Search

We systematically study mass spectra and decay properties of P-wave Ξc′ baryons of the SU(3) flavor 6F, using the methods of QCD sum rules and light-cone sum rules within the framework of heavy quark effective theory. Our results suggest that the three excited Ξc0 baryons recently observed by LHCb can be well explained as P-wave Ξc′ baryons: the Ξc(2923)0 and Ξc(2939)0 are partner states of JP=1/2− and 3/2−, respectively, both of which contain one λ-mode orbital excitation; the Ξc(2965)0 has JP=3/2− and also contains one λ-mode orbital excitation. We propose to search for another P-wave Ξc′ state of JP=5/2− in the ΛcK/Ξcπ mass spectral in future experiments. Its mass is about 56−35+30 MeV larger than the Ξc(2965)0, and its width is about 18.1−8.3+19.7 MeV.

We use the method of QCD sum rules to study the mass spectrum of the Ξb(6227) and Σb(6097) recently observed by LHCb. We also use the method of light-cone sum rules to study their decay properties. Our results suggest that they can be well interpreted as P-wave bottom baryons with JP = 3/2−.

We investigate $P$-wave bottom baryons of the $SU(3)$ flavor ${\mathbf{6}}_{F}$, and systematically study their $D$-wave decays into ground-state bottom baryons and pseudoscalar mesons. Together with [H. X. Chen et al., Phys. Rev. D 91, 054034 (2015); Q. Mao et al., Phys. Rev. D 92, 114007 (2015); H. X. Chen et al., Phys. Rev. D 95, 094008 (2017); H. M. Yang et al.,Eur. Phys. J. C 80, 80 (2020)], a rather complete study is performed on both mass spectra and decay properties of $P$-wave bottom baryons, using the method of QCD sum rules and light-cone sum rules within the framework of heavy quark effective theory. Among all the possibilities, we find four ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}$, four ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Xi}}}_{b}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, and six ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{b}$ baryons, with limited widths and so capable of being observed. Their masses, mass splittings within the same multiplets, and decay properties are extracted (summarized in Table VI) for future experimental searches.

Context.— Serosal involvement (pT4a category) and lymphovascular invasion have prognostic significance in colorectal carcinoma, but are subject to interobserver variation in assessment. Objectives.— To provide the first large-scale assessment of interobserver variability in pT4a category and lymphovascular invasion reporting in real-world practice and to explore the impact of information from guidelines on variability in reporting these features. Design.— Analysis of 1555 consecutive synoptic reports of colorectal carcinoma was performed using multivariate logistic regression. Interobserver variability before and after the presentation of guideline information was assessed using an image-based survey. Results.— Significant differences in the odds of reporting pT4a versus pT3 category, detecting lymphovascular invasion of any type, and detecting large vessel invasion were identified among hospital sites and for individual pathologists compared with the median pathologist at the same site. Consistent with these results, interobserver agreement was only moderate in the image-based survey regarding T4a staging and lymphovascular invasion (all κ ≤ 0.57). The provision of information from guidelines did not tend to increase interobserver agreement in the survey, though responses in favor of using an elastic stain increased following recommendations for their use. However, when observers were provided with elastic-stained images, interobserver agreement remained only moderate (κ = 0.55). Conclusions.— Real-world reporting of pT4a category and lymphovascular invasion shows substantial variability at both local and regional levels. Our study underscores the need to address these features in quality initiatives, and provides a novel method through which existing synoptic data can be harnessed to monitor reporting patterns and provide individualized feedback.

Repeated implantation failure (RIF) is a common endocrine disease that causes female infertility and the etiology is unknown. The abnormal expression of key proteins and hormones at the maternal-fetal interface affected the maternal-fetal communication and leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The expression of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and AMH receptor II (AMHRII) was observed in the endometrium. This study aimed to investigate the expression of AMH and AMHRII at the human endometrium, decidual tissue, and blastocyst. Furthermore, the expression of AMH and AMHRII were examined in the RIF patients using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR to test the AMHRII expression. The results demonstrated that AMH and AMHRII were present in healthy endometrium and AMHRII was highly expressed in mid-luteal phase. In addition, AMHRII expression was detected throughout the pregnancy and AMHRII's highest expression was in the second trimester. AMHRII was expressed in the blastocysts; however, AMH was not observed. The positive expression rate for AMHRII was significantly higher in the endometrium from RIF. Estrogen receptor (ER), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1(IGFBP1), and prolactin (PRL) were significantly less expressed in RIF with high expression of AMHRII. The apoptosis was significantly higher in patients with high expression of AMHRII than in patients with normal expression of AMHRII. Our data suggests that AMHRII had an effect on RIF via the AMH and AMHRII signaling pathway. It participated in the development of RIF by interfering with endometrial decidualization and apoptosis.

To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of berberine in the treatment of dyslipidemia. In this review, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, and Medline(OVID) were retrieved from database establishment to January, 2019 in any language. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of berberine with or without lipid-lowering drugs vs placebo, without drugs or lipid-lowering drugs only in treatment of dyslipidemia were collected. Data extraction and paper quality assessment were conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook. Then RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis. A total of 25 trials were included, covering 3 042 cases, including 1 552 cases in the experimental group and 1 490 cases in the control group. The clinical heterogeneity of the included trials was relatively high, and the methodological quality of most trials was generally low, with bias in terms of random sequence generation, allocation hiding, blind method and result data. Interventions were divided into different subgroups for analysis. Meta-analysis suggested that use berberine alone or along with lipid lowing drugs could reduce TC, TG, LDL-C levels and increased HDL-C levels with statistically significant difference as compared with control group. As compared with control group, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse events. No severe adverse effects were reported in all trials. Berberine has good efficacy and safety in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Due to the quality limitations of the included trials, the above conclusions need to be further verified by high-quality, large sample size and multi-center clinical trials.

