Caveolin‑1 is critical for hepatic iron storage capacity in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background:Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is associated with disordered lipid and iron metabolism.Our previous study has substantiated the pivotal role of Caveolin-1(Cav-1)in protecting hepatocytes and mediating iron metabolism in the liver.This study aimed to explore the specific mechanisms underlying the regulation of iron metabolism by Cav-1 in NAFLD.Methods:Hepatocyte-specific Cav-1 overexpression mice and knockout mice were used in this study.Cav-1-knockdown of RAW264.7 cells and mouse primary hepatocytes were performed to verify the changes in vitro.Moreover,a high-fat diet and palmitic acid plus oleic acid treatment were utilized to construct a NAFLD model in vivo and in vitro,respectively,while a high-iron diet was used to construct an in vivo iron overload model.Besides,iron concentration,the expression of Cav-1 and iron metabolism-related proteins in liver tissue or serum were detected using iron assay kit,Prussian blue staining,Western blotting,immunofluorescence staining,immunohistochemical staining and ELISA.The related indicators of lipid metabolism and oxidative stress were evaluated by the corresponding reagent kit and staining.Results:Significant disorder of lipid and iron metabolism occurred in NAFLD.The expression of Cav-1 was decreased in NAFLD hepatocytes(P<0.05),accompanied by iron metabolism disorder.Cav-1 enhanced the iron storage capacity of hepatocytes by activating the ferritin light chain/ferritin heavy chain pathway in NAFLD,subsequently alleviating the oxidative stress induced by excess ferrous ions in the liver.Further,CD68^(+) CD163^(+) macrophages expressing Cav-1 were found to accelerate iron accumulation in the liver,which was contrary to the effect of Cav-1 in hepatocytes.Positive correlations were also observed between the serum Cav-1 concentration and the serum iron-related protein levels in NAFLD patients and healthy volunteers(P<0.05).Conclusions:These findings confirm that Cav-1 is an essential target protein that regulates iron and lipid metabolic homeostasis.It is a pivotal molecule for predicting and protecting against the development of NAFLD.

Differential diagnosis of Crohn’s disease and intestinal tuberculosis based on ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with machine learning

BACKGROUND Crohn’s disease(CD)is often misdiagnosed as intestinal tuberculosis(ITB).However,the treatment and prognosis of these two diseases are dramatically different.Therefore,it is important to develop a method to identify CD and ITB with high accuracy,specificity,and speed.AIM To develop a method to identify CD and ITB with high accuracy,specificity,and speed.METHODS A total of 72 paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections were pathologically and clinically diagnosed as CD or ITB.Paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections were attached to a metal coating and measured using attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy at mid-infrared wavelengths combined with XGBoost for differential diagnosis.RESULTS The results showed that the paraffin wax-embedded specimens of CD and ITB were significantly different in their spectral signals at 1074 cm^(-1) and 1234 cm^(-1) bands,and the differential diagnosis model based on spectral characteristics combined with machine learning showed accuracy,specificity,and sensitivity of 91.84%,92.59%,and 90.90%,respectively,for the differential diagnosis of CD and ITB.CONCLUSION Information on the mid-infrared region can reveal the different histological components of CD and ITB at the molecular level,and spectral analysis combined with machine learning to establish a diagnostic model is expected to become a new method for the differential diagnosis of CD and ITB.

Source,migration,distribution,toxicological effects and remediation technologies of arsenic in groundwater in China

Groundwater with high arsenic(As) content seriously threatens human life and health. Drinking high-As groundwater for a long time will lead to various pathological changes such as skin cancer, liver cancer,and kidney cancer. High-As groundwater has become one of the most serious environmental geological problems in China and even internationally. This paper aims to systematically summarize the sources,migration, distribution, toxicological effects, and treatment techniques of As in natural groundwater in China based on a large number of literature surveys. High-As groundwater in China is mainly distributed in the inland basins in arid and semi-arid environments and the alluvial and lacustrine aquifers in river deltas in humid environments, which are in neutral to weakly alkaline and strongly reducing environments.The content of As in groundwater varies widely, and As(Ⅲ) is the main form. The main mechanism of the formation of high-As groundwater in China is the reduced dissolution of Fe and Mn oxides under the action of organic matter and primary microorganisms, alkaline environment, intense evaporation and concentration, long-term water-rock interaction, and slow groundwater velocity, which promote the continuous migration and enrichment of As in groundwater. There are obvious differences in the toxicity of different forms of As. The toxic of As(Ⅲ) is far more than As(V), which is considered to be more toxic than methyl arsenate(MMA) and dimethyl arsenate(DMA). Inorganic As entering the body is metabolized through a combination of methylation(detoxification) and reduction(activation) and catalyzed by a series of methyltransferases and reductases. At present, remediation methods for high-As groundwater mainly include ion exchange technology, membrane filtration technology, biological treatment technology, nanocomposite adsorption technology, electrochemical technology, and so on. All the above remediation methods still have certain limitations, and it is urgent to develop treatment materials and technical means with stronger As removal performance and sustainability. With the joint efforts of scientists and governments of various countries in the future, this worldwide problem of drinking-water As poisoning will be solved as soon as possible. This paper systematically summarizes and discusses the hot research results of natural high-As groundwater, which could provide a reference for the related research of high-As groundwater in China and even the world.

