Highly selective chemosensor for the sensitive detection of Hg2+ in aqueous media and its cell imaging application.

The deleterious toxicity of Hg2+ on ecological and biological system makes it crucial for the precise monitoring of Hg2+. Herein, we prepared a novel "turn-on" chemosensor N'-(4-(methylthio)butan-2-ylidene) rhodamine B hydrazide (denoted as MTRH) by a simple two-step reaction. MTRH exhibited an ultra-low detection limit (LOD) in fluorescence measurement of Hg2+ in pure aqueous media, which was estimated to be 1.3 × 10-9 mol·L-1. Moreover, the proposed chemosensor holds the ability of visualizing Hg2+ by the distinct color change of the solution. The corresponding recognition mechanism was investigated by Job's plots, mass spectrometry and DFT calculation analysis. Importantly, the characteristics such as high sensitivity, low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility of MTRH exhibited in the application of detecting Hg2+ in real water sample and bioimaging of intracellular Hg2+ prove that MTRH is a promising tool to evaluate the levels of Hg2+ in complex biological systems.

Time spent outside of the hospital, CKD progression, and mortality: a prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Home time-being out of any healthcare facility-has been proposed as a patient-centered outcome. This novel measure has not been investigated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study is to determine whether there was an association between home time and occurrence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or all-cause mortality during 1 year of follow-up. METHODS: We assembled a prospective cohort of patients with CKD not requiring dialysis at the Nephrology Center of First Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University between May 2014 and April 2017 and followed up for 1 year. Home time was calculated as the number of days spent out of a hospital, rehabilitation facility, or skilled nursing facility. Outcomes included progression to ESRD and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Among 943 patients, 882 (93.5%) had complete follow-up through 1 year. Mean home time was 246.9 ± 126.7 days. In regression analysis, several patient characteristics were associated with significantly reduced home time, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and albuminuria. Home time was strongly correlated with time-to-event endpoints of ESRD (τ=0.324) and all-cause mortality (τ=0.785). CONCLUSIONS: Home time is significantly reduced for patients with CKD not requiring dialysis and is highly correlated with traditional time-to-event endpoints. Home time serves as a novel, easily calculated, patient-centered outcome that may reflect effect of interventions on future CKD research.

Early Versus Delayed Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Acute Cholecystitis with Mild Pancreatitis.

The safety and feasibility of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for acute cholecystitis with mild pancreatitis were explored. A total of 973 patients with acute pancreatitis, including 651 mild cases and 322 moderate or severe cases were retrospectively studied from July 2014 to December 2018 in our department. And 426 mild pancreatitis cases with acute cholecystitis were enrolled in this study, of which 328 patients underwent LC during the same-admission (early LC group), and 98 patients underwent LC a period of time after conservative treatment (delayed LC group). Clinical characteristics, operative findings and complications were recorded and followed up. The two groups were comparable in age, gender, the grade of American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA), biochemical findings and Balthazar computer tomography (CT) rating (P>0.05). The operation interval and hospital stay in early LC group were significantly shorter than in delayed LC group (5.83±1.62 vs. 41.36±8.44 days; 11.38±2.43 vs. 16.49±3.48 days, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the average operation time between the two groups. No preoperative biliary related events recurred in early LC group but there were 21 cases of preoperative biliary related events in delayed LC group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in conversion rate (3.85 vs. 5.10%, P=0.41) and surgical complication rate (3.95 vs. 4.08%, P=0.95) between early LC group and delayed LC group. During the postoperative follow-up period of 375 cases, biliary related events recurred in 4 cases in early LC group and 3 cases in delayed LC group (P=0.37). The effect of early LC during the same-admission is better than delayed LC for acute cholecystitis with mild pancreatitis.

Glycemic variability and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes receiving hemodialysis: A prospective cohort study.

