Urease-producing bacteria with plant growth-promoting ability that may tolerate and remove cadmium from aqueous solution.

Urease-producing bacteria (UPB) are widely present in soil and play an important role in soil ecosystems. In this study, 65 UPB strains were isolated from cadmium (Cd)-polluted soil around a lead-zinc mine in Yunnan Province, China. The Cd tolerance, removal of Cd from aqueous solution, production of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and plant growth-promoting effects of these materials were investigated. The results indicate that among the 65 UPB strains, four strains with IAA-producing ability were screened and identified as Bacillus thuringiensis W6-11, B. cereus C7-4, Serratia marcescens W11-10, and S. marcescens C5-6. Among the four strains, B. cereus C7-4 had the highest Cd tolerance, median effect concentration (EC50) of 59.94 mg/L. Under Cd 5 mg/L, S. marcescens C5-6 had the highest Cd removal from aqueous solution, up to 69.83%. Under Cd 25 mg/kg, inoculation with B. cereus C7-4 significantly promoted maize growth in a sand pot by increasing the root volume, root surface area, and number of root branches by 22%, 29%, and 20%, respectively, and plant height and biomass by 16% and 36%, respectively, and significantly increasing Cd uptake in the maize roots. Therefore, UPB is a potential resource for enhancing plant adaptability to Cd stress in plants with Cd-polluted habitats.

This study utilized urease-producing bacteria screened from the soil of lead zinc mining areas in Yunnan, China as the research object, enriching the microbial resources in Yunnan. In addition, this article verified the IAA production ability and cadmium removal ability of urease-producing bacteria, and screened out bifunctional urease-producing bacteria that have potential in cadmium pollution control and plant growth promotion.

Intrauterine chilled saline instillation reduces endometrial impairment on MRI after ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of uterine adenomyosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether intrauterine chilled saline can reduce endometrial impairment during US-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (PMWA) of adenomyosis. METHODS: An open-label, randomized trial was conducted with sixty symptomatic adenomyosis patients who were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive PMWA treatment assisted by intrauterine saline instillation (study group) or traditional PMWA treatment alone (control group). The primary endpoint was endometrial perfusion impairment grade on post-ablation contrast-enhanced MRI. The secondary endpoints were endometrial dehydration grade, ablation rate, and intra-ablation discomfort. RESULTS: The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. The incidence rates of endometrial perfusion impairment on MRI in the study and control groups were 6.7% (2/30) and 46.7% (14/30), respectively (p < 0.001). There were 28 (93.3%), 2 (6.7%), 0, and 0 patients in the study group and 16 (53.3%), 7 (23.3%), 5 (16.7%), and 2 (6.7%) in the control group (p < 0.001) who had grade 0, 1, 2, and 3 perfusion impairment, respectively. Additionally, there were 27 (90%), 3 (10%), and 0 patients in the study group and 19 (63.3%), 10 (33.3%), and 1 (3.3%) in the control group who had grade 0, 1, and 2 endometrial dehydration (p = 0.01). The ablation rates achieved in the study and control groups were 93.3 ± 17% (range: 69.2-139.6%) and 99.7 ± 15.7% (range: 71.5-129.8%), and they were not significantly different (p = 0.14). No significant difference was found in the intra-ablation discomfort. CONCLUSION: Intrauterine chilled saline can effectively reduce endometrial impairment after PMWA treatment for adenomyosis. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This trial demonstrated that the instillation of intrauterine chilled saline reduced endometrial impairment on MRI during PMWA of adenomyosis. This approach allows more precise and safe ablation in clinical practice. KEY POINTS: Endometrial impairment occurs in the PMWA treatment of adenomyosis. Intrauterine chilled saline can reduce endometrial impairment during PMWA for adenomyosis. An intrauterine catheter is a practical endometrial protecting method during thermal ablation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100053582. Registered 24 November 2021, www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=141090 .

