Lattice matching and halogen regulation for synergistically induced large Li and Na storage by halogenated MXene V3C2Cl2.

Suffering from the formation of metal-ion dendrites and low storage capacity, MXene materials exhibit unsatisfactory performance in Li and Na storage. In this study, we demonstrate that the MXene V3C2Cl2 structure can induce uniform Li and Na deposition. This is achieved through coherent heterogeneous interface reconstruction and regulated ion tiling by halogen surface termination. The high lattice matching (91% and 99%) between MXenes and Li/Na, along with positive Cl terminal regulation, guides Li/Na ions to nucleate uniformly on the V3C2Cl2 MXene matrix and grow in a planar manner. Cl termination proves effective in regulating Li/Na ions due to its moderate adsorption and diffusion coefficients. Furthermore, upon adsorption onto the Cl-terminated V3C2Cl2 monolayer, Li4 and Na4 clusters undergo dissociation, favoring uniform adsorption over cluster adsorption. V3C2Cl2 MXenes exhibit impressive Li/Na storage capacities of 434.07 mA h g-1 for Li and 217.03 mA h g-1 for Na, surpassing the Li storage capacity of Ti3C2Cl2 by three-fold and the Na storage capacity of V2C by 1.4 times. This study highlights the regulatory role of Cl surface terminals in dendrite formation and Li/Na ion deposition, with potential applications to other metal-ion storage electrodes.

Symmetry-breaking-induced ferroelectric HfSnX3 monolayers and their tunable Janus structures: promising candidates for photocatalysts and nanoelectronics.

Designing novel two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials by symmetry breaking and studying their mechanisms play important roles in the discovery of new ferroelectric photocatalysts and nanoelectronics. In this study, we have systematically investigated a series of novel ferroelectric 2D HfSnX3 (X = S, Se and Te) monolayers through first-principles calculations. We found that each HfSnX3 monolayer contains a stable ferroelectric phase (FP) and a paraelectric phase (PP). The large polarization (up to 1.64 µC cm-2) in the FP can significantly bend the oxidation reduction potential of water, making HfSnX3 monolayers become excellent ferroelectric photocatalysts. Specifically, by designing a Janus structure to break the symmetry of the PP, we have excitingly obtained a stable Hf2GeSnSe6 (referred to as HGSS) monolayer with triple polarized states. HGSS not only possesses great visible light absorption properties (about 3 × 105 cm-1) as photocatalysts but also successfully solves the dead layer problem previously reported in practical applications. In addition, by constructing a heterostructure with graphene, HGSS has great application in the design of controllable ultrathin p-n junctions. Overall, our study not only predicts a series of potential ferroelectric photocatalytic materials, but also provides valuable insights for designing tunable polarized materials and nanoelectronics.

Study of extravisual resting-state networks in pituitary adenoma patients with vision restoration.

BACKGROUND: Pituitary adenoma (PA) may compress the optic apparatus, resulting in impaired vision. Some patients can experience improved vision rapidly after surgery. During the early period after surgery, however, the change in neurofunction in the extravisual cortex and higher cognitive cortex has yet to be explored. OBJECTIVE: Our study focused on the changes in the extravisual resting-state networks in patients with PA after vision restoration. METHODS: We recruited 14 patients with PA who experienced visual improvement after surgery. The functional connectivity (FC) of 6 seeds [auditory cortex (A1), Broca's area, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for the default mode network (DMN), right caudal anterior cingulate cortex for the salience network (SN) and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for the executive control network (ECN)] were evaluated. A paired t test was conducted to identify the differences between two groups of patients. RESULTS: Compared with their preoperative counterparts, patients with PA with improved vision exhibited decreased FC with the right A1 in the left insula lobule, right middle temporal gyrus and left postcentral gyrus and increased FC in the right paracentral lobule; decreased FC with the Broca in the left middle temporal gyrus and increased FC in the left insula lobule and right thalamus; decreased FC with the DMN in the right declive and right precuneus; increased FC in right Brodmann area 17, the left cuneus and the right posterior cingulate; decreased FC with the ECN in the right posterior cingulate, right angular and right precuneus; decreased FC with the SN in the right middle temporal gyrus, right hippocampus, and right precuneus; and increased FC in the right fusiform gyrus, the left lingual gyrus and right Brodmann area 19. CONCLUSIONS: Vision restoration may cause a response of cross-modal plasticity and multisensory systems related to A1 and the Broca. The DMN and SN may be involved in top-down control of the subareas within the visual cortex. The precuneus may be involved in the DMN, ECN and SN simultaneously.

