Azvudine for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Pre-Existing Cardiovascular Diseases: A Single-Center, Real-World Experience.

COVID-19 can lead to adverse outcomes in patients with pre-existing diseases. Azvudine has been approved for treating COVID-19 in China, but the real-world data is limited. It is aimed to investigate the efficacy of Azvudine in patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing cardiovascular diseases.

LITAF Promotes Atherosclerotic Plaque Formation by Stimulating the NF-κB Inflammatory Pathway.

Objective: Lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α factor (LITAF) protein is a newly discovered inflammatory protein. This study aims to study the role of LITAF in the formation of atherosclerosis.

Methods: A total of 10 C57BL/6J mice and 10 C57BL/6J mice with knockout of LITAF gene (C57BL/6J) were divided into two groups: the control group and the LITAF group.

Research progress on coupling artificial intelligence and eco-environmental models.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in the eco-environment field, but with shortcomings in revealing the laws of natural science, such as insufficient generalization ability and poor interpretability. In order to overcome these shortages and tap into complementary advantages, coupling AI and eco-environmental models containing physical mechanism has been a new research method with fast development in recent years. We introduced the classifications of AI used in eco-environmental field, outlined its applications, and mainly illustrated the progresses, status and inadequacies for the coupling research.

Preparation, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation of Petroleum Asphalt Modified with Bio-Asphalt Containing Furfural Residue and Waste Cooking Oil.

The study aims to analyze the feasibility of proposing waste cooking oil and industrial waste furfural residue as raw materials to prepare bio-asphalt as partial substitutes for petroleum asphalt, so as to reduce the cost of pavement construction and decrease the consumption of non-renewable resources. In this study, 90# petroleum asphalt was partially substituted with the bio-asphalt in different proportions to prepare biomass-modified petroleum asphalt, the performance of which was first evaluated based on three indices: penetration, softening point, and ductility. Comparison of the crystal structures of the bio-asphalt and furfural residue were enabled by X-ray diffraction, and the blending mechanism and microscopic morphologies of the biomass-substituted asphalt mixtures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

[Identifying Relationship Between Nutrient Contents in Road-Deposited Sediment and Urban Basic Elements Based on Kernel Density Estimation].

Understanding the spatial connection between urban basic elements and pollutants in road-deposited sediment (RDS) is beneficial to the quantitative explanation of source areas and the precise management of urban nonpoint source pollution. The objective of this study was to explore the spatial connection between urban basic elements and nutrient contents in RDS, using Hanyang district of Wuhan city as a case study area. Total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), exchangeable phosphorus (Ex-P), aluminum-bound phosphorus (Al-P), iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P), occluded phosphorus (Oc-P), apatite phosphorus (Ca-P), detrital apatite phosphorus (De-P), and organophosphorus (Or-P) were chosen as representative pollutants, using the kernel density of the road network and seven groups of points of interest to represent the spatial distribution of urban basic elements.

[Output Characteristics of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Non-Point Source Pollution of Typical Land Use in A Micro-Watershed in Hilly Red Soil Region].

Scientific identification of runoff output characteristics of different land use patterns is the premise of controlling non-point source pollution in watersheds. The hydrology and output process of non-point source pollutants of forest, planting, and construction land with different rainfall characteristics were observed using a micro-watershed in a low mountain and hilly region of Southern China. The results showed that land use affected the hydrological characteristics and water quality processes of runoff.

[Effect of Check Dam on Phosphorus Transport and Retention in the Qingshui River, in Zhangjiakou City].

The transport and retention of phosphorus is a key process in nutrient cycling in river ecosystems and one of the main indicators used to evaluate river health. To explore the effect of check dams on the transport and retention of phosphorus, water samples were collected from four representative monitoring sections of a check-dammed reach of the Qingshui River in Zhangjiakou City. Various forms of phosphorus and runoff process were monitored, and local real-time rainfall data were also collected.

[Transition of Particulate Pollutant in the Parcel-based Catchment of Sponge City].

Most sponge city constructions in China are carried out in urban parcel-based catchments, and the quality and quantity of surface runoff can be controlled by several low impact development (LID) facilities. However, there are few reports on the generation and control of urban diffuse pollution. In this study, two areas with different hardening rates were compared to analyze the load conditions during the accumulation-wash-off-transport process of particulate pollutants.

SH2B1 protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia/reperfusion injury via the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Background: Apoptosis, reactive oxidative stress (ROS) and inflammation act as the pivotal pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury (MIRI). Our prior study and other investigation have demonstrated the participations of src homology 2 (SH2) B adaptor protein 1 (SH2B1) in ischemic injury and cardiac hypertrophy; whereas, the involvements of SH2B1 in MIRI and underlying mechanisms are completely unknown.

Method: In present study, MIRI model in vivo was induced by 30 min of ligation of LAD coronary artery and 24 h of reperfusion, and primary cultured cardiomyocytes were challenged with 2 h of hypoxia followed by 4 h of reoxygenation (H/R) to mimic MIRI in vitro.

[Pollutant Transport Analysis and Source Apportionment of the Entire Non-point Source Pollution Process in Combined Sewer Systems].

