Prognostic Nutritional Index Enhances the Discriminatory Ability of Procalcitonin for Predicting Pediatric Sepsis

Objective. Improving diagnostic ability of pediatric sepsis is of great significance for reducing the mortality of sepsis. This study explored the discriminatory capacity of nutritional index (PNI) in pediatric sepsis. Methods. We retrospectively enrolled 134 children with suspected sepsis and collected their clinical and laboratory data. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA) and net reclassification improvement (NRI) were performed to compare the predictive significance of the PNI, procalcitonin (PCT) and their combination. Results. Among 134 patients, 65 children were diagnosed with sepsis and 69 children with non-sepsis. PCT and PNI were independently associated with pediatric sepsis. PCT was superior to PNI to predict pediatric sepsis. The model based on PCT + PNI improved the predictive capacity than them alone, as demonstrated by ROC, DCA and NRI, respectively. Conclusion. PNI was independently associated with pediatric sepsis, and addition of PNI could improve the capacity of PCT to predict pediatric sepsis.

Characteristics of surrounding rock damage and control technology of a facing-mining excavating roadway in north Shaanxi mining area

In a coal mine in the northern region of Shaanxi Province, China, a facing-mining excavating roadway exists, which is intended to be retained for subsequent working face safety services. This paper investigates the deformation and damage characteristics of the surrounding rock in different stages using FLAC 3D numerical simulation, taking the facing-mining excavating roadway of this coal mine as the research context. At 20 m ahead of the working face, a discontinuous plastic zone appears in the surrounding rock of the roadway, a phenomenon attributed to the varying hardness of the lithologyand termed 'plastic zone jumping.' The numerical simulation results have been were verified using drill hole peeping. Real-time monitoring of the roadway's stability is conducted on-site, showing that the roadway is significantly affected by mining at the 50 m point ahead of the working face. Based on the numerical simulation and on-site monitoring results, the support strength was increased at 50 m from the working face along the roadway, and a new support scheme was adopted. In the lagging section of the roadway, where mining pressure is strongly evident, differentiated reinforcement using anchor rods, anchor ropes, and W steel belts has been employed, resulting in a satisfactory on-site effect.

Evolutionary law and regulatory technology of roof migration on gob-side entry retaining

In order to study the evolutionary law of roof migration on Gob-Side Entry Retaining, this paper takes the gob-side entry retaining in the comprehensive mining face of the Ningtiaota coal mine as the engineering background, and analyzes the evolutionary law of the overlying rock layer on the roof at different locations during the roadway stay and the stress distribution around the roadway through numerical simulation software, which shows that there is a concentration of stress inside the Flexible formwork concrete wall, and therefore the maximum settlement of the roof on the side of Flexible formwork concrete wall is 35.35 mm, due to the existence of "arch-shaped" decompression area from the working face. Therefore, the maximum settlement of the roof slab on the side of flexible formwork concrete wall was 35.35 mm. Due to the existence of "arch-shaped" decompression area on the roof and floor of roadway, the settlement of the roof slab on both sides of the roadway gradually increased when it was from - 20 to 10 m away from the working face, and the central position had the following pattern of firstly decreasing and then gradually increasing, and then exceeding the top of the roadway. After decreasing and then gradually increasing, after 10 m ahead of the working face, the two sides of the roadway roof subsidence law and the central part of the roadway to maintain the same; the use of cutting the top of the flexible mold concrete wall support technology as a means of controlling the top of the roof along the empty roadway subsidence, the analysis shows that the roof after roof cutting of the amount of subsidence have been reduced, the maximum difference in the rate of change of the displacement is 0.011%, and the maximum difference in the amount of subsidence of 4.98 mm; through the field monitoring data analysis of the pressure of mining The peak value of the influence curve of the working face is located at 19 m of the working face, 9 m of the lagging working face and 19 m of the roadway outside the working face are less affected by the additional mining stress field, comparing the fracture brokenness of the roadway roof before and after the roof cutting, the fracture area in the uncut section is much larger than that in the section of the roof cutting.

20(S)-Ginsenoside Rh1 alleviates sevoflurane-induced ototoxicity by reducing oxidative stress levels

CONTEXT

Sevoflurane is an inhalational anesthetic widely used in pediatric surgery. However, animal studies have shown that multiple sevoflurane exposures during the neonatal period led to ototoxicity. 20(S)-Ginsenoside Rh1, a ginsenoside extract, protects against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity by scavenging free radicals.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the effects of Rh1 on sevoflurane-induced ototoxicity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Neonatal cochlear explants and House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 (HEI-OC1) cells were cultured and randomly divided into three groups: the control group, the sevoflurane group and the Rh1 pretreatment group. We pretreated cochlear explants or HEI-OC1 cells with 100 μM Rh1 2 hours before performing sevoflurane exposure. Immunofluorescence was used to detect hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to determine cell viability. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide were used to evaluate apoptosis. CellROX-Green and MitoSOX-Red probes were used to measure the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester labeling was used to examine mitochondrial membrane potential.

RESULTS

Rh1 attenuated spiral ganglion neuron nerve fibers and synapses degeneration in cochlear explants after sevoflurane exposure. Rh1 significantly increased the viability of HEI-OC1 cells, reduced reactive oxygen species accumulation in HEI-OC1 cells, and prevented mitochondrial damage in HEI-OC1 cells after sevoflurane exposure.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that Rh1 is a promising drug for preventing sevoflurane-induced ototoxicity.

