Clinical application of dual-layer spectral CT multi-parameter feature to predict microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using dual-layer spectral CT multi-parameter feature to predict microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 50 HCC patients who underwent multiphase contrast-enhanced spectral CT studies preoperatively. Combined clinical data, radiological features with spectral CT quantitative parameter were constructed to predict MVI. ROC was applied to identify potential predictors of MVI. The CT values obtained by simulating the conventional CT scans with 70 keV images were compared with those obtained with 40 keV images. RESULTS: 50 hepatocellular carcinomas were detected with 30 lesions (Group A) with microvascular invasion and 20 (Group B) without. There were significant differences in AFP,tumer size, IC, NIC,slope and effective atomic number in AP and ICrr in VP between Group A ((1000(10.875,1000),4.360±0.3105, 1.7750 (1.5350,1.8825) mg/ml, 0.1785 (0.1621,0.2124), 2.0362±0.2108,8.0960±0.1043,0.2830±0.0777) and Group B (4.750(3.325,20.425),3.190±0.2979,1.4700 (1.4500,1.5775) mg/ml, 0.1441 (0.1373,0.1490),1.8601±0.1595, 7.8105±0.7830 and 0.2228±0.0612) (all p < 0.05). Using 0.1586 as the threshold for NIC, one could obtain an area-under-curve (AUC) of 0.875 in ROC to differentiate between tumours with and without microvascular invasion. AUC was 0.625 with CT value at 70 keV and improved to 0.843 at 40 keV. CONCLUSION: Dual-layer spectral CT provides additional quantitative parameters than conventional CT to enhance the differentiation between hepatocellular carcinoma with and without microvascular invasion. Especially, the normalized iodine concentration (NIC) in arterial phase has the greatest potential application value in determining whether microvascular invasion exists, and can offer an important reference for clinical treatment plan and prognosis assessment.

Designing Advanced Amorphous/Nanocrystalline Alloys by Controlling the Energy State.

Amorphous alloys, also known as metallic glasses, exhibit many advanced mechanical, physical, and chemical properties. Owing to the nonequilibrium nature, their energy states can vary over a wide range. However, the energy relaxation kinetics are very complex and composed of various types that are coupled with each other. This makes it challenging to control the energy state precisely and to study the energy-properties relationship. This brief review introduces the recent progresses on studying the enthalpy relaxation kinetics during isothermal annealing, for example, the observation of two-step relaxation phenomenon, the detection of relaxation unit (relaxun), the key role of large activation entropy in triggering memory effect, the influence of glass energy state on nanocrystallization. Based on the above knowledge, a new strategy is proposed to design a series of amorphous alloys and their composites consisting of nanocrystals and glass matrix with superior functional properties by precisely controlling the nonequilibrium energy states. As the typical examples, Fe-based amorphous alloys with both advanced soft magnetism and good plasticity, Gd-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composites with large magnetocaloric effect, and Fe-based amorphous alloys with high catalytic performance are specifically described.

Assessment of Left Ventricular Longitudinal Systolic Function Using Global Tissue Motion Annular Displacement in Patients with Chronic Severe Aortic Regurgitation.

Background: In patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR), the left ventricle (LV) develops compensatory mechanisms to sustain its function. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a key means to detect subclinical LV dysfunction, even when LV ejection fraction (LVEF) remains within the normal range. Compared to GLS, Tissue motion annular displacement (TMAD) is a simpler strain-based method to assess LV systolic function. This study investigated the correlation among TMAD parameters, LVEF, and GLS, and determined the diagnostic value and threshold of TMAD parameters for left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Methods: A prospective study was conducted at a single center. The case and control groups consisted of patients with chronic severe AR and healthy volunteers, respectively. Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) was used to assess the GLS and TMAD parameters in the apical 4-chamber and apical 2-chamber. Subsets of participants were analyzed for inter- and intra-observer variability and analysis time. A correlation analysis was performed among the TMAD parameters, LVEF, and GLS. Receiver operating characteristic curves and the area under the curves (AUCs) were used to evaluate the predictive value of the TMAD parameters for LVEF <50% and GLS > -18%. Results: This study involved 96 patients with severe chronic AR and 45 healthy volunteers. Compared to GLS, TMAD demonstrated superior intra- and inter-observer consistency and shorter average analysis time. Biplane global Midpt% showed the highest correlation with GLS and LVEF among all the TMAD parameters, with r values of 0.81 and 0.74, respectively. Furthermore, global Midpt% had AUCs of 0.89 and 0.92 for predicting LVEF< 50% and GLS > -18%, respectively. Conclusion: The TMAD global Midpt% has the potential to replace GLS in clinical practice and find wide applications.

