Search

Objective: Treatment with TNF-α inhibitors improve psoriasis with minimize/minor neutrophils infiltration and CXCL-1/8 expression in psoriatic lesions. However, the fine mechanism of TNF-α initiating psoriatic inflammation by tuning keratinocytes is unclear. Our previous research identified the deficiency of intracellular galectin-3 was sufficient to promote psoriasis inflammation characterized by neutrophil accumulation. This study aims to investigate whether TNF-α participated in psoriasis development through dysregulating galectin-3 expression. Methods: mRNA levels were assessed through quantitative real-time PCR. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle/apoptosis. Western blot was used to evaluate the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. HE staining and immunochemistry were used to detect epidermal thickness and MPO expression, respectively. Specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to knock down hsa-miR-27a-3p while plasmids transfection was used to overexpress galectin-3. Further, the multiMiR R package was utilized to predict microRNA-target interaction. Results and discussion: We found that TNF-α stimulation altered cell proliferation and differentiation and promoted the production of psoriasis-related inflammatory mediators along with the inhibition of galectin-3 expression in keratinocytes. Supplement of galectin-3 could counteract the rise of CXCL-1/8 but not the other phenotypes of keratinocytes induced by TNF-α. Mechanistically, inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway could counteract the decrease of galectin-3 and the increase of hsa-miR-27a-3p expression whereas silence of hsa-miR-27a-3p could counteract the decrease of galectin-3 expression induced by TNF-α treatment in keratinocytes. Intradermal injection of murine anti-CXCL-2 antibody greatly alleviated imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis. Conclusion: TNF-α initiates psoriatic inflammation by increasing CXCL-1/8 in keratinocytes mediated by the axis of NF-κB-hsa-miR-27a-3p-galectin-3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze prognostic value of total tumor volume (TTV) and tumor burden score (TBS) in surgically treated patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and concurrent fatty liver disease and hepatitis B virus (FLD-HCC) FLD-HCC patients who treated with hepatectomy from 2010 to 2018 were analyzed. Prognostic performance of TTV and TBS was determined by ROC analysis. Patients were stratified into low and high tumor burden by optimal cutoff value of 113.4 cm3 for TTV or 6.3 points for TBS. Survival rates were compared between subgroups and independent risk factors were identified by Cox regression. Correlation between TTV and TBS was evaluated. This study enrolled 342 FLD-HCC patients. Survival was significantly higher among patients with low tumor burden than among those with high tumor burden (p < 0.001). High TTV and TBS were independent risk factors for poor survival of FLD-HCC (HR: 3.27 (2.17–4.93) and 3.48 (2.31–5.26), respectively, all p < 0.001). ROC analyses revealed that TTV and TBS had comparable discriminative ability in stratifying overall and recurrence-free survival of FLD-HCC. Correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between TTV and TBS. Both TTV and TBS have comparable prognostic value and high TTV/TBS predicts poor survival of patients with FLD-HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convective hot air drying technology is widely used for fruits and vegetables drying process due to its simplicity in usage, small investment, and convenience in operation. However, it is generally considered energy-intensive process with lower drying efficiency and quality because of unprecise control of drying process. In order to solve these problems, step-down relative humidity (RH) hot air drying technology was applied for papaya drying to improve drying efficiency and quality and reduce energy consumption. The effect of constant RH (20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) and step-down RH of 50% with different holding times (10, 30, 60, and 90 min) and then decrease to 20% on heat and mass transfer process, drying quality, and energy consumption was examined. Results showed that decreasing RH contributed to improvement in the drying rate (DR). Compared to constant RH of 20%, the drying time under initial RH of 50% for 30 min followed by 20% RH shortened by 21.4%. Additionally, under this RH control strategy, the rehydration ratio (RR) and energy consumption achieved their maximum (7.71 ± 0.06) and minimum value (0.015 ± 0.001 kJ/g), respectively. During initial drying stage, high RH improved convective heat transfer coefficient (ht) values and material temperature increased quickly. Furthermore, high RH contributed to maintaining pore structure formation, which benefited moisture diffusion. When RH was reduced, low RH enhanced convective mass transfer coefficient (hm) significantly, resulting in rapid diffusion of