超声内镜在食管癌多学科综合治疗中的临床应用价值分析

目的比较单独CT、CT联合超声内镜(EUS)在食管癌术前T、N分期的准确性,并评估EUS对治疗方案的影响。方法选取2015年1月—2018年5月安阳肿瘤医院收治的食管癌患者750例,随机抽签分为单独CT组388例和CT联合EUS(CT-EUS)组362例。参照AJCC第8版TNM分期标准进行分期,并将单独CT组、CT-EUS组的临床分期结果与术后病理分期结果进行对比分析,比较两组患者内镜下黏膜切除术(EMR)、新辅助治疗、镜下完全切除(R0)率、中转开胸率及术中并发症情况。结果单独CT组、CT-EUS组对T期的诊断准确率分别为67.0%和83.5%,对N分期的诊断准确率分别为75.1%和85.6%,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。Kappa一致性检验分析提示CT-EUS组T、N分期一致性优于单独CT组。CT-EUS组与单独CT组比较,中转开胸率、术中出血及气管损伤率低(P <0.05),R0切除率高(P <0.05);CT-EUS组较单独CT组EMR使用率低,新辅助治疗率高,但差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论 CTEUS较单独CT可提高食管癌术前T、N分期准确性,但对食管癌综合治疗方案影响有限。

Expression patterns and action analysis of genes associated with blood coagulation responses during rat liver regeneration

AIM: To study the blood coagulation response after partial hepatectomy (PH) at transcriptional level. METHODS: After PH of rats, the associated genes with blood coagulation were obtained through reference to the databases, and the gene expression changes in rat regenerating liver were analyzed by the Rat Genome 230 2.0 array. RESULTS: It was found that 107 genes were associated with liver regeneration. The initially and totally expressing gene numbers occurring in initiation phase of liver regeneration (0.5-4 h after PH), G0/G1 transition (4-6 h after PH), cell proliferation (6-66 h after PH), cell differentiation and structure-function reconstruction (66-168 h after PH) were 44, 11, 58, 7 and 44, 33, 100, 71 respectively, showing that the associated genes were mainly triggered in the forepart and prophase, and worked at different phases. According to their expression similarity, these genes were classified into 5 groups: only up-, predominantly up-, only down-, predominantly down-, up- and down-regulation, involving 44, 8, 36, 13 and 6 genes, respectively, and the total times of their up- and down-regulation expression were 342 and 253, respectively, demonstrating that the number of the up-regulated genes was more than that of the down- regulated genes. Their time relevance was classified into 15 groups, showing that the cellular physiological and biochemical activities were staggered during liver regeneration. According to gene expression patterns, they were classified into 29 types, suggesting that their protein activities were diverse and complex during liver regeneration.CONCLUSION: The blood coagulation response is enhanced mainly in the forepart, prophase and anaphase of liver regeneration, in which the response in the forepart, prophase of liver regeneration can prevent the bleeding caused by partial hepatectomy, whereas that in the anaphase contributes to the structure-function reorganization of regenerating liver. In the process, 107 genes associated with liver regeneration play an important role.

Primary malignant bone neoplasm:a case report of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma in the rib and review of the literature

Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma (DDCS) is a rare but highly malignant primary bone neoplasm, which is resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There remains uncertainly as to the best treatment of this disease and how to improve its prognosis. In this paper we reported a case of DDCS and reviewed the related literatures in order to provide references to throw a light on the histogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of this disease.

