Obesity Paradox in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: Is Malnutrition the Answer?

BACKGROUND: Obesity paradox has been reported in patients with cardiovascular disease, showing an inverse association between obesity as defined by BMI (in kg/m2) and prognosis. Nutritional status is associated with systemic inflammatory response and affects cardiovascular disease outcomes. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine the influence of obesity and malnutrition on the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: This study included consecutive patients diagnosed with ACS and underwent coronary angiogram between January 2009 and February 2023. At baseline, patients were categorized according to their BMI as follows: underweight (<18), normal weight (18-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), and obese (>30.0). We assessed the nutritional status by Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). Malnutrition was defined as a PNI value of <38. RESULTS: Of the 21,651 patients with ACS, 582 (2.7%) deaths from any cause were observed over 28.7 months. Compared with the patient's state of normal weight, overweight, and obesity were associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality. Malnutrition was independently associated with poor survival (hazards ratio: 2.64; 95% CI: 2.24, 3.12; P < 0.001). In malnourished patients, overweight and obesity showed a 39% and 72% reduction in the incidence of all-cause mortality, respectively. However, in nourished patients, no significant reduction in the incidence of all-cause mortality was observed (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity paradox appears to occur in patients with ACS. Malnutrition may be a significant independent risk factor for prognosis in patients with ACS. The obesity paradox is influenced by the status of malnutrition.

Serum bile acid profiles are associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: An exploratory study.

AIM: To analyse the association between serum bile acid (BA) profile and heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). METHODS: We enrolled 163 individuals with biopsy-proven MAFLD undergoing transthoracic echocardiography for any indication. HFpEF was defined as left ventricular ejection fraction >50% with at least one echocardiographic feature of HF (left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, abnormal left atrial size) and at least one HF sign or symptom. Serum levels of 38 BAs were analysed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Among the 163 patients enrolled (mean age 47.0 ± 12.8 years, 39.3% female), 52 (31.9%) and 43 (26.4%) met the HFpEF and pre-HFpEF criteria, and 38 serum BAs were detected. Serum ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and hyocholic acid (HCA) species were lower in patients with HFpEF and achieved statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, decreases in glycoursodeoxycholic acid and tauroursodeoxycholic acid were associated with HF status. CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory study, specific UDCA and HCA species were associated with HFpEF status in adults with biopsy-confirmed MAFLD.

Probiotics protect against RSV infection by modulating the microbiota-alveolar-macrophage axis.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is leading cause of respiratory tract infections in early childhood. Gut microbiota is closely related with the pulmonary antiviral immunity. Recent evidence shows that gut dysbiosis is involved in the pathogenesis of RSV infection. Therefore; pharmacological and therapeutic strategies aiming to readjust the gut dysbiosis are increasingly important for the treatment of RSV infection. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of a probiotic mixture on RSV-infected mice. This probiotic mixture consisted of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 and VSL#3 was orally administered to neonatal mice on a daily basis either for 1 week in advance or for 3 days starting from the day of RSV infection. We showed that administration of the probiotics protected against RSV-induced lung pathology by suppressing RSV infection and exerting an antiviral response via alveolar macrophage (AM)-derived IFN-ß. Furthermore, administration of the probiotics reversed gut dysbiosis and significantly increased the abundance of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria in RSV-infected mice, which consequently led to elevated serum SCFA levels. Moreover, administration of the probiotics restored lung microbiota in RSV-infected mice. We demonstrated that the increased production of IFN-ß in AMs was attributed to the increased acetate in circulation and the levels of Corynebacterium and Lactobacillus in lungs. In conclusion, we reveal that probiotics protect against RSV infection in neonatal mice through a microbiota-AM axis, suggesting that the probiotics may be a promising candidate to prevent and treat RSV infection, and deserve more research and development in future.

Effects of a Self-Management Program for Patients With Colorectal Cancer and a Colostomy: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: We constructed a self-management program for rectal cancer survivors with colostomies and evaluated the effect of the program on self-efficacy, self-management ability, and incidence of stomal and peristomal complications. DESIGN: A prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Participants were recruited from 4 proctology departments in a tertiary hospital in northeast China. Fifty-five were assigned to the intervention group and 56 were assigned to the control group; 26 were lost to follow-up. Therefore, data analysis was based on 43 participants in the intervention group and 42 in the control group. METHODS: Control group patients received the standard care where guidance and stoma care manuals were given the day before hospital discharge, and regular telephone follow-up twice a month for 3 months. Participants in the experimental group received, in addition to standard care, a self-management program delivered via a multimedia messaging app initiated after discharge available over a 6-week period. Primary outcomes were self-efficacy and self-management ability; we also analyzed the incidence of stomal and peristomal complications as a secondary outcome. Between-groups outcomes were analyzed via a repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Analysis indicated intervention group participants had higher levels of self-efficacy and self-management of their colostomies than did control group participants. Analysis also revealed intervention group participants had a lower incidence of peristomal complications; no differences in the incidence of stomal complications were found. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that use of the multimedia messaging app-based self-management program enhanced self-efficacy and self-management, while reducing the incidence of peristomal complications in rectal cancer survivors with colostomies.