[Research Advances of Groundwater Nitrate Pollution and Source Apportionment in China].

Groundwater nitrate (NO3-) contamination in China has become a serious environmental problem, especially in agricultural production areas, which greatly affects the safety of drinking groundwater and requires urgent attention. In this study, the main sources of groundwater nitrate in China were reviewed, including atmospheric deposition, soil nitrogen, agricultural fertilization, and fecal sewage, among which fecal sewage and agricultural fertilization were the main reasons for the excessive groundwater nitrate. The application of hydrochemical analysis, multivariate statistical analysis, stable isotope tracer method, and microbial source tracking in the source apportionment of groundwater nitrate was summarized. All types of source apportionment methods had certain limitations. It is suggested that a variety of methods should be used to identify the source of groundwater nitrate, and the contribution rate of different pollution sources should be calculated using multivariate statistical analysis and isotope quantitative analysis models. The source apportionment of nitrate pollution has undergone a process from qualitative to quantitative research. At present, the SIAR and MixSIAR models based on δ15N-NO3-and δ18O-NO3- have been used widely to analyze the source of nitrate. However, due to the overlap of isotope characteristic values of different input end-members, the difference in δ15N-NO3-and δ18O-NO3- values under different spatial and temporal changes, and the influence of isotope fractionation in the process of nitrogen migration and transformation, the results calculated by the model remain uncertain. It is necessary to further optimize the analytical method of the model to obtain the source of nitrate pollution and its contribution rate more accurately to further aid in the scientific management of groundwater resources.

Comparison of Outcomes between Stent Retriever Combined with Contact Aspiration and Contact Aspiration Alone in Patients without Hyperdense Artery Sign/Susceptibility Vessel Sign.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between hyperdense artery sign (HAS)/susceptibility vessel sign (SVS) and thrombus composition and evaluate the effect of HAS/SVS status on the association between first-line thrombectomy techniques and outcomes in patients with acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2018 to June 2021, 103 consecutive patients with acute anterior circulation LVO (75 [63.1%] men; median age, 66 years) who underwent thrombectomy and for whom the removed clot was available for histological analyses were retrospectively reviewed. The presence of HAS and SVS was assessed on unenhanced computed tomography (CT) and susceptibility-weighted imaging, respectively. Association of first-line thrombectomy techniques (stent retriever [SR] combined with contact aspiration [CA] vs CA alone) with outcomes was assessed according to HAS/SVS status. RESULTS: Among the included patients, 55 (53.4%) were HAS/SVS-negative, and 69 (67.0%) underwent first-line SR + CA. Higher relative densities of fibrin/platelets (0.56 vs 0.51; P < .001) and lower relative densities of erythrocytes (0.32 vs 0.42; P < .001) were observed in HAS/SVS-negative patients compared with HAS/SVS-positive patients. First-line SR + CA was associated with reduced odds of distal embolization (adjusted odds ratio, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.04-0.83; P = .027) and a more favorable 90-day functional outcome (adjusted odds ratio, 5.29; 95% CI, 1.06-26.34; P = .042) in HAS/SVS-negative patients and a longer recanalization time (53 vs 25 minutes; P = .025) and higher risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (24.2% vs 0%; P = .044) in HAS/SVS-positive patients. CONCLUSIONS: Absence of HAS/SVS may indicate a higher density of fibrin/platelets in the thrombus, and first-line SR + CA yielded superior functional outcomes than CA alone in patients with acute LVO without HAS/SVS.

Asymmetric Convolution: An Efficient and Generalized Method to Fuse Feature Maps in Multiple Vision Tasks.