To qualitatively characterize the chemical composition of Guizhi Fuling Capsules using UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The analysis was performed on Agilent ZORBAX RRHD Eclipes Plus C_(18)(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.8 μm) column,that was eluted with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in a gradient mode. The flow rate was 0.4 mL·min~(-1), and column temperature was 30 ℃. Tandem mass spectrometry was acquired in both negative and positive ESI modes. These components were further analyzed based on high-resolution mass-to-charge ratios, fragment ion species, reference substances and literature data. In conclusion, a total of 200 compounds were identified, in which 40 were verified with reference substances. The current study laid a foundation for in-depth studies of its mass balance and pharmacodynamics.

Oxidative stress aggravates mitochondrial injuries and accelerates the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), which are important mechanisms contributing to vascular remodeling in hypertension. We put forward the hypothesis that Astaxanthin (ATX), known to possess strong features of antioxidant, could attenuate vascular remodeling by inhibiting VSMC proliferation and improving mitochondrial function. The potential effects of ATX were tested on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and cultured VSMCs that injured by angiotensin II (Ang II). The results showed that ATX lowered blood pressure, reduced aortic wall thickness and fibrosis, and decreased the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and H2O2 in tunica media. Moreover, ATX decreased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and ki67 in aortic VSMCs. In vitro, ATX mitigated VSMC proliferation and migration, decreased the level of cellular ROS, and balanced the activities of ROS-related enzymes including NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Besides, ATX mitigated Ca2+ overload, the overproduction of mitochondrial ROS (mtROS), mitochondrial dysfunction, mitochondrial fission, and Drp1 phosphorylation at Ser616. In addition, ATX enhanced mitophagy and mitochondrial biosynthesis by increasing the expression of PINK, parkin, mtDNA, mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam), and PGC-1α. The present study indicated that ATX could efficiently treat vascular remodeling through restraining VSMC proliferation and restoring mitochondrial function. Inhibiting mitochondrial fission by decreasing the phosphorylation of Drp1 and stimulating mitochondrial autophagy and biosynthesis via increasing the expression of PINK, parkin, Tfam, and PGC-1α may be part of its underlying mechanisms.

Due to limitations in early diagnosis and treatments of Parkinson's disease (PD), it is necessary to explore the neuropathological changes that occur early in PD progression and to design neuroprotective therapies to prevent or delay the ongoing degeneration process. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) has shown both diagnostic and therapeutic potential in preclinical studies on PD. Clinical trials using mGlu5 negative allosteric modulators to treat PD have, however, raised limitations about the neuroprotective role of mGlu5. It is likely that mGlu5 has different regulatory roles in different stages of PD. Here, we investigated a protective role of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-associated ligand (CAL) in the progression of PD by differential regulation of mGlu5 expression and activity to protect against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced neurotoxicity. Following treatment with 6-OHDA, mGlu5 and CAL expressions were elevated in the early stage and reduced in the late stage, both in vitro and in vivo. Activation of mGlu5 in the early stage by (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine, or blocking mGlu5 in the late stage by 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl) pyridine, increased cell survival and inhibited apoptosis, but these effects were significantly weakened by knockdown of CAL. CAL alleviated 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity by regulating mGlu5-mediated signaling pathways, thereby maintaining the physiological function of mGlu5 in different disease stages. In PD rat model, CAL deficiency aggravated 6-OHDA toxicity on dopaminergic neurons and increased motor dysfunction because of lack of regulation of mGlu5 activity. These data reveal a potential mechanism by which CAL specifically regulates the opposite activity of mGlu5 in progression of PD to protect against neurotoxicity, suggesting that CAL is a favorable endogenous target for the treatment of PD.

The heavy baryon system bounded by the strong interaction has a rich internal structure, so its mass spectra can have the fine structure similar to the line spectra of atom bounded by the electromagnetic interaction. We systematically study the internal structure of $P$-wave $\Omega_b$ baryons and calculate their $D$-wave decay properties. The present study, together with our previous studies on their mass spectra and $S$-wave decay properties, suggest that all the four excited $\Omega_b$ baryons recently discovered by LHCb can be well explained as $P$-wave $\Omega_b$ baryons, and their beautiful fine structure is directly related to the rich internal structure of $P$-wave $\Omega_b$ baryons., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, published in EPJC

We use the method of light-cone sum rules to study decay properties of P-wave bottom baryons belonging to the SU(3) flavor $$\mathbf {6}_F$$6F representation. In Cui et al. (Phys Rev D 99:094021, 2019) we have studied their mass spectrum and pionic decays, and found that the $$\varSigma _{b}(6097)$$Σb(6097) and $$\varXi _{b}(6227)$$Ξb(6227) can be well interpreted as P-wave bottom baryons of $$J^P = 3/2^-$$JP=3/2-. In this paper we further study their decays into ground-state bottom baryons and vector mesons. We propose to search for a new state $$\varXi _b({5/2}^-)$$Ξb(5/2-), that is the $$J^P = 5/2^-$$JP=5/2- partner state of the $$\varXi _{b}(6227)$$Ξb(6227), in the $$\varXi _b({5/2}^-) \rightarrow \varXi _b^{*}\rho \rightarrow \varXi _b^{*}\pi \pi $$Ξb(5/2-)→Ξb∗ρ→Ξb∗ππ decay process. Its mass is $$12 \pm 5$$12±5 MeV larger than that of the $$\varXi _{b}(6227)$$Ξb(6227).

Preparation of carbon supported nanometal catalysts were realized through the carbonization of metal precursor doped carboxymethyl cellulose under nitrogen condition. This carbon supported nanometal catalyst exhibited good activity in the reductive amination of amine. The results suggested a promising one-pot route based on economical and sustainable biomass towards the development of value carbon materials as effective catalyst for C-N bond synthesis reaction.

