Regulation of circadian physiology and behavior by light in mammals:entrainment and masking

manifestation of circadian rhythms.The modern use of electric lights alters environmental lighting,leading to light exposure at inappropriate times to disturb circadian homeostasis for both human and wildlife.The light“pollution”and voluntary activities such as night shift work and transmeridian travelling have adverse consequences such as mood and metabolic disorders in humans.On the other hand,insufficient light exposure decreases neurotransmission from the locus ceruleus and dorsal raphe,leading to seasonal and nonseasonal affective disorders,while properly timed bright light is beneficial to mood and cognition.Given the critical and complex roles of light in mammalian physiology and behavior,it is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms.In this review,we discuss the neural mechanisms through which light regulates and dysregulates circadian rhythms in mammals.

Treatment and surveillance for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer:a clinical practice guideline(2021 edition)

Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer(NMIBC)is a major type of bladder cancer with a high incidence worldwide,resulting in a great disease burden.Treatment and surveillance are the most important part of NIMBC management.In 2018,we issued“Treatment and surveillance for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in China:an evidencebased clinical practice guideline”.Since then,various studies on the treatment and surveillance of NMIBC have been published.There is a need to incorporate these materials and also to take into account the relatively limited medical resources in primary medical institutions in China.Developing a version of guideline which takes these two issues into account to promote the management of NMIBC is therefore indicated.We formed a working group of clinical experts and methodologists.Through questionnaire investigation of clinicians including primary medical institutions,24 clinically concerned issues,involving transurethral resection of bladder tumor(TURBT),intravesical chemotherapy and intravesical immunotherapy of NMIBC,and follow-up and surveillance of the NMIBC patients,were determined for this guideline.Researches and recommendations on the management of NMIBC in databases,guideline development professional societies and monographs were referred to,and the European Association of Urology was used to assess the certainty of generated recommendations.Finally,we issued 29 statements,among which 22 were strong recommendations,and 7 were weak recommendations.These recommendations cover the topics of TURBT,postoperative chemotherapy after TURBT,Bacillus Calmette–Guérin(BCG)immunotherapy after TURBT,combination treatment of BCG and chemotherapy after TURBT,treatment of carcinoma in situ,radical cystectomy,treatment of NMIBC recurrence,and follow-up and surveillance.We hope these recommendations can help promote the treatment and surveillance of NMIBC in China,especially for the primary medical institutions.

On-treatment monitoring of liver fibrosis with serum hepatitis B core-related antigen in chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND Non-invasive evaluation for liver fibrosis is clinically important,especially in patients with undetectable hepatitis B virus(HBV)DNA treated with nucleoside analogs.AIM To clarify the monitoring power of hepatitis B core-related antigen(HBcrAg)for hepatic histologic changes in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB)treated with entecavir.METHODS This prospective multicenter study used multiple ordinal and multivariate logistics regression analysis to assess variables associated with Ishak fibrosis score and regression for fibrosis regression,respectively,in 403 CHB patients,including 374 with entecavir for 72 weeks(291 underwent paired liver biopsy)and 29 as controls.RESULTS Level of HBcrAg correlated negatively with liver fibrosis staging(γ=-0.357,P<0.001)in hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)-positive patients,and positively with liver fibrosis staging in HBeAg-negative patients.Higher HBcrAg concentration was associated with younger age,HBeAg positive status,high HBV DNA loads,high level of hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)and higher necroinflammation,but not with HBV genotype.Serum concentration of HBcrAg,basal core promoter/precore(BCP/PC)mutant,quantitation of HBsAg(qHBsAg)and platelet counts were independently associated with Ishak fibrosis score on multiple ordinal regression.HBV DNA was undetectable in 88.37%of patients treated with entecavir at week 72,while their level of HBcrAg was still detectable.A greater reduction in post-treatment HBcrAg concentration was associated with the regression of hepatic fibrosis and histological improvement.HBcrAg concentration>6.33 log IU/mL at baseline and logarithmic reduction>1.03 log IU/mL at week 72 were associated with a higher chance of regression of liver fibrosis and histological improvement,respectively.CONCLUSION HBcrAg level is associated with liver fibrosis progression.HBcrAg is an excellent monitor of hepatic histological changes,especially in CHB patients treated with nucleoside analogs.