[Orthopaedic robot assisted femoral neck dynamic cross fixation system for the treatment of femoral neck fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To explore and compare the clinical efficacy of orthopedic robot assisted femoral neck system （FNS） and traditional manual FNS in the treatment of femoral neck fractures in middle-aged and young people. METHODS: The clinical data of 62 consecutive patients with femoral neck fracture and age less than 65 years old admitted to the Intelligent Orthopaedic Department of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital from June 2021 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether orthopedic robot-assisted surgery the patients were divided into two groups：30 patients aged 34 to 56 years old were treated with orthopedic robot assisted FNS internal fixation after closed or limited open reduction（experimental group）； 32 patients aged 33 to 54 years old underwent FNS internal fixation after closed or limited open reduction（control group）. The age, gender, time from injury to admission, average hospital stay, surgical duration, intraoperative bleeding volume, and intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency of two groups of patients were analyzed and compared. The hip joint function in both groups of patients was evaluated using the Harris hip joint scoring standard at 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: All 62 patients with femoral neck fractures successfully completed the surgery. There was no significant difference（P>0.05） between the experimental group and the control group in terms of baseline data such as age, gender, time from injury to admission, time from admission to surgery and the intraoperative bleeding. The surgical duration of the experimental group was significantly shorter than that of the control group [42.1（28.5, 50.7）min vs. 53.4（36.9, 62.5） min, Z=-2.338, P=0.019]. The intraoperative X-ray fluoroscopy frequency of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group[8.0 （6.0, 11.0） times vs. 15.0（13.0, 17.0） times, Z=-5.960, P<0.001]. In terms of postoperative hip joint function, there was no significant difference in Harris score between the two groups of patients at 6-month follow-up（P>0.05）. CONCLUSION: Compared with manual operation of FNS, orthopedic robot assisted FNS in the treatment of femoral neck fractures can help shorten surgical time, reduce intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, and have similar therapeutic effects on long-term hip joint function recovery.

Integrated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and handgrip strength better predict survival in patients with cancer cachexia.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic inflammation and skeletal muscle strength play crucial roles in the development and progression of cancer cachexia. In this study we aimed to evaluate the combined prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and handgrip strength (HGS) for survival in patients with cancer cachexia. METHODS: This multicenter cohort study involved 1826 patients with cancer cachexia. The NLR-HGS (NH) index was defined as the ratio of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to handgrip strength. Harrell's C index and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to assess the prognosis of NH. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association of NH with all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Based on the optimal stratification, 380 women (NH > 0.14) and 249 men (NH > 0.19) were classified as having high NH. NH has shown greater predictive value compared to other indicators in predicting the survival of patients with cancer cachexia according to the 1-, 3-, and 5-y ROC analysis and Harrell's C index calculation. Multivariate survival analysis showed that higher NH was independently associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio = 1.654, 95% confidence interval = 1.389-1.969). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the NH index, in combination with NLR and HGS, is an effective predictor of the prognosis of patients with cancer cachexia. It can offer effective prognosis stratification and guidance for their treatment.

