Making Visible the Invisible Power of Community

Outlines the need to strengthen the organic infrastructure and culture of rural communities in development work to allow for adaptations that preserve connectedness and enhance social health. Explains Wildflower's methods and tools, with case studies

The Nature, Features and Governance of State-owned Energy Enterprises

AbstractThe state-owned energy enterprise, in essence, is a kind of contractual arrangement. In order to maximize national interests, the state delegates executives to operate business in the energy sector by combining energy resources with other resources through a series of contracts. Yet the features of state-owned energy enterprises, such as monopoly, negative externalities, strong asset specificity and high opportunism risks, could give rise to some negative impacts. So, in order to avoid negative impacts, improve governance efficiency and achieve harmony between man and nature, we should improve government regulation system, establish a more efficient board, implement a reasonable operator incentive system, and revise the supervision and constraint mechanisms

Case report: Metagenomics next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of septic shock due to Fusobacterium necrophorum in a 6-year-old child

Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum) infection is rare in pediatrics. In addition, the detection time of F. necrophorum by blood culture is long, and the positive rate is low. Infection with F. necrophorum bacilli usually follows rapid disease progression, resulting in high mortality. In previous reports of F. necrophorum-related cases, the most dangerous moment of the disease occurred after the appearance of Lemierre’s syndrome. We report an atypical case of a 6-year-old female patient who developed septic shock within 24 h of admission due to F. necrophorum infection in the absence of Lemierre’s syndrome. F. necrophorum was identified in a blood sample by metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) but not by standard blood culture. The patient was finally cured and discharged after receiving timely and effective targeted anti-infection treatment. In the present case study, it was observed that the heightened virulence and invasiveness of F. necrophorum contribute significantly to its role as a primary pathogen in pediatric septic shock. This can precipitate hemodynamic instability and multiple organ failure, even in the absence of Lemierre’s syndrome. The use of mNGS can deeply and rapidly identify infectious pathogens, guide the use of targeted antibiotics, and greatly improve the survival rate of patients

A cohort study to investigate the potential indicators for prenatal echocardiographic detection of suspected coarctation of the aorta

ObjectivesSuspected coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a common fetal echocardiographic presentation. However, the prenatal findings did not indicate a satisfied accuracy in determining the truly CoA after birth, which made the prenatal diagnosis of CoA still as a critical challenge with high false positive rate. Thus, this research is aimed to distinguish the potential prenatal parameters influencing the fetal echocardiographic images and enhance the true positive diagnostic rate of CoA fetuses which require early clinical intervention in postnatal life.MethodsA retrospective study had been designed and fetuses with suspected with CoA had been included from Jan 2016 to Dec 2021 in our center. The fetal echocardiography and related clinical information had been collected. And the postnatal diagnosis had been reached by echocardiography or CTA. Then, all the parameters had been analyzed by univariate analysis, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was further involved to determine the independent parameters influencing the accuracy of diagnosis CoA fetuses. Moreover, such results had been validated by nomogram analysis and ROC curve.ResultsAmong the included 44 liveborn infants who presented suspected CoA in fetal cardiac screening, 18 cases had been proved to be CoA postnatally (Group P). The true positive rate for this study was 40.9% (18/44). The abnormal atrial hemodynamic status (AAHs) and the gestational week of delivery (GWoD) were associated with the postnatal CoA confirmation among prenatal suspected fetuses. The ROC curve of predicting probability of the mode combined with two independent factors of absence of AAH and GWoD (AUC = 0.880, 95% CI 0.763–0.997) presented a satisfied efficacy in distinguishing postnatal positive CoA diagnosis. The nomogram plot had been be utilized in CoA prediction (model likelihood ratio test, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsAAH and GWoD had been identified as independent factors of predictive accuracy in detecting postnatal CoA among prenatal suspected fetuses. The prediction mode based on nomogram scores could be used to predict the risk of occurring CoA fetuses

