Flat micro heat pipe-based shell and tube storage unit for indirect solar dryer: a pilot study

Poria cocos has been dried in an indirect solar drying system composed of a roughened solar air heater (RSAH), a shell and tube storage unit assisted with flat micro heat pipes fins, and a drying chamber. The main novelty in this study is using FMHPs as fins in shell and tube storage unit with paraffin wax and lack of investigations on Poria cocos solar drying as medicinal material used in Chinese medicine. First and second laws of thermodynamics are used to assess the performance of the system and the results indicated that the RSAH average thermal ([Formula: see text]) and exergy efficiency ([Formula: see text]) were 73.9% and 5.1%, respectively, with averaged incident solar radiation of 671 W/m² under airflow rate of 0.0381 m³/s. Furthermore, the storing system showed 37.6% as averaged overall [Formula: see text] and 17.2% as averaged overall [Formula: see text], as well as, discharging prolonged to 4 h with effective drying temperature. The overall [Formula: see text] of the dryer was 27.6% with specific energy consumption (SEC) of 8.629 kWh/kg moisture. The payback period of the system is 1.7 years.

Ultrafine FeF3·0.33H2O Nanocrystal-Doped Graphene Aerogel Cathode Materials for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries

FeF₃ has been extensively studied as an alternative positive material owing to its superior specific capacity and low cost, but the low conductivity, large volume variation, and slow kinetics seriously hinder its commercialization. Here, we propose the in situ growth of ultrafine FeF₃·0.33H₂O NPs on a three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (3D RGO) aerogel with abundant pores by a facile freeze drying process followed by thermal annealing and fluorination. Within the FeF₃·0.33H₂O/RGO composites, the three-dimensional (3D) RGO aerogel and hierarchical porous structure ensure rapid diffusion of electrons/ions within the cathode, enabling good reversibility of FeF₃. Benefiting from these advantages, a superior cycle behavior of 232 mAh g^-1 under 0.1C over 100 cycles as well as outstanding rate performance is achieved. These results provide a promising approach for advanced cathode materials for Li-ion batteries.

Ultrasonic-microwave-assisted extraction for enhancing antioxidant activity of Dictyophora indusiata polysaccharides: The difference mechanisms between single and combined assisted extraction

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of different extraction methods (hot water-assisted extraction (HWE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), and ultrasonic-microwave- assisted extraction (UAME)) on the yield, chemical structures and antioxidant activity of Dictyophora indusiata polysaccharides (DPs). The research results showed that UMAE treatment had greater degree of damage to the cell wall of DPs and better comprehensive antioxidant capacity. Different extraction methods had no obvious effect on the types of glycosidic bonds and sugar rings, similar chemical composition and monosaccharide composition, with different absolute molecular weight (Mw) and molecular conformation. In particular, DPs for UMAE method had the highest polysaccharides yield, which was related to the conformational stretching and degradation avoidance of DPs in the higher molecular weight components under the simultaneous action of microwave and ultrasonic. These findings suggest that the UMAE technology has good potential for modification and application of DPs in the functional food industry.

Recent Progress in Atmospheric Chemistry Research in China: Establishing a Theoretical Framework for the "Air Pollution Complex"

Atmospheric chemistry research has been growing rapidly in China in the last 25 years since the concept of the "air pollution complex" was first proposed by Professor Xiaoyan TANG in 1997. For papers published in 2021 on air pollution (only papers included in the Web of Science Core Collection database were considered), more than 24 000 papers were authored or co-authored by scientists working in China. In this paper, we review a limited number of representative and significant studies on atmospheric chemistry in China in the last few years, including studies on (1) sources and emission inventories, (2) atmospheric chemical processes, (3) interactions of air pollution with meteorology, weather and climate, (4) interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere, and (5) data assimilation. The intention was not to provide a complete review of all progress made in the last few years, but rather to serve as a starting point for learning more about atmospheric chemistry research in China. The advances reviewed in this paper have enabled a theoretical framework for the air pollution complex to be established, provided robust scientific support to highly successful air pollution control policies in China, and created great opportunities in education, training, and career development for many graduate students and young scientists. This paper further highlights that developing and low-income countries that are heavily affected by air pollution can benefit from these research advances, whilst at the same time acknowledging that many challenges and opportunities still remain in atmospheric chemistry research in China, to hopefully be addressed over the next few decades.

