Transcription factor EB-mediated autophagy affects cell migration and inhibits apoptosis to promote endometriosis.

Autophagy has emerged as an important process of cell metabolism. With continuous in-depth research on autophagy, TFEB has been a key transcription factor regulating autophagy levels in recent years. Studies have established that TFEB regulates autophagy and apoptosis in various diseases. However, the relationship between TFEB and the pathogenesis of endometriosis remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of TFEB on the mechanism of endometriosis progression. The results showed that TFEB and autophagy-related protein LC3 are highly expressed in ectopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis, overexpression of TFEB in cultured human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) by lentivirus not only promoted autophagy but also inhibited apoptosis. In addition, the migration and invasion ability of HESCs were enhanced by TFEB overexpression. Furthermore, inhibiting autophagy with specific inhibitors can attenuate migration and invasion of HESCs induced by TFEB. The rat models of endometriosis show that TFEB knockdown can suppress lesion growth in vivo. Our results suggest that autophagy may be involved in the progression mechanism of endometriosis, and the mechanism of autophagy disorder in endometriosis is probably related to TFEB. TFEB may be a key molecule in promoting endometriosis.

Examining the association of hysterectomy with and without oophorectomy on cardiovascular disease and all-cause, cardiovascular or cancer mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The associations between hysterectomy and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality remains unlcear and a meta-analysis with cohort studies is lacking. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies to investigate the relationship between hysterectomy and CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, heart failure, and all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. We further explored the effect of oophorectomy on the association between hysterectomy and these health outcomes. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched up to 24 July 2023. SELECTION CRITERIA: Cohort studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled using a random-effects model. We used I2 to assess the heterogeneity between studies. MAIN RESULTS: Forty-three studies were included in the meta-analysis. Hysterectomy was significantly associated with an increased risk of CVD (pooled HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.09-1.13; n = 6; I2 = 0) and stroke (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.14; n = 7; I2 = 52%), but with a decreased risk of cancer mortality (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.86-1.00; n = 4; I2 = 81%). No significant association was observed between hysterectomy and CHD (n = 10; I2 = 83%), all-cause mortality (n = 8; I2 = 81%) or cardiovascular mortality (n = 7; I2 = 89%). Hysterectomy with and without oophorectomy was significantly associated with CVD and stroke risk, but showed a larger effect size for hysterectomy with oophorectomy. A significantly increased risk of CHD was observed in the subgroup of hysterectomy with oophorectomy, but not for the subgroup of hysterectomy alone. CONCLUSIONS: Hysterectomy may increase the risk of CVD, CHD and stroke, but not all-cause, cardiovascular or cancer mortality. Hysterectomy with oophorectomy may have a higher risk of CVD, CHD and stroke than hysterectomy alone. However, the results on CHD and mortality related to hysterectomy should be interpreted cautiously because of the high level of heterogeneity and unstable subgroup analyses.

PHPB ameliorates memory deficits and reduces oxidative injury in Alzheimer's disease mouse model by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is the most common cause of dementia in elderly people and substantially affects patient quality of life. Oxidative stress is considered a key factor in the development of AD. Nrf2 plays a vital role in maintaining redox homeostasis and regulating neuroinflammatory responses in AD. Previous studies show that potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate (PHPB) exerts neuroprotective effects against cognitive impairment in a variety of dementia animal models such as APP/PS1 transgenic mice. In this study we investigated whether PHPB ameriorated the progression of AD by reducing oxidative stress (OS) damage. Both 5- and 13-month-old APP/PS1 mice were administered PHPB (100 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g.) for 10 weeks. After the cognition assessment, the mice were euthanized, and the left hemisphere of the brain was harvested for analyses. We showed that 5-month-old APP/PS1 mice already exhibited impaired performance in the step-down test, and knockdown of Nrf2 gene only slightly increased the impairment, while knockdown of Nrf2 gene in 13-month-old APP/PS1 mice resulted in greatly worse performance. PHPB administration significantly ameliorated the cognition impairments and enhanced antioxidative capacity in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, PHPB administration significantly increased the p-AKT/AKT and p-GSK3ß/GSK3ß ratios and the expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in APP/PS1 mice, but these changes were abolished by knockdown of Nrf2 gene. In SK-N-SH APPwt cells and primary mouse neurons, PHPB (10 µM) significantly increased the p-AKT/AKT and p-GSK3ß/GSK3ß ratios and the level of Nrf2, which were blocked by knockdown of Nrf2 gene. In summary, this study demonstrates that PHPB exerts a protective effect via the Akt/GSK3ß/Nrf2 pathway and it might be a promising neuroprotective agent for the treatment of AD.

