YouTube/ Bilibili/ TikTok videos as sources of medical information on laryngeal carcinoma: cross-sectional content analysis study.

BACKGROUND: YouTube, a widely recognized global video platform, is inaccessible in China, whereas Bilibili and TikTok are popular platforms for long and short videos, respectively. There are many videos related to laryngeal carcinoma on these platforms. This study aims to identify upload sources, contents, and feature information of these videos on YouTube, Bilibili, and TikTok, and further evaluate the video quality. METHODS: On January 1, 2024, we searched the top 100 videos by default sort order (300 videos in total) with the terms "laryngeal carcinoma" and "throat cancer" on YouTube, "" on Bilibili and TikTok. Videos were screened for relevance and similarity. Video characteristics were documented, and quality was assessed by using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT), Video Information and Quality Index (VIQI), Global Quality Score (GQS), and modified DISCERN (mDISCERN). RESULTS: The analysis included 99 YouTube videos, 76 from Bilibili, and 73 from TikTok. Median video lengths were 193 s (YouTube), 136 s (Bilibili), and 42 s (TikTok). TikTok videos demonstrated higher audience interaction. Bilibili had the lowest ratio of original contents (69.7%). Treatment was the most popular topic on YouTube and Bilibili, while that was the prognosis on TikTok. Solo narration was the most common video style across all platforms. Video uploaders were predominantly non-profit organizations (YouTube), self-media (Bilibili), and doctors (TikTok), with TikTok authors having the highest certification rate (83.3%). Video quality, assessed using PEMAT, VIQI, GQS, and mDISCERN, varied across platforms, with YouTube generally showing the highest scores. Videos from professional authors performed better than videos from non-professionals based on the GQS and mDISCERN scores. Spearman correlation analysis showed no strong relationships between the video quality and the audience interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Videos on social media platforms can help the public learn about the knowledge of laryngeal cancer to some extent. TikTok achieves the best flow, but videos on YouTube are of the best quality. However, the video quality across all platforms still needs enhancement. We need more professional uploaders to ameliorate the video quality related to laryngeal carcinoma. Content creators also should be aware of the certification, the originality, and the style of video shooting. As for the platforms, refining the algorithm will allow users to receive more high-quality videos.

Design of an In Vitro Model for Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Gastric Cancer.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a developmental program that plays a vital role in gastric cancer, including aspects of tumor progression, the metastatic process, and resistance to treatment. Here, we have designed an in vitro model that mimics the features of EMT as observed in gastric cancer. The results showed that both migration and invasion were enhanced in gastric cancer cells with Brachyury overexpression. Additionally, the expression of IL-8 increased, while IL-8RA and IL-8RB levels significantly decreased in the in vitro model. Overall, the in vitro model offers an opportunity to study these phenomena relevant to EMT as they may occur in vivo in gastric cancer, as well as potential drug interactions that could interfere with these processes.

TRANS-CNN-Based Gesture Recognition for mmWave Radar.

In order to improve the real-time performance of gesture recognition by a micro-Doppler map of mmWave radar, the point cloud based gesture recognition for mmWave radar is proposed in this paper. Two steps are carried out for mmWave radar-based gesture recognition. The first step is to estimate the point cloud of the gestures by 3D-FFT and the peak grouping. The second step is to train the TRANS-CNN model by combining the multi-head self-attention and the 1D-convolutional network so as to extract the features in the point cloud data at a deeper level to categorize the gestures. In the experiments, TI mmWave radar sensor IWR1642 is used as a benchmark to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed approach. The results show that the accuracy of the gesture recognition reaches 98.5%. In order to prove the effectiveness of our approach, a simply 2Tx2Rx radar sensor is developed in our lab, and the accuracy of recognition reaches 97.1%. The results show that our proposed gesture recognition approach achieves the best performance in real time with limited training data in comparison with the existing methods.

AAV3-miRNA vectors for growth suppression of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and human liver tumors in a murine xenograft model in vivo.

