Infection of influenza virus or
is the important causes of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) and death, resulting in huge burden of medical costs. Although the ...guidelines at all levels generally recommend vaccination against influenza and pneumonia, the vaccination rate in China is not satisfactory. The main reasons include the limitations of economic, geographical and time constraints, as well as the influence of various socio-psychological factors and the fear of exacerbating the disease due to influenza vaccine and so on. We need start with clinicians, pay attention to the interaction of various influencing factors, to promote the integration of researchers in clinical medicine and preventive medicine, and make comprehensive consideration in the epidemic prevention strategy, which will help to adopt multi-mode methods to improve vaccination coverage and finally achieve a healthy life of patients with COPD.
Cancer cells depend on glutamine to sustain their increased proliferation and manage oxidative stress, yet glutamine is often depleted at tumor sites owing to excessive cellular consumption and poor ...vascularization. We have previously reported that p53 protein, although a well-known tumor suppressor, can contribute to cancer cell survival and adaptation to low-glutamine conditions. However, the TP53 gene is frequently mutated in tumors, and the role of mutant p53 (mutp53) in response to metabolic stress remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that tumor-associated mutp53 promotes cancer cell survival upon glutamine deprivation both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, cancer cells expressing mutp53 proteins are more resistant to glutamine deprivation than cells with wild-type p53. Depletion of endogenous mutp53 protein in human lymphoma cells leads to cell sensitivity to glutamine withdrawal, whereas expression of mutp53 in p53 null cells results in resistance to glutamine deprivation. Furthermore, we found that mutp53 proteins hyper-transactivate p53-target gene CDKN1A upon glutamine deprivation, thus triggering cell cycle arrest and promoting cell survival. Together, our results reveal an unidentified mechanism by which mutp53 confers oncogenic functions by promoting cancer cell adaptation to metabolic stress.
A wideband low-profile omnidirectional circularly polarized (CP) patch antenna is proposed and investigated in this communication. The design utilizes two monopolar modes of a circular patch which ...connects to a modified ground plane by a set of conductive vias, to achieve wide-band impedance matching. The curved branches introduced at the edge of circular ground plane excite a degenerate mode and create CP fields. To verify the design, a prototype operating at 2.4 GHz-WLAN band has been fabricated and measured. Measured reflection coefficient, axial ratio (AR), radiation pattern, and antenna gain agree well with simulation results. The proposed prototype has a low profile of 0.024 λ0, a 10-dB impedance bandwidth of 19.8% and a 3-dB AR bandwidth of 19.3%. To further characterize the design concept, a parametric study of the proposed antenna is carried out using HFSS, and general design guidelines are provided.
Abstract
Background
Endoscopic management of low risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) may be considered in select clinical scenarios, which allows sparing the morbidity of radical ...nephroureterectomy while achieving acceptable oncological outcomes and preservation of kidney function. Herein, we present a case with UTUC in a solitary kidney managed with 532 nm laser vaporization through a percutaneous approach.
Case presentation
The patient in this video (Additional file 1) is an 85-year-old woman who presented with a bulky tumor in the collecting system of a congenital solitary left kidney, which was a biopsy proven low grade urothelial carcinoma. Prior to the procedure, a lower pole percutaneous nephrostomy tube was successfully placed under sedation by Interventional Radiology. The procedure was done in a prone split leg position. The mass, which was predominantly localized to the renal pelvis was efficiently vaporized with the 532 nm laser in a systematic manner with continuous irrigation of normal saline through the cystoscope. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 2 with the nephroureterostomy catheter open to drainage. This catheter was subsequently clamped and removed two weeks later without complications. Follow up uretroscopy showed excellent treatment response and the patient remains well without complications.
Conclusion
This case report details the potential utility of 532 nm laser vaporization of UTUC, however, ongoing studies are required to demonstrate peri-operative safety and durable oncologic efficacy.
As assisted reproductive technologies use increases, the evaluation of male factor infertility has often become overlooked. However, male evaluation remains critically important, with benefits seen ...in overall health, as well as in natural and assisted pregnancy and birth rates. A comprehensive assessment of the male partner should be offered to all couples seeking infertility care.
Objectives
The objectives of this systematic review were to (a) identify supportive‐care (psychosocial/behavioral, pharmacological, complementary, or alternative) interventions that have been ...evaluated via randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to improve patient‐reported health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) among adults with brain tumors, (b) evaluate the quality of the intervention studies, and (c) evaluate if developed interventions have been efficacious at improving HRQoL, as compared with control conditions in RCTs.
Methods
This systematic review was conducted using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Four databases were searched for RCTs of supportive‐care interventions for adults with brain tumors, primary or metastatic, that included a patient‐reported HRQoL outcome. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies.
Results
Ten RCTs involving 640 patients with either a primary or metastatic brain tumor investigating supportive‐care interventions with a HRQoL outcome were identified. In terms of quality, three of the studies received a “strong” rating, three received a “moderate” rating, and four of the studies received a “weak” rating. Only two of the interventions (ie, a home‐based psychosocial intervention and individualized acupuncture with standard rehabilitation) demonstrated improvements in HRQoL over control conditions.
Conclusions
HRQoL is of the utmost importance when treating patients with brain tumors. Yet there is a notable paucity of research to inform clinical decisions and evidence‐based practice. More high‐quality studies of interventions aimed at improving HRQoL are needed.
