Microwave ablation for liver metastases from colorectal cancer:A comprehensive review of clinical efficacy and safety

Microwave ablation(MWA)is emerging as a highly effective treatment for colorectal liver metastases(CRLMs).This review explores the advantages of MWA compared to other ablative techniques such as radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation and highlights its clinical efficacy,safety,and technical considerations.MWA offers significant benefits,including higher intratumoral temperatures,larger ablation zones,and reduced susceptibility to the heat-sink effect,which make it particularly suitable for tumors near large blood vessels.This review details the patient selection criteria,procedural approaches,and the use of advanced imaging techniques to improve the precision and effectiveness of MWA.Clinical outcomes indicate that MWA achieves high rates of complete tumor ablation and long-term survival with a favorable safety profile.This review is significant because it provides updated insights into the expanding role of MWA in treating unresectable CRLM and its potential as an alternative to surgical resection for resectable tumors.By summarizing recent studies and clinical trials,this review highlights the comparative effectiveness,safety,and integration with systemic therapies of MWA.In conclusion,MWA is a promising treatment option for CRLM and offers outcomes comparable to or better than those of other ablative techniques.Future research should focus on optimizing technical parameters,integrating MWA with systemic therapies,and conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials to establish standardized treatment protocols.Advancing our understanding of MWA will enhance its application and improve long-term survival and quality of life for patients with CRLM.

Argatroban promotes recovery of spinal cord injury by inhibiting the PAR1/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway

Argatroban is a synthetic thrombin inhibitor approved by U.S.Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of thrombosis.However,whether it plays a role in the repair of spinal cord injury is unknown.In this study,we established a rat model of T10 moderate spinal cord injury using an NYU Impactor ModerⅢand performed intraperitoneal injection of argatroban for 3 consecutive days.Our results showed that argatroban effectively promoted neurological function recovery after spinal cord injury and decreased thrombin expression and activity in the local injured spinal cord.RNA sequencing transcriptomic analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes in the argatroban-treated group were enriched in the JAK2/STAT3 pathway,which is involved in astrogliosis and glial scar formation.Western blotting and immunofluorescence results showed that argatroban downregulated the expression of the thrombin receptor PAR1 in the injured spinal cord and the JAK2/STAT3 signal pathway.Argatroban also inhibited the activation and proliferation of astrocytes and reduced glial scar formation in the spinal cord.Taken together,these findings suggest that argatroban may inhibit astrogliosis by inhibiting the thrombin-mediated PAR1/JAK2/STAT3 signal pathway,thereby promoting the recovery of neurological function after spinal cord injury.

Effects of aeration induced turbulence on colonial morphology and microcystin release of the bloom-forming cyanoabcterium Microcystis

Aeration induced turbulence was considered as an important measure to control the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms in many lakes.Different aeration intensities were set for the culture of Microcystis aeruginosa based on the formation of Microcystis colony at high iron concentrations.The turbulent dissipation rate was calculated using a computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model to evaluate the intensity of turbulence.The effects of turbulence on the formation of Microcystis colony and the release of microcystin were analyzed.Results show that turbulence produced by aeration promoted the growth of Microcystis compared to that in stagnant water.Low intensity turbulence(4×10^(-8)-1×10^(-7) m2/s3)promoted the formation of Microcystis colonies,but high intensity turbulence(1.28×10^(-6)-1.8×10^(-5) m^(2)/s^(3))did not.The increase in the number of cells per colony was slower than that in total biomass,indicating that the low intensity turbulence induced colony formation via cell division,while the high level turbulence disaggregated colonies formed by both cell division and cell adhesion.Low aeration intensity induced more production of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and malondialdehyde(MDA)in the cells of Microcystis than those in high aeration intensity.In addition,the content of microcystin(MC)-LR in the cells was positively correlated with turbulence intensity,showing that turbulence affected not only the growth and aggregation of Microcystis colonies but also their toxin production.These findings provide a better understanding of the cyanobacterial bloom formation mechanisms and help to propose feasible methods to prevent the formation of Microcystis colonies in a natural environment.