We have previously reported that recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 3 (AAV3) vectors transduce human liver tumors more efficiently in a mouse xenograft model following systemic administration. Others have utilized AAV8 vectors expressing miR-26a and miR-122 to achieve near total inhibition of growth of mouse liver tumors. Since AAV3 vectors transduce human hepatic cells more efficiently than AAV8 vectors, in the present studies, we wished to evaluate the efficacy of AAV3-miR-26a/122 vectors in suppressing the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro, and human liver tumors in a mouse model in vivo. To this end, a human HCC cell line, Huh7, was transduced with various multiplicities of infection (MOIs) of AAV3-miR-26a or scAAV3-miR-122 vectors, or both, which also co-expressed a Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) reporter gene. Only a modest level of dose-dependent growth inhibition of Huh7 cells (~12-13%) was observed at the highest MOI (1 × 105 vgs/cell) with each vector. When Huh7 cells were co-transduced with both vectors, the extent of growth inhibition was additive (~26%). However, AAV3-miR-26a and scAAV3-miR-122 vectors led to ~70% inhibition of growth of Huh-derived human liver tumors in a mouse xenograft model in vivo. Thus, the combined use of miR-26a and scAAV3-miR-122 delivered by AAV3 vectors offers a potentially useful approach to target human liver tumors.

Biocrude Oil from Algal Bloom Microalgae: A Novel Integration of Biological and Thermochemical Techniques.

Algal bloom microalgae are abundant in polluted water systems, but their biocrude oil production potential via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is limited. This study proposed a novel process that combined biological (dark fermentation) and thermochemical (HTL) techniques aimed at changing the feedstock characteristics to be more suitable for thermochemical conversion, herein named integrated dark fermentation-hydrothermal liquefaction (DF-HTL). DF-HTL conversion of algae significantly enhanced the biocrude oil yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), energy content (MJ), and energy conversion ratios by 9.8, 29.7, 40.0, and 61.0%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Furthermore, DF-HTL processing significantly decreased the aqueous byproduct yield (wt %), carbon content (mol), nitrogen content (mol), and ammonia content (mol) by 19.0, 38.4, 25.0, and 13.2%, respectively, in comparison to the control. Therefore, DF-HTL reduced the environmental impact associated with disposing of the wastewater byproduct. However, DF-HTL also augmented the nitrogen content (mol) of the biocrude oil by 42.2% in comparison to the control. The benefits of DF-HTL were attributed to the increased acid content, the incorporation of H2 as a processing gas, and the enhancement of the Maillard reaction, which shifted the distribution of reaction products from the aqueous phase to the biocrude oil phase. This article provides insights into the efficacy of a novel integrated biological-thermochemical processing method with distinct environmental and energetic advantages over conventional HTL that heightens the biocrude oil yield for feedstocks with a high carbohydrate and a high protein content.

Probabilistic sensitivity analysis on Markov models with uncertain transition probabilities: an application in evaluating treatment decisions for type 2 diabetes.

Markov models are commonly used for decision-making studies in many application domains; however, there are no widely adopted methods for performing sensitivity analysis on such models with uncertain transition probability matrices (TPMs). This article describes two simulation-based approaches for conducting probabilistic sensitivity analysis on a given discrete-time, finite-horizon, finite-state Markov model using TPMs that are sampled over a specified uncertainty set according to a relevant probability distribution. The first approach assumes no prior knowledge of the probability distribution, and each row of a TPM is independently sampled from the uniform distribution on the row's uncertainty set. The second approach involves random sampling from the (truncated) multivariate normal distribution of the TPM's maximum likelihood estimators for its rows subject to the condition that each row has nonnegative elements and sums to one. The two sampling methods are easily implemented and have reasonable computation times. A case study illustrates the application of these methods to a medical decision-making problem involving the evaluation of treatment guidelines for glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes, where natural variation in a patient's glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is modeled as a Markov chain, and the associated TPMs are subject to uncertainty.

The potential impact of reducing indoor tanning on melanoma prevention and treatment costs in the United States: An economic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Indoor tanning is associated with an increased risk of melanoma. The US Food and Drug Administration proposed prohibiting indoor tanning among minors younger than 18 years. OBJECTIVE: We sought to estimate the health and economic benefits of reducing indoor tanning in the United States. METHODS: We used a Markov model to estimate the expected number of melanoma cases and deaths averted, life-years saved, and melanoma treatment costs saved by reducing indoor tanning. We examined 5 scenarios: restricting indoor tanning among minors younger than 18 years, and reducing the prevalence by 20%, 50%, 80%, and 100%. RESULTS: Restricting indoor tanning among minors younger than 18 years was estimated to prevent 61,839 melanoma cases, prevent 6735 melanoma deaths, and save $342.9 million in treatment costs over the lifetime of the 61.2 million youth age 14 years or younger in the United States. The estimated health and economic benefits increased as indoor tanning was further reduced. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include the reliance on available data and not examining compliance to indoor tanning laws. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing indoor tanning has the potential to reduce melanoma incidence, mortality, and treatment costs. These findings help quantify and underscore the importance of continued efforts to reduce indoor tanning and prevent melanoma.

