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Han Wang,1,2,* Yang Sun,1,2,* Feng-Jun Xiao,3,* Xia Zhao,2,4 Wei-Yuan Zhang,1,2 Yu-Jun Xia,1 Li-Sheng Wang1,2 1School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China; 2Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis and Regenerative Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China; 3Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, 100850, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Li-Sheng Wang, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis and Regenerative Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China, Email lishengwang@qdu.edu.cn Yu-Jun Xia, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China, Email xiayujun62@163.comPurpose: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have become novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). However, the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms by which MSCs restore intestinal tissue homeostasis and repair the epithelial barrier have not been well elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and possible mechanisms of human MSCs in the treatment of experimental colitis.Methods: We performed an integrative transcriptomic, proteomic, untargeted metabolomics, and gut microbiota analyses in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IBD mouse model. The cell viability of IEC-6 cells was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The expression of MUC-1 and ferroptosis-related genes were determined by immunohistochemical staining, Western blot, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).Results: Mice treated with MSCs showed notable amelioration in the severity of DSS-induced colitis, which was associated with reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines and restoration of the lymphocyte subpopulation balance. Treatment with MSC restored the gut microbiota and altered their metabolites in DSS-induced IBD mice. The 16s rDNA sequencing showed that treatment with MSC modulated the composition of probiotics, including the upregulation of the contents of Firmicutes, Lactobacillus, Blautia, Clostridia, and Helicobacter bacteria in mouse colons. Protein proteomics and transcriptome analyses revealed that pathways related to cell immune responses, including inflammatory cytokines, were suppressed in the MSC group. The ferroptosis-related gene, MUC-1, was significantly upregulated in the MSC-treated group. MUC-1-inhibition experiments indicated that MUC-1 was essential for epithelial cell growth. Through overexpression of MUC-1, it showed that upregulation of SLC7A11 and GPX4, and downregulation of ACSL4 in erastin and RSL3-treated IEC-6 cells, respectively.Conclusion: This study described a mechanism by which treatment with MSCs ameliorated the severity of DSS-induced colitis by modulating the gut microbiota, immune response, and the MUC-1 pathway.Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, mesenchymal stem cells, gut microbiota, MUC-1, multi-omics

Apixaban is a superior direct oral anticoagulant exihibiting interindividual variability in concentration and response in the real world. The present study aimed to identify genetic biomarkers associated with pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of apixaban in healthy Chinese subjects. This multicenter study included 181 healthy Chinese adults taking a single dose of 2.5 mg or 5 mg apixaban and assessed their PK and PD parameters. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix Axiom CBC_PMRA Array. Candidate gene association analysis and genome-wide association study were conducted to identify genes with a predictive value for PK and PD parameters of apixaban. Several ABCG2 variants were associated with Cmax and AUC0-t of apixaban (p < 6.12 × 10−5) and also presented significant differences of anti-Xa3h activity and dPT3h according to different ABCG2 genotypes (p < 0.05). Besides, ABLIM2 variants were found to be associated with PK characteristics and F13A1 and C3 variants were associated with PD characteristics of apixaban (p < 9.46 × 10−8). ABCG2 variants were found to be ideal genetic biomarkers for both PK and PD characteristics of apixaban. ABLIM2, F13A1 and C3 were identified as potential candidate genes associated with inter-individual variability of apixaban. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03259399.

Solvothermal subcomponent self-assembly of 2-hydroxy-3-(pyridin-4-yl)benzaldehyde, chiral diaminocyclohexane, and Zn(ii) ions offered a pair of two-dimensional chiral metal–organic frameworks, which display circularly polarised luminescence.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and poor wound healing are chronic complications in patients with diabetes. The increasing incidence of DFU has resulted in huge pressure worldwide. Diagnosing and treating this condition are therefore of great importance to control morbidity and improve prognosis. Finding new markers with potential diagnostic and therapeutic utility in DFU has gathered increasing interest. Wound healing is a process divided into three stages: Inflammation, proliferation, and regeneration. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are small protected molecules transcribed from the genome without protein translation function, have emerged as important regulators of diabetes complications. The deregulation of ncRNAs may be linked to accelerated DFU development and delayed wound healing. Moreover, ncRNAs can be used for therapeutic purposes in diabetic wound healing. Herein, we summarize the role of microRNAs, long ncRNAs, and circular RNAs in diverse stages of DFU wound healing and their potential use as novel therapeutic targets.

Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the influenza virus, which poses a certain threat to humans due to its short incubation period, fast transmission and strong infectivity.To evaluate the awareness and prevention behavior against influenza among healthcare workers on the eve of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Beijing, China.Using the cross-sectional research design based on the principle of convenience sampling, an online questionnaire survey on the knowledge of flu, vaccination, medical protection behavior, and flu medication was conducted between January and February 2020. Healthcare workers from different healthcare facilities and different job positions in Beijing participated in this survey.A total of 1910 healthcare workers from different medical institutions and jobs were included in the study. The mean age of the participants was 32.69 ±8.72 years (range: 18-64 years). There were significant differences in knowledge about clinical signs about flu and prevention approaches among different age groups, individuals with different work experience and job titles (χ2 = 8.903-32.839; p0.05). Personnel with different job positions and education levels differed only in the knowledge about clinical signs of flu and identification of high-risk populations. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio (OR) = 0.979, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.966-0.992) and education level (OR = 0.736, 95% CI: 0.588-0.921) were risk factors for hand hygiene practices, whereas job position (OR = 1.757, 95% CI: 1.146-2.695) and awareness of high-risk populations (OR = 1.405, 95% CI: 1.096-1.800) were protective factors influencing hand hygiene practices (p0.05). The only factor influencing mask wearing was the education level (OR = 0.610, 95% CI: 0.450-0.828).The knowledge level and preventive behavior of healthcare workers before the outbreak of COVID-19 has been insufficient.

PCR testing is increasingly important for microbial control in SPF facilities. However, most current PCR methods are timeconsuming and require compromise between high sensitivity and high multiplexing. We developed a one-tube multiplex nested PCR strategy (MN-PCR) for simultaneous direct (that is, without culturing) detection of multiple pathogens. We first aligned sequences for the 16S rDNA genes of selected target bacteria and a panel of closely related organisms. From these data, we designed a pair of universal primers and multiple sets of species-specific PCR primers to amplify the target sequences; the universal primers were modified to include various degenerate bases and locked nucleic acids. In a single tube, 16S rDNA sequences were amplified by using the nested PCR primers under high temperature (that is, above 65°C) during the first stage of the MN-PCR procedure, when the target-species–specific PCR primers do not support amplification due to their short length. In addition, the concentration of the nested PCR primers during the first stage was adjusted to ensure that they were consumed and did not yield visible bands themselves. During the second stage, the enriched 16S rDNA sequences then served as templates for amplification of the species-specific fragments by using the multiple PCR primers at low annealing temperatures (that is, below 60°C). The results showed that our MN-PCR method detected as little as 1 fg of target bacterial DNA in a 20-μL reaction volume, whereas conventional multiplex PCR detected a minimum of 1 pg only. Compared with traditional multiplex PCR assays, our MN-PCR system is an effective and efficient culture-free process.

The integration of dc power distributed systems in modern shipboard microgrids is receiving much attention recently due to their high efficiency and grid connection flexibility. These dc shipboard microgrids (dc-SMGs) are characterized by having different operating modes and large proportion of electric propulsion, some of which involves severe dynamic/transient conditions. Considering various operation modes of actual ships, this paper proposes a hierarchical coordinated control, which includes primary control level (PCL) and power management system (PMS) for the coordinated operation of the power sources in dc-SMGs. The coordination between the PCL and the PMS provides the following features: First, the PCL includes primary speed regulation (PSR) of diesel generator (DG) and primary voltage control (PVC) of dc bus. The PVC can realize the dynamic/steady load power sharing by adding the virtual impedance loop, and the PSR of DG performs the rotation speed to follow the reference. Second, the PMS includes optimal speed reference setting and secondary voltage recovery control that can realize variable-speed operation of DG according to its optimal energy efficiency characteristic and improve the power quality. The simulation results are carried out under MATLAB/Simulink to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control.