Acute myocardial infarction induced by eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis:A case report

BACKGROUND Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis(EGPA)is a multisystem disease characterized by allergic rhinitis,asthma,and a significantly high eosinophil count in the peripheral blood.It mainly involves the arterioles and venules.When the coronary arteries are invaded,it can lead to acute myocardial infarction(AMI),acute heart failure,and other manifestations that often lead to death in the absence of timely treatment.CASE SUMMARY A 69-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department due to chest pain for more than 1 h.He had a past history of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was diagnosed with AMI and heart failure.Thrombus aspiration of the left circumflex artery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were performed immediately.After surgery,the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit.The patient developed eosinophilia,and medical history taking revealed fatigue of both thighs 1 mo prior.Local skin numbness and manifestations of peripheral nerve involvement were found on the lateral side of the right thigh.Skin biopsy of the lower limbs pathologically confirmed EGPA.The patient was treated with methylprednisolone combined with intravenous immunoglobulin and was discharged after 21 d.On follow-up at 7 d after discharge,heart failure recurred.The condition improved after cardiotonic and diuretic treatment,and the patient was discharged.CONCLUSION Asthma,impaired cardiac function,and eosinophilia are indicative of EGPA.Delayed diagnosis often leads to heart involvement and death.

A condition-based maintenance policy for reconfigurable multi-device systems

The exploration of component states for optimizing maintenance schedules in complex systems has garnered significant interest from researchers.However,current literature usually overlooks the critical aspects of system flexibility and reconfigurability.Judicious implementation of system reconfiguration can effectively mitigate system downtime and enhance production continuity.This study proposes a dynamic condition-based maintenance policy considering reconfiguration for reconfigurable systems.A double-layer decision rule was constructed for the devices and systems.To achieve the best overall maintenance effect of the system,the remaining useful life probability distribution and recommended maintenance time of each device were used to optimize the concurrent maintenance time window of the devices and determine whether to reconfigure them.A comprehensive maintenance efficiency index was introduced that simultaneously considered the maintenance cost rate,reliability,and availability of the system to characterize the overall maintenance effect.The reconfiguration cost was included in the maintenance cost.The proposed policy was tested through numerical experiments and compared with different-level policies.The results show that the proposed policy can significantly reduce the downtime and maintenance costs and improve the overall system reliability and availability.

2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromones from Endophytic Fungal Strain Botryosphaeria rhodina A13 from Aquilaria sinensis

Objective To study the characteristic 2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone components of endophytic fungal strain of Aquilaria sinensis by solid culture. Methods The compounds were isolated by various chromatographic methods such as silica gel, reverse-phase silica gel, Sephadex-LH20 column chromatography as well as crystallization. Results Seven 2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone analogues were isolated from the solid culture of Botryosphaeria rhodina A13. Their structures were established by spectral data as well as physicochemical properties, and identified as 6-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone （1）, 6,7-dimethoxy-2-（2-phenylethyl） chromone （2）, （5S,6R,7S,8R）-2-（2-phenylethyl）-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrchromone （3）, 6- hydroxy-2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone （4）, 4＇-hydroxy-2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone （5）, 6-methoxy-2-phenethyl-4H-chromen-4-one （6）, and 6-methoxy-2-（4＇-methoxy-phenethyl）-4H-chromen-4-one （7）. Conclusion All of the compounds are isolated for the first time from the genus Botryosphaeria. This research opens up a new vista to produce the characteristic components of agarwood by endophytic fungi.

Chatter identification of thin-walled parts for intelligent manufacturing based on multi-signal processing

Machine chatter is still an unresolved and challenging issue in the milling process,and developing an online chatter identification and process monitoring system towards smart manufacturing is an urgent requirement.In this paper,two indicators of chatter detection are investigated.One is the real-time variance of milling force signals in the time domain,and the other one is the wavelet energy ratio of acceleration signals based on wavelet packet decomposition in the frequency domain.Then,a novel classification concept for vibration condition,called slight chatter,is proposed and integrated successfully into the designed multi-classification support vector machine(SVM)model.Finally,a mapping model between image and chatter indicators is established via a distance threshold on the image.The multi-SVM model is trained by the results of three signals as an input.Experiment data and detection accuracy of the SVM model are verified in actual machining.The identification accuracy of 96.66%has proved that the proposed solution is feasible and effective.The presented method can be used to select optimized milling parameters to improve machining process stability and strengthen manufacturing system monitoring.