A novel multi-resolution network for the open-circuit faults diagnosis of automatic ramming drive system

The open-circuit fault is one of the most common faults of the automatic ramming drive system(ARDS),and it can be categorized into the open-phase faults of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor(PMSM)and the open-circuit faults of Voltage Source Inverter(VSI). The stator current serves as a common indicator for detecting open-circuit faults. Due to the identical changes of the stator current between the open-phase faults in the PMSM and failures of double switches within the same leg of the VSI, this paper utilizes the zero-sequence voltage component as an additional diagnostic criterion to differentiate them.Considering the variable conditions and substantial noise of the ARDS, a novel Multi-resolution Network(Mr Net) is proposed, which can extract multi-resolution perceptual information and enhance robustness to the noise. Meanwhile, a feature weighted layer is introduced to allocate higher weights to characteristics situated near the feature frequency. Both simulation and experiment results validate that the proposed fault diagnosis method can diagnose 25 types of open-circuit faults and achieve more than98.28% diagnostic accuracy. In addition, the experiment results also demonstrate that Mr Net has the capability of diagnosing the fault types accurately under the interference of noise signals(Laplace noise and Gaussian noise).

A sustainable process to 100%bio-based nylons integrated chemical and biological conversion of lignocellulose

Considerable progress has been made in recent years to the development of sustainable polymers from bio-based feedstocks.In this study,100%bio-based nylons were prepared via an integrated chemical and biological process from lignocellulose.These novel nylons were obtained by the melt polymerization of 3-propyladipic acid derived from lignin and 1,5-pentenediamine/1,4-butanediamine derived from carbohydrate sugar.Central to the concept is a three-step noble metal free catalytic chemical funnelling sequence(Raney Ni mediated reductive catalytic fractionation-reductive funnelling-oxidative funnelling),which allowed for obtaining a single component 3-propyladipic acid from lignin with high efficiency.The structural and thermodynamic properties of the obtained nylons have been systematically investigated,and thus obtained transparent bio-based nylons exhibited higher Mw(>32,000)and excellent thermal stability(Td5%>265℃).Considering their moderate Tg and good melt strength,these transparent bio-based nylons could serve as promising functional additives or temperature-responsive materials.

A 256 Gb/s electronic−photonic monolithically integrated transceiver in 45 nm CMOS

With the explosive development of artificial intelligence(AI),machine learning(ML),and high-performance comput-ing(HPC),the ever-growing data movement is asking for high density interconnects with higher bandwidth(BW),lower power and lower latency[1−3].The optical I/O leverages silicon photonic(SiPh)technology to enable high-density large-scale integrated photonics.

Serum cystatin C,monocyte/high-density lipoprotein-C ratio,and uric acid for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease and heart failure

BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease(CHD)and heart failure(HF)are the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.Early and accurate diagnoses of CHD and HF are essential for optimal management and prognosis.However,conventional diagnostic methods such as electrocardiography,echocardiography,and cardiac biomarkers have certain limitations,such as low sensitivity,specificity,availability,and cost-effectiveness.Therefore,there is a need for simple,noninvasive,and reliable biomarkers to diagnose CHD and HF.AIM To investigate serum cystatin C(Cys-C),monocyte/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio(MHR),and uric acid(UA)diagnostic values for CHD and HF.METHODS We enrolled 80 patients with suspected CHD or HF who were admitted to our hospital between July 2022 and July 2023.The patients were divided into CHD(n=20),HF(n=20),CHD+HF(n=20),and control groups(n=20).The serum levels of Cys-C,MHR,and UA were measured using immunonephelometry and an enzymatic method,respectively,and the diagnostic values for CHD and HF were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.RESULTS Serum levels of Cys-C,MHR,and UA were significantly higher in the CHD,HF,and CHD+HF groups than those in the control group.The serum levels of Cys-C,MHR,and UA were significantly higher in the CHD+HF group than those in the CHD or HF group.The ROC curve analysis showed that serum Cys-C,MHR,and UA had good diagnostic performance for CHD and HF,with areas under the curve ranging from 0.78 to 0.93.The optimal cutoff values of serum Cys-C,MHR,and UA for diagnosing CHD,HF,and CHD+HF were 1.2 mg/L,0.9×10^(9),and 389μmol/L;1.4 mg/L,1.0×10^(9),and 449μmol/L;and 1.6 mg/L,1.1×10^(9),and 508μmol/L,respectively.CONCLUSION Serum Cys-C,MHR,and UA are useful biomarkers for diagnosing CHD and HF,and CHD+HF.These can provide information for decision-making and risk stratification in patients with CHD and HF.

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis induced by X-linked agammaglobulinemia:A case report

BACKGROUND Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis(PAP)and X-linked agammaglobulinemia(XLA)are rare diseases in children.Many theories infer that immunodeficiency can induce PAP,but these reports are almost all review articles,and there is little clinical evidence.We report the case of a child with both PAP and XLA.CASE SUMMARY A 4-month-old boy sought medical treatment due to coughing and difficulty in breathing for>2 wk.He had been hospitalized multiple times due to respiratory infections and diarrhea.Chest computed tomography and alveolar lavage fluid showed typical PAP-related manifestations.Genetic testing confirmed that the boy also had XLA.Following total lung alveolar lavage and intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy,the boy recovered and was discharged.During the follow-up period,the number of respiratory infections was significantly reduced,and PAP did not recur.CONCLUSION XLA can induce PAP and improving immune function contributes to the prognosis of children with this type of PAP.

