Pollution control performance of solidified nickel-cobalt tailings on site: Bioavailability of heavy metals and microbial response.

There has been increasing attention given to nickel-cobalt tailings (NCT), which pose a risk of heavy metal pollution in the field. In this study, on site tests and sampling analysis were conducted to assess the physical and chemical characteristics, heavy metal toxicity, and microbial diversity of the original NCT, solidified NCT, and the surrounding soil. The research results show that the potential heavy metal pollution species in NCT are mainly Ni, Co, Mn, and Cu. Simultaneous solidification and passivation of heavy metals in NCT were achieved, resulting in a reduction in biological toxicity and a fivefold increase in seed germination rate. The compressive strength of the original tailings was increased by 20 times after solidification. The microbial diversity test showed that the abundance of microbial community in the original NCT was low and the population was monotonous. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that the use of NCT for solidification in ponds can effectively solidification of heavy metals, reduce biological toxicity, and promote microorganism diversity in mining areas (tended to the microbial ecosystem in the surrounding soil). Indeed, this study provides a new perspective for the environmental remediation of metal tailings.

A Temperature Compensation Approach for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Accelerometer Based on Gated Recurrent Unit-Attention and Robust Local Mean Decomposition-Sample Entropy-Time-Frequency Peak Filtering.

MEMS accelerometers are significantly impacted by temperature and noise, leading to a considerable compromise in their accuracy. In response to this challenge, we propose a parallel denoising and temperature compensation fusion algorithm for MEMS accelerometers based on RLMD-SE-TFPF and GRU-attention. Firstly, we utilize robust local mean decomposition (RLMD) to decompose the output signal of the accelerometer into a series of product function (PF) signals and a residual signal. Secondly, we employ sample entropy (SE) to classify the decomposed signals, categorizing them into noise segments, mixed segments, and temperature drift segments. Next, we utilize the time-frequency peak filtering (TFPF) algorithm with varying window lengths to separately denoise the noise and mixed signal segments, enabling subsequent signal reconstruction and training. Considering the strong inertia of the temperature signal, we innovatively introduce the accelerometer's output time series as the model input when training the temperature compensation model. We incorporate gated recurrent unit (GRU) and attention modules, proposing a novel GRU-MLP-attention model (GMAN) architecture. Simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed fusion algorithm. After processing the accelerometer output signal through the RLMD-SE-TFPF denoising algorithm and the GMAN temperature drift compensation model, the acceleration random walk is reduced by 96.11%, with values of 0.23032 g/h/Hz for the original accelerometer output signal and 0.00895695 g/h/Hz for the processed signal.

Cation- and pH-Dependent Hydrogen Evolution and Oxidation Reaction Kinetics.

The production of molecular hydrogen by catalyzing water splitting is central to achieving the decarbonization of sustainable fuels and chemical transformations. In this work, a series of structure-making/breaking cations in the electrolyte were investigated as spectator cations in hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions (HER/HOR) in the pH range of 1 to 14, whose kinetics was found to be altered by up to 2 orders of magnitude by these cations. The exchange current density of HER/HOR was shown to increase with greater structure-making tendency of cations in the order of Cs+ < Rb+ < K+ < Na+ < Li+, which was accompanied by decreasing reorganization energy from the Marcus-Hush-Chidsey formalism and increasing reaction entropy. Invoking the Born model of reorganization energy and reaction entropy, the static dielectric constant of the electrolyte at the electrified interface was found to be significantly lower than that of bulk, decreasing with the structure-making tendency of cations at the negatively charged Pt surface. The physical origin of cation-dependent HER/HOR kinetics can be rationalized by an increase in concentration of cations on the negatively charged Pt surface, altering the interfacial water structure and the H-bonding network, which is supported by classical molecular dynamics simulation and surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. This work highlights immense opportunities to control the reaction rates by tuning interfacial structures of cation and solvents.

Chordoid glioma in the thalamus of a child: Rare location and atypical imaging findings.

