Background and Aim
Currently, some countries still acknowledge double‐contrast barium enema (DCBE) as a backup confirmatory examination when colonoscopy is not feasible or incomplete in colorectal ...cancer (CRC) screening programs. This study aims to compare the performance of colonoscopy and DCBE in terms of the risk of incident CRC after negative results in the fecal immunochemical test (FIT)‐based Taiwan Colorectal Cancer Screening Program.
Methods
Subjects who had positive FITs and received confirmatory exams, either colonoscopy or DCBE, without the findings of neoplastic lesions from 2004 to 2013 in the screening program comprised the study cohort. Both the colonoscopy and DCBE subcohorts were followed until the end of 2018 and linked to the Taiwan Cancer Registry to identify incident CRC cases. Multivariate analysis was conducted to compare the risk of incident CRC in both subcohorts after controlling for potential confounders.
Results
A total of 102 761 colonoscopies and 5885 DCBEs were performed after positive FITs without neoplastic findings during the study period. By the end of 2018, 2113 CRCs (2.7 per 1000 person‐years) and 368 CRCs (7.6 per 1000 person‐years) occurred in the colonoscopy and DCBE subcohorts, respectively. After adjusting for major confounders, DCBE had a significantly higher risk of incident CRC than colonoscopy, with an adjusted HR of 2.81 (95% CI = 2.51–3.14).
Conclusions
In the FIT screening program, using DCBE as a backup examination was associated with a nearly threefold risk of incident CRC compared with colonoscopy, demonstrating that it is no longer justified as a backup examination for incomplete colonoscopy.
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•Coconut-shell-derived biochar activated peroxymonosulfate for pollutant degradation.•Biochar activation of peroxymonosulfate efficiently removed sulfamethoxazole from water.•Radical ...(SO4•−/HO•) and nonradical (1O2) contributed to sulfamethoxazole degradation.•High chloride concentration enhanced sulfamethoxazole degradation.•Sulfamethoxazole degradation affected the bacterial community composition.
Antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been commonly found in various water matrices, therefore effective decontamination method is urgently needed. Metal-free pristine coconut-shell-derived biochar (CSBC), synthesized by thermochemical conversion at 700 °C, was used for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS), an oxidant, to degrade SMX, a sulfonamide antibiotic, in water. SMX degradation, maximized at 0.05 mM concentration, was 85% in 30 min at pH 5.0 in the presence of 150 mg L−1 of CSBC. Remarkably, SMX removal reached 99% in a chloride-rich CSBC/PMS system. SMX degradation was mainly attributed to the role of CSBC in enhancing PMS activation to produce combined radical (SO4•−/HO•) and nonradical (1O2) reaction pathways. The most abundant genus in the CSBC/PMS system was Methylotenera, which belonged to the Proteobacteria phylum. Thus, from a perspective of biowaste-to-resource recycling and circular bioeconomy view point, CSBC is a potential catalytic activator of PMS for the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics from aqueous environments.
Cancer metastasis leading to the dysfunction of invaded organs is the main cause of the reduced survival rates in lung cancer patients. However, the molecular mechanism for lung cancer metastasis ...remains unclear. Recently, the increased activity of inflammasome appeared to correlate with the metastatic progression and immunosuppressive ability of various cancer types. Our results showed that the mRNA levels of absence in melanoma 2 (AIM2), one of the inflammasome members, are extensively upregulated in primary tumors compared with normal tissues derived from the TCGA lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) database. Moreover, Kaplan‐Meier analysis demonstrated that a higher mRNA level of AIM2 refers to a poor prognosis in LUAD patients. Particularly, AIM2 upregulation is closely correlated with smoking history and the absence of EGFR/KRAS/ALK mutations in LUAD. We further showed that the endogenous mRNA levels of AIM2 are causally associated with the metastatic potentials of the tested LUAD cell lines. AIM2 knockdown suppressed but overexpression promoted the migration ability and lung colony–forming ability of tested LUAD cells. In addition, we found that AIM2 upregulation is closely associated with an increased level of immune checkpoint gene set, as well as programmed cell death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) transcript, in TCGA LUAD samples. AIM2 knockdown predominantly repressed but overexpression enhanced PD‐L1 expression via altering the activity of PD‐L1 transcriptional regulators NF‐κB/STAT1 in LUAD cells. Our results not only provide a possible mechanism underlying the AIM2‐promoted metastatic progression and immune evasion of LUAD but also offer a new strategy for combating metastatic/immunosuppressive LUAD via targeting AIM2 activity.