Epidemiological trends of urinary tract infections,urolithiasis and benign prostatic hyperplasia in 203 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019

Background:Urinary tract infections(UTI),urolithiasis,and benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)are three of the most common nonmalignant conditions in urology.However,there is still a lack of comprehensive and updated epidemiological data.This study aimed to investigate the disease burden of UTI,urolithiasis,and BPH in 203 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019.Methods:Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease 2019,including incident cases,deaths,disabilityadjusted life-years(DALYs)and corresponding age-standardized rate(ASR)from 1990 to 2019.Estimated annual percentage changes(EAPC)were calculated to evaluate the trends of ASR.The associations between disease burden and social development degrees were analyzed using a sociodemographic index(SDI).Results:Compared with 1990,the incident cases of UTI,urolithiasis,and BPH increased by 60.40%,48.57%,and 105.70%in 2019,respectively.The age-standardized incidence rate(ASIR)of UTI increased(EAPC=0.08),while urolithiasis(EAPC=–0.83)and BPH(EAPC=–0.03)decreased from 1990 to 2019.In 2019,the age-standardized mortality rate(ASMR)of UTI and urolithiasis were 3.13/100,000 and 0.17/100,000,respectively.BPH had the largest increase(110.56%)in DALYs in the past three decades,followed by UTI(68.89%)and urolithiasis(16.95%).The burden of UTI was mainly concentrated in South Asia and Tropical Latin America,while the burden of urolithiasis and BPH was recorded in Asia and Eastern Europe.Moreover,the ASIR and SDI of urolithiasis in high-SDI regions from 1990to 2019 were negatively correlated,while the opposite trend was seen in low-SDI regions.In 2019,the ASIR of UTI in females was 3.59 times that of males,while the ASIR of urolithiasis in males was 1.96 times higher than that in females.The incidence was highest in the 30–34,55–59,and 65–69 age groups among the UTI,urolithiasis,and BPH groups,respectively.Conclusions:Over the past three decades,the disease burden has increased for UTI but decreased for urolithiasis and BPH.The allocation of medical resources should be based more on the epidemiological characteristics and geographical distribution of diseases.

Preparation and characterization of HMX/EVA/hBNNSs microcomposites with improved thermal stability and reduced sensitivity

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets(HBNNSs)have huge potential in the field of coating materials owing to their remarkable chemical stability,mechanical strength and thermal conductivity.Thin-layer hBNNSs were obtained by a liquid-phase exfoliation of h-BN powders and incorporated into EVA coatings for improving the safety performance of 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane(HMX).HBNNSs and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer(EVA)were introduced to HMX by a solvent-slurry process.For comparison,the HMX/EVA and HMX/EVA/graphene(HMX/EVA/G)composites were also prepared by a similar process.The morphology,crystal form,surface element distribution,thermal decomposition property and impact sensitivity of HMX/EVA/hBNNSs composites were contrastively investigated.Results showed that as prepared HMX/EVA/hBNNSs composites were well coated with hBNNSs and EVA,and exhibited better thermal stability and lower impact sensitivity than that of HMX/EVA and HMX/EVA/G composites,suggesting superior performance of desensitization of hBNNSs in explosives.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in flue gas emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators in China