Chordoid glioma is a rare intracranial tumour, which usually occurs in middle-aged female patients, mainly in the third ventricle, hypothalamus and suprasellar region. It can reportedly occur in the temporal-parietal lobe, occipital horn of the lateral ventricle and left thalamus. Here, we report a case of chordoid glioma in the thalamic region of a female child, which is different from the previously reported chordoid glioma in the left thalamus. Given its atypical location and imaging findings, it is often misdiagnosed as low-grade glioma before operation. Through the study of this case, we recognized the atypical imaging manifestations of chordoid glioma in a rare location.

Safety and efficacy of a nerve matrix membrane as a collagen nerve wrapping: a randomized, single-blind, multicenter clinical trial.

A new nerve matrix membrane derived from decellularized porcine nerves has been shown to retain the major extracellular matrix components, and to be effective in preventing adhesion between the nerve anastomosis sites and the surrounding tissues in a rat sciatic nerve transection model, thereby enhancing regeneration of the nerve. The effectiveness of the membrane may be attributed to its various bioactive components. In this prospective, randomized, single-blind, parallel-controlled multicenter clinical trial, we compared the safety and efficacy of the new nerve matrix membrane with a previously approved bovine tendon-derived type I collagen nerve wrapping. A total of 120 patients with peripheral nerve injury were recruited from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, The First Bethune Hospital of Jilin University, and Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, China. The patients were randomly assigned to undergo end-to-end and tension-free neurorrhaphy with nerve matrix membrane (n = 60, 52 male, 8 female, mean age 41.34 years, experimental group) or tendon-derived collagen nerve wrapping (n = 60, 42 male, 18 female, mean age 40.17 years, control group). Patients were followed-up at 14 ± 5, 30 ± 7, 90 ± 10 and 180 ± 20 days after the operation. Safety evaluation included analyses of local and systemic reactions, related laboratory tests, and adverse reactions. Efficacy evaluation included a static 2-point discrimination test, a moving 2-point discrimination test, and a Semmes-Weinstein monofilament examination. Sensory nerve function was evaluated with the British Medical Research Council Scale and Semmes-Weinstein monofilament examination. The ratio (percentage) of patients with excellent to good results in sensory nerve recovery 180 ± 20 days after the treatment was used as the primary effectiveness index. The percentages of patients with excellent to good results in the experimental and control groups were 98.00% and 94.44%, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups. There were no significant differences in the results of routine blood tests, liver and renal function tests, coagulation function tests, or immunoglobulin tests at 14 and 180 days postoperatively between the two groups. These findings suggest that the novel nerve matrix membrane is similar in efficacy to the commercially-available bovine-derived collagen membrane in the repair of peripheral nerve injury, and it may therefore serve as an alternative in the clinical setting. The clinical trial was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, China (approval No. 20160902) on October 8, 2016, the Institutional Ethics Committee of the First Bethune Hospital of Jilin University, China (approval No. 160518-088) on December 14, 2016, and the Institutional Ethics Committee of Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, China (approval No. 2016-10-01) on December 9, 2016. The clinical trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration number: ChiCTR2000033324) on May 28, 2020.

Caudal paramedian midbrain infarction: a clinical study of imaging, clinical features and stroke mechanisms.

Caudal paramedian midbrain infarction (CPMI) is an extremely rare form of ischemic stroke and related clinical studies are scarce. Our aim is to investigate the clinical features, neuroradiological findings and stroke etiology of CPMI. We conducted a retrospective study of 12 patients with CPMI, confirmed by diffusion-weighted MRI from 6820 cerebral infarction patients at our stroke center from January 2012 to August 2018. Experienced neurologists evaluated the clinical manifestations, neuroimaging findings and stroke mechanisms. Twelve patients (11 men, 1 woman) aged 42-81 years old met the study inclusion criteria. Seven patients had a unilateral infarction (two right-sided, five left-sided) and five had bilateral infarctions. Sagittal image showed a backward oblique sign in the lower level of the midbrain. Significantly, the bilateral CPMIs presented with a characteristic "V-shaped" appearance in the axial MRI. All patients presented with bilateral cerebellar dysfunction which included dysarthric speech, truncal or gait ataxia and four-limb ataxia. In addition, diplopia and internuclear ophthalmoplegia were frequently encountered in CPMI. Five (41.7%) patients were classified with large artery atherosclerosis, four (33.3%) with small vessel disease, two (16.7%) with cardiogenic embolism, and one (8.3%) with undetermined etiology. CPMI is a rare cerebrovascular disease that destroys the Wernekink commissure, medial longitudinal fasciculi and other adjacent structures. It is characterized by bilateral cerebellar ataxia and eye movement disorders, mainly internuclear ophthalmoplegia. A distinct "V-shaped" radiological feature can be seen in bilateral CPMI patients. The primary mechanisms of unilateral CPMI involve small vessel disease. The underlying stroke mechanisms of bilateral CPMI are either large artery atherosclerosis disease or cardiac embolism.

