Low-molecular-weight heparin and preeclampsia—does the sword cut both ways?Three case reports and review of literature

BACKGROUND Low-molecular-weight heparins(LMWH)are the most commonly used anticoagulants during pregnancy.It is considered to be the drug of choice due to its safety in not crossing placenta.Considering the beneficial effect in the improvement of microcirculation,prophylactic application of LMWH in patients with preeclampsia became a trend.However,the bleeding risk related with LMWH in preeclampsia patients has seldomly been evaluated.This current study aimed to identify the potential risks regarding LMWH application in patients with preeclampsia.CASE SUMMARY Herein we present a case series of three pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia on LMWH therapy during pregnancy.All the cases experienced catastrophic hemorrhagic events.After reviewing the twenty-one meta-analyses,the bleeding risk related with LMWH seems ignorable.Only one study analyzed the bleeding risk of LMWH and found a significantly higher risk of developing PPH in women receiving LMWH.Other studies reported minor bleeding risks,none of these were serious enough to stop LMWH treatment.Possibilities of bleeding either from uterus or from intrabdominal organs in preeclampsia patients on LMWH therapy should not be ignored.Intensive management of blood pressure even after delivery and homeostasis suture in surgery are crucial.CONCLUSION Consideration should be given to the balance between benefits and risks of LMWH in patients with preeclampsia.

Study on the Suitable Water-Saving Irrigation Technology for Mining Areas in the Northwestern Arid Desert Regions in China

Water is the key factor to ensure plant survival in the process of ecological restoration in the coal base of China northwest deserts. On the premise of meeting the mine production and living water demands, we should take measures such as dirt wastewater treatment and water-saving irrigation to increase income and reduce expenditure and allocate limited water re-sources rationally, to provide mining area ecological restoration maximum usable water resources. The mining dump has large slope and thin soil layer and it is easy to produce surface runoff. So it is particularly important to study the irrigation technology needed to satisfy vegetation restoration, on the premise of guaranteeing not to produce surface runoff and the slope stability. In this paper, through field plot test, the suitable irrigation method for mine slope, slope surface soil moisture migration characteristics and slope stability analysis were studied. Results show that three slope ir-rigation technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages. On the whole, the effect of drip irrigation is the best, micro spray irrigation is the second, infiltrating irrigation is not ideal. The permeability of mine soil slope is very strong, the infiltration rate of the slope direction is the high-est, inverse slope infiltration rate is lowest. In the process of irrigation, with the increase of soil moisture content, slope safety factor is the decreased obviously, the whole slope surface soil moisture content is 14% for the slope stability safety threshold.

Effects of Temperature and Hydraulic Residence Time (HRT) on Treatment of Dilute Wastewater in a Carrier Anaerobic Baffled Reactor

Objective To examine the effect of hydraulic residence time （HRT） on the performance and stability, to treat dilute wastewater at different operational temperatures in a carrier anaerobic baffled reactor （CABR）, and hence to gain a deeper insight into microbial responses to hydraulic shocks on the base of the relationships among macroscopic performance, catabolic intermediate, and microcosmic alternation. Methods COD, VFAs, and microbial activity were detected with constant feed strength （300 mg/L） at different HRTs （9-18 h） and temperatures （10℃-28℃） in a CABR. Results The removal efficiencies declined with the decreases of HRTs and temperatures. However, the COD removal load was still higher at short HRT than at long HRT. Devastating reactor performance happened at temperature of 10℃ and at HRT of 9 h. HRTs had effect on the VFAs in the reactor slightly both at high and low temperatures, but the reasons differed from each other. Microbial activity was sensitive to indicate changes of environmental and operational parameters in the reactor. Conclusion The CABR offers to certain extent an application to treat dilute wastewater under a hydraulic-shock at temperatures from 10℃to 28℃.

