The causal relationship between gut microbiota and diabetic neuropathy: a bi-directional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Many studies suggest a strong correlation between gut microbiota (GM) and diabetic neuropathy (DN). However, the precise causal relationship between GM and DN has yet to be fully elucidated. Hence, a bi-directional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to examine the association between GM and DN.

Dehydrogenation of diborane on small Nb clusters.

The reactivity of Nb (1 ≤ ≤ 21) clusters with BH is studied by using a self-developed multiple-ion laminar flow tube reactor combined with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (MIFT-TQMS). The Nb clusters were generated by a magnetron sputtering source and reacted with the BH gas under fully thermalized conditions in the downstream flow tube where the reaction time was accurately controlled and adjustable. The complete and partial dehydrogenation products NbB and NbBH were detected, indicative of the removal of H and likely BH moieties.

Association between toxic drug events and encephalopathy in British Columbia, Canada: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Encephalopathy can occur from a non-fatal toxic drug event (overdose) which results in a partial or complete loss of oxygen to the brain, or due to long-term substance use issues. It can be categorized as a non-traumatic acquired brain injury or toxic encephalopathy. In the context of the drug toxicity crisis in British Columbia (BC), Canada, measuring the co-occurrence of encephalopathy and drug toxicity is challenging due to lack of standardized screening.

What Determines If a Ligand Undergoes Coordination or Catalytic Activation on a Metal Cluster?

We report a joint experimental and theoretical study on the reactivity of Ag clusters with HS, DO, and NH. Complete dehydrogenation products are observed for Ag reacting with HS, but no dehydrogenation products are found for DO or NH under the same reaction condition. Theoretical calculations elucidate why Ag clusters show different reactivities with these inorganic hydrides.

Nb -niobespherene: a full-metal hollow-cage cluster with superatomic stability and resistance to CO attack.

Why one chemical is more stable than another is not always easy to understand. A unified answer for metal clusters has led to the establishment of the superatom concept, which rationalizes the delocalization of electrons; however, cluster stability based on superatom theory has not been confirmed unambiguously for any metal other than the s- and p-blocks of the periodic table of elements. Here, we have prepared pure niobium clusters and observed their reactions with CO under sufficient gas collision conditions.

Weak Interactions Initiate C-H and C-C Bond Dissociation of Ethane on Nb Clusters.

The conversion of ethane into value-added chemicals under ambient conditions has attracted much attention but the mechanisms remain not fully understood. Here we report a study on the reaction of ethane with thermalized Nb clusters based on a multiple-ion laminar flow tube reactor combined with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (MIFT-TQMS). It is found that ethane reacts with Nb clusters to form both products of dehydrogenation and methane-removal (odd-carbon products).

CRISPR/Cas9 in plant biotechnology: applications and challenges.

The application of plant biotechnology to enhance beneficial traits in crops is now indispensable because of food insecurity due to increasing global population and climate change. The recent biotechnological development of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated system 9 (Cas9) allows for a more simple and precise method of gene editing, which is now preferred compared to Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) and Transcription Activator-like Effector Nucleases (TALENs). In this review, recent progress in utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in plants to enhance certain traits in beneficial crops, including rice, soybean, and oilseed rape, is discussed.

Spatial-temporal trends in the risk of illicit drug toxicity death in British Columbia.

Background: Illicit drug poisoning (overdose) continues to be an important public health problem with overdose-related deaths currently recorded at an unprecedented level. Understanding the geographic variations in fatal overdose mortality is necessary to avoid disproportionate risk resulting from service access inequity.

Methods: We estimated the odds of fatal overdose per event from all cases captured by the overdose surveillance system in British Columbia (2015 - 2018), using both conventional logistic regression and Generalized Additive Models (GAM).

Health-related quality of life amongst children with chronic kidney disease in Malaysia: performance of the Bahasa Melayu version of the PedsQL 3.0 ESRD Module : (PedsQL 3.0 VerBATIM: version in Bahasa Melayu. Translated for use in Malaysia).

Background: The PedsQL 3.0 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Module is a well-accepted instrument internationally but it is not available in the local language. We aimed to validate the Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) version and determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores amongst children with CKD in Malaysia.

What Determines the Drastic Reactivity of Nb Clusters with Nitric Oxide under Thermalized Conditions?

We report an in-depth study of the adsorption and reaction of NO with cationic Nb ( = 1-20) clusters under thermalized conditions in a laminar flow tube reactor in tandem with a customized triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (FT-TQMS). It is found that the small-sized Nb clusters (2 ≤ ≤ 7) readily react with NO giving rise to dominant fragmentation products pertaining to the loss of a stable diatomic molecule NbO or NbN. In contrast, the reaction products of larger-sized clusters ( ≥ 10) proceed through diverse channels, including NO adsorption, N/NO release, and even NO formation.

Gas-Phase Synthesis of Metal Olefins: Plasma-Assisted Methane Dehydrogenation and C═C Bond Formation.

Methane dehydrogenation and C-C coupling under mild conditions are very important but challenging in chemistry. Utilizing a customized time of flight mass spectrometer combined with a magnetron sputtering (MagS) cluster source, here, we have conducted a study on the reactions of methane with small silver and copper clusters simply by introducing methane in argon as the working gas for sputtering. Interestingly, a series of [(CH)] ( = Cu and Ag; = 2-12) clusters were observed, indicating high-efficiency methane dehydrogenation in such a plasma-assisted chamber system.

Cyclotrimerization of Acetylene on Clusters Co/Fe/Ni( = 1-16).