Improvement in compliance of ships' ballast water discharges during commissioning tests

The number of ships installing ballast water management systems (BWMS) has risen steeply since the Ballast Water Management Convention entered into force. Since June 2022, biological testing is required during commissioning to verify compliance with the Convention. Data from 676 tests (from 2019 to 2022) show substantial improvement over time: the failure rate decreased from ~20 % to ~6 %. Notably, nearly all failures occurred in the largest size class of organisms (≥50 μm). Interestingly, proxy measurements suggest that high concentrations of living organisms in uptake water did not cause the failures. Also, failures determined using "indicative" analysis (here, adenosine triphosphate, ATP) were typically not confirmed by "detailed" analysis (microscopy), suggesting that ATP limits are over-precautionary. Finally, discharges containing high levels of Total Residual Oxidants (TRO) decreased over time. These data highlight the need for ongoing testing-focusing at least on organisms ≥50 μm-to minimize environmental risks from organisms transported in ships' ballast water.

Artificial Intelligence and Human Psychology in Online Transaction Fraud

Banking operations have changed due to technological advancement. On one hand, modernization in technology has facilitated the daily operation of banks; on the other hand, this has also resulted in an increase in the number of cyber-attacks. Artificial Intelligence has introduced new models to detect and prevent cybercrimes. Some fraud has also occurred due to the involvement of employees inside particular organizations. So, this study has focused on both sides: the machine as well as the human. Firstly, the research has focused on fraud diamond theory and has analyzed factors such as rationalization, capabilities, perceived pressure, and perceived opportunities to understand the psychology of the fraudster. Secondly, Artificial Intelligence characteristics, threat exposure, big data management, explainability, cost effectiveness, and risk prediction are evaluated to explore their use in fraud reduction in banks. The research data have been collected from 15 Banks in Pakistan with the help of a questionnaire using five-item Likert scales. The data have been analyzed using IBM SPSS Software. The results gained after correlation and regression analysis proved that Fraud diamond theory and AI characteristics have positive and significant effects on cybercrimes. This study is a great contribution to the banking industry of Pakistan as it provides a complete analysis to control fraud inside organizations by understanding the mindset of fraudsters with the help of fraud diamond theory. At the same time, outside fraud will be handled with the help of Artificial Intelligence. This will result in banks growth, which ultimately boosts the economy of a country.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Eristalinus viridis (Coquillett, 1898) (Diptera: Syrphidae) and its phylogenetic implications

The complete mitochondrial genome of Eristalinus viridis (Coquillett, 1898) was obtained for the first time using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The mitogenome assembly of E. viridis is 15,640 bp in length and its annotation confirms the presence of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and one putative control region. The results of the phylogenetic analyses using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference recover a highly supported sister relationship between E. viridis and Mallota bellus.

Acute and chronic toxicities of prothioconazole and its metabolite prothioconazole-desthio in Daphnia magna

Current research on prothioconazole (PTC), a broad-spectrum triazole fungicide, mainly focuses on its efficacy and residues; only a few studies have been assessing its toxicological effects. Using acute and chronic toxicity tests, we assessed the effects of PTC and its metabolite prothioconazole-desthio (PTCd) on the inhibition of the activity, growth, and reproduction of Daphnia magna. A dose-response relationship was established to determine sensitive biological indicators. In the acute and chronic toxicity tests, the 48-h EC₅₀ (concentration for 50% of the maximal effect) of PTC and PTCd for D. magna were 2.82 and 5.19 mg/L and 0.0807 and 0.132 mg/L, respectively; in the latter test, PTC was 1.64 times more toxic than PTCd. Acute-to-chronic toxicity ratios were calculated using chronic toxicity data; the ratios were 227 and 27.5 for PTC and PTCd, respectively. Our results indicate that both PTC and PTCd affect the growth and reproduction of D. magna and that the toxicity of PTC is greater than that of PTCd. In conclusion, the metabolites of PTD are toxic to D. magna at certain concentrations, and their environmental risks should not be neglected.

P-065 Phenotype, genetic analysis and treatment strategy of acephalic spermatozoa

Study question

Do severe acephalic spermatozoa syndrome (ASS) patients with different genes variants obtain good fertilization rate after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)?

Summary answer

Despite highly abnormal sperm morphology, severe ASS patients with SUN5, TSGA10 and PMFBP1 different variations have a favorable pregnancy outcome following ICSI.

What is known already

ASS is a rare cause of infertility characterized by the production of two main subtypes: one type has small “pin-head” ends devoid of any nuclear material, and the other comprises spermatozoa with misaligned head-midpiece junctions. Many researchers have suggested that variants in TSGA10 without a proximal centriole might influence early embryonic development. Some case reports studies with very few cases showed that ICSI could help patients with ASS father children.

Study design, size, duration

This retrospective cohort study included 14 infertile men with severe ASS and 100 fertile men in Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya in China, from January 2020 to December 2021.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Patients and fertile men were recruited respectively from Outpatient Department and Sperm bank of our hospital in China. 14 severe ASS were analyzed by whole exome sequencing. Mutational analysis in the 14 severe ASS and 100 fertile men were performed. Identified SUN5, TSGA10 and PMFBP1 variations were further investigated using bioinformatics, RT-PCR, Western Blot, indirect immunofluorescence assay, papanicolaou staining, CASA, transmission electron microscopy and ICSI treatments. Clinical data were collected from the fertility center.

