Nrf2 induces angiogenesis in spinal cystic echinococcosis by activating autophagy via regulating oxidative stress.

Spinal cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a rare but malignant zoonosis that can cause disability or even death in more than half of patients. Due to the complex pathological features, it is not curable by conventional drugs and surgery, so new therapeutic targets urgently need to be discovered. In this study, we clarify the occurrence of the phenomenon of spinal encapsulation angiogenesis and explore its underlying molecular mechanisms. A co-culture system was established by protoscoleces (PSCs) with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) which showed a high expression level of Nrf2. A short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and Sulforaphane (SFN) affecting the expression of Nrf2 were used to treat HUVECs. The results showed that Nrf2 could promote the tube formation of HUVECs. Nrf2 also exerts a protective effect against HUVECs, which is achieved by promoting NQO1 expression to stabilize ROS levels. Furthermore, autophagy activation significantly promotes angiogenesis in the spinal echinococcosis model (SEM) as a result of Nrf2 regulation of oxidative stress. These results suggest that the ROS/Nrf2/autophagy axis can induce angiogenesis and may be a potential target for the treatment of spinal cystic echinococcosis.

ROS in diabetic atria regulate SK2 degradation by Atrogin-1 through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

One of the independent risk factors for atrial fibrillation is diabetes mellitus (DM); however, the underlying mechanisms causing atrial fibrillation in DM are unknown. The underlying mechanism of Atrogin-1-mediated SK2 degradation and associated signaling pathways are unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship among reactive oxygen species (ROS), the NF-κB signaling pathway, and Atrogin-1 protein expression in the atrial myocardia of DM mice. We found that SK2 expression was downregulated comitant with increased ROS generation and enhanced NF-κB signaling activation in the atrial cardiomyocytes of DM mice. These observations were mimicked by exogenously applicating H2O2 and by high glucose culture conditions in HL-1 cells. Inhibition of ROS production by diphenyleneiodonium chloride or silencing of NF-κB by siRNA decreased the protein expression of NF-κB and Atrogin-1 and increased that of SK2 in HL-1 cells with high glucose culture. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that NF-κB/p65 directly binds to the promoter of the FBXO32 gene (encoding Atrogin-1), regulating the FBXO32 transcription. Finally, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of curcumin, known as a NF-κB inhibitor, on Atrogin-1 and SK2 expression in DM mice and confirmed that oral administration of curcumin for 4 weeks significantly suppressed Atrogin-1 expression and protected SK2 expression against hyperglycemia. In summary, the results from this study indicated that the ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway participates in Atrogin-1-mediated SK2 regulation in the atria of streptozotocin-induced DM mice.

Recent progress in TiO2-biochar-based photocatalysts for water contaminants treatment: strategies to improve photocatalytic performance.

Toxic organic pollutants in wastewater have seriously damaged human health and ecosystems. Photocatalytic degradation is a potential and efficient tactic for wastewater treatment. Among the entire carbon family, biochar has been developed for the adsorption of pollutants due to its large specific surface area, porous skeleton structure, and abundant surface functional groups. Hence, combining adsorption and photocatalytic decomposition, TiO2-biochar photocatalysts have received considerable attention and have been extensively studied. Owing to biochar's adsorption, more active sites and strong interactions between contaminants and photocatalysts can be achieved. The synergistic effect of biochar and TiO2 nanomaterials substantially improves the photocatalytic capacity for pollutant degradation. TiO2-biochar composites have numerous attractive properties and advantages, culminating in infinite applications. This review discusses the characteristics and preparation techniques of biochar, presents in situ and ex situ synthesis approaches of TiO2-biochar nanocomposites, explains the benefits of TiO2-biochar-based compounds for photocatalytic degradation, and emphasizes the strategies for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2-biochar-based photocatalysts. Finally, the main difficulties and future advancements of TiO2-biochar-based photocatalysis are highlighted. The review gives an exhaustive overview of recent progress in TiO2-biochar-based photocatalysts for organic contaminants removal and is expected to encourage the development of robust TiO2-biochar-based photocatalysts for sewage remediation and other environmentally friendly uses.