Electronic and optical properties of a novel two-dimensional semiconductor material TlPt2S3: a first-principles study.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted widespread attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Here, by using density functional theory calculations, we suggest a novel 2D TlPt2S3 material whose layered bulk counterpart was synthesized in 1973. Theoretical calculation results indicate that the exfoliating energy of monolayer and bilayer TlPt2S3 is 34.96 meV Å-2 and 36.03 meV Å-2. We systematically studied the electronic and optical properties of monolayer and bilayer TlPt2S3, and revealed that they are indirect band gap semiconductors with band gaps of 2.26 eV and 2.10 eV, respectively. Monolayer and bilayer TlPt2S3 exhibit superior carrier mobility (901.63 cm2 V-1 s-1 and 13635.04 cm2 V-1 s-1 for electron mobility of the monolayer and bilayer, respectively) and photocatalytic performance (as high as 1 × 105 light absorption coefficient in the visible light region). Interestingly, we find that monolayer TlPt2S3 has significant hydrogen evolution performance, while in the bilayer, the electron band distribution shows complete oxygen evolution ability, which indicates that the proposed monolayer and bilayer TlPt2S3 are potential novel 2D materials suitable for photocatalytic water splitting driven by visible light.

Dysregulation of resting-state functional connectivity in patients with Cushing's disease.

PURPOSE: To explore the anatomical distance-dependent functional connectivity patterns in patients with active phase of Cushing's disease (CD) and to evaluate the associations between hypercortisol exposure and regional normalized functional connectivity strengths (nFCSs). METHODS: Based on the fMRI data in 32 CD patients and 32 healthy controls (HCs), we computed the nFCSs for each voxel in the brain and further divided them into long-range and short-range nFCSs. General linear models was used to investigate between-group differences in these nFCS metrics and the correlations between the nFCSs and clinical variables. RESULTS: Compared with HC, CD patients showed dysregulation of the nFCSs mainly in the default mode network. They showed an overall higher nFCS in bilateral parahippocampal cortex mainly owing to the disruption of long-range nFCS and a relatively lower nFCS in bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), bilateral lateral parietal cortex (LP), and right prefrontal cortex (PFC). In addition, their long-range nFCS was lower in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, PCC, and LP; short-range nFCS was lower in the bilateral PFC. Notably, the positive correlation between the nFCSs in their right parahippocampal cortex and serum cortisol levels at 08:00 remained significant after taking the anatomical distance into consideration. CONCLUSION: The discrepant functional connectivity patterns found in our study indicated a hypercortisol-associated, distance-dependent disruption of resting-state functional connectivity in patients with active CD. We provide novel insights into the impacts of hypercortisol exposure and the pathophysiologic mechanisms of CD, which may facilitate advances in CD intervention ultimately.

The miR-34a-5p promotes the multi-chemoresistance of osteosarcoma via repression of the AGTR1 gene.

BACKGROUND: Chemoresistance hinders the curative cancer chemotherapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in diverse biological processes including the chemoresistance of cancers. METHODS: A RNA-seq-based miR-omic analysis of osteosarcoma (OS) cells was performed to detect the levels of miR-34a-5p. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that AGTR1 is one of the target genes of miR-34a-5p. The mRNA and protein levels of AGTR1 were detected in both the miR-34a-5p-mimic transfected G-292 and miR-34a-5p-antagomiR transfected SJSA-1 cells. The involvement of AGTR1 with OS chemoresistance was validated by the experiments with siRNA-mediated repression or overexpression of the AGTR1 gene. RESULTS: We showed that miR-34a-5p promotes the multi- chemoresistance of OS. The angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AGTR1) gene, is one of the targets of miR-34a-5p in OS and thus negatively correlates with OS chemoresistance by systematic investigations of a multi-drug sensitive (G-292) and resistant (SJSA-1) OS cell lines. Down-regulation of the AGTR1 expression by siRNA passivates G-292 cells and suppresses cell apoptosis, while over-expression of AGTR1 sensitizes SJSA-1 cells and thus promotes the drug-triggered cell death. CONCLUSIONS: The miR-34a-5p and its target gene AGTR1 are the potential targets for an effective chemotherapy of OS. Our results also provide novel insights into the effective chemotherapy for OS patients.