Molecular insights into dicationic versus monocationic ionic liquids as a high hydrophobic alternative for the separation of phenol from waters.

The hydrophobic nature of an extractant is particularly critical in the treatment of wastewater. Considering that dicationic ionic liquids (DILs) are likely to be more hydrophobic, a comparative study of the separation of phenol from waters using [NTf2]- based monocationic ionic liquids (MILs) and DILs is carried out both from experimental and theoretical analysis perspectives. Experimental results revealed that DILs exhibited superior extraction ability compared to MILs, with extraction efficiencies of 93.7% and 97.4% using [BMIM][NTf2] and [C6(MIM)2][NTf2]2 as extractants, respectively. The microscopic examination through theoretical calculations elucidated the higher hydrophobicity and extraction efficiency of DILs over MILs. The results indicated that the DIL showed stronger hydrophobicity than the MIL because the hydrogen bond strength between the DIL and water was lower than that of the MIL. Although the hydrogen bond strength between the DIL and phenol was lower than that of the MIL, the stronger van der Waals forces existed between DIL and phenol, so DIL was more efficient in extracting phenol. In addition, the experimental parameters were optimized to provide basic data for application, such as mass ratio of ILs to water, extraction time and temperature, pH, and initial phenol content. Finally, the DILs were recovered using rotary evaporation apparatus, and the results demonstrated that DILs had good recovery and reuse performance. In brief, this work could provide an effective method for the treatment of phenol-containing wastewater. And the revelation of molecular mechanism is expected to positively impact the design of high-performance task-specific ILs.

Facilitated Unidirectional Electron Transmission by Ru Nano Particulars Distribution on MXene Mo2C@g-C3N4 Heterostructures for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution.

Precious metals exhibit promising potential for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but their limited abundance restricts widespread utilization. Loading precious metal nanoparticles (NPs) on 2D/2D heterojunctions has garnered considerable interest since it saves precious metal consumption and facilitates unidirectional electron transmission from semiconductors to active sites. In this study, Ru NPs loaded on MXenes Mo2C by an in-site simple strategy and then formed 2D/2D heterojunctions with 2D g-C3N4 (CN) via electrostatic self-assembly were used to enhance photocatalytic H2 evolution. Evident from energy band structure analyses such as UV-vis and TRPL, trace amounts of Ru NPs as active sites significantly improve the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction. More interestingly, MXene Mo2C, as substrates for supporting Ru NPs, enriches photoexcited electrons from CN, thereby enhancing the unidirectional electron transmission. As a result, the combination of Ru-Mo2C and CN constructs a composite heterojunction (Ru-Mo2C@CN) that shows an improved H2 production rate at 1776.4 µmol∙g-1∙h-1 (AQE 3.58% at 400 nm), which is facilitated by the unidirectional photogenerated electron transmission from the valence band on CN to the active sites on Ru (CN→Mo2C→Ru). The study offers fresh perspectives on accelerated unidirectional photogenerated electron transmission and saved precious metal usage in photocatalytic systems.

Unilateral injection of botulinum toxin type A into the masseter muscle induces mandibular asymmetry in adolescent rats by suppressing the angular process growth.