Fusing features from different sources is a critical aspect of many computer vision tasks. Existing approaches can be roughly categorized as parameter-free or learnable operations. However, parameter-free modules are limited in their ability to benefit from offline learning, leading to poor performance in some challenging situations. Learnable fusing methods are often space-consuming and timeconsuming, particularly when fusing features with different shapes. To address these shortcomings, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the limitations associated with both fusion methods. Based on our findings, we propose a generalized module named Asymmetric Convolution Module (ACM). This module can learn to encode effective priors during offline training and efficiently fuse feature maps with different shapes in specific tasks. Specifically, we propose a mathematically equivalent method for replacing costly convolutions on concatenated features. This method can be widely applied to fuse feature maps across different shapes. Furthermore, distinguished from parameter-free operations that can only fuse two features of the same type, our ACM is general, flexible, and can fuse multiple features of different types. To demonstrate the generality and efficiency of ACM, we integrate it into several state-of-the-art models on three representative vision tasks: visual object tracking, referring video object segmentation, and monocular 3D object detection. Extensive experimental results on three tasks and several datasets demonstrate that our new module can bring significant improvements and noteworthy efficiency.

Magnetic resonance imaging-based prediction models for differentiating intraspinal schwannomas from meningiomas: classification and regression tree and random forest analysis.

Background: Due to the variations in surgical approaches and prognosis between intraspinal schwannomas and meningiomas, it is crucial to accurately differentiate between the two prior to surgery. Currently, there is limited research exploring the implementation of machine learning (ML) methods for distinguishing between these two types of tumors. This study aimed to establish a classification and regression tree (CART) model and a random forest (RF) model for distinguishing schwannomas from meningiomas. Methods: We retrospectively collected 88 schwannomas (52 males and 36 females) and 51 meningiomas (10 males and 41 females) who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations prior to the surgery. Simple clinical data and MRI imaging features, including age, sex, tumor location and size, T1-weighted images (T1WI) and T2-weighted images (T2WI) signal characteristics, degree and pattern of enhancement, dural tail sign, ginkgo leaf sign, and intervertebral foramen widening (IFW), were reviewed. Finally, a CART model and RF model were established based on the aforementioned features to evaluate their effectiveness in differentiating between the two types of tumors. Meanwhile, we also compared the performance of the ML models to the radiologists. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were used to evaluate the models and clinicians' discrimination performance. Results: Our investigation reveals significant variations in ten out of 11 variables in the training group and five out of 11 variables in the test group when comparing schwannomas and meningiomas (P<0.05). Ultimately, the CART model incorporated five variables: enhancement pattern, the presence of IFW, tumor location, maximum diameter, and T2WI signal intensity (SI). The RF model combined all 11 variables. The CART model, RF model, radiologist 1, and radiologist 2 achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.890, 0.956, 0.681, and 0.723 in the training group, and 0.838, 0.922, 0.580, and 0.659 in the test group, respectively. Conclusions: The RF prediction model exhibits more exceptional performance than an experienced radiologist in discriminating intraspinal schwannomas from meningiomas. The RF model seems to be better in discriminating the two tumors than the CART model.

Secure State Estimation for Artificial Neural Networks With Unknown-But-Bounded Noises: A Homomorphic Encryption Scheme.

This article is concerned with the secure state estimation problem for artificial neural networks (ANNs) subject to unknown-but-bounded noises, where sensors and the remote estimator are connected via open and bandwidth-limited communication networks. Using the encoding-decoding mechanism (EDM) and the Paillier encryption technique, a novel homomorphic encryption scheme (HES) is introduced, which aims to ensure the secure transmission of measurement information within communication networks that are constrained by bandwidth. Under this encoding-decoding-based HES, the data being transmitted can be encrypted into ciphertexts comprising finite bits. The emphasis of this research is placed on the development of a secure set-membership state estimation algorithm, which allows for the computation of estimates using encrypted data without the need for decryption, thereby ensuring data security throughout the entire estimation process. Taking into account the unknown-but-bounded noises, the underlying ANN, and the adopted HES, sufficient conditions are determined for the existence of the desired ellipsoidal set. The related secure state estimator gains are then derived by addressing optimization problems using the Lagrange multiplier method. Lastly, an example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed secure state estimation approach.

