Application of Four-Dimensional Pelvic Floor Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Postpartum Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Evaluation of Curative Effect.

Objective: To explore the application of four-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound in the diagnosis of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and evaluation of curative effect. Methods: A total of 100 patients with postpartum PFD undergoing vaginal delivery in the hospital were enrolled as the research objects between January 2020 and January 2023. A total of 100 postpartum women with good pelvic floor muscle function during the same period were enrolled as a control group. Both groups underwent four-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound detection. The bladder neck descent (BND), retrovesical angle (RVA), urethral tilt angle (UTA), urethral rotation angle (ROT), levator ani thickness under rest state (LATr), levator ani thickness under Valsalva state (LATs), levator ani hiatus area under rest state (LHAr) and levator ani hiatus area under Valsalva state (LHAs) in both groups were compared. The patients in the study group were given Kegel training for pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation exercise and bio-feedback electrical stimulation. According to the clinical curative effect, patients in the study group were divided into a recovery group (n=87) and a non-recovery group (n=13). The value of four-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound in the diagnosis of PFD and evaluation of curative effect was analyzed. Results: In the observation group, BND, RVA, UTA, ROT, LHAr, and LHAs were higher, while LATr and LATs were lower compared to the control group. (P < .05). The results of ROC curves analysis showed that the AUC of BND combined with RVA, UTA, ROT, LATr, LATs, LHAr, and LHAs in the diagnosis of PFD was 0.818, greater than that of the single index (0.728, 0.705, 0.680, 0.715, 0.677, 0.696, 0.719, 0.654; P < .05). BND, RVA, UTA, ROT, LHAr, and LHAs in the non-recovery group were higher than those in the recovery group, while LATr and LATs were lower than those in the recovery group (P < .05). The results of ROC curves analysis showed that the Area Under the Curve (AUC）of BND combined with RVA, UTA, ROT, LATr, LATs, LHAr, and LHAs for predicting the curative effect were 0.804, greater than that of a single index (0.725, 0.653, 0.651, 0.744, 0.733, 0.720, 0.661, 0.718; P < .05). Conclusion: Four-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound can be applied to intuitively evaluate the structure and function of postpartum pelvic floor tissues, which can provide a reliable basis for the diagnosis of postpartum PFD and evaluation of curative effect.

Real-Time Belt Deviation Detection Method Based on Depth Edge Feature and Gradient Constraint.

Aiming at the problems of the poor recognition effect and low recognition rate of the existing methods in the process of belt deviation detection, this paper proposes a real-time belt deviation detection method. Firstly, ResNet18 combined with the attention mechanism module is used as a feature extraction network to enhance the features in the belt edge region and suppress the features in other regions. Then, the extracted features are used to predict the approximate locations of the belt edges using a classifier based on the contextual information on the fully connected layer. Next, the improved gradient equation is used as a structural loss in the model training stage to make the model prediction value closer to the target value. Then, the authors of this paper use the least squares method to fit the set of detected belt edge line points to obtain the accurate belt edge straight line. Finally, the deviation threshold is set according to the requirements of the safety production code, and the fitting results are compared with the threshold to achieve the belt deviation detection. Comparisons are made with four other methods: ultrafast structure-aware deep lane detection, end-to-end wireframe parsing, LSD, and the Hough transform. The results show that the proposed method is the fastest at 41 frames/sec; the accuracy is improved by 0.4%, 13.9%, 45.9%, and 78.8% compared to the other four methods; and the F1-score index is improved by 0.3%, 10.2%, 32.6%, and 72%, respectively, which meets the requirements of practical engineering applications. The proposed method can be used for intelligent monitoring and control in coal mines, logistics and transport industries, and other scenarios requiring belt transport.

Single-path electro-optic coefficients measurement approach using multiple reflection interference.

An electro-optic coefficient (EOC) is an important optical property of optical crystals. In this work, a single-path multiple reflection interferometer is proposed to measure the components of signed EOCs with high precision. With the help of the normalization method, the influence of incident light was removed, and repeatability of the experimental results was improved. The signed EOCs of a congruent LiNbO3 crystal were determined under a small external electric field as γ31=+9.6±0.3pm/V and γ33=+29.5±0.5pm/V. This study may contribute to the development of potential anisotropic devices of optical crystals.