The male abnormal gene family 21 (imab21/i), was initially identified iniC. elegans/i. Since its identification, studies from different groups have shown that it regulates development of ocular tissues, brain, heart and liver. However, its functional mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Mab21L1 promotes survival of lens epithelial cells. Mechanistically, Mab21L1 upregulates expression of αB-crystallin. Moreover, our results show that αB-crystallin prevents stress-induced phosphorylation of p53 at S-20 and S-37 through abrogating the activation of the upstream kinases, ATR and CHK1. As a result of suppressing p53 activity by αB-crystallin, Mab21L1 downregulates expression of Bak but upregulates Mcl-1 during stress insult. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Mab21L1 promotes survival of lens epithelial cells through upregulation of αB-crystallin to suppress ATR/CHK1/p53 pathway.

It has been argued that the ba-construction is a challenging structure for non-native learners. Despite the rich literature on its linguistic analyses and its learning and teaching, there have been few corpus studies on the construction. The current study examines and compares the use of the ba-construction in the QQK Corpus of learners and the BCC Corpus of native speakers. Interestingly, we found that the ba-construction appeared more frequently in the learner corpus than in the native speakers’ corpus. Learners’ avoidance of the ba-construction as claimed in the literature seemed to be restricted to certain structures. It has been found that learners of different native languages produced incorrect ba-constructions at different rates. We argue that the language distance between learners’ native language and Chinese might have played a role. In comparison with native speakers, learners also exhibited different preferences in the choice of NP types and VP types. We conclude by exemplifying a range of error types in the use of the ba-construction found in the QQK corpus.

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, which poses huge disease burdens in China. A study was conducted to systematically analyze the recent prevalence trend of AF and age-related disparities in AF risk among the nationwide healthy check-up population.MethodWe conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study involving 3,049,178 individuals ≥35 years from health check-up centers to explore the prevalence and trend of AF by age, sex, and region from 2012 to 2017. Additionally, we analyzed risk factors associated with AF among the overall population and different age groups via the Boruta algorithm, the LASSO regression, and the Logistic regression.ResultThe age-, sex-. and regional-standardized prevalence of AF kept stable between 0.4%–0.45% among national physical examination individuals from 2012 to 2017. However, the prevalence of AF showed an undesirable upward trend in the 35–44-year age group (annual percentage changes (APC): 15.16 [95%CI: 6.42,24.62]). With increasing age, the risk of AF associated with the overweight or obesity gradually exceeds that associated with diabetes and hypertension. In addition to traditional leading risk factors such as age≥65 and coronary heart disease, elevated uric acid and impaired renal function were tightly correlated with AF in the population.ConclusionThe significant rise in the prevalence of AF in the 35–44 age group reminds us that in addition to the elderly (the high-risk group), younger people seem to be in more urgent need of attention. Age-related disparities in AF risk also exist. This updated information may provide references for the national prevention and control of AF.

In [Calc. Var., 57:5 (2018)], Hong-Ye-Zhang proposed the $p$-capacitary Orlicz-Minkowski problem and proved the existence of convex solutions to this problem by variational method for $p\in(1,n)$. However, the smoothness and uniqueness of solutions are still open. Notice that the $p$-capacitary Orlicz-Minkowski problem can be converted equivalently to a Monge-Amp\`{e}re type equation in smooth case: \begin{align}\label{0.1} f\phi(h_K)|\nabla\Psi|^p=\tau G \end{align} for $p\in(1,n)$ and some constant $\tau>0$, where $f$ is a positive function defined on the unit sphere $\mathcal{S}^{n-1}$, $\phi$ is a continuous positive function defined in $(0,+\infty)$, and $G$ is the Gauss curvature. In this paper, we confirm the existence of smooth solutions to $p$-capacitary Orlicz-Minkowski problem with $p\in(1,n)$ for the first time by a class of inverse Gauss curvature flows, which converges smoothly to the solution of Equation (\ref{0.1}). Furthermore, we prove the uniqueness result for Equation (\ref{0.1}) in a special case.