Renal interstitial fibrotic assessment using non-Gaussian diffusion kurtosis imaging in a rat model of hyperuricemia.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the feasibility of Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) in assessing renal interstitial fibrosis induced by hyperuricemia. METHODS: A hyperuricemia rat model was established, and the rats were randomly split into the hyperuricemia (HUA), allopurinol (AP), and AP + empagliflozin (AP + EM) groups (n = 19 per group). Also, the normal rats were selected as controls (CON, n = 19). DKI was performed before treatment (baseline) and on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days after treatment. The DKI indicators, including mean kurtosis (MK), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) of the cortex (CO), outer stripe of the outer medulla (OS), and inner stripe of the outer medulla (IS) were acquired. Additionally, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, Masson trichrome staining, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) immunostaining were used to reveal renal histopathological changes at baseline, 1, 5, and 9 days after treatment. RESULTS: The HUA, AP, and AP + EM group MKOS and MKIS values gradually increased during this study. The HUA group exhibited the highest MK value in outer medulla. Except for the CON group, all the groups showed a decreasing trend in the FA and MD values of outer medulla. The HUA group exhibited the lowest FA and MD values. The MKOS and MKIS values were positively correlated with Masson's trichrome staining results (r = 0.687, P < 0.001 and r = 0.604, P = 0.001, respectively). The MDOS and FAIS were negatively correlated with Masson's trichrome staining (r = -626, P < 0.0014 and r = -0.468, P = 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: DKI may be a non-invasive method for monitoring renal interstitial fibrosis induced by hyperuricemia.

Diagnostic accuracy of magnetically guided capsule endoscopy with a detachable string for detecting oesophagogastric varices in adults with cirrhosis: prospective multicentre study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and safety of using magnetically guided capsule endoscopy with a detachable string (ds-MCE) for detecting and grading oesophagogastric varices in adults with cirrhosis. DESIGN: Prospective multicentre diagnostic accuracy study. SETTING: 14 medical centres in China. PARTICIPANTS: 607 adults (>18 years) with cirrhosis recruited between 7 January 2021 and 25 August 2022. Participants underwent ds-MCE (index test), followed by oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD, reference test) within 48 hours. The participants were divided into development and validation cohorts in a ratio of 2:1. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the sensitivity and specificity of ds-MCE in detecting oesophagogastric varices compared with OGD. Secondary outcomes included the sensitivity and specificity of ds-MCE for detecting high risk oesophageal varices and the diagnostic accuracy of ds-MCE for detecting high risk oesophagogastric varices, oesophageal varices, and gastric varices. RESULTS: ds-MCE and OGD examinations were completed in 582 (95.9%) of the 607 participants. Using OGD as the reference standard, ds-MCE had a sensitivity of 97.5% (95% confidence interval 95.5% to 98.7%) and specificity of 97.8% (94.4% to 99.1%) for detecting oesophagogastric varices (both P<0.001 compared with a prespecified 85% threshold). When using the optimal 18% threshold for luminal circumference of the oesophagus derived from the development cohort (n=393), the sensitivity and specificity of ds-MCE for detecting high risk oesophageal varices in the validation cohort (n=189) were 95.8% (89.7% to 98.4%) and 94.7% (88.2% to 97.7%), respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of ds-MCE for detecting high risk oesophagogastric varices, oesophageal varices, and gastric varices was 96.3% (92.6% to 98.2%), 96.9% (95.2% to 98.0%), and 96.7% (95.0% to 97.9%), respectively. Two serious adverse events occurred with OGD but none with ds-MCE. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that ds-MCE is a highly accurate and safe diagnostic tool for detecting and grading oesophagogastric varices and is a promising alternative to OGD for screening and surveillance of oesophagogastric varices in patients with cirrhosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03748563.

Haplotype-resolved karyotype construction from Hi-C data using refLinker.

