Natural oscillation frequencies of a Rayleigh sphere levitated in standing acoustic waves

Acoustic levitation is an important method of container-free processing, which counteracts gravity through exerting the acoustic radiation force on levitated objects. The Gorkov potential function is used to simplify the calculation of the acoustic radiation force acting on a Rayleigh sphere whose radius is much smaller than the wave length. For the case of a plane standing wave levitation system, a systematic analysis of the sphere dynamics is provided in the axial direction, assuming a small perturbation around the stable equilibrium locations. A generalized extension to an arbitrary standing wave field is provided, which gives formal expressions of the axial and transverse natural oscillation frequencies for the sphere. Particular emphasis is put on the natural oscillation frequencies with and without taking gravity into consideration. The computational results for Gauss and Bessel standing waves are provided as two special cases, which show that the transverse natural oscillation frequency will be overestimated when neglecting gravity, especially for a sphere with a relatively large density. Corresponding experiments are conducted to verify the dependence of the transverse natural oscillation frequency on the sphere density. The results obtained in this work are expected to provide a theoretical guide for enhancing the levitation stability and inversing the physical parameters from the sphere dynamics.

Social Sustainability of a Firm: Orientation, Practices, and Performances

This paper investigates how firms' social sustainability practices can influence their social performance and, ultimately, financial performance. We include two corporate social sustainability practices: employee-oriented (employee well-being and equity) and socially driven (corporate social involvement) practices. Three leading social theories (social identity theory, social exchange theory, and resource-based view) are applied in explaining how firms' social practices influence intermediate and bottom-line performance outcomes. Empirical results of 212 US manufacturing firms reveal that (1) the social orientation of the firm promotes firms' social performances (employee-oriented and community-oriented outcomes) directly; (2) social orientation also indirectly promotes employee-oriented outcomes via employee well-being and equity practices, and so does community-oriented outcome via corporate social involvement practices; and (3) the firms' social performances can enhance financial performance. The theoretical and managerial implications derived from these empirical results are discussed as well.

[Clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment strategies of patients with severe traumatic aortic injury]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment strategies of patients with severe traumatic aortic injury (TAI). Methods: A total of 25 patients with TAI, who hospitalized in our hospital between August 2005 to March 2021 and underwent thoracic aortic endovascular repair (TEVAR), were included in this retrospective study. According to the time from admission to TEVAR, the patients were divided into emergency TEVAR group (14 cases, TEVAR within 24 h of admission) and elective TEVAR group (11 cases, patients underwent surgery or fracture reduction and fixation first for serious injuries and then underwent TEVAR more than 24 h after admission). The general clinical data of patients, injury severity score (ISS), time from admission to intervention, total hospital stay, the proportion of closed chest drainage and the proportion of abdominal organ repair were obtained and compared. Clinical follow-up and 1-year postoperative aortic computed tomography angiography (CTA) were performed on the patients. Death, the occurrence of aortic adverse events and injury recovery were followed up and recorded. Results: The mean age of these 25 TAI patients was (41.4±14.4) years, 20 patients were males (80.0%). 21 patients (84.0%) had persistent chest and back pain, 17 (68.0%) had pleural effusion and 5 (20.0%) had mediastinal hematoma. The injury severity score (ISS) was significantly higher in the elective TEVAR group than in the emergency TEVAR group (24.9±14.4 vs. 35.5±9.3, P=0.044). The time from admission to intervention ((1.0±0.0) d vs. (3.4±0.9) d, P<0.001], the time from admission to TEVAR ((1.0±0.0) d vs. (11.5±13.8) d, P=0.030) and total hospital stay ((6.1±2.3) d vs. (26.8±7.7) d, P<0.001) were significantly longer in elective TEVAR group than in emergency TEVAR group. The proportion of thoracic closed drainage was significantly lower in the elective TEVAR group than in the emergency TEVAR group (9 (64.3%) vs. 2 (18.2%), P=0.042). The proportion of abdominal organ repair was significantly higher than in the emergency TEVAR group (0 vs. 4 (36.4%), P=0.026). All of 25 patients were discharged alive and followed up for (84.0±30.5) months. All patients survived and completed 1-year postoperation CTA. There were no aortic adverse events occurred, and no complications after surgery, and the fractures and organ injuries healed well. Conclusions: The clinical characteristics of severe TAI are acute multi-injuries combined with persistent chest and/or back pain, pleural effusion, and mediastinal hematoma. Timely diagnosis and treatment are important factors for the outcome. The treatment strategy for multi-injuries should give priority to dealing with life-threatening injuries. TEVAR is the primary treatment strategy for severe TAI and is related to satisfactory outcomes.