Hyperthyroid heart disease in pregnancy: Retrospective analysis of a case series and review of the literature

BACKGROUND Hyperthyroidism in pregnancy may pose a great threat to maternal and fetal health.The risk of hyperthyroid heart disease(HHD),even heart failure,is significantly elevated in pregnant women.AIM To investigate the clinical characteristics,prognosis,and therapy of HHD in pregnant women.METHODS We searched the patient registry data at West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University in Chengdu,China,following the approval by the Ethics Committee.We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of pregnant women diagnosed with HHD.The medical records of women with HHD during pregnancy from January 2012 to December 2017 were obtained from the electronic medical records system.All the included patients were followed in outpatient clinics and by telephone interviews until October 2018.RESULTS A total of 155 patients were diagnosed with thyrotoxicosis,of whom six were diagnosed with HHD.Three of them had regular antenatal care.Two patients were complicated with acute heart failure attacks,and one of them had a stillbirth.Both of these patients had a long history of Graves’disease with poor treatment compliance.Treatments of precipitating factors such as the control of infection could relieve the symptoms and prolong gestation for a better prognosis.Hyperthyroid heart failure could be controlled with aggressive diuretics and management of the coexisting complications.Intense monitoring and timely anti-heart failure treatment were crucial in patients with severe cardiac damage.Our findings indicated the importance of regular antenatal care and treatment adherence in patients with hyperthyroidism.CONCLUSION The timely and accurate diagnosis of HHD and the implementation of effective management are important for a better prognosis in pregnant women with HHD.Improvement in patients’awareness of thyrotoxicosis is needed.

ELECTROCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF POLY(AZURE B)

A blue poly(azure B) film has been synthesized using repeated potential cycling between -0.25 and 1.10 V (versus SCE). The electrolytic solution consisted of 2.5 mmol dm(-3) azure B, 0.5 mol dm(-3) NaCl and 0.2 mol dm(-3) NaH2PO4 at the pH range of 2.0 to 11.0. The in situ visible spectrum during electrolysis of azure B shows that the intensity at 740 nm peak increases with increasing numbers of potential cycles, which is attributable to the formation of poly(azure B). The wavelength of its corresponding absorption peak is 98 nm longer than that of azure B. The polymerization rate is strongly affected by pH values. The anodic peak potential and cathodic peak potential of the poly(azure B) in a solution of pH 3.0 are not affected by increasing the scan rate from 25 to 600 mV s(-1). Poly(azure B) has good electrochemical reversibility and fast charge transfer characteristic in the pH range of 2.0 and 11.0. The conductivity of poly(azure B) is 1.5 x 10(-4) S cm(-1) According to the differences between FTIR spectra of poly(azure B) and azure B, an electrochemical polymerization mechanism of azure B is proposed in this paper.

ELECTROCHEMICAL COPOLYMERIZATION OF ANILINE AND AZURE B

The electrochemical copolymerization of aniline and N,N,N'-trimethylthionin (azure B) in aqueous solutions has been carried out using the potential sweep method. The optimum conditions for the coelectrodeposition are that the pH value and the temperature of the electrolytic solution are controlled at 5.57 and 30 degreesC, respectively, and the scan potential range is set between -0.25 and 1.10 V (versus SCE). The copolymerization rate of aniline and azure B is about 3 times larger than that of aniline in the absence of azure B. The copolymerization of aniline and azure B was verified from the results of visible spectra during electrolysis, FTIR spectra and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the polymers. The in situ visible spectrum for the electrolysis of the solution containing aniline and azure B is different from that of the respective aniline and azure B. The FTIR spectrum of the copolymer is not a superposition of that of polyaniline and poly(azure B). The AFM image of the copolymer is different from those of polyaniline and poly(azure B) and is not a mixture of individual polymers. The conductivity of the copolymer synthesized at pH 5.57 is four orders of magnitude higher than that of polyaniline synthesized under the same conditions, but in the absence of azure B. The electrochemical properties of the copolymer are mainly attributed to polyaniline, but the copolymer has a better electrochemical reversibility and a much faster charge transfer than those of polyaniline.

