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Background Nanjing City has a high-incidence gastric cancer (GC), but the epidemiology of gastric precancerous lesions (GPLs) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infection, GPLs, and GCs in patients undergoing endoscopic examination in Lishui District, Nanjing. Methods This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted collaboratively by the Nanjing Lishui People’s Hospital and six medical community units within the county between July 2022 and June 2023. Data on biopsies and 13 C urea breath tests ( 13 C-UBT) were collected. Results A total of 15,668 individuals were included, among whom 259 had GPL (1.65%) and 218 had GC (1.39%). The H. pylori infection rate in total patients was 5014 (32.00%) (males: 2684 (34.06%); females: 2335 (29.92%)). The H. pylori infection rate is 31.45% in benign gastric lesions, 44.40% in GPLs, and 55.50% in GC, respectively. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that male (OR = 3.156, 95% CI: 2.865–3.376, P  < 0.001), age (OR = 1.785, 95% CI: 1.703–1.876, P  < 0.001), fresh vegetable, fruit, and white meat intake frequently (OR = 0.865, 95% CI: 0.506–2.061, P  = 0.029), high-salt diet and high-fat diet intake frequently (OR = 1.906, 95% CI: 1.101–2.932, P  = 0.014), rural residence (OR = 2.682, 95% CI: 1.010–4.754, P  = 0.040), H. pylori infection (OR = 2.022, 95% CI: 1.155–2.865, P  < 0.001) and atrophic gastritis and/or intestinal metaplasia (OR = 4.875, 95% CI: 2.229–10.663, P  < 0.001) were associated with GPLs. Male (OR = 2.021, 95% CI: 1.080–3.780, P  = 2.028), age (OR = 1.201, 95% CI: 1.174–1.238, P  < 0.001), digestive symptoms (OR = 2.256, 95% CI: 1.548–3.289, P  < 0.001), bachelor degree below (OR = 4.792, 95% CI: 3.439–6.837, P  < 0.001), farmer (OR = 1.039, 95% CI: 1.026–1.159, P  < 0.001), fresh vegetable, fruit, and white meat intake (OR = 0.231, 95% CI: 0.141–0.379, P  < 0.001), fried/barbecue/pickled food intake (OR = 6.781, 95% CI: 3.783–12.153, P < 0.001), high-salt diet and high-fat diet intake (OR = 4.374, 95% CI: 2.363–8.097, P  < 0.001), rural residence (OR = 1.230, 95% CI: 1.121–1.437, P  < 0.001), H. pylori infection (OR = 3.248, 95% CI: 2.357–4.477, P  < 0.001) and atrophic gastritis and/or intestinal metaplasia (OR = 4.875, 95% CI: 2.636–9.016, P  < 0.001) were associated with GCs. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of implementing targeted prevention strategies and early detection programs in high-risk populations to mitigate the burden of GPLs and GCs in Nanjing.

With the development of agriculture and the widespread application of agrichemicals in Tibet, herbicide residues have become a threat to the ecological safety of Tibetan water bodies. Algae, as the producers in the food chain in water bodies, play an important role in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the impact of herbicides on Tibetan algae is of great significance for evaluating ecological health and the protection of Tibetan water ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of glyphosate, a herbicide, on the photosynthetic system of Chlorella vulgaris, Tibetan algae, by determining chlorophyll fluorescence and the activity of an antioxidant system. The results revealed that glyphosate at low concentration did not affect the photosynthetic activity of C. vulgaris; however, glyphosate at a high concentration significantly inhibited photosynthetic activity and reduced pigment content. Moreover, high levels of glyphosate also decreased photochemical efficiency and electron transport rate and resulted in ROS accumulation, high SOD activity, and lipid peroxidation. These results suggested that glyphosate could decrease the primary production of aquatic ecosystems and influence their performance. Therefore, reducing the herbicide levels could protect the Tibetan aquatic environment and maintain the health of ecosystems.