Clinical analysis of pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus exercising to treat obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome

Objective： To evaluate the effect of pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus exercising on obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome （OSAHS）. Methods： We conducted a non-randomized retrospective clinical trial of 75 patients with OSAHS. Fifty-four patients were managed by exercising of the pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus （exercising group）. Twenty-one patients, who refused to undertake any treatment, were defined as the control group. We took the Epworth Sleepiness Scale （ESS）, checked patients＇ polysomnography, and took 320- detector computed tomography （CT） before treatment. Six and twelve months later, we made records of apnea hypopnea index （AHI）, lowest arterial oxygen saturation （LSaO2）, body mass index （BMI）, the shortest sagittal diameter, and transverse diameter, and the effective rates of exercising were calculated and compared with the 21 patients without any treatment （control group） at the same time. SPSS 10.0 was used to analyze the data. Results： Before treatment, the ESS value was 7.67; 6 and 12 months later, the values were 3.54 and 3.25, respectively in the exercising group. AHI was decreased to 15.36 after 6 months and 13.79 after 12 months from 22.84 at the beginning. LSaO2 values were up to 81.18% after 6 months and 81.93% after 12 months from 74.05% at the beginning. There were significant differences in ESS scores, AHI, and LSaO2 between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the exercising group （P〈0.05）. However, there was no statistical difference in all the parameters between 6 and 12 months of exercising. The effective rates were 70.37% and 74.07% after 6- and 12-month exercising, respectively. There were significant differences between the exercising and control groups （P〈0.0001）. There was no statistical difference in the effective rate of the exercising group between 6 and 12 months of exercising （P〉0.05）. At 12 months of exercising, the compliance of the anteroposterior pharyngeal wall of the retropalatal area was lower （P〈0.01） than that before treatment. There was no significant change of BMI in either group. Conclusions： Exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus is a kind of non-invasive and cost-effective method to treat some OSAHS patients, especially those who are old, without surgical complications, and especially mild and moderate OSAHS patients who do not want to take surgery and continuous positive airway pressure （CPAP） treatment. In addition, exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus can be considered as remedial treatment of OSAHS to surgery and other therapies.

Two-dimensional correlation analysis of continuous online in situ ATR-FTIR on the adsorption of butyl xanthate at the surface of α-PbO

The adsorption behavior of butyl xanthate on the surface of lead oxide was investigated using continuous online in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared（ATR-FTIR） spectroscopy technique and two dimensional（2D） correlation analysis.The adsorbed layer studied was prepared by coating α-PbO particles onto the surfaces of the ZnSe crystal.The appearance of spectral peaks at 1203 cm^-1,1033 cm^-1 and their red shift indicated the formation and aggregation of xanthate at the surface of α-PbO.According to 1R intensity changes after rinsing with deionized water and a NaOH solution,the adsorption was proved to be a chemisorption type.The competition between xanthate and OH^- for the surfaces leads to desorption of xanthate at higher pH.The technique of 2D correlation ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used to evaluate the changing order of spectral intensities in the adsorption process,and the results indicated that xanthate micelles were formed at the surfaces.The adsorption kinetics of butyl xanthate was found to be a pseudo-second-order reaction model and the adsorption capacity of butyl xanthate at α-PbO was as high as 281 mg g^-1 after 150 min.

Master equation approach to transient quantum transport in nanostructures

In this review article, we present a non-equilibrium quantum transport theory for transient electron dynamics in nanodevices based on exact Master equation derived with the path integral method in the fermion coherent-state representation. Applying the exact Master equation to nanodevices, we also establish the connection of the reduced density matrix and the transient quantum transport current with the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green functions. The theory enables us to study transient quantum transport in nanostructures with back-reaction effects from the contacts, with non-Markovian dissipa- tion and decoherence being fully taken into account. In applications, we utilize the theory to specific quantum transport systems, a variety of quantum decoherence and quantum transport phenomena involving the non-Markovian memory effect are investigated in both transient and stationary scenarios at arbitrary initial temperatures of the contacts.

Experience in treating a case of the cardiac rupture during transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedure

To the Editor:A 70-year-old male patient underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation(TAVI)for severe aortic stenosis.Echocardiography showed that the peak velocity in aortic valve was 4.33 m/s,with a peak pressure gradient of 75 mmHg and a mean pressure gradient of 38 mmHg.The end-systolic dimension and end-diastolic dimension of left ventricle was 31.7 and 50.0 mm,respectively.