MSX1 inhibits cell migration and invasion through regulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is a type of primary brain tumor with poor prognosis. The hallmark phenotype of glioblastoma is its aggressive invasion. Understanding the molecular mechanism of the invasion behavior of glioblastoma is essential for the development of effective treatment of the disease. In our present study, we found that the expression levels of a homeobox transcription factor, MSX1, were significantly reduced in glioblastoma compared to normal brain tissues. The levels of MSX1 in glioblastoma tissues were also correlated with the survival of the patients. In cultured glioblastoma cells, MSX1 was a negative regulator of cell migration and invasion. Loss of MSX1 enhanced cell migration and induced mesenchymal transition as characterized by the downregulation of E-cadherin and the upregulation of N-cadherin. Overexpression of MSX1 on the other hand led to the inhibition of both cell migration and mesenchymal transition. We also found that MSX1 was able to inhibit the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, and that the ability to regulate the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway is critical for MSX1 to suppress glioblastoma cell migration and invasion.

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea: evaluation with 3D-SPACE sequence and management with navigation-assisted endonasal endoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of MR images with three-dimensional sampling perfection with application optimised contrast using different flip-angle evolution (3D-SPACE) sequence for detecting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea and image-guided surgery for the management of CSF rhinorrhea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 45 consecutive patients with suspected CSF rhinorrhea from 2010 to 2015. Patients underwent preoperative MRI scan including 3D-SPACE and conventional T2-weighted (T2W) protocol. Two-blinded neuroradiologists determined the presence and location of CSF leakage. Imaging results were compared with surgical findings and/or ß-2 transferrin testing. Intraoperative navigation was used during endonasal endoscopic surgery for repairing CSF rhinorrhea. RESULTS: 3D-SPACE sequence correctly described 27 cases (93.1%) and conventional T2W sequence described only 20 (69.0%) of the total 29 patients with truly positive CSF leakage. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for detecting CSF leakages were 93.1%, 87.5%, 93.1%, and 87.5% for 3D-SPACE, and 69.0%, 81.3%, 87.0% and 59.1% for T2W, respectively. To repair the leakage, 3D-SPACE image-guided navigation was used to locate the CSF leakage sites intraoperatively. Only two CSF leakage sites proved by surgery were missed by navigation. Successful endoscopic repairs were achieved in 25 of 26 (96.2%) patients during the first attempt. During the follow-up, there were no major postoperative complications or recurrences encountered. CONCLUSION: MR imaging with 3D-SPACE sequence is an effective and reliable method with higher sensitivity and specificity than T2W for detecting CSF leakage. Intraoperative 3D-SPACE image-guided navigation is helpful in locating the sites of the CSF leakage during endonasal endoscopic surgery.

Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery of 1,166 pituitary adenomas.

AIM: To report the results of a series of patients undergoing pure endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data of 1,166 patients that underwent endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal adenoma removal between December 2006 and June 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Pre- and postoperative hormonal status (3 months after surgery) were analyzed and compared with the clinical parameters originally presented by the patients. The incidences of tumor removal, hormonal control, and tumor removal complications were retrospectively analyzed. RESULT: Out of 577 nonfunctioning adenomas, 180 were growth hormone (GH) secreting, 308 prolactin (PRL) secreting, 26 mixed GH/PRL adenomas, 68 adrenocorticotropin secreting, and 7 thyroid-stimulating hormone-secreting adenomas. The gross total removal of pituitary adenomas was achieved in 98 % of microadenomas, 92 % of macroadenomas, and 76 % of giant adenomas. Hormonal control was achieved in 47 (69 %) cases of ACTH adenomas, 119 (66 %) GH adenomas, 262 (85 %) PRL adenomas, and 6 (86 %) TSH adenomas. Postoperative complications were observed in 168 (14.4 %) patients. The most frequent complications were diabetes insipidus (7 %), epistaxis (1.7 %), hyposmia (1.5 %), anterior lobe insufficiency (1.3 %) ,and CSF leaks (0.6 %). CONCLUSION: The pure endoscopic approach is a safe, efficacious, and minimally invasive technique for the removal of pituitary adenomas. A higher gross total resection rate is vital for non-functional and functional adenomas. For patients with functional adenomas, while hormonal remission is unlikely to be achieved by surgery, the use of adjuvant therapy is advocated to obtain long-term hormonal control.