BRAFV600E mutation combined with American College of Radiology thyroid imaging report and data system significantly changes surgical resection rate and risk of malignancy in thyroid cytopathology practice.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography patterns and molecular testing may assist in stratifying the malignancy risk of indeterminate cytology diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology in combination with American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS) and BRAFV600E mutation in differentiating high-risk thyroid nodules. METHODS: From February 2010 to February 2014, 2,643 consecutive thyroid nodules from 2,399 patients (688 men and 1,711 women; mean age, 44.3±12.5 years) who underwent preoperative FNA biopsies were enrolled. The Jiangsu Institute of Nuclear Medicine has adopted TI-RADS stratification and BRAFV600E mutation analysis as a routine procedure to assist in evaluating FNA cytopathology since January 2016. From February 2017 to July 2018, 1,905 thyroid nodules of 1,837 patients (501 men and 1,336 women, 49.5±12.8 years) who underwent preoperative ultrasound-guided FNA biopsies with BRAFV600E mutation analysis and ACR TI-RADS grading data available were enrolled for comparison in this study. RESULTS: The cancer risk in nodules with BRAFV600E mutation was 99.7% (905/908) according to the histological findings. The risk of malignancy (ROM) was found to increase with advancing ACR TI-RADS category. High-risk ultrasound features (TI-RADS 5) did show a good performance in predicting malignancy (98.1%). The combination of TI-RADS 5 and BRAFV600E mutation reached the best diagnostic efficiency [sensitivity 97.7%, specificity 94.8%, positive predictive value (PPV) 99.6%]. It is apparent that after the implementation of ACR TI-RADS and the BRAFV600E mutation analysis, the resection rates (RRs) of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) I and III categories showed significant decreases (39.1% vs. 21.6% and 36.1% vs. 16.7%, respectively). In contrast, the risks of malignancy of TBSRTC I and III categories indicated substantial increases (41.5% vs. 80.0% and 34.6% vs. 50.0%, respectively). The ROM of thyroid nodules with nondiagnostic (ND, I) category showed the most significant increase of 41.5% to 80.0%. CONCLUSIONS: ACR TI-RADS, together with BRAFV600E mutation and cytological diagnoses, can assist in improving the prediction of malignancy of thyroid nodules, especially in the TBSRTC I and III categories.

[Distribution and Ecological Risk of Heavy Metals in the Soil of Redevelopment Industrial Sites].

Fifty typical redevelopment industrial sites in the Putuo, Baoshan, Minhang, and Jiangding districts of Shanghai were chosen to evaluate the ecological risk of heavy metals in the soil. The contents of heavy metal (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, and As) in 1847 soil samples, taken from vertical sections, were determined, and their risks were evaluated using the Nemero composite index and Hakanson potential ecological risk index. The average contents of Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, and As in topsoil samples were 0.33, 0.37, 74.55, 69.23, and 9.05 mg·kg-1, respectively. The contents of Hg, Cd, and Pb exceeded the soil background values of Shanghai, which were 2.75, 2.85, and 2.93 times the background values, respectively. The contents of five heavy metals in soil decreased gradually with increased depth. The contents of heavy metals in deep and saturated soils were close to, or below, the background values, indicating that the anthropic activity disturbance was mainly confined to the topsoil. The accumulation of Hg, Cd, and Pb was the most obvious in Putuo topsoil, with the average contents being 4.25, 4.85, and 3.09 times the background values, respectively. The average contents of Hg and Pb in Baoshan were 4.92 and 6.43 times the background values, respectively. The Nemero Composite Index of Baoshan and Putuo districts were 3.70 and 3.20, respectively, representing heavy pollution level at these sites. The Hakanson potential ecological risk indexes of the Putuo and Baoshang districts were 398.59 and 303.08, respectively, with considerable ecological risk levels. The content and ecological risk of heavy metals at the Minhang and Jiading sites were relatively low. In summary, the pollution of heavy metal in the redeveloped industrial sites is influenced by the operating time, industry type, and past management level of the enterprises. The heavy metal accumulation in the Putuo and Baoshan districts, whose industries developed earlier, were higher than those in the Minhang and Jiading districts. The pollution of heavy metal Hg, Cd, and Pb in soil should be a focus of future work.

