Background： Although many previous studies have confirmed that perioperative blood transfusion is associated with poor outcomes after liver transplantation （LT）, few studies described the influence ...of single-donor platelet apheresis transfusion in living donor LT （LDLT）. This study aimed to assess the effect of blood products on outcomes for LDLT recipients, focusing on apheresis platelets. Methods： This retrospective study included 126 recipients who underwent their first adult-to-adult LDLT. Twenty-four variables including consumption of blood products of 126 LDLT recipients were assessed for their link to short-term outcomes and overall survival. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the log-rank test were used for recipient survival analysis. A multivariate Cox proportional-hazard model and a propensity score analysis were applied to adjust confounders after potential risk factors were identified by a univariate Cox analysis. Results： Patients who received apheresis platelet transfusion had a lower 90-day cumulative survival （78.9% vs. 94.2%, P = 0.009）, but had no significant difference in overall survival in the Cox model, compared with those without apheresis platelet transfusion. Units of apheresis platelet transfusion（hazard ratioHR=3.103,95% confidence intervalCI：1.720–5.600,P〈0.001）and preoperative platelet count（HR=0.170,95% CI：0.040–0.730,P=0.017）impacted 90-day survival independently.Multivariate Cox regression analysis also found that units of red blood cell（RBC）transfusion（HR=1.036,95% CI：1.006–1.067,P=0.018）,recipient＇s age（HR=1.045,95% CI：1.005–1.086,P=0.025）,and ABO blood group comparison（HR=2.990,95% CI：1.341–6.669,P=0.007）were independent risk factors for overall survival after LDLT. Conclusions： This study suggested that apheresis platelets were only associated with early mortality but had no impact on overall survival in LDLT. Units of RBC, recipient＇s age, and ABO group comparison were independent predictors of long-term outcomes.
To address sustainable development issues of urban traffic, electric buses will join traditional bus system, and the scheduling of bus fleet should be adjusted due to the distinct features of ...electric buses. To this end, this paper develops a Multi-objective Bi-level programming model to collaboratively optimize the vehicle scheduling and charging scheduling of the mixed bus fleet under the operating conditions of a single depot. The upper level determines the vehicle scheduling to minimize the operating cost and carbon emissions under the constraints of connecting time between trips and the limited driving range of electric buses. The lower level is a charging scheduling problem that considers the charging time and the limited driving distance constraint to minimize the charging cost. The proposed model is solved with an integrated heuristic algorithm. The vehicle scheduling problem is addressed with the iterative neighborhood search algorithm based on simulated annealing, while the charging scheduling problem is solved with a greedy dynamic selection strategy based on the approach of multi-stage decision. Finally, case study is carried out based on a mixed bus fleet in Beijing, and the results validate the availability of the proposed model and solution algorithm.
Driven by the rapidly increasing demand for technological applications, multifunctional materials have been one important research area, which are expected to enhance the capacity and versatility of ...materials in various applications. Nevertheless, combining more than three functions in one molecular compound is still a challenge. Molecular solid–solid phase transition materials could exhibit switchable properties, which could have potential applications such as switches, sensors, and memory devices. However, these switchable molecular materials are rarely researched as thermal energy storage materials. In this work, we report the coexistence of thermal energy storage and magnetic-optic-electric triple switching in a plastic crystal, trimethylchloromethyl ammonium tetrachloroferrate(III), ((CH3)3NCH2ClFeCl4, referred to as 1). 1 undergoes plastic phase transition at near room temperature (326 K) induced by the order–disorder of the ions. The magnetic-optic-electric triple switching in 1 could be triggered by temperature stimuli near room temperature. Meanwhile, with utilization of large latent heat during the phase transition process and sensible heat, the energy storage in 1 is up to 107 J g–1 from 293 to 343 K, demonstrating its thermal energy storage application in solar energy systems and industrial sectors. This work particularly exhibits the advantages of plastic molecular materials as thermal energy storage materials and introduces the thermal energy storage into the multi-switchable plastic phase transition molecular materials, which will give extra flexibility for the design of new types of multifunctional materials.
This study determined the expression of microRNA-1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue and cell lines to evaluate its effects on clinicopathological parameters and its target genes ...LASP1 and TAGLN2.