The illustration of a possible mechanism for the AIM2‐fostered EMT progression and PD‐L1 expression in the metastatic/immunosuppressive lung adenocarcinoma. AIM2 increases PD‐L1 expression via activating its transcriptional regulators NF‐kB/STAT1.
Introduction
The sural sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude is a measure of the number of axons. We tested the hypothesis that sural SNAP amplitude can be used as a marker in screening, ...severity evaluation, and follow‐up of diabetic distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSPN).
Methods
Patients with type 2 diabetes underwent nerve conduction studies and were followed for 6 years. Composite amplitude scores (CASs) were determined to evaluate DSPN severity.
Results
Sural SNAP amplitudes were negatively correlated with CAS (r = −.790, P < .0001), and changes in sural SNAP amplitudes were negatively correlated with those of CAS after controlling for follow‐up duration (r = −.531, P = .028).
Discussion
When a patient's baseline sural SNAP amplitude is above zero, it can be used as one measure of DSPN in screening, severity evaluation, and follow‐up. However, if the patient's sural SNAP value is zero, CAS can be used as a follow‐up measure.
See editorial on pages 3–4 in this issue.
Water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment samples were collected from Salt River in Taiwan and analyzed the concentrations of 16 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ...analysis results were used to examine the distribution, source, partition behavior, and potential ecological risks of PAHs in the estuarine water systems. The mean concentration of total PAHs in water, SPM, and sediment samples was 0.485–10.2 μg/L, 26.7–169 mg/kg dw, and 0.343–29.4 mg/kg dw, respectively. The highest concentration was found at the river mouth and decreased toward the river and sea with the tide. The distribution of the diagnostic ratios of PAHs showed that the combustion of coal and petroleum products are the main sources of PAHs in Salt River. The in site organic carbon normalized partition coefficients for SPM-water (K'oc(SPMW)) and sediment-water (K'oc(SedW)) were 2.8–4.5 and 4.6–6.0 (log units), respectively, increasing with the number of rings in PAHs. The values log K'oc(SedW) and log K'oc(SPM-W) showed a significant linear correlation with their octanol-water partition coefficients (p < 0.01), and their slopes were 0.427 and 0.316, respectively. The fugacity fraction was used to evaluate the exchange of PAHs in water-SPM-sediment systems. Results showed that in SPM, 2–4-ring PAHs tend to be released into water, whereas 5–6-ring PAHs in water tend to be adsorbed onto SPM. The exchange of PAHs between water and sediment occurs in the direction of adsorption onto sediment from water. The assessment of the mean risk quotient, total toxicity equivalence, and mean effect range-median quotient of PAHs showed that the PAHs in the water and SPM of Salt River may have moderate to high ecological risk. In sediment, PAHs in the lower reaches and estuary may pose moderate to high ecological risk, whereas PAHs in the middle and upper reaches show low to moderate ecological risk.
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•4-Nonylphenol is a persistent endocrine disruptor in sewage sludge and wastewater.•Calcium peroxide and LGBC synergistically facilitate 4-NP degradation.•HO•, O2•–, and 1O2 were ...confirmed as the major ROS of HR-CAOP process.•Decomposition by-products mediated by HR-CAOP facilitate bacterial biodegradation.•LGBC and CP enhance the abundance and richness of beneficial sludge bacteria.