Main results and the role of chance

In 14 patients with severe acephalic spermatozoa,16 homozygous or heterozygous variants were identified from SUN5,TSGA10 and PMFBP1. We performed deep phenotyping in acephalic spermatozoa with different variants, and found that, other than the two major subtypes, multiple variations in different genes that affect sperm heads in humans produce diverse phenotypes with subtle differences. Our findings were supported by Papanicolaou staining, SEM and TEM analyses. The rates of fertilization, good-quality embryos and pregnancy for 13 patients following ICSI were 85.71% (174/203), 55.17% (96 /174) and 69.23% (9/13), respectively. There were no differences in ICSI results between ASS patients with different genes mutations. The defects of acephalic spermatozoa caused by different genetic variations may only affect the morphology of sperm. ICSI can be used in the treatment of acephalic spermatozoa and obtain favorable fertilization rate without affecting the quality of early embryos and clinical pregnancy outcome. For individuals with ASS, ICSI using intact spermatozoa (or separated heads and tails) is suggested. If no sperm heads in their ejaculate, the spermatozoa can be collected from the testes. Very few intact spermatozoa or loose sperm heads will be available, even if normal morphology of spermatozoa is 0% and 100% spermatozoa are acephalic.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Only a small number ASS patients was available because of its rare incidence. Patients with ASS can be effectively treated with ICSI. However, the results in this study should be treated with caution, which involves the TSGA10, SUN5 and PMFBP1 genes and cannot be extrapolated to other genes.

Wider implications of the findings

The identification of novel variants in SUN5, TSGA10 and PMFBP1 broadens the spectrum of ASS genetic causes. Our study is the first to thoroughly evaluate the phenotypes and pathogenic genotypes of patients with severe ASS in China. SUN5, TSGA10 and PMFBP1 mutation-associated male infertility can be overcome by ICSI.

Trial registration number

kq2014032

Small spherical foreign bodies in the genitourinary tract and their management

Background

Urogenital small foreign bodies (FBs) have rarely been reported in children, and their management is still challenging. This study aimed to describe the characteristics and treatment of spherical FBs no larger than 0.6 cm in the children’s genitourinary tracts. 

Methods

The clinical data of spherical FBs removed in our hospital from June 2013 to June 2020 were recorded and retrospectively analyzed, including demographics, location, symptoms, imaging examinations and treatment methods.

Results

A total of 10 patients were enrolled: 6 girls and 4 boys. Their ages ranged from 5.1 to 16.8 years old, with a mean age of 9.2 years. The course of the disease ranged from 3 h to 1 year, and symptoms recurred in some cases. Their imaging characteristics were reviewed and analyzed, 6 patients underwent color Doppler ultrasonography, 1 patient was suspected to have an FB in the vagina, 7 patients underwent an X-ray examination, and FBs were revealed in 6 patients. All FBs were removed under endoscopic minimally invasive surgery. Six vaginal FBs were successfully retrieved via vaginoscopy, and in the other four cases, removal by transurethral cystoscopy failed because of mutual attraction, which was eliminated by laparoscopy under pneumovesicum. Postoperative recovery was uneventful; in a follow-up of 3 months to 2 years, there was no perforation or fistula formation, and there were no urethral strictures in boys.

Conclusion

Small spherical FBs are clinically rare; they are sometimes difficult to detect by imaging examinations and can be easily overlooked. Minimally invasive endoscopy remains the first-line approach for the diagnosis and removal of genitourinary spherical FBs.

ADAM10 attenuates the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms in a mouse model

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening disease associated with a high mortality rate. At present, surgery or minimally invasive interventions are used in clinical treatment, especially for small aneurysms. However, the benefits of surgical repair are not obvious, and AAA ruptures can be prevented by aneurysm therapy to inhibit the growth of small aneurysms. Therefore, evaluating effective drugs to treat small AAAs is urgently required. Chronic inflammation is the main pathological feature of aneurysmal tissues. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective role and underlying mechanism of ADAM metallopeptidase domain 10 (ADAM10). In the present study, a mouse model of AAA was established via porcine pancreatic elastase perfusion for 5 min per day for 14 days. ADAM10 (6 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally following 3 days of porcine pancreatic elastase perfusion in the ADAM10 group and the treatment continued for 10 days. The maximum inner luminal diameters of the infrarenal abdominal aortas were measured using an animal ultrasound system. The levels of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and soluble receptor for advanced glycosylation end products in serum samples were measured by ELISA. Hematoxylin and eosin and elastin van Gieson staining were performed to observe morphology, integrity of the elastin layers and elastin degradation. CD68 expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting were used for detection of mRNA and protein levels. The gelatinolytic activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were quantified via gelatin zymography analysis. These results showed that ADAM10 inhibited HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB signaling and MMP activity in the pathogenesis of pancreatic elastase-induced AAA, which provide insight into the molecular mechanism of AAA and suggested that ADAM10 may be a potential therapeutic target for AAA.

Recognition of honeycomb lung in CT images based on improved MobileNet model

PURPOSE

The research is to improve the efficiency and accuracy of recognition of honeycomb lung in CT images.

METHODS

Deep learning methods are used to achieve automatic recognition of honeycomb lung in CT images, however, are time consuming and less accurate due to the large amount of structural parameters. In this paper, a novel recognition method based on MobileNetV1 network, multiscale feature fusion method (MSFF), and dilated convolution is explored to deal with honeycomb lung in CT image classification. Firstly, the dilated convolution with different dilated rate is used to extract features to obtain receptive fields of different sizes, and then fuse the features of different scales at multiscale feature fusion block is used to solve the problem of feature loss and incomplete feature extraction. After that, by using linear activation functions (Sigmoid) instead of nonlinear activation functions (ReLu) in the improved deep separable convolution blocks to retain the feature information of each channel. Finally, by reducing the number of improved deep separable blocks to reduce the computation and resource consumption of the model.

RESULTS

The experimental results show that improved MobileNet model has the best performance and the potential for recognition of honeycomb lung image datasets, which includes 6318 images. By comparing with 4 traditional models (SVM, RF, decision tree, and KNN) and 11 deep learning models (LeNet-5, AlexNet, VGG-16, GoogleNet, ResNet18, DenseNet121, SENet18, InceptionV3, InceptionV4, Xception, and MobileNetV1), our model achieved the performance with an accuracy of 99.52%, a sensitivity of 99.35%, and a specificity of 99.89%.