Metformin regulates adiponectin signalling in epicardial adipose tissue and reduces atrial fibrillation vulnerability.

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) remodelling is closely related to the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). We investigated whether metformin (MET) prevents AF-dependent EAT remodelling and AF vulnerability in dogs. A canine AF model was developed by 6-week rapid atrial pacing (RAP), and electrophysiological parameters were measured. Effective refractory periods (ERP) were decreased in the left and right atrial appendages as well as in the left atrium (LA) and right atrium (RA). MET attenuated the RAP-induced increase in ERP dispersion, cumulative window of vulnerability, AF inducibility and AF duration. RAP increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) phosphorylation; up-regulated interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) levels in LA and EAT; decreased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and adiponectin (APN) expression in EAT and was accompanied by atrial fibrosis and adipose infiltration. MET reversed these alterations. In vitro, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure increased IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-ß1 expression and decreased PPARγ/APN expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which were all reversed after MET administration. Indirect coculture of HL-1 cells with LPS-stimulated 3T3-L1 conditioned medium (CM) significantly increased IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-ß1 expression and decreased SERCA2a and p-PLN expression, while LPS + MET CM and APN treatment alleviated the inflammatory response and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ handling dysfunction. MET attenuated the RAP-induced increase in AF vulnerability, remodelling of atria and EAT adipokines production profiles. APN may play a key role in the prevention of AF-dependent EAT remodelling and AF vulnerability by MET.

Metformin improves lipid metabolism and reverses the Warburg effect in a canine model of chronic atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies demonstrated impaired lipid metabolism and augmented aerobic glycolysis in AF. The authors aimed to investigate whether the use of metformin, an AMPK activator, could reverse this metabolic remodeling in chronic AF and to explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: We conducted chronic AF animal models with 18 beagle dogs and divided them into SR (pacemaker implanted without pacing), AF (pacemaker implanted with sustained pacing at a frequency of 400 beats/min for 6 weeks), and metformin+AF group (daily oral administration of metformin was initiated 1 week before surgery and continued throughout the study period). After electrophysiological measurements, the left atrial appendage tissue samples were taken from the beating heart for further analysis. Protein expression, histological analysis, and biochemical measurements were conducted. RESULTS: The AF groups showed decreased expression of FAT/CD36, CPT-1, VLCAD, increased concentration of free fatty acid and triglyceride, and increased lipid deposition. The activation of AMPK/PGC-1α/PPARα pathway was decreased. The key factors of the Warburg effect, including HIF-1α, GLUT-1, PDK1, HK, and LDH, increased in AF group compared to SR group. The expression of PDH decreased significantly, accompanied by increased atrial lactate production. The extent of fibrosis increased significantly in the left atrial appendage of AF group. dERP, ∑WOV, and AF inducibility increased while ERP decreased in AF group compared to SR group. The use of metformin attenuated all these changes effectively. CONCLUSIONS: Metformin improves lipid metabolism and reverses the Warburg effect in chronic AF via AMPK activation. It attenuates atrial electrical and structural remodeling.

Torin2 overcomes sorafenib resistance via suppressing mTORC2-AKT-BAD pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, resistance to sorafenib is an urgent problem to be resolved to improve the therapeutic efficacy of sorafenib. As the activation of AKT/mTOR played a pivotal role in sorafenib resistance, we evaluated the effect of a dual mTOR complex 1/2 inhibitor Torin2 on overcoming the sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. METHODS: The sorafenib-resistant Huh7 and Hep3B cell lines were established from their parental cell lines. The synergistic effect of sorafenib and Torin2 on these cells was measured by cell viability assay and quantified using the Chou-Talalay method. Apoptosis induced by the combination of sorafenib and Torin2 and the alteration in the specific signaling pathways of interest were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: Sorafenib treatment inversely inhibited AKT in parental but activated AKT in sorafenib-resistant Huh7 and Hep3B HCC cells, which underscores the significance of AKT activation. Torin2 and sorafenib synergistically suppressed the viability of sorafenib-resistant cells via apoptosis induction. Torin2 successfully suppressed the sorafenib-activated mTORC2-AKT axis, leading to the dephosphorylation of Ser136 in BAD protein, and increased the expression of total BAD, which contributed to the apoptosis in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, Torin2 and sorafenib showed synergistic cytostatic capacity in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells, via the suppression of mTORC2-AKT-BAD pathway. Our results suggest a novel strategy of drug combination for overcoming sorafenib resistance in HCC.