[Clinical analysis of the technique of puncture and drainage guided by neuronavigation in treatment of brain abscesses].

OBJECTIVE: To study the techniques and efficacy of neuronavigation-guided puncture and drainage in the treatment of brain abscesses. METHODS: From February 2006 to December 2012, 31 patients with brain abscesses treated by the technique of neuronavigation-guided puncture and drainage were retrospectively analyzed. There were 27 male and 4 female patients, age ranged from 10 months to 69 years, average (34 ± 19) years.Single brain abscesses were found in 26 patients, multiple abscesses in 5 patients. The abscesses were located in eloquent regions in 19 patients. The mean diameter of the abscess was 4.1 cm (2.5-6.7 cm). The first follow-up visit was on the first month after surgery, and if residual was observed on enhanced MRI, then the patient was followed up every 3 months until the abscess disappeared completely. After residual absorbed, the patient was followed up every year. RESULTS: Incisions of all patients were healed well and no infection. The length of hospital stay after surgery was 6-42 days, mean (14 ± 9) days. Bacterial culture of pus was performed regularly including aerobic, anaerobic and fungal culture after surgery. Thirteen patients had positive culture whereas the other 18 patients had negative culture. The duration of antibiotic use was 18-42 days, mean (22 ± 5) days. All the patients were followed up for 3 months to 3 years. Twenty-nine patients recovered well postoperatively, 1 case died 2 months after operation.One case was performed the second drainage after 10 days from the first surgery.Eighteen patients showed the improvement of neurological status within the first day following surgery, 4 patients got improvement in the next day, 1 patient with hemiplegia showed improvement in 10 days postoperatively, 1 patient with aphasia recovered gradually after 1 month, 1 patient with hemiplegia showed deterioration temporarily after surgery, and recovered gradually after 15 days. CONCLUSION: The technique of puncture and drainage guided by neuronavigation has many advantages to treat brain abscesses, such as small trauma, short operation time, high accuracy and safety, simple surgical procedures and good prognosis.

Microbial community assemblage altered by coprecipitation of artificial humic substances and ferrihydrite: Implications for carbon fixation pathway transformation.

The suppression of soil carbon mineralization has been demonstrated to be effectively facilitated by carbon­iron interactions, yet the specific mechanisms by which artificial humic substances (A-HS) coupled with ferrihydrite influence this process remain insufficiently explored. This study is to investigate how the A-HS, specifically artificial fulvic acid (A-FA) and artificial humic acid (A-HA), coupled with ferrihydrite, affect carbon mineralization under anaerobic system that simulates paddy flooding conditions. The object is to investigate trends in carbon emissions and to delineate microbial community structure and functional pathways. The findings indicate that A-HA and A-FA substantially reduce CO2 and CH4 emissions, with A-FA having a particularly pronounced effect on carbon fixation, halving CO2 concentrations. The low concentration of Fe(II) observed suggest that A-FA and A-HA impede the dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) process. Detailed 16S rDNA sequencing and gene prediction analyses reveal changes in microbial community structures and functions, highlighting Methanobacterium as the dominant hydrogenotrophic methanogens. The reductive citric acid cycle, predominantly utilized by Clostridium carboxidivorans, was identified as the principal carbon fixation pathway. This work provides a novel insight into the microbial mechanisms of carbon sequestration and highlights the potential of A-HS in improving soil fertility and contributing to climate change mitigation through enhancing soil carbon storage.