Effects of different doses of glucose and fructose on central metabolic pathways and intercellular wireless communication networks in humans

Fructose and glucose are often widely used in food processing and may contribute to many metabolic diseases.To observe the effects of different doses of glucose and fructose on human metabolism and cellular communication,volunteers were given low,medium,and high doses of glucose and fructose.Serum cytokines,glucose,lactate,nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NADH)and metabolic enzymes were assayed,and central carbon metabolic pathway networks and cytokine communication networks were constructed.The results showed that the glucose and fructose groups basically maintained the trend of decreasing catabolism and increasing anabolism with increasing dose.Compared with glucose,low-dose fructose decreased catabolism and increased anabolism,significantly enhanced the expression of the inflammatory cytokine interferon-γ(IFN-γ),macrophage-derived chemokine(MDC),induced protein-10(IP-10),and eotaxin,and significantly reduced the activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase(ICDH)and pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes(PDHC).Both medium and high doses of fructose increase catabolism and anabolism,and there are more cytokines and enzymes with significant changes.Furthermore,multiple cytokines and enzymes show strong relevance to metabolic regulation by altering the transcription and expression of enzymes in central carbon metabolic pathways.Therefore,excessive intake of fructose should be reduced to avoid excessive inflammatory responses,allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases.

Alkyl chain length-regulated in situ intelligent nano-assemblies with AIE-active photosensitizers for photodynamic cancer therapy

Photodynamic therapy(PDT)brings new hope for the treatment of breast cancer due to few side effects and highly effective cell killing;however,the low bioavailability of traditional photosensitizers(PSs)and their dependence on oxygen severely limits their application.Aggregation-induced emission(AIE)PSs can dramatically facilitate the photosensitization effect,which can have positive impacts on tumor PDT.To-date,most AIE PSs lack tumor targeting capability and possess poor cell delivery,resulting in their use in large quantities that are harmful to healthy tissues.In this study,a series of AIE PSs based on pyridinium-substituted triphenylamine salts(TTPAs 1-6)with different alkyl chain lengths are synthesized.Results reveal that TTPAs 1-6 promote the generation of type I and II ROS,including·OH and 1O_(2).In particular,the membrane permeability and targeting of TTPAs 4-6 bearing C8-C10 side-chains are higher than TTPAs 1-3 bearing shorter alkyl chains.Additionally,they can assemble with albumin,thereby forming nanoparticles(TTPA 4-6 NPs)in situ in blood,which significantly facilitates mitochondrial-targeting and strong ROS generation ability.Moreover,the TTPA 4-6 NPs are pH-responsive,allowing for increased accumulation or endocytosis of the tumor and enhancing the imaging or therapeutic effect.Therefore,the in vivo distributions of TTPA 4-6 NPs are visually enriched in tumor sites and exhibited excellent PDT efficacy.This work demonstrates a novel strategy for AIE PDT and has the potential to play an essential role in clinical applications using nano-delivery systems.

Subtraction of liposome signals in cryo-EM structural determination of protein-liposome complexes

Reconstituting membrane proteins in liposomes and determining their structure is a common method for determining membrane protein structures using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM).However,the strong signal of liposomes under cryo-EM imaging conditions often interferes with the structural determination of the embedded membrane proteins.Here,we propose a liposome signal subtraction method based on single-particle two-dimensional(2D)classification average images,aimed at enhancing the reconstruction resolution of membrane proteins.We analyzed the signal distribution characteristics of liposomes and proteins within the 2D classification average images of protein–liposome complexes in the frequency domain.Based on this analysis,we designed a method to subtract the liposome signals from the original particle images.After the subtraction,the accuracy of single-particle three-dimensional(3D)alignment was improved,enhancing the resolution of the final 3D reconstruction.We demonstrated this method using a PIEZO1-proteoliposome dataset by improving the resolution of the PIEZO1 protein.

