Influence of rotor impeller structure on performance improvement of suspended axial flow blood pumps.

BACKGROUND: The hydrodynamic suspension structure design of the axial blood pump impeller can avoid the problems associated with using mechanical bearings. However, the particular impeller structure will impact the hydraulic performance and hemolysis of the blood pump. METHOD: This article combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with the Lagrange particle tracking method, aiming to improve the blood pump's hydraulic and hemolysis performance. It analyzes the flow characteristics and hemolysis performance inside the pump. It optimizes the taper of the impeller hub, the number of blades, and the inclination angle of the circumferential groove at the top of the blade. RESULTS: Under certain rotational speed conditions, an increase in the taper of the impeller hub or the number of blades can increase the pumping pressure of a blood pump, but an increase in the number of blades will reduce the flow rate. The design of circumferential grooves at the top of the blade can increase the pumping pressure to a certain extent, with little impact on the hemolysis performance. The impeller structure is optimized based on the estimated hemolysis of each impeller model blood pump. It could be seen that when the pump blood pressure and flow rate were reached, the optimized impeller speed was reduced by 11.4%, and the estimated hemolysis value was reduced by 10.5%. CONCLUSION: In this paper, the rotor impeller structure of the blood pump was optimized to improve the hydraulic and hemolytic performance effectively, which can provide a reference for the related research of the axial flow blood pump using hydraulic suspension.

Low pressure reversibly driving colossal barocaloric effect in two-dimensional vdW alkylammonium halides.

Plastic crystals as barocaloric materials exhibit the large entropy change rivalling freon, however, the limited pressure-sensitivity and large hysteresis of phase transition hinder the colossal barocaloric effect accomplished reversibly at low pressure. Here we report reversible colossal barocaloric effect at low pressure in two-dimensional van-der-Waals alkylammonium halides. Via introducing long carbon chains in ammonium halide plastic crystals, two-dimensional structure forms in (CH3-(CH2)n-1)2NH2X (X: halogen element) with weak interlayer van-der-Waals force, which dictates interlayer expansion as large as 13% and consequently volume change as much as 12% during phase transition. Such anisotropic expansion provides sufficient space for carbon chains to undergo dramatic conformation disordering, which induces colossal entropy change with large pressure-sensitivity and small hysteresis. The record reversible colossal barocaloric effect with entropy change ΔSr ~ 400 J kg-1 K-1 at 0.08 GPa and adiabatic temperature change ΔTr ~ 11 K at 0.1 GPa highlights the design of novel barocaloric materials by engineering the dimensionality of plastic crystals.

Developing Humanized Animal Models with Transplantable Human iPSC-Derived Cells.

Establishing reliable and reproducible animal models for disease modelling, drug screening and the understanding of disease susceptibility and pathogenesis is critical. However, traditional animal models differ significantly from humans in terms of physiology, immune response, and pathogenesis. As a result, it is difficult to translate laboratory findings into biomedical applications. Although several animal models with human chimeric genes, organs or systems have been developed in the past, their limited engraftment rate and physiological functions are a major obstacle to realize convincing models of humans. The lack of human transplantation resources and insufficient immune tolerance of recipient animals are the main challenges that need to be overcome to generate fully humanized animals. Recent advances in gene editing and pluripotent stem cell-based xenotransplantation technologies offer opportunities to create more accessible human-like models for biomedical research. In this article, we have combined our laboratory expertise to summarize humanized animal models, with a focus on hematopoietic/immune system and liver. We discuss their generation strategies and the potential donor cell sources, with particular attention given to human pluripotent stem cells. In particular, we discuss the advantages, limitations and emerging trends in their clinical and pharmaceutical applications. By providing insights into the current state of humanized animal models and their potential for biomedical applications, this article aims to advance the development of more accurate and reliable animal models for disease modeling and drug screening.

Upregulation of Parkinson's disease-associated protein alpha-synuclein suppresses tumorigenesis via interaction with mGluR5 and gamma-synuclein in liver cancer.

