Gut microbiota and risk of endocarditis: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

BackgroundThe associations between gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease have been reported in previous studies. However, the relationship between gut microbiota and endocarditis remains unclear.MethodsA bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to detect the association between gut microbiota and endocarditis. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was considered the main result. Simultaneously, heterogeneity and pleiotropy tests were conducted.ResultsOur study suggests that family Victivallaceae (p = 0.020), genus Eubacterium fissicatena group (p = 0.047), genus Escherichia Shigella (p = 0.024), genus Peptococcus (p = 0.028) and genus Sellimonas (p = 0.005) play protective roles in endocarditis. Two microbial taxa, including genus Blautia (p = 0.006) and genus Ruminococcus2 (p = 0.024) increase the risk of endocarditis. At the same time, endocarditis has a negative effect on genus Eubacterium fissicatena group (p = 0.048). Besides, no heterogeneity or pleiotropy was found in this study.ConclusionOur study emphasized the certain role of specific gut microbiota in patients with endocarditis and clarified the negative effect of endocarditis on gut microbiota

Preparation and Performance Optimization of Two-Component Waterborne Polyurethane Locomotive Coating

This paper reports the effects of different formulas on the performance of waterborne polyurethane (WPU), including two-component WPU and curing agent, wetting dispersant, defoaming agent, and wetting agent. The optimization of rheological additives selection, through the optimization of coating physical properties and chemical properties, can make the film show uniform color and appearance without pinholes, bubbles, or wrinkles, and have a long probation period. Through the analysis of performance after a 1000-h quick ultraviolet (QUV) aging test, the light reduction rate is 23.19%, and the color difference is 1.9. As can be seen from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and the three-dimensional stereomicroscope, the film shows relatively uniform dispersion, good compactness, and smooth surface. The two-component WPU topcoat is found to have high gloss 87.1 (60°) and high weather resistance, which provides a positive indication for the modulation and production of waterborne locomotive paint

Non-coding RNAs: The recently accentuated molecules in the regulation of cell autophagy for ovarian cancer pathogenesis and therapeutic response

Autophagy is a self-recycling and conserved process, in which the senescent cytoplasmic components are degraded in cells and then recycled to maintain homeostatic balance. Emerging evidence has suggested the involvement of autophagy in oncogenesis and progression of various cancers, such as ovarian cancer (OC). Meanwhile, the non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) frequently regulate the mRNA transcription and other functional signaling pathways in cell autophagy, displaying promising roles in human cancer pathogenesis and therapeutic response. This article mainly reviews the cutting-edge research advances about the interactions between ncRNAs and autophagy in OC. This review not only summarizes the underlying mechanisms of dynamic ncRNA-autophagy association in OC, but also discusses their prognostic implications and therapeutic biomarkers. The aim of this review was to provide a more in-depth knowledge framework exploring the ncRNA-autophagy crosstalk and highlight the promising treatment strategies for OC patients

Solidification for solid-state lithium batteries with high energy density and long cycle life

Conventional lithium-ion batteries with inflammable organic liquid electrolytes are required to make a breakthrough regarding their bottlenecks of energy density and safety, as demanded by the ever-increasing development of electric vehicles and grids. In this context, solid-state lithium batteries (SSLBs), which replace liquid electrolytes with solid counterparts, have become a popular research topic due to their excellent potential in the realization of improved energy density and safety. However, in practice, the energy density of SSLBs is limited by the cathode mass loading, electrolyte thickness and anode stability. Moreover, the crucial interfacial issues related to the rigid and heterogeneous solid-solid contacts between the electrolytes and electrodes, including inhomogeneous local potential distributions, sluggish ion transport, side reactions, space charge barriers and stability degradation, severely deteriorate the cycle life of SSLBs. Solidification, which converts a liquid into a solid inside a solid battery, represents a powerful tool to overcome the aforementioned obstacles. The liquid precursors fully wet the interfaces and infiltrate the electrodes, followed by in-situ conformal solidification under certain conditions for the all-in-one construction of cells with highly conducting, closely contacted and sustainable electrode/electrolyte interfaces, thereby enabling high energy density and long cycle life. Therefore, in this review, we address the research progress regarding the latest strategies toward the solidification of the electrolyte layers and the interfaces between the electrodes and electrolytes. The critical challenges and future research directions are proposed for the solidification strategies in SSLBs from both science and engineering perspectives

Interleukin 6 receptor (IL-6R) was an independent prognostic factor in cervical cancer