Impact of treatment modalities on patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation: Preliminary experience.

BACKGROUND: Post-liver transplantation (LT) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence still occurs in approximately 20% of patients and drastically affects their survival. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of various treatments for recurrent HCC after LT in a Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 64 HCC patients with tumor recurrence after LT were enrolled in this study. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors affecting post-recurrence survival. RESULTS: Of the 64 patients with recurrent HCC after LT, those who received radical resection followed by nonsurgical therapy had a median overall survival (OS) of 20.9 months after HCC recurrence, significantly superior to patients who received only nonsurgical therapy (9.4 months) or best supportive care (2.4 months). The one- and two-year OS following recurrence was favorable for patients receiving radical resection followed by nonsurgical therapy (93.8%, 52.6%), poor for patients receiving only nonsurgical therapy (30.8%, 10.8%), and dismal for patients receiving best supportive care (0%, 0%; overall P < 0.001). Median OS in sorafenib-tolerant patients treated with lenvatinib was 19.5 months, far surpassing the patients that discontinued sorafenib or were treated with regorafenib after sorafenib failure (12 months, P < 0.001). Compared with tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive therapy, OS was significantly increased with sirolimus-based therapy at one and two years after HCC recurrence (P = 0.035). Multivariate analysis showed radical resection combined with nonsurgical therapy for recurrent HCC and sorafenib-lenvatinib sequential therapy were independent favorable factors for post-recurrence survival. CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive surgical intervention in well-selected patients significantly improves OS after recurrence. A multidisciplinary treatment approach is required to slow down disease progression for patients with unresectable recurrent HCC.

Controlling Oxygen Defect Formation and Its Effect on Reversible Symmetry Lowering and Disorder-to-Order Phase Transformations in Nonstoichiometric Ternary Uranium Oxides.

In situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction measurements have demonstrated that the isostructural AUO4- x ( A = alkaline earth metal cation) oxides CaUO4- x and α-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x undergo a reversible phase transformation under reducing conditions at high temperatures associated with the ordering of in-plane oxygen vacancies resulting in the lowering of symmetry. When rhombohedral (space group R3̅ m) CaUO4- x and α-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x are heated to 450 and 400 °C, respectively, in a hydrogen atmosphere, they undergo a first-order phase transformation to a single phase structure which can be refined against a triclinic model in space group P1̅, δ-CaUO4- x and δ-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x, where the oxygen vacancies are disordered initially. Continued heating results in the appearance of superlattice reflections, indicating the ordering of in-plane oxygen vacancies. Cooling ordered δ-CaUO4- x and δ-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x to near room temperature results in the reformation of the disordered rhombohedral phases. Essential to the transformation is the generation of a critical amount of oxygen vacancies. Once these are formed, the transformation can be accessed continuously through thermal cycling, showing that the transformations are purely thermodynamic in origin. Stoichiometric structures of both oxides can be recovered by heating oxygen deficient CaUO4- x and α-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x under pure oxygen to high temperatures. When heated in air, the amount of oxygen vacancy defects that form in CaUO4- x and α-Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x are found to correlate with the A site composition. The inclusion of the larger Sr2+ cation on the A site reduces defect-defect interactions, which increases the amount of defects that can form and lowers their formation temperature. The relative difference in the amount of defects that form can be understood on the basis of oxygen vacancy and U5+ disordering as shown by both ab initio calculations and estimated oxygen vacancy formation energies based on thermodynamic considerations. This difference in defect-defect interactions consequently introduces variations in the long-range ordered anionic lattice of the δ phases despite the isostructural relationship of the α structures of CaUO4- x and Sr0.4Ca0.6UO4- x. These results are discussed with respect to the influence the A site cation has upon anion defect formation and ordering and are also compared to δ-SrUO4- x, the only other material known to be able to undergo a reversible symmetry lowering and disorder-to-order transformation with increasing temperature.