Numerous epidemiological studies suggest a link between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancer, indicating that PD-associated proteins may mediate the development of cancer. Here, we investigated a potential role of PD-associated protein α-synuclein in regulating liver cancer progression in vivo and in vitro. We found the negative correlation of α-synuclein with metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and γ-synuclein by analyzing the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, liver cancer patients and hepatoma cells with overexpressed α-synuclein. Moreover, upregulated α-synuclein suppressed the growth, migration, and invasion. α-synuclein was found to associate with mGluR5 and γ-synuclein, and the truncated N-terminal of α-synuclein was essential for the interaction. Furthermore, overexpressed α-synuclein exerted the inhibitory effect on hepatoma cells through the degradation of mGluR5 and γ-synuclein via α-synuclein-dependent autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP). Consistently, in vivo experiments with rotenone-induced rat model of PD also confirmed that, upregulated α-synuclein in liver cancer tissues through targeting on mGluR5/α-synuclein/γ-synuclein complex inhibited tumorigenesis involving in ALP-dependent degradation of mGluR5 and γ-synuclein. These findings give an insight into an important role of PD-associated protein α-synuclein accompanied by the complex of mGluR5/α-synuclein/γ-synuclein in distant communications between PD and liver cancer, and provide a new strategy in therapeutics for the treatment of liver cancer.

[Effects of Biochar Amendment on N2O Emission and Its Functional Genes in Pepper Growing Soil in Tropical Areas].

Biochar application may mitigate N2O emissions and increase crop yield, yet little is known about microbial dynamics variation. To investigate the potential of increasing yield and reducing emissions of biochar in tropical areas and the dynamic mechanism of related microorganisms, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the biochar application on pepper yield, N2O emissions, and dynamic variation of related microorganisms. Three treatments were applied:2% biochar amendment (B), conventional fertilization (CON), and no nitrogen (CK). The results showed that the yield of the CON treatment was higher than that of the CK treatment. Compared with that of the CON treatment, biochar amendment significantly increased the yield of pepper by 18.0% (P<0.05), and biochar amendment could increase the content of NH+4-N and NO-3-N in soil in most periods of pepper growth. Compared with that in the CON treatment, the B treatment significantly reduced cumulative N2O emissions by 18.3% (P<0.05). Ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA)-amoA and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB)-amoA were very significantly negatively correlated with N2O flux (P<0.01). N2O flux was significantly negatively correlated with nosZ gene abundance (P<0.05). This indicated that N2O emission may have mainly resulted from the denitrification process. In the early stage of pepper growth, biochar significantly reduced N2O emissions by reducing the value of (nirK+nirS)/nosZ, whereas in the late stage of pepper growth, the value of (nirK+nirS)/nosZ of the B treatment was higher than that of the CON treatment, resulting in higher N2O flux in the B treatment. Therefore, biochar amendment could not only increase vegetable production in tropical areas but also reduce N2O emissions, which can be used as a new strategy to improve soil fertility in Hainan Province and other tropical areas.

A novel model for hemolysis estimation in rotating impeller blood pumps considering red blood cell aging.

For blood pumps with a rotating vane-structure, hemolysis values are estimated using a stress-based power-law model. It has been reported that this method does not consider the red blood cell (RBC) membrane's shear resistance, leading to inaccurate estimation of the hemolysis value. The focus of this study was to propose a novel hemolysis model which can more accurately predict the hemolysis value when designing the axial flow blood pump. The movement behavior of a single RBC in the shear flow field was simulated at the mesoscale. The critical value of shear stress for physiological injury of RBCs was determined. According to the critical value, the equivalent treatment of RBC aging was studied. A novel hemolysis model was established considering the RBC's aging and the hemolysis' initial value. The model's validity was verified under the experimental conditions of shear stress loading and the conditions of the shear flow field of the blood pump. The results showed that compared with other hemolysis models for estimating the hemolysis value of blood pumps, the novel hemolysis model proposed in this paper could effectively reduce the estimation error of the hemolysis value and provide a reference for the optimal design of rotary vane blood pumps.

The design and evaluation of the outflow structures of an interventional microaxial blood pump.

