Degradation of 3,4-dichlorobenzotrifluoride by the Fenton-like process using zirconia-coated magnetite magnetic nanoparticles as an effective heterogeneous catalyst.

In this study, zirconia-coated magnetite magnetic nanoparticles (ZrO/FeO MNPs) were prepared, characterized, and used as an effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for 3,4-dichlorobenzotrifluoride (3,4-DCBTE) degradation. The catalytic potential of the FeO/ZrO-HO system for the removal of 3,4-DCBTE was tested in comparison with several other systems, and the effects of various operating parameters, including initial solution pH, catalyst addition, HO concentrations, and reaction temperature, were also evaluated with respect to the degradation efficiency of 3,4-DCBTE. Results showed that the FeO/ZrO composite could effectively enhance the oxidation of 3,4-DCBTE by the Fenton-like process, and there might be a synergetic effect in the FeO/ZrO composite.

Monoclonal gammopathy with both nemaline myopathy and amyloid myopathy.

Monoclonal gammopathies due to plasma cell dyscrasias can induce diverse rare neuromuscular disorders. Deposition of monoclonal antibody light chains in skeletal muscle causes amyloid myopathy. Monoclonal gammopathy is occasionally associated with sporadic late-onset nemaline myopathy.

Role of CD152 genetic polymorphisms in the susceptibility to breast cancer.

Background: The polymorphisms in cluster of differentiation 152 (CD152) gene have been reported to be associated with breast cancer (BC), but relevant findings were far from conclusive. Therefore, we carried out this meta-analysis to combine those results for a clearer perspective on this issue.

Results: In our meta-analysis, a total of 8 eligible publications of 19 case-control studies were selected, which totally contained 7,442 BC cases and 7,376 normal controls.

Estimating cost-effectiveness associated with all-oral regimen for chronic hepatitis C in China.

Background: All-oral regimens are associated with higher effectiveness and shorter treatment duration for chronic hepatitis C. Given its superior effect and enormous patients in China, clinicians or patients may be compelled to consider delaying treatment for all-oral regimen.

Objective: To estimate cost-effectiveness of delaying treatment for all-oral regimen in the subsequent years under different assumptions about their price and efficacy compared with standard of care in China.

Adsorption mechanism of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid onto nitric-acid-modified activated carbon fiber.

Adsorption by carbon materials is one of the relatively fast methods in present research, which is widely used in emergency events. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) modified by nitric acid (N-ACF) was studied in this research to determine the adsorption performance for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Subsequently, influence factors, adsorption isotherm models, kinetics and thermodynamic were investigated in a batch system to realize this adsorption.

Metabolic changes in normal-appearing white matter in patients with neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis: a comparative magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Background Previous studies with a small sample size have not reported metabolic changes in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Metabolic changes, such as decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA), are well-established in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It remains unknown whether different patterns of metabolic changes occur in NMO and MS.

RNA-Seq analysis of nodule development at five different developmental stages of soybean (Glycine max) inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain 113-2.

Nodule development directly affects nitrogen fixation efficiency during soybean growth. Although abundant genome-based information related to nodule development has been released and some studies have reported the molecular mechanisms that regulate nodule development, information on the way nodule genes operate in nodule development at different developmental stages of soybean is limited. In this report, notably different nodulation phenotypes in soybean roots inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain 113-2 at five developmental stages (branching stage, flowering stage, fruiting stage, pod stage and harvest stage) were shown, and the expression of nodule genes at these five stages was assessed quantitatively using RNA-Seq.

Physiological performance of the intertidal Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) to long-term daily rhythms of air exposure.

Intertidal organisms, especially the sessile species, often experience long-term periodic air exposure during their lives. Learning the biochemical and physiological responses of intertidal organisms to long-term periodic air exposure and the relationship to duration of air exposure provides insight into adaptation to this variably stressful environment. We studied the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, an important species in world aquaculture, as a model to evaluate survival, growth, lipid composition, oxygen consumption, oxidative damage, and antioxidant enzyme activity in relation to the duration of air exposure in a long-term (60 days) laboratory study of varying durations of periodic emersion and re-immersion.

[Influences of different irrigation amounts on carbon sequestration in wheat-maize rotation system].

Irrigation can influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and carbon footprint in agricultural production. In this study, annual GHG emissions (including CO, CH, and NO) were monitored with static opaque chamber and gas chromatography from a wheat-maize rotation system under different irrigation treatments in the Guanzhong Plain of China during 2014-2015. A total of four different irrigation treatments were conducted, e.

"Silent" Amino Acid Residues at Key Subunit Interfaces Regulate the Geometry of Protein Nanocages.

Rendering the geometry of protein-based assemblies controllable remains challenging. Protein shell-like nanocages represent particularly interesting targets for designed assembly. Here, we introduce an engineering strategy-key subunit interface redesign (KSIR)-that alters a natural subunit-subunit interface by selective deletion of a small number of "silent" amino acid residues (no participation in interfacial interactions) into one that triggers the generation of a non-native protein cage.

Burkholderia pseudomallei-derived miR-3473 enhances NF-κB via targeting TRAF3 and is associated with different inflammatory responses compared to Burkholderia thailandensis in murine macrophages.

Background: Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) is the causative agent of melioidosis, a kind of tropical disease. Burkholderia thailandensis (Bt), with a high sequence similarity to Bp, is thought to be an avirulent organism. Since there are numerous similarities between Bp and Bt, their differences in pathogenesis of host response and related mechanism are still undermined.