[Pregnancy outcome analysis after radiofrequency ablation of monochorionic twin pregnancy in different gestational weeks and psychological intervention]

Objective: To investigate the effect of different gestational weeks and psychological intervention on pregnancy outcome in patients with monochorionic twin pregnancy. Methods: The clinical data of 68 patients with monochorionic twin pregnancy in the middle and late pregnancy who were treated with radiofrequency ablation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from March 2017 to April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 54 patients with single chorionic and single amniotic sac and 14 patients with single chorionic and double amniotic sac. Patients were divided into three groups according to the gestational weeks:<20 weeks (n=36), 20-23 weeks (n=17) and ≥24 weeks (n=15); and were divided into intervention group (n=40) and control group (n=28) according to the preoperative psychological intervention. The pregnancy outcome of patients with different pregnancy reduction and the effect of psychological intervention on pregnancy outcome was analyzed. Results: The age of 68 patients was (30.2±4.6) years old, the gestational age was (22.2±3.2) weeks, and 60 cases (88.2%) were live births after fetal reduction. There were no significant difference in age [(31.8±4.7),(28.3±5.0),(30.3±4.0) years old] (P=0.098), abortion rate, preterm birth rate, live birth rate, delivery mode, gestational week of preterm birth, gestational week of delivery, and neonatal weight between the two groups at different gestational weeks (all P>0.05). The ages of the intervention group and the control group were (30.6±4.7) and (29.4±4.0) years old (P=0.352). After psychological intervention for 40 patients in the intervention group, the anxiety score after pregnancy reduction was reduced from (54.8±6.8) to (37.3±7.3) (P<0.001), while the depression score decreased from (62.7±7.2) to (33.2±2.4) (P<0.001). Compared with patients in the control group (12.5%, n=5), the proportion of postoperative discomfort in the intervention group was higher (53.6%, n=15) (P<0.001). Compared with the control group, there were no statistically significant difference in the postoperative preterm birth rate, abortion rate, live birth rate, delivery mode, gestational week of preterm birth, gestational week of delivery, and neonatal weight in the intervention group (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective minimally invasive technique. For complex monochorionic twin pregnancies, early fetal reduction (<20 weeks) and preoperative psychological intervention can provide a solid guarantee for a good postoperative pregnancy outcome.

Women undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) might benefit from maintaining serum luteinizing hormone levels: A retrospective analysis

We aimed to evaluate the effect of serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels on human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) injection day (LH_HCG) on outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) patients. It is a retrospective cohort study involving 620 women who had an IVF cycle in Taizhou Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University between 2018-2020. The participants were divided into different groups according to LH_HCG level and age. The clinical data and outcomes were compared between groups. The numbers of follicles (≥ 14 mm) on HCG day, retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes, and two pronuclei (2PN) embryos in women with LH_HCG < 2 IU/L were more than those with LH_HCG ≥ 2 IU/L. Women with LH_HCG < 2 IU/L had lower high-quality embryo rate (42.2% vs. 46.5%, p = 0.002) and implantation rate (40.0% vs. 58.8%, p = 0.044) compared to those with LH_HCG ≥ 2 IU/L. When LH_HCG < 2 IU/L, there was no significant difference in implantation rates in patients < 35 years compared to those ≥ 35 years. When LH_HCG ≥ 2 IU/L, patients < 35 years old had higher implantation rates (71.7% vs. 41.2%, p < 0.001) compared to those ≥ 35 years old. The success rates of IVF fertilization and ICSI fertilization and biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates were not significantly different between groups. Our results demonstrated that women undergoing IVF/ICSI-ET might benefit from maintaining LH_HCG levels at ≥ 2 IU/L. In addition, age might associate with LH_HCG levels and be a better determining factor of the transfer outcome than serum LH_HCG levels for IVF/ICSI-ET.