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans （PCDD/Fs） emissions in flue gas from two types of municipal solid waste incinerators （MSWIs） most commonly used in China were investigated in this study. The selected incinerators include two grate-type MSWIs： MSWI-A （350 t/d） and MSWI-B 050 t/d）, and two fluidized bed MSWIs： MSWI-C （400 t/d） and MSWI-D （400 t/d）, which are all equipped with semi-dry lime scrubber and bag filter except MSWI-D equipped with cyclone and wet scrubber （WS） as air pollutant control device （APCD）. Results indicated that the emission concentration and the international toxic equivalents （I-TEQs） of the PCDD/Fs from the stacks were in the range of 1.210-10.273 ng/Nm^3 and 0.019-0.201 ng I-TEQ/Nm^3, respectively. They were greatly lower than the emission regulation standard of PCDD/Fs in China （1.0 ng I-TEQ/Nm^3）. However, only the PCDD/Fs emission level from MSWI-C was below 0.1 ng I-TEQ/Nm^3. Although the homologue profiles were distinct, the contributions of the 2,3,7,8-subsituted congeners to the total I-TEQ were similar among all the investigated MSWIs. Two major 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD, account for 47% and 9% （average values） of the total I-TEQ values, respectively. The correlation between PCDD/Fs levels and composition of flue gas was also discussed.

Paclitaxel based vs oxaliplatin based regimens for advanced gastric cancer

AIM:To compare the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel combined with fluorouracil plus cisplatin(PCF),and oxaliplatin combined with fluorouracil plus leucovorin(FOLFOX-4) regimens for advanced gastric cancer(AGC).METHODS:Ninety-four patients with AGC were randomly assigned to receive paclitaxel(50 mg/m2 iv) on days 1,8 and 15,cisplatin(20 mg/m2 iv) and ? uorouracil(750 mg/m2 iv) on days 1-5,or oxaliplatin(85 mg/m2 iv) and leucovorin(200 mg/m2 iv) on day 1,followed by bolus fluorouracil(400 mg/m2 iv) and fluorouracil(600 mg/m2 iv) on days 1 and 2.The primary end point was the 1-year survival time.RESULTS:The overall response rate(ORR) of the pa-tients was 48.0% and 45.5% to PCF and FOLFOX-4,respectively.The disease control rate(DCR) of PCF and FOLFOX-4 was 82.0% and 81.8%,respectively.The median survival times(MSTs) of the patients were 10.8 and 9.9 mo,respectively,after treatment with PCF and FOLFOX-4.The 1-year survival rate of the patients was 36.0% and 34.1%,respectively,after treatment with PCF and FOLFOX-4.No significant difference was observed in ORR,DCR,MST or 1-year survival rate between the two groups.The most common adverse events were anemia,nausea and vomiting,and grade 3/4 alopecia in PCF treatment group,and anemia,grade 1/2 neurotoxic effect and grade 3/4 neutropenia in FOLFOX-4 treatment group.CONCLUSION:Patients with AGC have a similar response rate to PCF and FOLFOX-4 regimens with a similar survival rate.The PCF and FOLFOX-4 regimens are efficacious and tolerable as a promising therapy for AGC.

Multimodality imaging in nanomedicine and nanotheranostics

Accurate diagnosis of tumors needs much detailed information. However, available single imaging modality cannot provide complete or comprehensive data. Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to medicine, and multimodality imaging based on nanoparticles has been receiving extensive attention. This new hybrid imaging technology could provide complementary information from different imaging modalities using only a single injection of contrast agent. In this review, we introduce recent developments in multifunctional nanoparticles and their biomedical applications to multimodal imaging and theragnosis as nanomedicine. Most of the reviewed studies are based on the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles and their application in clinical imaging technology. The imaging techniques include positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, and ultrasound imaging.

Performance evaluation of laponite as a mud-making material for drilling fluids

In this study, laponite was tested as a mud-making material for drilling fluids. Laponite is a synthetic smectite clay with a structure and composition closely resembling the natural clay mineral hectorite. Commercially available laponite was characterized by X-ray di ractometry, scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectrometry. Its dispersibility, salt resistance and high-temperature resistance were evaluated. The results showed that laponite possessed superior cation exchange capacity(140.4 mmol/100 g) with interlayer cations of Na^+ and Li^+. Laponite could easily be dispersed in water to yield increased viscosity with no influence from hydration time or temperature. On the other hand, laponite dispersions displayed an excellent heat resistance, with invariant apparent viscosity at high temperatures. For instance, the apparent viscosity of the2 wt% laponite dispersion underwent changes between 22 and 24 mPa s after hot rolling at 180–240 °C for 16 h. Compared to existing mud-making materials, laponite exhibited better mud-making properties. Furthermore, laponite revealed good compatibility with other additives, and the water-based drilling fluids prepared with laponite as mud-making material showed an excellent stability at elevated temperatures and superior performance–cost ratios. Overall, these findings indicated that laponite had an excellent dispersibility at high temperatures and hence would have promising applications as high-temperature mud-making material for preparing water-based drilling fluids designed for ultra-high-temperature environments.

