Abstract Objective: Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Polyps (CRSwNP) is characterized by high heterogeneity and postoperative recurrence rate. This study aims to explore the clinical significance of tissue Leukocyte-Specific Transcript 1 (LST1) in predicting CRSwNP recurrence. Methods: We enrolled 62 CRSwNP patients including 30 primary CRSwNP and 32 recurrent CRSwNP patients, and 40 Healthy Controls (HC). Tissue samples were collected. Tissue LST1 expression was assessed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Western Blotting (WB) and Immunofluorescence (IF) staining. The predictive values of LST1 expression for CRSwNP postoperative recurrence were assessed through the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The tissue levels of LST1 were significantly increased in the CRSwNP group than the HC group, especially in the recurrent group, and the elevated LST1 mRNA levels were positively correlated with the peripheral eosinophil percentages, tissue eosinophil counts and percentages. IF staining results showed that the LST1 protein levels were higher in CRSwNP patients, especially in the recurrent patients than in the HC group. ROC curves highlighted that tissue LST1 levels were associated with recurrent CRSwNP and exhibited a higher predictive ability for postoperative CRSwNP recurrence. Conclusion: This was the first report suggesting that LST1 expression was upregulated and associated with mucosal eosinophil infiltration and CRSwNP recurrence. Tissue LST1 could be a promising biomarker for predicting postoperative recurrence in CRwNP patients.

Abstract Objective: To compare the efficacy of endoscopic and open resection of sinonasal malignancies. Methods: The search was performed using PubMed (1950–2020), Embase (1974–2020), the Cochrane library, and the website clinicaltrials.gov. The hazard ratio, HR, 95% confidence interval, CI, of the rates of overall survival and disease-free survival and the demographic characteristics of the included studies were extracted and analyzed. Pooled analysis was conducted with the studies’ individual patient data, using log-rank test, Kaplan-Meier survival, and Cox regression analysis. Results: Of 1939 articles retrieved, 23 articles were included. Overall, 1373 cases were incorporated into the final analysis, 653 (47.56%) of which underwent the surgery through an endoscopic approach, whereas 720 (52.44%) cases utilized the open approach. The overall survival was comparable between endoscopic and open resection (HR = 0.84 [95% CI: 0.65–1.07], p = 0.16; random effects analysis). Pooled analysis with Cox regression revealed significant differences in overall survival (HR = 0.568 [95%CI:0.380-0.849], p = 0.006) and disease-free survival (HR = 0.628 [95%CI:0.424-0.929], p = 0.02) between endoscopic and open approaches. Conclusion: The aggregated evidence suggests the survival outcome of endoscopic resection is comparable or greater than that of open resection of sinonasal malignancies.

Abstract Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and superiority of using the WeChat platform for midterm clinical follow-up of children who underwent transthoracic device closure for ventricular septal defects (VSDs). Methods: Ninety children with VSDs who underwent transthoracic device closure were divided into a WeChat follow-up group (WFU group) and an outpatient follow-up group (OFU group). The patients were followed up via WeChat or at an outpatient clinic three months and one year after discharge. The incidences of adverse events, associated complications, costs and time spent, loss to follow-up rate, medication adherence, and overall satisfaction were recorded. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse events or postoperative complications between the two groups. Also, the loss to follow-up rate was similar between them. Compared with the OFU group, there were significant statistical advantages in the WFU group regarding the total time and cost spent, medication adherence, and satisfaction. Conclusion: The use of the WeChat platform in midterm clinical follow-up of children who underwent transthoracic device closure for VSDs has the advantages of reducing financial and time burdens, facilitating high medication adherence, and leading to high satisfaction.

Abstract Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as the critical modulators of the tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Methods: The levels of miR-663 in ovarian cancer cell lines and clinical tissues were detected using qRT-PCR assays. The Transwell invasion and wound healing assay were conducted to assess the roles of miR-663 in the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cell in vitro. Rescue assays were carried out to confirm the contribution of tumor suppressor candidate 2 (TUSC2) in the aggressiveness of cancer cell which was regulated by miR-663. Results: The levels of miR-663 were up-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues in comparison with the corresponding normal tissues. Up-regulation of miR-663 increased the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell. Additional, over-expression of miR-663 increased the tumor growth of SKOV3 in xenograft model. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay identified that miR-663 decreased the level of TUSC2 via binding to the 3'-UTR of TUSC2 gene. Finally, the expression of TUSC2 was inversely associated with the level of miR–663 in ovarian carcinoma tissue and over-expression of TUSC2 inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of SKOV3 that was promoted by miR-663. Conclusion: Altogether, these results indicate that miR-663 acts as a potential tumor-promoting miRNA through targeting TUSC2 in ovarian cancer.

The (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06Ti1-x (Nd0.5Ta0.5) xO3 (0.01≤x≤0.05) lead-free ceramics (BNBT-xNT) used (Nd0.5Ta0.5)4+ complex-ions to modify its structure and electrical properties. The BNBT-xNT ceramics exhibit the coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phase. The (Nd0.5Ta0.5)4+ complex-ions prohibit grain growth, and its average grain size decreases from 2.53 µm to 0.84 µm with increasing complex-ion content. The NT doping not only induces the transformation from ferroelectric phase to relaxor ferroelectric phase but also decreases the coercive field and remnant polarization. The permittivity curves are broadened at heavily doping content. The energy storage and strain properties are improved by complex-ions. The maximum energy storage density of 0.475 J/cm3 is obtained at x = 0.035 and 60 kV/cm, the energy storage efficiency achieves the maximum efficiency of 61.5% at x=0.05. As increasing complex-ion content, the typical butterfly-shaped strain curve develops into a sprout-shaped one, and the maximum strain of 0.199% is obtained at x=0.02.