[A case of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma]

Malignant mesothelioma is a highly malignant disease that most often occurs in the pleural cavity, followed by the peritoneum and pericardium. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) accounts for 10%-15% of all mesothelioma. The most important risk factor for MPM is exposure to asbestos. MPM has no specific clinical symptoms, imaging and histopathology are critical for the diagnosis. There are currently no generally accepted guidelines for curative treatment of MPM. The patient mainly presented with abdominal pain, abdominal distension and discomfort. Due to extensive omentum metastasis, no further surgical treatment was performed. Pemetrexed combined with cisplatin chemotherapy was given for 2 cycles, and the patient is still alive.

Green and Cost-Effective Separation of Cadmium from Base Metals in Chloride Medium with Halide-Loaded Anion Exchanger

A novel strategy for the separation of cadmium from base metals in chloride medium by anion exchange based on the formation of cadmium halo-complexes is presented in this article. Instead of using excess Br− or I− in the feed solution, the anion exchange resin or fibre was first preloaded with Br− or I− for Cd2+ adsorption from Cl− solution. Thus, the consumption of iodide or bromide was minimized while promising high adsorption stability of Cd2+. The adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics of Cd2+ were studied. The adsorption thermodynamics results were processed with Langmuir and Freundlich models and adsorption kinetics results were treated with Pseudo first order model, Pseudo second order model and intraparticle diffusion model. The adsorption mechanism was studied with the aid of FTIR and elemental analysis. Three strategies were applied for the stripping of Cd2+, including the use of water for disequilibrating its halo-complex formation, the formation of positively charged species with ammonia, and the formation of positively charged chelate with multidentate ligand ethylenediamine. On the bases of these results, separation performance was investigated with strongly basic anion exchange resin and fibre, and it was shown that Cd2+ can be efficiently separated from base metals in a wide range of acidity, and that pure Cd2+ solution can be obtained, thus providing a robust, environmentally friendly, and economic technology for its separation.

Vertical measurements of stable nitrogen and oxygen isotope composition of fine particulate nitrate aerosol in Guangzhou city: Source apportionment and oxidation pathway

Nowadays, the emission source and formation mechanism of fine particulate nitrate (pNO₃^-) in China are mired in controversy. In this study, the stable nitrogen isotope (δ¹⁵N-NO₃^-) and triple oxygen isotope (Δ¹⁷O-NO₃^-) were determined for the pNO₃^- samples collected at three heights under different atmospheric oxidation capacity (AOC) (O_x = O₃ + NO₂: 107 ± 29 μg m^-3 at ground, 102 ± 28 μg m^-3 at 118 m, 122 ± 23 μg m^-3 at 488 m) conditions during the sampling period based on the Canton Tower, Guangzhou, China. The Bayesian mixing model showed that coal combustion was the largest contributor to pNO₃^- in this city, followed by biomass burning, vehicle exhaust, and soil emission. Interestingly, we found that vertical NO_x and pNO₃^- concentrations displayed an opposite pattern owing to the different formation mechanisms among heights. The average contributions of oxidation pathways for (NO₂ + OH, P1), (NO₃ + DMS/HC, P2), and (N₂O₅ + H₂O, P3) were 61 %, 12 %, and 27 % at the ground, respectively, and these values would vary greatly among heights. These results implied that both AOC and NO_x loading played an important role in pNO₃^- production. The pNO₃^- displayed a positive correlation with NO_x (r = 0.95) with an enhanced contribution of the P1 pathway under the relatively high AOC condition. However, pNO₃^- has a negative correlation with NO_x (r = -0.99) with a rise of heterogeneous reaction (P2 and P3) under the relatively low AOC condition. Therefore, the current emission control strategy for air pollution in China needs to consider the AOC conditions among regions to effectively mitigate particulate air pollution.

