Study of association between embryo growth arrest (EGA) and atmospheric fine particulate matter pollution (PM) and spatial metabolomics of villi derived from pregnant women.

Fine particulate matter (PM) is related to embryo growth arrest (EGA). In this study, we collected demographic information from EGA cases and early pregnancy controls in Taiyuan, China, between 2022 and 2023 and obtained villi and serum samples from these participants. We employed multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models to estimate the odds ratios (ORs).

Disordered Gut Microbiome and Alterations in Metabolic Patterns Are Associated With Hypertensive Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is most common when driven by hypertension, and it is a strong independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events and death. Some animal models support a role for gut microbiota and metabolites in the development of LVH, but cohort studies confirming these findings in populations are lacking.

Methods And Results: We investigated the alterations of gut microbiota and metabolites in 30 patients with hypertension, 30 patients with hypertensive LVH, and 30 matched controls on the basis of 16S rDNA and metabolomic analyses.

Experimental investigation of influence of amide polymer on loess for subgrade.

The effects of moisture and drying shrinkage can lead to uneven settlement, cracking, and other diseases in loess subgrade. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of amide polymer (AP) on the permeability, mechanical properties and crack resistance of loess by orthogonal experiments. The basic properties of AP and the permeability, mechanical properties, and dry-wet variation properties of polymer-modified loess were tested, and a scale model verification and simulation analysis were conducted.

Relationship between four insulin resistance surrogates and left ventricular hypertrophy among hypertensive adults: a case-control study.

Background: Hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is intricately linked to insulin resistance (IR). This research aimed to elucidate the relationship of advanced indices, namely the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, the TyG adjusted for body mass index (TyG-BMI), the triglycerides-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-c), and the metabolic score for IR (METS-IR), with LVH in hypertensive cohorts.

Methods: This analytical case-control investigation encompassed 800 individuals aged 18 or above from the Cardiology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College over a span from January 2021 to April 2022.

Regulation of PM on mitochondrial damage in H9c2 cells through miR-421/SIRT3 pathway and protective effect of miR-421 inhibitor and resveratrol.

Fine particulate matter (PM) exposure is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Mitochondria are sensitive targets of PM, and mitochondrial dysfunction is closely related to the occurrence of CVD. The epigenetic mechanism of PM-triggered mitochondrial injury of cardiomyocytes is unclear.

Heavy metals (HMs) pollution in the aquatic environment: Role of probiotics and gut microbiota in HMs remediation.

The presence of heavy metals (HMs) in aquatic ecosystems is a universal concern due to their tendency to accumulate in aquatic organisms. HMs accumulation has been found to cause toxic effects in aquatic organisms. The common HMs-induced toxicities are growth inhibition, reduced survival, oxidative stress, tissue damage, respiratory problems, and gut microbial dysbiosis.

Experimental Study on Properties of Modified City Wall Soil.

Due to the special geographical location, climatic characteristics, special soil properties and the flood zone of the Yellow River in Kaifeng, the groundwater level in the lower reaches of the river basin is high and contains much salt. The matrix suction and surface free energy of the Kaifeng city wall earthen site changed under capillary action, resulting in cracking, peeling and efflorescence to varying degrees. In order to reduce the deterioration of the Kaifeng city wall caused by environmental erosion, a select lime with excellent mechanical properties and waterproof methanesiliconic acid sodium salt with excellent water resistance were chosen to reinforce the earthen sites.

Study on Cracking Law of Earthen Soil under Dry Shrinkage Condition.

Earthen sites are easily eroded by the natural environment, resulting in a large number of micro cracks on the surface. In order to explore the internal relationship between environmental factors and the cracking law of soil sites, this paper carries out dry shrinkage tests of different soil layers at the Zhouqiao site, reconstructs the study on cracking law of earthen soil under dry shrinkage-conditioned microstructure of site soil at different depths based on electron microscope pictures and finite element method, and explores the influence of different moisture content on the cracking of soil samples at the site. The results show that under conditions of dry shrinkage, the thickness of the soil layer has the greatest influence on the cracking of site soil samples.