internal moisture at high temperature, as well as rapid moisture evaporation from the surface. Therefore, step-down RH hot air drying was verified to improve drying of papaya slices, making it energy efficient process. The findings in current work indicate step-down relative humidity strategy is a promising technique to enhance hot air drying process, quality, and energy efficiency of papaya slices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in the United States have increased in recent years, with the most rapid rise among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). Historically, there have been concerns regarding treatment adherence among PWIDs with HCV infection, leading to undertreatment of this population and increased HCV transmission. Elbasvir (EBR)/grazoprevir (GZR) has demonstrated high rates of virologic cure (sustained virologic response [SVR]) in clinical trials enrolling PWIDs with HCV infection. Objective: To evaluate the real-world effectiveness of EBR/GZR in HCV genotype (GT) 1–infected patients with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder. Methods: A retrospective analysis of electronic medical records from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Corporate Data Warehouse. Adults with chronic HCV GT1 infection, ≥1 prescription for EBR/GZR, and ≥1 clinic visit were included. All patients had ≥1 ICD-9/10 code of opioid use disorder. SVR was the primary outcome. Results: 419 patients were included; 97.1% had a history of any illicit drug use and 40.8% were receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). SVR was achieved by 96.9% (406/419) of all patients, 97.0% (350/361) of those receiving EBR/GZR for 12 weeks, and 95.3% (163/171) of those receiving MOUD. SVR in patients receiving psychiatric medications ranged from 96.1% (221/230) in those taking antidepressant medications to 98.5% (128/130) in those taking mood stabilizers. Conclusion: In this real-world setting, high rates of virologic cure were achieved in patients with HCV GT1 infection on MOUD receiving EBR/GZR for 12 weeks, including patients with multiple comorbidities and high rate of psychiatric medication use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of reduction is the most common complication after acromioclavicular (AC) joint dislocation treated with the suture-button. Some predictors of it are known, but finding new predictors is an ongoing process. In this study, we evaluate the importance of the position of the coracoid button. Between April 2010 and February 2017, 186 patients with AC joint dislocation were identified. All patients were managed with the same surgical technique and postoperative protocol. The position of the coracoid button was determined immediately after surgery by anterior–posterior views of the operated shoulder and was classified as medial (Group A, 42 cases), central (Group B, 85 cases) and lateral (Group C, 59 cases) positions. The main outcome measurement was loss of reduction. The main analysis was the association between the coracoid button position and loss of reduction. No significant difference was found in the baseline characteristics among 3 groups. During follow-up, there were 15 cases (35.7%) developing loss of reduction in Group A, 5 cases (5.9%) in Group B and 26 cases (44.1%) in Group C. The rate of loss of reduction in Groups A and C were higher than that in Group B (p <.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the rate of reduction loss between lateral and medial positions of the coracoid buttons (p >.05). Our results indicated that both lateral and medial positions of the coracoid buttons could predict loss of reduction in AC joint dislocation patients treated with the suture-button. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven coordination polymers having the general formula {[Ln2(2,6-pydc)(ox)2⋅(H2O)4]⋅3H2O}n (Ln = Sm 1, Eu 2, Gd 3, Tb 4, Dy 5, Ho 6, Er 7; 2,6-pydc2− = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate, ox2− = oxalate) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. Their IR, UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra, and Vis-NIR emission spectra were investigated, and the luminescent properties of the polymers were studied in detail. Crystal structures were determined by means of a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer, and all of them proved to have three-dimensional frameworks. Except for polymers 3 and 7, the polymers displayed the characteristic emissions of Ln(III) ions due to the effective sensitization of ligands. At the same time, the 4f orbitals of Ln(III) ions were shifted by the effects of ligand field, which influenced emission spectra and absorption spectra of some of the polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar metabolism is among the most important metabolic processes in soybean; it not only affects growth and development, but also plays a role in drought resistance. As a plant biological regulator, exogenous melatonin is assumed to regulate sugar metabolism. Here, physiological and transcriptomic approaches were used to determine the effects of melatonin on physiological indices and key genes and pathways associated with soybean sugar metabolism under drought stress. In plants subjected to drought stress, melatonin treatment increased dry matter accumulation, reduced malondialdehyde content, and increased the content of metabolized sugars in leaves, thereby enhancing soybean yield. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the genes differentially expressed in plants subjected to melatonin treatment and drought stress were enriched in the KEGG "sucrose and starch metabolism" pathway related to glucose metabolism. Among the differentially expressed genes, we identified 12 significantly altered genes associated with glucose metabolism that played roles in regulating the activities of glucose metabolism-related enzymes. Collectively, our results indicated that melatonin can enhance the output of glucose metabolites and tolerance of soybean subjected to drought stress by regulating the genes associated with glucose metabolism and activation of the related enzymes. Our findings provide a detailed theoretical basis for analyzing the regulatory effects of melatonin on soybean sugar metabolism under conditions of drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current work, the energy and exergy analysis of hot air impingement drying mushroom slices was conducted under different air temperature (55, 60, 65, 70, and 75 °C), air velocity (3, 6, 9, and 12 m/s), and sample thickness (6, 9, and 12 mm) by the first and second law of thermodynamics. The statistical analysis results indicated that the effect of air velocity and temperature on the energy and exergy was more important than the sample thickness on it. The energy utilization and energy utilization ratio were in the range of 0.067–0.859 kJ/s and 0.087–0.34, respectively. The exergy loss and exergy efficiency was varied from 0.045–0.571 kJ/s and 0.315–0.879, respectively. Besides, the artificial neural network (ANN) was employed to predict the energy and exergy parameters. The modeling results revealed that the ANN models with arranged training algorithms and transfer function could be utilized to predict the performance of hot air impingement drying system with satisfactory accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current work, the influences of high-humidity hot air impingement blanching (HHAIB) time (60, 90, 120, and 150 s), drying temperature (60, 65, 70, and 75 °C), and air velocity (6, 9, and 12 m/s) on drying characteristics and quality attributes of broccoli florets were explored. Extreme learning machine (ELM) was employed to describe the drying behavior of broccoli florets. Results showed that proper HHAIB pretreatment can extensively increase drying rate compared to the control group (unblanched samples). The entire drying process of broccoli florets occurred in the falling period. Besides, proper HHAIB pretreatment can enhance vitamin C preservation, the color quality, and the rehydration capacity of dried broccoli florets. Based on error analysis results, the prediction accuracy of the optimal ELM model with 4-50-1 topology is found to be satisfied for the moisture ratio prediction of broccoli florets during air impingement drying process, with the R2, , and MSE reached to 0.9993, 8.04e−5, and 2.01e−4, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gynura bicolor DC. (G. bicolor) is a popular vegetable consumed in many Asian countries. In this study, chemical profile and antioxidant activity of G. bicolor ethanolic extract were studied. The extraction conditions were optimized and the total phenolic content of G. bicolor was determined as 10.38 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry matter. Twenty three compounds were identified in G. bicolor by HPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis. Among them, 14 phenolic compounds, including ninepolyphenols and five flavonoids were found. 3-O- and 5-O-p-coumaroylquinic acid were the most abundant phenolic compounds in the vegetable. The ethanolic extract of G. bicolor showed appreciable antioxidant activity as analyzed by radical scavenging and reduce power tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modified peanut shell (MPS) was prepared from peanut hull by chemical activation with H3PO4and carbonized, which was characterized by micrometrics ASAP-20, SEM, and EDS. Adsorption of Cu and CN−on MPS was investigated as a function of pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature and time. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to simulate the adsorption isotherms of Cu at different temperature. The thermodynamic date were calculated, the results suggest that adsorption process of Cu on MPS was spontaneous and endothermic. Pseudo second-order kinetic model fits the experimental curves of Cu well and adsorption curve of CN−fits the pseudo first-order kinetic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]