AIM: We aimed to examine the possible association between glycemic variability (GV) and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes receiving hemodialysis. METHODS: We conducted a prospective longitudinal cohort study of patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing hemodialysis at the Jiaxing Hemodialysis Center between December 2012 and December 2018. GV quantified with coefficient of variation (CV). The endpoint in the current study was defined as all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Of 1240 patients included in the analyses, there were 340 (27.4%) patients with death from all causes during a median follow-up time of 2.4 years (range 0-3.0). In a Kaplan-Meier analysis, cumulative survival was significantly dependent on CV quartiles with an apparent dose-response (log-rank P < 0.001). In a multiple Cox regression model, the highest CV quartile was independently associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.887, 95% CI 1.407-2.531, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher GV is associated with increased mortality risk among patients with diabetes receiving hemodialysis. Future studies are needed to explore whether decreasing GV would be associated with reduced risk of mortality.

Erratum: Experimental Measurement of the Quantum Metric Tensor and Related Topological Phase Transition with a Superconducting Qubit [Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 210401 (2019)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.210401.

Experimental Measurement of the Quantum Metric Tensor and Related Topological Phase Transition with a Superconducting Qubit.

A Berry curvature is an imaginary component of the quantum geometric tensor (QGT) and is well studied in many branches of modern physics; however, the quantum metric as a real component of the QGT is less explored. Here, by using tunable superconducting circuits, we experimentally demonstrate two methods to directly measure the quantum metric tensor for characterizing the geometry and topology of underlying quantum states in parameter space. The first method is to probe the transition probability after a sudden quench, and the second one is to detect the excitation rate under weak periodic driving. Furthermore, based on quantum metric and Berry-curvature measurements, we explore a topological phase transition in a simulated time-reversal-symmetric system. The work opens up a unique approach to explore the topology of quantum states with the QGT.

Simulation and Manipulation of Tunable Weyl-Semimetal Bands Using Superconducting Quantum Circuits.

We simulated highly tunable Weyl-semimetal bands using superconducting quantum circuits. Driving the superconducting quantum circuits with microwave fields, we mapped the momentum space of a lattice to the parameter space, realizing the Hamiltonian of a Weyl semimetal. By measuring the energy spectrum, we directly imaged the Weyl points, whose topological winding numbers were further determined from the Berry curvature measurement. In addition, we manipulated the band structure with an additional pump microwave field, producing a momentum-dependent Weyl-point energy together with an artificial magnetic field, which are indispensable for generating chiral magnetic topological currents in some special Weyl semimetals and may have significant impact on topological physics.

Stage III should be subclassified into Stage IIIA and IIIB in the American Joint Committee on Cancer (8th Edition) staging system for pancreatic cancer.

AIM: To ascertain the prognostic role of the T4 and N2 category in stage III pancreatic cancer according to the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification. METHODS: Patients were collected from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database (2004-2013) and were divided into three groups: T(1-3)N2, T4N(0-1), and T4N2. Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) of patients were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: For the first time, we found a significant difference in OS and DSS between T(1-3)N2/T4N(0-1) and T4N2 but not between T(1-3)N2 and T4N(0-1). A higher grading correlated with a worse prognosis in the T(1-3)N2 and T4N2 groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with stage T4N2 had a worse prognosis than those with stage T(1-3)N2/T4N(0-1) in the 8th edition AJCC staging system for pancreatic cancer. We recommend that stage III should be subclassified into stage IIIA [T(1-3)N2/T4N(0-1)] and stage IIIB (T4N2).

Topological Maxwell Metal Bands in a Superconducting Qutrit.

We experimentally explore the topological Maxwell metal bands by mapping the momentum space of condensed-matter models to the tunable parameter space of superconducting quantum circuits. An exotic band structure that is effectively described by the spin-1 Maxwell equations is imaged. Threefold degenerate points dubbed Maxwell points are observed in the Maxwell metal bands. Moreover, we engineer and observe the topological phase transition from the topological Maxwell metal to a trivial insulator, and report the first experiment to measure the Chern numbers that are higher than one.

Low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with anxiety in children and adolescents with dialysis.