Iron oxides-doped carbon microspheres composites were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal methods using Fe (NO3)3·9H2O as the iron source and glucose as the carbon source. The morphology, particle size and crystal structure can be controlled flexibly by altering the concentration of ferric salts and glucose. The SEM and XRD were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of materials. The SEM images indicated that the composites were microspheres, and as the salts concentration increase, adhesion occurred between microspheres. The XRD results showed that the composites were composed of Fe3O4 and amorphous carbon. The materials were applied to photocatalytic degradation of dye wastewater and possessed high performance.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGlu)5 regulates microglia activation, which contributes to inflammation. However, the role of mGlu5 in neuroinflammation associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. Triptolide (T10) exerts potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects and protects neurons by inhibiting microglia activation. In this study, we investigated the role of mGlu5 in the anti-inflammatory effect of T10 in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced PD model. In cultured BV2 cells and primary microglia, blocking mGlu5 activity or knocking down its expression abolished T10-inhibited release of proinflammatory cytokines induced by LPS. Moreover, T10 up-regulated mGlu5 expression decreased by LPS through enhancing mRNA expression and protein stability. T10 also reversed the reduction in mGlu5 membrane localization and modulated receptor-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase activity induced by LPS. Pharmacological inhibition of signaling molecules increased nitric oxide level and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin (IL)-1β and -6 transcript levels that were downregulated by treatment with T10. Consistent with these in vitro findings, blocking mGlu5 attenuated the anti-inflammatory effects of T10 in an LPS-induced PD model and blocked the decreases in the number and morphology of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1-positive microglia and LPS-induced iNOS protein expression caused by T10 treatment. Besides, mGlu5 mediated the effect of T10 on microglia-induced astrocyte activation in vitro and in vivo. The findings provide evidence for a novel mechanism by which mGlu5 regulates T10-inhibited microglia activation via modulating protein expression of the receptor and its intracellular signaling. The study might contribute to the biological effects of Chinese herbs as an approach for protecting against neurotoxicity in PD.

Six undescribed pentacyclic triterpenoids including four triterpenoid aglycones, 1β,2a,3β,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid, 2a,3a,6β,19α,23-pentahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid, 2α,3α,20β,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-ursolic acid and 1β,2a,3β,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12,20(30)-dien-28-ursolic acid, and two triterpenoid glucosides, 2a,3a,23-trihydroxy-12,20(30)-dien-28-ursolic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranoside and 1-oxo-3β,23-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-β-d-xylopyranoside, along with 5 known triterpenoids were isolated from a CH3Cl-soluble extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic approaches. These compounds were assessed for their antioxidant effects on FFA-induced hepatic steatosis in HepG2 cells. The results revealed that three saponins and two aglycones markedly increased SOD activity and reduced MDA level.

Four new C-11 monosaccharide attached dammarane triterpenoid glycosides cypaliurusides S V (1–4), along with nine known dammarane triterpenoid glycosides (5–13) were isolated from a CHCl3-soluble extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. All characterized compounds were assayed for their cytotoxicities against HepG2 cells and 10 compounds were evaluated for the agonistic effects on sirtuin1 (SIRT1). The results showed that compounds 1, 5 and 6 were strongly cytotoxic in HepG2 cell line. Two dammarane triterpenoid glycosides 3 and 10 exhibited agonistic activities on SIRT1 with IC50 of 10 μM and 20 μM, respectively.

The capture and reuse of NH 4 + is an ideal solution to treat NH 4 + -containing wastewater. The capture and reuse process needs to be clean and cost-effective. Currently, however, there are many obstacles, particularly in the availability, cost, and recovery of the chemical sources required. Here, we demonstrate a clean and efficient method to capture and recycle NH 4 + by a dolomite-aided struvite precipitation process. Dolomite calcined carefully in CO 2 atmosphere was used as a Mg source to react with PO 4 3− (KH 2 PO 4 ) and NH 4 + in model wastewater (2000 mg L −1 NH 4 + ). The precipitation was performed at nMg 2+ :nNH 4 + :nPO 4 3− = 1:1:1.2 and pH = 8.0 for 2 h; 89.7% of NH 4 + was recovered in the form of struvite precipitate. The competition between K + and NH 4 + in the model wastewater led to the formation of K-struvite (MgKPO 4 ·6H 2 O) and struvite (MgNH 4 PO 4 ·6H 2 O). The formation of K-struvite resulted in a decrease in the NH 4 + removal rate. When struvite was heated at 110 °C for 4 h, the NH 4 + release rate from the thermolysis reached 75.7%. Thermolysis readily occurred as an unstable Ca 2+ -CO 3 2- -NH 4 + system formed in the mixture of MgNH 4 PO 4 ·6H 2 O and CaCO 3 . The elements Mg and P that were obtained during the struvite precipitation–thermolysis–reprecipitation process can be repeatedly used. After 6 cycles, under the conditions pH = 9.0, nMg 2+ :nNH 4 + :nPO 4 3− = 1:1:1 and reaction time of 2 h, up to 78.3% of NH 4 + was removed from the model wastewater.

Numerous epidemiological studies suggested that there is a variable cancer risk in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, the role of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) has been investigated in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced PD combined with liver cancer both in vitro and in vivo. We found that PD cellular model from 6-OHDA-lesioned MN9D cells suppressed the growth, migration, and invasion of Hepa1-6 cells via down-regulation of mGluR5-mediated ERK and Akt pathway. The application of 2-methyl-6-(phenylethyl)-pyridine and knockdown of mGluR5 further decreased the effect on Hepa-1-6 cells when co-cultured with conditioned media. The effect was increased by (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine and overexpression of mGluR5. Moreover, more release of glutamate from 6-OHDA-lesioned MN9D cells suppressed mGluR5-mediated effect of Hepa1-6 cells. Application of riluzole eliminated the increased glutamate release induced by 6-OHDA in MN9D cells and aggravated the suppressive effect on Hepa-1-6 cells. In addition, the growth of implanted liver cancer was inhibited in 6-OHDA induced PD-like rats, and was associated with increased glutamate release in the serum and down-regulation of mGluR5 in tumor tissue. Collectively, these results indicate that selective antagonism of glutamate and mGluR5 has a potentially beneficial effect in both liver cancer and PD, and thus may provide more understanding for the clinical investigation and further an additional therapeutic target for these two diseases.