Metformin regulates lipid metabolism in a canine model of atrial fibrillation through AMPK/PPAR-α/VLCAD pathway.

BACKGROUND: Atrial lipid metabolic remodeling is critical for the process of atrial fibrillation (AF). Abnormal Fatty acid (FA) metabolism in cardiomyocytes is involved in the pathogenesis of AF. MET (Metformin), an AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) activator, has been found to be associated with a decreased risk of AF in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the specific mechanism remains unknown. METHODS: Fifteen mongrel dogs were divided into three groups: SR, ARP (pacing with 800 beats/min for 6 h), ARP plus MET (treated with MET (100 mg/kg/day) for two weeks before pacing). We assessed metabolic factors, speed limiting enzymes circulating biochemical metabolites (substrates and products), atrial electrophysiology and accumulation of lipid droplets. RESULTS: The expression of AMPK increased in the ARP group and significantly increased in the MET+ARP group comparing to the SR group. In the ARP group, the expressions of PPARα、PGC-1α and VLCAD were down-regulated, while the concentration of free fatty acid and triglyceride and the lipid deposition in LAA (left atrial appendage) increased. Moreover, AERP and AERPd have also been found abnormally in this process. Pretreatment with MET before receiving ARP reversed the alterations aforementioned. CONCLUSIONS: The FA metabolism in LAA is altered in the ARP group, mainly characterized by the abnormal expression of the rate-limiting enzyme. Metformin reduces lipid accumulation and promotes ß-oxidation of FA in AF models partially through AMPK/PPAR-α/VLCAD pathway. Our study indicates that MET may inhibit the FA lipid metabolic remodeling in AF.

An Improved Multi-temporal and Multi-feature Tea Plantation Identification Method Using Sentinel-2 Imagery.

As tea is an important economic crop in many regions, efficient and accurate methods for remotely identifying tea plantations are essential for the implementation of sustainable tea practices and for periodic monitoring. In this study, we developed and tested a method for tea plantation identification based on multi-temporal Sentinel-2 images and a multi-feature Random Forest (RF) algorithm. We used phenological patterns of tea cultivation in China's Shihe District (such as the multiple annual growing, harvest, and pruning stages) to extracted multi-temporal Sentinel-2 MSI bands, their derived first spectral derivative, NDVI and textures, and topographic features. We then assessed feature importance using RF analysis; the optimal combination of features was used as the input variable for RF classification to extract tea plantations in the study area. A comparison of our results with those achieved using the Support Vector Machine method and statistical data from local government departments showed that our method had a higher producer's accuracy (96.57%) and user's accuracy (96.02%). These results demonstrate that: (1) multi-temporal and multi-feature classification can improve the accuracy of tea plantation recognition, (2) RF classification feature importance analysis can effectively reduce feature dimensions and improve classification efficiency, and (3) the combination of multi-temporal Sentinel-2 images and the RF algorithm improves our ability to identify and monitor tea plantations.

Catheter ablation for treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: There is a little evidence for the effects of catheter ablation (CA) on hard endpoints in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF). METHODS: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling patients with AF and HF who were assigned to CA, rate control or medical rhythm control groups. This meta-analysis was performed by using random-effect models. RESULTS: Seven RCTs enrolling 856 participants were included in this meta-analysis. CA reduced the risks of all-cause mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.76), HF readmission (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.66) and the composite of all-cause mortality and HF readmission (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.66) when compared with control. But there was no significant difference in cerebrovascular accident (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.36) between two groups. Compared with control, CA was associated with improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (mean difference [MD] 7.57, 95% CI 3.72 to 11.41), left ventricular end systolic volume (MD -14.51, 95% CI -26.84 to - 2.07), and left ventricular end diastolic volume (MD -3.78, 95% CI -18.51 to 10.96). Patients undergoing CA exhibited increased peak oxygen consumption (MD 3.16, 95% CI 1.09 to 5.23), longer 6-min walk test distance (MD 26.67, 95% CI 12.07 to 41.27), and reduced Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire scores (MD -9.49, 95% CI -14.64 to - 4.34) than those in control group. Compared with control, CA was associated with improved New York Heart Association class (MD -0.74, 95% CI -0.83 to - 0.64) and lower B-type natriuretic peptide levels (MD -105.96, 95% CI -230.56 to 19.64). CONCLUSIONS: CA was associated with improved survival, morphologic changes, functional capacity and quality of life relative to control. CA should be considered in patients with AF and HF.