Blood pump design efforts are focused on enhancing hydraulic effectiveness and minimizing shear stress. Unlike conventional blood pumps, interventional microaxial blood pumps have a unique outflow structure due to minimally invasive technology. The outflow structure, composed of the diffuser and cage bridges, is crucial in minimizing the pump size to provide adequate hemodynamic support. This study proposed four outflow structures of an interventional microaxial blood pump depending on whether the diffuser with or without blades and cage bridges were straight or curved. The outflow flow structure's effect on the blood pump's hydraulic performance and shear stress distribution was evaluated by computational fluid dynamics and hydraulic experiments. The results showed that all four outflow structures could achieve the pressure and flow requirements specified at the design point but with significant differences in shear stress distribution. Among them, the outflow structure with curved bridges would make the blood dispersed more evenly when flowing out of the pump, which could effectively reduce the shear stress at the cage bridges. The outflow structure with blades would aggravate the secondary flow at the leading edge of the impeller, increasing the risk of flow stagnation. The combination of curved bridges and the bladeless diffuser had a relatively better shear stress distribution, with the proportion of fluid exposed to low scalar shear stress (<50 Pa) and high scalar shear stress (>150 Pa) in the blood pump being 97.92% and 0.26%, respectively. It could be concluded that the outflow structure with curved bridges and bladeless diffuser exhibited relatively better shear stress distribution and a lower hemolysis index of 0.00648%, which could support continued research on optimizing the microaxial blood pumps.

The Parkinson's disease-associated protein α-synuclein inhibits hepatoma by exosome delivery.

Numerous epidemiological studies suggest a link between Parkinson's disease (PD) and cancer. However, their relevant pathogenesis is not clear. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of exosome-delivered α-synuclein (α-syn) in the regulation between PD and liver cancer. We cultured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells with exosomes derived from conditioned medium of the PD cellular model, and injected exosomes enriched with α-syn into the striatum of a liver cancer rat model. We found that α-syn-contained exosomes from the rotenone-induced cellular model of PD suppressed the growth, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Integrin αVß5 in exosomes from the rotenone-induced PD model was higher than that in the control, resulting in more α-syn-contained exosomes being taken up by HCC cells. Consistently, in vivo experiments with rat models also confirmed exosome-delivered α-syn inhibited liver cancer. These findings illustrate the important role of PD-associated protein α-syn inhibiting hepatoma by exosome delivery, suggesting a new mechanism underlying the link between these two diseases and therapeutics of liver cancer.

Effect of processing method on chemical constituents of Rehmanniae Radix: based on UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to explore the chemical composition of Rehmanniae Radix braised with mild fire and compare the effect of processing method on the chemical composition of Rehmanniae Radix. To be specific, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with linear ion trap-orbitrap mass spectrometry(UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS) was used to screen the chemical constituents of Rehmanniae Radix. The chemical constituents were identified based on the relative molecular weight and fragment ions, literature information, and Human Metabolome Database(HMDB). The ion peak area ratio of each component before and after processing was used as the index for the variation. SIMCA was employed to establish principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) models of different processed products. According to the PCA plot, OPLS-DA plot, and VIP value, the differential components before and after the processing were screened out. The changes of the content of differential components with the processing method were analyzed. A total of 66 chemical components were identified: 57 of raw Rehmanniae Radix, 55 of steamed Rehmanniae Radix, 55 of wine-stewed Rehmanniae Radix, 51 of repeatedly steamed and sundried Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, 62 of traditional bran-braised Rehmanniae Radix, and 63 of electric pot-braised Rehmanniae Radix. Among them, the 9 flavonoids of braised Rehmanniae Radix were from Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium. PCA suggested significant differences in the chemical composition of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata prepared with different processing methods. OPLS-DA screened out 32 chemical components with VIP value >1 as the main differential components. Among the differential components, 9 were unique to braised Rehmanniae Radix(traditional bran-braised, electric pot-braised) and the degradation rate of the rest in braised(traditional bran-braised, electric pot-braised) or repeatedly steamed and sundried Rehmanniae Radix was higher than that in the steamed or wine-stewed products. The results indicated the chemical species and component content of Rehmanniae Radix changed significantly after the processing. The 32 components, such as rehmapicrogenin, martynoside, jionoside D, aeginetic acid, hesperidin, and naringin, were the most important compounds to distinguish different processed products of Rehmanniae Radix. The flavonoids introduced by Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium as excipient may be the important material basis for the effectiveness of braised Rehmanniae Radix compared with other processed products.