In the search for novel solid acid catalysts for the gas-phase catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein, sepiolite clay minerals were activated with hydrochloric acid to produce acid-activated sepiolite catalysts. The effects of the activation process on the texture and acidity of acid-activated sepiolite, and their roles in gas-phase catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein, were then investigated. A series of acid-activated sepiolite catalysts were made from purified natural sepiolite treated with hydrochloric acid of different concentrations (0–8 mol/L) at 80 °C, followed by drying at 100 °C. The acid-activated sepiolite catalyst samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence analysis, scanning electronic microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, NH3-temperature-programmed desorption. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and pyridine adsorption followed by in situ infrared spectroscopy. The catalytic performances in gas-phase catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein were studied using a vertical fixed-bed reactor. Typically, a glycerol conversion of 92.9%, an acrolein selectivity of 59.4%, and a yield of acrolein of 55.2% were achieved when the gas-phase catalytic dehydration of glycerol was conducted over HCl (2 mol/L) acid-activated sepiolite catalyst at 320 °C with an aqueous glycerol solution (20 wt.%) at a rate of 0.10 ml/min as the feedstock and air as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 20 ml/min. The activation of the sepiolite with hydrochloric acid followed by drying can eliminate a portion of the zeolitic water in the tunnels, remove part of the magnesium and aluminum cations in the octahedral sheets of sepiolite, unbundle aggregated sepiolite fibers, and partly break the Si-O-Si in the tetrahedral sheets of sepiolite. These factors increased the porosity, the specific surface area and the acidity of the sepiolite. The partial leaching of magnesium and aluminum ions in the octahedral sheet generated octahedral vacancies and created Mg O Al+ sites in the octahedral sheets, thereby increasing the amount of Lewis acid sites. Along with penetration of H+ cations into the interlayered space of the sepiolite by an ion-exchange reaction and physicochemical surface adsorption, some breakage of the Si O Si bonds in the tetrahedral sheets generated more Si O H+, thus increasing the quantity of Bronsted acid sites. Furthermore, the strength of acidity of the hydrochloric acid-activated sepiolite was significantly changed after the acid activation. The medium-strong Bronsted acid sites (Si O H+ and H+ adsorbed on the surface) appeared to be beneficial for the high conversion of glycerol and the selectivity to acrolein. Lewis acid sites could facilitate the formation of acetol. Under the reaction conditions mentioned above, the coking on the hydrochloric acid-activated sepiolite catalysts readily occurred, rapidly leading to the decrease of the yield of acrolein.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects on chemical and microbiological properties of paddy soil of short-term biochar, straw, and chemical fertilizers compared with chemical fertilization alone. Five soil fertilization treatments were evaluated: regular chemical fertilizers (RF), straw+regular chemical fertilizers (SRF), straw biochar+regular chemical fertilizers (SCRF), bamboo biochar (BC)+regular chemical fertilizers (BCRF), and straw biochar+70% regular chemical fertilizers (SC+70%RF). Their effects were investigated after approximately 1.5 years. The soil pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were significantly higher in biochar-treated soils. The soil phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) contents increased with biochar application. The soil Colwell P content was significantly increased with the addition of straw biochar in the treatments of SCRF and SC+70%RF. The oxygen (0):carbon (C) ratio doubled in BC picked from the soil. This indicated that BC underwent a significant oxidation process in the soil. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints of microbial communities differed among the treatments. Soils with added biochar had higher Shannon diversity and species richness indices than soils without biochars. The results suggest that biochar can improve soil fertility.

Anorectal melanoma is a rare disease that carries a poor prognosis. To date, limited genetic analyses confirmed KIT mutations as a recurrent genetic event similar to other mucosal melanomas, occurring in up to 30% of anorectal melanomas. Importantly, a subset of tumors harboring activating KIT mutations have been found to respond to c-Kit inhibitor-based therapy, with improved patient survival at advanced tumor stages. We performed comprehensive targeted exon sequencing analysis of 467 cancer-related genes in a larger series of 15 anorectal melanomas, focusing on potentially actionable variants based on gain- and loss-of-function mutations. We report the identification of oncogenic driver events in the majority (93%) of anorectal melanomas. These included variants in canonical MAPK pathway effectors rarely observed in cutaneous melanomas (including an HRAS mutation, as well as a BRAF mutation resulting in duplication of threonine 599), and recurrent mutations in the tumor suppressor NF1 in 20% of cases, which represented the second-most frequently mutated gene after KIT in our series. Furthermore, we identify SF3B1 mutations as a recurrent genetic event in mucosal melanomas. Our findings provide an insight into the genetic diversity of anorectal melanomas, and suggest significant potential for alternative targeted therapeutics in addition to c-Kit inhibitors for this melanoma subtype.