INTRODUCTION: Mandibular asymmetry has negative impacts on maxillofacial aesthetics and psychological well-being. This study investigated the effects of unilateral injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) into the masseter muscle on mandibular symmetry. METHODS: Forty Wistar rats (4-week-old) were divided into 4 groups (n = 10): control, group 1 (1U BTX-A), group 2 (3U BTX-A), and group 3 (1U BTX-A for 3 times). BTX-A was injected into the right masseter of treatment groups. Cone-beam computerized tomography scans were taken before the injection and then at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks after injection. Histologic and immunohistochemical staining were done for the condylar cartilage. RNA sequencing and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were used to detect gene expression in the angular process. RESULTS: In Groups 2 and 3, the right angular process length and the ramus height were reduced 4 weeks after injection, resulting in the mandibular midline deviating to the right side; the right condylar cartilage had reduced thickness and decreased expression of RUNX2, SOX9, and COL II (P <0.05). Two hundred sixty-one genes were differentially expressed (256 downregulated) in the angular process at 3 days post-BTX-A injection, and the calcium signaling pathway was unveiled through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis. Furthermore, TRPC1, Wnt5a, CaMKII, Ctnnb1, and RUNX2 expression were significantly downregulated at 1 and 3 days postinjection. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral injection of BTX-A into the masseter muscle in adolescent rats induces mandibular asymmetry by suppressing the angular process growth on the injected side.

The mechanisms of nerve injury caused by viral infection in the occurrence of gastrointestinal motility disorder-related diseases.

Gastrointestinal motility refers to the peristalsis and contractility of gastrointestinal muscles, including the force and frequency of gastrointestinal muscle contraction. Gastrointestinal motility maintains the normal digestive function of the human body and is a critical component of the physiological function of the digestive tract. At present, gastrointestinal motility disorder-related diseases are gradually affecting human production and life. In recent years, it has been consistently reported that the enteric nervous system has a coordinating and controlling role in gastrointestinal motility. Motility disorders are closely related to functional or anatomical changes in the gastrointestinal nervous system. At the same time, some viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus infections, can cause damage to the gastrointestinal nervous system. Therefore, this paper describes the mechanisms of viral infection in the gastrointestinal nervous system and the associated clinical manifestations. Studies have indicated that the means by which viruses can cause the infection of the enteric nervous system are various, including retrograde transport, hematogenous transmission and centrifugal transmission from the central nervous system. When viruses infect the enteric nervous system, they can cause clinical symptoms, such as abdominal pain, abdominal distension, early satiation, belching, diarrhea, and constipation, by recruiting macrophages, lymphocytes and neutrophils and regulating intestinal microbes. The findings of several case‒control studies suggest that viruses are the cause of some gastrointestinal motility disorders. It is concluded that one of the causes of gastrointestinal motility disorders is viral infection of the enteric nervous system. In such disorders, the relationships between viruses and nerves remain to be studied more deeply. Further studies are necessary to evaluate whether prophylactic antiviral therapy is feasible in gastrointestinal motility disorders.

Nocardioides potassii sp. nov., isolated from weathered potash tailings soil.

A Gram-positive, aerobic actinomycete, designated strain KLBMP 9356T, was isolated from weathered potash tailings soil sampled in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, PR China. The colonies were cream-coloured, convex and rounded. The optimal growth conditions of strain KLBMP 9356T were 1 % (w/v) NaCl, 28 °C and pH 7. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain KLBMP 9356T showed the highest similarity to Nocardioides zhouii CGMCC 1.11084T (98.9 %) and Nocardioides glacieisoli CGMCC 1.11097T (98.7 %). Results from two tree-making algorithms supported the position that strain KLBMP 9356T forms a stable clade with N. zhouii CGMCC 1.11084T and N. glacieisoli CGMCC 1.11097T. Strain KLBMP 9356T exhibited low digital DNA-DNA hybridization values with N. zhouii CGMCC 1.11084T (27.6 %) and N. glacieisoli CGMCC 1.11097T (31.4 %). The average nucleotide identity values between strain KLBMP 9356T and N. zhouii CGMCC 1.11084T and N. glacieisoli CGMCC 1.11097T were 83.8% and 85.9%, respectively. The peptidoglycan in the cell wall of the novel strain was ll-2,6-diaminopimelic acid and the predominant menaquinone was MK-8(H4). The major fatty acids (>10 %) were C17:1ω8c and C18:1ω9c. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, lyso-phospatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol. The genomic DNA G+C content was 71.6 mol%. Based on its morphological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain KLBMP 9356T represents a novel species of the genus Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides potassii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KLBMP 9356T (=CGMCC 4.7738T=NBRC 115493T).