Waste activated sludge contaminated with high levels of 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) is a major environmental concern. We have synthesized lignin-based biochar (LGBC) for use as a carbocatalyst in calcium peroxide (CP)-mediated sewage sludge pretreatment. Treatment of sewage sludge with 3.1 × 10−4 M of CP and 3.0 g L−1 of LGBC removed 76% of 4-NP in 12 h, which were 3.8 and 2.4 times higher than that with the LGBC and CP alone, respectively. There was synergy between reactive oxygen species (HO•, O2•−, and 1O2) and graphitic frameworks of LGBC. Pretreatment using the LGBC/CP system enhanced the release of biodegradable organic xenobiotics from the sludge. LGBC/CP enriched Proteobacteria and Thermostilla bacterial consortium (Planctomycetes) in the sludge and promoted 4-NP biodegradation. This work provides new insights into the chemical and biological mechanisms by which LGBC promotes 4-NP biodegradation in waste activated sludge via hydroxyl radical-driven carbon advanced oxidation pretreatment.
Background
To elucidate the impact of varying anatomic sites on advanced stage of and death from oral cancer.
Methods
A total of 27 717 oral cancers mainly from a population‐based visual inspection ...program in Taiwan from 2004 to 2009 was followed until the end of 2012.
Results
Using lip cancer as reference, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval CI) of advanced stage of cancer were 2.20 (1.92‐2.51) for tongue, 2.60 (2.28‐2.97) for buccal, 2.68 (2.20‐3.28) for floor of mouth, 2.96 (2.52‐3.47) for hard palate, 6.04 (5.17‐7.05) for gingiva, and 10.83 (9.20‐12.74) for oropharynx. The estimated hazard ratios (95% CI) for oral cancer death increased from 1.48 (1.31‐1.67) in buccal, 1.61 (1.43‐1.82) in tongue, 1.68 (1.41‐1.99) in floor of mouth, 1.79 (1.57‐2.05) in gingiva, 1.97 (1.71‐2.26) in hard palate, and 2.15 (1.89‐2.45) in oropharynx.
Conclusion
Different anatomic sites had variations in advanced stage of and death from oral cancer and need vigilant surveillance.
Biochar is a carbon-rich material prepared from the pyrolysis of biomass under various conditions. Recently, biochar drew great attention due to its promising potential in climate change mitigation, ...soil amendment, and environmental control. Obviously, biochar can be a beneficial soil amendment in several ways including preventing nutrients loss due to leaching, increasing N and P mineralization, and enabling the microbial mediation of N2O and CO2 emissions. However, there are also conflicting reports on biochar effects, such as water logging and weathering induced change of surface properties that ultimately affects microbial growth and soil fertility. Despite the voluminous reports on soil and biochar properties, few studies have systematically addressed the effects of biochar on the sequestration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils. Information on microbially-mediated transformation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) species in the soil environment remains relatively uncertain. A systematic documentation of how biochar influences the fate and transport of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen in soil is crucial to promoting biochar applications toward environmental sustainability. This report first provides an overview on the adsorption of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen species on biochar, particularly in soil systems. Then, the biochar-mediated transformation of organic species, and the transport of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soil systems are discussed. This review also reports on the weathering process of biochar and implications in the soil environment. Lastly, the current knowledge gaps and priority research directions for the biochar-amended systems in the future are assessed. This review focuses on literatures published in the past decade (2009–2021) on the adsorption, degradation, transport, weathering, and transformation of C, N, and P species in soil systems with respect to biochar applications.
Abstract
The pursuit of di-coordinate boron radical has been continued for more than a half century, and their stabilization and structural characterization remains a challenge. Here we report the ...isolation and structural characterization of a linear di-coordinate boron radical cation, achieved by stabilizing the two reactive atomic orbitals of the central boron atom by two orthogonal π-donating and π-accepting functionalities. The electron deficient radical cation undergoes facile one-electron reduction to borylene and binds Lewis base to give heteroleptic tri-coordinate boron radical cation. The co-existence of half-filled and empty p orbitals at boron also allows the CO-regulated electron transfer to be explored. As the introduction of CO promotes the electron transfer from a tri-coordinate neutral boron radical to a boron radical cation, the removal of CO under vacuum furnishes the reverse electron transfer from borylene to yield a solution consisting of two boron radicals.
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