Dual-energy CT virtual non-calcium: an accurate method for detection of knee osteoarthritis-related edema-like marrow signal intensity.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of a dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) virtual non-calcium (VNCa) technique in the detection of edema-like marrow signal intensity (ELMSI) in patients with knee joint osteoarthritis (OA) compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: The study received local ethics board approval, and written informed consent was obtained. DECT and MRI were used to examine 28 knees in 24 patients with OA.

Awareness regarding and vaccines acceptability of human papillomavirus among parents of middle school students in Zunyi, Southwest China.

The objective of this study was to investigate the parent cognition of information regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) and their willingness toward HPV vaccination of their middle-school-aged children in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China.The results provide a basis for improving the awareness concerning HPV-related information as a key vaccination strategy for implementing the HPV vaccine in the local context. Methods include the random cluster sampling method and questionnaires to survey parents.

Novel homozygous protein-truncating mutation of BBS9 identified in a Chinese consanguineous family with Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

Background: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare and genetically heterogeneous disease with a broad spectrum of clinical features, including but not limited to rod-cone dystrophy, postaxial polydactyly, central obesity, intellectual disability, hypogonadism, and renal dysfunction. Twenty-one BBS (Bardet-Biedl syndrome) genes have been identified to date. There is minimal mutation information on BBS in Chinese populations and the exact pathogenic mechanism of the null mutation of BBS9 remains unknown.

Stainless steel corrosion via direct iron-to-microbe electron transfer by Geobacter species.

Microbial corrosion of iron-based materials is a substantial economic problem. A mechanistic understanding is required to develop mitigation strategies, but previous mechanistic studies have been limited to investigations with relatively pure Fe(0), which is not a common structural material. We report here that the mechanism for microbial corrosion of stainless steel, the metal of choice for many actual applications, can be significantly different from that for Fe(0).

Correlation of Key Physiological Properties of Isolates with Environment of Origin.

It is known that the physiology of species can differ significantly, but the ecological impact of these differences is unclear. We recovered two strains of from two different ecosystems with a similar enrichment and isolation method. Both strains had the same ability to metabolize organic substrates and participate in direct interspecies electron transfer but also had major physiological differences.

Solvent-Induced Assembly of Microbial Protein Nanowires into Superstructured Bundles.

Protein-based electronic biomaterials represent an attractive alternative to traditional metallic and semiconductor materials due to their environmentally benign production and purification. However, major challenges hindering further development of these materials include (1) limitations associated with processing proteins in organic solvents and (2) difficulties in forming higher-order structures or scaffolds with multilength scale control. This paper addresses both challenges, resulting in the formation of one-dimensional bundles composed of electrically conductive protein nanowires harvested from the microbes and .

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated With Physical and/or Sexual Abuse Among Female Middle School Students: A Cross- Sectional Study in Kinshasa, DRC.

This cross-sectional study sought to broaden the limited evidence on violence against young adolescent girls in non-conflict zones within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Our goal was to estimate the prevalence of and the predictors of physical and/or sexual abuse among girls aged 11-18 years in Kinshasa. A total of 3,100 girls from five randomly selected schools were recruited by our team and given the questionnaires; among them, 3,011 (97.

Adjustment Disorder in Female Breast Cancer Patients: Prevalence and Its Accessory Symptoms.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer may have serious psychological problems and will suffer from adjustment disorder (AjD). We investigated the prevalence of AjD in female breast cancer patients who were diagnosed within 1 year and examined the severe life events they experienced, and the most common symptoms of AjD. 342 newly diagnosed (<1 year) female breast cancer patients were recruited from Tongji Hospital and Hubei Cancer Hospital in Hubei, China, from July 2018 to May 2019.

Renal involvement in a silicosis patient - case report and literature review.

A 43-year-old Chinese man with a silicosis history was admitted to our hospital due to bilateral lower extremity edema for 1 year, exacerbating with hematuria for 2 months. He started working as a coal miner 30 years ago, and was diagnosed as silicosis 3 months ago. Lab tests revealed hematuria 3+, proteinuria 3+, and a serum creatinine value 2.

A Membrane-Bound Cytochrome Enables To Conserve Energy from Extracellular Electron Transfer.

Extracellular electron exchange in species and closely related plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and enhances the speed and stability of anaerobic digestion by facilitating efficient syntrophic interactions. Here, we grew with methanol provided as the electron donor and the humic analogue, anthraquione-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), provided as the electron acceptor when methane production was inhibited with bromoethanesulfonate. AQDS was reduced with simultaneous methane production in the absence of bromoethanesulfonate.

Iron Corrosion via Direct Metal-Microbe Electron Transfer.

The concept that anaerobic microorganisms can directly accept electrons from Fe(0) has been controversial because direct metal-microbe electron transfer has previously only been indirectly inferred. Fe(0) oxidation was studied with strain ACL, an autotrophic strain that was previously shown to grow with electrons derived from a graphite cathode as the sole electron donor. Strain ACL grew with Fe(0) as the sole electron donor and fumarate as the electron acceptor.