Temperature and Precipitation Drive Elevational Patterns of Microbial Beta Diversity in Alpine Grasslands.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying biodiversity patterns is a central issue in ecology, while how temperature and precipitation jointly control the elevational patterns of microbes is understudied. Here, we studied the effects of temperature, precipitation and their interactions on the alpha and beta diversity of soil archaea and bacteria in alpine grasslands along an elevational gradient of 4300-5200 m on the Tibetan Plateau. Alpha diversity was examined on the basis of species richness and evenness, and beta diversity was quantified with the recently developed metric of local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD). Typical alpine steppe and meadow ecosystems were distributed below and above 4850 m, respectively, which was consistent with the two main constraints of mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Species richness and evenness showed decreasing elevational patterns in archaea and nonsignificant or U-shaped patterns in bacteria. The LCBD of both groups exhibited significant U-shaped elevational patterns, with the lowest values occurring at 4800 m. For the three diversity metrics, soil pH was the primary explanatory variable in archaea, explaining over 20.1% of the observed variation, whereas vegetation richness, total nitrogen and the K/Al ratio presented the strongest effects on bacteria, with relative importance values of 16.1%, 12.5% and 11.6%, respectively. For the microbial community composition of both archaea and bacteria, the moisture index showed the dominant effect, explaining 17.6% of the observed variation, followed by MAT and MAP. Taken together, temperature and precipitation exerted considerable indirect effects on microbial richness and evenness through local environmental and energy supply-related variables, such as vegetation richness, whereas temperature exerted a larger direct influence on LCBD and the community composition. Our findings highlighted the profound influence of temperature and precipitation interactions on microbial beta diversity in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.

Reliability and validity of the 15-item Chronic Oral Mucosal Disease Questionnaire in China: A short-form instrument to measure quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Chronic oral mucosal diseases have been a common problem, which affected individuals' health and social functions seriously. Although there has been a rigorous Chinese version of the Chronic Mucosal Diseases Questionnaire (COMDQ-26) to measure the quality of life of patients with chronic oral mucosal diseases, 26 items were so redundant to be a burden for patients. It was necessary to make a brief, practical, and easy-to-use tool in China. This study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the short-form Chronic Mucosal Diseases Questionnaire (COMDQ-15). METHODS: A total of 165 respondents from a tertiary stomatological hospital were recruited in this study from July to December, 2020. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, criterion validity, confirmatory factor analysis, and exploratory factor analysis were used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Chronic Mucosal Diseases Questionnaire-15. RESULTS: The total Cronbach's α of 0.841 and subscale ranging from 0.736 to 0.965 revealed good internal consistency of the reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficients exceeded 0.80 indicated excellent test-retest reliability. Compared with the Oral Health Impact Profile-14, the criterion validity was 0.549. The confirmatory factor analysis results supported acceptable validity of the Chinese version of Chronic Mucosal Diseases Questionnaire-15, and the exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the 15 items were classified into four domains, with a cumulative proportion of 71.52%. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of Chronic Mucosal Diseases Questionnaire-15 is a brief and low-burden tool, and has been proved reliable and valid to assess the quality of life of patients with chronic oral mucosal diseases in China (the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (no. ChiCTR2000031607).

Modeling and correction of fringe patterns in Doppler asymmetric spatial heterodyne interferometry.