An improved analysis method for assessing the nuclear-heating impact on the stability of toroidal field magnets in fusion reactors

The superconducting magnet system of a fusion reactor plays a vital role in plasma confinement,a process that can be dis-rupted by various operational factors.A critical parameter for evaluating the temperature margin of superconducting magnets during normal operation is the nuclear heating caused by D-T neutrons.This study investigates the impact of nuclear heat-ing on a superconducting magnet system by employing an improved analysis method that combines neutronics and thermal hydraulics.In the magnet system,toroidal field(TF)magnets are positioned closest to the plasma and bear the highest nuclear-heat load,making them prime candidates for evaluating the influence of nuclear heating on stability.To enhance the modeling accuracy and facilitate design modifications,a parametric TF model that incorporates heterogeneity is established to expedite the optimization design process and enhance the accuracy of the computations.A comparative analysis with a homogeneous TF model reveals that the heterogeneous model improves accuracy by over 12%.Considering factors such as heat load,magnetic-field strength,and cooling conditions,the cooling circuit facing the most severe conditions is selected to calculate the temperature of the superconductor.This selection streamlines the workload associated with thermal-hydraulic analysis.This approach enables a more efficient and precise evaluation of the temperature margin of TF magnets.Moreover,it offers insights that can guide the optimization of both the structure and cooling strategy of superconducting magnet systems.

Multi-field Split Curvature Wavefront Sensing and its Application in the Large Field Survey Telescope

The image quality of a large field survey telescope with a fast focal ratio of the primary mirror is high sensitivity to the optical elements’misalignments and the primary mirror’s deformations.To maintain good optical performance,the perturbations need to be aligned,and the tomographic reconstruction of these perturbations can be derived from wavefront sensing with multi-field points for alignment.This work undertakes a comprehensive examination related to the implementation and optimization of a multi-field split curvature wavefront sensing system,including defocus distance,signal pre-processing,deblending of overlapped doughnuts,field-dependent correction,and distorted coordinate correction.We also conduct experiments to demonstrate the application and performance of a multi-field split curvature wavefront sensing system in Mephisto.In the context of the decentering of the secondary mirror,the coefficient of determination(R)attains a high value of 0.993,indicating a robust linearity between the coma coefficients and the decentering of the secondary mirror.A comparative analysis of the simulated and experimental results shows that the difference between them is less than 0.1λ.

Determination of related substances in disulfide-rich peptide ziconotide by establishing tandem mass spectrometry methods

Currently,several disulfide-rich peptides have been officially approved as therapeutic medicines,such as w-conotoxin ziconotide[1],guanosine analogue linaclotide,and plecanatide.Peptides are predisposed to generate related substances(also termed as structurally related impurities)including amino acid deletion/insertion,diastereoisomerization,deamination/amination,oxidation,and succinimidation etc.

Bilateral iridocorneal endothelial syndrome-Chandler’s syndrome:a case report and literature review

Dear Editor,I ridocorneal endothelial syndrome(ICE)is a rare ocular disease first proposed by Eagle et al[1]in 1979.It is mainly characterized by corneal endothelial abnormalities,accompanied by iris atrophy,iris pigmented nodules and peripheral anterior synechiae.ICE syndrome is typically unilateral,and classified into three clinical variants based on the changes of the cornea and iris,including progressive iris atrophy,Chandler’s syndrome,and Cogan-Reese syndrome.

Medical dilemma:Programmed death 1 blockade(sintilimab)therapy in patients suffering from tumours combined with psoriasis

Tumour immunotherapy represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)has greatly improved the overall prognosis of patients with malignant tumours,and is regarded as an important breakthrough in the field of medicine in recent years.ICIs have gradually become the core of tumour therapy and are increasingly used in the clinic.In order to achieve early clinical prediction and management of immune-related adverse events(irAEs),it is still necessary to perform further research on the mechanisms,risk factors,and predictors of irAE occurrence in the future.Zhou et al describe the consultation of a patient with advanced gastric cancer combined with chronic plaque psoriasis.This case provides an important reference for the use of programmed cell death protein-1(PD-1)inhibitors in patients of tumours combined with chronic plaque psoriasis.This case also highlights that screening of high-risk groups for irAEs is critical before applying PD-1 inhibitors to patients with chronic psoriasis combined with tumours.PD-1 inhibitors are new and potent antineoplastic agents that can cause serious immunerelated adverse events such as toxic epidermal necrolysis release and psoriasis.Glucocorticosteroids are the first-line agents for irAEs.The incidence of rheumatic irAEs may be higher in reality,which will inevitably become a new challenge for rheumatologists and dermatologists.