Failure of intravenous nifekalant cardioversion as an independent predictor for persistent atrial fibrillation recurrence after catheter ablation.

AIMS: Nifekalant is a class III antiarrhythmic drug that exerts antiarrhythmic effects by inhibiting rapid rectifying potassium channels and extending the effective refractory period of cardiomyocytes. It has a high success rate in converting atrial fibrillation (AF) to sinus rhythm. Whether the failure of intravenous nifekalant cardioversion is an independent predictor for persistent AF recurrence after catheter ablation has not been reported. METHODS: A total of 92 patients with drug-refractory persistent AF were retrospectively enrolled. After all ablations, intravenous nifekalant was administrated. Patients were assigned to the success group (group 1) and failure group (group 2) based on nifekalant cardioversion results and followed for 12 months to note any episode of atrial arrhythmia recurrence. RESULTS: Each group included 46 patients. After 12 months of follow-up, nine (19.6%) patients from group 1 and 23 (50.0%) patients from group 2 had a recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia (P = 0.002). AF duration and type 2 diabetes were strongly associated with failure of intravenous nifekalant cardioversion. Univariable Cox proportional hazard regression showed that failure of intravenous nifekalant cardioversion, AF duration, and type 2 diabetes were potential risk factors. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression showed that failure of nifekalant cardioversion was statistically associated with AF recurrence (adjusted RR = 2.257, 95% CI: 1.006-5.066, P = 0.048). Failure of intravenous nifekalant cardioversion could bring a positive effect on the prognostic differentiation when added into the multivariable model (0.767 ± 0.042 vs. 0.774 ± 0.045, P = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Failure of nifekalant cardioversion is an independent predictor for persistent AF recurrence after catheter ablation.

Pressure-Induced Modulation of Tin Selenide Properties: A Review.

Tin selenide (SnSe) holds great potential for abundant future applications, due to its exceptional properties and distinctive layered structure, which can be modified using a variety of techniques. One of the many tuning techniques is pressure manipulating using the diamond anvil cell (DAC), which is a very efficient in situ and reversible approach for modulating the structure and physical properties of SnSe. We briefly summarize the advantages and challenges of experimental study using DAC in this review, then introduce the recent progress and achievements of the pressure-induced structure and performance of SnSe, especially including the influence of pressure on its crystal structure and optical, electronic, and thermoelectric properties. The overall goal of the review is to better understand the mechanics underlying pressure-induced phase transitions and to offer suggestions for properly designing a structural pattern to achieve or enhanced novel properties.

Establishing and Validating an Aging-Related Prognostic Signature in Osteosarcoma.

Aging is an inevitable process that biological changes accumulate with time and results in increased susceptibility to different tumors. But currently, aging-related genes (ARGs) in osteosarcoma were not clear. We investigated the potential prognostic role of ARGs and established an ARG-based prognostic signature for osteosarcoma. The transcriptome data and corresponding clinicopathological information of patients with osteosarcoma were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Molecular subtypes were generated based on prognosis-related ARGs obtained from univariate Cox analysis. With ARGs, a risk signature was built by univariate, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Differences in clinicopathological features, immune infiltration, immune checkpoints, responsiveness to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, and biological pathways were assessed according to molecular subtypes and the risk signature. Based on risk signature and clinicopathological variables, a nomogram was established and validated. Three molecular subtypes with distinct clinical outcomes were classified based on 36 prognostic ARGs for osteosarcoma. A nine-ARG-based signature in the TCGA cohort, including BMP8A, CORT, SLC17A9, VEGFA, GAL, SSX1, RASGRP2, SDC3, and EVI2B, has been created and developed and could well perform patient stratification into the high- and low-risk groups. There were significant differences in clinicopathological features, immune checkpoints and infiltration, responsiveness to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, cancer stem cell, and biological pathways among the molecular subtypes. The risk signature and metastatic status were identified as independent prognostic factors for osteosarcoma. A nomogram combining ARG-based risk signature and metastatic status was established, showing great prediction accuracy and clinical benefit for osteosarcoma OS. We characterized three ARG-based molecular subtypes with distinct characteristics and built an ARG-based risk signature for osteosarcoma prognosis, which could facilitate prognosis prediction and making personalized treatment in osteosarcoma.