Chromosomal aberrations are prevalent in cancer genomes, yet it remains challenging to resolve the long-range structure of rearranged chromosomes. A key problem is to determine the chromosomal origin of rearranged genomic segments, which requires chromosome-length haplotype information. Here we describe refLinker, a new computational method for whole-chromosome haplotype inference using external reference panels and Hi-C. We show that refLinker ensures consistent long-range phasing accuracy in both diploid human genomes and aneuploid cancers, including regions with loss-of-heterozygosity and high-level focal amplification. We further demonstrate the feasibility of complex genome reconstruction using haplotype-specific Hi-C contacts, revealing new karyotype features in two widely studied cancer cell lines. Together, these findings provide a new framework for the complete resolution of long-range chromosome structure in complex genomes and highlight the unique advantages of Hi-C data for reconstructing cancer genomes with chromosome-scale continuity.

A sensitive immunosensing platform based on the high cathodic photoelectrochemical activity of Zr-MOF and dual-signal amplification of peroxidase-mimetic Fe-MOF.

Cathodic photoelectrochemical (PEC) analysis has received special concerns because of its outstanding anti-interference capability toward reductive substances in samples, so it is highly desirable to develop high-performance photocathodic materials for PEC analysis. Herein, a Zr-based metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF), MOF-525, is explored as a photoactive material in aqueous solution for the first time, which shows a narrow band-gap of 1.82 eV, excellent visible-light absorption, and high cathodic PEC activity. A sandwiched-type PEC immunosensor for detecting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is fabricated by using MIL-101-NH2(Fe) label and MOF-525 photoactive material. MIL-101-NH2(Fe) as a typical Fe-MOF can serve as a peroxidase mimic to catalyze the production of precipitates on the photoelectrode. Both the produced precipitates and the MIL-101-NH2(Fe) labels can quench the photocathodic current, enabling "signal-off" immunosensing of PSA. The detection limit is 3 fg mL-1, and the linear range is between 10 fg mL-1 and 100 ng mL-1 for detecting PSA. The present study not only develops a high-performance Zr-MOF photoactive material for cathodic PEC analysis but also constructs a sensitive PEC immunosensing platform based on the dual-signal amplification of peroxidase-mimetic Fe-MOF.

Rainfall-runoff partitioning in small watersheds of different vegetation types in the loess area based on hydrogen and oxygen isotope tracing.

Recognizing watershed runoff process and its component sources is a prerequisite for the rational use of water resources. To elucidate the effects and quantitative contributions of various vegetation types on the components of watershed runoff, we centered on the Caijiachuan main channel watershed in Jixian, Shanxi and five sub-watersheds with distinct vegetation types. By tracking the hydrological responses to two representative rainfall events and assessing the spatiotemporal variations in hydrogen and oxygen isotope signatures, we aimed to discern disparities in the runoff processes across these sub-watersheds and pinpoint their constituent origins. The results showed that under medium rainfall condition, the contribution rates of event water to the river flow of each watershed were in an order of protected forest (94.3%) > Caijiachuan main channel (83.1%) > agro-pastoral composite (64.3%) > plantation-secondary forest (52.4%) > cropland (0.3%) > secondary forest (0.0%); under light rainfall condition, plantation-secondary forest (52.4%) > protected forest (58.5%) > cropland (40.6%) > secondary forest (15.8%) > agro-pastoral composite (12.5%) > Caijiachuan main channel (9.3%). The event water contribution rate of secondary forest and protected forest watersheds to runoff was higher than that of plantation watersheds. The secondary forests watersheds had a stronger runoff storage capacity. The event water contribution rate of protected forest and agro-pastoral composite watersheds under medium rainfall intensity condition was greater than that under light rainfall intensity condition, while the event water contribution rate of cropland, plantation-secondary forest, and secondary forest watersheds was in adverse. The event water contribution to the runoff of forested watersheds was greater than that of cropland watersheds, which may be related to the presence of silt dams at the mouth of agricultural watershed channels. This study can provide a scientific basis for the analysis of water conservation and runoff change attribution in the loess area of west Shanxi.