Objective To observe the effects of Huannao Yicong Formula (还脑益聪方, HYF) on learning and memory and it’s regulating effect on γ-secretase related anterior pharynx defective 1 (APH-1), presenilin enhancer-2 (PEN-2) signaling pathway, so as to discuss and further clarify the mechanism of HYF on Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) of the colorectum are rare but highly aggressive neoplasms. These tumors show some shared genetic alterations with colorectal adenocarcinomas, and most of them have adjacent glandular adenoma or adenocarcinoma components. However, genetic data on colorectal NECs still are sparse and insufficient for definite conclusions regarding their molecular origin. Based on morphological characterization, panel and whole-exome sequencing, we here present results from an in-depth analysis of a collection of 15 colorectal NECs with glandular components, 10 of which by definition were mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinomas (MANECs). Among shared genetic alterations of both tumor components, we most frequently found TP53, KRAS and APC mutations that also had highest allele frequencies. Mutations exclusive to glandular or neuroendocrine components outnumbered shared mutations but occurred at lower allele frequencies. Our findings not only provide additional evidence for a common clonal origin of colorectal NECs and adjacent glandular tumor components, but strongly suggest their development through the classical adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Moreover, our data imply early separation of glandular and neuroendocrine components during malignant transformation with subsequent independent mutational evolution.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as programmed cell death-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab have been shown to be effective in metastatic malignancies such as advanced melanoma. Immune-related adverse effects on multiple organs have been described, such as colitis, skin rash, and hypothyroidism. We present the case of a 44-year-old man with advanced melanoma and recurrent lung metastases who developed symptoms of dyspepsia and gastroesophageal reflux disease after 1 month of therapy with pembrolizumab. Gastric biopsy showed histologic features consistent with lymphocytic gastritis, which was absent on a biopsy 2 months before initiation of therapy. Lymphocytic infiltrates likely secondary to increased autoimmunity after use of immunotherapy have been observed in the colon; however, such histologic findings in the upper gastrointestinal tract have yet to be described. Here, we present a case of lymphocytic gastritis in a patient treated with pembrolizumab, suggesting a new manifestation of toxicity.

We use the method of QCD sum rules within the framework of heavy quark effective theory to study the mass spectrum of the ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}(6097{)}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Xi}}}_{b}(6227{)}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, and use the method of light cone sum rules still within the heavy quark effective theory to study their decay properties. Our results suggest that they can be well interpreted as $P$-wave bottom baryons with the spin-parity ${J}^{P}=3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. They belong to the baryon doublet $[{\mathbf{6}}_{F},2,1,\ensuremath{\lambda}]$, where the total and spin angular momenta of the light degree of freedom are ${j}_{l}=2$ and ${s}_{l}=1$, and the orbital angular momentum is between the bottom quark and the two-light-quark system ($\ensuremath{\lambda}$-type). This doublet contains six bottom baryons, and we predict masses (mass differences) and decay widths of the other four states to be ${M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{b}(3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}=6.46\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.12\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{b}(3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}={58}_{\ensuremath{-}33}^{+65}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, ${M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}(5/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}\ensuremath{-}{M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}(3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}=13\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, ${M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Xi}}}_{b}^{\ensuremath{'}}(5/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}\ensuremath{-}{M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Xi}}}_{b}^{\ensuremath{'}}(3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}=12\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, and ${M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{b}(5/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}\ensuremath{-}{M}_{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{b}(3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}})}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}11\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$. We propose to search for them in further LHCb experiments.

Targeting mGluR5 has been an attractive strategy to modulate glutamate excitotoxicity for neuroprotection. Although human clinical trials using mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) have included some disappointments, recent investigations have added several more attractive small molecules to this field, providing a promise that the identification of more additional strategies to modulate mGluR5 activity might be potentially beneficial for the advancement of PD treatment. Here, we determined the role of the interacting partner CAL (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator–associated ligand) in mGluR5-mediated protection in vitro and in vivo. In astroglial C6 cells, CAL deficiency blocked (S)-3, 5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG)-elicited p-AKT and p-ERK1/2, subsequently prevented group I mGluRs-mediated anti-apoptotic protection, which was blocked by receptor antagonist 1-aminoindan-1, 5-dicarboxylic acid (AIDA), and PI3K or MEK inhibitor LY294002 or U0126. In rotenone-treated MN9D cells, both CAL and mGluR5 expressions were decreased in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and the correlation between these 2 proteins was confirmed by lentivirus-delivered CAL overexpression and knockdown. Moreover, CAL coupled with mGluR5 upregulated mGluR5 protein expression by inhibition of ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation to suppress mGluR5-mediated p-JNK and to protect against cell apoptosis. Additionally, CAL also inhibited rotenone-induced glutamate release to modulate mGluR5 activity. Furthermore, in the rotenone-induced rat model of PD, AAV-delivered CAL overexpression attenuated behavioral deficits and dopaminergic neuronal death, while CAL deficiency aggravated rotenone toxicity. On the other hand, the protective effect of the mGluR5 antagonist MPEP was weakened by knocking down CAL. In vivo experiments also confirmed that CAL inhibited ubiquitination-proteasome-dependent degradation to modulate mGluR5 expression and JNK phosphorylation. Our findings show that CAL protects against cell apoptosis via modulating mGluR5 activity, and may be a new molecular target for an effective therapeutic strategy for PD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13311-019-00730-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent form of chronic liver diseases. Cyclocarya paliurus (C. paliurus), an edible and medicinal plant in Chinese folk, has been demonstrated to ameliorate diabetes, obesity and lipid metabolism disorders. However, its effects on NAFLD and its potential molecular mechanism have not been clearly expounded. Purpose The present study was designed to explore the therapeutic potential of triterpenic acids-enriched fraction from C. paliurus (CPT), as well as its underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro models of NAFLD. Methods The metabolic effects and possible molecular mechanism of CPT were examined using HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes (isolated from C57BL/6 J mice) models of fatty liver induced by palmitic acid (PA) and a high fat diet mouse model. Results In high fat diet-induced C57BL/6 J mice, CPT significantly reduced liver weight index, serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and hepatic TG, TC levels. Moreover, CPT dramatically decreased the contents of blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index. Meanwhile, CPT significantly increased the tyrosine phosphorylation level of IRS and the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) in PA-induced HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes fatty liver models. Furthermore, in PA-induced HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes, CPT significantly decreased the number of lipid droplets and intracellular TG content. In addition, mechanism investigation showed that CPT increased the phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt) and glycogen synthase-3β (GSK3β) in vivo and in vitro models, which were abrogated by PI3K inhibitor LY294002 in vitro models. Conclusion These findings indicate that CPT may exert the therapeutic effects on NAFLD via regulating PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway.