CONCLUSION

Improved MobileNet model is designed for the automatic recognition and classification of honeycomb lung in CT images. Through experiments comparative analysis of other models of machine learning and deep learning, it is proved that the proposed improved MobileNet method has the best recognition accuracy with fewer the model parameters and less the calculation time.

Abstract 2054: Characterization of TQB3823, a differentiated PARP inhibitor with anti-tumor activity in BRCA-deficiency cancer models

Objective: Homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway is the major DNA double-strand break repair pathway. BRCA-deficiency impairs this pathway, and combination with Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition results in cell death. This process is known as “synthetic lethality”. A proportion of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and other solid tumor patients carrying BRCA-mutated gene receive benefits from PARP inhibitors. In this study, we present in vitro activity and in vivo efficacy data of a novel small molecule PARP inhibitor, TQB3823 to support it as our clinical candidate.

Method: Enzyme inhibition activities of TQB3823 were determined in PARP1/PARP2/Tankyrase 1 assays. Cellular anti-proliferative activity and selectivity were evaluated in MDA-MB-436 cell line with BRCA1 mutation and BRCA wild type MDA-MB-231 cell line. Antitumor efficacy of TQB3823 was investigated in BRCA1 mutated MDA-MB-436 breast cancer CDX model.

Result: TQB3823 showed high potency and selectivity at both enzymatic and cellular level. IC50 of TQB3823 in PARP1/PARP2/Tankyrase 1 assays are 2.8/0.9/629.3 nM, respectively. It inhibited proliferation of BRCA1 mutant MDA-MB-436 cell with IC50 of 9.6 nM. In contrast, TQB3823 showed little anti-proliferative activity in BRCA-wild type MDA-MB-231 cell with IC50 >10 μM. TQB3823 demonstrated antitumor efficacy in dose dependent fashions with tumor regression was observed at 25 mg/kg in MDA-MB-436 CDX model. The level of antitumor effects was superior to niraparib at the same dose in the same study. DNA trapping experiments revealed similar potency to olaparib indicative of low toxicity.

Conclusion: We have identified a novel, potent and selective PARP inhibitor TQB3823, which inhibits the proliferation of BRCA mutant cells but spares the wild type cells. In vivo study in a BRCA-deficiency tumor model confirms the high in vivo efficacy of this molecule. In conclusion, TQB3823 represents a promising differentiated clinical candidate for treating solid cancers with homology directed repair.

Citation Format: Hu Yanbin, Zhang Xiquan, Yang Ling, Tian Xin, Li Gang, Hu Lihong, Charles Z. Ding, Xia Yuanfeng, Li Wei, Yin Shanshan, Chen Ying, Wu Songliang, Chen Shuhui. Characterization of TQB3823, a differentiated PARP inhibitor with anti-tumor activity in BRCA-deficiency cancer models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2054.

Clinical Efficacy of Infantile Massage in the Treatment of Infant Functional Constipation: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Functional constipation in children is a common disease that causes a psychological burden on infants and young children across the world. It will greatly affect infant quality of life in early childhood and even affect their psychological and physical health. At present, infant functional constipation is treated with western drugs alone, but this can produce drug dependency. In recent years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) infant massage has been used as a complementary and alternative therapy, and its effectiveness and safety have been proven, attracting the attention of numerous researchers.

Objective: Our study aimed to compare the influence of infant massage intervention on defecation frequency and consistency, determine the effectiveness, and safety of infant massage in the treatment of infant functional constipation, and obtain high-quality clinical evidence.

Methods: Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement, inclusion, and exclusion criteria were formulated. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on TCM infant massage for the treatment of infant functional constipation were found following a search of four mainstream medical databases. RCTs found to meet the study's requirement were included; data information was then extracted, and the quality was assessed using the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool. Through RevMan software, a meta-analysis was carried out for overall effective rate, stool form, defecation frequency, defecation difficulty, and constipation symptom scoring index. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated, heterogeneity was tested and its source was found, and publication bias was assessed through the Egger's and Begg's tests and by means of funnel plots.

Results: A total of 23 RCTs and 2,005 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared to drug therapy alone, TCM infant massage had a superior effect on the treatment of infant functional constipation. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05) and evaluated according to the overall effective rate (RR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.17, 1.33), defecation frequency [mean difference (MD) = −0.72; 95% CI = −0.80, −0.65], and constipation symptom score (MD = −0.81; 95% CI = −1.20, −0.43), showing that TCM infant massage is indeed superior to drug therapy alone in the treatment of infant functional constipation. TCM infant massage was found to be equivalent to drug therapy alone in terms of the stool form score [−0.30 (−0.38, −0.22)] and the defecation difficulty score [−0.73 (−0.81, −0.65)], since the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The source of heterogeneity might be related to the state of patient, manipulation of the massages, efficacy of drugs in the control group, and difference in judgment criteria for efficacy. The Egger's test and Begg's test showed that publication bias did not occur in our study.

Conclusion: TCM infant massage can increase defecation frequency and reduce the symptoms of constipation in children suffering from functional constipation; in addition, the clinical trial showed beneficial effects. Since some of the RCTs featured a very small sample size, the reliability and validity of our study's conclusion may have been affected as well; therefore, the explanation should be treated with some caution. In the future, a large number of higher-quality RCTs are still needed to confirm the results of our study.

Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Lathyrophthalmus quinquestriatus (Fabricius, 1794)(Diptera, Syrphidae)

In this study, we present the complete mitogenome of Lathyrophthalmu quinquestriatus (Fabricius, 1794), which has a total length of 16,198 base pairs and includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and one putative control region. Most PCGs started with ATN codons except COX1 (CAA), and ended with TAA, TAG (ND3) or single T(ND5). The results of phylogenetic tree reconstruction show that the monophyly of subfamily Eristalinae is not supported, and the closer relationship between genus Lathyrophthalmus and Eristalinus.

