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Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) pose the significant risks to the environment and human health and have become a serious public health issue. Tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), a group of aryl OPFRs, exhibit neurotoxicity and endocrine disrupting toxicity. However, the binding mechanisms between TCPs and human serum albumin (HSA) remain unknown. In this study, through fluorescence and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD), tri-para-cresyl phosphate (TpCP) was selected to explore potential interactions between HSA and TCPs. The results of the fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated that a decrease in the fluorescence intensity of HSA and a blue shift were observed with the increasing concentrations of TpCP. The binding constant (K a ) was 2.575 × 10 4  L/mol, 4.701 × 10 4  L/mol, 5.684 × 10 4  L/mol and 9.482 × 10 4  L/mol at 293 K, 298 K, 303 K, and 310 K, respectively. The fluorescence process between HSA and TpCP involved a mix of static and dynamic quenching mechanism. The gibbs free energy (ΔG 0 ) of HSA-TpCP system was -24.452 kJ/mol, -25.907 kJ/mol, -27.363 kJ/mol, and - 29.401 kJ/mol at 293 K, 298 K, 303 K, and 310 K, respectively, suggesting that the HSA-TpCP reaction was spontaneous. The enthalpy change (ΔH 0 ) and thermodynamic entropy change (ΔS 0 ) of the HSA-TpCP system were 60.83 kJ/mol and 291.08 J/(mol·>k), respectively, indicating that hydrophobic force was the major driving force in the HSA-TpCP complex. Furthermore, multispectral analysis also revealed that TpCP could alter the microenvironment of tryptophan residue and the secondary structure of HSA and bind with the active site I of HSA. Molecular docking and MD simulations confirmed that TpCP could spontaneously form a stable complex with HSA, which was consistent with the fluorescence experimental results. This study provides novel insights into the mechanisms of underlying the transportation and distribution of OPFRs in humans., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microcystins (MCs) are the most common cyanobacterial toxins. Epidemiological investigation showed that exposure to MCs can cause gastro-intestinal symptoms, gastroenteritis and gastric cancer. MCs can also accumulate in and cause histopathological damage to stomach. However, the exact mechanisms by which MCs cause gastric injury were unclear. In this study, Wistar rats were administrated 50, 75 or 100 μg microcystin-LR (MC-LR)/kg, body mass (bm) via tail vein, and histopathology, response of anti-oxidant system and the proteome of gastric tissues at 24 h after exposure were studied. Bleeding of fore-stomach and gastric corpus, inflammation and necrosis in gastric corpus and exfoliation of mucosal epithelial cells in gastric antrum were observed following acute MC-LR exposure. Compared with controls, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly greater in gastric tissues of exposed rats, while activities of catalase (CAT) were less in rats administrated 50 μg MC-LR/kg, bm, and concentrations of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were greater in rats administrated 75 or 100 μg MC-LR/kg, bm. These results indicated that MC-LR could disrupt the anti-oxidant system and cause oxidative stress. The proteomic results revealed that MC-LR could affect expressions of proteins related to cytoskeleton, immune system, gastric functions, and some signaling pathways, including platelet activation, complement and coagulation cascades, and ferroptosis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that transcriptions of genes for ferroptosis and gastric function were altered, which confirmed results of proteomics. Overall, this study illustrated that MC-LR could induce gastric dysfunction, and ferroptosis might be involved in MC-LR-induced gastric injury. This study provided novel insights into mechanisms of digestive diseases induced by MCs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Breast cancer (BC) patients tend to suffer from distant metastasis, especially bone metastasis., Methods: All the analysis based on open-accessed data was performed in R software, dependent on multiple algorithms and packages. The RNA levels of specific genes were detected using quantitative Real-time PCR as a method of detecting the RNA levels. To assess the ability of BC cells to proliferate, we utilized the CCK8 test, colony formation, and the 5-Ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine assay. BC cells were evaluated for invasion and migration by using Transwell assays and wound healing assays., Results: In our study, we identified the molecules involved in BC bone metastasis based on the data from multiple BC cohorts. Then, we comprehensively investigated the effect pattern and underlying biological role of these molecules. We found that in the identified molecules, the EMP1, ACKR3, ITGA10, MMP13, COL11A1, and THY1 were significantly correlated with patient prognosis and mainly expressed in CAFs. Therefore, we explored the CAFs in the BC microenvironment. Results showed that CAFs could activate multiple carcinogenic pathways and most of these pathways play an important role in cancer metastasis. Meanwhile, we noticed the interaction between CAFs and malignant, endothelial, and M2 macrophage cells. Moreover, we found that CAFs could induce the remodeling of the BC microenvironment and promote the malignant behavior of BC cells. Then, we identified MMP13 for further analysis. It was found that MMP13 can enhance the malignant phenotype of BC cells. Meanwhile, biological enrichment and immune infiltration analysis were conducted to present the effect pattern of MMP13 in BC., Conclusions: Our result can improve the understanding of researchers on the underlying mechanisms of BC bone metastasis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Bone infection represents a serious complication of orthopedic surgery and Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen. To improve the understanding of host-pathogen interaction, we developed a biospecimen registry (AO Trauma CPP Bone Infection Registry) to collect clinical data, bacterial isolates, and serum from patients with S. aureus bone infection. A prospective multinational registry with a 12-month follow-up was created to include adult patients (18 years or older) with culture-confirmed S. aureus infection in long bones after fracture fixation or arthroplasty. Baseline patient attributes and details on infections and treatments were recorded. Blood and serum samples were obtained at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Patient-reported outcomes were collected at 1, 6, and 12 months. Clinical outcomes were recorded. Two hundred and ninety-two patients with fracture-related infection (n = 157, 53.8%), prosthetic joint infection (n = 86, 29.5%), and osteomyelitis (n = 49, 16.8%) were enrolled. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus was detected in 82 patients (28.4%), with the highest proportion found among patients from North American sites (n = 39, 48.8%) and the lowest from Central European sites (n = 18, 12.2%). Patient outcomes improved at 6 and 12 months in comparison to baseline. The SF-36 physical component summary mean (95% confidence interval) score, however, did not reach 50 at 12 months. The cure rate at the end of the study period was 62.1%. Although patients improved with treatment, less than two-thirds were cured in 1 year. At 12-month follow-up, patient-reported outcome scores were worse for patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research® published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society.)