Synergistic enhancement of cadmium immobilization and soil fertility through biochar and artificial humic acid-assisted microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation.

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is emerging as a favorable alternative to traditional soil remediation techniques for heavy metals, primarily due to its environmental friendliness. However, a significant challenge in using MICP for farmland is not only to immobilize heavy metals but also to concurrently enhance soil fertility. This study explores the innovative combination of artificial humic acid (A-HA), biochar (BC), and Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) to mitigate the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) in contaminated agricultural soils through MICP. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses revealed that the integration of BC and A-HA significantly enhances Cd immobilization efficiency by co-precipitating with CaCO3. Moreover, this treatment also improved soil fertility and ecological functions, as evidenced by increases in total nitrogen (TN, 9.0-78.2 %), alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN, 259.7-635.5 %), soil organic matter (SOM, 18.1-27.9 %), total organic carbon (TOC, 43.8-48.8 %), dissolved organic carbon (DOC, 36.0-88.4 %) and available potassium (AK, 176.2-193.3 %). Additionally, the relative abundance of dominant phyla such as Proteobacteria and Firmicutes significantly increased with the introduction of BC and A-HA in MICP. Consequently, the integration of BC and A-HA with MICP offers a promising solution for remediating Cd-contaminated agricultural soil and synergistically enhancing soil fertility.

Quaternized antimicrobial peptide mimics based on harmane as potent anti-MRSA agents by multi-target mechanism covering cell wall, cell membrane and intracellular targets.

Infectious disease caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) seriously threatens public health. The design of antimicrobial peptide mimics (AMPMs) based on natural products (NPs) is a new strategy to kill MRSA and slow the development of drug resistance recently. Here, we reported the design and synthesis of novel AMPMs based on harmane skeleton. Notably, compound 9b exhibited comparable or even better anti-MRSA activity in vitro and in vivo with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.5-2 µg/mL than the positive drug vancomycin. The highly active compound 9b not only showed low cytotoxicity, no obvious hemolysis and good plasma stability, but also presented low tendency of developing resistance. Anti-MRSA mechanism revealed that compound 9b could destroy cell wall structure by interacting with lipoteichoic acid and peptidoglycan, cause membrane damage by depolarization, increased permeability and destructed integrity, reduce cell metabolic activity by binding to lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), interfere cellular redox homeostasis, and bind to DNA. Overall, compound 9b killed the MRSA by multi-target mechanism, which provide a promising light for combating the growing MRSA resistance.

[Trans-extradural approach to resect trigeminal schwannomas involving the cavernous sinus region].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the techniques and effect of extradural approach for the resection of trigeminal schwannomas involving the cavernous sinus. METHODS: Twenty-three patients (range 26-63 years, mean age 46.2 years) with trigeminal schwannomas involving the cavernous sinus treated by middle fossa extradural approach were retrospectively analyzed. Frontotemporal orbitozygomatic extradural approach was performed in 2 patients. Frontotemporal zygomatic extradural approach was carried out in 21 patients. The first follow-up visit was on the 3rd month after surgery, and if residual was observed on enhanced MRI, then the patient was followed up every 6 months; otherwise, the patient was followed up every 8-12 months. RESULTS: The length of hospital stay after surgery was 7-13 days (mean 8.5 days). Two tumors originated from the ophthalmic branch, 2 from the maxillary branch, 5 from the mandibular branch and 14 from the gasserian ganglion. Total resection was achieved in 21 of the 23 patients (91.3%) and subtotal resection in the other 2 patients. All the patients were followed up from 3 months to 4 years. Median follow-up time was 19 months. The most common symptom was facial hypoesthesia, occurring in 18 patients. This symptom improved in 10 patients and worsened in 8 patients after surgery. New postoperative facial hypoesthesia was observed in 2 patients. Facial pain was observed in 3 patients and subsided after surgery. Two patients had loss of hearing, this symptom improved in 1 patient and worsened in 1 patient after surgery. Diplopia was observed in 6 patients. In 1 of these 6 patients, diplopia resulted from palsy of the oculomotor nerve. In the other 5 patients, diplopia resulted from palsy of the abducens nerve. This symptom improved postoperatively in all these 6 patients. New postoperative atrophy of the temporalis muscle was observed in 3 patients. There was no operation-related mortality. Tumor recurrence was only found in 1 patient after 24 months and was treated by Gamma knife. CONCLUSIONS: The middle fossa extradural approach may be an ideal option for the resection of trigeminal schwannomas involving the cavernous sinus. This approach produces no further impairment, less complication, and is less likely to injured the trigeminal nerve, abducens nerve, trochlear nerve and internal carotid artery.