Association between cytokine gene polymorphisms and ankylosing spondylitis susceptibility: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to derive precise estimation of the association of interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R), IL-1 receptor 2 (IL-1R2), IL-12 beta (IL-12B), IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α polymorphisms with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) susceptibility. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify the relevant studies. Pooled OR with 95% CI was calculated to assess the strength of the association in a fixed or random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 13 917 cases and 19 849 controls in 43 eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. Seventeen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the abovementioned five cytokine genes were evaluated. The results indicate that the nine SNPs (rs11209026, rs1004819, rs10489629, rs11465804, rs1343151, rs11209032, rs1495965, rs7517847, rs2201841) of IL-23R are associated with AS susceptibility in all study subjects in the allelic model. Moreover, stratification by ethnicity identified a significant association between seven SNPs of IL-23R and AS susceptibility in Europeans and Americans, but not in Asians. In addition, the IL-10-819 C/T and TNF-α-857 C/T polymorphisms also confer susceptibility to AS, especially in Asian population. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the genetic susceptibility for AS is associated with the nine SNPs of IL-23R in overall population. In the subgroup analysis, significant associations were shown in European and American population, but not in Asian population. Our results also suggest that IL-10-819 C/T and TNF-α-857 C/T polymorphism might be associated with AS risk, especially in Asian population.

Thermal Preconditioning May Prevent Tendon Adhesion by Up-Regulating HSP72 in Rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The study aims to determine the effects of thermal preconditioning on tendon adhesion by regulating the expression of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) in rat models. METHODS: Sixty male Wistar rats were collected and randomly assigned into the thermal preconditioning and control groups. During the 4th and 8th weeks following surgery, 15 rats were sacrificed in each period respectively, and their tendon adhesion was observed and evaluated. Biomechanical testing was performed to measure the tensile strength and gliding distance of tendons. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) was used to observe the morphological structure of the tendons. Immunohistochemical staining, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to detect the HSP72, fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR-1), ß-catenin, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM), Tenomodulin and scleraxis protein expressions. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to analyze the correlation between HSP72 expression and tendon adhesion. RESULTS: At the 4th week after surgery, we found no differences in the tendon adhesion scores or mRNA and protein expressions of HSP72 between the thermal preconditioning and control groups. However, after the 8th week after surgery, the thermal preconditioning group had a lower tendon adhesion score and higher mRNA and protein expressions of HSP72 than the control group. During the same period, we found longer gliding distance and higher expression levels of FGF-2, FGFR-1, ß-catenin, Tenomodulin and scleraxis, but lower EPCAM expression in the thermal preconditioning group. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that HSP72 mRNA and protein expression levels were negatively correlated with tendon adhesion. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence that thermal preconditioning may alleviate tendon adhesions via upregulation of HSP72 expression.

Degeneracy-analogous femtosecond dual-wavelength optical parametric oscillator at non-degenerate wavelengths.

Synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) at degeneracy is ideal for generating ultrafast laser pulses. Normally, however, group velocity mismatch (GVM) is ubiquitous among the interacting pulses at widely separated wavelengths. A versatile quasi-phase-matching (QPM) technique is proposed for temporal synchronizing of the signal and idler pulses relied on a less common Type-II QPM (oe-o interaction). The proposed group-velocity regulation technology is advantageous to constructing a degeneracy-analogous femtosecond OPO for dual-wavelength operation. Qualitative prediction for the proposed design is conducted based on a commercial femtosecond pump source at 1064 nm while the signal/idler wavelengths are 3.2 µm and 1.59 µm respectively. Compared with the conventional Type-0 QPM based counterpart (ee-e interaction), the uncompensated temporal distortion caused by temporal walk-off is strongly suppressed while the idler spectrum gets significantly broader. The versatility of the proposed scheme is also clearly demonstrated by its fairly stable performance within a broad tuning range of 2.9-3.5 µm and 1.68-1.53 µm. The demonstrated configuration might be promising for synchronously obtaining dual-wavelength ultrafast pulses with higher spectral and temporal qualities.

Achieving High-Performance Room-Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries With S@Interconnected Mesoporous Carbon Hollow Nanospheres.

Despite the high theoretical capacity of the sodium-sulfur battery, its application is seriously restrained by the challenges due to its low sulfur electroactivity and accelerated shuttle effect, which lead to low accessible capacity and fast decay. Herein, an elaborate carbon framework, interconnected mesoporous hollow carbon nanospheres, is reported as an effective sulfur host to achieve excellent electrochemical performance. Based on in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, the mechanism of the room temperature Na/S battery is proposed to be reversible reactions between S8 and Na2S4, corresponding to a theoretical capacity of 418 mAh g-1. The cell is capable of achieving high capacity retention of ∼88.8% over 200 cycles, and superior rate capability with reversible capacity of ∼390 and 127 mAh g-1 at 0.1 and 5 A g-1, respectively.