The efficacy and safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A in painful knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A in painful knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: The EMBASE and MEDLINE databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Botulinum Toxin Type A in the treatment of painful knee osteoarthritis. The references of included literature were also searched. RESULTS: Five articles involving 5 RCTs including 314 patients were included in this analysis. There was a significant difference between Botulinum Toxin Type A and placebo in the visual analog scale (VAS) pain scale and Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire score in both the short-term (≤4 weeks) and long-term (≥8 weeks) treatment period. There were no serious adverse events in the Botulinum Toxin Type A groups. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that Botulinum Toxin Type A is effective and safe in the painful knee OA treatment. However, high-quality randomized controlled studies are still needed to further confirm our findings.

Osteogenic efficiency in vivo of scaffolding material of prefabricated vascularization.

Osteogenic efficiency of pre-vascularization and non-vascularization decalcified bone scaffolds in bone defect repair was investigated. Twenty-one Sprague-Dawley (SD) mice were randomly assigned to three groups, and a bone defect area of ~1.5 cm in length in the thigh bone of the right posterior limbs of each mouse was made. Pre-vascularization decalcified bone scaffolds in vitro (group A) and non-treatment decalcified bone scaffolds (group B) were separately implanted. The defect vacancy was considered as the blank control (group C). Sampling was made 4 weeks after the operation for the histological examination, and then the osteogenic efficiency was observed by gross sample, imaging, hematoxylin and eosin staining and Masson's staining. When implanting pre-vascularization decalcified bone scaffolds in vitro, the scaffolding material showed an obvious absorption, and more new bone formations and abundant vascular proliferation were observed. In non-vascularization decalcified bone scaffolds implanting, absorption insufficiency of the scaffolding material was observed, fewer new-born bone formations were shown, and the new vessels were very small and few in number. The pre-vascularization decalcified bone scaffolds had a better osteogenic efficiency.

Recommended Practices and Benchmark Activity for Hydrogen and Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Water Splitting and Fuel Cells.

Electrochemical energy storage by making H2 an energy carrier from water splitting relies on four elementary reactions, i.e., the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, the central objective is to recommend systematic protocols for activity measurements of these four reactions and benchmark activities for comparison, which is critical to facilitate the research and development of catalysts with high activity and stability. Details for the electrochemical cell setup, measurements, and data analysis used to quantify the kinetics of the HER, HOR, OER, and ORR in acidic and basic solutions are provided, and examples of state-of-the-art specific and mass activity of catalysts to date are given. First, the experimental setup is discussed to provide common guidelines for these reactions, including the cell design, reference electrode selection, counter electrode concerns, and working electrode preparation. Second, experimental protocols, including data collection and processing such as ohmic- and background-correction and catalyst surface area estimation, and practice for testing and comparing different classes of catalysts are recommended. Lastly, the specific and mass activity activities of some state-of-the-art catalysts are benchmarked to facilitate the comparison of catalyst activity for these four reactions across different laboratories.

Loss of miR-217 promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation through targeting SETD8.