In 2011, a new classification of lung adenocarcinoma was published. Since then there have been multiple studies regarding observer variability in predominant subtype determination, with levels of agreement generally in the weak to moderate range. In the 2011 and subsequent WHO 2015 classification, a recommendation was also made to visually assess and record the percentage of each subtype in 5% increments. The present study was initiated to determine the reproducibility of such gestalt assessments and to compare these data to a formal morphometric assessment. Five experienced pathologists reviewed multiple single images of 25 adenocarcinomas, taken at 2× and 10×, and estimated the percentage of lepidic, acinar, papillary, micropapillary, and solid components in 5% increments. After 2 months all the pathologists again reviewed the same images presented to them in a different order. We found that there was poor reproducibility within observers at 2× power using a 5% evaluation, but that this improved using 10% or 25% cutoffs. Use of 10× magnification allowed weak to moderate reproducibility at 5% increments, and this was again improved using 10% or 25% cutoffs. Correlation with morphometric assessment was poor except for the papillary and micropapillary subtypes. Differences among pathologists were generally low except for the acinar and, to a lesser degree, lepidic subtypes, which showed a wide spread of data. When estimating tumor subtype proportions, use of a 10× objective, and utilization of 10% or preferably 25% cutoffs provides a greater degree of consistency than a 5% cutoff.

We report the discovery of a rule-breaking two-dimensional aluminum boride (AlB

We investigate the Hall effects of quadratic band crossing (QBC) fermions in a square optical lattice with spin–orbit coupling and orbital Zeeman term. We find that the orbital Zeeman term and shaking play critical roles in the systems, which can drive a topological transition from spin Hall phases to anomalous Hall phase with nonvanishing (spin) Chern numbers. Due to the interplay among the orbital Zeeman term, spin–orbit coupling, and the shaking, the phase diagram of the system exhibits rich phases, which are characterized by Chern number.

We investigate the photoconductivities of injection current and the shift current in transition metal dichalcogenide with warping term in the presence of sublattice potential and spin orbit coupling. The system shows the valley photoconductivities of injection current and the photoconductivities of shift current. It is found that the warping term and the geometric tensor play a critical role in the system, which are responsible for the photoconductivities. Due to the interplay between the sublattice potential and the spin orbit coupling, the photoconductivities can be tuned. Furthermore, the effect of warping term on geometric tensor and the amplitude of the photoconductivities are also discussed.

Anabolic steroids are well-known to cause liver injury, which may manifest with jaundice and elevated liver enzymes. Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) have been developed to enhance muscle bulk without the side effects associated with exogenous androgen steroids. We report a case of significant cholestatic liver injury associated with a SARM, ostarine (enobosarm), similar to that associated with anabolic steroids. Liver injury from SARMs has not been reported frequently, and we speculate that this may be seen more often as the consumption of SARMs increases in the athletic market.

Although there are numerous strategies to counteract the death of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD), there are currently no treatments that delay or prevent the disease course, indicating that early protective treatments are needed. Targeting axonal degeneration, a key initiating event in PD, is required to develop novel therapies; however, its underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we studied axonal degeneration induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in vitro and in vivo. We found that metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) expression increased during 6-OHDA-induced axonal degeneration in primary neurons and that blockade of mGluR5 by its antagonists 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP) and 3-[(2-methyl-1, 3-thiazol-4-yl) ethynyl]-pyridine (MTEP) almost completely attenuated the degenerative process in vitro. Furthermore, a rapid increase in intra-axonal calcium levels following 6-OHDA treatment was visualized using a calcium-sensitive fluorescence probe and a calcium chelator prevented the axonal degenerative process induced by 6-OHDA in vitro, whereas application of the mGluR5 antagonist MPEP partially attenuated the increase in intra-axonal calcium. The screening of calcium targets revealed that calpain activation and an increase in phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) were calcium dependent during 6-OHDA-induced axonal degeneration in vitro. Consistent with these in vitro findings, blockade of mGluR5 with MPEP attenuated the degeneration of dopaminergic axons induced by 6-OHDA injection into the striatum prior to soma death in the early stage of PD in an in vivo animal model. In addition, MPEP inhibited the increase in mGluR5 expression levels, calpain activation and the elevation of p-ERK in the striatum triggered by 6-OHDA injection in vivo. Taken together, these data identify an mGluR5-calcium-dependent cascade that causes axonal degeneration, and suggest that mGluR5 antagonists could provide effective therapy to prevent the disease process of PD.

A 20-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and MRI findings of intussusception of the distal small bowel with no identifiable lead point and no visualisation of the appendix. A diagnostic laparoscopy succeeded in manually reducing the intussusception but was unable to find any candidate lead point. Intraoperatively, hyperperistalsis was observed throughout the small bowel which seemed prone to transient intussusception. Incidental appendectomy revealed an uninflamed appendix with Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infestation, the most common parasite present in appendectomy specimens worldwide. Although intussusception in young adults is an uncommon occurrence, the unique nature of this case is amplified by the concurrent finding of E. vermicularis infection of the appendix in an adolescent in western Canada, a phenomenon normally observed in paediatric populations with higher incidence in tropical areas. Although the mechanism of intussusception in this patient remains unclear, it is hypothesised that E. vermicularis colonisation acted as an irritant stimulating intestinal hypercontractility with resulting intussusception. Successful medical eradication of the pinworm in this individual may prevent future recurrence.

Bi2WO6/Bi2O3/WO3 composites were successfully prepared by a facile carbon adsorption strategy. The structure of Bi2WO6 composites can be controlled by adjusting Bi/W molar ratio and precursor pH. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was assessed for the degradation of metronidazole under visible light irradiation. The Bi2WO6/WO3 composite synthesized at Bi/W molar ratio of 1:1 displayed higher photocatalytic performance than other samples due to its WO3-Bi2WO6 n–n heterojunction and narrow bandgap and which made this sample respond to visible light, especially the wavelength after 500 nm and efficiently inhibited recombination of electron–hole pairs. The presence of NaCl in metronidazole solution significantly decreased photodegradation efficiency of metronidazole from 93.3 to 65.2% within 180 min. The negative effect of NaCl on degradation activity can be ascribed to quenching of oxidizing radicals and valence band holes.