The impact of COVID-19 on the protection of rural traditional village

COVID-19’s significant impact on economic and social life has rightfully garnered the attention of citizens and policymakers alike. In response to the pandemic, governments have issued strict guidelines and restrictions to shut down some cities and many rural villages in China. With no cure or vaccine on the horizon, governments are working to mitigate the damage of the lockdowns on rural cultural village. Over the past two decades, rural village has been negatively impacted by terrorism, lack of funding and loss of population. COVID-19 has had similar effect, but in an incredibly short period of time. During the control period of COVID-19, traditional data are widely used in village protection and renewal. Collect and sort out the original data of Huizhou culture to prepare for the subsequent calculation. After the data is ready, the data is processed as the basis of mining its potential application value. In this paper, the key words of Huizhou cultural resources are summarized. The data analysis platform is established. This paper analyzes people’s preference for Huizhou cultural resources. To better realize the more effective and far-reaching development and exploitation of Huizhou cultural resources.

IFI27 as a potential indicator for severe Enterovirus 71-infected hand foot and mouth disease

The pathogenesis of Enterovirus 71 (EV71)-induced severe hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has not yet been clearly established. Further study into the mechanisms underlying host immune responses to EV71 infection and identifying important predictors will be crucial to antiviral treatment and early recognition of severe HFMD. The present study establishes that T help (Th)1 type, Th2 type, and Th17 type cytokine levels in serum of peripheral blood from patients with severe HFMD is higher than in peripheral blood from healthy subjects. The most significant increase occurred as the IL-6. In order to identify the important molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from severe HFMD patients, we performed transcriptome sequencing analysis of PBMC from severe HFMD patients and compared them to healthy controls. Interferon α-inducible protein 27 (IFI27) and cluster of differentiation 27 (CD27) were found to be the most significant differentially expressed gene. Finally, IFI27 was proved to be present at higher levels in patients with severe HFMD than in patients with mild HFMD. Our results suggest that IFI27 may be an indicator of the severity of cases EV71-induced HFMD.

Tumor associated neutrophils promote the metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in the metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), to explore the regulation of TANs, and to determine the mechanisms governing the metastasis of PDAC. The correlation between neutrophils and the patient's clinical pathological data was first evaluated. Then, the effects of neutrophils on the invasion of PDAC were analyzed using a combination of conditioned media, direct and indirect coculture of human peripheral blood neutrophils, and PDAC cell lines (Panc-1, MiaPaCa-2 and AsPC-1). The cytokines secreted by neutrophils were detected through ELISA. TAN density was significantly correlated with poor metastasis-free survival (P < .05). Through coculture, it was found that the effect of neutrophils on pancreatic cancer cells was dependent on concentration, and a high concentration of neutrophils showed a lethal effect, while a low concentration of neutrophils primarily promoted the migration ability of cancer cells. The results of the wound-healing assay, the Transwell invasion assay, and laser confocal microscopy confirmed the promoting effect and indicated that the effect of neutrophils toward cancer cells may function indirectly by releasing a series of cytokines. The results of ELISA show that this effect may be achieved through the secretion of a large amount of TNF-α and TGF-β1 by neutrophils. Our study indicated that neutrophils may increase the metastasis of PDAC by releasing a series of cell cytokines, such as TNF-α and TGF-β1.

Review and Outlook of China Non-Road Diesel Mobile Machinery Emission Standards : Stricter emissions standards for better air quality in China

China has continuously upgraded the emission standards for non-road diesel mobile machinery since they were first issued in 2007. This paper reviews the Chinese non-road diesel mobile machinery emission standards, analyses the change in the environmental situation and management policy and puts forward some principles and suggestions for developing emission standards for non-road mobile machinery in the future. It will have a positive effect on improving the theory and methods for developing mobile source emission standards, as well as boosting the level of environmental management and emission control in China.

Desmoglein 3 gene mediates epidermal growth factor/epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway involved in inflammatory response and immune function of anaphylactic rhinitis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of desmoglein 3 (DSG3) gene mediating epidermal growth factor/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF/EGFR) signaling pathway on inflammatory response and immune function of anaphylactic rhinitis (AR).

METHODS

Ten of the seventy male BALB/c mice were randomly selected as the normal control group, and the remaining 60 were used to construct the AR mice model. AR model mice were divided into 6 groups: model group (instilled with 5 μL saline), empty vector group (instilled with 5 μL of liposome and empty vector mixture), siRNA-DSG3 group (instilled with 5 μL of liposome and siRNA-DSG3 carrier mixture), AG1478 group (instilled with 5 μL of EGF/EGFR inhibitor AG1478), siRNA-DSG3+AG1478 group (instilled with 5 μL of liposome and siRNA-DSG3 carrier and EGF/EGFR inhibitor AG1478 mixture) and oe-DSG3 group, 10 in each group. After taking serum, each group of mice was sacrificed to get nasal mucosa tissues. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of nasal mucosa tissues in each group. The expression levels of DSG3, EGF and EGFR in nasal mucosa tissues of mice in each group were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot methods respectively. TUNEL staining was used to observe the apoptosis of nasal mucosa cells in mice. The expression of IgE, INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6 in serum of mice was determined by ELISA method. The immune adhesion function of red blood cells was detected by complement sensitization yeast hemagglutination method.