Reconstitution of Kidney Side Population Cells after Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Self-Proliferation and Bone Marrow-Derived Cell Homing

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of side population (SP) cells from kidney and bone marrow for reconstitution of kidney SP pools after ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). The SP and non-SP cells in kidneys following IRI were isolated and serially assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The apoptosis, proliferation, phenotype, and paracrine actions of SP cells were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results indicated that the SP cells from ischemic kidney were acutely depleted within one day following renal IRI and were progressively restored to baseline within 7 days after IRI, through both proliferation of remaining kidney SP cells and homing of bone marrow-derived cells to ischemic kidney. Either hypoxia or serum deprivation alone increased apoptosis of SP cells, and a combination of both further aggravated it. Furthermore, hypoxia in vivo and in vitro induced the increase in the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor 1, hepatocyte growth factor, and stromal cell-derived factor-1α in kidney SP but not non-SP cells. In summary, these results suggest that following renal IRI, kidney SP cells are acutely depleted and then progressively restored to baseline levels by both self-proliferation and extrarenal source, that is, bone marrow-derived cell homing

Effect of montelukast on leukotriene B4 metabolism in asthma

Objective·To observe the effect of montelukast on the expressions of key genes in LTB4 (leukotriene B4) metabolic pathway in treating asthma and investigate the candidate intervene targets of asthma.Methods·The acute, subacute, and chronic asthmatic mouse models characterizing by allergic airway disease (AAD) were set up by ovalbumin (OVA) and Al(OH)3 sensitization and challenge and intervened by intragastric administration of montelukast and finally challenged by OVA for chronic asthma model. The pulmonary functions of mice were tested by unconstrained whole body plethysmograph, to quest the change patterns of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). The eosinophil (EOS) infiltration and goblet cell (GCL) hyperplasia in mouse lungs were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, to quest the pathologic features of airway allergic inflammation. The levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE), interferon γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin (IL) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum were detected by ELISA and Milliplex kits, to quest the helper T cell type 2 (Th2) inflammation status. The transcription and protein levels of 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (ALOX5AP), leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), and leukotriene B4 receptor 1 (BLT1) genes, which encoded the rate-limiting enzymes in LTB4 synthesis pathway, were detected by RT-qPCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC).Results·The asthmatic mouse model could be set up by OVA and Al (OH)3 and was presented as AHR characterized by increasing enhanced pause (Penh) value, eosinophilic inflammation and high mucous secretion pathologically characterized by airway EOS infiltration and GCL hyperplasia, Th2 inflammation immunologically characterized by the increasing levels of IgE, IL-4, and IL-13 as well as decreasing levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-12 in BALF and serum. Montelukast could alleviate AAD effectively. The transcription and protein levels of ALOX5AP, LTA4H, and BLT1 genes increased in asthma. Montelukast can inhibit the expression of ALOX5AP gene and promote the expressions of LTB4 and BLT1 genes in asthmatic chronic phase. When challenged by OVA once again, montelukast can induce the significantly high expressions of LTB4 and BLT1 genes.Conclusion·Montelukast has the effect of relieving allergic inflammation in asthma mice, but it can stimulate the production and accumulation of LTB4 and is significant in chronic phase. When challenged by OVA a second time, LTB4 could be promoted to combine with BLT1 and attend in the pathogenesis of asthma. The results suggested that there was a potential risk of activation of LTB4 by montelukast. The rate-limiting enzyme LTA4H and its receptor BLT1 metabolism may be potential targets for asthma treatment

Experimental Study on Failure Model of Tailing Dam Overtopping under Heavy Rainfall