Improve the biodegradability of post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with ozone: conversion of phenols and N-heterocyclic compounds.

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising technology to convert wet biomass into bio-oil. However, post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater (PHWW) is also produced during the process. This wastewater contains a high concentration of organic compounds, including phenols and N-heterocyclic compounds which are two main inhibitors for biological treatment. Thus, proper treatment is required. In this work, ozone was used to convert phenols and N-heterocyclic compounds with a dosage range of 0-4.64 mg O3/mL PHWW. After ozone treatment, the phenols were fully converted, and acids were produced. However, N-heterocyclic compounds were found to have a low conversion rate (21.7%). The kinetic analysis for the degradation of phenols and N-heterocyclic compounds showed that the substitute played an important role in determining the priority of ozone reactions. The OH moiety in the ring compounds (phenols and pyridinol) may form hydroxyl radical, which lead to an efficient reaction. A substantial improved biodegradability of PHWW was observed after ozone treatment. The ratio of BOD5/COD was increased by about 32.36%, and reached a maximum of 0.41. The improved biodegradability of PHWW was justified by the conversion of phenols and N-heterocyclic compounds.

Seasonal Patterns in Microbial Community Composition in Denitrifying Bioreactors Treating Subsurface Agricultural Drainage.

Denitrifying bioreactors, consisting of water flow control structures and a woodchip-filled trench, are a promising approach for removing nitrate from agricultural subsurface or tile drainage systems. To better understand the seasonal dynamics and the ecological drivers of the microbial communities responsible for denitrification in these bioreactors, we employed microbial community "fingerprinting" techniques in a time-series examination of three denitrifying bioreactors over 2 years, looking at bacteria, fungi, and the denitrifier functional group responsible for the final step of complete denitrification. Our analysis revealed that microbial community composition responds to depth and seasonal variation in moisture content and inundation of the bioreactor media, as well as temperature. Using a geostatistical analysis approach, we observed recurring temporal patterns in bacterial and denitrifying bacterial community composition in these bioreactors, consistent with annual cycling. The fungal communities were more stable, having longer temporal autocorrelations, and did not show significant annual cycling. These results suggest a recurring seasonal cycle in the denitrifying bioreactor microbial community, likely due to seasonal variation in moisture content.

Concentration, size, and density of total suspended particulates at the air exhaust of concentrated animal feeding operations.

Total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were seasonally collected at the air exhaust of 15 commercial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs; including swine finishing, swine farrowing, swine gestation, laying hen, and tom turkey) in the U.S. Midwest. The measured TSP concentrations ranged from 0.38 ± 0.04 mg m⁻³ (swine gestation in summer) to 10.9 ± 3.9 mg m⁻³ (tom turkey in winter) and were significantly affected by animal species, housing facility type, feeder type (dry or wet), and season. The average particle size of collected TSP samples in terms of mass median equivalent spherical diameter ranged from 14.8 ± 0.5 µm (swine finishing in winter) to 30.5 ± 2.0 µm (tom turkey in summer) and showed a significant seasonal effect. This finding affirmed that particulate matter (PM) released from CAFOs contains a significant portion of large particles. The measured particle size distribution (PSD) and the density of deposited particles (on average 1.65 ± 0.13 g cm⁻³) were used to estimate the mass fractions of PM10 and PM2.5 (PM ≤ 10 and ≤ 2.5 µm, respectively) in the collected TSP. The results showed that the PM10 fractions ranged from 12.7 ± 5.1% (tom turkey) to 21.1 ± 3.2% (swine finishing), whereas the PM2.5 fractions ranged from 3.4 ± 1.9% (tom turkey) to 5.7 ± 3.2% (swine finishing) and were smaller than 9.0% at all visited CAFOs. This study applied a filter-based method for PSD measurement and deposited particles as a surrogate to estimate the TSP's particle density. The limitations, along with the assumptions adopted during the calculation of PM mass fractions, must be recognized when comparing the findings to other studies.