Thymoma-associated autoimmune encephalitis: Analysis of factors determining prognosis

INTRODUCTION

Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a heterogeneous group of inflammatory central nervous system disorders caused by a misdirected immune response against self-antigens expressed in the central nervous system. The thymus is a central organ in the immune system and thymic tumors are thought to be possible initiators of many neurological disorders. Recently, there is growing evidence that thymomas are associated with autoimmune encephalitis.

AIMS

Our study initially explored the characteristics of patients with autoimmune encephalitis combined with thymoma.

METHODS

We used patient data from January 1, 2011 to October 1, 2021 from the PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid, and CNKI platforms to analyze overall demographics, frequency of symptoms and associations, and treatment prognosis outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 68 patients were included. There were 39 female cases (57.4%). The mean age was 50 years (IQR 40-66 years). All had acute and subacute onset. The clinical manifestations were mostly cognitive changes (70.6%), mental disorders (57.4%), and epilepsy (50.0%). The most common neuronal antibody was alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities were present in 81.0% of patients, mostly in the hippocampus, temporal lobe, and some in cortical and subcortical areas. Abnormalities in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in 69.8% of patients. Treatment involved immunotherapy and thymoma treatment, with 79.7% of patients improving after treatment. While 20.3% of patients had a poor prognosis. Further, 14.8% of patients relapsed. Mental disorders, autonomic dysfunction, sleep disturbances, anti-Ma2, and thymoma untreated were more frequent in patients with poor prognosis.

CONCLUSION

Thymoma-associated autoimmune encephalitis is a unique disease entity. Long-term follow-up of chest CT findings is recommended for patients with autoimmune encephalitis.

Metabolomics analysis of the effects of different litter size on reproductive metabolism and oxidative stress in breeding pigeon (Columba livia)

The pigeon breeding industry employs a high-rearing pattern to achieve economic benefits. However, too many squabs consume more energy of the breeding pigeons causing adverse effects on their breeding performance. To determine the optimal rearing patterns and the effects of different numbers of squabs on reproductive performance, oxidative stress, and glucolipid metabolism of lactating breeding pigeons in winter, three rearing patterns consisting of "2 + 2″, "2 + 3″ and "2 + 4" (a pair of breeding pigeons feeding two, three and four squabs, respectively) were adopted using European Mimas white pigeons breed. The feed intake, bodyweight loss, feed-to-meat ratio, and squab mortality were linearly increased with the number of squabs during lactation, while the bodyweight recovery rate and squab growth performance were significantly slowed down after lactation. Similarly, the laying rate was linearly decreased on days 16, 17, and 18 of lactation, with a similar pattern on the re-laying rate on days 11, 12, and 13 after first laying. In addition, the number of non-laying pigeons in the second batch was significantly increased, implying that the number of squabs significantly affected the reproductive performance of female pigeons. The eggshell weight and thickness in the "2 + 3″ group were significantly increased. However, the number of squabs in the "2 + 3″ group had no significant effect on plasma calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) levels. Analysis of the glucolipid metabolism index and oxidative stress level of pigeons further revealed that the contents of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (T-CHO), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the plasma of male pigeons were significantly decreased with the increase in the number of squabs, but there was no obvious oxidative stress. On the contrary, glucose (GLU), TG, malondialdehyde (MDA) in the plasma of female pigeons were significantly increased, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were significantly decreased, implying that the female pigeons suffered more oxidative stress and more dramatic changes in glucolipid metabolism. Metabolomics revealed that the differential metabolites in the plasma of female pigeons in "2 + 2″, "2 + 3″, and "2 + 4″ groups were significantly enriched in the fatty acid, phospholipid, sphingolipid metabolism, and the Krebs cycle pathways, especially under "2 + 4″ rearing pattern. Overall, in female pigeons, the available lipids were reduced; hence, their body turned to sugar dysplasia and protein utilization mode, increasing the oxidative stress level and decreasing their reproductive performance. Therefore, an increased number of squabs significantly affects the body condition and reproductive performance of breeding pigeons. The "2 + 3″ rearing pattern is the most suitable for winter breeding pigeon production under the current nutrition level.