Effects of different concentrations of butyrate on microbial community construction and metabolic pathways in anaerobic digestion.

Investigating the effect of butyric acid concentration on anaerobic digestion systems in complex systems is important for the efficient degradation of butyric acid and improving the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. In this study, different loadings of butyric acid with 2.8, 3.2, and 3.6 g/(L·d) were added to the anaerobic reactor. At a high organic loading rate of 3.6 g/(L·d), methane was efficiently produced with VBP (Volumetric Biogas Production) of 1.50 L/(L·d) and biogas content between 65% and 75%. VFAs concentration remained below 2000 mg/L. Metagenome sequencing revealed changes in the functional flora within different stages. Methanosarcina, Syntrophomonas, and Lentimicrobium were the main and functional microorganisms. That the relative abundance of methanogens exceeded 35% and methanogenic metabolic pathways were increased indicated the methanogenic capacity of the system significantly improved. The presence of a large number of hydrolytic acid-producing bacteria also indicated the importance of the hydrolytic acid-producing stage in the system.

The Molecular Basis of the Anti-Inflammatory Property of Astragaloside IV for the Treatment of Diabetes and Its Complications.

Astragali Radix is a significant traditional Chinese medication, and has a long history of clinical application in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. AS-IV is an active saponin isolated from it. Modern pharmacological study shows that AS-IV has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory activities. The popular inflammatory etiology of diabetes suggests that DM is a natural immune and low-grade inflammatory disease. Pharmacological intervention of the inflammatory response may provide promising and alternative approaches for the prevention and treatment of DM and its complications. Therefore, this article focuses on the potential of AS-IV in the treatment of DM from the perspective of an anti-inflammatory molecular basis. AS-IV plays a role by regulating a variety of anti-inflammatory pathways in multiple organs, tissues and target cells throughout the body. The blockade of the NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathway may be the central link of AS-IV's anti-inflammatory effect, resulting in a reduction in the tissue structure and function damage stimulated by inflammatory factors. In addition, AS-IV can delay the onset of DM and its complications by inhibiting inflammation-related oxidative stress, fibrosis and apoptosis signals. In conclusion, AS-IV has therapeutic prospects from the perspective of reducing the inflammation of DM and its complications. An in-depth study on the anti-inflammatory mechanism of AS-IV is of great significance for the effective use of Chinese herbal medicine and the promotion of its status and influence on the world.

Artificial humic acid regulates the impact of fungal community on soil macroaggregates formation.

Artificial humic acid (A-HA), which is synthesized from agricultural wastes and has high similarity to a natural humic substance (HS) extracted from soil, has been proven by our group to have potential for biological carbon sequestration in black soils. However, the mechanism involves in the application of A-HA on soil aggregation processes resulting from microbial activity stimulation and modifications to microbial communities remains unclear. This study investigates the correlation between the formation and stability of soil aggregates and fungal communities with various amounts of A-HA added to the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil. A-HA can increase the total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in soil, promoting macroaggregate formation and increasing the mean weight diameter (MWD). In addition, soil aggregate binding agents such as polysaccharides, protein, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) are significantly increased by the addition of A-HA. A-HA can drive microaggregate to assemble into macroaggregate by increasing the abundance of beneficial fungi (e.g., Trichoderma and Mortierella). The co-occurrence network supports that A-HA shifted the key species and increased interactions of fungal taxa. This study will lay a solid foundation for sustainable agricultural development of A-HA application for soil fertility restoration in the future.

Combinatorial Application of Papain and CD66B for Isolating Glioma- Associated Neutrophils.