Reliability-BasedModel for Incomplete Preventive ReplacementMaintenance of Photovoltaic Power Systems

At present,the operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power generation systems mainly comprise regular maintenance,breakdown maintenance,and condition-based maintenance,which is very likely to lead to over-or under-repair of equipment.Therefore,a preventive maintenance and replacement strategy for PV power generation systems based on reliability as a constraint is proposed.First,a hybrid failure function with a decreasing service age factor and an increasing failure rate factor is introduced to describe the deterioration of PV power generation equipment,and the equipment is replaced when its reliability drops to the replacement threshold in the last cycle.Then,based on the reliability as a constraint,the average maintenance cost and availability of the equipment are considered,and the non-periodic incomplete maintenance model of the PV power generation system is established to obtain the optimal number of repairs,each maintenance cycle and the replacement cycle of the PV power generation system components.Next,the inverter of a PV power plant is used as a research object.The model in this paper is compared and analyzed with the equal cycle maintenance model without considering reliability and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold,Through model comparison,when the optimal maintenance strategy is(0.80,4),the average maintenance cost of this paper’s model are decreased by 20.3%and 5.54%and the availability is increased by 0.2395% and 0.0337%,respectively,compared with the equal-cycle maintenance model without considering the reliability constraint and the maintenance model without considering the equipment replacement threshold.Therefore,this maintenance model can ensure the high reliability of PV plant operation while increasing the equipment availability to improve the system economy.

Advancements in biomass gasification research utilizing iron-based oxygen carriers in chemical looping:A review

Biomass,recognized as renewable green coal,is pivotal for energy conservation,emission reduction,and dualcarbon objectives.Chemical looping gasification,an innovative technology,aims to enhance biomass utilization efficiency.Using metal oxides as oxygen carriers regulates the oxygen-to-fuel ratio to optimize synthesis product yields.This review examines various oxygen carriers and their roles in chemical looping biomass gasification,including natural iron ore types,industrial by-products,cerium oxide-based carriers,and core-shell structures.The catalytic,kinetic,and phase transfer properties of iron-based oxygen carriers are analyzed,and their catalytic cracking capabilities are explored.Molecular interactions are elucidated and system performance is optimized by providing insights into chemical looping reaction mechanisms and strategies to improve carrier efficiency,along with discussing advanced techniques such as density functional theory(DFT)and reactive force field(ReaxFF)molecular dynamics(MD).This paper serves as a roadmap for advancing chemical looping gasification towards sustainable energy goals.

Kuicolong-yu enema decoction retains traditional Chinese medicine enema attenuates inflammatory response ulcerative colitis through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway

BACKGROUND Ulcer colitis(UC)is a chronic,nonspecific,and noninfectious inflammatory bowel disease.Recently,Toll-like receptors(TLRs)have been found to be closely associated with clinical inflammatory diseases.Achieving complete remission in patients with intermittent periods of activity followed by dormancy is challenging.Moreover,no study has explored the mechanism by which Kuicolong-yu enema decoction retains traditional Chinese medicine enemas to attenuate the inflammatory response in UC.AIM To explore the mechanism by which Kuicolong-yu enema decoction retains traditional Chinese medicine enemas to attenuate the inflammatory response in UC.METHODS This prospective clinical study included patients who met the exclusion criteria in 2020 and 2021.The patients with UC were divided into two groups(control and experimental).The peripheral blood of the experimental and control groups were collected under aseptic conditions.The expression of TLR4 protein,NF-κB,IL-6,and IL-17 was detected in the peripheral blood of patients in the experimental group and control group before and 1 month after taking the drug.Linear co rrelation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between the expression level of TLR4 protein and the expression levels of downstream signal NF-κB and inflammatory factors IL-6 and IL-17,and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS There were no significant differences in the patient characteristics between the control and experimental groups.The results showed that the expression levels of TLR4 and NF-κB in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).The levels of IL-6 and IL-17 in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).The TLR4 protein expression in the experimental group was positively correlated with the expression level of downstream signal NF-κB and was positively correlated with the levels of downstream inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-17(r=0.823,P<0.05).CONCLUSION Kuicolong-yu enema decoction retains traditional Chinese medicine enema attenuates the inflammatory response of UC through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Two-Stage Optimal Scheduling of Community Integrated Energy System

From the perspective of a community energy operator,a two-stage optimal scheduling model of a community integrated energy system is proposed by integrating information on controllable loads.The day-ahead scheduling analyzes whether various controllable loads participate in the optimization and investigates the impact of their responses on the operating economy of the community integrated energy system(IES)before and after;the intra-day scheduling proposes a two-stage rolling optimization model based on the day-ahead scheduling scheme,taking into account the fluctuation of wind turbine output and load within a short period of time and according to the different response rates of heat and cooling power,and solves the adjusted output of each controllable device.The simulation results show that the optimal scheduling of controllable loads effectively reduces the comprehensive operating costs of community IES;the two-stage optimal scheduling model can meet the energy demand of customers while effectively and timely suppressing the random fluctuations on both sides of the source and load during the intra-day stage,realizing the economic and smooth operation of IES.