Anxiety is a frequent and serious complication of children and adolescents receiving dialysis. Low serum vitamin D levels have been associated with anxiety in non-pediatric patients. This study sought to examine the possible association between serum vitamin D levels and the presence of anxiety in children and adolescents with dialysis in China. A total of 156 pediatric patients who were on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis and 100 healthy controls were included in the current study. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels were measured by using a competitive protein-binding assay. Anxiety was assessed by using the Chinese version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED, = 25 as cutoff). Among 156 patients, 110 had a current anxiety (70.5%) and 46 did not (29.5%). Serum levels of 25(OH)D were significantly lower in patients with anxiety than in normal controls (19.4 ± 10.3 vs. 38.6 ± 15.5 ng/ml, P < 0.001). Serum 25(OH)D levels (≤15.0 ng/ml) were independently associated with the existent of anxiety in children and adolescents receiving dialysis (OR 4.650, 95% CI 1.663-13.001, P = 0.003). Our research demonstrates that low serum levels of vitamin D are independently associated with anxiety among children and adolescents on dialysis, which needs to be confirmed in future experimental and clinical studies.

Recent advances of imidazole-containing derivatives as anti-tubercular agents.

Tuberculosis still remains one of the most common, communicable, and leading deadliest diseases known to mankind throughout the world. Drug-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis which threatens to worsen the global tuberculosis epidemic has caused great concern in recent years. To overcome the resistance, the development of new drugs with novel mechanisms of actions is of great importance. Imidazole-containing derivatives endow with various biological properties, and some of them demonstrated excellent anti-tubercular activity. As the most emblematic example, 4-nitroimidazole delamanid has already received approval for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis infected patients. Thus, imidazole-containing derivatives have caused great interests in discovery of new anti-tubercular agents. Numerous of imidazole-containing derivatives were synthesized and screened for their in vitro and in vivo anti-mycobacterial activities against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogens. This review aims to outline the recent advances of imidazole-containing derivatives as anti-tubercular agents, and summarize the structure-activity relationship of these derivatives. The enriched structure-activity relationship may pave the way for the further rational development of imidazole-containing derivatives as anti-tubercular agents.

Ecthyma gangrenosum in a 3-month-old, previously healthy infant: A Case Report.

RATIONALE: Ecthyma gangrenosum (EG) is an aggressive cutaneous disease caused by local or systemic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. EG is characterized by cutaneous manifestations ranging from nodule and papule, to necrotic ulceration with surrounding erythema, especially with black eschar or central crust. EG presents with characteristic skin lesions which is important to establish diagnosis of sepsis caused by P aeruginosa, a serious condition that can be treated efficiently if diagnosed early. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 3-month-old female infant was presented with characteristic skin lesions of EG and developed sepsis 3 days later. DIAGNOSES: Ecthyma gangrenosum and sepsis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. INTERVENTIONS: Meropenem was used in combination with ceftazidime at first and excision of necrotic skin lesions was performed later. OUTCOMES: Cure. LESSONS: Early recognition of EG plays an important role in providing appropriate empiric antibiotic treatment at early stage of sepsis, and improves the prognosis. Surgical excision may be helpful if no improvement was achieved via antibiotic treatment.

Association between polycystic ovary syndrome and the risk of pregnancy complications: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is inconsistently associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to summarize the evidence regarding the strength of the association between pregnancy in women with PCOS and pregnancy complications. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Library to identify observational studies up to January 2016. The primary focus was pregnancy outcomes, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, oligohydramnios, and polyhydramnios. Effect estimates were pooled using the random-effects model. The analysis was further stratified by factors that could affect these associations. RESULTS: We included 40 observational studies that reported data on a total of 17,816 pregnancies with PCOS and 123,756 pregnancies without PCOS. Overall, PCOS in pregnancy was associated with greater risk of GDM, preeclampsia, PIH, preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, miscarriage, hypoglycemia, and perinatal death. However, PCOS in pregnancy had little or no effect on oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios, large-for-gestational age (LGA), small-for-gestational-age (SGA), fetal growth restriction (FGR), preterm premature membrane rupture, fasting blood glucose (FBG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride, total cholesterol, congenital malformation, macrosomia, and respiratory distress syndrome. Subgroup analysis suggested that these associations might be influenced by study design and pre-BMI. CONCLUSION: PCOS in pregnancy is associated with a significantly increased risk of adverse pregnancy, fetal, and neonatal outcomes.