Data on the distribution of voriconazole (VRC) in the human peritoneal cavity are sparse. This prospective study aimed to describe the pharmacokinetics of intravenous VRC in the peritoneal fluid of critically ill patients.

Background Good quality of care for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) depends on high-standard management and facility in the IBD center. Yet, there are no clear measures or criteria for evaluating pediatric IBD (PIBD) center in China. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive set of quality indicators (QIs) for evaluating PIBD center in China. Methods A modified Delphi consensus-based approach was used to identify a set of QIs of structure, process, and outcomes for defining the criteria. The process included an exhaustive search using complementary approaches to identify potential QIs, and two web-based voting rounds to select the QIs defining the criteria for PIBD center. Results A total of 101 QIs (35 structures, 48 processes and 18 outcomes) were included in this consensus. Structure QIs focused on the composition of multidisciplinary team, facilities and services that PIBD center should provide. Process QIs highlight core requirements in diagnosing, evaluating, treating PIBD, and disease follow-up. Outcome QIs mainly included criteria evaluating effectiveness of various interventions in PIBD centers. Conclusion The present Delphi consensus developed a set of main QIs that may be useful for managing a PIBD center.

PDF file - 25K, Expression of p27kip1 in gastric Cancer Tissue.

Aberrant expression of miR-196a has been frequently reported in cancer studies. However, the expression and mechanism of its function in gastric cancer remains unclear. Quantitative real-time PCR was carried out to detect the relative expression of miR-196a in gastric cancer cell lines and tissues. SGC7901 cells were treated with miR-196a inhibitors, mimics, or pCDNA/miR-196a to investigate the role of miR-196a in cell proliferation. Higher expression of miR-196a in gastric cancer tissues was associated with tumor size, a higher clinical stage, and was also correlated with shorter overall survival of patients with gastric cancer. Exogenous downregulation of miR-196a expression significantly suppressed the in vitro cell-cycle progression, proliferation, and colony formation of gastric cancer cells, and ectopic miR-196a expression significantly enhanced the development of tumors in nude mice. Luciferase assays revealed that miR-196a inhibited p27kip1 expression by targeting one binding site in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of p27kip1 mRNA. qPCR and Western blot assays verified that miR-196a reduced p27kip1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels. The p27kip1-mediated repression in cell proliferation was reverted by exogenous miR-196a expression. A reverse correlation between miR-196a and p27kip1 expression was noted in gastric cancer tissues. Our study shows that aberrant overexpression of miR-196a and consequent downregulation of p27kip1 could contribute to gastric carcinogenesis and would be targets for gastric cancer therapies and further developed as potential prognostic factors. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(4); 842–52. ©2012 AACR.

Primers and siRNA sequences

The relationship between PVT1 and MYC. (A) The relationship between PVT1 expression and MYC mRNA levels was analyzed in lung cancer cells (data from TCGA). (B) and (C) The relationship between PVT1 expression and MYC mRNA levels was analyzed in the profile of NSCLC patient tissue from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).

Figure Legend for Figure 1

PDF file - 49K, Correlation of the expression of miR-196a with clinicopathologic features.

Cataract, the leading cause of blindness worldwide, is caused by crystallin protein aggregation within the protected lens environment. Phase separation has been implicated as an important mechanism of protein aggregation diseases, such as neurodegeneration. Similarly, cataract has been proposed to be a protein condensation disease in the last century. However, whether crystallin proteins aggregate via a phase separation mechanism and which crystallin protein initiates the aggregation remain unclear. Here, we showed that all types of crystallin-GFP proteins remain soluble under physiological conditions, including protein concentrations, ion strength, and crowding environments. However, in age or disease-induced aberrant conditions, α-crystallin-GFP, including αA- and αB-crystallin-GFP, but not other crystallin-GFP proteins, undergo phase separation in vivo and in vitro. We found that aging-related changes, including higher crystallin concentrations, increased Na+, and decreased K+ concentrations, induced the aggregation of α-crystallin-GFP. Furthermore, H2O2, glucose, and sorbitol, the well-known risk factors for cataract, significantly enhanced the aggregation of αB-crystallin-GFP. Taken together, our results revealed that α-crystallin-GFP forms aggregates via a phase transition process, which may play roles in cataract disease. Opposite to the previously reported function of enhancing the solubility of other crystallin, α-crystallin may be the major aggregated crystallin in the lens of cataract patients.