Quercetin attenuates cisplatin-induced mitochondrial apoptosis via PI3K/Akt mediated inhibition of oxidative stress in pericytes and improves the blood labyrinth barrier permeability.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is broadly employed to treat different cancers, whereas there are no drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for preventing its side effects, including ototoxicity. Quercetin (QU) is a widely available natural flavonoid compound with anti-tumor and antioxidant properties. The research was designed to explore the protective effects of QU on CDDP-induced ototoxicity and its underlying mechanisms in male C57BL/6 J mice and primary cultured pericytes (PCs). Hearing changes, morphological changes of stria vascularis, blood labyrinth barrier (BLB) permeability and expression of apoptotic proteins were observed in vivo by using the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test, HE staining, Evans blue staining, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, etc. Oxidative stress levels, mitochondrial function and endothelial barrier changes were observed in vitro by using DCFH-DA probe detection, flow cytometry, JC-1 probe, immunofluorescence and the establishment in vitro BLB models, etc. QU pretreatment activates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, inhibits CDDP-induced oxidative stress, protects mitochondrial function, and reduces mitochondrial apoptosis in PCs. However, PI3K/AKT specific inhibitor (LY294002) partially reverses the protective effects of QU. In addition, in vitro BLB models were established by coculturing PCs and endothelial cells (ECs), which suggests that QU both reduces the CDDP-induced apoptosis in PCs and improves the endothelial barrier permeability. On the whole, the research findings suggest that QU can be used as a novel treatment to reduce CDDP-induced ototoxicity.

Characteristics of the Blockage from Air Nozzle Guide Duct in Circulating the Fluidized-Bed Coal Gasifier and Its Formation Mechanism.

Blockage is often generated in the air nozzle guide duct in a circulating fluidized-bed coal gasifier (CFBG), especially with Zhundong sub-bituminous coal (ZSBC) as the raw material. A typical example is found in one CFBG sample from Xinjiang Yihua Chemical Industry Co, Ltd. The serious blockage can be observed obviously. As so far, it is not clear for the characteristics and generation mechanism of the blockage. For analysis, the blockage can be classified into two parts, wall-layer blockage (WLB) and center-layer blockage (CLB). To inhibit its formation, it is of significance to analyze the composition, surface morphology, and formation mechanism of the two blockages. In our experiments, WLB and CLB were tested by XRF, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS, and SEM-mapping methods. Results showed that WLB presents high content of Fe, Cr, and Ni, and Fe mainly existed in the form of metal oxides. CLB is dominated by Si (43.04%), derived from silica and alkali and alkaline-earth metals silicates, and the migration of Fe, Cr, and Ni elements from the duct material was observed. Compared with WLB, from FTIR analysis, CLB contains more inorganic minerals, and the absorption peak of inorganic minerals is mainly attributed to asymmetric Si-O-Si. Many fine particles are attached to the surface of the WLB, while the surface of the CLB is smooth, and there is noticeable raised texture, which is presumed to be the result of particle melting and agglomerating as the bottom ash enters the duct in the gasification process. For the formation of the blockage, this paper speculates that it is mainly due to the difference in flow resistance near the air nozzle outlet, resulting in the formation of a flow dead zone at the bottom of the gasifier, which leads to large amounts of ash overcoming the outlet resistance and leaking into the air nozzle, and next, the ash corrodes in the tube, resulting in wall deposition and ultimately blocking the air guide duct. Two methods can be tried to avoid or inhibit the formation of blockage in the duct, including optimizing air nozzle with more wear-resistant and heat-resistant materials and adjusting the distance between air nozzles to avoid mutual interference from ash particles.