Enhanced desulfurizing flotation of coal using sonoelectrochemical method.

Enhanced desulfurizing flotation of low sulfur coal was investigated using sonoelectrochemical method. The supporting electrolyte used in this process was sodium chloride and the additive was anhydrous ethanol. The effects of treatment conditions on desulfurization were studied by a single-factor method. The conditions include anhydrous ethanol concentration, sodium chloride concentration, sonoelectrolytic voltage, sonoelectrolytic temperature, sonoelectrolytic time and coal sample granulometry. The optimal experimental conditions achieved for anhydrous ethanol concentration, sodium chloride concentration, sonoelectrolytic voltage, sonoelectrolytic temperature and sonoelectrolytic time are 1.7 mol L(-1), 5.1×10(-3) mol L(-1), 10 V, 70 °C, 50 min achieved for a -0.18 mm coal sample. Optimal conditions cause a sulfur reduction of up to 69.4%. The raw and treated coals were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy and a chemical method. Pyritic sulfur, organic sulfur, ash as well as moisture are partially removed. The combination of high sulfur reduction, high yield, as well as high ash reduction was obtained in the newly developed method of enhanced flotation by sonoelectrochemistry. Ultrasound irradiation promotes electron transfer efficiency and increases clean coal yield.

High expression of AP-4 predicts poor prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatectomy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between activating enhancer binding protein 4 (AP-4) tissue expression and patient prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The levels of AP-4 mRNA and protein in tumor and para-tumor tissue were evaluated in 30 HCC cases by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. Additionally, AP-4 protein expression in 112 HCC was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The correlation of AP-4 expression and patients' clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards model. By RT-PCR and Western blot, the levels of AP-4 mRNA and protein were significantly higher in HCC, compared to that in para-tumor tissue (p < 0.001). Immunohistochemical staining revealed that AP-4 was highly expressed in 53.6 % of the HCC patients. The AP-4 expression level was closely associated with serum alpha fetoprotein elevation, tumor size, histological differentiation, tumor recurrence, tumor metastasis, and tumor stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that a high expression level of AP-4 resulted in a significantly poor prognosis of HCC patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that AP-4 expression level was an independent prognostic parameter for the overall survival rate of HCC patients. These findings provide evidence that a high expression level of AP-4 serves as a biomarker for poor prognosis for HCC. Thus, we speculate that AP-4 may be a potential target of antiangiogenic therapy for HCC.

Overexpression of lysine specific demethylase 1 predicts worse prognosis in primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

AIM: To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic value of lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We examined LSD1 expression in 60 paired liver cancer tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. In addition, we analyzed LSD1 expression in 198 HCC samples by immunohistochemistry. The relationship between LSD1 expression, clinicopathological features and patient survival was investigated. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and qRT-PCR consistently confirmed LSD1 overexpression in HCC tissues compared to adjacent non-neoplastic tissues (P < 0.01). Additionally, immunostaining showed more LSD1-positive cells in the higher tumor stage (T3-4) and tumor grade (G3) than in the lower tumor stage (T1-2, P < 0.001) and tumor grade (G1-2, P < 0.001), respectively. Moreover, HCC patients with high LSD1 expression had significantly lower 5-year overall survival rates (P < 0.001) and lower 5-year disease-free survival rates (P < 0.001), respectively. A Cox proportional hazards model further demonstrated that LSD1 over-expression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis for both 5-year disease-free survival [hazards ratio (HR) = 1.426, 95%CI: 0.672-2.146, P < 0.001] and 5-year overall survival (HR = 2.456, 95%CI: 1.234-3.932, P < 0.001) in HCC. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest for the first time that the overexpression of LSD1 protein in HCC tissues indicates tumor progression and predicts poor prognosis.