Doppler asymmetric spatial heterodyne (DASH) interferometry is a novel concept for observing atmospheric winds. This paper discusses a numerical model for the simulation of fringe patterns and a methodology to correct fringe images for extracting Doppler information from ground-based DASH measurements. Based on the propagation of optical waves, the fringe pattern was modeled considering different angular deviations and optical aberrations. A dislocation between two gratings can introduce an additional spatial modulation associated with the diffraction order, which was seen in laboratory measurements. A phase correction is proposed to remove phase differences between different row interferograms, which is the premise for calculating the average interferogram to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Laboratory tests, simulation results, and Doppler velocity measurements indicate that a matrix determined in the laboratory can be applied to correct interferograms obtained from ground-based DASH measurements.

Exogenous Glutathione Protects IPEC-J2 Cells against Oxidative Stress through a Mitochondrial Mechanism.

The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggers oxidative stress in cells by oxidizing and modifying various cellular components, preventing them from performing their inherent functions, ultimately leading to apoptosis and autophagy. Glutathione (GSH) is a ubiquitous intracellular peptide with multiple functions. In this study, a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage model in IPEC-J2 cells was used to investigate the cellular protection mechanism of exogenous GSH against oxidative stress. The results showed that GSH supplement improved the cell viability reduced by H2O2-induced oxidative damage model in IPEC-J2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, supplement with GSH also attenuated the H2O2-induced MMP loss, and effectively decreased the H2O2-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by increasing the content of mtDNA and upregulating the expression TFAM. Exogenous GSH treatment significantly decreased the ROS and MDA levels, improved SOD activity in H2O2-treated cells and reduced H2O2-induced early apoptosis in IPEC-J2 cells. This study showed that exogenous GSH can protect IPEC-J2 cells against apoptosis induced by oxidative stress through mitochondrial mechanisms.

Phellodendrine promotes autophagy by regulating the AMPK/mTOR pathway and treats ulcerative colitis.

To investigate the therapeutic effects of phellodendrine in ulcerative colitis (UC) through the AMPK/mTOR pathway. Volunteers were recruited to observe the therapeutic effects of Compound Cortex Phellodendri Liquid (Huangbai liniment). The main components of Compound Cortex Phellodendri Liquid were analysed via network pharmacology. The target of phellodendrine was further analysed. Caco-2 cells were cultured, and H2 O2 was used to stimulate in vitro cell model. Expression levels of LC3, AMPK, p-AMPK, mTOR and p-mTOR were detected via Western blotting and through immunofluorescence experiments. The therapeutic effects of phellodendrine were analysed via expression spectrum chip sequencing. The sequencing of intestinal flora further elucidated the therapeutic effects of phellodendrine. Compared with the control group, Compound Cortex Phellodendri Liquid could substantially improve the healing of intestinal mucosa. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that phellodendrine is the main component of Compound Cortex Phellodendri Liquid. Moreover, this alkaloid targets the AMPK signalling pathway. Results of animal experiments showed that phellodendrine could reduce the intestinal damage of UC compared with the model group. Findings of cell experiments indicated that phellodendrine treatment could activate the p-AMPK /mTOR signalling pathway, as well as autophagy. Expression spectrum chip sequencing showed that treatment with phellodendrine could promote mucosal healing and reduce inflammatory responses. Results of intestinal flora detection demonstrated that treatment with phellodendrine could increase the abundance of flora and the content of beneficial bacteria. Phellodendrine may promote autophagy by regulating the AMPK-mTOR signalling pathway, thereby reducing intestinal injury due to UC.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of achalasia after failed pneumatic dilation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: POEM is a rescue endoscopic therapy for patients who had previously failed surgical or endoscopic treatment. However, data regarding its effectiveness after failed pneumatic dilation (PD) and its long-term effects are limited. We aimed to retrospectively investigate the long-term outcomes in patients who had undergone POEM after failed PD. METHODS: Data from 66 achalasia patients with a 2-year follow-up period were analyzed. Intraprocedural events were compared between the first POEM group (patients without prior-endoscopic intervention) and prior PD group (patients who had pre-POEM PD). Symptom evaluation, HRM and 24 h-pH DeMeester scores between the two groups were performed at 2 years after the POEM procedure. Muscularis externa samples were obtained from the lower esophagus using POEM to assess the muscle fibrosis with Azan-Mallory staining. RESULTS: POEM was successfully performed for all achalasia patients. During the 2-year follow-up period, the success rate of POEM was 96.15% (25/26) for patients with prior PD and 95% (38/40) with primary POEM. For patients with type II achalasia and who underwent prior PD, the post-procedure DeMeester score was higher compared to patients who underwent POEM only (P < 0.05). A larger number of patients who underwent primary POEM (27.50%, 11/40) complained of mild heartburn compared to patients who underwent POEM after PD (7.69%, 2/26) (P < 0.05). With regards to fibrosis, the majority of patients who underwent POEM only were classified as F-1 (45.00%, 18/40), while the majority of patients who underwent prior PD were classified as F-2 (42.3%, 11/26). The degree of fibrosis was significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05). Both surgical time and prior PD were correlated with the degree of fibrosis (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the technical challenges, pre-POEM endoscopic treatment does not impact the safety and efficacy of POEM in achalasia patients. Longer follow-up studies using larger cohorts are needed to determine long-term outcomes and complications of POEM.