The complete chloroplast genome of Dianella ensifolia (Asphodelaceae).

Dianella ensifolia (L.) Redouté 1802 is a plant known for its significant medicinal values. In this study, we presented its chloroplast genome. The length of the chloroplast genome was found to be 156,571 bp, with a GC content of 37.86%. It consisted of a large single-copy (LSC) of 85,318 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) of 18,307 bp, a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,473 bp each that separated the LSC and SSC regions. The chloroplast genome of D. ensifolia consisted of 114 unique genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, four rRNA genes, and 30 tRNA genes. Through phylogenetic analysis, we identified a close relationship between D. ensifolia and D. nigra. This newly sequenced chloroplast genome not only enhances our understanding of the genome of Dianella, but also provides valuable insights for the evolutionary study of the family Asphodelaceae.

[Pollution Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in Cultivated Soil Around a Red Mud Yard Based on APCS-MLR and PMF Models].

In order to explore the characteristics and sources of heavy metal pollution in cultivated soil around a red mud yard in Chongqing， the content and spatial distribution characteristics of eight heavy metal elements （Cd， Cr， Hg， Ni， Pb， As， Cu， and Zn） in the soil were analyzed， and the single factor pollution index method and Nemerow comprehensive pollution index method were used to evaluate the characteristics of heavy metal pollution in soil. On the basis of correlation analysis， the APCS-MLR and PMF models were used to quantitatively analyze the sources of heavy metals. The results showed that the average contents of the other seven heavy metal elements were higher than the background values of Chongqing soil， except for that of Cr. The heavy metals Cd， Hg， and As were moderately polluted， and Pb， Cu， Ni， and Zn were mildly polluted. The spatial distribution pattern of Cr， Ni， Pb， Cu， and Zn in the soil was similar， and there was a very significant positive correlation between them （P < 0.01）. The spatial distribution characteristics of Cd， Hg， and As were significantly different， and there was no significant correlation between them （P > 0.05）. The source apportionment showed that the sources of heavy metals in the soil in the study area were relatively complex， and the APCS-MLR and PMF models could identify the same four pollution sources， namely red mud yard percolation emission and natural sources， thermal power generation emission sources， agricultural activities and natural sources， and non-ferrous metal smelting emission sources. There was little difference in the results of source apportionment between the two models. The contribution rates of the four pollution sources in the APCS-MLR model were 51.8%， 18.0%， 15.9%， and 14.3%， respectively， whereas those in the PMF model were 45.9%， 12.8%， 21.5%， and 19.8%， respectively.

Three cancers in the renal pelvis, bladder, and colon: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Multiple primary cancers are rare occurrences that can involve either metachronous or synchronous development. It is particularly rare for an individual to have more than two primary cancers. In this report, we present a case study of an elderly man who was diagnosed with three heterochronous cancers in the renal pelvis, bladder, and colon. CASE SUMMARY: On December 30, 2014, a 51-year-old Chinese man was admitted to our hospital with complaints of intermittent painless gross hematuria for the preceding week. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed wall thickening in the left ureter's upper segment, while a CT urography revealed a left renal pelvis tumor. A successful laparoscopic radical resection of the left renal pelvis tumor was subsequently performed at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital in January 2015. The pathological findings after the surgery revealed a low-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis. The final pathological tumor stage was pT1N0M0. After surgery, this patient received 6 cycles of intravenous chemotherapy with gemcitabine and carboplatin, as well as bladder infusion therapy with gemcitabine. On December 18, 2017, the patient was admitted once again to our hospital with a one-day history of painless gross hematuria. A CT scan showed the presence of a space-occupying lesion on the posterior wall of bladder. Cystoscopic examination revealed multiple tumors in the bladder and right cutaneous ureterostomy was performed under general anesthesia on December 29, 2017. The postoperative pathological findings disclosed multifocal papillary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (maximum size 3.7 cm × 2.6 cm). The bladder cancer was considered a metastasis of the renal pelvis cancer after surgery. The pathological tumor stage was pT1N0M1. The patient refused chemotherapy after surgery. After another six years, the patient returned on February 28, 2023, complaining of periumbilical pain that had lasted six days. This time, a CT scan of the abdomen showed a tumor in the ascending colon, but a subsequent colonoscopy examination indicated a tumor in the descending colon. On March 12, 2023, a subtotal colectomy and an ileosigmoidal anastomosis were carried out under general anesthesia. Postoperative pathological findings revealed that all three tumors were adenocarcinomas. The final pathological tumor stage was pT3N0M0. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and was discharged without complications. CONCLUSION: The case of this elderly man presents a rare occurrence of metachronous primary cancers in the renal pelvis and colon. Bladder cancer is considered a metastasis of renal pelvis cancer after surgery. Optimal treatment can be implemented by evaluating the patient's histological features, clinical history, and tumor distribution correctly.