Prevalence and unfavorable outcome of frailty in older adults with gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous studies reported inconsistent results on the prevalence and prognostic implications of frailty among older adults with gastric cancer. This systematic review synthesized available literature pertaining on this topic to establish the prevalence and unfavorable outcomes of frailty in older adults with gastric cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple English databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science as well as Chinese databases, namely, CNKI, Wan Fang, and CBM, from inception to July 4, 2023, to identify potential studies. Data related to the incidence of frailty and its unfavorable outcomes in older adults with gastric cancer were extracted. RevMan5.3 and R 4.2.2 were used to evaluate pooled prevalence, hazard ratios (HR), and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: This review comprehensively selected 13 studies, comprising 9 cohort studies and 4 cross-sectional studies, on 44,117 older adults diagnosed with gastric cancer. The incidence of frailty among older adults with gastric cancer ranged from 10 to 71%. The pooled prevalence of frailty was 29% (95% CI 0.21-0.39). Frailty was found to be associated with an elevated risk of postoperative complications (HR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.45-2.73), prolonged postoperative hospital stay (HR = 2.68, 95% CI 2.38-3.02), likelihood of readmission (HR = 3.28, 95% CI 1.77-6.08), and an increased mortality risk (HR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.36-1.90). CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was associated with a poor prognosis in older adults with gastric cancer. Clinical medical staff should focus on the frailty of older adults with gastric cancer, conduct large-scale, multicenter, and prospective studies and early screening of patients, and provide guidance for the implementation of prevention and treatment strategies.

CLIC1-mediated autophagy confers resistance to DDP in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer has been a constant concern to researchers as one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. The treatment options for gastric cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer. Cisplatin (DDP) has been approved as a critical chemotherapy drug to treat various kinds of solid tumors. Although DDP is an effective chemotherapeutic agent, many patients develop drug resistance during treatment, which has become a severe problem in clinical chemotherapy. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of DDP resistance in gastric cancer. The results show that intracellular chloride channel 1 (CLIC1) expression was increased in AGS/DDP and MKN28/DDP, and as compared to the parental cells, autophagy was activated. In addition, the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to DDP was decreased compared to the control group, and autophagy increased after overexpression of CLIC1. On the contrary, gastric cancer cells were more sensitive to cisplatin after transfection of CLIC1siRNA or treatment with autophagy inhibitors. These experiments suggest that CLIC1 could alter the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to DDP by activating autophagy. Overall, the results of this study recommend a novel mechanism of DDP resistance in gastric cancer.

Size Dependent Phase Transformation of Liquid Gallium.

As the most popular liquid metal (LM), gallium (Ga) and its alloys are emerging as functional materials due to their unique combination of fluidic and metallic properties near room temperature. As an important branch of utilizing LMs, micro- and submicron-particles of Ga-based LM are widely employed in wearable electronics, catalysis, energy, and biomedicine. Meanwhile, the phase transition is crucial not only for the applications based on this reversible transformation process, but also for the solidification temperature at which fluid properties are lost. While Ga has several solid phases and exhibits unusual size-dependent phase behavior. This complex process makes the phase transition and undercooling of Ga uncontrollable, which considerably affects the application performance. In this work, extensive (nano-)calorimetry experiments are performed to investigate the polymorph selection mechanism during liquid Ga crystallization. It is surprisingly found that the crystallization temperature and crystallization pathway to either α -Ga or ß -Ga can be effectively engineered by thermal treatment and droplet size. The polymorph selection process is suggested to be highly relevant to the capability of forming covalent bonds in the equilibrium supercooled liquid. The observation of two different crystallization pathways depending on the annealing temperature may indicate that there exist two different liquid phases in Ga.

The effects of noise exposure on hippocampal cognition in C57BL/6 mice via transcriptomics.

BACKGROUND: Noise is an important environmental stressor in the industrialized world and has received increasing attention in recent years. Although epidemiological research has extensively demonstrated the relationship between noise and cognitive impairment, the specific molecular mechanisms and targets remain to be fully explored and understood. METHODS: To address this issue, 5-month-old C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups, with one group exposed to white noise at 98 dB. The effects of noise on cognition in mice were investigated through molecular biology and behavioral experiments. Subsequently, transcriptomic sequencing of the hippocampus in both groups of mice was performed and enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was conducted using KEGG and GO databases. Furthermore, LASSO analysis was used to further narrow down the relevant DEGs, followed by enrichment analysis of these genes using KEGG and GO databases. The DEGs were further validated by rt-qPCR. RESULTS: Following noise exposure, the hippocampus levels of inflammation-related factors increased, the phosphorylation of Tau protein increased, the postsynaptic density protein decreased, the number of Nissl bodies decreased, and cell shrinkage in the hippocampus increased. Moreover, the behavioral experiments manifest characteristics indicative of a decline in cognitive.A total of 472 DEGs were identified through transcriptomic analysis, and seven relevant genes were screened by the LASSO algorithm, which were further validated by PCR to confirm their consistency with the omics results. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, noise exposure affects cognitive function in mice through multiple pathways, and the omics results provide new evidence for the cognitive impairment induced by noise exposure.

Intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: an evidence mapping and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The clinical efficacy and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment for COVID-19 remain controversial. This study aimed to map the current status and gaps of available evidence, and conduct a meta-analysis to further investigate the benefit of IVIg in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SR/MAs), primary studies with control groups, reporting on the use of IVIg in patients with COVID-19. A random-effects meta-analysis with subgroup analyses regarding study design and patient disease severity was performed. Our outcomes of interest determined by the evidence mapping, were mortality, length of hospitalization (days), length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay (days), number of patients requiring mechanical ventilation, and adverse events. RESULTS: We included 34 studies (12 SR/MAs, 8 prospective and 14 retrospective studies). A total of 5571 hospitalized patients were involved in 22 primary studies. Random-effects meta-analyses of very low to moderate evidence showed that there was little or no difference between IVIg and standard care or placebo in reducing mortality (relative risk [RR] 0.91; 95% CI 0.78-1.06; risk difference [RD] 3.3% fewer), length of hospital (mean difference [MD] 0.37; 95% CI - 2.56, 3.31) and ICU (MD 0.36; 95% CI - 0.81, 1.53) stays, mechanical ventilation use (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.68-1.24; RD 2.8% fewer), and adverse events (RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.84-1.14; RD 0.5% fewer) of patients with COVID-19. Sensitivity analysis using a fixed-effects model indicated that IVIg may reduce mortality (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.60-0.97), and increase length of hospital stay (MD 0.68; 95% CI 0.09-1.28). CONCLUSION: Very low to moderate certainty of evidence indicated IVIg may not improve the clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Given the discrepancy between the random- and fixed-effects model results, further large-scale and well-designed RCTs are warranted.

Median arcuate ligament syndrome complicated with gallbladder stones: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare disease caused by compression of the celiac trunk artery by the median arcuate ligament (MAL). It can cause symptoms of postprandial abdominal pain, weight loss, and nausea and vomiting. CASE SUMMARY: A 55-year-old woman was admitted due to abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. On admission, the patient presented with epigastric pain that worsened after eating, without signs of peritoneal irritation. Computed tomography angiography of the upper abdomen showed compression of the proximal segment of the abdominal trunk, local luminal stenosis with angular "fishhook" changes, which changed significantly during forceful inspiration and expiration; gallbladder stones; and multiple cysts in the liver. Abdominal duplex ultrasonography showed that peak systolic velocity was 352 cm/s. After diagnosis of MALS was confirmed, an arch ligament release procedure was performed. MALS has no specific symptoms and can be misdiagnosed as other abdominal diseases. Awareness of MALS should be improved to avoid misdiagnosis. The commonly used treatment option is MAL release and resection of the peripheral ganglion of the celiac trunk artery. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis and treatment of MALS must be individualized, and MAL release is effective and provides immediate symptomatic relief.

Theoretical Study on Spectrum and Luminescence Mechanism of Cy5.5 and Cy7.5 Dye Based on Density Functional Theory (DFT).