ObjectiveTo determine the topical diagnosis and etiologies of spontaneous nystagmus (SN) with an upbeat component.MethodsWe retrospectively recruited 43 patients with SN with an upbeat component at a university hospital in China from 2020 to 2022. SN with an upbeat component was divided into pure upbeat nystagmus (UBN), SN with a predominant upbeat component, and SN with a non-predominant upbeat component. We analyzed their clinical and neurotologic findings and the final diagnosis.ResultsFourteen (32.6%) of them showed pure UBN, while 29 (67.4%) exhibited SN mixed with an upbeat component, mixed upbeat-horizontal in 15, mixed upbeat-horizontal-torsional in 13, and upbeat-torsional in the remaining one. Pure UBN and SN with a predominant upbeat component were more common in central than in peripheral vestibular disorders [16 (80.0%) vs. 0 (0%), Chi-Square test, p < 0.001]. Central vestibular disorders were diagnosed in 20 (46.5%) patients, peripheral in 14 (32.6%), and undetermined in nine (20.9%) patients. The underlying causes mainly included acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy (n = 11), posterior circulation infarction (n = 9), benign recurrent vertigo (n = 4), vestibular migraine (VM, n = 3), and VM of childhood (n = 2).ConclusionSN with an upbeat component can be seen in both central and peripheral vestibular disorders. Pure UBN was a characteristic sign of central vestibular dysfunction. Central vestibular disorders should be highly suspected when patients show pure UBN or SN with a predominant upbeat component.

The genus Fragaria consists of a rich diversity of ploidy levels with diploid (2x), tetraploid (4x), pentaploid (5x), hexaploidy (6x), octoploid (8x) and decaploid (10x) species. Only a few studies have explored the origin of diploid and octoploid strawberry, and little is known about the roles of tetraploidy and hexaploidy during the evolution of octoploid strawberry. The chloroplast genome is usually a stable circular genome and is widely used in investigating the evolution and matrilineal identification. Here, we assembled the chloroplast genomes of F. x ananassa cv. ‘Benihoppe’ (8x) using Illumina and HiFi data seperately. The genome alignment results showed that more InDels were located in the chloroplast genomes based on the PacBio HiFi data than Illumina data. We obtain highly accurate chloroplast genomes assembled through GetOrganelle using Illumina reads. We assembled 200 chloroplast genomes including 198 Fragaria (21 species) and 2 Potentilla samples. Analyses of sequence variation, phylogenetic and PCA analyses showed that Fragaria was divided into five groups. F. iinumae, F. nilgerrensis and all octoploid accessions formed Group A, C and E separately. Species native to western China were clustered into Group B. Group D consisted of F. virdis, F. orientalis, F. moschata, and F. vesca. STRUCTURE and haplotype network confirmed that the diploid F. vesca subsp. bracteata was the last maternal donator of octoploid strawberry. The dN/dS ratio estimated for the protein-coding genes revealed that genes involved in ATP synthase and photosystem function were under positive selection. These findings demonstrate the phylogeny of totally 21 Fragaria species and the origin of octoploid species. F. vesca was the last female donator of octoploid, which confirms the hypothesis that the hexaploid species F. moschata may be an evolutionary intermediate between the diploids and wild octoploid species.

Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) play central roles in our daily life. However, their immiscibility presents a major hurdle in both industry and academia when recycling them into alloys with favorable mechanical properties. Moreover, typical compatibilizer-enabled approaches are limited due to increased environmental concerns. Herein, inspired by a traditional Chinese technique, we report a facile, industry-scale methodology that produces a PP/PE binary blend with a highly ordered honeycomb nanostructure without any additives. Due to its nanostructure, the blend exhibits enhanced tensile properties in comparison with the parent components or with a sample prepared using an internal mixer. This approach has potential for applications not only in immiscible polymer blending, but also in non-sorting, compatibilizer-free waste plastics recycling. Through this technique, we expect that an environmentally friendly and sustainable plastic wastes recycling avenue can be found, and great economic benefits can be gained.