The expression of miR-1, lasp1, and tagln2 was detected in 55 ESCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The association between miR-1, lasp1, and tagln2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was observed. MicroRNA-1 (mimics-miR-1) and its inhibitor (Inhibitor-miR-1) were transfected into esophageal cancer cells KYSE 510 and Eca 109; cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays were carried out. Plasmid construction and dual-luciferase reporter assay were also carried out to indicate whether LASP1 and TAGLN2 were miR-1 target genes. The expression of LASP1 and TAGLN2 was detected with Western blot methods in cell lines, by immunohistochemistry in ESCC tissue.
The gene expression level of microRNA-1 in cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.01). The expression of miR-1 in ESCC was correlated with involvement of lymph nodes (P = 0.002), histologic classification (P = 0.000), and vessel invasion (P = 0.022). The expression of lasp1 and tagln2 increased in cancer tissues compared with in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.05). MiR-1 suppresses the cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. The expression of LASP1 and TAGLN2 decreased in mimics-miR-1 transfected cells, and increased in inhibitor-miR-1 transfected cells. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that LASP1 and TAGLN2 mRNA actually had the target sites of miR-1.
miR-1 suppresses cell proliferation, invasiveness, metastasis, and progression of ESCC by binding its targeted genes LASP1 and TAGLN2.
A novel protein immobilization method based on plasma treatment of paper on the low-cost paper-based immunodevice was established in this work. By using a benchtop plasma cleaner, the paper microzone ...was treated by oxygen plasma treatment for 4min and then the antibody can be directly immobilized on the paper surface. Aldehyde group was produced after the plasma treatment, which can be verified from the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra. By linked to aldehyde group, the antibody can be immobilized on the paper surface without any other pretreatment. A paper-based immunodevice was introduced here through this antibody immobilization method. With sandwich chemiluminescence (CL) immunoassay method, the paper-based immunodevice was successfully performed for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection in human serum with a linear range of 0.1–80.0ng/mL. The detection limit was 0.03ng/mL, which was 30 times lower than the clinical CEA level. Comparing to the other protein immobilization methods on paper-based device, this strategy was faster and simpler and had potential applications in point-of-care testing, public health and environmental monitoring.
•A protein immobilization method based on plasma treatment of paper was developed.•Aldehyde group was produced on the paper after the plasma treatment.•The plasma treated time was 4min and the protein immobilization strategy was faster.•Carcinoembryonic antigen was detected by this paper-based immunodevice.
Although the benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on cardiovascular events have been reported in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with or without heart failure ...(HF), the impact of SGLT2i on cardiac remodelling remains to be established.
We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases up to November 16th, 2020, for randomized controlled trials reporting the effects of SGLT2i on parameters of cardiac structure, cardiac function, plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level or the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) score in T2DM patients with or without chronic HF. The effect size was expressed as the mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analyses were performed based on the stage A-B or stage C HF population and HF types.
Compared to placebo or other antidiabetic drugs, SGLT2i showed no significant effects on left ventricular mass index, left ventricular end diastolic volume index, left ventricular end systolic volume index, or left atrial volume index. SGLT2i improved left ventricular ejection fraction only in the subgroup of HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (MD 3.16%, 95% CI 0.11 to 6.22, p = 0.04; I
= 0%), and did not affect the global longitudinal strain in the overall analysis including stage A-B HF patients. SGLT2i showed benefits in the E/e' ratio (MD - 0.45, 95% CI - 0.88 to - 0.03, p = 0.04; I
= 0%), plasma NT-proBNP level (SMD - 0.09, 95% CI - 0.16 to - 0.03, p = 0.004; I
= 0%), and the KCCQ score (SMD 3.12, 95% CI 0.76 to 5.47, p = 0.01; I
= 0%) in the overall population.
The use of SGLT2i was associated with significant improvements in cardiac diastolic function, plasma NT-proBNP level, and the KCCQ score in T2DM patients with or without chronic HF, but did not significantly affect cardiac structural parameters indexed by body surface area. The LVEF level was improved only in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction.