Anti-Reflection Characteristics of Si Nanowires for Enhanced Photoluminescence from CdTe/CdS Quantum Dots

CdTe/CdS quantum dots（QDs） are fabricated on Si nanowires（NWs） substrates with and without Au nanoparticles（NPs）. The formation of Au NPs on Si NWs can be certified as shown in scanning electron microscopy images. The optical properties of samples are also investigated. It is interesting to find that the photoluminescence（PL） intensity of Cd Te/Cd S QD films on Si nanowire substrates with Au NPs is significantly increased,which can reach 8-fold higher than that of samples on planar Si without Au NPs. The results of finite-difference time-domain simulation indicate that Au NPs induce stronger localization of electric field and then boost the PL intensity of QDs nearby. Furthermore, the time-resolved luminescence decay curve shows the PL lifetime, which is about 5.5 ns at the emission peaks of QD films on planar, increasing from 1.8 ns of QD films on Si NWs to4.7 ns after introducing Au NPs into Si NWs.

Adverse effects of exposure to fine particles and ultrafine particles in the environment on different organs of organisms

Particulate pollution is a global risk factor that seriously threatens human health.Fine particles(FPs)and ultrafine particles(UFPs)have small particle diameters and large specific surface areas,which can easily adsorb metals,microorganisms and other pollutants.FPs and UFPs can enter the human body in multiple ways and can be easily and quickly absorbed by the cells,tissues and organs.In the body,the particles can induce oxidative stress,inflammatory response and apoptosis,furthermore causing great adverse effects.Epidemiological studies mainly take the population as the research object to study the distribution of diseases and health conditions in a specific population and to focus on the identification of influencing factors.However,the mechanism by which a substance harms the health of organisms is mainly demonstrated through toxicological studies.Combining epidemiological studies with toxicological studies will provide a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of the impact of PM on the health of organisms.In this review,the sources,compositions,and morphologies of FPs and UFPs are briefly introduced in the first part.The effects and action mechanisms of exposure to FPs and UFPs on the heart,lungs,brain,liver,spleen,kidneys,pancreas,gastrointestinal tract,joints and reproductive system are systematically summarized.In addition,challenges are further pointed out at the end of the paper.This work provides useful theoretical guidance and a strong experimental foundation for investigating and preventing the adverse effects of FPs and UFPs on human health.

Personalized surgical recommendations and quantitative therapeutic insights for patients with metastatic breast cancer: Insights from deep learning

Background:The role of surgery in metastatic breast cancer(MBC)is currently controversial.Several novel statistical and deep learning(DL)methods promise to infer the suitability of surgery at the individual level.Objective:The objective of this study was to identify the most applicable DL model for determining patients with MBC who could benefit from surgery and the type of surgery required.Methods:We introduced the deep survival regression with mixture effects(DSME),a semi-parametric DL model integrating three causal inference methods.Six models were trained to make individualized treatment recommendations.Patients who received treatments in line with the DL models'recommendations were compared with those who underwent treatments divergent from the recommendations.Inverse probability weighting(IPW)was used to minimize bias.The effects of various features on surgery selection were visualized and quantified using multivariate linear regression and causal inference.Results:In total,5269 female patients with MBC were included.DSME was an independent protective factor,outperforming other models in recommending surgery(IPW-adjusted hazard ratio[HR]=0.39,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.19–0.78)and type of surgery(IPW-adjusted HR=0.66,95%CI:0.48–0.93).DSME was superior to other models and traditional guidelines,suggesting a higher proportion of patients benefiting from surgery,especially breast-conserving surgery.The debiased effect of patient characteristics,including age,tumor size,metastatic sites,lymph node status,and breast cancer subtypes,on surgery decision was also quantified.Conclusions:Our findings suggested that DSME could effectively identify patients with MBC likely to benefit from surgery and the specific type of surgery needed.This method can facilitate the development of efficient,reliable treatment recommendation systems and provide quantifiable evidence for decision-making.