IL-6 has been found to be associated with poor response to chemoradiotherapy and poor overall prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. However, little is known about the clinicopathological significance of IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) expression in the setting of cervical cancer. To investigate the clinicopathological meaning of IL-6R in cervical cancer, expression of IL6R was detected using immunohistochemistry in cervical cancer tissue microarray composed of 98 cases of cervical cancer and paired normal controls. As further confirmation of expression trend, western-blotting was conducted in another independent 36 pairs of cervical cancer and matched normal controls. Subsequently, the statistical correlation between IL-6R expression and clinicopathological variables was analyzed, including demographic, TNM stage, clinical grading and overall prognosis. IL-6R expression was shown to be remarkably associated with lymph node metastasis, recurrence and overall prognosis. Moreover, only IL-6R expression was observed to be an independent prognostic factor among these variables that could potentially influence the overall prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. In conclusion, IL-6R was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for patients with cervical cancer

A mechanical model for sheared joints based on Mohr-Coulomb material properties

This paper presents a mechanical model for sheared rock joints using microstructural analysis of asperity damage. The shear resistance of the rock joint is formulated as a function of the geometry of the rock joint, Mohr-Coulomb mechanical properties of the materials and the loading levels. Deformation of the rock joints can be classified as slip at the joint faces, and partial and complete shearing off of the asperity. The theoretical implications of the mechanical model developed have also been corroborated by relevant experimental data in the literature

Downregulated Ferroptosis-Related Gene STEAP3 as a Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Target for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Roles in Immune Regulation

Ferroptosis, a distinct type of regulated cell death, has been reported to be involved in the tumorigenesis of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). However, the precise functions and potential mechanisms of ferroptosis in LIHC were still poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the biological roles of ferroptosis-related gene STEAP3 in LIHC. STEAP3 was previously proved to serve a key regulator in ferroptosis via mediating the iron metabolism. Comprehensive bioinformatics from several databases revealed that STEAP3 was significantly downregulated in LIHC tissues and exhibited the favorable prognostic significance in LIHC patients. The downregulated STEAP3 was further confirmed in two LIHC cells Huh7 and MHCC97H using real-time PCR and western blot. And STEAP3 overexpression significantly inhibited the cell proliferation in Huh7 and MHCC97H cells. In addition, clinical data identified the relationship between STEAP3 expression and several clinicopathological parameters of LIHC patients, including histologic grade, alpha fetal protein (AFP) concentration, etc. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve revealed STEAP3 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for LIHC patients. Moreover, the co-expression network of STEAP3 was explored to gain a better insight into its underlying signaling pathways. Finally, aberrant STEAP3 might participate in varieties of immune-associated signatures in LIHC pathogenesis, including immunostimulators, immunoinhibitors, chemokines, and chemokine receptors. Taken together, these findings could enhance our knowledge regarding the inhibitory roles and underlying biological significance of STEAP3 in LIHC tumorigenesis

Effect of perioperative high-dose transdermal nicotine patch on pain sensitivity among male abstinent tobacco smokers undergoing abdominal surgery: a randomized controlled pilot study

Background and AimsPrevious studies have focused on the role of perioperative nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in improving the success rate of long-term smoking cessation in tobacco smokers. This study aimed to measure the effectiveness of high-dose NRT in alleviating postoperative pain for male abstinent smokers receiving abdominal surgery. DesignThis was a parallel-group, randomized, double-blind and controlled pilot trial. Setting and participantsIn total, 101 male smoking-abstinent patients from the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Shanghai, China, from 8 October 2018 to 10 December 2021. InterventionsPatients started smoking cessation on admission to the hospital ward. Patients received 24-hour transdermal nicotine patches (n = 50) or placebo (n = 51) every day from admission until 48 hours after surgery. MeasurementsThe primary outcomes were pre-surgery pain thresholds and total consumption of analgesics within the first 48 hours after surgery. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain and sedation scores, nausea, vomiting and fever frequency within the treatment period. FindingsBoth pre-surgery electrical and mechanical pain thresholds in the NRT group were higher than those in the placebo group (P = 0.004 and P = 0.020, respectively). The 48-hour postoperative analgesic consumption was significantly lower for smoking-abstinent patients receiving NRT than those receiving placebo (standardized morphine equivalent requirement, median [interquartile range], 1.80 [1.47, 2.32] mg/kg vs 2.22 [1.62, 2.82] mg/kg, P = 0.011). Postoperative pain intensity was significantly lower in the NRT group than that in the placebo group at 1st hour and 24th hour post-surgery (P &lt; 0.001 and P = 0.012, respectively). The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was not significantly different between groups. ConclusionsPerioperative high-dose nicotine replacement therapy may help to relieve postoperative pain among male smoking-abstinent patients undergoing abdominal surgery.</p