Cyclotrimerization of acetylene to benzene has attracted significant interest, but the role of geometric and electronic effects on catalytic chemistry remains unclear. To fully elucidate the mechanism of catalytic acetylene-to-benzene conversion, we have performed a gas-phase reaction study of the Fe, Co, and Ni ( = 1-16) clusters with acetylene utilizing a customized mass spectrometer. It is found that their reactions with acetylene are initiated by CH molecular adsorption and allow for dominant dehydrogenation with the relatively low partial pressure of the acetylene gas.

Risk of cardiovascular diseases in relation to substance use disorders.

Background: Substance use disorder (SUD) has become increasingly prevalent worldwide, this study investigated the associations of SUD and alcohol, cannabis, opioid, or stimulant use disorder with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 11 major CVD subtypes.

Methods: This study was based on a 20% random sample of residents in British Columbia, Canada, who were aged 18 - 80 years at baseline on January 1, 2015. Using linked administrative health data during 2010 - 2014, we identified people with various SUDs and prevalent CVDs at baseline, and examined the cross-sectional associations between SUDs and CVDs.

Drug overdose and the risk of cardiovascular diseases: a nested case-control study.

Background: North America has been experiencing an unprecedented epidemic of drug overdose. This study investigated the associations of drug overdose with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 11 major CVD subtypes.

Methods: This nested case-control study was based on a cohort of 20% random sample of residents in British Columbia, Canada, who were aged 18-80 years and did not have known CVD at baseline (n = 617,863).

Current updates and research on plant-based vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019.

The primary outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, causing pneumonia-like symptoms in patients named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had evolved into a global pandemic. COVID-19 has surpassed Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome in terms of rate and scale causing more than one million deaths. Development of an effective vaccine to fight against the spread of COVID-19 is the main goal of many countries around the world and plant-based vaccines are one of the available methods in vaccine developments.

Risk of overdose-related death for people with a history of incarceration.

Background And Aims: Reported associations between previous incarceration and the risk of overdose-related death are substantially heterogeneous, and previous studies are limited by an inability to control for confounding factors in risk assessment. This study investigated the associations of overdose-related death with previous incarceration and the number or cumulative duration of previous incarcerations, and individual or neighborhood characteristics that may potentially modify the associations.

Design And Setting: A cohort study using a 20% random sample of residents in British Columbia, Canada.

Overdose and risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019.

Background: There have been significant efforts to respond to the two public health emergencies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and overdose in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The purpose of this study was to quantify the prevalence of known risk factors associated with mortality due to COVID-19 for persons who have had a non-fatal overdose during 2015-2017 in comparison to persons who have not had an overdose.

Methods: Data were extracted from the BC Provincial Overdose Cohort which includes a 20 % random sample of BC residents and persons who have had a non-fatal overdose in BC from January 2015 to December 2017.

Snowfall, Temperature, and the Risk of Death From Myocardial Infarction: A Case-Crossover Study.

Previous research has associated snowfall with risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Most studies have been conducted in regions with harsh winters; it remains unclear whether snowfall is associated with risk of MI in regions with milder or more varied climates. A case-crossover design was used to investigate the association between snowfall and death from MI in British Columbia, Canada.

[Study on musculuskeletal ultrasound features and correlation of knee osteoarthritis].

Objective: To compare the correlation between musculoskeletal ultrasound features, dysfunction and X-ray findings in patients with knee osteoarthritis, and to analyze the pathological mechanism of soft tissue inflammation in knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Cross-sectional method was performed in this research (Evidence level: III). The patients with knee osteoarthritis were collected according to the screening criteria from September 2016 to January 2017 in Orthopedic clinic in our hospital.

[Analysis of the relationship between living habit and cervical instability in adolescent patients with neck pain].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between living habit and cervical instability in adolescent patients with neck pain.

Methods: Fifty-nine adolescent patients with neck pain(neck pain group) and seventeen healthy teenagers (control group) were recruited and divided into two groups, and clinical information, living habit were collected. In addition, all people were taken lateral, hyperextension and hyperflexion radiography to analyze relationship between living habit and cervical instability.

Risk factors of lymph node metastasis in 734 early gastric carcinoma radical resections in a Chinese population.

Objective: To investigate the risk factors of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in early gastric carcinoma (EGC) in a Chinese population.

Methods: The data were analyzed to determine risk factors of LNM. The patients' characteristics, the tumor's location, gross features, histological type, differentiation, invasive depth, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion and the numbers of lymph nodes retrieved and involved were statistically analyzed.

Occupational Noise Exposure, Bilateral High-Frequency Hearing Loss, and Blood Pressure.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between occupational noise exposure and blood pressure using self-reported occupational exposure and bilateral high-frequency hearing loss.

Methods: This study included 4548 participants aged 20 to 69 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2004. On the basis of self-reported exposure status, participants were divided into the current, former, or never exposed groups.

Dicer suppresses cytoskeleton remodeling and tumorigenesis of colorectal epithelium by miR-324-5p mediated suppression of HMGXB3 and WASF-2.

Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs, a class of small and well-conserved noncoding RNAs, participate in many physiological and pathological processes. RNase III endonuclease DICER is one of the key enzymes for microRNA biogenesis. Here, we found that DICER was downregulated in tumor samples of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at both mRNA and protein levels.

Analysis of Antineutrophil Cytoplasm Antibody from 118 730 Patients in Tertiary Hospitals in Jiangxi Province, China.

BACKGROUND The discovery of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA) makes the early diagnosis of primary vasculitis possible, and also has important guiding significance for the diagnosis and treatment of secondary vasculitis. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of ANCA. MATERIAL AND METHODS ANCA was detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF), and anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody, and anti-proteinase 3 (PR3) antibody were detected by ELISA.