Effect of Coriolus Versicolor Polysaccharide-B on the Biological Characteristics of Human Esophageal Carcinoma Cell Line Eca109

Objective To investigate the effect of Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide-B （CVPs-B） on the biological characteristics of human esophageal carcinoma cell line Ecal09 in vitro. Methods The cells of experimental group （EG） were cultured in DMEM with 10% FCS and 150μg/mL CVPs-B, the cells of control group （CG） were cultured in DMEM with 10% FCS without CVPs-B. MTT reduction assay was performed to detect the effect of CVPs-B on the proliferation of Ecal09 cells after the compound was administrated in varying concentrations. The living conditions of the Ecal09 cells were determined using trypan blue exclusion. Then, cell growth curves were drawn. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the effect of CVPs-B on the apoptosis and cell cycle of Ecal09. Results In comparison with the CG, a marked decrease in the proliferation of Eca09 cells was observed in the EG, after incubation with CVPs-B. The survival rate of Eca09 cells decreased as the time of CVPs-B incubation prolonged. Comparing the cell cycles and apoptotic rates between the two groups, the proportions of cells in the G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases in the EG were found to be （68.4±3.7）%, （13.9±2.1）%, and （17.7±1.4）%, respectively, after 24 h incubation with CVPs-B. The cells had an apoptotic rate of （9.7±0.7）%. On the other hand, the proportions of the G0/G1, S, and G2/M cells of the CG were found to be （53.9±3.6）%, （26.6±2.8）%, and （19.5±2.3）%, respectively, with an apoptotic rate of （5.7±1.4）%. In comparison with the CG cells, significant cell growth in the G0/G1 phase was observed in the EG （P〈0.05）. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the number of cells in the S phase was observed （P〈0.05） in the EG. Conclusions CVPs-B can inhibit proliferation and enhance apoptosis of Ecal09 cells and may be useful in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma.

Initial effects of inflammation-related cytokines and signaling pathways on the pathogenesis of post-traumatic osteoarthritis

The main pathological change in post-traumatic osteoarthritis （PTOA） is cartilage degeneration, which is closely related to inflammation and oxidative stress. Inflammation can cause degeneration of articular cartilage. Cartilage degeneration can also stimulate the progression of inflammation. It has been found that inflammatory cytokines can participate in the pathological process of cartilage degeneration through multiple signaling pathways, mainly mitogen-activated protein kinase, nuclear transcription factor kappa B, and Wnt-p-catenin signal transduction pathways. This review aimed at exploring the relationship between PTOA and inflammation-related cytokines by introducing the role of proinflammatory cytokines in chondrocyte destruction and extracellular matrix degradation.

Simultaneous removal of ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene with gliding arc gas discharge

The simultaneous removal of ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene with relatively low or high initial concentration is studied using a laboratory scale gliding arc gas discharge (GA) reactor. Good decomposition efficiencies are obtained which proves that the GA is effective for the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with either low or high concentration. A theoretical decomposition mechanism is proposed based on detection of the species in the plasma region and analysis of the decomposition by-products. This preliminary investigation reveals that the GA has potential to be applied to the treatment of exhaust air during color printing and coating works, by either direct removal or combination with activated carbon adsorption/desorption process.