Enhancing suspended cell transfection by inducing localized distribution of the membrane actin cortex before exposure to electromechanical stimulation.

OBJECTIVES: During physical transfection, an electrical field or mechanical force is used to induce cell transfection. We tested if the disruption of a dense actin layer underneath the membrane of a suspended cell enhances cell transfection. RESULTS: A bubble generator was used to electromechanically stimulate suspended cells. To clarify the influence of the actin layer (the actin cortex) on cell transfection efficiency, we used an actin polymerization inhibitor (cytochalasin D) to disrupt the actin cortex before electromechanical stimulation. Without cytochalasin D treatment, signals from the overall actin cortex decreased after electromechanical stimulation. With cytochalasin D treatment, there was localized F-actin aggregation under static conditions. After electromechanical stimulation, there was a partial loss (localized disruption), but no overall disruption, of the actin cortex. With the pretreatment with cytochalasin D, the transfection efficiency of plasmids (4.7, 8.3, or 11 kbp) into NIH/3T3 or UMR-106 cells increased significantly after exposure to electromechanical stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: Localized distribution of the actin cortex before exposure to electromechanical stimulation is crucial for inducing a partial loss of the cortex, which improves transfection efficiency and large plasmid delivery.

Gamma-valerolactone biorefinery: Catalyzed birch fractionation and valorization of pulping streams with solvent recovery.

In this study, we propose a full gamma-valerolactone (GVL) organosolv biorefinery concept including the utilization of all pulping streams, solvent recovery, and preliminary material and energy balances. GVL is a renewable and non-toxic solvent that fractionates woody biomass. The silver birch chips were pulped (45-65 wt% GVL, 150 °C, 2 h) under a series of acid-catalyzed conditions (5-12 kg H2SO4/t), and the fully bleached pulp was spun into fibers by the IONCELL® process and knitted into the fabric. The dissolved lignin was precipitated by water from spent liquor (1:1) and processed into polyhydroxyurethane. Most of the dissolved hemicelluloses were in the form of xylose, therefore, the crystallization efficiency of xylose from spent liquor in the presence of residual GVL was studied. The GVL recovery rate in the lab column was 66%, however by increasing the number of equilibrium stages, 99% recovery could be achieved.

Sex differences in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation catheter ablation: A difference-in-difference propensity score matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: Whether male and female patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) differ in their risk of recurrence after catheter ablation remains controversial. Large differences in baseline characteristics between males and females often affect study results. METHODS: Patients with drug-refractory paroxysmal AF who received their first catheter ablation procedure between January 2018 and December 2020 were retrospectively enrolled. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for age, body mass index, and AF duration. Our main concerns were sex differences in comorbidities, procedures, arrhythmia recurrences, and procedure-related complications. RESULTS: For this study, 352 patients (176 pairs) were matched, and baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. Intraprocedural sex differences were apparent as more male patients received cavotricuspid isthmus ablation (55.00% vs. 31.43%, p = .005). Full follow-up, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year AF recurrence rates were comparable between male and female groups. Multivariable Cox regression showed that the recurrence risk of paroxysmal AF was similar between male and female patients. AF duration was the only potential risk factor and occurred for only male patients. There were no significant differences in the subgroup analyses. Procedure-related complications were comparable between the male and female groups. CONCLUSION: We did not observe differences in baseline characteristics, arrhythmia recurrences, or procedure-related complications between male and female patients. Sex differences were reflected mainly in the finding that male patients received more cavotricuspid isthmus ablations, and atrial fibrillation duration was the only potential risk factor for recurrence and only for male patients.