Cy5.5 and 7.5 are the most commonly used NIR 2-region fluoresceins, which have good luminescence properties and important biomedical tracer applications. In this paper, their molecular non-covalent interactions, UV-Vis absorption spectra, main bond lengths, electrostatic potential distributions, frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) and energy gaps were calculated by density functional theory (DFT). We found that the differences in the luminescence properties and energy gaps of Cy5.5 and Cy7.5 molecules may be caused by the length of the conjugated chains between the two aromatic rings in the molecule. By calculating the relevant molecular characteristics, this paper can provide ideas and theoretical basis for the relevant modification and application, as well as the development of new fluorescent dyes.

Strain-driven Kovacs-like memory effect in glasses.

Studying complex relaxation behaviors is of critical importance for understanding the nature of glasses. Here we report a Kovacs-like memory effect in glasses, manifested by non-monotonic stress relaxation during two-step high-to-low strains stimulations. During the stress relaxation process, if the strain jumps from a higher state to a lower state, the stress does not continue to decrease, but increases first and then decreases. The memory effect becomes stronger when the atomic motions become highly collective with a large activation energy, e.g. the strain in the first stage is larger, the temperature is higher, and the stimulation is longer. The physical origin of the stress memory effect is studied based on the relaxation kinetics and the in-situ synchrotron X-ray experiments. The stress memory effect is probably a universal phenomenon in different types of glasses.

PGC-1α affects cochlear pericytes migration in noise-exposed mice.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to observe the effects of noise exposure on the pericytes of the cochlear stria vascularis (SV) in mice and to investigate its molecular mechanism. METHOD: Male C57BL/6J mice aged 6-8 weeks were used as the subjects. Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) was used to assess hearing loss. Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining was conducted to observe morphological alterations in the SV. Immunofluorescence combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to scrutinize changes in pericytes following acoustic injury. Western blotting (WB) was used to assess the expression variations of the migration-related protein Osteopontin (OPN). Evans Blue assay was performed to evaluate the permeability of the blood labyrinth barrier (BLB). 4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) staining, in conjunction with measurements of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Malondialdehyde (MDA), and Catalase (CAT) content, was used to ascertain whether oxidative stress injury occurred in the SV. WB, combined with immunofluorescence, was used to examine alterations in the expression of proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) in the SV and pericytes. RESULTS: Noise exposure resulted in permanent hearing loss in C57BL/6J mice, accompanied by SV swelling, migration of pericytes from their vascular attachments, BLB leakage, elevated oxidative stress levels in the SV, and reduced expression of PGC-1α on both the SV and migrating pericytes. CONCLUSION: Noise exposure may potentially increase oxidative stress levels in the SV, downregulate the expression levels of PGC-1α, promote pericytes migration, and subsequently lead to an elevation in BLB permeability.

The Correlation Between Thyroid Parameters and the Ratios of Neutrophil/Lymphocyte and Platelet/Lymphocyte in Euthyroid Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Purpose: To investigate the thyroid parameters (thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4)) and their relationship with inflammatory indicators (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR)) in euthyroid individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients and Methods: Our study included 672 participants diagnosed with T2DM, and 336 healthy individuals matched in terms of age and gender. The laboratory inspection data of both type 2 diabetic patients and healthy individuals as controls were analyzed separately. Results: Compared with a control group, the individuals with T2DM presented elevated levels of inflammatory indicators, including white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils (NEUT), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR). The levels of TSH are elevated in the T2DM group, whereas the levels of FT3 or FT4 are reduced. TSH levels were significantly positively correlated with NLR or PLR, while the levels of FT3 and FT4 were significantly negatively correlated with NLR or PLR. Furthermore, thyroid parameters were correlated with gender, age, and blood lipid metabolism. Multiple stepwise regression analysis identified gender, NLR, PLR, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as significant contributing factors for TSH. Additionally, gender, age, NLR, PLR, glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and LDL were identified as contributing factors for FT3, while PLR and total cholesterol (TC) were identified as contributing factors for FT4. Conclusion: Abnormal metabolism of thyroid parameters is associated with increased inflammatory activity and impaired glycolipid metabolism in euthyroid type 2 diabetic patients.