Fast and direct identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants via 2D InSe field-effect transistors

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and new variants emerge,the development of more efficient identification approaches of variants is urgent to prevent continuous outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2.Field-effect transistors(FETs)with two-dimensional(2D)materials are viable platforms for the detection of virus nucleic acids(NAs)but cannot yet provide accurate information on NA variations.Herein,2D Indium selenide(InSe)FETs were used to identify SARSCoV-2 variants.The device's mobility and stability were ensured by atomic layer deposition(ALD)of Al_(2)O_(3).The resulting FETs exhibited sub-fM detection limits ranging from 10^(–14)M to 10^(–8)M.The recognition of single-nucleotide variations was achieved within 15 min to enable the fast and direct identification of two core mutations(L452R,R203M)in Delta genomes(p<0.01).Such capability originated from the trap states in oxidized InSe(InSe_(1-x)O_(x))after ALD,resulting in traps-involved carrier transport responsive to the negative charges of NAs.In sum,the proposed approach might highly provide epidemiological information for timely surveillance of the COVID pandemic.

A seven-gene-deleted African swine fever virus is safe and effective as a live attenuated vaccine in pigs

African swine fever(ASF)is a devastating infectious disease in swine that is severely threatening the global pig industry.An efficacious vaccine is urgently required.Here,we used the Chinese ASFV HLJ/18 as a backbone and generated a series of genedeleted viruses.The virulence,immunogenicity,safety,and protective efficacy evaluation in specific-pathogen-free pigs,commercial pigs,and pregnant sows indicated that one virus,namely HLJ/18-7GD,which has seven genes deleted,is fully attenuated in pigs,cannot convert to the virulent strain,and provides complete protection of pigs against lethal ASFV challenge.Our study shows that HLJ/-18-7GD is a safe and effective vaccine against ASFV,and as such is expected to play an important role in controlling the spread of ASFV.

17α-Ethynylestradiol biodegradation in different river-based groundwater recharge modes with reclaimed water and degradation-associated community structure of bacteria and archaea

This study investigated 17α-ethynylestradiol（EE2） biodegradation process and primary metabolic pathways associated with community structures of microorganism during groundwater recharge using reclaimed water. The attenuation rate is 1.58 times higher in wetting and drying alternative recharge（WDAR） than in continual recharge（CR）. The primary biotransformation pathways of EE2 in WDAR system began with the oxidation of C-17 on ring D to form a ketone group, and D-ring was subsequently hydroxylated and cleaved. In the CR system, the metabolic pathway changed from the oxidation of C-17 on ring D to hydroxylation of C-4 on ring A, and ring A or B subsequently cleaved; this transition was related to DO, and the microbial community structure. Four hundred fifty four pyrosequencing of 16 s r RNA genes indicated that the bacterial communities in the upper layer of the WDAR system were more diverse than those found in the bottom layer of the CR system; this result was reversed for archaea. Unweighted Uni Frac and taxonomic analyses were conducted to relate the change in bacterial community structure to the metabolic pathway. Microorganism community diversity and structure were related to the concentrations of dissolved oxygen, EE2 and its intermediates in the system. Five known bacterial classes and one known archaeal class, five major bacterial genera and one major archaeal genus might be involved in EE2 degradation. The findings of this study provide an understanding of EE2 biodegradation in groundwater recharge areas under different recharging modes and can facilitate the prediction of the fate of EE2 in underground aquifers.

Immunogenicity of a recombinant VSV-Vectored SARS-CoV vaccine induced robust immunity in rhesus monkeys after single-dose immunization

Severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)is a highly contagious zoonotic disease caused by SARS coronavirus(SARS-Co V).Since its outbreak in Guangdong Province of China in 2002,SARS has caused 8096 infections and774 deaths by December 31st,2003.Although there have been no more SARS cases reported in human populations since 2004,the recent emergence of a novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)indicates the potential of the recurrence of SARS and other coronavirus disease among humans.Thus,developing a rapid response SARS vaccine to provide protection for human populations is still needed.Spike(S)protein of SARS-Co V can induce neutralizing antibodies,which is a pivotal immunogenic antigen for vaccine development.Here we constructed a recombinant chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus(VSV)VSVΔG-SARS,in which the glycoprotein(G)gene is replaced with the SARS-Co V S gene.VSVΔG-SARS maintains the bullet-like shape of the native VSV,with the heterogeneous S protein incorporated into its surface instead of G protein.The results of safety trials revealed that VSVΔG-SARS is safe and effective in mice at a dose of 1×10^(6)TCID_(50).More importantly,only a single-dose immunization of 2×10^(7)TCID_(50)can provide high-level neutralizing antibodies and robust T cell responses to non-human primate animal models.Thus,our data indicate that VSVΔG-SARS can be used as a rapid response vaccine candidate.Our study on the recombinant VSV-vectored SARS-Co V vaccines can accumulate experience and provide a foundation for the new coronavirus disease in the future.

Cosmic acceleration caused by the extra-dimensional evolution in a generalized Randall-Sundrum model

We investigate an(n+1)-dimensional generalized Randall-Sundrum model with an anisotropic metric which has three different scale factors.One obtains a positive effective cosmological constant Ωeff∼10^−124(in Planck units),which only needs a solution kr≃50−80 without fine tuning.Both the visible and hidden brane tensions are positive,which renders the two branes stable.Then,we find that the Hubble parameter is close to a constant in a large region near its minimum,thus causing the acceleration of the universe.Meanwhile,the scale of extra dimensions is smaller than the observed scale but greater than the Planck length.This may suggest that the observed present acceleration of the universe is caused by the extra-dimensional evolution.

Dysregulated Hepatic Expression of Glucose Transporter Type-1,Toll-Like Receptor 4,and Nuclear Factor Kappa B in Estrogen-Induced Cholestasis Pregnant Rats with Placental Ischemia-Reperfusion Stress

Objective:This study aimed at investigating the expression of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)related signal pathways in liver tissues of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy animal models.Methods:Estrogen(EE)-induced cholestasis and a placental ischemia-reperfusion(IR)model were established in pregnant rats.All pregnant rats were divided into four groups by random number table:EE-IR group(n=6),EE-sham group(n=6),control-IR group(n=6)and control-sham group(n=6).Liver expression of mTOR,its upstream regulator DNA damage response-1(REDD1),and downstream factor glucose transporter type-1(GLUT1),accompanied by NF-κB(p65 is the most important component),its activator toll-like receptor 4(TLR4),and inhibitor IκBα,were detected by western blot analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction.The intergroup comparisons were performed with a one-way analysis of variance,the comparisons among groups were analyzed with the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test.Results:Giving pregnant rats EE alone reduced the hepatic expression of IκBα(0.72±0.20vs.1.01±0.07,P=0.008).Meanwhile,giving pregnant rats placental IR alone increased liver levels of REDD1(3.24±0.98vs.1.06±0.24,P=0.025),GLUT1(2.37±0.82vs.1.09±0.10,P=0.039),TLR4(2.12±0.29vs.1.20±0.28,P=0.010),and p65(2.09±0.85vs.1.04±0.06,P=0.023),and decreased hepatic mTOR(0.50±0.07vs.1.01±0.03,P=0.001)and IκBα(0.61±0.08vs.1.01±0.07,P=0.014)expression.Subjecting EE-treated rats to placental IR did not further alter liver levels of GLUT1(2.02±0.45vs.1.79±0.39,P=0.240),TLR4(2.10±0.74vs.1.60±0.36,P=0.129),or p65(2.41±0.83vs.1.65±0.46,P=0.145),whereas it did decrease hepatic mTOR(0.42±0.09vs.0.90±0.14,P=0.008)and IκBα(0.43±0.09vs.0.72±0.20,P=0.004)expression and enhance REDD1 expression(4.46±0.65vs.2.05±0.47,P=0.009).Placental IR stress did impact the hepatic expression of REDD1-mTOR-GLUT1 and TLR4/NF-κB/IκBαin pregnant rats.Conclusion:Placental IR-induced hepatic GLUT1,TLR4,and p65 alternation,which responded efficiently in control rats,were impaired in EE-induced ICP rats.