Experimental of pumping gangue into the mined-out area

AbstractIn order to find solutions to the ground emission of gangue and realize the gangue pumping into the mined-out area, the underground experimental research is conducted in Shandong Huafeng Coalmine. Through the orthogonal experiment, the research deals with the effect of crushed particle size, mass concentration, and the amount of cement added on the pumping, filling, and the cost. As suggested by the experiment, the particle size of gangue has a significant effect on the pumpability of gangue-paste, and the amount of cement added obviously affects the compressive strength of the gangue-paste and the filling cost. According to the best experimented combination of particle size, the amount of cement added and mass concentration, this experimental system brings about an effective filling of the conventional mining-out area, and furthermore, provides a new approach for the disposal of gangue

Primary Splenic Lymphoma Associated with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Complicated with Splenic Rupture

Primary splenic lymphoma (PSL) is a rare disease with ambiguous definition, comprising less than 1% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Even rarer is PSL combined with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which has presentations of fever, cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, hyperferritinemia, and phagocytosis of hematopoietic cells in the reticuloendothe-lial system. We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with HLH initially. Refusing diagnostic splenectomy, he received chemotherapy. Spontaneous splenic rupture occurred after chemotherapy. In the following emergency operation, PSL was diagnosed. He received another 5 courses of chemotherapy with the R-CNOP regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone, vincristine, prednisolone). Now he has no residual or relapsed disease. Diagnostic splenectomy for adult HLH patients without definite etiologies may play an important role. [J Chin Med Assoc 2008;71(4):210–213

In Vitro Photothermal Destruction of Cancer Cells Using Gold Nanorods and Pulsed-Train Near-Infrared Laser

We present a novel pulsed-train near-IR diode laser system with real-time temperature monitoring of the laser-heated cancer cell mixed in gold nanorod solution. Near-IR diode laser at 808 nm matching the gold nanorod absorption peak (with an aspect ratio about 4.0) was used in this study. Both surface and volume temperatures were measured and kept above 43°C, the temperature for cancer cells destruction. The irradiation time needed in our pulsed-train system with higher laser fluence for killing the cancel cells is about 1–3 minutes, much shorter than conventional methods (5–10 minutes). Cell viabilities in gold nanorod mixed and controlled solutions are studied by green fluorescence

Gray and White Matter Abnormality in Patients With T2DM-Related Cognitive Dysfunction: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Aims/hypothesis Brain structure abnormality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-related cognitive dysfunction (T2DM-CD) has been reported for decades in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. However, the reliable results were still unclear. This study aimed to make a systemic review and meta-analysis to find the significant and consistent gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) alterations in patients with T2DM-CD by comparing with the healthy controls (HCs). Methods Published studies were systemically searched from PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases updated to November 14, 2021. Studies reporting abnormal GM or WM between patients with T2DM-CD and HCs were selected, and their significant peak coordinates (x, y, z) and effect sizes (z-score or t-value) were extracted to perform a voxel-based meta-analysis by anisotropic effect size-signed differential mapping (AES-SDM) 5.15 software. Results Total 15 studies and 16 datasets (1550 participants) from 7531 results were involved in this study. Compared to HCs, patients with T2DM-CD showed significant and consistent decreased GM in right superior frontal gyrus, medial orbital (PFCventmed. R, BA 11), left superior temporal gyrus (STG. L, BA 48), and right calcarine fissure / surrounding cortex (CAL. R, BA 17), as well as decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in right inferior network, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF. R), right inferior network, longitudinal fasciculus (ILF. R), and undefined area (32, −60, −42) of cerebellum. Meta-regression showed the positive relationship between decreased GM in PFCventmed.R and MoCA score, the positive relationship between decreased GM in STG.L and BMI, as well as the positive relationship between the decreased FA in IFOF.R and age or BMI. Conclusions/interpretation T2DM impairs the cognitive function by affecting the specific brain structures. GM atrophy in PFCventmed. R (BA 11), STG. L (BA 48), and CAL. R (BA 17), as well as WM injury in IFOF. R, ILF. R, and undefined area (32, −60, −42) of cerebellum. And those brain regions may be valuable targets for future researches. Age, BMI, and MoCA score have a potential influence on the altered GM or WM in T2DM-CD

Changes of Brain Function in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Measured by Different Analysis Methods: A New Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging

OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging meta-analysis identified abnormal neural activity alterations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but there was no consistency or heterogeneity analysis between different brain imaging processing strategies. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine consistent changes of regional brain functions in T2DM METHODS: Since the indicators obtained using varied post-processing methods reflect different neurophysiological and pathological characteristics, we further conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) of the two categories of neuroimaging literature, which were grouped according to similar data processing methods: one group included regional homogeneity (ReHo), independent component analysis (ICA), and degree centrality (DC) studies, while the other group summarized the literature on amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). RESULTS: The final meta-analysis included 23 eligible trials with 27 data sets. Compared with the healthy control group, when neuroimaging studies were combined with ReHo, ICA, and DC measurements, the brain activity of the right Rolandic operculum, right supramarginal gyrus, and right superior temporal gyrus in T2DM patients decreased significantly. When neuroimaging studies were combined with ALFF and CBF measurements, there was no clear evidence of differences in the brain function between T2DM and HCs. CONCLUSION: T2DM patients have a series of spontaneous abnormal brain activities, mainly involving brain regions related to learning, memory, and emotion, which provide early biomarkers for clarifying the mechanism of cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric disorders in diabetes. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=247071, PROSPERO [CRD42021247071]

Structural Insights into the Stability and Recognition Mechanism of the Antiquinalphos Nanobody for the Detection of Quinalphos in Foods