The Differential Expression of Mitochondrial Function-Associated Proteins and Antioxidant Enzymes during Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Infection: A Potential Mechanism for Virus Infection-Induced Oxidative Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

Reactive oxidative species (ROS) are important inflammatory mediators. Electrons escaping from the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) during oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in the mitochondrial respiratory chain (RC) complexes contribute to ROS production. The cellular antioxidant enzymes are important for maintaining ROS release at the physiological levels. It has been reported that BoHV-1 infection induces overproduction of ROS and oxidative mitochondrial dysfunction in cell cultures. In this study, we found that chemical interruption of RC complexes by TTFA (an inhibitor of RC complex II), NaN3 (an inhibitor of RC complex IV), and oligomycin A (an inhibitor of ATP synthase) consistently decreased virus productive infection, suggesting that the integral processes of RC complexes are important for the virus replication. The virus infection significantly increased the expression of subunit SDHB (succinate dehydrogenase) and MTCO1 (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I), critical components of RC complexes II and IV, respectively. The expression of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), SOD2, catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) was differentially affected following the virus infection. The protein TFAM (transcription factor A, mitochondrial) stimulated by either nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) or NRF2 is a key regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. Interestingly, the virus infection at the late stage (at 16 h after infection) stimulated TFAM expression but decreased the levels of both NRF1 and NRF2, indicating that virus infection activated TFAM signaling independent of either NRF1 or NRF2. Overall, this study provided evidence that BoHV-1 infection altered the expression of molecules associated with RC complexes, antioxidant enzymes, and mitochondrial biogenesis-related signaling NRF1/NRF2/TFAM, which correlated with the previous report that virus infection induces ROS overproduction and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Revealing Water Stress by the Thermal Power Industry in China Based on a High Spatial Resolution Water Withdrawal and Consumption Inventory.

This study reveals the spatial distribution of water withdrawal and consumption by thermal power generation and the associated water stress at catchment level in China based on a high-resolution geodatabase of electric generating units and power plants. We identified three groups of regions where the baseline water stress exerted by thermal power generation is comparatively significant: (1) the Hai River Basin/East Yellow River Basin in the north; (2) some arid catchments in Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest; and (3) the coastal city clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearly River Delta, and Zhejiang Province. Groundwater stress is also detected singularly in a few aquifers mainly in the Hai River Basin and the lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. As China accelerates its pace of coal mining and coal-fired power generation in the arid northwest regions, the energy/water priorities in catchments under high water stress are noteworthy. We conclude that promotion of advanced water-efficient technologies in the energy industry and more systematic analysis of the water stress of thermal power capacity expansion in water scarce regions in inland China are needed. More comprehensive and transparent data monitoring and reporting are essential to facilitate such water stress assessment.

Managing Scarce Water Resources in China's Coal Power Industry.

Coal power generation capacity is expanding rapidly in the arid northwest regions in China. Its impact on water resources is attracting growing concerns from policy-makers, researchers, as well as mass media. This paper briefly describes the situation of electricity-water conflict in China and provides a comprehensive review on a variety of water resources management policies in China's coal power industry. These policies range from mandatory regulations to incentive-based instruments, covering water withdrawal standards, technological requirements on water saving, unconventional water resources utilization (such as reclaimed municipal wastewater, seawater, and mine water), water resources fee, and water permit transfer. Implementing these policies jointly is of crucial importance for alleviating the water stress from the expanding coal power industry in China.

Circular RNA circRHOBTB3 represses metastasis by regulating the HuR-mediated mRNA stability of PTBP1 in colorectal cancer.

Background: Tumor metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is the main cause of death in most patients and the major difficulty in comprehensive CRC treatment. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) affect many biological functions in solid tumors. However, their mechanisms in CRC metastasis remain unclear. Methods: RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to screen differentially expressed circRNAs between CRC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. CCK-8, cell migration and wound healing assays were performed to determine the functions of circRHOBTB3 in cell proliferation and metastasis. RNA pulldown and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to verify the interaction between circRHOBTB3 and the HuR (ELAVL1) protein. Further RNA-seq and rescue experiments were applied to search for the downstream target. We also conducted a mouse xenograft model to elucidate the effect of circRHOBTB3 on cancer metastasis in vivo. Results: We identified circRHOBTB3 which is markedly downregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, lower circRHOBTB3 levels were significantly associated with advanced clinical stages and greater risk of metastases. Overexpression of circRHOBTB3 suppresses tumor metastasis in CRC cells. Mechanistically, circRHOBTB3 binds to HuR, which is a ubiquitously expressed and functional RNA-binding protein (RBP) in CRC development, and promotes ß-Trcp1-mediated ubiquitination of HuR. Normally, HuR binds to the 3'UTR of target mRNAs to facilitate their stabilization, whereas the interaction between circRHOBTB3 and HuR degrades HuR to reduce the expression level of the downstream target PTBP1. Furthermore, overexpressed circRHOBTB3 suppresses lung metastases in vivo, and this effect can be partly reversed by PTBP1 overexpression. In addition, the transcription of circRHOBTB3 can be improved by both FUS and ADARB2 in CRC cells. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that circRHOBTB3 exerts suppressive effects on CRC aggressiveness through the HuR/PTBP1 axis.

Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Productive Infection Led to Inactivation of Nrf2 Signaling through Diverse Approaches.

Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) is a significant cofactor for bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC), the most important inflammatory disease in cattle. BoHV-1 infection in cell cultures induces overproduction of pathogenic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the depletion of nuclear factor erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a master transcriptional factor regulating a panel of antioxidant and cellular defense genes in response to oxidative stress. In this study, we reported that the virus productive infection in MDBK cells at the later stage significantly decreased the expression levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) proteins, the canonical downstream targets regulated by Nrf2, inhibited Nrf2 acetylation, reduced the accumulation of Nrf2 proteins in the nucleus, and relocalized nuclear Nrf2 proteins to form dot-like staining patterns in confocal microscope assay. The differential expression of Kelch-like ECH associated protein 1 (KEAP1) and DJ-1 proteins as well as the decreased association between KEAP1 and DJ-1 promoted Nrf2 degradation through the ubiquitin proteasome pathway. These data indicated that the BoHV-1 infection may significantly suppress the Nrf2 signaling pathway. Moreover, we found that there was an association between Nrf2 and LaminA/C, H3K9ac, and H3K18ac, and the binding ratios were altered following the virus infection. Taken together, for the first time, we provided evidence showing that BoHV-1 infection inhibited the Nrf2 signaling pathway by complicated mechanisms including promoting Nrf2 degradation, relocalization of nuclear Nrf2, and inhibition of Nrf2 acetylation.

The Involvement of Histone H3 Acetylation in Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Replication in MDBK Cells.

During bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) productive infection in cell cultures, partial of intranuclear viral DNA is present in nucleosomes, and viral protein VP22 associates with histones and decreases histone H4 acetylation, indicating the involvement of histone H4 acetylation in virus replication. In this study, we demonstrated that BoHV-1 infection at the late stage (at 24 h after infection) dramatically decreased histone H3 acetylation [at residues K9 (H3K9ac) and K18 (H3K18ac)], which was supported by the pronounced depletion of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) including CBP/P300 (CREB binding protein and p300), GCN5L2 (general control of amino acid synthesis yeast homolog like 2) and PCAF (P300/CBP-associated factor). The depletion of GCN5L2 promoted by virus infection was partially mediated by ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Interestingly, the viral replication was enhanced by HAT (histone acetyltransferase) activator CTPB [N-(4-Chloro-3-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2-ethoxy-6-pentadecylbenzamide], and vice versa, inhibited by HAT inhibitor Anacardic acid (AA), suggesting that BoHV-1 may take advantage of histone acetylation for efficient replication. Taken together, we proposed that the HAT-dependent histone H3 acetylation plays an important role in BoHV-1 replication in MDBK (Madin-Darby bovine kidney) cells.

Induction of Oxidative DNA Damage in Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Infected Bovine Kidney Cells (MDBK Cells) and Human Tumor Cells (A549 Cells and U2OS Cells).

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle that causes lesions in mucosal surfaces, genital tracts and nervous systems. As a novel oncolytic virus, BoHV-1 infects and kills numerous human tumor cells. However, the mechanisms underlying the virus-induced cell damages are not fully understood. In this study, we demonstrated that virus infection of MDBK cells induced high levels of DNA damage, because the percentage of comet tail DNA (tailDNA%) determined by comet assay, a direct indicator of DNA damage, and the levels of 8-hydroxyguanine (8-oxoG) production, an oxidative DNA damage marker, consistently increased following the virus infection. The expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG-1), an enzyme responsible for the excision of 8-oxoG, was significantly decreased due to the virus infection, which corroborated with the finding that BoHV-1 infection stimulated 8-oxoG production. Furthermore, the virus replication in human tumor cells such as in A549 cells and U2OS cells also induced DNA damage. Chemical inhibition of reactive oxidative species (ROS) production by either ROS scavenger N-Acetyl-l-cysteine or NOX inhibitor diphenylene iodonium (DPI) significantly decreased the levels of tailDNA%, suggesting the involvement of ROS in the virus induced DNA lesions. Collectively, these results indicated that BoHV-1 infection of these cells elicits oxidative DNA damages, providing a perspective in understanding the mechanisms by which the virus induces cell death in both native host cells and human tumor cells.