Application of the ISCST3 model for predicting PCDD/F concentrations in agricultural soil in the vicinity of a MSWI plant in China

Based on the Industrial Source Complex Short-Term Version 3 （ISCST3） model, a simplified modeling approach was developed to predict concentrations of congeners of polychlorinated-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans （PCDD/Fs） of agricultural soil, within a radius of 3 kin from a municipal solid waste incinerator （MSWI） plant after its 4-year operation in Hangzhou, China. Comparisons were made between the measured and estimated congener-specific concentrations and the international-toxic equivalent （I-TEQ） values of soil samples with respect to distance from the stack. The results indicate that the predictions of soil PCDD/F concentrations and K-TEQ values were generally lower than their observations, and that the higher the degree of underestimation seems, the greater the further downwind one gets. Nevertheless, most of the predictions were in good agreement with the trend of measured ones and were within a factor of ten for samples located within 1 kin of the plant. Besides, analysis of contributions of various deposition pathways confirms that in addition to wet particle deposition, the dry gaseous deposition is essential for realistic prediction of PCDD/F depositions to soil, especially for tetra- and penta-chlorinated dioxins.

Equation of state of LiCoO_2 under 30 GPa pressure

LiCoO_2 is one of the most important cathode materials for high energy density lithium ion batteries. The compressed behavior of LiCoO_2 under high pressure has been investigated using synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction. It is found that LiCoO_2 maintains hexagonal symmetry up to the maximum pressure of 30.1 GPa without phase transition. The elastic modulus at ambient pressure is 159.5(2.2) GPa and its first derivative is 3.92(0.23). In addition, the high-pressure compression behavior of LiCoO_2 has been studied by first principles calculations. The derived bulk modulus of LiCoO_2 is 141.6 GPa.

Mott Transition and Superconductivity in Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate NaYbSe2

The Mott transition is one of the fundamental issues in condensed matter physics,especially in the system with antiferromagnetic long-range order.However,such a transition is rare in quantum spin liquid(QSL)systems without long-range order.Here we report the experimental pressure-induced insulator to metal transition followed by the emergence of superconductivity in the QSL candidate NaYbSe2 with a triangular lattice of 4 f Yb^3+ions.Detail analysis of transport properties in metallic state shows an evolution from non-Fermi liquid to Fermi liquid behavior when approaching the vicinity of superconductivity.An irreversible structure phase transition occurs around 11 GPa,which is revealed by the x-ray diffraction.These results shed light on the Mott transition in the QSL systems.

Isostructural phase transition-induced bulk modulus multiplication in dopant-stabilized ZrO2 solid solution

The electrical transport properties and structures of Y2 O3/ZrO2 solid solution have been studied under high pressure up to 23.2 GPa by means of in situ impedance spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction(XRD) measurements.In the impedance spectra, it can be found that the pressure-dependent resistance of Y2 O3/ZrO2 presents two different change trends before and after 13.3 GPa, but the crystal symmetry still remains stable in the cubic structure revealed by the XRD measurement and Rietveld refinement.The pressure dependence of the lattice constant and unit cell volume shows that the Y2 O3/ZrO2 solid solution undergoes an isostructural phase transition at 13.1 GPa, which is responsible for the abnormal change in resistance.By fitting the volume data with the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, we found that the bulk modulus B0 of the Y2 O3/ZrO2 solid solution increases by 131.9% from 125.2 GPa to 290.3 GPa due to the pressure-induced isostructural phase transition.

Nano mesocellular foam silica（MCFs）:An effective adsorbent for removing Ni2+ from aqueous solution

Nano mesocellular foam silica(MCFs)was synthesized through the hydrothermal method in this study.Powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the MCFs sample.The sample presented spherical particles and regular morphology.The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that synthesized MCFs has a three-dimensional honeycomb pore structure,which aids in the adsorption of nickel ion(Ni^2+).The results of low-temperature nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption showed that the pore diameter of the synthesized MCFs was 19.6 nm.The impacts of pH,temperature,amount of adsorbent,initial concentration of Ni^2+,and contact time on the adsorption effect of Ni^2+ by MCFs were studied.Under the optimized adsorption conditions,the adsorption rate reached 96.10%and the adsorption capacity was 7.69 mg/g.It has been determined through the study of kinetics and adsorption isotherms that the adsorption of Ni^2+ by MCFs follows the pattern of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model,simultaneously belonging to the Freundlich adsorption type.The thermodynamic results of adsorption showed that,when the temperature is between 25℃ and 45℃,the adsorption is a spontaneous exothermic reaction.