Differences in chemical components in processing of dried ginger-steamed, sand-fried, and rice swill water-bleached Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata pieces in "Jianchang" faction based on UPLC-MS/MS / 中国中药杂志

This study compared the changes in chemical components during the processing of different types of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata(ALRP) in "Jianchang" faction, i.e., dried ginger-steamed ALRP pieces(Yin-FP), sand-fried ALRP pieces(Yang-FP), and rice swill water-bleached ALRP pieces(DFP), and provided a scientific basis for the mechanism in toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement from a compositional perspective. Samples were collected during the processing of the three types of ALRP pieces, yielding raw ALRP pieces, water-bleached Yin-FP, ginger juice-moistened Yin-FP, steamed Yin-FP, water-bleached Yang-FP, sand-fried Yang-FP, water-bleached DFP, rice swill water-bleached DFP, and roasted DFP. Aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine, benzoylaconine, benzoylmesaconine, benzoylhypaconine, aconine, mesaconine, hypaconine, salsolinol, fuziline, and higenamine in the extracts were determined by UPLC-MS/MS, and then content analysis and cluster heatmap analysis were performed on 11 sets of samples. During the processing of the three types of ALRP pieces, bleaching significantly reduced the content of 12 alkaloids; steaming, stir-frying, and roasting significantly reduced the content of diester-type alkaloids(aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine) and significantly increased the content of monoester-type alkaloids(benzoylaconine, benzoylmesaconine, and benzoylhypaconine) and aminoalcohol-type alkaloids(aconine, mesaconine, and hypaconine). During the processing of Yin-FP, the diester-type alkaloids continuously decreased, while the monoester-type and aminoalcohol-type alkaloids showed an initial decrease followed by an increase. During the processing of Yin-FP, Yang-FP, and DFP, the diester-type alkaloids continuously decreased, while the monoester-type and aminoalcohol-type alkaloids showed an initial decrease followed by an increase. Steamed Yin-FP showed a higher increase in content than fried Yang-FP and roasted DFP. Comprehensive analysis of content differences in toxic and therapeutic components in three ALRP pieces suggests that the distinctive processing methods in "Jianchang" faction can indeed achieve detoxification and efficacy enhancement on ALRP. This study provides references for understanding the mechanisms of action of the three processing methods.

[Active ingredients and in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix decoction pieces by integrated processing and traditional processing: a comparative analysis].

The present study explored the differences in active ingredients and in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of the decoction pieces by integrated processing(IPDP) and traditional processing(TPDP) of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix(PCRER).The content of polydatin, resveratrol, emodin-8-O-ß-D-glucoside, emodin, and physcion in IPDP and TPDP was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).The inflammation model was induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) in RAW264.7 cells.The mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6), and interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß) in 60% ethanol extracts of IPDP and TPDP of different concentrations(5 and 10 µg·mL~(-1)) were determined by PCR.The results showed that the content of polydatin and emodin-8-O-ß-D-glucoside in IPDP was significantly higher than that in TPDP, while the content of resveratrol, emodin, and physcion was higher in TPDP.The anti-inflammatory results showed that ethanol extracts of IPDP of different concentrations(5 and 10 µg·mL~(-1)) significantly inhibited the increase in the mRNA levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α induced by LPS, whereas TPDP only had a significant inhibitory effect on IL-1ß.This study preliminarily showed that the total content of five active ingredients in IPDP was higher than that in TPDP, and IPDP was superior to TPDP in anti-inflammatory activity in vitro, which provided an experimental basis for the production and application of IPDP.

[Identification, biological characteristics, and screening of effective fungicides of Phoma rhei causing leaf spot on Polygonum cuspidatum].

Severe leaf spot on Polygonum cuspidatum was found in the planting base of P. cuspidatum in Fangxian county, Shiyan of Hubei province. To clarify the types of pathogens and their pathogenesis, the present study isolated and purified the pathogen of leaf spot disease of P. cuspidatum according to Koch's postulates, determined the pathogenicity of the pathogen, and investigated its biological characteristics. Meanwhile, the inhibitory effects of 11 types of fungicides on the bacteria were determined according to the mycelium growth rate, and suitable prevention and control drugs were selected. The results showed that the pathogen isolated from the diseased leaves of P. cuspidatum was Phoma rhei by morphological and molecular identification. The colony morphology and microscopic characteristics were the same as those of Ph. rhei. The homology of rDNA-ITS and TEF gene sequences with Ph. rhei reached 99.96% and 99.43%, respectively. The optimal growth temperature of Ph. rhei was 25 ℃, and the optimal pH was 7-10. Furthermore, Ph. rhei grew faster under dark or light conditions. In fungicides, 0.3% eugenol, 250 g·L~(-1) propiconazole, and 33.5% quinoline copper had significant inhibitory effects on the pathogen with EC_(50) values of 57.54, 59.58, 88.69 µg·mL~(-1), respectively. Eugenol is a botanical fungicide, which can be used as a green and environmentally friendly fungicide in the prevention and control of P. cuspidatum. This study reported for the first time that the pathogen of P. cuspidatum leaf spot was Ph. rhei. investigated the biological characteristics of the pathogen, and screened the indoor chemicals, which provided a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of P. cuspidatum leaf spot in production.