The goal of the research was to investigate the profile control and oil displacement characteristics of the polymer nanoparticles after high temperature swelling. The displacement parameters showed considerable influence on the plugging effect of the high-temperature swelled polymer nanoparticles, such as the core permeability, concentration of nanoparticles in the suspension, swelling time and swelling temperature, which makes it flexible to control the plugging effect by controlling displacement experiments conditions. Experimental results show that polymer nanoparticles dispersion system with a concentration of 500 mg/L is suitable for cores plugging with a permeability of 30 × 10−3 - 150 × 10−3 μm2, even after aging at 150 °C for three months. The shunt flow experiments show that when the displacement factors are optimal values, the polymer nanoparticles after high temperature swelling to plug the high-permeability layer selectivity and almost do not clog the low-permeability layer. Oil recovery of homogeneous artificial core displacement experiment and a heterogeneous double-tube cores model are increased by 20% and 10.4% on the basis of water flooding. The polymer nanoparticles can be a great help for petroleum engineers to better apply this deep profile control and flooding technology.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to investigate the interrelation between P2RY14 and the prognosis of patients suffering from lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) following surgery. METHODS: The differentially expressed gene (DEG) P2RY14 was screened by the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort) databases. The relationship between P2RY14 and clinical data of LUAD was analyzed in TCGA and Kaplan-Meier (KM)-plotter databases. The association of P2RY14 with immune cells and immune-related expressed genes was analyzed in the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database. A retrospective analysis of the 100 patients clinical data undergoing pulmonary adenocarcinoma surgery admitted to Nanjing Chest Hospital. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the P2RY14 expression in lung cancer tissues, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to confirm the mRNA expression of this gene in LUAD tissues. And their survival was evaluated. KM method and the log-rank test were used for univariate survival analysis, and the Cox regression method was employed for multivariate survival analysis. RESULTS: P2Y14 was the DEG identified by the database. P2Y14 expression was upregulated in para-cancer tissues in comparison to cancer tissues. Patients suffering from LUAD who have high P2RY14 expression had a better prognosis than those with low expression. P2RY14 expression was shown to be substantially linked with immune invasion in the TIMER database. Finally, the trial included 100 patients, of which 80 died and 20 survived with a mean overall survival (OS) of 48 months. Between the high and low expression groups of P2RY14, there were statistically significant variations in the clinical stage and differentiation degree (P

The number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) was found to increase in patients with breast cancer, but the alteration in EPC function remains to be elusive. We conducted this study to evaluate the number and function of peripheral EPCs of breast cancer patients and its possible underlying mechanism. Besides, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VCAM-1, IL-6, and IL-34 levels were measured in blood samples and also in vitro in a medium of EPCs. We found that the number of circulating EPCs in breast cancer patients was significantly higher than that in normal control and remarkably augmented in a stage-dependent manner. Meanwhile, a similar enhancement was observed in the migratory, proliferative, and adhesive activity of circulating EPCs originating from breast cancer patients. More importantly, the VEGF level in blood samples was dramatically elevated in comparison to the control, which was correlated positively with the number and activity of circulating EPCs from breast cancer patients. Moreover, in vitro medium of EPCs from breast cancer patients highly expressed VEGF compared with that from the control, which also had a positive correlation with the number and activity of circulating EPCs from breast cancer patients. This is the first time to demonstrate that the number and function of circulating EPCs are promoted in breast cancer patients, which are positively related to an enhanced VEGF production. These may provide a novel target for improving the outcome of breast cancer.