Statistically based experimental designs were applied to optimizing process parameters for hydrogen production from glucose by
Clostridium sp. Fanp2 which was isolated from effluent sludge of ...anaerobic hydrogen-producing bioreactor. The important factors influencing hydrogen production, which identified by initial screening method of Plackett–Burman, were glucose, phosphate buffer and vitamin solution. The path of steepest ascent was undertaken to approach the optimal region of the three significant factors. Box–Behnken design and response surface analysis were adopted to further investigate the mutual interaction between the variables and identify optimal values that bring maximum hydrogen production. Experimental results showed that glucose, vitamin solution and phosphate buffer concentration all had an individual significant influence on the specific hydrogen production potential (
P
s). Simultaneously, glucose and vitamin solution, glucose and phosphate buffer were interdependent. The optimal conditions for the maximal
P
s were: glucose 23.75
g/l, phosphate buffer 0.159
M and vitamin solution 13.3
ml/l. Using this statistical optimization method, the hydrogen production from glucose was increased from 2248.5 to 4165.9
ml H
2/l.
Supercapacitors have excellent current discharge capacity and high energy conversion efficiency, and compared with other energy storage devices they cause little pollution in the environment. ...However, they generally exhibit lower energy density. Herein, vanadium disulfide (VS
2
) nanosheets are grown on the surface of carbon cloth (CC) with a large specific surface area by a hydrothermal method to form a highly open network, which effectively promotes charge transfer and improves energy density. The synergistic effect of CC with double-layer capacitance characteristics and VS
2
with pseudocapacitance characteristics is fully realized for enhancing the electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of VS
2
/CC is 972.5 mF cm
−2
at 1 mA cm
−2
, and the capacitance retention is 77.5% after 10 000 charge and discharge cycles at 10 mA cm
−2
. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor based on VS
2
/CC-12 and activated carbon (AC/CC) was also assembled. The asymmetric supercapacitor possesses a higher energy density of 0.22 mW h cm
−2
at 4.24 mW cm
−2
. When the power density increases to 8.26 mW cm
−2
, the energy density is still 0.16 mW h cm
−2
. This demonstrates that VS
2
/CC composites have great potential applications as flexible supercapacitor electrode materials.
VS
2
/CC electrodes enable an asymmetric flexible supercapacitor to maintain high energy density and power density simultaneously and stable electrochemical performance under different bending conditions.
Objectives
Podocyte pyroptosis, characterized by inflammasome activation, plays an important role in inflammation-mediated diabetic nephropathy (DN). Our study aimed to investigate whether miR-21-5p ...in macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) could affect podocyte injury in DN.
Methods
EVs were extracted after the treatment of RAW 264.7 (mouse macrophage line) with high glucose (HG). The podocyte pyroptosis was determined using the flow cytometry and the western blot. After the knockdown of miR-21-5p in HG-induced RAW264.7 cells, we injected the extracted EVs into DN model mice.
Results
The level of miR-21-5p was higher in HG-stimulated macrophage-derived EVs than in normal glucose-cultured macrophage-derived EVs. The co-culture of EVs and podocytes promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and activation of inflammatory in MPC5 cells (mouse podocyte line). However, restraint of miR-21-5p in EVs reduced ROS production and inhibit inflammasome activation in MPC5 cells, thereby reducing podocytes injury. Meanwhile, we found that miR-21-5p inhibited the A20 expression through binding with its 3′-untranslated regions in MPC5 cells. Further studies showed that A20 was also involved in the regulation of miR-21-5p of RAW 264.7-derived EVs on MPC5 injury. At the same time, it was also proved in the DN model mice that miR-21-5p in macrophage-derived EVs could regulate podocyte injury.
Conclusion
MiR-21-5p in macrophage-derived EVs can regulate pyroptosis-mediated podocyte injury by A20 in DN.
This study explores the benefits of assimilating SMOS soil moisture retrievals for hydrologic modeling, with a focus on soil moisture and streamflow simulations in the Murray Darling Basin, ...Australia. In this basin, floods occur relatively frequently and initial catchment storage is known to be key to runoff generation. The land surface model is the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model. The model is calibrated using the available streamflow records of 169 gauge stations across the Murray Darling Basin. The VIC soil moisture forecast is sequentially updated with observations from the SMOS Level 3 CATDS (Centre Aval de Traitement des Données SMOS) soil moisture product using the Ensemble Kalman filter. The assimilation algorithm accounts for the spatial mismatch between the model (0.125°) and the SMOS observation (25km) grids. Three widely-used methods for removing bias between model simulations and satellite observations of soil moisture are evaluated. These methods match the first, second and higher order moments of the soil moisture distributions, respectively. In this study, the first order bias correction, i.e. the rescaling of the long term mean, is the recommended method. Preserving the observational variability of the SMOS soil moisture data leads to improved soil moisture updates, particularly for dry and wet conditions, and enhances initial conditions for runoff generation. Second or higher order bias correction, which includes a rescaling of the variance, decreases the temporal variability of the assimilation results. In comparison with in situ measurements of OzNet, the assimilation with mean bias correction reduces the root mean square error (RMSE) of the modeled soil moisture from 0.058m3/m3 to 0.046m3/m3 and increases the correlation from 0.564 to 0.714. These improvements in antecedent wetness conditions further translate into improved predictions of associated water fluxes, particularly runoff peaks. In conclusion, the results of this study clearly demonstrate the merit of SMOS data assimilation for soil moisture and streamflow predictions at the large scale.
•SMOS data assimilation improves model simulations of soil moisture.•Improved antecedent wetness conditions propagate to streamflow improvements.•The method applied for bias correction largely impacts the assimilation results.•Most improvements are in the simulation of runoff peak flows.
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