Objective: To assess the incidence, possible risk factors and prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in critically ill elderly patients., Methods: We selected 122 cases admitted to the ICU, ages 60-93 years old. An echocardiography examination was performed within four days after admission to the ICU. PAH is usually suspected if the patient's pulmonary artery systolic pressure ≥ 40 mmHg. We collected echocardiography data, relevant clinical data and routine laboratory data; we then used a statistical method to analyze the risk factors for PAH in critically ill elderly patients and examined its impact on the prognosis., Results: Total 51 patients were diagnosed with PAH. The prevalence of critically ill elderly patients with PAH was 41.8%. The ANOVA analysis showed that if patients had COPD ( P = 0.031) and/or respiratory failure ( P = 0.021), they were more prone to PAH. An enlarged left atrium ( P = 0.038) and/or right ventricle ( P = 0.029), a declining left ventricle fractional shortening rate ( P = 0.038), and an elevated amount of the brain natriuretic peptides ( P = 0.046) were all associated with the occurrence of PAH. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the left atrial diameter ( P = 0.045) was the risk factor in critically ill elderly patients with PAH. The 30-day mortality rate was 33.3% for elderly patients with PAH, which is statistically significant ( P = 0.035) when compared with the mortality rate of patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure. Our multivariate regression analysis also showed that, for critically ill elderly patients admitted in the ICU, PAH ( P = 0.039) is risk factor for increased mortality., Conclusions: A higher incidence of PAH occurs in critically ill elderly patients. PAH is more likely to occur in patients with an enlarged left atrium, and these problems adversely impact the prognosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflict of interest: None.

Considering the high contents of minerals and the potential health risk of mineral dusts to human and the environment, this paper was aimed to figure out the toxic effect and mechanism of four common mineral particles (quartz, albite, sericite, and montmorillonite). Cytotoxicity assays for cell viability (MTT assay), membrane integrity (LDH assay), oxidative stress (H 2 O 2 assay) and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6 assay) were applied. The results showed the influence of these mineral particles on A549 cell viability followed the order of momtmorillonite > cericite≥quartz > albite. There was no obvious relation between cell viability and the content of SiO 2 , however, good linear correlation with the content of iron, and the cytotoxicity of mineral dusts was strengthened with increasing iron content. Mineral dusts generated H 2 O 2 in cell or cell-free systems. In particular, H 2 O 2 exhibited a linear correlation with the iron content, which meant that iron in the mineral dusts played an important role in the generation of reactive radical. Among those samples, oxidative stress induced by montmorillonite was distinctly stronger, while there was negligible influence induced by quartz and albite. Besides, all the tested samples induced damage to A549 cell membrane, and triggered the release of TNF-α or IL-6, but differed by the kinds of mineral dusts. In conclusion, composition and structure directly affected, but were not the only factors that contributed to the biological activity of mineral dusts, the evaluation of cell viability, membrane damage, free radicals and inflammatory reaction induced by mineral dusts should take the external morphology, surface active groups, solubility, adsorption and ion exchange properties into consideration.