Left atrial appendage occlusion combined with cryoballoon or radiofrequency ablation: One-year follow-up comparison.

Background: A one-stop procedure involving catheter ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is an option for high-risk atrial fibrillation patients. Few studies have reported the efficacy and safety of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) combined with LAAO, and no studies have compared the combination of LAAO with CBA or radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Methods: A total of 112 patients were enrolled in the present study; 45 patients received CBA combined with LAAO (group 1), and 67 patients received RFA combined with LAAO (group 2). Patient follow-up was performed for 1 year to detect peri-device leaks (PDLs) and safety outcomes (defined as a composite of peri-procedural and follow-up adverse events). Results: The number of PDLs at the median 59 days follow-up was comparable between the two groups (33.3% in group 1 vs. 37.3% in group 2, p = 0.693). Safety outcomes were also comparable between the two groups (6.7% in group 1 vs. 7.5% in group 2, p = 1.000). Multivariable regression showed that PDLs risk and safety outcomes were all similar between the two groups. Subgroup analysis of PDLs indicated no significant differences. Follow-up safety outcomes were related to anticoagulant medication, and patients without PDLs were more likely to discontinue antithrombotic therapy. The total procedure and ablation times were all significantly shorter for group 1. Conclusion: When compared with left atrial appendage occlusion combined with radiofrequency, left atrial appendage occlusion combined with cryoballoon ablation has the same risk of peri-device leaks and safety outcomes, but the procedure time was significantly reduced.

Clinical Influence of Ethanol Infusion in the Vein of Marshall on Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: Results of Feasibility and Safety during Implantation and at 60-Day Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND: Ethanol infusion in the vein of Marshall (EI-VOM) has the advantages of reducing the burden of atrial fibrillation (AF), decreasing AF recurrence, and facilitating left pulmonary vein isolation and mitral isthmus bidirectional conduction block. Moreover, it can lead to prominent edema of the coumadin ridge and atrial infarction. Whether these lesions will affect the efficacy and safety of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has not yet been reported. OBJECTIVES: To explore the clinical outcome of EI-VOM on LAAO during implantation and after 60 days of follow-up. METHODS: A total of 100 consecutive patients who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation combined with LAAO were enrolled in this study. Patients who also underwent EI-VOM at the same period of LAAO were assigned to group 1 (n = 26), and those who did not undergo EI-VOM were assigned to group 2 (n = 74). The feasibility outcomes included intra-procedural LAAO parameters and follow-up LAAO results involving device-related thrombus, a peri-device leak (PDL), and adequate occlusion (defined as a PDL ≤ 5 mm). Safety outcomes were defined as the composites of severe adverse events and cardiac function. Outpatient follow-up was performed 60 days post-procedure. RESULTS: Intra-procedural LAAO parameters, including the rate of device reselection, rate of device redeployment, rate of intra-procedural PDLs, and total LAAO time, were comparable between groups. Furthermore, intra-procedural adequate occlusion was achieved in all patients. After a median of 68 days, 94 (94.0%) patients received their first radiographic examination. Device-related thrombus was not detected in the follow-up populations. The incidence of follow-up PDLs was similar between the two groups (28.0% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.803). The incidence of adequate occlusion was comparable between groups (96.0% vs. 98.6%, p = 0.463). In group 1, none of the patients experienced severe adverse events. Ethanol infusion significantly reduced the right atrial diameter. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that undergoing an EI-VOM procedure did not impact the operation or effectiveness of LAAO. Combining EI-VOM with LAAO was safe and effective.

Explainable machine learning model reveals its decision-making process in identifying patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation at high risk for recurrence after catheter ablation.