ObjectiveTo compare the mid-term outcomes of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) that was performed in one knee and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed in the other knee in the same stage.MethodsThis is a retrospective study. A total of 63 patients (126 knees) scheduled for one-stage knee surgery due to osteoarthritis of both knees were selected, and all patients underwent one-stage mobile platform UKA and TKA of the other knee. Differences in general clinical data, functional recovery, complications, and prosthesis revision rates were assessed after UKA and TKA, respectively. The evaluation indicators for knee joint function recovery included the hospital for special surgery knee score (HSS), Joint Forgotten Score (JFS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Visual analog scale (VAS). Patient preference between UKA and TKA was also recorded.ResultsDuring a mean follow-up of 76.95 months (range, 65.00 to 87.00 months), there were no significant differences in postoperative complications between the two groups (P = 0.299); however, the prosthesis revision rate was higher in the UKA group than in the TKA group (P = 0.023). The incision length, operation time, blood loss, and postoperative drainage volume in the UKA group were significantly (P P P = 0.023, P = 0.032), HSS and KOOS in TKA group were significantly (P ConclusionsTKA was found to be superior to UKA in terms of HSS, KOOS, and VAS, while UKA had more significant advantages in terms of less surgical trauma, better ROM, and higher JFS. Complications were not different between groups, but UKA had a higher rate of prosthesis revision. After a follow-up of at least 5 years, more patients preferred TKA.

ObjectivesTo observe the efficacy of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) for the spasticity of the lower-limb post-stroke on gait and posture control.MethodsA total of 46 patients with hemiplegia gait were randomly divided into the experimental group (23 patients) and the control group (23 patients). In patients in the experimental group received injections of BoNT-A by electrical stimulation-guided. At the same time, patients of the two groups received routine physical therapy. Gait analysis, plantar pressure analysis, lower-limb Fugl–Meyer assessment (L-FMA), 10 meter walking test (10MWT), timed “Up and Go” test (TUGT), and modified Ashworth Scale assess (MAS) of the lower limbs were performed at 0, 1, 4, and 12 weeks after treatment.ResultsAt 1, 4, and 12 weeks after treatment, the L-FMA, stride length, speed, and TUGT significantly improved than 0 week in both groups. The L-FMA and peak of forefoot pressure, and MAS results in the experimental group were better than those in the control group at 4 and 12 weeks. The TUGT, speed, and stride length in experimental group was significantly shortened than that in control group at 1, 4, and 12 weeks.ConclusionBotulinum toxin type A injection can improve motor functions of the lower limb, gait, spasticity, forefoot pressure, and posture control of patients after stroke.

BACKGROUND Studies of resolution of Chinese overt subject pronouns (ta) and null subjects (e) report two main findings: in adults, while null subjects allow coreference to the subject antecedent in both forward and backward configurations, overt pronouns do so only in the forward configuration ((1) and (2)) (Huang and Lin 2021; Lust et al. 1996; Su 2020). In contrast, children allow both the null element and the overt pronoun to corefer with the subject antecedent in both contexts. Various accounts have been proposed for this, such as a Chinese specific non-coreference rule on overt pronouns (Huang and Lin 2021). Children at age 6-8 do not seem to have acquired this rule yet (Lust et al. 1996), since they do not distinguish between null and overt subjects. CURRENT STUDY This study tests the development of these two types of anaphora in two different age groups of children: 24 children aged 4-6 (4;0-6;11, M=5;4) and 24 aged 8-10 (8;3-10;11, M=9;4) and 48 adult controls. We hypothesized that the younger children do not display distinct interpretations of overt vs. null subjects in forward vs. backward anaphora; in the case of older children, we expect adult-like interpretations, being at a stage of development in which they are claimed to acquire the difference between null and overt subjects, as well as the non-coreference rule. We conducted a picture selection task (24 experimental items + 24 controls, across 4 lists, Figure 1). As expected, adults show an asymmetry in forward and backward anaphora (Figure 2). This pattern is found in the older children, but not in the younger children: in this case, no difference emerged between null and overt subjects. A logistic mixed regression model on participants’ selection of the subject as the antecedent (Table 1) showed that coreference with the subject depended on Anaphora and Pronoun Type, being higher in the case of null subjects, and in the case of forward anaphora. Moreover, these factors modulated adults’ preferences more than children, especially the younger children, as indicated by the significant three-way interactions (a separate model on child data with Age (centered) as predictor showed a significant Pronoun*Anaphora*Age interaction, p = 0.002). DISCUSSION As predicted, the younger children do not yet show the distinction between null and overt subjects. However, two unexpected patterns emerge in null subjects. First, in the younger children, the null subject shows a far lower rate of coreference to subject antecedent (both forward and backward) than older children (and adults), contra previous observations. Second, the older children do not yet show adult-like interpretations, which contrasts with the results for overt subjects. This raises a question as to whether null and overt subjects are acquired in tandem at age 6-8. Even though our current study does not test this question, we explore a possible explanation in the nature of null subjects. Instead of being minimally different null exponents of overt pronouns, null subjects might be a null exponent of reflexives instead, as proposed by Barbosa (2019) and Zhao (2012).