Spectrum regulation for mid-infrared ultrafast pulses via a time-synchronization aperiodically poled LiNbO3.

Restricted to temporal separation during the coupled-waves interaction, aperiodically quasi-phase-matching (QPM) nonlinear crystals are primarily implemented for prechirped pulses, showing limited applications in ultrafast temporal scale. Under the proposed time-synchronization framework, pump and signal waves travel with identical group-velocity, which permits sustaining energy transfer in long aperiodically poled LiNbO3 crystals (APPLN) even with ultrafast pulse duration. With the help of this structure, adiabatic frequency conversion shows extra advantages compared with the common cases, which enables lower stretching ratio and smoother gain spectrum. Focusing on the typical mid-infrared wavelength of ~3 µm, we numerically study the potential performance of APPLN with chirp-free ultrabroad interacting waves. In contrast to the spectral shift and conversion efficiency degradation presented by its traditional Type-0 QPM counterpart, the proposed design demonstrated impressive ability to obtain arbitrary spectrum via a simple femtosecond OPA/OPO. Peculiarly, the QPM chirp rate sign plays a significant role to the output spectrum, and a positive chirp rate is preferential in delivering a bandwidth-controllable spectrum. The proposed design provides a promising technical route to achieve spectrum manipulation in ultrafast temporal scale.

Responses of CO(2), N(2)O and CH(4) fluxes between atmosphere and forest soil to changes in multiple environmental conditions.

To investigate the effects of multiple environmental conditions on greenhouse gas (CO2 , N2 O, CH4 ) fluxes, we transferred three soil monoliths from Masson pine forest (PF) or coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest (MF) at Jigongshan to corresponding forest type at Dinghushan. Greenhouse gas fluxes at the in situ (Jigongshan), transported and ambient (Dinghushan) soil monoliths were measured using static chambers. When the transported soil monoliths experienced the external environmental factors (temperature, precipitation and nitrogen deposition) at Dinghushan, its annual soil CO2 emissions were 54% in PF and 60% in MF higher than those from the respective in situ treatment. Annual soil N2 O emissions were 45% in PF and 44% in MF higher than those from the respective in situ treatment. There were no significant differences in annual soil CO2 or N2 O emissions between the transported and ambient treatments. However, annual CH4 uptake by the transported soil monoliths in PF or MF was not significantly different from that at the respective in situ treatment, and was significantly lower than that at the respective ambient treatment. Therefore, external environmental factors were the major drivers of soil CO2 and N2 O emissions, while soil was the dominant controller of soil CH4 uptake. We further tested the results by developing simple empirical models using the observed fluxes of CO2 and N2 O from the in situ treatment and found that the empirical models can explain about 90% for CO2 and 40% for N2 O of the observed variations at the transported treatment. Results from this study suggest that the different responses of soil CO2 , N2 O, CH4 fluxes to changes in multiple environmental conditions need to be considered in global change study.

Xenophilus arseniciresistens sp. nov., an arsenite-resistant bacterium isolated from soil.

A Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, arsenite [As(III)]-resistant bacterium, designated strain YW8(T), was isolated from agricultural soil. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed over 97% sequence similarity to strains of the environmental species Xenophilus azovorans, Xenophilus aerolatus, Simplicispira metamorpha, Variovorax soli, and Xylophilus ampelinus. However, the phylogenetic tree indicated that strain YW8(T) formed a separate clade from Xenophilus azovorans. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed that the DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain YW8(T) and its closest phylogenetic neighbours were below 24.2-35.5%, which clearly separated the strain from these closely related species. The major cellular fatty acids of strain YW8(T) were C(16 : 0), C(17 : 0) cyclo, C(18 : 1)ω7c, and summed feature 3(C(16 : 1)ω6c and/or C(16 : 1)ω7c). The genomic DNA G+C content was 69.3 mol%, and the major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8. The predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, three unknown phospholipids, an unknown polar lipid and phosphatidylserine. The major polyamines were 2-hydroxyputrescine and putrescine. On the basis of morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, phylogenetic position, DNA-DNA hybridization and chemotaxonomic data, strain YW8(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Xenophilus, for which the name Xenophilus arseniciresistens sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is YW8(T) ( = CCTCC AB2012103(T) = KACC 16853(T)).