PurposeThere is an urgent need to remediate heavy metal–contaminated soils. However, the role of plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in phytoextraction of heavy metals is far from being well understood. This study aimed to examine the effect of two newly isolated PGPRs on oilseed rape Brassica juncea to extract cadmium (Cd) from contaminated soils and reveal possible underlying mechanisms of PGPR-assisted Cd phytoextraction.MethodsTwo Cd-resistant PGPRs, Bacillus sp. Kz5 and Enterobacter sp. Kz15, were isolated from the rhizosphere of plants grown in copper-mine soils. Seeds of oilseed rape B. juncea were treated with Kz5 and Kz15 suspension, transplanted into soils, and grown in greenhouse pots for 3 weeks. Plant biomass, Cd concentrations, root morphological parameters, photosynthetic parameters, and rhizosphere soil properties were analyzed. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC) analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted to examine the relationships among plant biomass, Cd concentrations, and the parameters.ResultsThe inoculation of the Kz5 and Kz15 significantly increased the plant biomass and Cd concentrations compared to those without PGPR inoculation (p < 0.05). In addition, the root morphology, photosynthetic activity, and rhizosphere soil properties were improved with the inoculation of the PGPRs. There are significant positive correlations between Cd concentrations and plant development indicators.ConclusionSignificant effects of PGPRs on plant growth promotion and Cd phytoextraction were observed. Such effects were associated with the improvement of plant root morphology, photosynthetic activity, and rhizosphere soil properties. This study provides PGPRs for assisted phytoextraction as a potential strategy to remediate Cd-contaminated soil.

In this work, polyurethane/fluorinated acrylic co-polymer/silicon dioxide (PU/FAP/SiO2) hybrid superhydrophobic coatings were fabricated on glass substrates via a simple one-step coating process. The effects of each coating component on the coating properties were systematically investigated. The optimized coating exhibits a water contact angle (WCA) of 159° and a rolling angle of 3°. Meanwhile, the coating has an optical light transmittance of 88%, indicating the good transparency of the coating. Besides, the coating demonstrates an adequate level of abrasion resistance. After a total abrasion distance of 300 cm against a piece of 800 mesh sand paper, the sample still kept a water contact angle of about 110°, showing its high abrasion resistance. Therefore, the optimized coating has a great potential for practical application.

The Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua area is a mineral resource-concentrated area for gold-silver polymetallic ore deposits. The temporal and spatial distribution and origin of mineral resources have been argued for a long time. Based on the comprehensive studies of geochronology and sulfur, lead, oxygen, carbon and noble gas isotopes, it is considered that the temporal and spatial distribution of mineral resources in this area is obviously controlled by the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua mantle branch structure, as is reflected by the occurrence of gold deposits in the inner parts and of Ag-Pb-Zn polymetallic ore deposits in the outer parts. The mineralization took place mainly during the Yanshanian period. Ore-forming materials came largely from the deep interior of the Earth, and hydrothermal fluids were derived predominantly from Yanshanian magmatism.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The atomic configuration and relaxation behavior of wurtzite aluminum nitride (AlN) low-index surfaces play a decisive role in their interfacial properties. In this work, we systematically investigated six possible termination structures (A-F types) of the (001), (100), and (110) surfaces using first-principles calculations. By comparing the total energies under the Local Density Approximation (LDA) and Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA), we found that the (001)-A type structure (Al-terminated surface) exhibits the lowest energy (LDA: -2649.96 eV, GGA: -2639.50 eV), confirming its thermodynamic stability. Surface energy calculations revealed convergence to 3.05–3.16 J/m2 when the atomic layers ≥ 12 and vacuum thickness ≥ 1 nm. This study provides atomic-scale theoretical insights for AlN surface engineering.

New product development is knowledge intensive as it needs the work teams and design engineers located at various locations to constantly share, update, and re-use knowledge. As such, improving the efficiency of acquiring knowledge and coping with the challenge of frequently retrieving related knowledge have become a key factor to managing knowledge in new product development. This paper combines rough set theory and information entropy to establish a new knowledge recommender technique to address the issue of knowledge reuse for new product development. Our method enhances knowledge acquisition and reuse, as it provides a realistic framework for knowledge acquisition and reuse, encompassing the entire process from what the design and work teams need, to recommending what they should have. To validate the proposed approach, we perform experiments on a case study to demonstrate the benefit and performance.