Influence of stress distribution in coal seams of non-uniform extremely thick key stratum and disaster-causing mechanisms

This paper analyzes the influence of the overlying extremely thick primary key stratum on the strong mine pressure hazard at the large mining face in Gaojiapu coal mine. The analysis of the distribution characteristics of the primary key stratum in the Gaojiapu coal mine reveals the bow-shaped structural characteristics of the overlying thick primary key stratum. An elastodynamic model was developed using the variational method to calculate and analyze the influence of the movement of the primary key stratum on the stress and energy of the underlying weak rock. The results show that the arch structure of the overlying extremely thick primary key stratum can significantly affect the distribution pattern of stress and strain energy in the coal body, and the stress and strain energy in the coal body are transferred to the middle of the coal column, and the middle region of the coal column enters a high stress state. These results suggest that the change in thickness of the overlying primary key stratum at Gaojiapu in the coal column area is a major factor in the frequent occurrence of impact ground pressure events at the mine. This study explains the causes of frequent impact ground pressure in the lower coal rock mass of the extremely thick primary key stratum, and provides a reference for the prevention and control of impact hazards in the extremely thick primary key stratum.

[Clinicopathological features of early gastric cancer after Helicobacter pylori eradication]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of early gastric cancers after Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication. Methods: The clinical data of 26 cases of gastric cancer that were diagnosed after H. pylori eradication and 45 cases without H. pylori eradication in the 989 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the People's Liberation Army (the former 152 Hospital), Pingdingshan, China from 2013 to 2021 were collected. The histological, immunophenotypic and clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared, and discussed with review of the related literature. Results: Among the gastric cancer patients with H. pylori eradication, there were 20 males and 6 females with a median age of 65 years (range 53 to 77 years). The cancer involved the upper part of the stomach in 12 cases, the middle part of the stomach in 4 cases, and the lower part of the stomach in 10 cases. The median diameter of the tumors was 12 mm (range 4-29 mm). According to the Paris Classification, 4 cases were 0-Ⅱa, 4 cases were 0-Ⅱb, 18 cases were 0-Ⅱc. White light endoscopy showed that the lesions were reddish to yellowish. The lesion boundary was clear in 12 cases and was unclear or gastritis-like changes in 14 cases, while the irregular microvascular structure and microsurface structure, as well as the relatively visible spinous boundary, were visible under narrow-band imaging. There were 20 cases of well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, 4 cases of highly to moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, and 2 cases of well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma with papillary adenocarcinoma. Compared with gastric cancers without H. pylori eradication, gastric cancers diagnosed after H. pylori eradication was associated with lower nucleus-cytoplasm ratio (<50%), normal epithelial coverage on the cancer surface, mild atypical epithelial coverage on the cancer surface, elongation of non-cancerous glands in the cancer tissue and subepithelial progression of cancerous glands were higher (P<0.05). The cellular immunophenotypes were gastric type in 6 cases, intestinal type in 4 cases and gastrointestinal mixed type in 16 cases. Conclusions: The early gastric cancers diagnosed after H. pylori eradication are more subtle clinically and mostly well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The important morphological features of gastric cancer diagnosed after H. pylori eradication are decreased cytological atypia and overlying normal epithelium or mildly atypical epithelium of the cancer. Understanding and recognizing these morphological features are helpful to make correct endoscopic and pathological diagnoses.

Digital versus slit-beam marking for toric intraocular lenses in cataract surgery

Purpose

To compare the visual outcomes of digital and slit-beam manual marking for toric intraocular lenses (IOL) in cataract surgery.

Setting

Single-center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, China.

Design

Retrospective study.

Methods

All patients with cataracts and regular corneal astigmatism greater than 0.75 diopters (D) underwent cataract surgery and astigmatism correction between June 2019 and June 2020. To mark the target axis of the toric IOL and the location of the incision, intraoperative digital marking was used by Callisto eye image-guided system in one group, while preoperative manual slit-beam marking was used in the other group. Uncorrected and best-corrected spectacle visual acuity, refraction, toric IOL axis, total higher order aberrations, coma, spherical aberration, and trefoil were evaluated at 1, 4, and 12 weeks postoperatively.