BACKGROUND: Stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment play crucial roles in glioma development. Current methods for isolating tumor-associated stromal cells (such as neutrophils) are inefficient due to the conflict between tissue dissociation and cell surface protein protection, which hampers the research on patient-derived stromal cells. Our study aims to establish a novel method for isolating glioma-associated neutrophils (GANs). METHODS: To observe neutrophil-like polymorphonuclear cells, we performed Hematoxylin-Eosin staining on glioma tissues. For isolating single cells from glioma tissues, we evaluated the efficiency of tissue dissociation with FastPrep Grinder-mediated homogenization or proteases (trypsin or papain) digestion. To definite specific markers of GANs, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and immunofluorescence staining were performed. FACS and Ficoll were performed for the separation of neutrophils from glioma tissue-derived single-cell or whole blood pool. To identify the isolated neutrophils, FACS and RT-PCR were carried out. RESULTS: Neutrophil-like cells were abundant in high-grade glioma tissues. Among the three tissue dissociation methods, papain digestion produced a 5.1-fold and 1.7-fold more living cells from glioma mass than physical trituration and trypsin digestion, respectively, and it preserved over 97% of neutrophil surface protein markers. CD66B could be adopted as a unique neutrophil surface protein marker for FACS sorting in glioma. Glioma-derived CD66B+ cells specifically expressed neutrophil marker genes. CONCLUSION: A combination of papain-mediated tissue dissociation and CD66B-mediated FACS sorting is an effective novel method for the isolation of GANs from glioma tissues.

Dual-room 1.5-T intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging suite with a movable magnet: implementation and preliminary experience.

We hereby report our initial clinical experience of a dual-room intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) suite with a movable 1.5-T magnet for both neurosurgical and independent diagnostic uses. The findings from the first 45 patients who underwent scheduled neurosurgical procedures with iMRI in this suite (mean age, 41.3 ± 12.0 years; intracranial tumors, 39 patients; cerebral vascular lesions, 5 patients; epilepsy surgery, 1 patient) were reported. The extent of resection depicted at intraoperative imaging, the surgical consequences of iMRI, and the clinical practicability of the suite were analyzed. Fourteen resections with a trans-sphenoidal/transoral approach and 31 craniotomies were performed. Eighty-two iMRI examinations were performed in the operating room, while during the same period of time, 430 diagnostic scans were finished in the diagnostic room. In 22 (48.9%) of 45 patients, iMRI revealed accessible residual tumors leading to further resection. No iMRI-related adverse event occurred. Complete lesion removal was achieved in 36 (80%) of all 45 cases. It is concluded that the dual-room 1.5-T iMRI suite can be successfully integrated into standard neurosurgical workflow. The layout of the dual-room suite can enable the maximum use of the system and save costs by sharing use of the 1.5-T magnet between neurosurgical and diagnostic use. Intraoperative MR imaging may provide valuable information that allows intraoperative modification of the surgical strategy.

16S rRNA genes- and metagenome-based confirmation of syntrophic butyrate-oxidizing methanogenesis enriched in high butyrate loading.

The understanding and enrichment of consortia formed by syntrophic butyrate-oxidizing bacteria and methanogens in the complex environment are crucial for effectively degrading butyrate and preventing acid inhibition. In this study, the better butyrate-tolerated and highly efficient microbial consortia were domesticated and enriched through adding butyric acid ranging from 0.2 to 4.4 g/(L·d). The volumetric biogas production continuously increased to 1.65 L/(L·d). Microbial community diversity showed that a dramatic shift of bacterial structure occurred at BAL of 1.6 g/(L·d) and the structure presented better stability at high BAL. The syntrophic consortia and the main metabolic pathways were revealed through combination of the 16S rDNA and metagenome sequencing analyses. Syntrophomonas was the major butyrate-oxidizing bacterium and oxidized butyrate mainly through ß-oxidaiton. Synergistaceae and Mesotoga acted as the main acetate-oxidizing bacteria. IHT and methanogenesis pathways were strongly enhanced by DMER64 and Methanosarcina as the main H2 carrier and dominant methanogen, respectively.