown great potential in emerging applications such as flexible displays, radio-frequency identification tags, sensors, and back-end-of-line compatible transistors for monolithic 3D integration beyond their well-established flat-plane display technology. To meet the requirements of these appealing applications, high current drivability is essential, necessitating exploration in materials science and device engineering. In this work, we report for the first time on a simple solution-based superacid (SA) treatment to enhance the current drivability of top-gate TiO2 TFTs with a gate-offset structure. The on-current of these transistors is limited by the relatively low mobility of TiO2 due to its d-orbital conduction nature. It is found that the on-current of TiO2 TFTs is nearly doubled via a quick dip in a SA solution at room temperature in ambient air. A series of experiments, including comparative I-V measurements of TFTs with different treatments and gate structures, C-V measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and device simulation, were performed to uncover the underlying reason for the current enhancement. It is believed that the protons (H+) from SA are doped into the offset region of TiO2 TFTs, forming an electron double layer and thus boosting the on-current, with the top gate serving as a self-aligned mask for ionic doping. Furthermore, the ionic size and the proportion of the offset region to the channel play crucial roles in the effectiveness of ionic doping, while the position of the incorporated ions, whether in the channel or dielectric, may result in distinct shifts in the turn-on voltage (VON) and affect the functionality of ionic doping. This study provides a pathway for enhancing the current drivability of TiO2 TFTs via selective ionic doping enabled by SA treatment and deepens our understanding of ion incorporation in electronic devices. This approach could be applicable to other material systems and may also benefit TFTs with miniaturized dimensions, thus opening up unprecedented opportunities for TiO2 TFTs in future applications requiring high current drivability.

Early enteral nutrition intervention promotes multiple functional recovery in patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage: A prospective randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To delve into how early enteral nutrition intervention exert its part in promoting multiple functional recovery in patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (TICH). METHOD: This prospective randomized controlled study recruited 152 traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage patients in our hospital. The observation group (n = 77) received early enteral nutrition intervention (≤ 48 h), while the control group (n = 75) were given delayed enteral nutrition (> 48 h). Further comparison was performed on the recovery of various physiologic functions between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, GCS score and GOS score in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and mRS Score was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the observation group demonstrated a considerable post-treatment elevation in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (Cor) levels, which were notably higher than the control group's levels (both P < 0.05). The changes in Bifidobacteria, Enterococcus, and Escherichia coli values pre and post-treatment were more remarkable in the observation group (all P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis indicated a substantial difference in survival curves between patients who provided with early enteral nutrition and those where it later (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The early application of enteral nutrition can promote neurological function recovery, improve the disorder of intestinal flora and the patient's nutritional status, reduce the increase of injury factors under stress, and lower the mortality risk among patients suffering from TICH.

A new quantitative insight: Interaction of polyethylene microplastics with soil - microbiome - crop.

In this study, the interaction between primary/secondary PE MPs and soil - microbiome - crop complex system and PE MPs enrichment behavior in crops were studied by using the self-developed quantitative characterization method of Eu-MPs and in situ zymography. The results demonstrated for the first time the enrichment effect of micron-sized PE (> 10 µm) in crops, manifested as roots>leaves>stems. Primary PE MPs significantly increased soil TN, TC, SOM and ß-glu activity and inhibited Phos activity. Age-PE MPs significantly reduced soil TN, TP, ß-glu and Phos activities and also have significant inhibitory effects on plant height, stem diameter, and leaf dry weight of maize. Age-PE MPs significantly affected soil microbial diversity, mainly caused by bacterial genera such as UTCFX1, Sphingomonas, Subgroup-6 and Gemmatimonas. Age-PE MPs also affected some metabolism related to microbial community composition and maize growth, including Glycerolipid, Citrate cycle (TCA cycle), C5-Branched dibasic acid, Arginine and proline, Tyrosine metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, Valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis. These research results indicated that the PE MPs, which are widely present in farmland soils, can affect crop growth, soil microbial community and metabolic function after aging, thus affecting agroecosystems and terrestrial biodiversity.

Review of the advances in lipid anchors-based biosensors for the isolation and detection of exosomes.

Exosomes are nanoparticles with a bilayer lipid structure that carry cargo from their cells of origin. These vesicles are vital to disease diagnosis and therapeutics; however, conventional isolation and detection techniques are generally complicated, time-consuming, and costly, thus hampering the clinical applications of exosomes. Meanwhile, sandwich-structured immunoassays for exosome isolation and detection rely on the specific binding of membrane surface biomarkers, which may be limited by the type and amount of target protein present. Recently, lipid anchors inserted into the membranes of vesicles through hydrophobic interactions have been adopted as a new strategy for extracellular vesicle manipulation. By combining nonspecific and specific binding, the performance of biosensors can be improved variously. This review presents the reaction mechanisms and properties of lipid anchors/probes, as well as advances in the development of biosensors. The combination of signal amplification methods with lipid anchors is discussed in detail to provide insights into the design of convenient and sensitive detection techniques. Finally, the advantages, challenges, and future directions of lipid anchor-based exosome isolation and detection methods are highlighted from the perspectives of research, clinical use, and commercialization.