Heat and Mass Transfer in a Thin Liquid Film over an Unsteady Stretching Surface in the Presence of Thermosolutal Capillarity and Variable Magnetic Field

The heat and mass transfer characteristics of a liquid film which contain thermosolutal capillarity and a variable magnetic field over an unsteady stretching sheet have been investigated. The governing equations for momentum, energy, and concentration are established and transformed to a set of coupled ordinary equations with the aid of similarity transformation. The analytical solutions are obtained using the double-parameter transformation perturbation expansion method. The effects of various relevant parameters such as unsteady parameter, Prandtl number, Schmidt number, thermocapillary number, and solutal capillary number on the velocity, temperature, and concentration fields are discussed and presented graphically. Results show that increasing values of thermocapillary number and solutal capillary number both lead to a decrease in the temperature and concentration fields. Furthermore, the influences of thermocapillary number on various fields are more remarkable in comparison to the solutal capillary number

Processing Parameters’ Multi-objective Optimization for Compound Machining with Ultrasonic Vibration on SiC Monocrystal

AbstractBecause of SiC monocrystal belongs to difficult-to-process material, improving its processing quality and effect has great significance. This paper carries out a great deal of experimental research of compound processing with ultrasonic vibration on SiC monocrystal, and obtains important factors that influence processing result, i.e., based on relevant regularities of sawing force and processing parameters, processing parameter optimization model is established under the constraints of sawing force, wire saw life, and wire saw tensile stress. Solving the model by means of genetic algorithm, an optimum grouping of processing parameters is obtained. Research result indicates that this method could effectively obtain processing parameters under certain processing conditions, helps to enhance the processing efficiency of SiC monocrystal

Analysis of clinical characteristics of 617 patients with benign airway stenosis

IntroductionBenign airway stenosis (BAS), namely airway narrowing caused by a variety of benign lesions, can lead to varying degrees of breathing difficulties and even death due to asphyxia. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of BAS, including etiology, treatment and pathology, by analyzing the clinical data of BAS patients.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted using the clinical data of 617 BAS cases from January 2017 to December 2022. The pathological characteristics of the tissues were assessed by hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) and Masson’s staining. Besides, protein expression levels were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC).ResultsA total of 617 patients were included (333 females [53.97%] and 284 males [46.03%]), with an average age of 48.93 ± 18.30 (range 14–87). Tuberculosis (n = 306, 49.59%) and trauma (n = 179, 29.02%) were the two leading etiologies of BAS, followed by airway foreign bodies (FB, n = 74, 11.99%), external compression (n = 25, 4.05%) and other etiologies (n = 33, 5.35%). Among 306 tuberculous tracheobronchial stenosis (TBTS) cases, most were females (n = 215, 70.26%), and TBTS mainly occurred in the left main bronchus (n = 97, 31.70%), followed by the right middle bronchus (n = 70 cases, 22.88%). The majority of TBTS patients (n = 259, 84.64%) were treated by interventional therapy. The condition of 179 BAS patients was ascribed to trauma, such as tracheal intubation (n = 92, 51.40%), tracheotomy (n = 69, 38.56%), injury (n = 15, 8.38%) and surgery (n = 3, 1.68%), which mostly took place in the trachea (n = 173, 96.65%). TAS patients mainly received interventional therapy (n = 168, 93.85%) and stent implantation (n = 47, 26.26%). The granulation tissues of BAS primarily featured inflammation, proliferation and fibrosis. IHC indicated the up-regulated expressions of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen type I protein (COL-I) and vimentin, and the down-regulated expression of E-cadherin, which indicated fibrosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).ConclusionTuberculosis was the main etiology, and trauma was the secondary etiology. The granulation tissues of BAS were characterized by inflammation, fibrosis and probably EMT. Comprehensive interventional therapy is an effective method of treating BAS

Health-related quality of life and its association with socioeconomic status and diet diversity in Chinese older adults