[Risk Assessment Method of Non-point Source Pollution Output for Watershed Using High Resolution Data].

In recent years, non-point source pollution has become the main cause of water quality deterioration in some reservoirs in China. Taking the Panjiakou Reservoir as an example, the classical output risk model was improved by introducing a precipitation factor and terrain factor. Combined with high-resolution satellite precipitation products (GPM) and GF-6 satellite images, a high-resolution data-driven risk assessment method for non-point source pollution output was established to study the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of non-point source pollution output risk in the Panjiakou Reservoir basin. The results showed that the non-point source pollution output risk was high in the study area in 2018. The areas with higher and highest risk of nitrogen pollution output accounted for approximately 70.6% of the total watershed area, whereas the higher risk of phosphorus pollution output accounted for approximately 21.9%. The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of non-point source pollution output risk in the Panjiakou Reservoir basin were analyzed. It was found that the non-point source pollution output risk in the Panjiakou Reservoir basin increased first and then decreased from April to September. This was consistent with the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation in the basin. Combined with the analysis of land use distribution characteristics, the upstream area of the basin was mainly cultivated land, whereas cities were concentrated in the downstream portion of the basin. Affected by agricultural production and human activities, the risk of non-point source pollution output was higher in these regions. In view of the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of non-point source pollution output risk, it is necessary to formulate a reasonable agricultural fertilization method, plan the landscape layout of source-sinks, and construct vegetation buffer zones.

Influence of 6-shogaol potentiated on 5-fluorouracil treatment of liver cancer by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by regulating AKT/mTOR/MRP1 signalling.

Currently, chemoresistance seriously attenuates the curative outcome of liver cancer. The purpose of our work was to investigate the influence of 6-shogaol on the inhibition of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in liver cancer. The cell viability of cancer cells was determined by MTT assay. Liver cancer cell apoptosis and the cell cycle were examined utilizing flow cytometry. Moreover, qRT-PCR and western blotting was used to analyse the mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively. Immunohistochemistry assays were used to examine multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) expression in tumour tissues. In liver cancer cells, we found that 6-shogaol-5-FU combination treatment inhibited cell viability, facilitated G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, and accelerated apoptosis compared with 6-shogaol or 5-FU treatment alone. In cancer cells cotreated with 6-shogaol and 5-FU, AKT/mTOR pathway- and cell cycle-related protein expression levels were inhibited, and MRP1 expression was downregulated. AKT activation or MRP1 increase reversed the influence of combination treatment on liver cancer cell viability, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. The inhibition of AKT activation to the anticancer effect of 6-shogaol-5-FU could be reversed by MRP1 silencing. Moreover, our results showed that 6-shogaol-5-FU combination treatment notably inhibited tumour growth in vivo. In summary, our data demonstrated that 6-shogaol contributed to the curative outcome of 5-FU in liver cancer by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR/MRP1 signalling pathway.

A Composite Flexible Sensor for Direct Ventricular Assist Device.

A direct ventricular assist device is one of the effective means to treat patients with heart failure; the key point of the problem is the flexible sensor that can measure the drive pressure and shape variable of the heart auxiliary device. This study was based on the high-voltage electric field guidance process and the porous foaming process, and designed an implantable resistance/capacitive composite flexible sensor that can effectively detect the pressure and deformation signal caused by fine surface contact and pneumatic muscle expansion. Experiments showed the performance of composite sensors with special structure design was greatly improved compared with the control group-the strain measurement sensitivity was 22, pressure measurement sensitivity was up to 0.19 Kpa-1. Stable strain measurements were made up to 35 times and pressure measurements over 100 times. In addition, we solved the interference problem of resistance/capacitance flexible sensors through an optimized common substrate process. Finally, we tested a pneumatic muscle direct ventricular assist device with a composite flexible sensor on a model heart; the experiment showed that this resistance/capacitive composite flexible sensor can effectively detect surface contact with pneumatic muscle and the displacement signals.