Species included in the Sporothrix schenckii complex are temperature-dependent with dimorphic growth and cause sporotrichosis that is characterized by chronic and fatal lymphocutaneous lesions. The putative species included in the Sporothrix complex are S. brasiliensis, S. globosa, S. mexicana, S. pallida, S. schenckii, and S. lurei. S. globosa is the causal agent of sporotrichosis in China, and its pathogenicity appears to be closely related to the dimorphic transition, i.e. from the mycelial to the yeast phase, it adapts to changing environmental conditions. To determine the molecular mechanisms of the switching process that mediates the dimorphic transition of S. globosa, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to prepare a complementary DNA (cDNA) subtraction library from the yeast and mycelial phases. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to profile the relationship between differently expressed genes and the dimorphic transition. Two genes that were expressed at higher levels by the yeast form were selected, and their differential expression levels were verified using a quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). It is believed that these differently expressed genes are involved in the pathogenesis of S. globosa infection in China.

Vascular dementia (VD) has been one of the most serious public health problems worldwide. It is well known that cerebral hypoperfusion is the key pathophysiological basis of VD, but it remains unclear how global genes in hippocampus respond to cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. In this study, we aimed to reveal the global gene expression profile in the hippocampus of VD using a rat model. VD was induced by repeated occlusion of common carotid arteries followed by reperfusion. The rats with VD were characterized by deficit of memory and cognitive function and by the histopathological changes in the hippocampus, such as a reduction in the number and the size of neurons accompanied by an increase in intercellular space. Microarray analysis of global genes displayed up-regulation of 7 probesets with genes with fold change more than 1.5 (P < 0.05) and down-regulation of 13 probesets with genes with fold change less than 0.667 (P < 0.05) in the hippocampus. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analysis showed that the up-regulated genes are mainly involved in oxygen binding and transport, autoimmune response and inflammation, and that the down-regulated genes are related to glucose metabolism, autoimmune response and inflammation, and other biological process, related to memory and cognitive function. Thus, the abnormally expressed genes are closely related to oxygen transport, glucose metabolism, and autoimmune response. The current findings display global gene expression profile of the hippocampus in a rat model of VD, providing new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of VD.

Apoptosis and the dysfunction of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway have a key role in memory impairment in vascular dementia (VaD), a challenging clinical problem. Yifei Xuanfei Jiangzhuo formula (YXJF), a Chinese herbal decoction, has been used to treat VaD in clinical practice and has produced positive outcomes; however, convincing evidence is currently lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of YXJF on memory impairment in rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and to explore the underlying mechanism. YXJF ameliorated memory impairment in rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, inhibited hippocampal apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner and attenuated increases in the protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated X protein as well as c-Jun and a reduction in Bcl-2 protein expression in the hippocampal tissue of the rats. Furthermore, administration of YXJF significantly increased the protein expression of PKA C-α and CREB, and promoted CREB phosphorylation. The results indicated that YXJF improves memory impairment through inhibiting apoptosis and enhancing PKA/CREB signal transduction in rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the noise pollution situation and the resulting adverse effect on residents' health in Luzhou, China, to provide data for noise pollution prevention policies and interventions. Four different functional areas (commercial, construction, residential, and transportation hub areas) were chosen to monitor noise level for 3 months. The survey was performed by questionnaire on the spot on randomly selected individuals; it collected data on the impact of noise on residents' health (quality of sleep, high blood pressure, subjective feeling of nervous system damage, and attention) as well as the knowledge of noise-induced health damage, the degree of adaptation to noise, and their solutions. The noise levels of residential, commercial, transportation, and construction areas exceeded the national standards (P < .001). Sleep quality, prevalence of hypertension, and attention in transportation hub areas were significantly different from those in the other 3 areas (P < .05); only 24.46% of people knew the health hazards associated with noise; 64.57% of residents have adapted to the current noise environment. Most of them have to close the doors and windows to reduce noise. The noise pollution situation in Luzhou, China, is serious, especially the traffic noise pollution. Residents pay less attention to it and adopt single measures to reduce the noise. We should work toward the prevention and control of traffic noise and improve the residents' awareness to reduce the adverse health effects of noise., (© 2014 APJPH.)