Nanobodies (Nbs) have great potential in immunoassays due to their exceptional physicochemical properties. With the immortal nature of Nbs and the ability to manipulate their structures using protein engineering, it will become increasingly valuable to understand what structural features of Nbs drive high stability, affinity, and selectivity. Here, we employed an anti-quinalphos Nb as a model to illustrate the structural basis of Nbs' distinctive physicochemical properties and the recognition mechanism. The results indicated that the Nb-11A-ligand complexes exhibit a "tunnel" binding mode formed by CDR1, CDR2, and FR3. The orientation and hydrophobicity of small ligands are the primary determinants of their diverse affinities to Nb-11A. In addition, the primary factors contributing to Nb-11A's limited stability at high temperatures and in organic solvents are the rearrangement of the hydrogen bonding network and the enlargement of the binding cavity. Importantly, Ala 97 and Ala 34 at the active cavity's bottom and Arg 29 and Leu 73 at its entrance play vital roles in hapten recognition, which were further confirmed by mutant Nb-F3. Thus, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the recognition and stability mechanisms of anti-hapten Nbs and shed new light on the rational design of novel haptens and directed evolution to produce high-performance antibodies

Down-regulation of SFRP1 as a putative tumor suppressor gene can contribute to human hepatocellular carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. SFRP1 (the secreted frizzled-related protein 1), a putative tumor suppressor gene mapped onto chromosome 8p12-p11.1, the frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) region in human HCC, encodes a Wingless-type (Wnt) signaling antagonist and is frequently inactivated by promoter methylation in many human cancers. However, whether the down-regulation of SFRP1 can contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis still remains unclear.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the expression of SFRP1 through real time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry staining. The cell growth and colony formation were observed as the overexpression and knockdown of SFRP1. The DNA methylation status within SFRP1 promoter was analyzed through methylation-specific PCR or bisulphate-treated DNA sequencing assays. Loss of heterozygosity was here detected with microsatellite markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SFRP1 was significantly down-regulated in 76.1% (35/46) HCC specimens at mRNA level and in 30% (30/100) HCCs indicated by immunohistochemistry staining, as compared to adjacent non-cancerous livers. The overexpression of SFRP1 can significantly inhibit the cell growth and colony formation of YY-8103, SMMC7721, and Hep3B cells. The RNA interference against the constitutional SFRP1 in the offspring SMMC7721 cells, which were stably transfected by ectopic SFRP1, can markedly promote cell growth of these cells. LOH of both microsatellite markers D8S532 and D8SAC016868 flanking the gene locus was found in 13% (6 of 46 HCCs) and 6.5% (3 of 46 HCCs) of the informative cases, respectively, where 5 of 8 HCC specimens with LOH showed the down-regulation of SFRP1. DNA hypermethylation within SFRP1 promoter was identified in two of three HCC specimens without SFRP1 expression. Moreover, the DNA methylation of SFRP1 promoter was significantly reduced, along with the re-expression of the gene, in those HCC cell lines, Bel7404, QGY7701, and MHCC-H, as treated by DAC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggested that the down-regulation of SFRP1 as a candidate tumor suppressor gene, triggered by the epigenetic and/or genetic events, could contribute to the oncogenesis of HCC.</p

Proton-Boron Fusion Yield Increased by Orders of Magnitude with Foam Targets

A novel intense beam-driven scheme for high yield of the tri-alpha reaction 11B(p,{\alpha})2{\alpha} was investigated. We used a foam target made of cellulose triacetate (TAC, C_9H_{16}O_8) doped with boron. It was then heated volumetrically by soft X-ray radiation from a laser heated hohlraum and turned into a homogenous, and long living plasma. We employed a picosecond laser pulse to generate a high-intensity energetic proton beam via the well-known Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. We observed up to 10^{10}/sr {\alpha} particles per laser shot. This constitutes presently the highest yield value normalized to the laser energy on target. The measured fusion yield per proton exceeds the classical expectation of beam-target reactions by up to four orders of magnitude under high proton intensities. This enhancement is attributed to the strong electric fields and nonequilibrium thermonuclear fusion reactions as a result of the new method. Our approach shows opportunities to pursue ignition of aneutronic fusion

An optimized short‐term steroid therapy for chronic drug‐induced liver injury: A prospective randomized clinical trial

Background and AimsThe use of corticosteroids in chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important issue. Our previous randomized controlled trial showed that patients with chronic DILI benefited from a 48-week steroid stepwise reduction (SSR) regimen. However, it remains unclear whether a shorter course of therapy can achieve similar efficacy. In this study, we aimed to assess whether a 36-week SSR can achieve efficacy similar to that of 48-week SSR.MethodsA randomized open-label trial was performed. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the 36- or 48-week (1:1) SSR group. Liver biopsies were performed at baseline and at the end of treatment. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with relapse rate (RR). The secondary outcomes were improvement in liver histology and safety.ResultsOf the 90 participants enrolled, 84 (87.5%) completed the trial, and 62 patients (68.9%) were women. Hepatocellular damage was observed in 53.4% of the cohort. The RR was 7.1% in the 36-week SSR group but 4.8% in the 48-week SSR group, as determined by per-protocol set analysis (p = 1.000). Significant histological improvements in histological activity (93.1% vs. 92.9%, p = 1.000) and fibrosis (41.4% vs. 46.4%, p = .701) were observed in both the groups. Biochemical normalization time did not differ between the two groups. No severe adverse events were observed.ConclusionsBoth the 36- and 48-week SSR regimens demonstrated similar biochemical response and histological improvements with good safety, supporting 36-week SSR as a preferable therapeutic choice (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03266146)