RESULTS

All the mice with AR showed different degrees of nasal mucosa injury and inflammatory cell infiltration, and silencing DSG3 or inhibiting the activity of EGF signaling pathway could alleviate the nasal mucosa injury. Compared with control group, the INF-γ and IL-2 levels of serum in AR model mice were significantly decreased; IgE, TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-6 levels were significantly increased (all P < 0.05); the mRNA expression levels and protein levels of DSG3, EGF and EGFR were significantly increased (all P < 0.05); C₃b receptor rosette rate and Ic rosette rate were significantly decreased (all P < 0.05). Detected by ELISA method, the expression levels of IgE, TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-6 were increased, while the expression levels of INF-γ and IL-2 were decreased after DSG3 silencing or using AG1478. Detected by qRT-PCR and western blot methods, the expression of DSG3, EGF and EGFR did decrease after DSG3 silencing. There was no significant difference in the EGF and EGFR expression between DSG3 silencing and using AG1478, and the expression decreased even more under the double effect. The mRNA and protein expression levels of DSG3, EGF and EGFR in the nasal mucosa tissues of mice with overexpression of DSG3 plasmid were significantly higher than those of normal mice (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Silencing DSG3 gene can inhibit the activation of EGF signaling pathway, alleviate the inflammation of AR nasal mucosa, and enhance red blood cells immune adherence function.

[Comparative study on the shade matching performance of dental students under D55 and D65 light sources conditions]

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare the effect of D55 and D65 light sources on the visual colorimetry performance of dental students by using a homemade light-source shelf.

METHODS

Two Vitapan 3D-Master shade guides were randomly selected. One set was used as shade guides. Ten commonly used shade tabs of 2L2.5, 2M2, 2R2.5, 3M2, 3R2.5, 3L1.5, 3R1.5, 3L2.5, 4R1.5, and 4L1.5 were selected from the other set with covered value marks and numbered from 1 to 10. After the colorimetric training, 49 undergraduate dental students were randomly divided into two groups. Each student randomly selected two of the 10 shade tabs, and the colors were subsequently matched under D65 and D55 light sources from a distance of approximately 40 cm. The average color difference (ΔE) between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of shade tabs was calculated. Paired t test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The ΔE values between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of the shade tabs under the D55 light source varied from 0 to 6.540. The average value was 2.501. The ΔE values between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of the shade tabs under the D65 light source varied from 0 to 6.610. The average value was 2.530. No statistically significant difference was observed between the results under the two light sources (P=0.921).

CONCLUSIONS

Both D55 and D65 daylight lamps can be used for daily dental colorimetry. These two different color temperatures showed no significant difference.

Long non-coding RNA DLX6-AS1 aggravates hepatocellular carcinoma carcinogenesis by modulating miR-203a/MMP-2 pathway

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been wildly verified to modulate multiple tumorigenesis, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In present study, our team aims to investigate the role of lncRNA DLX6-AS1 in the HCC carcinogenesis. Results of early-stage experiments found that DLX6-AS1 expression level was up-regulated in 60 cases of HCC tissue samples compared with adjacent normal tissue. Moreover, the aberrant overexpression of DLX6-AS1 indicated the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that DLX6-AS1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro, and decreased the tumor growth in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that miR-203a potentially targeted DLX6-AS1 3'-UTR, suggesting the interaction between miR-203a and DLX6-AS1. Furthermore, miR-203a also targeted MMP-2 mRNA 3'-UTR, which was validated by luciferase reporter assay. Taken together, our study discovered the oncogenic role of DLX6-AS1 in clinical specimens and cellular experiments, showing the potential DLX6-AS1/miR-203a/MMP-2 pathway. This results and findings provide a novel insight for HCC tumorigenesis.

Clinical Evaluation of Fused/Ankylosed Hip with Severe Flexion Deformity after Conversion to Total Hip Arthroplasty

INTRODUCTION

Fused or Ankylosed hip is late complication of chronic inflammatory disorder with progressive changes in and around articular as well as periarticular structures with alteration in bio-force line of body which later lead to severe flexion deformity of joint. This not only results decreased movements of hip, it's also increase pain around the hip, back and contralateral hip.

METHODS

Retrospectively, all patients aged 18 years or older undergoing THA between June 2006 to June 2012 were reviewed with selection criteria. The five ankylosed hips (three left and two right) with severe flexion deformities which ankylosed spontaneously were successfully converted to THA at time period of 2006 to June 2012. Range of motion, Harris Hip Score and flexion deformity angle at preoperative, postoperative and follow-up periods were used as evaluation.

RESULTS

Mean follow up is 42 months. Mean HHS increased from 21.6±4.97 to 81.8±4.02 points with one excellent, two good and two fair cases. The FDA is corrected to mean 8°±10.95 postoperatively and 4°±5.47 at final follow up from 81.6°±4.39 with two hips of 10° residual deformity. Hip ROM is improved as flexion 70° to 100°, adduction 10° to 20°, abduction 10° to 30°, internal rotation 5° to 10° and external rotation 2° to 50° from 0° activity. As complications, one hip had loose prosthesis, two had early postoperative dislocations, one had Deep Vein Thrombosis and one had femoral nerve palsy with quadriceps weakness.

CONCLUSIONS

THA is an effective treatment for ankylosed hip with severe flexion deformity although complications are noted more than routine hip arthroplasties.

UCA1, a long noncoding RNA, promotes the proliferation of CRC cells via p53/p21 signaling

Objective

Recently, the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human colorectal cancer (CRC) has been a subject of intense focus. We set out to determine the function of one lncRNA, termed urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) in CRC cell proliferation and its underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was applied to detect the expression level of UCA1 in 50 pairs of CRC samples compared with non-tumor colon tissues. Cell growth was determined using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). Western blotting was carried out to analyze the related protein expression. Flow cytometry was done to evaluate cell apoptosis by UCA1 inhibition.

Results

We found an increased expression of UCA1 in CRC samples. Knockdown of UCA1 in HCT116 cells induced a decrease in cell proliferation rate compared to control samples. This oncogenic activity may be enhanced through p53/ p21 signaling.