Fly ash is the fine solid particulate residue driven out of the boiler with the flue gases in coal-fired power plants. Now it can be used for making geopolymer which acts as a cement-like product. The geopolymer technology provides an alternative good solution to the utilization of fly ash with little negative impact on environment. This review summarizes and examines the scientific advances in the preparation, properties and applications of fly ash-based geopolymer. The production of fly ash-based geopolymer is mainly based on alkali activated geopolymerization which can occur under mild conditions and is considered as a cleaner process due to much lower CO 2 emission than that from the production of cement. The geopolymerization can trap and fix the trace toxic metal elements from fly ash or external sources. The Si/Al ratios, the type and the amount of the alkali solution, the temperature, the curing conditions, and the additives are critical factors in a geopolymerization process. The mechanical performances of the fly ash-based geopolymer, including compressive strength, flexural and splitting tensile strength, and durability such as the resistance to chloride, sulfate, acid, thermal, freeze-thaw and efflorescence, are the primary concerns. These properties of fly ash-based geopolymer are inherently dependent upon the chemical composition and chemical bonding and the porosity. The mechanical properties and durability can be improved by fine tuning Si/Al ratios, alkali solutions, curing conditions, and adding slag, fiber, rice husk-bark ash and red mud. Fly ash-based geopolymer is expected to be used as a kind of novel green cement. Fly ash-based geopolymer can be used as a class of materials to adsorb and immobilize toxic or radioactive metals. The factors affecting the performances of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete, in particular aggregate, are discussed. For future studies on fly ash-based geopolymer, further enhancing mechanical performance, scaling up production and exploring new applications are suggested.

Montmorillonite-hydrochar nanocomposite is of great significance in biofuel production, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, environmental protection, and biology and medicine. To understand how montmorillonite facilitates the conversion of cellulose into hydrochar, it is essential to accurately control the properties and structure of hydrochar and its nanocomposites for technological applications. In this work, hydrochar and montmorillonite-hydrochar nanocomposites were produced by hydrothermal carbonization of cellulose at 200 °C for 2–24 h in the absence and the presence of montmorillonite. The roles of montmorillonite in the formation of hydrochar were explored in detail. Results showed that montmorillonite acted as a catalyst, an adsorbent, and an inorganic template for hydrochar formation. The formation process of montmorillonite-hydrochar nanocomposite can be divided into two stages: first, the hydrolysis of cellulose yielding degraded liquid products (e.g. glucose, fructose, and organic acids); second, the formed liquid products were adsorbed by montmorillonite, which catalyzed condensation and aromatization to form hydrochar particles on the surface of montmorillonite.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease characterized by chronic recurrent dermatitis with profound itching. Most patients have personal and/or family history of atopic diseases. Several criteria have been proposed for the diagnosis of AD. Although the clinical features of childhood AD have been widely studied, there has been less large-scale study on adult/adolescent AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of adult/adolescent patients with chronic symmetrical eczema/AD and to propose Chinese diagnostic criteria for adult/adolescent AD. Methods: A hospital-based study was performed. Forty-two dermatological centers participated in this study. Adult and adolescent patients (12 years and over) with chronic symmetrical eczema or AD were included in this study. Questionnaires were completed by both patients and investigators. The valid questionnaires were analyzed using EpiData 3.1 and SPSS 17.0 software. Results: A total of 2662 valid questionnaires were collected (1369 male and 1293 female). Of all 2662 patients, 2062 (77.5%) patients had the disease after 12 years old, while only 600 (22.5%) patients had the disease before 12 years old, suggesting late-onset eczema/AD is common. Two thousand one hundred and thirty-nine (80.4%) patients had the disease for more than 6 months. One thousand one hundred and forty-four (43.0%) patients had a personal and/or family history of atopic diseases. One thousand five hundred and forty-eight (58.2%) patients had an elevated total serum IgE and/or eosinophilia and/or positive allergen-specific IgE. Based on these clinical and laboratory features, we proposed Chinese criteria for adult/adolescent AD. Of all 2662 patients, 60.3% were satisfied with our criteria, while only 48.2% satisfied with Hanifin Rajka criteria and 32.7% satisfied with Williams criteria, suggesting a good sensitivity of our criteria in adult/adolescent AD patients. Conclusion: Late-onset of eczema or AD is common. The clinical manifestations of AD are heterogeneous. We have proposed Chinese diagnostic criteria for adolescent and adult AD, which are simple and sensitive for diagnosis of adult/adolescent AD.

We study the &Lambda, b ( 6146 ) 0 and &Lambda, b ( 6152 ) 0 recently observed by LHCb using the method of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) sum rules within the framework of heavy quark effective theory. Our results suggest that they can be interpreted as D-wave bottom baryons of J P = 3 / 2 + and 5 / 2 + respectively, both of which contain two &lambda, mode excitations. We also investigate other possible assignments containing &rho, mode excitations. We extract all the parameters that are necessary to study their decay properties when using the method of light-cone sum rules. We predict masses of their strangeness partners to be m &Xi, b ( 3 / 2 + ) = 6.26 &minus, 0.14 + 0.11 GeV and m &Xi, b ( 5 / 2 + ) = 6.26 &minus, 0.14 + 0.11 GeV with the mass splitting &Delta, M = m &Xi, b ( 5 / 2 + ) &minus, m &Xi, b ( 3 / 2 + ) = 4.5 &minus, 1.5 + 1.9 MeV, and propose to search for them in future CMS, EIC, and LHCb experiments.

