Increment of Skeletal Muscle Mass Predicts Survival Benefit for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Transarterial Chemoembolization Combining Molecular Targeted Agents and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Purpose: To assess the relationship between clinical prognosis and changes of skeletal muscle mass for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) patients who received transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with molecular-targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors (TACE-MTAs-ICIs).

Methods: From June 2019 to June 2023, a total of 92 uHCC patients who received TACE-MTAs-ICIs therapy were included. Skeletal muscle mass was assessed before and 6 months after treatment.

Low cross-sensitivity and sensitivity enhanced FBG sensor based on OCMI with three cascaded FBGs.

This paper presents a highly sensitive, temperature-insensitive optical carrier microwave interferometry (OCMI) system using a cascaded three fiber Bragg grating (FBG) structure to generate an enhanced Vernier effect for sensing applications. The enhanced Vernier effect is created by superimposing the interferograms of two separate interferometers formed by pairing the sensing FBG with each reference FBG. Experimental and theoretical results show that in strain sensing, the sensitivity based on enhanced Vernier effect is -4.

Green finance and corporate environmental investment: "Scale Up" or "Efficiency Up"?

The establishment of green finance reform and innovation (GFRI) pilot zone is an important measure of the Chinese government to urge enterprises to develop green transformation. This paper explores the impact of pilot policies in the GFRI pilot zone on corporate environmental investment. Based on 819 A-share listed enterprises from 2010 to 2020, our staggered difference-in-differences (staggered DID) estimation documents revealed that enterprises in the GFRI pilot zone significantly increased the corporate environmental investment efficiency but reduced the scale of corporate environmental investment.

Preparation and Characterization of GX-50 and Vitamin C Co-encapsulated Microcapsules by a Water-in-Oil-in-Water (W/O/W) Double Emulsion-Complex Coacervation Method.

Co-encapsulated xanthoxylin (GX-50) and vitamin C (Vc) microcapsules (GX-50-Vc-M) were prepared by the combination of a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsion with complex coacervation. The W/O/W double emulsion was prepared by two-step emulsification, and it has a uniform particle size of 8.388 μm and high encapsulation efficiencies of GX-50 (85.

Acute psilocybin increased cortical activities in rats.

Psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic component of magic mushrooms, has significant psychoactive effects in both humans and rodents. But the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Blood-oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a useful tool in many preclinical and clinical trials to investigate psilocybin-induced changes of brain activity and functional connectivity (FC) due to its noninvasive nature and widespread availability.

Construction and Validation of a Novel Nomogram for Predicting the Recurrence of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Treated with R-CHOP.

Purpose: To explore recurrence-risk factors of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and construct a risk nomogram for predicting recurrence.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 228 DLBCL patients who achieved complete remission after R-CHOP treatment between January 2015 and December 2019. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to identify recurrence-related risk factors from the pretreatment evaluation factors covering patients' demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, serological indicators, pathological and immunohistochemical results.

Rearing behaviour in the mouse behavioural pattern monitor distinguishes the effects of psychedelics from those of lisuride and TBG.

Psychedelics alter consciousness and may have potential for drug development. As psychedelics are likely therapeutically active, it is important to study their effects and mechanisms using preclinical models. Here, we examined the effects of phenylalkylamine and indoleamine psychedelics on locomotor activity and exploratory behaviour using the mouse Behavioural Pattern Monitor (BPM).

MSLF-Net: A Multi-Scale and Multi-Level Feature Fusion Net for Diabetic Retinopathy Segmentation.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic complication that predisposes patients to visual impairments that could lead to blindness. Lesion segmentation using deep learning algorithms is an effective measure to screen and prevent early DR. However, there are several types of DR with varying sizes and high inter-class similarity, making segmentation difficult.

Simultaneous Enhancement of Magnetothermal and Photothermal Responses by Zn, Co Co-Doped Ferrite Nanoparticles.

Reducing nanoparticle (NP) dosage for hyperthermia therapy has remained a great challenge. In this work, efficiencies of alternating current (AC) magnetic field and near-infrared (NIR) heating are simultaneously enhanced by Zn and Co co-doping of magnetite NPs. The optimum magnetic anisotropy for maximized loss power under each magnetic field is achieved by tuning the doping concentration.

Low Psoas-Muscle index is associated with decreased survival in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization.

