Case report: Ureteric bud intestinal-type adenocarcinoma involving the cervix was misdiagnosed as a large cervical fibroid.

Background: Malignant tumors of the ureteric bud are not common, and cervical involvement is even rarer. So far, there have been no such cases in the literature. Case summary: A 50-year-old woman developed intermittent light bleeding in the past 7 months and lower abdominal pain in the past 2 months. The human papillomavirus 16 (HPV) DNA, P16 chemical staining, thinPrep cytology test (TCT), and cervical and cervical canal tissue biopsy were all negative. Pelvic color Doppler ultrasound exhibited incomplete mediastinal uterus and heterogeneous echo from the cervical canal to the posterior wall of the cervix. Pelvic contrast-enhanced CT showed left cervical mass, left retroperitoneal mass, absence of the left kidney, and mediastinal uterus. An increase in human epididymal protein 4 (HE4) (133.6 pmol/L) was detected, while other tumor markers were at normal levels. Based on these examination results, a diagnosis of "cervical fibroids, left retroperitoneal mass, incomplete mediastinal uterus, left kidney deficiency"[SIC] was conducted, and expanded hysterectomy, right adnexectomy, and left retroperitoneal mass resection were performed. Through intraoperative rapid pathological diagnosis, postoperative pathological diagnosis combined with the re-evaluation of laboratory, and imaging and intraoperative examination results, the patient was diagnosed with ureteric bud intestinal-type adenocarcinoma involving the cervix. The patient has been tracked and followed up for approximately 11 months. She underwent six courses of chemotherapy. At present, the medication has been discontinued for 4 months, and there is no recurrence, metastasis, or deterioration of the tumor. Conclusion: For large masses of the cervix, it is feasible for the operation to be performed, improving the prognosis. There were a few limitations. A preoperative aspiration biopsy of masses was not performed to differentiate benign from malignant. Preoperative urography was not performed to clarify the function of the malformed urinary system structure. Partial cystectomy should be performed simultaneously with the resection of the ureteric bud for intestinal-type adenocarcinoma. In this case, a partial cystectomy was not performed, which can only be compensated with postoperative chemotherapy. Moreover, this patient did not undergo genetic screening, and it is currently unclear whether there are any genetic mutations associated with ureteric bud intestinal adenocarcinoma.

[Analysis of Carbon Emissions and Influencing Factors in China Based on City Scale].

Assessing regional carbon emissions and their relationship with socio-economic conditions is very important for developing strategies for carbon emission reduction. This study explored the impact of the proportion of non-fossil energy, the land development degree, the urbanization rate of permanent residents, the proportion of secondary industry, per capita GDP, and per capita construction land area on per capita CO2 emissions in 339 prefecture-level and above cities in China (excluding some cities in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan). A Bayesian belief network modeling carbon emissions was constructed to identify the global effects of various factors on per capita CO2 emissions, and multiscale geographically weighted regression was used to analyze their local effects. The results showed that first, per capita CO2 emissions of cities in China increased from the south to the north and decreased from the eastern coast to the inland region. Second, globally, the sensitivity of per capita CO2 emissions to various factors from high to low was in the order of per capita construction land area>per capita GDP>urbanization rate of permanent residents>land development degree>proportion of secondary industry>proportion of non-fossil energy. Third, locally, the direction of the spatial relationship between each factor and per capita CO2 emissions was consistent with the global relationship, and there was spatial heterogeneity in the strength of the relationship. Finally, clean energy, decarbonization technologies, saving and intensive use of land, and green living were effective ways to achieve the dual-carbon goal.

[Spatiotemporal variability characteristics and driving forces of land use in the Pan-Pearl River Basin, China]. / æ³›ç æ±ŸæµåŸŸåœŸåœ°åˆ©ç”¨æ—¶ç©ºå˜åŒ–ç‰¹å¾åŠé©±åŠ¨å› å­.

The Pan-Pearl River Basin is a bridgehead for China's reform and opening-up and the construction of the Belt and Road at Sea, with vital strategic significance in Chinese overall development. Land use data and climate and socio-economic indicators were integrated to probe the spatiotemporal change and its driving forces of land use in the Pan-Pearl River basin with ArcGIS spatial analysis tool and SPSS factor analysis tool. Results showed that land use in the Pan-Pearl River Basin significantly changed between 1990 and 2015, with decreases of the area of paddy field and woodland and rapid increases of urban land and other construction land. Outflow of grassland occurred in the northwestern part of the basin. Reduction of cultivated field was mainly concentrated in the central part of the basin and coastal areas. Increases in urban and rural land, industrial and mining land, and residential land were centrally distributed in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Marco Greater Bay Area. The prominent change areas were Guangdong-Hong Kong-Marco Greater Bay Area : central and southeast of Guangxi Province : northern Hainan Province. Land use changes during 1990-2000 were most obvious in the basin. The main driving factor of spatiotemporal variation of land use was the rapid development of social economy and industry and the improvement of residents' consumption level.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction and purification of taurine from the red algae Porphyra yezoensis.