ObjectivesThe study aimed at examining the combined association of socioeconomic status (SES) and diet diversity (DD) with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and exploring whether DD played a mediating role in the relationship between varied SES and HRQoL among Chinese older persons.MethodA multi-stage random sampling method was conducted in Shanxi Province of China, with 3,250 older adults participating in this cross-sectional survey. SES was divided into groups by quartiles and DD by means, and these variable groups were combined in pairs to generate a total of eight combinations. The PROCESS macro developed by Hayes was employed for the simple mediation analysis.ResultsCompared with the reference group (those with both high SES and high DD), older adults who were classified to have lower SES or DD had elevated odds of having worse HRQoL: low SES/ low DD (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.41–2.92); low SES/ high DD (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.17–1.80); middle low SES/ low DD (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.24–1.65); middle low SES/ high DD (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.03–1.47); upper high SES/ low DD (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.21–1.65); and high SES/ low DD (OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.10–1.53). The mediation analysis revealed that DD mediated the relationship between SES and HRQoL (B=0.011, 95% CI 0.008–0.013), with its indirect effects accounting for 39.29% of the total effects.ConclusionsThese findings highlighted the role of DD as a mediator of the relationship between SES and HRQoL. As DD could be protective, modifiable, and easy for older adults to understand and implement, village clinics and community health stations should work collaboratively to design proper DD intervention measures for better HRQoL

Ether phospholipids metabolism is a latent vulnerability for pancreatic cancer resistance

View full abstracthttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/leading-edge/1062/thumbnail.jp

Association of GSDMD with microvascular-ischemia reperfusion injury after ST-elevation myocardial infarction

ObjectivesLittle is known about the clinical prognosis of gasdermin D (GSDMD) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of GSDMD with microvascular injury, infarction size (IS), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), in STEMI patients with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 120 prospectively enrolled STEMI patients (median age 53 years, 80% men) treated with pPCI between 2020 and 2021 who underwent serum GSDMD assessment and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) within 48 h post-reperfusion; CMR was also performed at one year follow-up.ResultsMicrovascular obstruction was observed in 37 patients (31%). GSDMD concentrations ≧ median (13 ng/L) in patients were associated with a higher risk of microvascular obstruction and IMH (46% vs. 19%, P = 0.003; 31% vs. 13%, P = 0.02, respectively), as well as with a lower LVEF both in the acute phase after infarction (35% vs. 54%, P < 0.001) and in the chronic phase (42% vs. 56%, P < 0.001), larger IS in the acute (32% vs. 15%, P < 0.001) and in the chronic phases (26% vs. 11%, P < 0.001), and larger left ventricular volumes (119 ± 20 vs. 98 ± 14, P = 0.003) by CMR. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis results showed that patients with GSDMD concentrations ≧ median (13 ng/L) had a higher incidence of MACE (P < 0.05).ConclusionsHigh GSDMD concentrations in STEMI patients are associated with microvascular injury (including MVO and IMH), which is a powerful MACE predictor. Nevertheless, the therapeutic implications of this relation need further research

Specific biomarker mining and rapid detection of Burkholderia cepacia complex by recombinase polymerase amplification

ObjectiveTo mine specific proteins and their protein-coding genes as suitable molecular biomarkers for the Burkholderia cepacia Complex (BCC) bacteria detection based on mega analysis of microbial proteomic and genomic data comparisons and to develop a real-time recombinase polymerase amplification (rt-RPA) assay for rapid isothermal screening for pharmaceutical and personal care products.MethodsWe constructed an automatic screening framework based on Python to compare the microbial proteomes of 78 BCC strains and 263 non-BCC strains to identify BCC-specific protein sequences. In addition, the specific protein-coding gene and its core DNA sequence were validated in silico with a self-built genome database containing 158 thousand bacteria. The appropriate methodology for BCC detection using rt-RPA was evaluated by 58 strains in pure culture and 33 batches of artificially contaminated pharmaceutical and personal care products.ResultsWe identified the protein SecY and its protein-coding gene secY through the automatic comparison framework. The virtual evaluation of the conserved region of the secY gene showed more than 99.8% specificity from the genome database, and it can distinguish all known BCC species from other bacteria by phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, the detection limit of the rt-RPA assay targeting the secY gene was 5.6 × 102 CFU of BCC bacteria in pure culture or 1.2 pg of BCC bacteria genomic DNA within 30 min. It was validated to detect <1 CFU/portion of BCC bacteria from artificially contaminated samples after a pre-enrichment process. The relative trueness and sensitivity of the rt-RPA assay were 100% in practice compared to the reference methods.ConclusionThe automatic comparison framework for molecular biomarker mining is straightforward, universal, applicable, and efficient. Based on recognizing the BCC-specific protein SecY and its gene, we successfully established the rt-RPA assay for rapid detection in pharmaceutical and personal care products

Identification and validation of a novel cuproptosis-related gene signature in multiple myeloma