[Adsorption, Reclaim, and Regeneration of Cd by Magnetic Calcium Dihydrogen Phosphate Nanoparticles].

In order to improve the adsorption-separation of Cd in water treatment, magnetic FeO coated Ca(HPO) nanoparticles (NMCDP) were developed by coprecipitation. The properties of these nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and magnetization curves. Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of adsorption, reclaiming, and regeneration.

Conductive Composite Materials Fabricated from Microbially Produced Protein Nanowires.

Protein-based electronic materials have numerous potential advantages with respect to sustainability and biocompatibility over electronic materials that are synthesized using harsh chemical processes and/or which contain toxic components. The microorganism Geobacter sulfurreducens synthesizes electrically conductive protein nanowires (e-PNs) with high aspect ratios (3 nm × 10-30 µm) from renewable organic feedstocks. Here, the integration of G.

[Temporal and spatial change of climate resources and meteorological disasters under climate change during winter crop growing season in Guangdong Province, China.].

Trend analysis method was applied to analyze the general variation characteristics of the climate resources and meteorological disasters of growing season of the winter planting in Guangdong before (1961-1996) and after climate warming (1997-2015). Percentile method was employed to determine thresholds for extreme cold and drought in major planting regions, and the characteristics of extreme disasters since climate warming were analyzed. The results showed that, by comparing 1997-2015 with 1961-1996, the heat value in winter growing season increased significantly.

High YBX1 expression indicates poor prognosis and promotes cell migration and invasion in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Y-box binding protein-1 (YBX1) is a multifunctional protein and often acts as an indicator of poor prognosis in cancers. Increasing evidence has shown that the levels of YBX1 protein were closely associated with multidrug resistance, relapse, metastasis and poor prognosis in cancers. However, its role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis remains unknown.

Hypoglycemic activity and acute oral toxicity of chromium methionine complexes in mice.

The hypoglycemic activity of chromium methionine (CrMet) in alloxan-induced diabetic (AID) mice was investigated and compared with those of chromium trichloride hexahydrate (CrCl3·6H2O) and chromium nicotinate (CrNic) through a 15-day feeding experiment. The acute oral toxicity of CrMet was also investigated in ICR (Institute for Cancer Research) mice by a single oral gavage. The anti-diabetic activity of CrMet was explored in detail from the aspects of body weight (BW), blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, liver glycogen levels, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels.

Theoretical investigation of optical and paramagnetic resonance spectra of [NiF6](4-) clusters with orthorhombic symmetry.

The ground state absorption spectra of [NiF6](4-) clusters with orthorhombic symmetry (Ni(2+) in NiF2 crystal and Ni(2+)-doped ZnF2 crystal, D2h point group) are theoretically calculated and assigned by diagonalization of 45×45 complete energy matrix for 3d(8) configuration and the spin-Hamiltonian (SH) parameters (zero-field splitting D and E, and g factors gx, gy, gz) are studied by use of high-order perturbation method, in the frame of semi-empirical molecular orbital (MO) scheme based on strong crystal field framework. In those energy matrix, all the configuration interactions though the cubic crystal field (CF), the orthorhombic crystal field, the Coulomb interaction are taken into account. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data.

[Complications after procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids for circular hemorrhoids].

Objective: To investigate the perioperative and postoperative long-term complications of procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids(PPH) for the treatment of circular internal hemorrhoids and circular mixed hemorrhoids.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 2152 patients with circular internal hemorrhoids and circular mixed hemorrhoids eligible for PPH from January 2002 to December 2011. The perioperative and postoperative long-term complications were recorded and assessed.

Theoretical investigations of optical spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of LiCl:Ni²⁺ crystals.

The complete energy matrices (45 × 45) including low symmetry ligand field (C(4v)) and Coulomb interactions for 3d(8) ions have been constructed, and the high-order perturbation formulas of spin-Hamiltonian (SH) parameters g factors g(//), g(⊥) and zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameter D for ground state (3)A(2g) of the 3d(8) ions in the tetragonal symmetry environment have been derived. In those formulas both the crystal field (CF) mechanism and the charge transfer (CT) mechanism are taken into account. The complete energy matrices and the high-order perturbation formulas are applied to calculate the energy levels and SH parameters of the Ni(2+) ion in LiCl crystal respectively.

[Application of stapled transanal rectum resection in the treatment of obstructed defecation syndrome].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of stapled transanal rectum resection (STARR) in the treatment of obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS).

Methods: Fifty-six patients with ODS who had rectocele and/or intussusception were treated with STARR from January 2007 to August 2008. The incidence of preoperative and postoperative symptoms of ODS was compared.

[Comparison of long-term efficacy on severe hemorrhoids between procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids and Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy].

Objective: To compare the long-term results of procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids(PPH) and Milligan-Morgan(MM) hemorrhoidectomy in the treatment of third- and fourth-degree hemorrhoids.

Methods: Ninety-one patients in PPH group and 120 patients in MM group, treated in our hospital from May 2001 to May 2005, were followed up. All the patients suffered with third- or fourth-degree hemorrhoids.