The present study reports on the development of a method using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) during the purification of taurine from Porphyra yezoensis. The Box-Behnken design, which is a widely used form of response surface methodology, was used to investigate the effects of parameters on the UAE process. Three independent variables of taurine purification using UAE were studied including: extraction time, temperature, and ultrasonic power. The results showed that the highest taurine yield of 13.0mg/g was obtained with an extraction time of 38.3 min, the use of 300.0 W ultrasonic power, and an extraction temperature of 40.5°C. A comparative study of taurine extraction was also conducted using either ultrasonication or mechanical agitation. The results indicated that the ultrasonic process required 9 times less time at 40°C to obtain taurine with a similar yield as compared to the conventional extraction method. Therefore, UAE can used as an alternative to the conventional extraction method used during the recovery of taurine from P. yezoensis. The UAE method has several advantages, including that it uses lower extraction temperatures and has a shorter extraction time. The taurine present in the extract supernatant was efficiently separated and purified using a combination of 732 cation exchange chromatography and crystallization. The yield of purified taurine using this process was 1.1%. The structure of the purified taurine was confirmed by FTIR, MS, and NMR. Our findings suggest that P. yezoensis can be used as a taurine-rich food or food material.

Purification, preliminary characterization and in vitro immunomodulatory activity of tiger lily polysaccharide.

A water-soluble polysaccharide (LLPS) from tiger lily was extracted by ultrasonic wave-assisted extraction. The LLPS, which was isolated by alcohol precipitation, was further purified by DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow and Sephadex G-100 chromatography, which resulted in LLPS fractions in LLPS-1, LLPS-2 and LLPS-3, with molecular weights of 350.5, 403.3 and 146.2kDa, respectively. LLPS-1 and LLPS-2 primarily consisted of glucose and mannose in a molar ratio of nearly 1:2 and 1:1, respectively. In contrast, LLPS-3 was primarily composed of arabinose, galactose, glucose and mannose in a molar ratio of nearly 2:2:2:1. LLPS fractions could stimulate the proliferation of macrophages. The in vitro immunomodulatory activity of the fractions was evaluated. The results showed that treatment with 25-400 µg/mL of LLPS fractions could increase phagocytic activity and nitric oxide production of macrophages in a dose-dependent manner.

An efficient enzymatic modification of cordycepin in ionic liquids under ultrasonic irradiation.

A comparative study of the immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435)-catalyzed acylation of cordycepin with vinyl acetate in ionic liquids (ILs) under ultrasonic irradiation and shaking was conducted. The application of ultrasonic irradiation instead of shaking during acylation resulted in an enhanced reaction rate and a higher level of substrate conversion. Among the various ILs examined, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluorobrate ([C4MIm][BF4]) was the best medium for the reaction because it produced the highest substrate conversion. In [C4MIm][BF4], the optimal ultrasonic power, water activity, and reaction temperature were 120 W, 0.33, and 50 °C, respectively. The acylation of cordycepin in [C4MIm][BF4] proved to be regioselective under both conditions: the C5'-OH was acylated. Novozym 435 exhibited a much higher operational stability in [C4MIm][BF4], and 58.0% of its original activity was maintained after ten reuse cycles under ultrasonic irradiation. Compared with the cordycepin, the rate of adenosine deaminase-catalyzed deamination was greatly reduced when the 5'-OH was substituted by acetyl group. These results demonstrated that the combined application of ultrasonic irradiation and IL as a medium was an efficient approach for the enzymatic modification of cordycepin.

Serum IL-33 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in non- small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-33 (IL-33) has recently been implicated in tumor immunity. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical role of serum IL-33 in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Sera collected from 250 healthy volunteers (HV), 256 patients with benign lung diseases (BLD) and 262 NSCLC cases were subjected to IL-33 ELISA and relationships between serum IL-33 and clinical characteristics were evaluated. RESULTS: Circulating IL-33 levels were higher in the NSCLC group in comparison with the HV and BLD groups (p<0.001). Using a cut-off level 68 pg/ml (95% specificity in the HV group), IL-33 showed a good diagnostic performance for NSCLC. Multivariate survival analysis indicated that serum IL-33 was an independent prognostic factor in the entire NSCLC group [hazards ratio (HR) = 0.64 for low versus high IL-33 levels, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50-0.82; p<0.001] and in 165 selected patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease receiving chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.52-0.94; p=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: IL-33 is a promising potential diagnostic and prognostic marker in NSCLC, independent of the therapeutic intervention.

Highly efficient and regioselective acylation of pharmacologically interesting cordycepin catalyzed by lipase in the eco-friendly solvent 2-methyltetrahydrofuran.

A total of nine lipases and three proteases were tested for enzymatic regioselective acylation(s) of cordycepin with vinyl acetate in organic media. The highest conversion with better initial reaction rate was achieved with immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435). An eco-friendly solvent 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) was thought to be the most suitable reaction medium. Novozym 435 was found to be a useful biocatalyst for the 25-g scale syntheses of cordycepin acetate (96.2% isolated yield), and the biocatalyst displayed excellent regioselectivity and high operational stability during the transformation. The 5'-substituted cordycepin derivative was the sole detectable product from each acylation reaction. Novozym 435 could be recycled for the synthesis of cordycepin derivative on a 25-g scale and 63% of its original activity was maintained after being reused for 7 batches. MeTHF could be considered as an eco-friendly solvent for the large scale use in biotransformation.