Effect of increasing precipitation and warming on microbial community in Tibetan alpine steppe.

Soil microorganisms play an important role in regulating the feedback of Alpine steppe ecosystems to future climate change. However, the interaction effect of warming and increasing precipitation on soil microorganisms remains unclear, in the face of an ongoing warmer and wetter climate on the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we investigate the multi-factorial effects on soil microbial diversity, community structure, and microbial interactions in a three-year climate change experiment established in an Alpine steppe on the Tibetan Plateau, involving warming (+2 °C), +15% increasing precipitation and +30% increasing precipitation. Compared to warming, warming plus increasing precipitation alleviated the decrease in microbial diversity, and increased the dissimilarities in microbial community structures, largely influenced by water and substrate availability. We further observed differences in moisture increased the differences in microbial diversity and dissimilarities in microbial community structures across different precipitation levels under ambient temperature. Interestingly, warming plus increasing precipitation could create more ecological niches for microbial species to coexist but may lessen the strength of microbial interactions in contrast to increasing precipitation alone. Collectively, our findings indicate that microbial responses to future climate change in Alpine steppe soils will be more complex than those under single-climate-factor conditions.

An Animal Study of Implantation of an Esophageal Pacemaker Based on Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy Approach for Alleviation of Esophageal Peristalsis Disorders.

BACKGROUND To restore esophageal peristalsis of achalasia patients by sequenced electric stimulation, an appropriate method must be established to implant the electrodes and pacemaker safely and effectively. We combined POEM (per-oral endoscopic myotomy) and abdominal wall puncture in pigs in order to explore a feasible procedure for the implantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Five healthy male pigs were used in the present study with the permission of the Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. The electrodes were implanted in esophageal submucosal tunnel by POEM with the end of the electrode deposited in the abdominal cavity using NOTES technique. A pacemaker was then positioned under the skin of the abdomen. Finally, the electrodes were connected with the pacemaker with the help of endoscopy in the abdominal cavity. Esophageal peristalsis of these pigs after implantation was monitored for esophageal intraluminal pressure changes using electronic gastroscopy and a high-resolution manometry (HRM). The observation lasted for 6 h. RESULTS The procedure was effective to implant the electrode and the pacemaker using POEM and NOTES techniques. The connection of the 2 devices was also successful. Esophageal intraluminal pressure changes after electrical stimulation were recorded using HRM. Vital signs of the pigs were stable during the 6-h follow-up. CONCLUSIONS From this small-sample, short follow-up animal study, it was found that the implantation of esophageal electrodes and pacemaker based on POEM and NOTES is feasible, safe, and effective. Nevertheless, there is urgent need for long-term follow-up to confirm or disprove the safety of the procedure.