Within-day variation and health risk assessment of trihalomethanes (THMs) in a chlorinated indoor swimming pool in China.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the most common species of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in swimming pools and have received widespread attention due to their risk to public health. However, studies examining within-day variation and the carcinogenic health risks from exposure to THMs in indoor swimming pools are limited. Our study aimed to detect the within-day variation of four THMs categories and carcinogenic health risk in indoor swimming pool water in Taiyuan, China, and to examine the correlations between THMs and environmental parameters.

Relations between white coat effect of blood pressure and arterial stiffness.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (b-a PWV) and white coat effect (WCE), that is the difference between the elevated office blood pressure (BP) and the lower mean daytime pressure of ambulatory BP, in a mixed population of normotention, untreated sustained hypertension, sustained controlled hypertension, sustained uncontrolled hypertension, white coat hypertension, white coat uncontrolled hypertension. A total of 444 patients with WCE for systolic BP (54.1% female, age 61.

Effect of dibutyl phthalate on microalgal growth kinetics, nutrients removal, and stress enzyme activities.

The dibutyl phthalate (DPB) is an emerging plasticizer contaminant that disrupts the biological processes of primary producers, especially phytoplankton. In this study, two microalgal species (Chlorella sp. GEEL-08 and Tetradesmus dimorphus GEEL-04) were exposed to various concentrations of DBP extending from 0 to 100 mg/L.

Experimental Study on Effects of Aging Time on Dry Shrinkage Cracking of Lime Soils.

The effect of aging on the internal mechanism of the dry shrinkage cracking of lime soil was studied from the perspective of macroscopic cracking phenomenon and microscopic composition change, and the reasonable aging time of lime soil was determined. Large numbers of cracks often occur in buildings constructed using lime soil, which impacts sustainable development and building environmental protection. This study explored the influence of aging time on the mechanical properties and shrinkage cracking of lime soil.

Study on deterioration mechanism of soil in Zhouqiao site under salinization.

Alkalinity production is one of the most typical and widespread salinization hazards on the Loess Plateau. Based on the characterization of typical flooding sites and the results of salt monitoring, this study investigates the deterioration mechanism of salinization on Zhouqiao site. The orthogonal test was used to simulate the effects of different concentrations of MgSO, NaCl and CaCl under natural conditions on the quality change, salt analysis out location, surface phenomenon, strength and electrical conductivity of the soil at the Zhouqiao site, and to make a preliminary analysis on the mechanism of saline deterioration of the site soil.

Experimental Study on Restoration Materials of Newly Earthen Ruins under Different Slaking Times.

The newly repaired Kaifeng City Wall has serious cracks, shedding and other issues on the surface, which constitute a significant problem. It is of great significance for the restoration of Kaifeng City Wall to explore the repair materials and techniques suitable for Kaifeng City Wall. The pH, particle gradation, compressive strength and SEM were tested on soil samples with different lime and MgO contents under different slaking times.

Experimental Study on the Cracking and Mechanical Properties of Lime Soil with Different Slaking Conditions of Newly Repaired Earthen City Walls.

In this paper, a method to control the lime reaction by different slaking conditions is proposed to reduce the occurrence of cracks in newly repaired earthen city walls. The effects and mechanisms of the slaking time (0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h), lime content (10%, 15% and 20%), and moisture content (14%, 18% and 22%) on the cracking and mechanical properties of lime soil were analyzed by the test results of surface cracks, triaxial compression, particle gradation, pH value, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The results show that proper slaking of lime soil specimens can reduce surface cracks and improve mechanical properties.

Experimental Study on the Mix Ratio of Restored Heritage Building Adobe.

The reciprocating action of the external environment gradually reduces the mechanical properties and water stability of original heritage buildings, resulting in the gradual loss of their cultural value. In this paper, the adobe for the construction of raw soil and cultural relics in western Henan is taken as the research object. The local plain soil is used as the raw material, and the adobe samples are prepared with modified materials such as quicklime and sodium methyl silicate, in order to improve its mechanical properties and water stability.

Study on the Expansion Law of Dry Shrinkage Cracks in Silty Clay.

Fracture characteristics are the basis of silty clay fracture research, and its quantitative description is helpful to explore the engineering properties of silty clay. The silty clay samples with different moisture contents and different aspect ratios were prepared by the controlled variable method for the drying shrinkage test. The crack image processing and crack feature extraction were performed by PS and IPP software, and the relationship between the crack propagation characteristic parameters and the change in humidity and sample moisture content during drying shrinkage were analyzed to explore the crack development law.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Carbonation Reaction on the Properties of Imitation Site Soil.