AbstractUnusual rainfall is the primary cause of the failure of the tailing dams, and overtopping is the most representative model of the tailing dam failure. The upstream tailing dam was selected as the research object to study the whole process of breach extension and the overtopping dam-failure mechanism under the full-scale rainfall condition. The results showed that the significant size grading phenomenon in the front, middle, and end of the tailing pond was obvious due to the flow separation effect, and its average particle diameter was D50. At different moments of rainfall, the height of the infiltration line at different positions of the dam body was different; at the rainfall of 3600 s, the height of the infiltration line lagged behind the height of the tailing pond, and this phenomenon from the tail of pond to the outside of the dam slope became more obvious. After the rainfall of 3600 s, the height of the infiltration line lagging behind the water level in the pond basically disappeared, and the rate of infiltration line rise kept pace with the rate of water level. The process of overtopping dam-failure experienced dam overtopping (gully erosion), formation of a multistepped small “scarp,” breach rapid expansion, formation of large “scarp,” and burst (fan-shaped formation). The width and depth of the breach showed a positive correlation, and the widening rate of the breach was 3 to 8 times of the deepening rate, especially in the middle of the dam break, widening behavior occupied the dominant factor. The shape of the dam body after failure was parabolic, and the dam body had obvious elevation changes. These results provide the theoretical guidance and engineering application value for improving the theory and early warning model of the upstream tailing dam

Research on the Macro-Mesoscopic Response Mechanism of Multisphere Approximated Heteromorphic Tailing Particles

AbstractThe shape of tailing particles is essential factors of their macroscopic mechanical properties. Scholars have studied the effects of controllable factors, such as loading method, confining pressure, and strain rate, on the strength of tailing sand. However, research on the tailing particle structure and shape through laboratory tests has proved to be difficult due to the uncertain and discrete tailing particle distribution. Thus, the macro-mesoscopic response of heteromorphic tailing particles is rarely investigated. In this paper, the macro-mesoscopic response of heteromorphic tailing particles is studied using multisphere approximation, and numerical simulation of triaxial tests on the particles is conducted. Nonlinear evolution patterns of porosity, internal friction angle, and cohesion of heteromorphic tailing particles with the variation of angularity were investigated using the flexible boundary program developed in this study, which revealed the intrinsic relationship between the mesostructure evolution mechanism and the macroscopic engineering characteristics of heteromorphic tailing particles. The research results showed that (1) changes in angularity led to tailing particle rearrangements and, in turn, porosity changes. With increased angularity and confining pressure, particle sphericity decreased, and the deviatoric and peak stress increased accordingly. In the meantime, the softening was more significant as the peak stress was exceeded, while the cohesive force generally increased. (2) With fixed particle shape and angularity, the internal friction angle decreased slightly as the effective confining pressure increased. (3) In the shearing process, the simulated contact force chain evolution of tailing particles with different shapes was similar. The disordered contact force chains gradually undergo directional connection, i.e., the increased confining pressure reduced the number of free tailing particles and increased the number of stressed particles. (4) The triaxial stress-strain and peak stress in rigid boundary simulations under different confining pressures were slightly lower than those in the flexible boundary simulations. However, the difference was insignificant, indicating the good feasibility and reasonability of rigid boundary simulations for the macroscopic mechanical behaviors in triaxial tests. The research results could offer more direct insights into the macro-mesoscopic response and mechanical mechanisms of nonspherical particles and provide references for the simulation of tailings at the microscopic levels

RUNX3 Mediates Suppression of Tumor Growth and Metastasis of Human CCRCC by Regulating Cyclin Related Proteins and TIMP-1

Here we presented that the expression of RUNX3 was significantly decreased in 75 cases of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) tissues (p<0.05). Enforced RUNX3 expression mediated 786-O cells to exhibit inhibition of growth, G1 cell-cycle arrest and metastasis in vitro, and to lost tumorigenicity in nude mouse model in vivo. RUNX3-induced growth suppression was found partially to regulate various proteins, including inhibition of cyclinD1, cyclinE, cdk2, cdk4 and p-Rb, but increase of p27Kip1, Rb and TIMP-1. Therefore, RUNX3 had the function of inhibiting the proliferative and metastatic abilities of CCRCC cells by regulating cyclins and TIMP1