Results

Seventy-two eyes of 58 patients were included. At 3 months after surgery, the mean residual refractive cylinder was 0.42 ± 0.45D in the digital group and 0.39 ± 0.40D in the manual group (P = 0.844). There were no significant differences between groups in spherical equivalent refraction, uncorrected and best-corrected spectacle visual acuity, or the parameters of vector analysis. All toric IOL alignment errors were within 10° of the intended axis, and among them, about 42% of eyes in the digital group and 61% of eyes in the manual group had a rotation of 0–2° (P = 0.038). Trefoil in the manual group decreased postoperatively compared with the digital group (P = 0.012). Other aberration analyses did not reveal any statistical differences between groups.

Conclusions

Accurate slit-beam manual marking and digital image-guided marking are equally effective for toric IOL alignment.

[The progress on post-exposure prophylaxis of tetanus immunological preparation in adults]

The tetanus has been eliminated in the pregnancy women and newborns in China. However, there is a gap for adult tetanus immunization, and the risk of tetanus infection cannot be ignored. In order to clearly understand the effect of the tetanus to human beings and the current use of tetanus immunological preparation for adult post-exposure prophylaxis, the incidence of the tetanus, the use status of tetanus immunological preparation and recommendations for post-exposure prophylaxis at home and abroad were reviewed and summarized, which may provide academic evidence for post-exposure prophylaxis procedures and use of tetanus immunological preparation.

Low-Dose NOACs Versus Standard-Dose NOACs or Warfarin on Efficacy and Safety in Asian Patients with NVAF: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

The meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials has illustrated that the efficacy of low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants is inferior compared with standard-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, though they are still frequently prescribed for Asian patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. We aimed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants by carrying out a meta-analysis of all relevant randomized controlled tri- als and cohort studies.

METHODS

Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and MEDLINE were sys- tematically searched from the inception to September 9, 2021, for randomized controlled trials or cohorts that compared the efficacy and/or safety of low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in Asian patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. The primary outcomes were stroke and major bleeding, and the secondary outcomes were mortality, intracranial hemorrhage, and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Hazard ratios and 95% CIs were estimated using the random-effect model.

RESULTS

Nineteen publications involving 371 574 Asian patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation were included. Compared with standard-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants showed compa- rable risks of stroke (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.42), major bleeding (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI 0.83 to 1.21), intracranial hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% CI 0.92 to 1.38), and gastrointestinal hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI 0.87 to 1.31), though had a higher risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.71). Compared with warfarin, low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants were associated with lower risks of stroke (hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.79), mortality (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.81), major bleeding (hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.75), intracranial hemor- rhage (hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI 0.33 to 0.69), and gastrointestinal hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.93).

CONCLUSION

Low-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants were superior to warfarin, and comparable to standard-dose non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagu- lants considering risks of stroke, major bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage, and gastroin- testinal hemorrhage. Further, high qualified studies are warranted.

Variations in Plant Water Use Efficiency Response to Manipulated Precipitation in a Temperate Grassland

Water use efficiency (WUE) plays important role in understanding the interaction between carbon and water cycles in the plant-soil-atmosphere system. However, little is known regarding the impact of altered precipitation on plant WUE in arid and semi-arid regions. The study examined the effects of altered precipitation [i.e., ambient precipitation (100% of natural precipitation), decreased precipitation (DP, -50%) and increased precipitation (IP, +50%)] on the WUE of grass species (Stipa grandis and Stipa bungeana) and forb species (Artemisia gmelinii) in a temperate grassland. The results found that WUE was significantly affected by growth stages, precipitation and plant species. DP increased the WUE of S. grandis and S. bungeana generally, but IP decreased WUE especially in A. gmelinii. And the grasses had the higher WUE than forbs. For different growth stages, the WUE in the initial growth stage was lower than that in the middle and late growth stages. Soil temperature, available nutrients (i.e., NO₃ ^-, NH₄ ⁺, and AP) and microorganisms under the altered precipitations were the main factors affecting plant WUE. These findings highlighted that the grasses have higher WUE than forbs, which can be given priority to vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid areas.

Comparison of Visual Outcomes Between Toric Intraocular Lenses and Clear Corneal Incisions to Correct Astigmatism in Image–Guided Cataract Surgery

Purpose

To compare the astigmatism correction effects of toric intraocular lenses (IOL) and clear corneal incisions during image-guided cataract surgery.