In this study, sodium methylsilicate and lime were selected to prepare the same proportion of Imitation Site Soil, and according to the principle of carbonation reaction of restoration materials, the effect of carbonation reaction on the performance of restoration soil of earthen sites was studied. The study has good significance for the conservation and restoration of earthen sites. The samples were cured with CO concentration and curing age as variables.

Study on Deterioration Law and Mechanism of Gray Brick Due to Salt Crystallization.

Salinization has an important impact on the degradation of ancient masonry buildings, and systematically mastering the law of salt migration and degradation of ancient masonry buildings is an important part of the protection of ancient buildings. In this paper, the damage law of gray bricks under the action of salt crystallization is studied. The orthogonal test method is used to carry out cyclic degradation tests on gray bricks.

Research on the Mechanism and Prevention Methods of the Drying Shrinkage Effect of Earthen Sites.

In view of the fact that it is easy for the ancient city soil site of Cai Kingdom to expand and crack when encountering water, this paper explores the methods to improve the expansion and shrinkage deformation, dry shrinkage cracks and easy water absorption characteristics of the expanded site soil based on a lime and silicone hydrophobic agent. In this paper, the expansive clay in the old city site of Cai Kingdom in Zhumadian was taken as the research object, and the dry-shrinkage fissure test of saturated expansive soil was carried out, to study the influencing factors of the dry-shrinkage cracking of expansive soil in this area. The site soil was modified with lime and glue powder, and the fissure image was quantitatively analyzed by MATLAB.

Developing a Cancer Digital Twin: Supervised Metastases Detection From Consecutive Structured Radiology Reports.

The development of digital cancer twins relies on the capture of high-resolution representations of individual cancer patients throughout the course of their treatment. Our research aims to improve the detection of metastatic disease over time from structured radiology reports by exposing prediction models to historical information. We demonstrate that Natural language processing (NLP) can generate better weak labels for semi-supervised classification of computed tomography (CT) reports when it is exposed to consecutive reports through a patient's treatment history.

Study on Deterioration of Gray Brick with Different Moisture Contents under Freeze-Thaw Environment.

Generally, brick buildings are in the open-air environment year round, and damage to them is aggravated by the effect of repeated freezing and thawing cycles. In order to determine freeze-thaw damage and deterioration mechanism, the initial moisture content of gray brick specimens was set as 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%. The effects of moisture content and the number of freeze-thaw cycles on the quality, mechanical properties and microstructure of gray brick were investigated by uniaxial compression tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests.

Study on the factors affecting cracking of earthen soil under dry shrinkage and freeze-thaw conditions.

Earthen sites are easily eroded by the natural environment, resulting in many micro-cracks on the surface. To explore the effects of environmental effects such as drying shrinkage and freeze-thaw on surface cracking, orthogonal tests that imposed these effects on the Zhouqiao site were conducted. Using range analysis, image processing technology, surface strength measurement and microstructure characteristic analysis, this paper explores the effects of soil thickness, water content, dry shrinkage, freeze-thaw cycles and other factors on the morphological characteristics of the site's surface cracks.

Home blood pressure telemonitoring for improving blood pressure control in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertension.

The blood pressure (BP) control rate among treated hypertensives in China remains low at 37.5%. The relationship between home blood pressure telemonitoring (HBPT) and BP control is controversial.

Study on antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, bacterial community characteristics and their correlation in the landfill leachates.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the contamination levels of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the landfill leachates and their correlations with the bacteria.

Methods And Results: Using HPLC-MS, quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing, we measured the pollution levels of 14 antibiotics and 10 ARGs in the leachates of the landfill in Taiyuan, China, and analysed changes in the bacterial community and the correlations of bacteria with antibiotics and ARGs. The main results showed high levels of antibiotics (like enrofloxacin, pefloxacin and oxytetracycline) and ARGs (like sulfonamides, tetracycline, macrolides, quinolones and β-lactam-resistance genes) in the landfill leachates, along with higher diversity and richness of the bacteria.