The discovery of a new type of innervation in lymphoid organs

It is well known that the main forms of innervation are synapses and free nerve endings, while other forms of innervation have not been reported. Here, we explore a new way of innervating lymphoid organs. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for studying the innervation of sympathetic nerve fibers in lymph nodes by means of anterograde tracking, immunoelectron microscopy, three-dimension reconstruction analysis, and immunofluorescence labeling. The results showed that the Fluoro-Ruby labeled nerve endings targeted only a group of cells in the lymph nodes and entered the cells through the plasma membrane. The electron microscopy showed that the biotinylated glucan amine reaction elements were distributed in the cytoplasm, and most of the biotinylated glucan amine active elements were concentrated on the microtubule and microfilament walls. Birbeck particles with rod-shaped and/or tennis racket like structures can be seen in the labeled cells at high magnification, and Birbeck particles contain biotinylated glucan amine-reactive elements. The immunofluoresence results showed that the Fluoro-Ruby-labeled nerve innervating cells expressed CD207 and CD1a protein. This result confirmed that the labeled cells were Langerhans cells. Our findings suggested that Langerhans cells might serve as a "bridge cell" for neuroimmune cross-talking in lymph organs, which play an important role in transmitting signals of the nervous system to immune system. This study also opened up a new way for further study of immune regulation mechanism.

PsA inhibits the development of bovine embryos through epigenetic and oxidative stress

OBJECTIVE

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are the key regulators involved in the process of embryo development and tumor progression and are often dysregulated in numerous disordered cells, including tumor cells and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. Psammaplin A (PsA), a natural small-molecular therapeutic agent, is a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) that alters the regulation of histone.

SAMPLES

Approximately 2,400 bovine parthenogenetic (PA) embryos.

PROCEDURES

To investigate the effect of PsA on bovine preimplanted embryos, we analyzed the preimplantation development of PA embryos treated with PsA in this study.

RESULTS

The blastocyst formation rate of bovine PA embryos decreased sharply with an increase in concentration and duration. Furthermore, the expression of the pluripotency-related gene Nanog was decreased, and the inhibitory effects on histone deacetylases 1 (HDAC1) and DNA methylation transferase 1 (DNMT1) were observed in bovine PA embryos. The acetylation level of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) was enhanced by a PsA treatment of 10 μM for 6 h, while the DNA methylation appeared unchanged. Interestingly, we also found that PsA treatment enhanced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and decreased the intracellular mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP)- and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1)-induced oxidative stress. Our findings improve the understanding of HDAC in embryo development and provide a theoretical basis and reproduction toxicity evaluation for the application of PsA.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

These results indicate that PsA inhibits the development of bovine preimplantation PA embryos, supplying data for the PsA clinical application concentration to avoid reproductive toxicity. In addition, the reproduction toxic effect of PsA may be modulated through increased oxidative stress on the bovine PA embryo, suggesting that PsA in combination with antioxidants, for example, melatonin, might be an effective clinical application strategy.

[Research progress on drug resistance of anti-varicella-zoster virus drugs]

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox when it first infects humans, and the virus may reactivate in adulthood and cause herpes zoster (HZ). Broad-spectrum antiviral drugs are one of the treatments for varicella and herpes zoster, but the emergence of drug resistance poses many challenges to this treatment and increases the burden of disease on patients. This paper discusses the resistance mechanisms, resistance sites and resistance detection methods of anti-VZV drugs in order to help further research on new anti-VZV targets, new drugs and monitoring of resistance to existing drugs.

Correlation between plasma lncRNA CASC11 and malignancy in lung adenocarcinoma patients and the prognostic value of lncRNA CASC11

Objective: To study the connection between lncRNA CASC11 plasma expression and clinical characteristics as well as prognoses of patients. Methods: 60 lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients and 60 healthy adults participated in this research. LncRNA CASC11 expression was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and the relationships between lncRNA CASC11 plasma expression and patient prognosis and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results: LncRNA CASC11 was highly expressed in LUAD tissues and plasma (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated the diagnostic value of lncRNA CASC11 in LUAD (p < 0.0001). Higher plasma lncRNA CASC11 expression indicated worse patient prognoses (p < 0.05). Plasma lncRNA CASC11 level was also closely related to tumor differentiation and tumor-node-metastasis stage (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Plasma lncRNA CASC11 may be a potential biomarker for LUAD diagnosis and prognosis.