An efficient light-to-heat conversion coupling photothermal effect and exothermic chemical reaction in Au NRs/V_(2)C MXene membranes for high-performance laser ignition

MXene,a new type of two-dimensional materials,have been demonstrated as one of the best photothermal materials owing to their strong light-matter interaction and high photothermal conversion efficiency in recent years.Herein,we report the intriguing light-to-heat conversion property of vanadium carbide(V_(2)C)MXene under irradiation of millisecond laser pulse.Unlike the typical photothermal materials,the V_(2)C MXene not only converts the incident laser energy to heat by the physical photothermal effect,but also triggers the exothermic oxidation of the V_(2)C MXene.The oxidation could be greatly promoted with addition of plasmonic Au nanorods(Au NRs)for light absorption enhancement.Owing to the unique light-to-heat conversion property,the Au NRs/V_(2)C MXene membrane could serve as high temperature pulse(HTP)generators that is proposed for numerous applications with high demand for immediacy.As a proof-of concept application,Au NRs/V_(2)C MXene membrane was applied for laser ignition of the high energy density materials,such as 2,4,6,8,10,12-(hexanitrohexaaza)cyclododecane(HNIW or CL-20).An improved ignition performance,in terms of lowered laser threshold,is achieved as compared to the state-of-the-art light-to-heat conversion materials.

Combination of atezolizumab and chidamide to maintain long-term remission in refractory metastatic extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma:A case report

BACKGROUND The prognosis of refractory extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma(ENKTL)is poor.Recent data have indicated that immune checkpoint blockade with a programmed cell death protein-1(PD-1)antibody in combination with administration of histone deacetylase inhibitors represents a potentially effective treatment strategy.Compared with PD-1 antibodies,programmed death-ligand 1 antibodies have fewer side effects.Here,we present a rare case of a patient with refractory metastatic ENKTL who achieved sustained remission of approximately 10 mo with minor adverse effects after combination therapy with atezolizumab,chidamide,and radiotherapy.CASE SUMMARY A 56-year-old woman underwent resection of a tumour in her left nasal cavity and was diagnosed with ENKTL(nasal type).Medical examination revealed tumours observed in the bilateral nasal mucosa,the subcutaneous soft tissue of the inner side of the left eye,the soft tissue of the nasopharynx,the bilateral tonsils,and the left preauricular,right hilar,bilateral neck lymph nodes and bone marrow.However,tomography/computed tomography showed increased metabolism of the bilateral nasal mucosa and subcutaneous soft tissue of the inner side of the left eye and newly increased metabolism of the left cervical lymph node after chemotherapy.Therefore,combination therapy with chidamide,atezolizumab,and radiotherapy was performed.Fortunately,the patient achieved a complete response following 10 mo of combination therapy.CONCLUSION The outcome in this case suggests that the combination of atezolizumab,chidamide,and radiotherapy is a promising regimen for treating refractory metastatic ENKTL following chemotherapy treatment failure.

Real role of growth factor receptor-binding protein 10:Linking lipid metabolism to diabetes cardiovascular complications

Cardiovascular complications of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)threaten the health and life of numerous individuals.Recently,growth factor receptor-binding protein 10(GRB10)was found to play a pivotal role in vascular complications of T2DM,which participates in the regulation of lipid metabolism of T2DM patients.The genetic variation of GRB10 rs1800504 is closely related to the risk of coronary heart disease in patients with T2DM.The development of GRB10 as a key mediator in the association of lipid metabolism with cardiovascular complications in T2DM is detailed in and may provide new potential concerns for the study of cardiovascular complications in T2DM patients.