Abstract Purpose: To investigate dynamically the X-ray appearance of cervical degenerative disease induced by unbalanced dynamic and static forces in rats. Methods: A total of 60 Sprague Dawley rats were randomized into test (n=45) and control (n=15) groups, which were randomly subdivided into the one-, three- and six-month post-operative groups. The test group included 10, 15 and 20 rats at the respective corresponding post-operative stage and the control group included five rats at each time-point. By excising cervicodorsal muscles, interspinous ligaments and supraspinous ligament of rats in the test group, the balance of dynamic and static forces on cervical vertebrae was disrupted to establish a rat model of cervical degeneration. Spinal X-ray images were acquired, and intervertebral disc space and intervertebral foramen size were measured at one, three and six months post-operation. The results were analyzed and compared among groups. Results: Cervical dynamic and static imbalance accelerated the appearance of cervical degenerative disease on X-ray. Conclusion: Cervical degenerative disease may be induced by unbalanced dynamic and static forces in rats.

Abstract: Introduction and aim. Hyponatremia is common in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and is associated with increased mortality. Tolvaptan, a vasopressor V2 receptor antagonist, can increase free wáter excretion, but its efficacy and safety in cirrhotic patients remain unclear. Material and methods. We studied the usage and safety of tolvaptan in cirrhotic patients in a real-life, non-randomized, multicenter prospective cohort study. Forty-nine cirrhotic patients with hyponatremia were treated with tolvaptan 15 mg daily, and 48 patients not treated with tolvaptan in the same period served as controls. Improvement in serum sodium level was defined as an increase in serum sodium from < 125 to ≥ 125 mmol/L or from 125-134 to ≥ 135 mmol/L on day 7. Results. Twenty-three (47%) patients in the tolvaptan group and 17 (35%) in the control group had normal serum sodium on day 7 (p = 0.25). Serum sodium improved in 30 (61%) patients in the tolvaptan group and 17 (35%) patients in the control group (p = 0.011). Adverse events occurred in 46-47% of patients in both groups, and tolvaptan was not associated with worsened liver function. No patient with normal serum sodium on day 7 died within 30 days of treatment, whereas 16% of those with persistent hyponatremia died (p = 0.0019). Conclusion. In conclusion, short-term tolvaptan treatment is safe and can improve serum sodium level in cirrhotic patients with hyponatremia. Normalization of serum sodium level is associated with better survival.

Background: Enzymatic decolourization has been recently proposed as a promising and eco-friendly method for treatment of synthetic dye-contaminated wastewaters. However, the processes require large quantities of enzymes, attracting significant attention in developing efficient methods for mass production of multifunctional enzymes. Several methods such as response surface methodology (RSM) and orthogonal experiment have been applied to optimize the parameters in bioprocesses for enzyme production. Results: In the present study, a laccase-like enzyme, phenoxazinone synthase (PHS) originated from Streptomyces antibioticus was recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The production of PHS in E. coli BL21 was optimized by response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design. A full third-order polynomial model was generated by data analysis with Statistica 8.0 in which the optimal conditions for PHS production were calculated to be 1.525 mM CuSO4 and 16.096 hrs induction at temperature of 29.88ºC. The highest PHS production under optimal conditions was calculated to be 4098.51 U/l using the established model. Average PHS production obtained from actual production processes carried out under the calculated optimal conditions was 4052.00 U/l, very close to the value predicted by the model. Crude PHS was subsequently tested in Congo red decolourization which exhibited a low decolourization rate of 27% without mediator. Several mediators were found to improve PHS-catalyzed Congo red decolourization, with the highest rate of 73.89% obtained with 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) as mediator under optimized conditions of 4000 U/l PHS activity, 10 μM ABTS, 100 μM Congo red, and 8 hrs reaction time. Conclusion: Our results indicated that PHS recombinantly produced in E. coli BL21 was a prospective enzyme for decolorizing reactive dye Congo red.

LaSrCo0.9Pd0.1O4 and LaSrCoO4 mixed oxides were prepared and characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET and XPS, then studied for the reduction of NO by CO. The results show that all samples display characteristic peaks of crystal structure A2BO4 and show the rather strong diffraction pattern for LaSrCo0.9Pd0.1O4 (reduced and oxidized) and weak signals of lanthanum oxide for LaSrCo0.9Pd0.1O4 (reduced). The noble metal Pd has a significant influence on the specific surface areas, pore volumes, binding energies and activities of the samples. For NO reduction by CO, catalytic activity shows complete conversion below 360 °C and the order of activity is LaSrCo0.9Pd0.1O4 (reduced and oxidized) > LaSrCo0.9Pd0.1O4 (reduced) > LaSrCoO4 (reduced). Kinetic analysis for NO reduction by CO indicates that the specific reaction rate is significantly affected by the synthesis procedure.