Constraints on Heavy Decaying Dark Matter from 570 Days of LHAASO Observations

The kilometer square array (KM2A) of the large high altitude air shower observatory (LHAASO) aims at surveying the northern γ-ray sky at energies above 10 TeV with unprecedented sensitivity. γ-ray observations have long been one of the most powerful tools for dark matter searches, as, e.g., high-energy γ rays could be produced by the decays of heavy dark matter particles. In this Letter, we present the first dark matter analysis with LHAASO-KM2A, using the first 340 days of data from 1/2-KM2A and 230 days of data from 3/4-KM2A. Several regions of interest are used to search for a signal and account for the residual cosmic-ray background after γ/hadron separation. We find no excess of dark matter signals, and thus place some of the strongest γ-ray constraints on the lifetime of heavy dark matter particles with mass between 10^{5} and 10^{9}  GeV. Our results with LHAASO are robust, and have important implications for dark matter interpretations of the diffuse astrophysical high-energy neutrino emission.

Isotopic imprints of aerosol ammonium over the north China plain

Atmospheric PM_2.5 poses a variety of health and environmental risks to urban environments. Ammonium is one of the main components of PM_2.5, and its role in PM_2.5 pollution will likely increase in the coming years as NH₃ emissions are still unregulated and rising in many cities worldwide. However, partitioning urban NH₄⁺ sources remains challenging. Although the ¹⁵N natural abundance (δ¹⁵N) analysis is a promising approach for this purpose, it has seldom been applied across multiple cities within a given region. This limits our understanding of the regional patterns and controls of NH₄⁺ sources in urban environments. Here, we collected PM_2.5 samples using an active sampling technique during winter at six cities in the North China Plain to characterize the concentrations, δ¹⁵N and sources of NH₄⁺ in PM_2.5. We found substantial variations in both the concentrations and δ¹⁵N of NH₄⁺ among the sites. The mean NH₄⁺ concentrations across the six cities ranged from 3.6 to 12.1 μg m^-3 on polluted days and from 0.9 to 10.6 μg m^-3 on non-polluted days. The δ¹⁵N ranged from 6.5‰ to 13.9‰ on polluted days and from 8.7‰ to 13.5‰ on non-polluted days. The δ¹⁵N decreased with increasing NH₄⁺ concentrations at all six sites. We found that non-agricultural sources (vehicle exhaust, ammonia slip and urban wastes) contributed 72%-94% and 56%-86% of the NH₄⁺ on polluted and non-polluted days, respectively, and that during polluted days, combustion-related emissions (vehicle exhaust and ammonia slip) were positively associated with the proportion of urban area, population density and number of vehicles, highlighting the importance of local sources of particulate pollution. This study suggests that the analysis of ¹⁵N in aerosol NH₄⁺ is a promising approach for apportioning atmospheric NH₃ sources over a large region, and this approach has potential for mapping rapidly and precisely the sources of NH₃ emissions.

[Diagnostic value and application of 24 h multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease]