Methods

All patients with regular corneal astigmatism of 0.75–1.5 D underwent cataract surgery and astigmatism correction using the Callisto eye image-guided system. One group had implantation of an AcrySof toric IOL. Another group had implantation of aspheric IOL with 3.0 mm single clear corneal incision (SCCI) on the steep axis. Uncorrected and best-corrected spectacle visual acuity, refraction, and toric IOL axis were evaluated at 1, 4, and 12 weeks postoperatively.

Results

Sixty-eight eyes of 68 patients were included. The mean residual refractive cylinder was 0.34 ± 0.40 D in the toric group and 0.64 ± 0.57 D in the SCCI group. There were no significant differences in residual refractive cylinder, spherical equivalent, uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), and best-corrected spectacle visual acuity (BCSVA) between groups. The percentage of the residual cylinder within ± 0.50 D was 75 and 56% for toric and SCCI cases, respectively (p &gt; 0.1). The mean surgical induced astigmatism vector was 0.61 ± 0.29 D in the SCCI group and 1.04 ± 0.38 D in the toric group. The mean magnitude of error was negative (−0.54 ± 0.48 D) and the correction index was &lt;1.0 (p &lt; 0.05) in SCCI group. At 3 months, all toric IOL alignment errors were within 5 degrees from the intended axis.

Conclusions

Both toric IOL and SCCI can correct low and medium astigmatism effectively with the help of a precise image-guided system.

[Wan's gynecology and obstetrics (Wan Shi Nv Ke) collected by the library of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences]

Wan's gynecology and obstetrics (Wan Shi Nv Ke), collected by the library of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, was examined with the field method. It was found some issues existed both in the recording and description of Wan's gynecology and obstetrics (Wan Shi Nv Ke) collected by the library of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in the electronic catalogue of ancient books and in the General catalogue of ancient books of traditional Chinese Medicine (Zhong Guo Zhong Yi Gu Ji Zong Mu), in terms of the same version with different registration, wrong publication time, some contents missed in publication, and the version actually not collected.

Driving factors of ecosystem services and their spatiotemporal change assessment based on land use types in the Loess Plateau

A clear understanding of the driving factors for different ecosystem services (ESs) is quite essential for sustainable ecosystem management. It is important to strengthen research in ESs and social sustainable development to identify the main driving factors of different ESs. This study assessed carbon sequestration (CS), water yield (WY) and soil conservation (SC) from 2000 to 2018 in the Loess Plateau using CASA (The Carnegie-AmesStanford Approach), InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) and RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) models. The spatial heterogeneity, trade-offs and synergies and driving factors were explored in the whole Loess Plateau. The results showed that the WY, CS and SC had increased from 2000 to 2018. The spatial relationships between WY and SC, SC and CS, and WY and CS were mainly synergistic. Annual mean precipitation (MAP) was the dominant driving factor of WY, while normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and slope (SL) had the strongest explanatory power for CS and SC. The LU was the most critical factor affecting the ESs in the different climatic zones. These results could act as a reference for decision-makers on how to control various influencing factors of ESs to improve the local ecology under local conditions.