Conclusion

Our results supported the hypothesis that upregulation of UCA1 contributes to the unlimited proliferation rate of CRC cells, at least partially through the negative regulation of p53/p21 signaling pathway. Finally, we found that UCA1 merely influenced CRC cell apoptosis.

Association of the Elevated Red Blood Cell Distribution Width with the Risk of Developing Diabetes Mellitus

Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether elevated levels of RDW-coefficient of variation (CV) are associated with the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a population of healthy middle- and old-aged individuals. Method We conducted a retrospective cohort study. A total of 2,688 individuals (aged 49-66 years) without a DM diagnosis, impaired fasting glucose, or anemia at baseline were grouped according to the RDW-CV quartile, and the onset of DM during a 4-year period was recorded for each group. Results The correlation coefficients for the RDW-CV and waist circumference and for the RDW-CV and HbA1c were 0.114 and 0.133, respectively. The relative risks of future DM in RDW-CV quartiles II, III, and IV (high) compared with RDW-CV quartile I (low) were 1.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-3.6, p=0.057], 1.6 (95% CI 0.8-3.0, p=0.157), and 2.2 (95% CI 1.2-4.0, p=0.015), respectively. After adjusting for sex, age, waist circumference, hemoglobin A1c, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, the multivariate relative risk for the highest vs. the lowest RDW-CV quartile was 1.8 (95% CI, 1.1-3.4, p=0.046). Conclusion These data indicate that an elevated RDW-CV is associated with an increased incidence of DM.

Molecular Mechanism of the Cell Death Induced by the Histone Deacetylase Pan Inhibitor LBH589 (Panobinostat) in Wilms Tumor Cells

Background

Wilms tumor (WT) is an embryonic kidney cancer, for which histone acetylation might be a therapeutic target. LBH589, a novel targeted agent, suppresses histone deacetylases in many tumors. This study investigated the antitumor activity of LBH589 in SK-NEP-1 and G401 cells.

Methods

SK-NEP-1 and G401 cell growth was assessed by CCK-8 and in nude mice experiments. Annexin V/propidium iodide staining followed by flow cytometry detected apoptosis in cell culture. Gene expressions of LBH589-treated tumor cells were analyzed using an Arraystar Human LncRNA Array. The Multi Experiment View cluster software analyzed the expression data. Differentially expressed genes from the cluster analyses were imported into the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis tool.

Results

LBH589 inhibited cell proliferation of SK-NEP-1 and G401 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Annexin V, TUNEL and Hochest 33342 staining analysis showed that LBH589-treated cells showed more apoptotic features compared with the control. LBH589 treatment inhibited the growth of SK-NEP-1 xenograft tumors in nude mice. Arraystar Human LncRNA Array analysis of genes and lncRNAs regulated by LBH589 identified 6653 mRNAs and 8135 lncRNAs in LBH589-treated SK-NEP-1 cells. The most enriched gene ontology terms were those involved in nucleosome assembly. KEGG pathway analysis identified cell cycle proteins, including CCNA2, CCNB2, CCND1, CCND2, CDK4, CDKN1B and HDAC2, etc. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified important upstream molecules: HIST2H3C, HIST1H4A, HIST1A, HIST1C, HIST1D, histone H1, histone H3, RPRM, HSP70 and MYC.

Conclusions

LBH589 treatment caused apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation of SK-NEP-1and G401 cells. LBH589 had a significant effect and few side effects on SK-NEP-1 xenograft tumors. Expression profiling, and GO, KEGG and IPA analyses identified new targets and a new “network” of genes responding to LBH589 treatment in SK-NEP-1 cells. RPRM, HSP70 and MYC may be important regulators during LBH589 treatment. Our results provide new clues to the proapoptotic mechanism of LBH589.

Essential role of Her3 in two signaling transduction patterns: Her2/Her3 and MET/Her3 in proliferation of human gastric cancer

Various receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathways were verified in many cancers including gastric cancer (GC), We sought to investigate the expression of RTKs including Her2, Her3, and Met and their transduction patterns in human GC. Over-expression of Her2, Her3, and c-Met in human GC was verified by immunohistochemistry leading to constitutive activation of RTK signaling pathways. Combined RTKs expression was valuable indicators for poor prognosis of GC patients. Using ErbB2 specific inhibitor Lapatinib and c-Met specific inhibitor PHA-665752, we further demonstrated that this constitutive activation of RTK signaling is necessary for the survival of GC cells. However, various RTK pattern: Her3/Her2 and Met/Her3 were verified in the transduction growth stimulus from outside via both AKT and MAPK signaling. Moreover, the essential roles of Her3 in both two heterodimers were obtained which showed significantly attenuated growth effect due to Her3 knockdown both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, various molecular transduction patterns: Her2/Her3 and Met/Her3 were verified in human GC, and Her3 could serve as a potential target in GC treatment.

Serum Gamma-glutamyltransferase Levels Predict the Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC) may be more predictive of future coronary heart disease events than a baseline CAC score. We determined whether serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity can independently predict the progression of CAC in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients (n = 326) without symptomatic cardiovascular (CV) disease were evaluated by CAC imaging. The CAC scores were assessed at baseline and after 20 ± 4 months. Serum GGT activities were significantly higher in progressors compared with nonprogressors (39 ± 16 vs 27 ± 11 U/L, P < .001). Multivariable analyses demonstrated that GGT activity retained a strong association with CAC progression after adjustment for CV risk factors. Additionally, there was a graded association between GGT activity quartile and annualized CAC progression. In asymptomatic patients with T2DM, we prospectively found that serum GGT activity may be an independent predictor of CAC progression but not a predictor of CAC incidence.