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value and application of 24 h multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH (24 h MII-pH) monitoring in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. From January 2013 to December, 2020, 417 patients who received 24 h MII-pH monitoring in Department of Gastroenterology of Children's Hospital Capital Institute of Pediatrics were included. According to results, these children were divided into the GERD and non-GERD groups. Furthermore, the 132 children with GERD who had gastroscopy were divided into the reflux esophagitis (RE) and non-erosive reflux disease (NE) groups to investigate the differences in their refluxes. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test or indepentent sample t test was used for comparisons between the groups. Results: Among the 417 children, 232 were males and 185 females, aged (7.3±3.9) years. The course of disease was 0.5 (0.1, 2.0) years. The main clinical symptoms included acid reflux (128 cases), vomiting (173 cases), abdominal pain (101 cases), and cough (76 cases). The 24 h MII-pH monitoring were positive in 243 children (58.3%, 243/417), which was higher than that by 24 h esophageal pH monitoring (43.6%, 182/417). The 24 h MII-pH monitoring results demonstrated significant differences in the episodes of acid reflux, weakly acidic reflux, non-acidic reflux, liquid reflux and mixed reflux between GERD and non-GERD groups (10 (4, 19) vs. 4 (1, 9) times/24 h, 14 (6, 32) vs. 7 (3, 13) times/24 h, 0 (0, 0) vs. 0 (0, 0) times/24 h, 19 (10, 34) vs. 8 (3, 14) times/24 h, and 6 (2, 12) vs. 3 (1, 5) times/24 h, Z=-6.96, -7.25, -5.62, -8.75, and -6.48, all P<0.05, respectively). Besides, the results also showed significant differences in Boix-Ochoa score, episodes of long reflux, course of long reflux, and episodes of weakly acidic reflux between the RE and NE groups (51.2 (21.4, 153.2) vs. 20.7 (12.1, 34.7), 5 (2, 10) vs. 1 (0, 4) times/24 h, 19 (7, 87) vs. 8 (3, 22) min, and 5 (2, 15) vs. 15 (6, 33) times/24 h, Z=-3.44, -3.41, -2.65, and -2.27, all P<0.05, respectively). Conclusion: 24 h MII-pH monitoring not only improves the detection rate of GERD in children, but also provides a possibility to early etiological diagnosis.

[Cardiovascular events and risk factors in hematological neoplasms patients treated with anthracyclines]

Objective: To explore the incidence and risk factors of cardiovascular events in hematological neoplasms patients treated with anthracyclines in the real world. Methods: A total of 408 patients with lymphoma and leukemia, who were treated with anthracyclines during hospitalization in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from January 1, 2018 to July 31, 2021, were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into cardiovascular event group (n=74) and non-cardiovascular event group (n=334). The primary endpoint was cardiovascular events (arrhythmia, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction etc.) after anthracyclines therapy. The secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality, cardiovascular-cause death, discontinued chemotherapy due to cardiovascular events. Multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors of cardiovascular events. Kaplan-Meier was performed to calculate the incidence of all-cause mortality. Results: The mean age was (55.6±14.9) years, and there were 227 male patients (55.6%) in this cohort. The median follow-up time was 45 months. During follow-up, cardiovascular adverse events occurred in 74 patients (18.1%), including 45 heart failure (38 were heart failure with preserved ejection fraction), 30 arrhythmia, 4 acute myocardial infarction and 2 myocarditis/pericarditis. Multivariate regression analysis showed age (OR=1.024, 95%CI 1.003-1.045, P=0.027) and history of hypertension over 10 years (OR=2.328, 95%CI 1.055-5.134, P=0.036) were independent risk factors for the cardiovascular events. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed mortality was significantly higher in cardiovascular event group than in non-cardiovascular event group (47.3% vs. 26.6%, P=0.001). In the cardiovascular event group, chemotherapy was discontinued in 9 cases (12.2%) due to cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death occurred in 7 cases (9.5%). Conclusions: Although heart failure is the main cardiovascular event in lymphoma and leukemia patients post anthracyclines therapy, other cardiovascular events especially arrhythmias are also common. The presence of cardiovascular events is associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality in these patients. Age and long-term hypertension are independent risk factors for cardiovascular events in lymphoma and leukemia patients after anthracyclines treatment.