[Clinicopathological features of very well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of very well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (VWDA) of the stomach. Methods: The clinicopathological data of 12 cases of VWDA of the stomach were collected retrospectively at the People's Liberation Army Joint Logistics Support Force 989 Hospital (formerly 152 Hospital), Pingdingshan, China, from January 2013 to May 2021. The histological characteristics and immunophenotypes were observed and analyzed with review of current literature. Results: There were 8 males and 4 females with a median age of 63 years (range 47 to 80 years). The tumor involved in the upper part of the stomach in 6 cases, the middle part in 2 cases, and the lower part in 4 cases. The median diameter of the tumors was 17 mm (range 5-65 mm). The tumor cells were similar to absorbent cells, Paneth cells, foveolar epithelial cells, and goblet cells. The cells were arranged in a single layer, and the nuclei were slightly enlarged and located at the base. The nuclei were fusiform to slightly irregular, with loss of nuclear polarity. Early tubular VWDA was found in 9 cases, and the tumor glands were similar to intestinal metaplasia. In two cases the tumors infiltrated into the submucosa. The lesions in the mucosa and submucosa showed the glands with cystic expansion, bending, branching, spiky and abortive growth pattern. One case of early papillary tubular VWDA was confined to the mucosal layer and composed of foveolar-type epithelial cells. There were two cases of advanced papillary tubular VWDA, which consisted of foveolar-type epithelial, pyloric glands, or mucinous neck cells and were associated with intra-lymphatic cancer embolus and lymph node metastases. Background mucosal atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were observed in all cases. Immunohistochemical staining showed intestinal type VWDA in 1 case, mixed gastrointestinal type VWDA in 9 cases, and gastric type VWDA in 2 cases. The Ki-67 proliferation index of 8 cases limited to the mucosa was 40%-70%, 2 cases of infiltration into the submucosa and 2 cases of advanced carcinoma was 10%-25%. All the tumors showed a wild type of p53 protein expression pattern and negative HER2. Adenocarcinoma or high-grade dysplasia was diagnosed on preoperative biopsy in 5 cases, and chronic atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia in 7 cases. The median follow-up time was 28 months (range 12-72 months). No recurrence was found in the 10 patients with early cancer. Of the two patients with advanced carcinoma, one patient had lung metastases and the other died. Conclusions: Gastric VWDA is a rare low-grade malignancy with structural features of highly differentiated adenocarcinoma and extremely low cytological atypia. The diagnostic value of structural abnormality is significantly greater than cytological atypia. The invasive growth of irregular glands in the deep mucosa and submucosa is reliable evidence for diagnosis. The diagnosis of intramucosal VWDA is challenging and very difficult in some biopsy specimens.

Multi-ligand modified PC@DOX-PA/EGCG micelles effectively inhibit the growth of ER+, PR+ or HER2+ breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world with tumor heterogeneity. Currently, cancer treatment mainly relies on surgical intervention, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, for which the side effects, drug resistance and cost need to be resolved. In this study, we develop a natural medicine targeted therapy system. Phosphatidylcholine (PC), doxorubicin (DOX), procyanidin (PA), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are assembled and PC@DOX-PA/EGCG nanoparticles (NPs) are obtained. In addition, the HER2, ER and PR ligands were grafted on the surface of the NPs to acquire the targeted nanoparticles NP-ER, NP-ER-HER2, and NP-ER-HER2-PR. The physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were detected and it was found that the nanoparticles are spherical and less than 200 nm in diameter. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo results indicate that the nanoparticles can target BT-474, MCF-7, EMT-6, and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, effectively inhibiting the growth of the breast cancer cells. In short, this research will provide some strategies for the treatment of heterogeneous breast cancer.

The field monitoring experiment of the high-level key stratum movement in coal mining based on collaborative DOFS and MPBX

The deformation and movement characteristics of high-level key stratums in overlying strata are important for estimating ground subsidence and understanding failure characteristics of ultrathick strata during mining. In this study, a distributed optical fiber sensor (DOFS) and multipoint borehole extensometers (MPBXs) were collaboratively employed to monitor the deformation of high-level key stratums in situ during the mining process at working face 130,604 of the Maiduoshan Coal Mine. DOFS monitoring results showed that the distance from advance influence of mining on the ground surface is 219.2 m. The deformation of the shallow stratums were greater and was affected earlier than that of the deep stratums. The deformation in the strata did not occur continuously and the boundary curve of the impact from advance mining was not a straight line with the advancement of the working face. By the MPBX technology, we measured the strata movement and obtained four-stage characteristics of high-level key stratum movement. The subsidence of the primary key stratum and the sub key stratum were monitored to reach 1389 and 1437 mm; their final relative displacement differed by 48 mm. No bed separation was observed in between the strata, and the key stratums tended to sink as a whole with the advancement of the working face. This research guides the analysis the movement of thick high-level key stratums.

Aligning tumor mutational burden (TMB) quantification across diagnostic platforms: phase II of the Friends of Cancer Research TMB Harmonization Project

BACKGROUND

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) measurements aid in identifying patients who are likely to benefit from immunotherapy; however, there is empirical variability across panel assays and factors contributing to this variability have not been comprehensively investigated. Identifying sources of variability can help facilitate comparability across different panel assays, which may aid in broader adoption of panel assays and development of clinical applications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-nine tumor samples and 10 human-derived cell lines were processed and distributed to 16 laboratories; each used their own bioinformatics pipelines to calculate TMB and compare to whole exome results. Additionally, theoretical positive percent agreement (PPA) and negative percent agreement (NPA) of TMB were estimated. The impact of filtering pathogenic and germline variants on TMB estimates was assessed. Calibration curves specific to each panel assay were developed to facilitate translation of panel TMB values to whole exome sequencing (WES) TMB values.