Using intravoxel incoherent motion imaging to evaluate uric acid-induced renal injury and efficacy after treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To validate the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion imaging (IVIM) for monitoring renal injury and uric acid-lowering efficacy in a rat model of hyperuricaemia. METHODS: A total of 92 rats were analysed and categorized into 4 groups: control (CON), hyperuricaemia (HUA), allopurinol intervention (ALL), and combined intervention (COM). Eight rats were randomly selected from each group and underwent IVIM scanning on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Quantitative magnetic resonance values (D, D*, and f values) measured from the different renal anatomical regions. Quantitative histopathological analysis was performed to assess renal tubular injury using neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and renal fibrosis using alpha-smooth-muscle-actin (α-SMA). Pearson's correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between IVIM-derived parameters and the expression of NGAL and α-SMA. RESULTS: The D values of the HUA, ALL, and COM groups generally showed a downward trend over time, and this fluctuation was most significant in the HUA group. The D values showed significant intergroup differences at each point, whereas only a few discrepancies were found in the D* and f values. In addition, the renal D value was negatively correlated with the positive staining rates for NGAL and α-SMA (P < .05), except for the lack of correlation between Dos and α-SMA (P > .05). CONCLUSION: IVIM could be a noninvasive and potential assessment modality for the evaluation of renal injury induced by hyperuricaemia and its prognostic efficacy. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: IVIM could be a surrogate manner in monitoring renal damage induced by hyperuricaemia and its treatment evaluation.

GSB: Group superposition binarization for vision transformer with limited training samples.

Vision Transformer (ViT) has performed remarkably in various computer vision tasks. Nonetheless, affected by the massive amount of parameters, ViT usually suffers from serious overfitting problems with a relatively limited number of training samples. In addition, ViT generally demands heavy computing resources, which limit its deployment on resource-constrained devices. As a type of model-compression method, model binarization is potentially a good choice to solve the above problems. Compared with the full-precision one, the model with the binarization method replaces complex tensor multiplication with simple bit-wise binary operations and represents full-precision model parameters and activations with only 1-bit ones, which potentially solves the problem of model size and computational complexity, respectively. In this paper, we investigate a binarized ViT model. Empirically, we observe that the existing binarization technology designed for Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) cannot migrate well to a ViT's binarization task. We also find that the decline of the accuracy of the binary ViT model is mainly due to the information loss of the Attention module and the Value vector. Therefore, we propose a novel model binarization technique, called Group Superposition Binarization (GSB), to deal with these issues. Furthermore, in order to further improve the performance of the binarization model, we have investigated the gradient calculation procedure in the binarization process and derived more proper gradient calculation equations for GSB to reduce the influence of gradient mismatch. Then, the knowledge distillation technique is introduced to alleviate the performance degradation caused by model binarization. Analytically, model binarization can limit the parameter's search space during parameter updates while training a model. Therefore, the binarization process can actually play an implicit regularization role and help solve the problem of overfitting in the case of insufficient training data. Experiments on three datasets with limited numbers of training samples demonstrate that the proposed GSB model achieves state-of-the-art performance among the binary quantization schemes and exceeds its full-precision counterpart on some indicators. Code and models are available at: https://github.com/IMRL/GSB-Vision-Transformer.