BACKGROUND: A number of models have been reported for predicting atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation. Although many machine learning (ML) models were developed among them, black-box effect existed widely. It was always difficult to explain how variables affect model output. We sought to implement an explainable ML model and then reveal its decision-making process in identifying patients with paroxysmal AF at high risk for recurrence after catheter ablation. METHODS: Between January 2018 and December 2020, 471 consecutive patients with paroxysmal AF who had their first catheter ablation procedure were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned into training cohort (70%) and testing cohort (30%). The explainable ML model based on Random Forest (RF) algorithm was developed and modified on training cohort, and tested on testing cohort. In order to gain insight into the association between observed values and model output, Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) analysis was used to visualize the ML model. RESULTS: In this cohort, 135 patients experienced tachycardias recurrences. With hyperparameters adjusted, the ML model predicted AF recurrence with an area under the curve of 66.7% in the testing cohort. Summary plots listed the top 15 features in descending order and preliminary showed the association between features and outcome prediction. Early recurrence of AF showed the most positive impact on model output. Dependence plots combined with force plots showed the impact of single feature on model output, and helped determine high risk cut-off points. The thresholds of CHA2DS2-VASc score, systolic blood pressure, AF duration, HAS-BLED score, left atrial diameter and age were 2, 130 mmHg, 48 months, 2, 40 mm and 70 years, respectively. Decision plot recognized significant outliers. CONCLUSION: An explainable ML model effectively revealed its decision-making process in identifying patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation at high risk for recurrence after catheter ablation by listing important features, showing the impact of every feature on model output, determining appropriate thresholds and identifying significant outliers. Physicians can combine model output, visualization of model and clinical experience to make better decision.

Automatic diagnosis of pneumothorax with M-mode ultrasound images based on D-MPL.

PURPOSE: To address the difficulties of M-mode ultrasound images classification in pneumothorax diagnosis and the shortcomings of existing neural network algorithms in this field, we proposed an M-mode ultrasound images classification model based on Disturbed Meta-Pseudo-Labels (D-MPL). METHODS: An M-mode ultrasound image augmentation system was designed to make the model more robust and generalizable. In D-MPL, teacher-generated pseudo-labeling was first taught to students through a soft mask, and additional disturbance data were added to the teacher network. As the loss of the teacher network continues to decline, disturbance data were injected to improve the generalization of the model to cope with image differences across patients in clinical settings. RESULTS: We compared the proposed model with four commonly used models, including MPL, EfficientnetB2, Inception V3, and Resnet101, in order to confirm its efficacy. Our model has an average specificity of 98.28%, sensitivity of 98.22%, F1-score of 98.23%, and AUC of 98.10%, according to the experiment findings, and its comprehensive performance is better than the above four models. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated our model's superiority over the competition and its greater. The model proposed in this study is expected to assist doctors in the diagnosis of pneumothorax as an auxiliary mean.

Adaptive migratory orientation of an invasive pest on a new continent.

Many species of insects undertake long-range, seasonally reversed migrations, displaying sophisticated orientation behaviors to optimize their migratory trajectories. However, when invasive insects arrive in new biogeographical regions, it is unclear if migrants retain (or how quickly they regain) ancestral migratory traits, such as seasonally preferred flight headings. Here we present behavioral evidence that an invasive migratory pest, the fall armyworm moth (Spodoptera frugiperda), a native of the Americas, exhibited locally adaptive migratory orientation less than three years after arriving on a new continent. Specimens collected from China showed flight orientations directed north-northwest in spring and southwest in autumn, and this would promote seasonal forward and return migrations in East Asia. We also show that the driver of the seasonal switch in orientation direction is photoperiod. Our results thus provide a clear example of an invasive insect that has rapidly exhibited adaptive migratory behaviors, either inherited or newly evolved, in a completely alien environment.