RESULTS

Panel sizes >667 Kb are necessary to maintain adequate PPA and NPA for calling TMB high versus TMB low across the range of cut-offs used in practice. Failure to filter out pathogenic variants when estimating panel TMB resulted in overestimating TMB relative to WES for all assays. Filtering out potential germline variants at >0% population minor allele frequency resulted in the strongest correlation to WES TMB. Application of a calibration approach derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas data, tailored to each panel assay, reduced the spread of panel TMB values around the WES TMB as reflected in lower root mean squared error (RMSE) for 26/29 (90%) of the clinical samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Estimation of TMB varies across different panels, with panel size, gene content, and bioinformatics pipelines contributing to empirical variability. Statistical calibration can achieve more consistent results across panels and allows for comparison of TMB values across various panel assays. To promote reproducibility and comparability across assays, a software tool was developed and made publicly available.

Construction and Evaluation of a High-Frequency Hearing Loss Screening Tool for Community Residents

Early screening and detection of individuals at high risk of high-frequency hearing loss and identification of risk factors are critical to reduce the prevalence at community level. However, unlike those for individuals facing occupational auditory hazards, a limited number of hearing loss screening models have been developed for community residents. Therefore, this study used lasso regression with 10-fold cross-validation for feature selection and model construction on 38 questionnaire-based variables of 4010 subjects and applied the model to training and testing cohorts to obtain a risk score. The model achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.844 in the model validation stage and individuals’ risk scores were subsequently stratified into low-, medium-, and high-risk categories. A total of 92.79% (1094/1179) of subjects in the high-risk category were confirmed to have hearing loss by audiometry test, which was 3.7 times higher than that in the low-risk group (25.18%, 457/1815). Half of the key indicators were related to modifiable contexts, and they were identified as significantly associated with the incident hearing loss. These results demonstrated that the developed model would be feasible to identify residents at high risk of hearing loss via regular community-level health examinations and detecting individualized risk factors, and eventually provide precision interventions.

[Twelve-week of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir therapeutic regimen for chronic hepatitis C patients in northwest region of China: a real-world multicenter clinical study]

Objective: To study the real-world outcome of China FDA-approved Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Velpatasvir (VEL) in Northwest China. Methods: In this multicenter, prospective, real-world cohort study, we recruited patients from 10 sites from Northwest China, who were chronically infected with HCV GTs 1-6 from 06/2018 to 09/2019. Patients received SOF (400mg)/VEL (100mg) for 12 weeks, and with ribavirin 900-1200 mg for GT3 cirrhosis and for any genotype decompensated cirrhosis. The primary endpoint was sustained virological response at 12-weeks post-treatment (SVR12) and safety. The secondary endpoint was the change of liver function after the achievement of SVR12. Results: Totally, 143 patients were enrolled in the study, four patients were lost to follow-up and one died during the follow-up, 138 patients were included in per-protocol analysis. Of the 138 patients, the mean age 53 years, 53.6% male, 94.2% Han nationality, 53.6% liver cirrhosis, 10.1% HBsAg(+), 6.5% renal dysfunction, 5.1% treatment-experienced, and 16.7% patients received ribavirin treatment. The genotype distribution was as follows: 35.5% GT1, 42.8% GT2, 15.9% GT3, and 5.8% un-typed. The SVR12 rate was 96.5% (138/143, 95%CI: 93.5%-99.6%) for intention-to-treat analysis, and in per-protocol analysis, all 138 patients obtained SVR12 (100%). Compared with baseline, the serum total bilirubin, ALT and AFP levels decreased (all P < 0.05), as well as increased ALB and platelet count (all P < 0.001) at post-treatment 12-weeks. Overall adverse events (AEs) rate is 29.0%, and the most common AEs were anemia (14.5%) and fatigue (8.0%). Severe side effects (edema and fatigue) occurred in 2 patients, one of whom needed a short-term interruption of treatment due to fatigue. Conclusion: In this real-world cohort study, 12-week SOF/VEL regimen with or without ribavirin achieved high SVR12 rates (96.5%-100% overall) with excellent safety profile among patients with HCV GT1/2/3 infection including patients with GT3 and cirrhosis, and led to improvement of liver function.