Purpose: Skeletal muscle index (SMI) is a promising predictor of clinical outcomes in patients with malignant diseases. As a simpler surrogate of sarcopenia-psoas muscle index (PMI), its predict value for overall survival (OS) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. To determine if changes in the PMI predicted OS in individuals with HCC treated with TACE.

Cantilever deflection optical fiber sensor based on a chirped fiber grating Fabry-Perot cavity.

A cantilever deflection fiber-optic sensor based on chirped fiber grating (CFG) Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity had been proposed and experimental demonstrated. Two CFBGs with the same chirped coefficient direction and grating parameters are written in one single-mode fiber by UV mask exposure to form the CFG-FP cavity. The central wavelength of two CFGs is 1549.

A Nomogram to Predict Recurrence After Bronchial Artery Embolization for Hemoptysis Due to Bronchiectasis.

Objective: To develop and validate a nomogram for predicting recurrent hemoptysis after successful bronchial arterial embolization (BAE) in patients with bronchiectasis.

Materials And Methods: From January 2015 to December 2019, a total of 251 patients were enrolled in this study. A nomogram was developed with the predictors of recurrent events, which were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.

Skeletal-muscle index predicts survival after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage for obstructive jaundice due to perihilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Sarcopenia is emerging as a prognostic factor in patients with malignant diseases. The prognostication of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC) with obstructive jaundice was complex, because these patients suffered compete mortality events beyond cancer itself. Our study was to investigate the association between low skeletal-muscle index and overall survival (OS) after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) for obstructive jaundice due to PHC.

Influence of Soil Organic Carbon on the Aroma of Tobacco Leaves and the Structure of Microbial Communities.

The soil organic carbon is associated with the plant quality and the microbial community structure. In the present study, carbon fertilizers were applied to paddy soil to elucidate the relationship between soil carbon and neutral aroma substances in both tobacco and soil microbiome by transcriptome sequencing and 16S rDNA-based analysis, respectively. Our results showed that (1) the increase in soil carbon content was closely correlated with the abundance of microorganisms belonging to two classes (which could potentially affect tobacco plants), namely Gammaproteobacteria and Chloroflexia, (2) soil carbon apparently affected tobacco neutral aroma substances, and (3) soil carbon improved neutral aroma substances by affecting the transcriptional processes of sesquiterpenoid and chlorophyll biosyntheses.

Kinetic Analysis of High-Temperature Plastic Flow in 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V Steel.

High-temperature plastic flow of heat-resistant 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V steel was investigated by hot tension (at 500-650 °C) on a Gleeble 3800 machine.

Transcriptome sequencing reveals the effect of biochar improvement on the development of tobacco plants before and after topping.

The application of biochar is one of the most useful methods for improving soil quality, which is of the utmost significance for the continuous production of crops. As there are no conclusive studies on the specific effects of biochar application on tobacco quality, this study aimed to improve the yield and quality of tobacco as a model crop for economic and genetic research in southern China, by such application. We used transcriptome sequencing to reveal the effects of applied biochar on tobacco development before and after topping.

Biochar application significantly affects the N pool and microbial community structure in purple and paddy soils.

Background: The increasing demand for food production has resulted in the use of large quantities of chemical fertilizers. This has created major environmental problems, such as increased ammonia volatilization, NO emission, and nitrogen (N) leaching from agricultural soil. In particular, the utilization rate of N fertilizer is low in subtropical southern parts of China due to high rainfall.

Biochar application on paddy and purple soils in southern China: soil carbon and biotic activity.

Soil carbon reserves are the largest terrestrial carbon pools. Common agricultural practices, such as high fertilization rates and intensive crop rotation, have led to global-scale environmental changes, including decreased soil organic matter, lower carbon/nitrogen ratios and disruption of soil carbon pools. These changes have resulted in a decrease in soil microbial activity, severe reduction in soil fertility and transformation of soil nutrients, thereby causing soil nutrient imbalance, which seriously affects crop production.

R2-8018 reduces the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer cells by disturbing transactivation between M3R and EGFR.

Aims: The M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M3R) is a G protein-coupled receptor that is expressed in cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Previous studies demonstrated that M3R antagonists reduce the proliferation of NSCLC. However, how antagonists inhibit the NSCLC proliferation and migration is still little known.