[Adenoviral short hairpin RNA targeting phosphodiesterase 5 attenuates cardiac remodeling and cardiac dysfunction following myocardial infarction in mice]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the impact of PDE5shRNA on cardiac remodeling and heart function following myocardial infarction in mice.

METHODS

Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in mice by left coronary artery ligation. Mice were randomly assigned to sham group (n = 6), PDE5shRNA group (n = 12), common adenovirus group (n = 15) and DMEM group (n = 8). Four weeks post-MI, the survival rate was evaluated. Cardiac function was examined by echocardiography. HE staining and Masson staining were used to evaluate the myocardial infarction size and fibrosis. The number of blood vessels was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, PDE5 protein expression in the left ventricular was detected using Western blot, level of cGMP or PKG activity in the left ventricle was evaluated with ELISA.

RESULTS

Four weeks post-MI, all mice survived in the sham group, 3(37%) mice died in the DMEM group, 1 (8%) died in the PDE5shRNA group and 5 died in the common adenovirus group (33%). Infarct size was significantly reduced in PDE5shRNA group compared with the common adenovirus group and DMEM group [(25.4 ± 2.9)% vs. (42.0 ± 3.2)% and (43.4 ± 2.6) %, P < 0.05]. Cardiac function was significantly improved in PDE5shRNA group compared to common adenovirus group and DMEM group[LVFS: (21.1 ± 3.7)% vs. (14.2 ± 2.9)% and (14.22 ± 2.91)%, all P < 0.05; LVEF: (48.2 ± 7.1)% vs. (34.6 ± 6.2)% and (38.1 ± 2.8)%, all P < 0.05; LVESD: (3.87 ± 0.45) mm vs.(4.91 ± 0.62) mm and (4.63 ± 0.37) mm, all P < 0.05]. The blood vessel density was also higher in PDE5shRNA group compared with common adenovirus group (infarct area:14.3 ± 2.0 vs. 6.6 ± 1.2, P < 0.05; periinfarct area: 23.6 ± 2.1 vs. 13.7 ± 2.4, P < 0.05). Compared with common adenovirus group, level of PDE5 was significantly downregulated and level of cGMP or PKG was significantly upregulated in PDE5shRNA group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Present study suggests PDE5shRNA improves cardiac function and attenuates cardiac remodeling through reducing infarction size and cardiac fibrosis and these beneficial effects are possibly mediated by activating cGMP/PKG signaling pathway.

Thermal analysis of magnesium reactions with nitrogen/oxygen gas mixtures

The thermal behavior and kinetic parameters of magnesium powder subjected to a nitrogen-rich atmosphere was investigated in thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) experiments with oxygen/nitrogen mixtures heated at rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20 °C/min. At higher temperature increase rates, the observed oxidation or nitridation steps shifted toward higher temperatures. The comparison of mass gain and heat of reaction in different nitrogen concentrations is helpful in interpreting the inerting effect of nitrogen on magnesium powder explosion in closed vessels. Activation energies for oxidation in air calculated by the Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) method are generally consistent with previously published reports, but the method was not successful for the entire nitridation process. The change of activation energy with temperature was related to protective properties of the corresponding coating layer at particle surfaces. Two main coating layer growth processes were found in magnesium oxidation and nitridation using a modified Dreizin method which was also employed to determine activation energy for both magnesium oxidation and nitridation. For magnesium powder oxidation, activation energy calculated by the Dreizin method was close to that by KAS. Variation in activation energies was a function of different mechanisms inherent in the two methods.

Using Illumina next generation sequencing technologies to sequence multigene families in de novo species

The advent of Next Generation Sequencing Technology (NGST) has revolutionized molecular biology research, allowing for rapid gene/genome sequencing from a multitude of diverse species. As high throughput sequencing becomes more accessible, more efficient workflows must be developed to deal with the amounts of data produced and better assemble the genomes of de novo lineages. We combine traditional laboratory methods with Illumina NGST to amplify and sequence the largest mammalian multigene family, the Olfactory Receptor gene family, for species with and without a reference genome. We develop novel assembly methods to annotate and filter these data, which can be utilized for any gene family or any species. We find no significant difference between the ratio of genes within their respective gene families of our data compared with available genomic data. Using simulated data we explore the limitations of short-read sequence data and our assembly in recovering this gene family. We highlight the benefits and shortcomings of these methods. Compared with data generated from traditional polymerase chain reaction, cloning and Sanger sequencing methodologies, sequence data generated using our pipeline increases yield and sequencing efficiency without reducing the number of unique genes amplified. A cloning step is not required, therefore shortening data generation time. The novel downstream methodologies and workflows described provide a tool to be utilized by many fields of biology, to access and analyze the vast quantities of data generated. By combining laboratory and in silico methods, we provide a means of extracting genomic information for multigene families without complete genome sequencing.

Ignition behavior of magnesium powder layers on a plate heated at constant temperature

The minimum temperature at which dust layers or deposits ignite is considered to be very important in industries where smoldering fires could occur. Experiments were conducted on the self-ignition behavior of magnesium powder layers. The estimated effective thermal conductivity k for modeling is 0.17 W m(-1)K(-1). The minimum ignition temperature (MIT) of magnesium powder layers for four different particle sizes: 6, 47, 104 and 173 μm, are also determined in these experiments. A model was developed describing temperature distribution and its change over time while considering the melting and boiling of magnesium powder. Parameter analysis shown that increasing particle size from 6 to 173 μm increased MIT from 710 to 760 K, and increased thickness of the dust layer led to a decreased MIT. The calculation termination time more than 5000 s didn't significantly impact MIT. Comparing predicted and experimental data showed satisfactory agreement for MIT of magnesium powder layers at various particle sizes. According to the ignition process of magnesium powder layer, a meaningful definition for the most sensitive ignition position (MSIP) was proposed and should be taken into consideration when preventing smoldering fires induced by hot plates.