Within the gastrointestinal stem cell niche, nerves help to regulate both normal and neoplastic stem cell dynamics. Here, we reveal the mechanisms underlying the cancer-nerve partnership. We find ...that Dclk1+ tuft cells and nerves are the main sources of acetylcholine (ACh) within the gastric mucosa. Cholinergic stimulation of the gastric epithelium induced nerve growth factor (NGF) expression, and in turn NGF overexpression within gastric epithelium expanded enteric nerves and promoted carcinogenesis. Ablation of Dclk1+ cells or blockade of NGF/Trk signaling inhibited epithelial proliferation and tumorigenesis in an ACh muscarinic receptor-3 (M3R)-dependent manner, in part through suppression of yes-associated protein (YAP) function. This feedforward ACh-NGF axis activates the gastric cancer niche and offers a compelling target for tumor treatment and prevention.
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•NGF expression is induced in gastric cancer by ACh from nerves and tuft cells•NGF promotes innervation and proliferation in gastric epithelium•Blockade of NGF or ablation of cholinergic tuft cells inhibits tumor development•Cholinergic signaling activates YAP signaling that is essential for Wnt activation
Hayakawa et al. use a series of mouse models to show that acetylcholine from Dclk1+ tuft cells and nerves induces NGF in gastric epithelial cells, which promotes neuron expansion and tumorigenesis. YAP is activated through the cholinergic signaling, and inhibition of this pathway can block NGF-driven tumors.
Herein, an amphiphilic perylene derivative (denoted as PTC-DEDA) was explored as DNA intercalators endowed with an enhanced affinity and intense electrochemiluminescence (ECL) to construct a ...target-induced DNA hydrogel biosensing platform for the sensitive detection of microRNA let-7a (miRNA let-7a). Specifically, the DNA hydrogel with numerous dendritic DNA structures was in situ generated via a target-induced nonlinear hybrid chain reaction in the presence of miRNA let-7a, which possessed a large loading capacity to entrap massive DNA intercalators. Then, the PTC-DEDA with positive charges could easily intercalate into the DNA grooves due to the inherent amphipathic structure, achieving a strong ECL signal. Using the proposed PTC-DEDA as both DNA intercalators and ECL emitters, the DNA hydrogel biosensing platform exhibited a high stability and an excellent sensitivity for miRNA let-7a, with a desirable linear range (10 fM to 10 nM) and a low detection limit (1.49 fM). Significantly, the work provides a potential alternative to develop simple and high-efficiency ECL platforms for biochemical analysis applications.
In our study, we introduced a rapid, low-cost and nondestructive ‘surface spray’ method to achieve the quantitative detection of the pesticide residues on fruits skins. Taking advantage of the high ...enhancement ability of the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of the optimized Ag nanoparticles colloid, the limit of detection (LOD) of paraquat (PQ) on the peels of pears and apples could reach the order of magnitude of 10−9M, much lower than the maximum residue limit of 0.05mg/kg (∼10−4M) in a large number of countries including the USA and China. The quantitative detection of PQ was achieved as well. This opens a new avenue for advancing the applications of SERS technique in the fields of food safety, drug security, and environment monitoring.
The effective acquisition of multi-source information promotes the development of the multi-source information fusion-based methods for power grid fault diagnosis. These method have addressed the ...problem of low fault-tolerance for the fault diagnosis using switching information to a certain extent. However, the existing methods increase the complexity of fault diagnosis and weaken the applicability by centrally utilizing multi-source information. Given this background, an effort is made to present a hierarchical power grid fault diagnosis method using multi-source information, which takes into account the use of the switching and electrical information at different stages. The method adopts two layer diagnostic modes. In the first layer mode, the switching information is applied to analyze the proposed multi-objective analytic model. In the second layer mode, the electrical information is employed to construct the electrical criteria of suspicious faulty components, in order to solve the problem of multiple solutions faced by the first layer mode. The hierarchical diagnostic mode enhances the pertinence of fault diagnosis via calling multi-source information by layer, which can improve the accuracy and efficiency of fault diagnosis. Through the method tested under the assumed fault examples, the proposed approach has demonstrated its feasibility and effectiveness for the fault diagnosis application.
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