The values of elastic quantitative and semi-quantitative indexes measured from different frequencies in the establishment of prediction models for breast tumor diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain the elastic quantitative and semi-quantitative indexes of solid breast masses using ultrasound linear array probes with two different frequencies, and to construct prediction models and evaluate their diagnostic values. METHODS: A total of 92 patients who were scheduled for surgical treatment on solid breast masses were enrolled in this study. Linear array probes with two frequencies, 9-3 MHz (L9 group) and 14-5 MHz (L14 group), were used for sound touch elastography and strain elastography before surgery, and the maximum elasticity value (Emax), average elasticity value (Emean), minimum elasticity value (Emin), standard deviation (SD)(in kPa), elasticity ratio (E), and strain ratio to fat (SRf) were recorded and calculated for the breast mass (A) and surrounding tissues (Shell). The elastic characteristic indexes of the L9 group and L14 group were compared, and the prediction models of these two groups were constructed using Logistic regression method. RESULTS: The diagnostic performance of the prediction model based on L9 group was better than the model based on L14 group (AUC: 0.904 vs. 0.810, P = 0.0343, z = 2.116) and the best single index EMax-shell-L9 (P = 0.0398, z = 2.056). The sensitivity of L9 based model was 85.19% and the specificity was 84.21%. CONCLUSION: The prediction model based on quantitative and semi-quantitative elastic ultrasound indexes from L9-3 probe exhibited better performance, which could improve the diagnostic accuracy for malignant breast tumors.

Characterizing the prognostic and therapeutic value of necroptosis in sarcoma based on necroptosis subtypes.

Necroptosis, a type of necrotic cell death independent of caspase regulation, is mainly mediated by receptor interacting serine/threonine kinase 1 (RIPK1), receptor interacting serine/threonine kinase 3 (RIPK3) and mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL). Necroptosis plays an essential role in many tumors. However, the potential roles of necroptosis in tumor microenvironment (TME) of sarcoma (SARC) remain unknown. This study analyzed the expression, prognosis, genetic alterations of necroptosis genes in SARC. We identified two subtypes (cluster A and B) by performing unsupervised consensus clustering. Cluster A and B greatly differed in prognosis and immune infiltration, with cluster A showing more favorable prognosis, higher immune infiltration and higher expression levels of necroptosis genes than cluster B. Based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two clusters, a necroptosis scoring system was developed for predicting overall survival of SARC patients. Patients with high necroptosis score had worse survival status, with a decreased infiltration level of most immune cells. Our findings demonstrated the potential role of necroptosis in regulating tumor microenvironment and the prognostic value of necroptosis-related genes for SARC patients.

Bioinformatics Analysis Reveals an Association between Autophagy, Prognosis, Tumor Microenvironment, and Immunotherapy in Osteosarcoma.

Autophagy is a catabolic pathway involved in the regulation of bone homeostasis. We explore clinical correlation of autophagy-related key molecules to establish risk signature for predicting the prognosis, tumor microenvironment (TME), and immunotherapy response of osteosarcoma. Single cell RNA sequencing data from GSE162454 dataset distinguished malignant cells from normal cells in osteosarcoma. Autophagy-related genes (ARGs) were extracted from the established risk signature of the Molecular Signatures Database of Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) by univariate Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis. Overall survival (OS), TME score, abundance of infiltrating immune cells, and response to immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) treatment in patients with different risks were compared based on risk score. Nine ARGs were identified and risk signature was constructed. In all osteosarcoma datasets, the OS was significantly longer in the high-risk patients than low-risk onset. Risk signature significantly stratified clinical outcomes, including OS, metastatic status, and survival status. Risk signature was an independent variable for predicting osteosarcoma OS and showed high accuracy. A nomogram based on risk signature and metastases was developed. The calibration curve confirmed the consistency in 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year predicted OS and the actual OS. The risk score was related to 6 kinds of T cells and macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cell, natural killer cell, immune score, and stromal score in TME. The risk signature helped in predicting patients' response to anti-PD1/anti-PD-L1 treatment. The ARGs-led risk signature has important value for survival prediction, risk stratification, tumor microenvironment, and immune response evaluation of osteosarcoma.

Evaluation of Keratin-Cellulose Blend Fibers as Precursors for Carbon Fibers.