Non-agricultural source dominates the ammonium aerosol in the largest city of South China based on the vertical δ15N measurements

Ammonia (NH₃) is the most prevalent alkaline gas in the atmosphere and plays a critical role in air pollution and public health. However, scientific debate remains over whether agricultural emissions (e.g., livestock and fertilizer application) dominate NH₃ in urban atmosphere in China, which is one of the largest NH₃ emitters in the world. In this study, we first simultaneously collected the fine atmospheric particles (PM_2.5) at two heights (ground and 488 m) using the atmospheric observatories in Canton Tower, Guangzhou city, China for the measurements of stable nitrogen isotope composition in ammonium (δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺). Our results showed that the average δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺ value at the ground and the 488 m observatory were 16.9 ‰ and 3.8 ‰, respectively, implying that NH₄⁺ aerosols between the two heights probably have different sources. Moreover, we found that the δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺ value would sharply decrease to -16.7 ‰ when the air masses came from western Guangzhou, where the urbanization is limited compared to other surrounding areas. The Bayesian mixing model indicated that NH₄⁺ aerosol at the ground observatory was mainly derived from non-agricultural activities (76 %, e.g., vehicular exhaust), with the rest from agricultural sources (24 %). As for the 488 m observatory, the contribution of non-agricultural sources was 53 %, which is lower than the ground observatory. This is expected as the lower air receives more impacts from the local urban emission. However, the current "bottom-up" emission inventory illustrates that only ~20 % NH₃ in Guangzhou is associated with non-agricultural emissions, which is significantly lower than our δ¹⁵N-based results. Overall, our findings strongly imply that non-agricultural sources dominate the urban NH₃ in Guangzhou or maybe in adjacent cities of the Pearl River Delta region as well, suggesting that the emission inventory of NH₃ in this region probably is urgently needed to be revisited in future studies.

EPCO-38. TYPE B ULTRA LONG-RANGE INTERACTIONS IN PFAS (TULIPS) ARE RECURRENT EPIGENOMIC FEATURES OF PFA EPENDYMOMA

Posterior Fossa Group A (PFA) ependymomas are pediatric brain tumors with extremely poor survival outcomes. As protein-coding mutations in PFA are exceedingly rare, the underlying etiology of these tumors remains elusive. Elevated CpG island methylation and depletion of H3K27me3 have been described in PFA, leading to the hypothesis that PFA may be driven by a dysregulated epigenetic state. In this study, we sought to determine how three-dimensional (3D) genome features (such as DNA loops, domains, and compartments) differ between pediatric brain tumors. We performed Hi-C sequencing on a collection of 64 patient specimens and patient-derived primary cultures that collectively span multiple subgroups of ependymoma, medulloblastoma, high-grade glioma, and non-neoplastic brain. For certain samples, we further performed RNA-seq, histone modification ChIP-seq, or whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to allow multiomic data integration. Overall, the 3D genome organization of PFA samples appeared distinct from other tumor types. We identified and defined TULIPs: a subset of type B compartments, separated by genomic distances greater than 10 Mbp, that exhibit a striking fivefold increase in reciprocal interaction strength. These TULIPs recurred at the same genomic positions across the vast majority of PFA samples with minimal representation among other tumor or non-tumor samples. TULIPs displayed enrichment for heterochromatic features such as H3K9me3 and late replication timing and were depleted of euchromatic features such as H3K27ac and protein-coding genes. By using immuno-fluorescence for H3K9me3 and oligo-FISH to label TULIP regions, we demonstrated that TULIP regions are more compact in PFA than other tumors. Finally, by applying inhibitors of H3K9 lysine methylation to PFA cultures we showed that TULIPs become more diffuse and cell viability is reduced. Altogether, this work defines TULIPs as highly recurrent epigenetic features of PFA tumors.

Misdiagnosis of adult primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis as NK/T-cell lymphoma: A case report

We reported a case of a 19-year-old male patient with central nervous system symptoms as the main clinical manifestations, and multiple intracranial and abdominal occupying lesions visualized by imaging examinations, who was initially misdiagnosed as NK/T-cell lymphoma but poorly responsive to the treatment. Finally, he was diagnosed as familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type-2 by genome sequencing, perforin test and pedigree study. The patient survived well after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Central nervous system symptoms could be the main clinical manifestations in patients with primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis , whose early-stage manifestations of blood system were usually atypical, easily leading to misdiagnosis. In clinical practice, primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis should be considered in patients with central nervous system symptoms and unknown causes. The combination of rapid immunological function test and genome sequencing contributes to the diagnosis of primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.