Background: Cuproptosis is a newly identified unique copper-triggered modality of mitochondrial cell death, distinct from known death mechanisms such as necroptosis, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic neoplasm characterized by the malignant proliferation of plasma cells. In the development of MM, almost all patients undergo a relatively benign course from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to smoldering myeloma (SMM), which further progresses to active myeloma. However, the prognostic value of cuproptosis in MM remains unknown.Method: In this study, we systematically investigated the genetic variants, expression patterns, and prognostic value of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in MM. CRG scores derived from the prognostic model were used to perform the risk stratification of MM patients. We then explored their differences in clinical characteristics and immune patterns and assessed their value in prognosis prediction and treatment response. Nomograms were also developed to improve predictive accuracy and clinical applicability. Finally, we collected MM cell lines and patient samples to validate marker gene expression by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).Results: The evolution from MGUS and SMM to MM was also accompanied by differences in the CRG expression profile. Then, a well-performing cuproptosis-related risk model was developed to predict prognosis in MM and was validated in two external cohorts. The high-risk group exhibited higher clinical risk indicators. Cox regression analyses showed that the model was an independent prognostic predictor in MM. Patients in the high-risk group had significantly lower survival rates than those in the low-risk group (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, CRG scores were significantly correlated with immune infiltration, stemness index and immunotherapy sensitivity. We further revealed the close association between CRG scores and mitochondrial metabolism. Subsequently, the prediction nomogram showed good predictive power and calibration. Finally, the prognostic CRGs were further validated by qRT-PCR in vitro.Conclusion: CRGs were closely related to the immune pattern and self-renewal biology of cancer cells in MM. This prognostic model provided a new perspective for the risk stratification and treatment response prediction of MM patients

A novel glycolysis-related gene signature for predicting the prognosis of multiple myeloma

Background: Metabolic reprogramming is an important hallmark of cancer. Glycolysis provides the conditions on which multiple myeloma (MM) thrives. Due to MM’s great heterogeneity and incurability, risk assessment and treatment choices are still difficult.Method: We constructed a glycolysis-related prognostic model by Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis. It was validated in two independent external cohorts, cell lines, and our clinical specimens. The model was also explored for its biological properties, immune microenvironment, and therapeutic response including immunotherapy. Finally, multiple metrics were combined to construct a nomogram to assist in personalized prediction of survival outcomes.Results: A wide range of variants and heterogeneous expression profiles of glycolysis-related genes were observed in MM. The prognostic model behaved well in differentiating between populations with various prognoses and proved to be an independent prognostic factor. This prognostic signature closely coordinated with multiple malignant features such as high-risk clinical features, immune dysfunction, stem cell-like features, cancer-related pathways, which was associated with the survival outcomes of MM. In terms of treatment, the high-risk group showed resistance to conventional drugs such as bortezomib, doxorubicin and immunotherapy. The joint scores generated by the nomogram showed higher clinical benefit than other clinical indicators. The in vitro experiments with cell lines and clinical subjects further provided convincing evidence for our study.Conclusion: We developed and validated the utility of the MM glycolysis-related prognostic model, which provides a new direction for prognosis assessment, treatment options for MM patients

Emergence of Fatal PRRSV Variants: Unparalleled Outbreaks of Atypical PRRS in China and Molecular Dissection of the Unique Hallmark

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a severe viral disease in pigs, causing great economic losses worldwide each year. The causative agent of the disease, PRRS virus (PRRSV), is a member of the family Arteriviridae. Here we report our investigation of the unparalleled large-scale outbreaks of an originally unknown, but so-called “high fever” disease in China in 2006 with the essence of PRRS, which spread to more than 10 provinces (autonomous cities or regions) and affected over 2,000,000 pigs with about 400,000 fatal cases. Different from the typical PRRS, numerous adult sows were also infected by the “high fever” disease. This atypical PRRS pandemic was initially identified as a hog cholera-like disease manifesting neurological symptoms (e.g., shivering), high fever (40–42°C), erythematous blanching rash, etc. Autopsies combined with immunological analyses clearly showed that multiple organs were infected by highly pathogenic PRRSVs with severe pathological changes observed. Whole-genome analysis of the isolated viruses revealed that these PRRSV isolates are grouped into Type II and are highly homologous to HB-1, a Chinese strain of PRRSV (96.5% nucleotide identity). More importantly, we observed a unique molecular hallmark in these viral isolates, namely a discontinuous deletion of 30 amino acids in nonstructural protein 2 (NSP2). Taken together, this is the first comprehensive report documenting the 2006 epidemic of atypical PRRS outbreak in China and identifying the 30 amino-acid deletion in NSP2, a novel determining factor for virulence which may be implicated in the high pathogenicity of PRRSV, and will stimulate further study by using the infectious cDNA clone technique