One main challenge to utilize cellulose-based fibers as the precursor for carbon fibers is their inherently low carbon yield. This study aims to evaluate the use of keratin in chicken feathers, a byproduct of the poultry industry generated in large quantities, as a natural charring agent to improve the yield of cellulose-derived carbon fibers. Keratin-cellulose composite fibers are prepared through direct dissolution of the pulp and feather keratin in the ionic liquid 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-enium acetate ([DBNH]OAc) and subsequent dry jet wet spinning (so-called Ioncell process). Thermogravimetric analysis reveals that there is an increase in the carbon yield by ∼53 wt % with 30 wt % keratin incorporation. This increase is comparable to the one observed for lignin-cellulose composite fibers, in which lignin acts as a carbon booster due to its higher carbon content. Keratin, however, reduces the mechanical properties of cellulose precursor fibers to a lesser extent than lignin. Keratin introduces nitrogen and induces the formation of pores in the precursor fibers and the resulting carbon fibers. Carbon materials derived from the keratin-cellulose composite fiber show potential for applications where nitrogen doping and pores or voids in the carbon are desirable, for example, for low-cost bio-based carbons for energy harvest or storage.

Association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and atrial fibrillation (AF): A dose-response meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Refractory hypoxemia episodes are characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with OSA suffer from oxidative stress in all systems. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of arrhythmia that may be induced by OSA. In this study, we explored the dose-response relationship between OSA and AF. Our research provides the basis for a novel approach to AF prevention. METHODS: We screened four databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) for observational studies on OSA and AF. Studies were collected from database establishment to November 2020. We performed a traditional subgroup meta-analysis. Linear and spline dose-response models were applied to assess the association between the apnea-hypopnea index, an indicator of OSA severity, and the risk of AF. Review Manager version 5.3 software and Stata 16.0 were used for the analysis. RESULTS: Sixteen observational studies were included in the study. We excluded a study from the conventional meta-analysis. In the subgroup analysis, the odds ratios for new onset AF for no obvious reason, new onset AF after surgical operations, such as coronary artery bypass grafting, and AF after ablation treatment were 1.71 (95% CI 1.37-2.13, P < .05), 2.65 (95% CI 2.32-3.01, P < .05), and 2.93 (95% CI 2.47-3.49, P < .05), respectively. Linear dose-response meta-analysis results revealed that the risk of AF increased with increasing apnea-hypopnea index value. CONCLUSION: Through dose-response meta-analysis, we found a potential dose-response relationship between OSA severity and the risk of AF. This relationship should be considered in interventions aimed at AF prevention in the future.

Novel meta-diamide insecticide, broflanilide, suppresses the population of common cutworm Spodoptera litura through its lethal and sublethal effects.

BACKGROUND: Broflanilide has been registered in China for the control of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera pests, and is widely used to control the target pests at lethal and sublethal levels. The lethal and sublethal effects of broflanilide on the common cutworm (CCW) Spodoptera litura Fabricius, a representative Lepidopteran pest in agricultural crops, were examined to explore its ecological influence on pests. RESULTS: In F0 , broflanilide had little influence on the hatchability of eggs, but significantly reduced the neonate survival rate. The lethal activity of broflanilide towards third-instar larvae and adults was 0.13 mg kg-1 (LD50 ) and 3.59 mg L-1 (LC50 ) respectively at 48 h. After being treated with a sublethal dose (LD10 and LD30 ) of broflanilide, the duration of third- to sixth-instar larvae and the mean fecundity of reproductive females were significantly increased, but pupation rate, weight of pupae and life-cycle rate were significantly decreased. In F1 , the duration of F1 larvae and the doubling time were prolonged, whereas the rates of pupation and the life cycle were decreased by 14.92% and 18.00%, respectively. The intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase and net reproductive rate in the sublethal group were lower than in the control group. The relative fitness of F1 treated by LD10 and LD30 was 0.81 and 0.66, respectively. CONSLUSION: Broflanilide not only has highly lethal activity, but also suppresses the population growth and progeny of CCW, as a critical factor for guidelines of its usage in the field.