Improving the repopulation capacity of elderly human hepatocytes by decoding aging-associated hepatocyte plasticity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The loss of liver regenerative capacity is the most dramatic age-associated alteration. Because of an incomplete mechanistic understanding of the liver aging process, a successful therapeutic strategy to improve liver regeneration in the elderly has not been developed so far. Hepatocyte plasticity is a principal mechanism for producing new hepatocytes and cholangiocytes during regeneration. This study aims to promote the repopulation capacity of elderly hepatocytes by decoding the underlying mechanism about the regulation of aging on human hepatocyte plasticity. APPROACH AND RESULTS: To understand the age-related mechanisms, we established a hepatocyte aging model from human-induced pluripotent stem cells and developed a method for ex vivo characterization of hepatocyte plasticity. We found that hepatocyte plasticity was gradually diminished with aging, and the impaired plasticity was caused by age-induced histone hypoacetylation. Notably, selective inhibition of histone deacetylases could markedly restore aging-impaired plasticity. Based on these findings, we successfully improved the plasticity of elderly primary human hepatocytes that enhanced their repopulation capacity in the liver injury model. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that age-induced histone hypoacetylation impairs hepatocyte plasticity, and hepatocyte plasticity might be a therapeutic target for promoting the regenerative capacity of the elderly liver.

Significant loss of soil inorganic carbon at the continental scale.

Widespread soil acidification due to atmospheric acid deposition and agricultural fertilization may greatly accelerate soil carbonate dissolution and CO2 release. However, to date, few studies have addressed these processes. Here, we use meta-analysis and nationwide-survey datasets to investigate changes in soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks in China. We observe an overall decrease in SIC stocks in topsoil (0-30 cm) (11.33 g C m-2 yr-1) from the 1980s to the 2010s. Total SIC stocks have decreased by ∼8.99 ± 2.24% (1.37 ± 0.37 Pg C). The average SIC losses across China (0.046 Pg C yr-1) and in cropland (0.016 Pg C yr-1) account for ∼17.6%-24.0% of the terrestrial C sink and 57.1% of the soil organic carbon sink in cropland, respectively. Nitrogen deposition and climate change have profound influences on SIC cycling. We estimate that ∼19.12%-19.47% of SIC stocks will be further lost by 2100. The consumption of SIC may offset a large portion of global efforts aimed at ecosystem carbon sequestration, which emphasizes the importance of achieving a better understanding of the indirect coupling mechanisms of nitrogen and carbon cycling and of effective countermeasures to minimize SIC loss.

Prognostic value of hypothyroidism in patients undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hypothyroidism and thyroxine replacement therapy on the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 284 NPC patients, who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between January 2011 and December 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Hypothyroidism occurred in 38% of patients. Patients with hypothyroidism had significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.002) and relapse-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.008). Multivariate analysis showed that hypothyroidism was a positive independent prognostic factor (DFS and RFS). Among the patients with hypothyroidism, thyroxine replacement therapy did not yield inferior survival (DFS, RFS, all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The NPC patients with complete response are at risk of hypothyroidism, which is attributable to escalating dose. These patients experienced clinical hypothyroidism could be adequately treated with thyroid hormone replacement. Further investigation of the underlying biological mechanism and potential therapeutic implications are required.

Influence of circumferential annular grooving design of impeller on suspended fluid force of axial flow blood pump.

Aiming at insufficient suspension force on the impeller when the hydraulic suspension axial flow blood pump is start at low speed, the impeller suspension stability is poor, and can't quickly enter the suspended working state. By establishing the mathematical model of the suspension force on the impeller, then the influence of the circumferential groove depth of the impeller on the suspension force is analyzed, and the annular groove depth on the impeller blade in the direction of fluid inlet and outlet was determined as (0.26, 0.02 mm). When the blood pump starts, there is an eccentricity between the impeller and the pump tube, the relationship between the suspension force and the speed of the impeller under different eccentricities is analyzed. Combined with the prototype experiment, the circumferential annular grooving design of the impeller can make the blood pump rotate at about 3500 rpm into the suspension state, when the impeller is at 8000 rpm, the impeller can basically achieve stable suspension at the eccentricity of 0.1 mm in the gravity direction, indicating that the reasonable circumferential annular grooving design of the impeller can effectively improve the suspension hydraulic force of the impeller and improve the stability of the hydraulic suspension axial flow blood pump.