Study on the Effective Material Basis and Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription (QJC) Against Stress Diarrhea in Mice

Stress diarrhea is a major challenge for weaned piglets and restricts pig production efficiency and incurs massive economic losses. A traditional Chinese medicine prescription (QJC) composed of Astragalus propinquus Schischkin (HQ), Zingiber officinale Roscoe (SJ), and Plantago asiatica L. (CQC) has been developed by our laboratory and shows marked anti-stress diarrhea effect. However, the active compounds, potential targets, and mechanism of this effect remain unclear and warrant further investigation. In our study, we verified the bioactive compounds of QJC and relevant mechanisms underlying the anti-stress diarrhea effect through network pharmacology and in vivo experimental studies. After establishing a successful stress-induced diarrhea model, histomorphology of intestinal mucosa was studied, and Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) probe was used for the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling pathway to verify the therapeutic effect of QJC on diarrhea. First, using the network pharmacology approach, we identified 35 active components and 130 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways in QJC. From among these, we speculated that quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, scutellarein, and stigmasterol were the main bioactive compounds and assumed that the anti-diarrhea effect of QJC was related to the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. The RT-qPCR indicated that QJC and its bioactive components increased the expression levels of PI3K and Akt, inhibited the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), and activated the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to relieve stress-induced diarrhea. Furthermore, we found that QJC alleviated the pathological condition of small intestine tissue and improved the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Taken together, our study showed that the traditional Chinese medicine QJC, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, scutellarein, and stigmasterol alleviated the pathological condition of small intestine tissue and relieved stress-induced diarrhea by increasing the expression levels of PI3K and Akt and inhibiting the expression levels of PTEN.

MicroRNA‑93 knockdown inhibits acute myeloid leukemia cell growth via inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway by upregulating DAB2

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with a poor prognosis in elderly adults and currently lacks optimal treatment strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have increasingly been reported to be associated with AML progression; however, the mechanisms of action of miR-93 in AML with the involvement of disabled 2 (DAB2) are currently unknown. In the present study, miR-93 expression was assessed in patients with AML and in AML cell lines. The association between miR-93 expression and the pathological characteristics of patients with AML was analyzed. AML cells were then transfected to knockdown or overexpress miR-93 in order to elucidate its function in AML progression. The target gene of miR-93 was assessed using a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. The expression levels of miR-93, DAB2 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway-related proteins were measured and in vivo experiments were conducted to confirm the results. It was observed that miR-93 was highly expressed in patients with AML and in AML cells. The knockdown of miR-93 in HL-60 cells inhibited AML cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis, while the overexpression of miR-93 in THP-1 cells led to contrasting results. Moreover, miR-93 targeted DAB2 to inactivate the PI3K/AKT pathway, and the overexpression of DAB2 reversed the effects of miR-93 on THP-1 cell growth. Tumor volume, tumor weight, and the positive expression of Ki67, survivin and p53 were increased in THP-1 cells overexpressing miR-93. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that miR-93 is highly expressed in AML cells, and that the suppression of miR-93 inhibits AML cell growth by targeting DAB2 and inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Rutin, A Natural Inhibitor of IGPD Protein, Partially Inhibits Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus xylosus ATCC700404 in vitro and in vivo

Staphylococcus xylosus (S. xylosus) has become an emerging opportunistic pathogen due to its strong biofilm formation ability. Simultaneously, the biofilm of bacteria plays an important role in antibiotic resistance and chronic infection. Here, we confirmed that rutin can effectively inhibit biofilm formation in S. xylosus, of which the inhibition mechanism involves its ability to interact with imidazole glycerol phosphate dehydratase (IGPD), a key enzyme in the process of biofilm formation. We designed experiments to target IGPD and inhibited its activities against S. xylosus. Our results indicated that the activity of IGPD and the amount of histidine decreased significantly under the condition of 0.8 mg/ml rutin. Moreover, the expression of IGPD mRNA (hisB) and IGPD protein was significantly down-regulated. Meanwhile, the results from molecular dynamic simulation and Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) technique showed that rutin could bind to IGPD strongly. Additionally, in vivo studies demonstrated that rutin treatment reduced inflammation and protect mice from acute mastitis caused by S. xylosus. In summary, our findings provide new insights into the treatment of biofilm mediated persistent infections and chronic bacterial infections. It could be helpful to design next generation antibiotics to against resistant bacteria.