Predictive value of Doppler echocardiography parameters for cardiovascular events in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to assess the utility of Doppler echocardiography in evaluating left ventricular diastolic function, and prognosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Patients And Methods: A total of 286 SLE patients were selected along with 100 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals who underwent physical examinations. Clinical baseline characteristics were collected.

Comprehensive assessment of the microbial community structure in a typical lead-zinc mine soil.

Understanding the microbial community structure in soil contaminated with heavy metals (HMs) is a precondition to conduct bioremediation in mine soil. Samples were collected from a typical lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) mine to assess the microbial community structure of the HMs concentrated in the soil. The goal was to analyze the bacterial and fungal community structures and their interactions using the 16S rRNA genes and internal transcribed spacer high-throughput sequencing.

The effect of quorum sensing on cadmium- and lead-containing wastewater treatment using activated sludge: Removal efficiency, enzyme activity, and microbial community.

Quorum sensing (QS) is prevalent in activated sludge processes; however, its essential role in the treatment of heavy metal wastewater has rarely been studied. Therefore, in this study, acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated QS was used to regulate the removal performance, enzyme activity, and microbial community of Cd- and Pb-containing wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) over 30 cycles. The results showed that exogenous AHL strengthened the removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in their coexistence wastewater during the entire period.

Preparation of phosphorus-modified biochar for the immobilization of heavy metals in typical lead-zinc contaminated mining soil: Performance, mechanism and microbial community.

The use of modified biochar for the remediation of heavy metal (HM) has received much attention. However, the immobilization mechanism of biochar to multiple HMs and the interaction of different forms of HMs with microorganisms are still unclear. KHPO-modified biochar (PBC) was produced and used in a 90-days immobilization experiment with soil collected from a typic lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) mining soil.

Clinical efficacy of myometrial and endometrial microwave ablation in the treatment of patients with adenomyosis who had anemia.

Objective: This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of myometrial and endometrial microwave ablation (MEWA) for treating adenomyosis in patients with anemia.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 64 patients with adenomyosis who had anemia treated with either MEWA (MEWA group) or myometrial microwave ablation (MMWA group) between May 2019 and May 2021. The uterine volumes, uterine-volume reduction rates, hemoglobin (Hb) levels, cancer antigen 125 (CA125) levels, dysmenorrhea visual analog scale (VAS) scores, uterine fibroblast symptoms and health-related quality of life (UFS-QOL) scores, menstrual flow scores (MFS) before and 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment, and adverse events and complications in both groups were collected to assess clinical efficacy.

Characterization of Microbial Communities in Wastewater Treatment Plants Containing Heavy Metals Located in Chemical Industrial Zones.

Water pollution caused by heavy metals (HMs) poses a serious risk to human health and the environment and can increase the risk of diabetes, cancer, and hypertension in particular. In this study, two full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in industrial zones in southern China were selected to analyze the microbial community structure, diversity, similarity, and differentiation in the anoxic/oxic (AO) and anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (AO-MBR) units under the stress of HMs. High-throughput sequencing showed that microbial diversity and abundance were higher in the AO process than in the AO-MBR process.

The removal of selenite and cadmium by immobilized biospheres: Efficiency, mechanisms and bacterial community.

In this study, a complex bacterial consortium was enriched from a typical Pb-Zn mine area and immobilized by sodium alginate to form biospheres, which were used for treatment of selenite (Se(IV))- and cadmium (Cd(II))-containing wastewater without external carbon source. Batch experiments showed that the maximum Se(IV) removal efficiency was 92.36% under the optimal conditions of an initial pH of 5, dosage of 5 g/L, initial Se(IV) concentration of 7.