Investigating the prognostic and predictive value of the type II cystatin genes in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence indicates that type II cystatin (CST) genes play a pivotal role in several tumor pathological processes, thereby affecting all stages of tumorigenesis and tumor development. However, the prognostic and predictive value of type II CST genes in GC has not yet been investigated. METHODS: The present study evaluated the expression and prognostic value of type II CST genes in GC by using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the Kaplan-Meier plotter (KM plotter) online database. The type II CST genes related to the prognosis of GC were then screened out. We then validated the expression and prognostic value of these genes by immunohistochemistry. We also used Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), Gene Multiple Association Network Integration Algorithm (GeneMANIA), Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING), nomogram, genome-wide co-expression analysis, and other bioinformatics tools to analyze the value of type II CST genes in GC and the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: The data from the TCGA database and the KM plotter online database showed that high expression of CST2 and CST4 was associated with the overall survival (OS) of patients with GC. The immunohistochemical expression analysis showed that patients with high expression of CST4 in GC tissues have a shorter OS than those with low expression of CST4 (HR = 1.85,95%CI: 1.13-3.03, P = 0.015). Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that the high expression level of CST4 was an independent prognostic risk factor for OS. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that CST4 could serve as a tumor marker that affects the prognosis of GC and could be considered as a potential therapeutic target for GC.

[Adsorption Performance of Walnut Green Husk Biochar for Heavy Metals].

The biochars of WP300, WP500, and WP700 were prepared by pyrolyzing walnut green husk under 300℃, 500℃, and 700℃ with the oxygen-free condition for removing Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ in an aqueous solution. The results revealed that WP500 prepared under the medium pyrolysis temperature achieved the best adsorption performance for heavy metals, and the highest removal efficiency was reached when the solution pH was 8, in which the removal efficiency of Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ were 97.87%, 99.78%, and 71.15%, respectively. The required biochar dosage for heavy metal removal varied under different adsorption conditions. In the single-metal system, the optimal dosage for WP500 in the Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ solutions was 1.3 g·L-1, 2.1 g·L-1, and 1.9 g·L-1, respectively, whereas in the pollution metals system, the optimal biochar dosage was 5.1 g·L-1. In addition, the adsorption capacity of WP500 for the three heavy metals followed the order of Pb2+>Cu2+>Cd2+ under the single and combined-metals system, indicating that there were no synergistic or antagonistic effects among these three adsorbates. The fitting results of the adsorption isotherm model suggested that various immobilization methods existed in adsorption process between WP500 and Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+. The kinetic fitting results suggested that the main reaction between WP500 and Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ was chemical adsorption. The mechanisms of WP500 for heavy metals involved pore-filling, electrostatic attraction, ion-exchange, mineral precipitation, complexation, and π-π electron donor-accepter interaction. To conclude, this study offered a new insight for the resource utilization of the waste walnut green husk.

Effects of peripheral blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio levels and their changes on the prognosis of patients with early cervical cancer.

Although some studies have reported on the levels and clinical significance of peripheral blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in cervical cancer, the role of NLR levels and their changes preoperatively and postoperatively in early cervical cancer remain unclear. Our analyses explored the preoperative and postoperative NLR in 203 patients with stage I-IIA cervical cancer and evaluated the relationship between NLR changes, clinicopathological characteristics, and patient prognosis. The cut-off preoperative and postoperative NLR values were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Preoperative NLR correlated with age, menopausal status, tumor size, and vascular infiltration, whereas postoperative NLR correlated with tumor differentiation. Patients with cervical cancer with a high preoperative NLR had significantly shorter overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than other patients, whereas PFS was significantly lower in the high postoperative NLR group. When comparing postoperative and preoperative NLR values, we observed a significantly higher rate of increase in postmenopausal patients and those without vascular infiltration than that among premenopausal patients and those with vascular infiltration. However, no clear difference in prognosis was observed between the groups with increased and decreased NLR. Therefore, a high peripheral blood NLR may predict a poor prognosis in patients with early cervical cancer. The effect of NLR changes on the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer requires further verification in multicenter studies.