Conversion of the Native 24-mer Ferritin Nanocage into Its Non-Native 16-mer Analogue by Insertion of Extra Amino Acid Residues.

Protein assemblies with high symmetry are widely distributed in nature. Most efforts so far have focused on repurposing these protein assemblies, a strategy that is ultimately limited by the structures available. To overcome this limitation, methods for fabricating novel self-assembling proteins have received intensive interest.

Design and application of a CA-BDI model to determine farmers' land-use behavior.

The belief-desire-intention (BDI) model has been widely used to construct reasoning systems for complex tasks in dynamic environments. We have designed a capabilities and abilities (CA)-BDI farmer decision-making model, which is an extension of the BDI architecture and includes internal representations for farmer household Capabilities and Abilities. This model is used to explore farmer learning mechanisms and to simulate the bounded rational decisions made by farmer households.

Clinical Features of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) was long believed to be an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to describe the clinical features of patients with MS and NMOSD to assist in differential diagnoses in clinical practice.

Methods: Data including the patients' serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests, image findings, and clinical information from 175 patients with MS or NMOSD at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from November 2012 to May 2014 were collected and analyzed retrospectively.

Highly fluorescent gold nanoclusters stabilized by food proteins: From preparation to application in detection of food contaminants and bioactive nutrients.

Applications of nanotechnology in food have rapidly increased in the past decades. Ultra-small gold nanoclusters (Au NCs), composed of several to roughly a hundred atoms, represent a kind of novel nanomaterials. The Au NCs directed by food proteins have drawn considerable research attention due to their environment-friendly preparation, strong fluorescence, excellent photo-stability, and favorable biocompatibility.

Extracellular RNAs as a chemical initiator for postoperative cognitive dysfunction.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication that presents in the postoperative stage, especially in elderly patients. Despite years of considerable progress, the detailed molecular mechanisms of POCD remain largely unknown. Neuroinflammation has been increasingly pointed out as one of the core mechanisms for the pathogenesis of POCD.

An Underlying Pathological Mechanism of Meningiomas with Intratumoral Hemorrhage: Undifferentiated Microvessels.

Background: Meningiomas usually present with a gradual onset of symptoms, and their acute presentation with a hemorrhagic event appears to be a rare condition. Although many clinical features of such a condition have been characterized, pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the bleeding remain unclear, and some contradictory results have been reported. The value of tumor vascularity as an index for the bleeding propensity of meningiomas is inconsistent.

Aberrant trafficking of a Leu89Pro connexin32 mutant associated with X-linked dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Objective: To determine the functional abnormalities of the Leu89Pro mutation in connexin32 (CX32), which we have previously reported is present within an X-linked dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease family. In this family, male patients were moderately to severely affected.

Methods: We performed immunofluorescence to investigate whether the Leu89Pro CX32 protein was transported to the cell membrane in HeLa and Schwann cells.

[Adsorption Characteristics of 2,4-D on UiO-66 from Wastewater].

With UiO-66 metal organic framework as the adsorbent, the influences of factors such as time, pH value, temperature on the adsorption were studied. The results showed that the adsorption effect was best at pH=4.0 for the adsorption system and the adsorption equilibrium time was 24 h.

Early Short Stimulation Modified Natural Cycle IVF With GnRH Agonist Trigger and In Vitro Maturation in a Woman with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case Report.

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) triggering of final oocyte maturation has been used successfully in GnRH antagonist IVF cycles. It has not been used to date in cycles in which immature oocytes are matured in vitro.

Case: We report here for the first time that GnRHa triggering in a variation on the modified natural IVF cycle can be used as a strategy in the treatment of infertility secondary to polycystic ovary syndrome.

[Effects of the Rho-kinase inhibitor fasudil on the invasion, migration, and apoptosis of human prostate cancer PC3 and DU145 cells].

Objective: To investigate the potential role of the RhoA/Rock signaling pathway in the formation of prostate cancer and the effects of the Rock inhibitor fasudil on the invasion, migration and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells.

Methods: Human prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145 were treated with fasudil at the concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 μmol/L, respectively, and those as negative controls cultured in the Ham's-F12 medium, all for 24 hours. Then, MTT assay was used to measure the cell inhibition rate and half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of fasudil, with 1/4 of IC50 as the medication dose for further investigation.

Comparison of surgical effect and postoperative patient experience between laparoendoscopic single-site and conventional laparoscopic varicocelectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present meta-analysis was conducted to compare the clinical effect and patient experience of laparoendoscopic single-site varicocelectomy (LESSV) and conventional laparoscopic varicocelectomy. The candidate studies were included after literature search of database Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. Related information on essential data and outcome measures was extracted from the eligible studies by two independent authors, and a meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 12.

[Impact of varicocele and varicocelectomy on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and the levels of nitrogen monoxidum and interleukin 1 in the rat testis].

Objective: To study the impact of left varicocele (VC) and varicocelectomy (VCT) on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and the levels of nitrogen monoxidum (NO) and interleukin 1 (IL-1) in the rat testis.

Methods: We randomly divided 60 adolescent male SD rats into four groups of equal number: sham operation control, VC model 1 (VC1), VC model 2 (VC2), and VCT. We determined the semen quality and levels of NO and IL-1 in the testis tissue, detected the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells by TUNEL, and compared the indexes obtained among different groups.