Association of Muscle Fat Content and Muscle Mass With Impaired Lung Function in Young Adults With Obesity: Evaluation With MRI.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Although low muscle mass is associated with decreased lung function, studies exploring the relationship between muscle fat content and lung function impairment are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the association of muscle mass and fatty infiltration with lung function in young adults with obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients aged 18-45 years with obesity who had impaired pulmonary function (case group, n = 66) and those with normal pulmonary function (control group, n = 198) by matching age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and height to assess whether muscle characteristics differed. Muscle mass and muscle fat content were assessed by MRI using a chemical shift-encoded sequence (IDEAL-IQ). RESULTS: A total of 264 patients were enrolled (124 females; mean age 32.0 years). The case group had lower muscle mass than the control group (p = 0.012), and there was an association between low muscle mass and lung function impairment (odds ratio (OR), 3.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.57-8.93). Furthermore, muscle fat content was significantly higher in cases compared to controls (7.4 (2.7) % vs. 6.2 (2.5) %, p = 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that muscle fat content was associated with a higher risk of impaired lung function (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.65-2.66), regardless of adiposity and muscle mass. CONCLUSION: Both muscle fat content and muscle mass are associated with impaired lung function in young adults with obesity.

Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles Inhibit Osteoclastogenesis by Suppressing NF-κB Signaling Pathways.

Osteoclasts overactivity plays a critical role in the progress of inflammatory bone loss. In addition, ROS can facilitate the formation and function of osteoclasts. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with ROS scavenging activity are potential candidates for inflammatory bone loss. In this regard, the biosynthetic Ag NPs with low toxicity and high stability by using Flos Sophorae Immaturus extract as the reducing and capping agents are reported. The inflammatory bone loss model is established by injecting LPS. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western Blot are utilized to determine the expression level of target biomarkers related to osteoclast formation. Ag NPs can significantly reduce the number of TRAP-positive (TRAP+ ) cells. In addition, Ag NPs down-regulate the expression of biomarkers relevant to osteoclast formation. Interestingly, Ag NPs can effectively suppress osteoclast formation via down-regulating ROS-mediated phosphorylation of NF-κB pathways. The in vivo study shows that Ag NPs can ameliorate bone density and decrease osteoclast number. Due to these benefits, the constructed Ag NPs can delay the progression of inflammatory bone loss. These findings suggest that Ag NPs are a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of inflammatory bone loss.

High-efficiency Electroreduction of O2 into H2 O2 over ZnCo Bimetallic Triazole Frameworks Promoted by Ligand Activation.

Co-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as electrocatalysts for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e- ORR) are highly promising for H2 O2 production, but suffer from the intrinsic activity-selectivity trade-off. Herein, we report a ZnCo bimetal-triazole framework (ZnCo-MTF) as high-efficiency 2e- ORR electrocatalysts. The experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the coordination between 1,2,3-triazole and Co increases the antibonding-orbital occupancy on the Co-N bond, promoting the activation of Co center. Besides, the adjacent Zn-Co sites on 1,2,3-triazole enable an asymmetric "side-on" adsorption mode of O2 , favoring the reduction of O2 molecules and desorption of OOH* intermediate. By virtue of the unique ligand effect, the ZnCo-MTF exhibits a 2e- ORR selectivity of ≈100 %, onset potential of 0.614 V and H2 O2 production rate of 5.55 mol gcat -1 h-1 , superior to the state-of-the-art zeolite imidazole frameworks. Our work paves the way for the design of 2e- ORR electrocatalysts with desirable coordination and electronic structure.