We report a study on low-temperature heat transport of Kitaev magnet Na$_2$Co$_2$TeO$_6$, with the heat current and magnetic fields along the honeycomb spin layer (the $ab$ plane). The zero-field thermal conductivity of $\kappa^a_{xx}$ and $\kappa^{a*}_{xx}$ display similar temperature dependence and small difference in their magnitudes; whereas, their magnetic field (parallel to the heat current) dependence are quite different and are related to the field-induced magnetic transitions. The $\kappa^a_{xx}(B)$ data for $B \parallel a$ at very low temperatures have an anomaly at 10.25--10.5 T, which reveals an unexplored magnetic transition. The planar thermal Hall conductivity $\kappa^a_{xy}$ and $\kappa^{a*}_{xy}$ show very weak signals at low fields and rather large values with sign change at high fields. This may point to a possible magnetic structure transition or the change of the magnon band topology that induces a radical change of magnon Berry curvature distribution before entering the spin polarized state. These results put clear constraints on the high-field phase and the theoretical models for Na$_2$Co$_2$TeO$_6$., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

A pair of epimers of flavonoid alkaloids, with a pyrrolidone moiety, 2S,5′′R-eupodoratin A (1), 2S,5′′S-eupodoratin A (2), together with two known analogues, drahebephin A (3), drahebephin B (4), were isolated from the flowers of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of HR-ESI-MS, 1D/2D NMR spectral analyses. The absolute configuration of compounds (1) and (2) was determined by its experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. All compounds were isolated from the Asteraceae family for the first time. The ABTS·+ scavenging activity of compound (4) reached 93.56% at a concentration of 0.5 mM, while the scavenging capacity of positive control Trolox was 55.94%. In addition, all compounds show moderate antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (ATCC, 337304), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC, 337371) and Candida albicans (ATCC, 186382) with a MIC value of more than 50 µg/mL.

Additional file 2: Supplementary Table 1. Primer sequences for RT-qPCR.

BACKGROUND Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-associated diseases are a group of systemic diseases involving multiple organs and are also known as IgG4-associated sclerosing diseases. IgG4-associated lymphadenopathy occurring in the lymph nodes is characterized by a lack of specificity due to its clinicopathological characteristics and must be differentiated from a variety of lesions, such as Castleman disease, lymphatic follicular reactive hyperplasia, and lymphoma. CASE SUMMARY A 65-year-old male patient, with Guillain-Barre syndrome for 5 years, presented to our hospital complaining of bilateral orbital mass for 2 years. After hospitalization, the results of the patient’s laboratory tests showed that immunoglobulin subgroup IgG4 was 33.90 g/L and IgG was 30.30 g/L, but serum interleukin-6 was normal. The pathological morphology of orbital mass and cervical lymph node were consistent, which showed that a large number of plasma cells and eosinophils were observed in the lymphatic follicles, and the interstitial fibrous tissue was proliferative. Immunohistochemistry showed that CD20 (B cells) (+), CD3 (T cells) (+), CD38 (+), IgG (+), IgG4 positive cells > 100/high powered field, and IgG4/IgG > 40%. Combined with clinical and immunohistochemical results, lymphadenopathy was consistent with Castleman disease-like IgG4-associated sclerosing disease. Prednisone acetate treatment was given at 40 mg/d. After 2 wk, the superficial lymph nodes and orbital masses shrank, and the IgG4 level decreased. As prednisone acetate was regularly used at a reduced dosage, no recurrence of the disease has been observed. CONCLUSION This case suggested that it is necessary to proceed cautiously in clinical practice with such patients, and immunoglobulin, complement, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and other examinations should be performed to confirm the diagnosis.