Rare-Earth Single Erbium Atoms for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

The solar-driven photocatalytic reduction of CO2 (CO2 RR) into chemical fuels is a promising route to enrich energy supplies and mitigate CO2 emissions. However, low catalytic efficiency and poor selectivity, especially in a pure-water system, hinder the development of photocatalytic CO2 RR owing to the lack of effective catalysts. Herein, we report a novel atom-confinement and coordination (ACC) strategy to achieve the synthesis of rare-earth single erbium (Er) atoms supported on carbon nitride nanotubes (Er1 /CN-NT) with a tunable dispersion density of single atoms. Er1 /CN-NT is a highly efficient and robust photocatalyst that exhibits outstanding CO2 RR performance in a pure-water system. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations reveal the crucial role of single Er atoms in promoting photocatalytic CO2 RR.

Report of a Chinese Cohort with Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I and Four Novel Mutations.

PURPOSE: We aimed to report the characteristics of leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I (LAD-I) and four novel mutations in the ITGB2 gene in a Chinese cohort. METHODS: Seven patients with LAD-I were reported in our study. Clinical manifestations and immunological phenotypes were reviewed. The expression of CD18 was detected by flow cytometry. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing were performed to identify gene mutations. RESULTS: The mean onset age of all the patients was 1.3 months. Recurrent bacterial infections of the skin and lungs were the most common symptoms. Most patients (6/7) had delayed cord separation. The number of white blood cells (WBC) was increased significantly, except that two patients had a mild increase in the number of WBC during infection-free periods. The expression of CD18 was very low in all patients. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the ITGB2 gene were identified in each patient. Four mutations were novel, including c.1794dupC (p.N599Qfs*93), c.1788C>A (p.C596X), c.841-849del9, and c.741+1delG. Two patients had large deletions of the ITGB2 gene. Five patients were cured by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). CONCLUSIONS: This study reported the clinical and molecular characteristics of a Chinese patient cohort. It is helpful in understanding the current status of the disease in China.

What impact do Rome IV criteria have on patients with IBS in China?

Background: The Rome criteria for functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGIDs) have been updated from Rome III to Rome IV. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the update on patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in China.Methods: A previous database including consecutive patients with FGIDs (according to Rome III criteria) from gastrointestinal department of a tertiary hospital in China was re-analyzed. Demographic information, clinical symptoms, psychological status (Zung self-rating scale), and sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index) were compared between patients with Rome III and Rome IV IBS.Results: Of the 946 patients with FGIDs, only 58 (6.1%) were diagnosed with Rome IV IBS [less than 292 (30.9%) under Rome III criteria] with a surge of the number of unspecified functional bowel disorders (U-FBD). All patients with IBS were divided into three groups: group A [meeting both Rome III and IV criteria, accounting for 43 (4.6%) of patients with FGIDs], group B [meeting only Rome III criteria, 249 (26.3%)], and group C [meeting only Rome IV criteria,15 (1.6%)]. Significant differences in frequency and severity of symptoms, subtypes, and sleep quality among groups (all p < .05) were found. Patients with Rome III IBS having sleep disorder tended to be more serious than those without. On the contrary, it was not the case under Rome IV criteria.Conclusions: Number of IBS patients was greatly reduced accompanied by a surge in U-FBD. Besides, the updated criteria also had great impacts on clinical parameters, sleep quality and psychological state of IBS patients.HighlightsRome IV criteria removed the description of abdominal discomfort for IBS.The updated Rome criteria had great impacts on IBS patients in our database.Our study analyzed the characteristics of IBS patients who fulfilled both criteria.Alterations in the Rome criteria also led to changes in the disease spectrum of FBD.

Analysis and correction of distortions in a spatial heterodyne spectrometer system.

In this paper a method for correcting the radial distortion of interferograms generated by a spatial heterodyne spectrometer system is presented. Instead of utilizing calibration patterns, the distortion model parameters are estimated based on the distorted fringe features generated by projecting the straight interference stripes onto the detector. Comparisons between polynomial models and division models indicate that division models can deliver competitive performance on the reconstructed image with fewer parameters. Simulated interferograms based on ray-tracing are used to demonstrate the correction of errors in the spatial, phase, and spectral domain caused by optical distortion.