To improve its poor aqueous solubility and stability, the potential chemotherapeutic drug quercetin was encapsulated in soluplus polymeric micelles by a modified film dispersion method. With the encapsulation efficiency over 90%, the quercetin-loaded polymeric micelles (Qu-PMs) with drug loading of 6.7% had a narrow size distribution around mean size of 79.00 ± 2.24 nm, suggesting the complete dispersibility of quercetin in water. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns illustrated that quercetin was in amorphous or molecular form within PMs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that quercetin formed intermolecular hydrogen bonding with carriers. An in vitro dialysis test showed the Qu-PMs possessed significant sustained-release property, and the formulation was stable for at least 6 months under accelerated conditions. The pharmacokinetic study in beagle dogs showed that absorption of quercetin after oral administration of Qu-PMs was improved significantly, with a half-life 2.19-fold longer and a relative oral bioavailability of 286% as compared to free quercetin. Therefore, these novel soluplus polymeric micelles can be applied to encapsulate various poorly water-soluble drugs towards a development of more applicable therapeutic formulations.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious global public health problem in the present. TB also affects other sites (extrapulmonary tuberculosis, EPTB), and accounts for a significant proportion of tuberculosis cases worldwide. In order to comprehensively understand epidemiology of EBTB in China, and improve early diagnosis and treatment, we conducted a large-scale multi-center observational study to assess the demographic data and the prevalence of common EPTB inpatients, and further evaluate the prevalence of EPTB concurrent with Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and the associations between multiple EPTB types and gender-age group in China. All consecutive age[greater than or equal to]15yr inpatients with a confirmed diagnosis of EPTB during the period from January 2011 to December 2017 were included in the study. The descriptive statistical analysis included median and quartile measurements for continuous variables, and frequencies and proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for categorical variables. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to compare the association of multiple EPTB types between age group and gender. The results showed that the proportion of 15-24 years and 25-34 years in EPTB inpatients were the most and the ratio of male: female was 1.51. Approximately 70% of EPTB inpatients were concurrent with PTB or other types of EPTB. The most common of EPTB was tuberculous pleurisy (50.15%), followed by bronchial tuberculosis (14.96%), tuberculous lymphadenitis of the neck (7.24%), tuberculous meningitis (7.23%), etc. It was found that many EPTB inpatients concurrent with PTB. The highest prevalence of EPTB concurrent with PTB was pharyngeal/laryngeal tuberculosis (91.31%), followed by bronchial tuberculosis (89.52%), tuberculosis of hilar lymph nodes (79.52%), tuberculosis of mediastinal lymph nodes (79.13%), intestinal tuberculosis (72.04%), tuberculous pleurisy (65.31%) and tuberculous meningitis (62.64%), etc. The results from EPTB concurrent with PTB suggested that females EPTB inpatients were less likely to be at higher risk of concurrent PTB (aOR = 0.819, 95%CI:0.803-0.835) after adjusted by age. As age increasing, the trend risk of concurrent PTB decreased (aOR = 0.994, 95%CI: 0.989-0.999) after adjusted by gender. Our study demonstrated that the common EPTB were tuberculous pleurisy, bronchial tuberculosis, tuberculous lymphadenitis of the neck, tuberculous meningitis, etc. A majority of patients with pharyngeal/laryngeal tuberculosis, bronchial tuberculosis, tuberculosis of hilar/mediastinal lymph nodes, intestinal tuberculosis, tuberculous pleurisy, tuberculous meningitis, etc. were concurrent with PTB. Female EPTB inpatients were less likely to be at higher risk of concurrent PTB, and as age increasing, the trend risk of concurrent PTB decreased. The clinicians should be alert to the presence of concurrent tuberculosis in EPTB, and all suspected cases of EPTB should be assessed for concomitant PTB to determine whether the case is infectious and to help for early diagnosis and treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third leading cause of deaths from cancer worldwide. Infection with the hepatitis B virus is one of the leading risk factors for developing hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly in East Asia 1 . Although surgical treatment may be effective in the early stages, the five-year overall rate of survival after developing this cancer is only 50–70% 2 . Here, using proteomic and phospho-proteomic profiling, we characterize 110 paired tumour and non-tumour tissues of clinical early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma related to hepatitis B virus infection. Our quantitative proteomic data highlight heterogeneity in early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: we used this to stratify the cohort into the subtypes S-I, S-II and S-III, each of which has a different clinical outcome. S-III, which is characterized by disrupted cholesterol homeostasis, is associated with the lowest overall rate of survival and the greatest risk of a poor prognosis after first-line surgery. The knockdown of sterol O-acyltransferase 1 (SOAT1)—high expression of which is a signature specific to the S-III subtype—alters the distribution of cellular cholesterol, and effectively suppresses the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally, on the basis of a patient-derived tumour xenograft mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma, we found that treatment with avasimibe, an inhibitor of SOAT1, markedly reduced the size of tumours that had high levels of SOAT1 expression. The proteomic stratification of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma presented in this study provides insight into the tumour biology of this cancer, and suggests opportunities for personalized therapies that target it. A subtype of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma characterized by disrupted cholesterol homeostasis and associated with a poor prognosis responds to treatment with the SOAT1 inhibitor avasimibe in a patient-derived xenograft mouse model.