Anaerobic digestion of post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater for improved energy efficiency of hydrothermal bioenergy processes.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising process for converting wet biomass and organic wastes into bio-crude oil. It also produces an aqueous product referred to as post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater (PHWW) containing up to 40% of the original feedstock carbon, which reduces the overall energy efficiency of the HTL process. This study investigated the feasibility of using anaerobic digestion (AD) to treat PHWW, with the aid of activated carbon. Results showed that successful AD occurred at relatively low concentrations of PHWW (≤ 6.7%), producing a biogas yield of 0.5 ml/mg CODremoved, and ∼53% energy recovery efficiency. Higher concentrations of PHWW (≥13.3%) had an inhibitory effect on the AD process, as indicated by delayed, slower, or no biogas production. Activated carbon was shown to effectively mitigate this inhibitory effect by enhancing biogas production and allowing digestion to proceed at higher PHWW concentrations (up to 33.3%), likely due to sequestering toxic organic compounds. The addition of activated carbon also increased the net energy recovery efficiency of AD with a relatively high concentration of PHWW (33.3%), taking into account the energy for producing activated carbon. These results suggest that AD is a feasible approach to treat PHWW, and to improve the energy efficiency of the HTL processes.

Spatial variation in the bacterial and denitrifying bacterial community in a biofilter treating subsurface agricultural drainage.

Denitrifying biofilters can remove agricultural nitrates from subsurface drainage, reducing nitrate pollution that contributes to coastal hypoxic zones. The performance and reliability of natural and engineered systems dependent upon microbially mediated processes, such as the denitrifying biofilters, can be affected by the spatial structure of their microbial communities. Furthermore, our understanding of the relationship between microbial community composition and function is influenced by the spatial distribution of samples.In this study we characterized the spatial structure of bacterial communities in a denitrifying biofilter in central Illinois. Bacterial communities were assessed using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis for bacteria and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism of nosZ for denitrifying bacteria.Non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) analyses indicated that bacteria showed statistically significant spatial structure by depth and transect,while denitrifying bacteria did not exhibit significant spatial structure. For determination of spatial patterns, we developed a package of automated functions for the R statistical environment that allows directional analysis of microbial community composition data using either ANOSIM or Mantel statistics.Applying this package to the biofilter data, the flow path correlation range for the bacterial community was 6.4 m at the shallower, periodically in undated depth and 10.7 m at the deeper, continually submerged depth. These spatial structures suggest a strong influence of hydrology on the microbial community composition in these denitrifying biofilters. Understanding such spatial structure can also guide optimal sample collection strategies for microbial community analyses.

Electrolysis of HTL-AP for nutrient recovery by converting cyclic nitrogen to nitrate-N fertilizer.

Valorization of hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase (HTL-AP) can be achieved through its use as a nutrient source for lettuce production in hydroponic systems after being treated to reduce the nutrient imbalance. Removing nitrogen cyclic compounds in HTL-AP may impact the availability of some nutrients, such as nitrate-N, that are necessary for plant growth. Previous studies indicate that electrolysis enables nitrate-N accumulation in algal-HTL-AP. In this study, HTL-AP derived from food waste was electrolyzed to convert available nitrogenous compounds into nitrogen forms that are preferred by plants such as nitrate-N. Biochemical properties were assessed for the HTL-AP samples before and after two years of storage. Results from this study show that it is viable to convert heterocyclic amines in HTL-AP into inorganic nitrogen forms such as nitrite-N, nitrate-N, ammonia-N, and fatty acids. Specifically, this study showed that accumulation of 609 mg/L of nitrate-N in the HTL-AP with an initial concentration of 25 mg/L was achieved at the lowest current density. Additionally, electrolysis treatment removed 48%-61% of COD from the HTL-AP at different current densities. Furthermore, water quality characterization before and after storage for two years showed decreased organic matter in the HTL-AP, leading to reduced inorganic nitrogen recovery. Overall, this study indicates that electrolysis can increase the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the HTL-AP both before and after long-term storage.

Atoh1 overexpression promotes Guinea pig bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into neural stem cell.

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a prevalent condition in otolaryngology. A key obstacle is finding effective strategies for regenerating damaged cochlear hair cells in adult animals. A practical and reliable approach has been developed to create a superior cell source for stem cell transplantation in the inner ear to treat SNHL. Atoh1 is involved in the differentiation of neurons, intestinal secretory cells, and mechanoreceptors including auditory hair cells, and thus plays an important role in neurogenesis. Lentivirus-mediated transfection of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) was utilized to achieve stable expression of the essential transcription factor Atoh1, which is crucial for developing auditory hair cells without compromising cell survival. By manipulating the induction conditions through altering the cell growth environment using anti-adherent culture, the synergistic impact of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) was effectively applied to significantly improve the differentiation efficiency of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) into neural stem cells (NSCs) following Atoh1 transfection, thereby reducing the induction time. The study indicated that the newly proposed transdifferentiation method effectively transformed BMSCs into NSCs in a controlled environment, presenting a potential approach for stem cell transplantation to promote hair cell regeneration.