FSH plays a key role in the function of the reproductive system of human beings and is widely used both diagnostically and therapeutically in reproductive medicine. With the growing incidence of infertility, the demand for FSH pharmaceutical products is increasing. For this reason, the quality control process for FSH products is becoming more stringent. An accurate determination of bioactivity is crucial for the safety and efficacy of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone (rhFSH). Up to now, in-vivo bioassay based on FSH-induced increases in rat ovarian weight has been the only method widely accepted by different pharmacopoeias. However this method has such drawbacks as the complex procedures, long assay period and high variability. Here, we established a reporter gene assay (RGA) based on the CHO-K1-FSHR-CRE-Luc cell line that stably expresses human follicle stimulating hormone receptor (hFSHR), as well as a luciferase reporter under the control of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response elements (CRES). Our study showed that our new assay not only has good dose-dependent responsiveness to rhFSH, but it also performs excellently in terms of specificity, precision, linearity, and simplicity compared with in-vivo rat bioassays. These results implied that this robust reporter gene assay may be a viable supplement to the animal in-vivo bioassay and may be employed in potency determination of rhFSH pharmaceutical products.

Fibrolamellar carcinoma is a rare primary hepatocellular malignancy arising in noncirrhotic livers of young individuals. Patients commonly present with a large solitary liver mass and nonspecific symptoms. Characteristic histologic features include large polygonal cells with oncocytic cytoplasm and prominent nucleoli separated into trabeculae and cords by dense parallel bands of collagen. Important differential diagnoses include classical hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which may be distinguished by a judicious panel of immunohistochemical studies, including cytokeratin 7, CD68, and hepatocyte paraffin 1 (HepPar-1). In addition, fibrolamellar carcinomas are characterized by activation of protein kinase A. Prognosis of fibrolamellar carcinoma is similar to classical hepatocellular carcinoma occurring in the absence of liver cirrhosis and is strongly correlated with tumor resectability. Other treatment options include liver transplant, chemotherapy, and hepatic artery embolization. In this article, we review the clinical features, gross and microscopic pathology, molecular genetics, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this rare and interesting tumor.

The paper proposes an analytical framework for evaluating, in the case of interrupted conditions, the effect of bus bridging services on the degree of connectivity of rail networks. The average travel time is used to compare a normal network and an interrupted rail network. Different situations in interrupted rail network are compared with a normal network, namely, making passengers wait for troubleshooting, detouring them to other routes, and the bus bridging service strategy. The study uses ratios of average travel time under various situations to assess the connectivity of interrupted rail transit. The approach is applied to a case study based on the Beijing public transit system and actual travel data. It found that bus bridging is a relatively effective method of enhancing the connectivity of metro network and minimizing delays. In particular, key factors such as the behavior of affected passengers, the willingness to use bus bridging service, and transfer passenger, which influence connectivity of interrupted rail networks with bus bridging services, are provided.

The post-marketing re-evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a crucial stage for drug evaluation. Due to the particularity of TCM, it is necessary to re-evaluate the effectiveness of certain Chinese medicines by studying and collecting the studies on safety of long-term/extensive populations under actual clinical application, in order to verify the effectiveness of post-marketing TCM. However, there is an absence in technical specifications for relevant clinical trials on re-evaluation of effectiveness at present. As a consequence, the preliminary technical specifications were drafted in this article, focusing on several perspectives related to the re-evaluation of post-marketing clinical effectiveness of TCM, including ethical protection, research plan formulation, real-world research methods, randomized controlled trial methods, research methods of clinical pharmacological mechanism, sublimation method of TCM theory and so on. The objective of writing this article is to provide general methodological guidance for the re-evaluation of TCM post-marketing effectiveness, so that the process and results of post-marketing re-evaluation of TCM can be more scientific and reasonable.

Older asthmatic patients may develop fixed airway obstruction and clinical signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We investigated the added value of pathological evaluation of bronchial biopsies to help differentiate asthma from COPD, taking into account smoking, age, and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use. Asthma and COPD patients (24 of each category) were matched for ICS use, age, FEV1, and smoking habits. Five pulmonary and five general pathologists examined bronchial biopsies using an interactive website, without knowing patient information. They were asked to diagnose asthma or COPD on biopsy findings in both a pairwise and randomly mixed order of cases during four different phases, with intervals of 4–6 weeks, covering a maximal period of 36 weeks. Clinically concordant diagnoses of asthma or COPD varied between 63 %-73 %, without important differences between pairwise vs randomly mixed examination or between general vs pulmonary pathologists. The highest percentage of concordant diagnoses was in young asthmatic patients without ICS use and in COPD patients with ICS use. In non ICS users with fixed airway obstruction, a COPD diagnosis was favored if abnormal presence of glands, squamous metaplasia, and submucosal infiltrate was present and an asthma diagnosis in case of abnormal presence of goblet cells. In ICS users with fixed airway obstruction, abnormal presence of submucosal infiltrates, basement membrane thickening, eosinophils, and glands was associated with asthma. Histological characteristics in bronchial biopsies are reproducibly recognized by pathologists, yet the differentiation by histopathology between asthma and COPD is difficult without information about ICS use. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00428-015-1824-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) is known to play an important role in protecting against cell death. However, the mechanism for control of Trx1 in cell death resulting from DNA damage has not been fully investigated. In this study, we used the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) to investigate the protective effects of Trx1 against DNA damage and cell death in HEK293 cells. We found that MMS application caused dose-dependent changes in the Trx1 redox state determined by redox western blotting. At lower concentrations, both reduced and oxidized Trx1 were observed, whereas the reduced band was fully oxidized at the higher concentration. Trx1 overexpression and small interfering RNA knockdown in cells revealed that reduced Trx1 after exposure to lower doses of MMS attenuated DNA damage, assessed by comet assay, and level of the DNA-damage marker histone γ-H2AX, possibly through scavenging intracellular ROS and an increase in p21 protein level via enhancing its stability. However, oxidized Trx1 lost its protective ability to DNA damage in response to higher concentration of MMS. Corresponding to the redox state control of Trx1, cell death induced by different dose of MMS was also found, by inhibiting phosphorylations of p38 and 4E-BP1. These results indicate that reduced Trx1 plays important protective roles against MMS-induced DNA damage and cell death, suggesting that cell protection is regulated by the intracellular redox state. Control of the redox state of Trx1 and its regulating proteins may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for the control of cancer.