Expression of ADAM8 and its clinical values in diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

ADAM8 behaves as an active metalloprotease in vitro, hydrolyzing myelin basic protein and a variety of peptide substrates based on the cleavage sites of membrane-bound cytokines, growth factors, and receptors. Other studies have demonstrated overexpression of some ADAM family proteins in a variety of human tumors, but no report is available on the actual expression of ADAM8 and the correlation between clinicopathologic features and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. In this study, serum levels of ADAM8 were measured by ELISA in 126 patients with HCC, 50 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), and 50 healthy individuals. The expression of ADAM8 in liver tissue was further studied using Western blotting in 126 patients with HCC and 50 with LC. The correlations between ADAM8 status and various clinicopathological parameters including survival were analyzed. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards model. The ELISA assay showed that the serum levels of ADAM8 in the HCC, LC, and healthy groups were 136.4 ± 34.5, 64.2 ± 20.1, and 63.2 ± 22.7 U/ml, respectively. Analysis of variance was used for inter-group comparison, and differences were found between the HCC group and the other two groups (both P < 0.001), while no difference was found between the LC group and the healthy group (P = 0.365). Western blotting assay showed that ADAM8 protein expression was detected in 62.7 % (79/126) HCC and in 32 % (16/50) LC tissues. Further, ADAM8 expression was associated closely with serum AFP elevation, tumor size, histological differentiation, tumor recurrence, tumor metastasis, and tumor stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with ADAM8-positive tumors had a shorter postoperative survival time than those with ADAM8-negative tumors (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that ADAM8 expression was an independent prognostic parameter for the overall survival rate of HCC patients. These findings provide evidence that the expression of ADAM8 serves as a poor prognostic biomarker for HCC. ADAM8 may be a potential target of antiangiogenic therapy for HCC.

High RSF-1 expression correlates with poor prognosis in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the expression and prognostic significance of RSF-1 in gastric adenocarcinoma. METHODS: RSF-1 expression was analyzed using immunohistochemical staining on tissue samples from a consecutive series of 287 gastric adenocarcinoma patients who underwent tumor resections between 2003 and 2006.The relationship between RSF-1 expression, clinicopathological factors, and patient survival was investigated. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining indicated that RSF-1 is highly expressed in 52.6% of gastric adenocarcinomas. RSF-1 expression levels were closely associated with tumor size, histological differentiation, tumor stage, and lymph node involvement. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high RSF-1 expression exhibited a significant correlation with poor prognosis for gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that RSF-1 expression is an independent prognostic parameter for the overall survival rate of gastric adenocarcinoma patients. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that RSF-1 plays an important role in gastric adenocarcinoma progression and that high RSF-1 expression predicts an unfavorable prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma patients.

[Laparoscopic versus open surgery for D2 gastrectomy in advanced gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: The clinical data of 210 cases of laparoscopic gastrectomy and 180 cases of open gastrectomy for radical (D2) gastrectomy from May 2007 to Dec 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 206 cases underwent laparoscopic-assisted surgery with 4 conversions. Compared to the open group, the laparoscopic group was associated with less bleeding [(208±38) ml vs. (300±52) ml, P<0.05], quicker postoperative recovery of bowel function [(2.9±0.7) d vs. (3.9±1.8) d, P<0.05], shorter postoperative length of hospital stay[(12.8±6.2) d vs. (15.6±6.8) d, P<0.05], longer operative time [(258±42) min vs. (193±30) min, P<0.05]. The number of lymph node harvested was 20.5±1.9 in the laparoscopic group and 25.8±1.5 in the open group, and the postoperative complication rate was 8.1% (17/201) vs. 8.5% (15/180), and differences were not statistically significant (both P>0.05). The recurrence rate was 2.9% (6/210) and 2.8% (5/180), and the 3-year overall survival rate was 35.6% and 37.8%, the differences were not statistically significant (both P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer is safe and effective, which can reach the same range of lymph node dissection as open gastric cancer surgery and similar survival rate.