Enhancing humic acids production from cornstalk under fast hydrothermal conditions: Insights into new pathways of skeleton self-polymerization and branch growth.

Hydrochar, a sustainable fertilizer rich in humic substances, is made from lignocellulose through hydrothermal conversion. However, hydrothermal humification (HTH) is challenged by low yields and limited selectivity in the resulting hydrochar. This study proved humic-like acids production can be enhanced under fast non-catalytic conditions (260 âˆ¼ 280 °C, 0 âˆ¼ 1 h). A higher yield (by 14.1 %) and selectivity (by 40.2 %) in hydrochar of humic-like acids than conventional HTH (＜250 °C) were achieved. Meanwhile, decreased lignin derivatives, carbonyl and quinone groups, as well as increased sp2-C structures in the humic-like acids were observed. The synthesized humic-like acids exhibited a lower degree of aromatization and a higher molecular weight than commercial variants. Two pathways of humic-like acids formation of self-polymerization and the development of branched sidechains were hypothesized based on mass mitigation, carbon flow and aqueous phase compositions. This research contributes a novel approach to producing humic-like acids rich hydrochar for environmentally friendly fertilizer production.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Chitosan on the Muscle Composition, Digestion, Lipid Metabolism, and Stress Resistance of Juvenile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Exposed to Cadmium-Induced Stress.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary chitosan supplementation on the muscle composition, digestion, lipid metabolism, and stress resistance, and their related gene expression, of juvenile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) subjected to cadmium (Cd2+) stress. Juvenile tilapia with an initial body weight of 21.21 ± 0.24 g were fed with a formulated feed containing five different levels (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%) of chitosan for 60 days, while the water in all experimental groups contained a Cd2+ concentration of 0.2 mg/L. The results showed that, compared with the control group (0% chitosan), the contents of crude fat and crude protein in the muscle, the activities of lipase, trypsin, and amylase in the intestine, as well as the relative expression levels of metallothionein (mt), cytochrome P450 1A (cyp1a), carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (cpt-1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (pparα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (pparγ), hormone-sensitive lipase (hsl), lipoprotein lipase (lpl), malate dehydrogenase (mdh), leptin (lep), fatty acid synthase (fas), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (srebp1), and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (scd) genes in the liver of juveniles were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary chitosan supplementation could alleviate the effects of Cd2+ stress on the muscle composition, digestive enzymes, lipid metabolism, and stress resistance, and their related gene expression, of juvenile tilapia, and to some extent reduce the toxic effect of Cd2+ stress on tilapia.

Bioaerosols downwind from animal feeding operations: A comprehensive review.

Bioaerosols originating from animal feeding operations (AFOs) may carry pathogens, allergens, and other hazardous biocomponents, such as endotoxins, posing a potential risk to community health and the environment when dispersed downwind. This review summarizes and synthesizes existing literature data on bioaerosols downwind from three major types of AFOs (swine, poultry, and cattle), covering their composition, concentration, dispersion patterns, measurement methodologies, potential health effects, and mitigation strategies. While many of these bioaerosols are typically detected only near AFOs, evidence indicates that certain bioaerosols, particularly viruses, can travel up to tens of kilometers downwind and remain infectious. Despite the critical importance of these bioaerosols, a refined modeling framework to simulate their transport and fate in downwind air has not yet been developed, nor have source attribution methods been established to track their origins in complex agricultural environments where multiple bioaerosols could co-exist. Therefore, it is imperative to further research downwind bioaerosols from AFOs, including their assessment, modeling, source attribution, and mitigation, to address the public health and environmental challenges associated with animal agriculture.

Pilot microbial electrolysis cell closes the hydrogen loop for hydrothermal wet waste conversion to jet fuel.

The global shift toward net-zero emissions necessitates resource recovery from wet waste. In this study, we demonstrate the first feasibility of combining pilot-scale microbial electrolytic cells (MECs) with hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) for simultaneous post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater (PHW) treatment and efficient hydrogen (H2) production to meet biocrude upgrading requirements. Long-term single reactor operation revealed that fixed anode potential enabled rapid startup, and low catholyte pH and high salinity were effective in suppression of cathodic methanogenesis and acetogenesis - resulting in high current density of 16.6 A m-2 and 9.3 A m-2 when feeding synthetic wastewater and PHW respectively. Additionally, the anode biofilm exhibited spatial variations in response to local environmental conditions. Onsite parallel or serial operations of multiple MECs showed good performance using actual PHW with a record-high H2 production rate of 0.5 L LR day-1 for MEC over 10 liters scale, and the optimal chemical oxygen demand (COD)-to-H2 yield reached 0.127 kg-H2 per kg-COD, supporting a self-sufficient, closed-loop upgrade to jet fuel.

Hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase mycoremediation to increase inorganic nitrogen availability.

Hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase (HTL-AP) is a waste product from a thermochemical process where wet biomass is converted into biocrude oil. This nutrient-rich wastewater may be repurposed to benefit society by assisting crop growth after adequate treatment to increase inorganic nitrogen, especially NO3 -. This study aims to increase HTL-AP inorganic nitrogen, specifically NH3/NH4 + and NO3 -, through fungal remediation for further use in hydroponic systems. Trametes versicolor, a white-rot fungus known for degrading a range of organic pollutants, was used to treat a diluted (5 %) HTL-AP for 9 days. No fungal growth was observed, but T. versicolor activity was suspected by laccase activity throughout cultivation time. NO3 --N and NH3/NH4 +-N increased by 17 and 8 times after three days of fungal treatment, which was chosen as the appropriate time for HTL-AP fungal treatment as it resulted in the highest concentration of NO3 --N. The addition of nitrifying bacteria to the fungal treatment resulted in a twofold increase in NO3 --N concentration compared to the fungal treatment alone, indicating an enhancement in treatment efficacy. COD decreased by 51.33 % after 24 h, which may be related to the fungus' capacity to reduce the concentration of organics in the wastewater; nonetheless, COD increased in the following days, which may be related to the release of fungal byproducts. T. versicolor shows promise as a potential candidate for increasing inorganic nitrogen in HTL-AP. However, future studies should primarily address HTL-AP toxicity, reducing NH3/NH4 +-N while increasing NO3 --N, and hydroponics crop production after fungal treatment.

Patient-Reported Outcomes of Postoperative NSCLC Patients with or without Staged Chinese Herb Medicine Therapy during Adjuvant Chemotherapy (NALLC 2): A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the combination of chemotherapy with staged Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) therapy could enhance health-related quality of life (QoL) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and prolong the time before deterioration of lung cancer symptoms, in comparison to chemotherapy alone. METHODS: A prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted from December 14, 2017 to August 28, 2020. A total of 180 patients with stage I B-IIIA NSCLC from 5 hospitals in Shanghai were randomly divided into chemotherapy combined with CHM (chemo+CHM) group (120 cases) or chemotherapy combined with placebo (chemo+placebo) group (60 cases) using stratified blocking randomization. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life-Core 30 Scale (QLQ-C30) was used to evaluate the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) during postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early-stage NSCLC. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed in the safety analysis. RESULTS: Out of the total 180 patients, 173 patients (116 in the chemo+CHM group and 57 in the chemo+placebo group) were included in the PRO analyses. The initial mean QLQ-C30 Global Health Status (GHS)/QoL scores at baseline were 57.16 ± 1.64 and 57.67 ± 2.25 for the two respective groups (P>0.05). Compared with baseline, the chemo+CHM group had an improvement in EORTC QLQ-C30 GHS/QoL score at week 18 [least squares mean (LSM) change 17.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.29 to 21.38]. Conversely, the chemo+placebo group had a decrease in the score (LSM change -13.67, 95% CI -22.70 to -4.63). A significant between-group difference in the LSM GHS/QoL score was observed, amounting to 31.63 points (95% CI 25.61 to 37.64, P<0.001). The similar trends were observed in physical functioning, fatigue and appetite loss. At week 18, patients in the chemo+CHM group had a higher proportion of improvement or stabilization in GHS/QoL functional and symptom scores compared to chemo+placebo group (P<0.001). The median time to deterioration was longer in the chemo+CHM group for GHS/QoL score [hazard ratio (HR)=0.33, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.48, P<0.0010], physical functioning (HR=0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.75, P=0.0005), fatigue (HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.72, P<0.0001) and appetite loss (HR=0.65, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.00, P=0.0215). The incidence of AEs was lower in the chemo+CHM group than in the chemo+placebo group (9.83% vs. 15.79%, P=0.52). CONCLUSION: The staged CHM therapy could help improve the PROs of postoperative patients with early-stage NSCLC during adjuvant chemotherapy, which is worthy of further clinical research. (Registry No. NCT03372694).