Background: The clinical and prognostic significance of CD133 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. To clarify a precise determinant of the clinical significance of CD133, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association of CD133 with prognosis and clinicopathological features of NSCLC patients., Methods: The electronic and manual searches were performed through the database of Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Chinese CNKI (from January 1, 1982 to January 1, 2014) for titles and abstracts by using the following keywords: "CD133", "ac133" or "Prominin-1", and "lung cancer" to identify the studies eligible for our analysis. Meta-analysis was performed by using Review Manager 5.0 and the outcomes included the overall survival and various clinicopathological features., Results: A total of 23 studies were finally included, and our results showed that CD133 level was significantly correlated with the overall survival (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.24-4.07, P = 0.008) of NSCLC patients but not with the disease free survival (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 0.77-2.30, P = 0.31). With respect to clinicopathological features, CD133 level was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.06-3.74, P = 0.03), but not correlated with the histological classification (OR = 1.00, 95%CI = 0.81-1.23, P = 0.99(ac), OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.61-1.24, P = 0.45(sc)), or differentiation (OR = 0.94, 95%CI 0.53-1.68, Z = 0.20, P = 0.84 random-effect) of NSCLC patients., Conclusion: High level of CD133 expression trends to correlate with a worse prognosis and a higher rate of lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients, revealing CD133 as a potential pathological prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.

Unlabelled: Objective : Linezolid is active against drug-resistant gram-positive bacteria. However, the efficacy and safety of linezolid in the treatment of the elderly have not been well characterized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of linezolid in the treatment of the elderly with gram-positive bacterial infection and to investigate the risk factors associated with the development of thrombocytopenia in these patients., Methodology: This was a retrospective analysis of 50 elderly patients who were treated with intravenous linezolid for gram-positive bacterial infection. Clinical data and bacteriological responses were assessed. Risk factors associated with thrombocytopenia in elderly patients were analyzed., Results: The overall clinical cure rate of linezolid was 74%, and the bacteriological eradication rate was 69%. Thrombocytopenia occurred in 24 patients, and thrombocytopenia was associated with both the duration of treatment (P = 0.005) and the baseline platelet count (P = 0.042). Based on a logistic regression analysis, the baseline platelet count <200×10(9)/L (OR = 0.244; 95% CI = 0.068- 0.874; P = 0.030) was identified as the only significant risk factor for linezolid-associated thrombocytopenia in elderly patients. The mean platelet count decreased significantly from the 7(th) day of treatment, and decreased to the lowest value 1-2 days after the end of therapy. Conclusions : Linezolid is effective and safe for the elderly with gram-positive bacterial infections. Adverse effects such as thrombocytopenia are of greater concern. Platelet counts should be monitored in patients who are treated with linezolid and that measures should be taken in advance to avoid hemorrhagic tendencies.

Objective: To gain further understanding of the antiphospholipid syndrome(APS)., Methods: Analysing clinical and laboratory data on ten cases of APS., Results: Thrombocytopenia appeared in all cases. Venous thrombi of limbs appeared in five cases and neurological abnormalities in two cases. Renal impairments were found in three cases. One case manifested left renal venous thrombi and the other two cases thrombotic microangiopathy. Budd-Chiari syndrome was found in one case. One of the ten cases was catastrophic APS (CAPS) presented as acute diffuse swelling, cyanosis, pain, ischemia and necrosis in fingers and limbs, recurrent shock, ascites, hepatic and respiratory dysfunction. Anticoagulants and corticosteroids could be effective for dealing with APS. It was critical to treat catastrophic APS with anticoagulants or plasmapheresis as early as possible., Conclusions: APS shows variable manifestations for good prognosis, but catastrophic APS has fatal risk. The main treatment for APS is the use of anticoagulants and immunosuppressives.

AIM:To study the significance of C-erbB-2 oncogene amplification in gastric cancer.METHODS:C-erbB-2 oncogene amplification was examined by using differential polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) in surgical and endoscopic specimens of 83 cases of gastric cancer and 101 metastatic lymph nodes.RESULTS:C-erbB-2 amplification was found in 28.9% (24/83) surgical specimens and 20.5% (17/83) endoscopic ones of gastric cancer patients.The amplification was significant in both types of specimens of advanced cancer cases (P < 0.05) and surgical specimens with lymph node metastasis (P <0.01). The incidence of C-erbB-2 amplification in lymph nodes with metastasis was higher than in primary sites (surgical specimens, P < 0.05). The patients with amplification tumors had poorer 5-year survival rates than those with unampli-fication ones in the early cancers and well to moderately differentiated adeno-carcinomas (P <0.05). The same surgical samples were tested again by Southern blot hybridization to ascertain C-erbB-2 amplification, and the positive rate of C-erbB-2 amplification (15.7%) was lower than that of dPCR (28.9%, P < 0.05).CONCLUSION:Examining C-erbB-2 amplification by dPCR is a quick, simple, reliable and independent method, and is helpful in predicting prognosis and metastatic potential of gastric cancer.