A comprehensive and scientific understanding of non-point source pollutant transport pathways and source apportionment in combined sewer systems is essential for managing and improving the urban water environment. This study analyzed build-up and wash-off processes of pollutants on road surfaces and in sewers within a catchment of combined sewer systems in a typical old district in Zhuhai. Besides, source apportionment of the entire urban non-point source pollution was investigated by using the mass conservation method.

Mixed Maximum Loss Design for Optic Disc and Optic Cup Segmentation with Deep Learning from Imbalanced Samples.

Glaucoma is a serious eye disease that can cause permanent blindness and is difficult to diagnose early. Optic disc (OD) and optic cup (OC) play a pivotal role in the screening of glaucoma. Therefore, accurate segmentation of OD and OC from fundus images is a key task in the automatic screening of glaucoma.

[Evaluation of Effect of Urban Non-point Source Pollution Control on Porous Asphalt-Bio-retention Combined Roads].

Different combinations of low impact development (LID) technologies can be applied for control of urban non-point source pollution. There are currently few evaluations of urban non-point source pollution and pollution load reduction based on a combination of porous asphalt and bio-retention. Taking Shenzhen International Low Carbon City as an example, road-deposited sediments were collected prior to and after rainfall events.

Learning Rates of Regularized Regression With Multiple Gaussian Kernels for Multi-Task Learning.

This paper considers a least square regularized regression algorithm for multi-task learning in a union of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHSs) with Gaussian kernels. It is assumed that the optimal prediction function of the target task and those of related tasks are in an RKHS with the same but with unknown Gaussian kernel width. The samples for related tasks are used to select the Gaussian kernel width, and the sample for the target task is used to obtain the prediction function in the RKHS with this selected width.

Apatinib Plus Chemotherapy Shows Clinical Activity in Advanced NSCLC: A Retrospective Study.

Apatinib is an oral TKI with antiangiogenic properties, and it is currently approved for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer in China. This agent has also been tested in other human solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Since the combination of chemotherapy and an antiangiogenic agent has been shown to be a feasible strategy in NSCLC, it is conceivable that a similar approach combining apatinib with chemotherapy may yield clinical activity.

[Net anthropogenic nitrogen input to Huaihe River Basin, China during 1990-2010].

Social economy in Huaihe River Basin had undergone enormous changes during 1990-2010. The grain yield had increased by 58%, from 64.14 million tons to 101.

[DNA barcoding and its utility in commonly-used medicinal snakes].

Identification accuracy of traditional Chinese medicine is crucial for the traditional Chinese medicine research, production and application. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), are more and more used for identification of traditional Chinese medicine. Using universal barcoding primers to sequence, we discussed the feasibility of DNA barcoding method for identification commonly-used medicinal snakes (a total of 109 samples belonging to 19 species 15 genera 6 families).

Least square regularized regression in sum space.

This paper proposes a least square regularized regression algorithm in sum space of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHSs) for nonflat function approximation, and obtains the solution of the algorithm by solving a system of linear equations. This algorithm can approximate the low- and high-frequency component of the target function with large and small scale kernels, respectively. The convergence and learning rate are analyzed.

[Responses of riverine nitrogen export to net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs: a review].

Nitrogen (N) inputs caused by human activities potentially influences the aquatic environment. However, researches on N pollution in China are mainly discussed from the microscopic point of view, i. e.

[DNA barcoding of COI gene in some medicinal animals of Lacertilia].

To identify some medicinal animals of Lacertilia, in total 59 individuals belonging to 12 species 7 genera 3 families, we used the universal barcoding primers to sequence these species, compared with other homologous sequences (564 bp) obtaining from the GenBank and finally constructed phylogenetic trees using Neighbor-joining, Maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference, respectively. As a result, the mean content of G + C (46.5%) was lower than that of A + T (53.

[Prime study of Gekko gecko in HPLC fingerprint].

Objective: To establish HPLC fingerprint of Gekko gecko.

Methods: The relative retention time and relative peak area of exteacts of Gekko gecko were determine by HPLC to confirm proper chromatographic condition and obtain the data.

Results: Better distribution of relative retention time and relative peak area were shown under the chromatographic condition and the HPLC fingerprint was established.

[Characteristics of heavy metal contamination in street dusts along the urban-rural gradient around Beijing].

Road-deposited sediment (RDS) is an important carrier of the diffused pollution. This study analyzed the influences of the urban-suburban-rural gradient (central urban, urban village, central suburban county, rural town, and rural village areas) on the content and chemical fractions of heavy metals. The concentrations of five heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in RDS in the central urban area were the highest, and the lowest concentrations appeared in the rural village area.

[Migration and transformation of heavy metals in street dusts with different particle sizes during urban runoff].

The heavy metal pollution in runoff caused by street dust washoff has been an increasingly prominent problem in the context of rapid urbanization in China. Based on measurement of heavy metal contents in street dusts with different particle sizes and an experiment of street dust washoff using simulated rainfall, we analyzed the role of particle size of street dust in heavy metal pollution, and the variation in geometrical forms of heavy metals during street dust washoff. Our results showed that the heavy metal concentration decreased from "static" street dust to "dynamic" runoff particulate in the same diameter particles.