Recently, many kinds of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to play a critical role in progression of osteosarcoma (OS). miR-217 was reported to function as a tumor suppressor in a number of human cancers but its precise mechanism to exert the suppressive role remains to be investigated. In this study, we found that miR-217 was downregulated in OS tissues and its downregulation predicts poor overall survival of OS patients. Importantly, we found that a lower expressed miR-217 in OS cell lines inhibited the cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. By bioinformatic analysis, we found that miR-217 targeted the SET Domain-Containing Protein 8 (SETD8), and there was a negative correlation between them in OS tissues. Furthermore, we found that miR-217 abolished the stimulation effect of SETD8 on cell proliferation and invasion. Taken together, our data provide solid evidence that miR-217 functions as tumor suppressor in OS, and its tumor-suppressive effect is exerted through interaction with SETD8.

Non-covalent interactions in electrochemical reactions and implications in clean energy applications.

Understanding and controlling non-covalent interactions associated with solvent molecules and redox-inactive ions provide new opportunities to enhance the reaction entropy changes and reaction kinetics of metal redox centers, which can increase the thermodynamic efficiency of energy conversion and storage devices. Here, we report systematic changes in the redox entropy of one-electron transfer reactions including [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-, [Fe(H2O)6]3+/2+ and [Ag(H2O)4]+/0 induced by the addition of redox inactive ions, where approximately twenty different known structure making/breaking ions were employed. The measured reaction entropy changes of these redox couples were found to increase linearly with higher concentration and greater structural entropy (having greater structure breaking tendency) for inactive ions with opposite charge to the redox centers. The trend could be attributed to the altered solvation shells of oxidized and reduced redox active species due to non-covalent interactions among redox centers, inactive ions and water molecules, which was supported by Raman spectroscopy. Not only were these non-covalent interactions shown to increase reaction entropy, but they were also found to systematically alter the redox kinetics, where increasing redox reaction energy changes associated with the presence of water structure breaking cations were correlated linearly with the greater exchange current density of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-.

TGF-ß1 is Involved in Vitamin D-Induced Chondrogenic Differentiation of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Regulating the ERK/JNK Pathway.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by degradation of cartilage, sole cell type of which is chondrocytes. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) possess multipotency and can be directionally differentiated into chondrocytes under stimulation. This study was aimed to explore the possible roles of vitamin D and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) in the chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs. METHODS: BMSCs were isolated from femurs and tibias of rats and characterized by flow cytometry. After stimulation with vitamin D, BMSC proliferation and migration were measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assays, respectively. Chondrogenic differentiation was estimated through expression levels of specific markers by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. After stable transfection, the effects of aberrantly expressed TGF-ß1 on vitamin D-induced alterations, including BMSC viability, migration and chondrogenic differentiation, were all evaluated utilizing CCK-8 assay, Transwell assay, qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Finally, the phosphorylation levels of key kinases in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways were determined by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Vitamin D remarkably promoted BMSC viability, migration and chondrogenic differentiation. These alterations of BMSCs induced by vitamin D were reinforced by TGF-ß1 overexpression while were reversed by TGF-ß1 silencing. Additionally, the phosphorylation levels of ERK, JNK and c-Jun were enhanced by TGF-ß1 overexpression but were reduced by TGF-ß1 knockdown. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D promoted BMSC proliferation, migration and chondrogenic differentiation. TGF-ß1 might be implicated in the vitamin D-induced alterations of BMSCs through regulating ERK/JNK pathway.

Measuring Agarwood Formation Ratio Quantitatively by Fluorescence Spectral Imaging Technique.

Agarwood is a kind of important and precious traditional Chinese medicine. With the decreasing of natural agarwood, artificial cultivation has become more and more important in recent years. Quantifying the formation of agarwood is an essential work which could provide information for guiding cultivation and controlling quality. But people only can judge the amount of agarwood qualitatively by experience before. Fluorescence multispectral imaging method is presented to measure the agarwood quantitatively in this paper. A spectral cube from 450 nm to 800 nm was captured under the 365 nm excitation sources. The nonagarwood, agarwood, and rotten wood in the same sample were distinguished based on analyzing the spectral cube. Then the area ratio of agarwood to the whole sample was worked out, which is the quantitative information of agarwood area percentage. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the formation of agarwood was quantified accurately and nondestructively.