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Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection with a high mortality. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an important regulatory factor in inflammation. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of 5-HT on cecal ligation and puncture- (CLP-) induced sepsis in the mouse model. CLP was performed on C57B/6 wild-type (WT) mice and tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) knockout (KO) mice. The results showed that the 5-HT-sufficient group mice had a significantly lower survival rate than the 5-HT-deficient group in CLP-induced sepsis and septic shock. The KO-CLP sepsis group received a lower clinical score than the WT-CLP sepsis group. Meanwhile, the body temperature of mice in the KO-CLP sepsis group was higher than that in the WT-CLP sepsis group and was much closer to the normal body temperature 24 hours after CLP. The tissue histopathology analysis revealed that 5-HT markedly exacerbated histological damages in the peritoneum, lung, liver, kidney, intestinal tissue, and heart in sepsis. Moreover, significant lower levels of TNF-α, IL-6, bacterial loads, MPO, and ROS were discovered in the KO-CLP sepsis group in contrast to the WT-CLP sepsis group. In conclusion, 5-HT drives mortality and exacerbates organ dysfunction by promoting serum cytokines and bacterial loads as well as facilitating oxidative stress in the process of sepsis.

Background/Aims: Stem cell-based therapy is attractive in many clinical studies, but current data on the safety of stem cell applications remains inadequate. This study observed the safety, immunological effect of cynomolgus monkey umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (mUC-MSCs) injected into cynomolgus monkeys, in order to evaluate the safety of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) prepared for human clinical application. Methods: Eighteen cynomolgus monkeys were divided into three groups. Group 1 is control group, Group 2 is low-dose group, Group 3 is high-dose group. After repeated administrations of mUC-MSCs, cynomolgus monkeys were observed for possible toxic reactions. Results: During the experiment, no animal died. There were no toxicological abnormalities in body weight, body temperature, electrocardiogram, coagulation and pathology. In the groups 2 and 3, AST and CK transiently increased, and serum inorganic P slightly decreased. All animals were able to recover at 28 days after the infusion was stopped. In the groups 2 and 3, CD3+ and IL-6 levels significantly increased, and recovery was after 28 days of infusion. There were no obvious pathological changes associated with the infusion of cells in the general and microscopic examinations. Conclusions: The safe dosage of repeated intravenous infusion of mUC-MSCs in cynomolgus monkeys is 1.0 × 107/kg, which is 10 times of that in clinical human use.

The pretreatment nutritional and immunological status play indispensable roles in predicting the outcome of patients with various types of malignancies. The aim of the study was to investigate whether preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI), which simply accounts for nutritional and immunological status, was associated with overall survival (OS) in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). The retrospective study included a total of 315 GBC patients after surgery between 2002 and 2012. PNI was calculated according to the following formula: 10× serum albumin (g/dl) +0.005× total lymphocyte count (per mm3). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for survival prediction was plotted to verify the optimal cutoff value for LMR, which was set at 46.14. According the value, patients were categorized into two different groups, namely high-PNI group (n = 133) and low-PNI group (n = 182). The univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify the independent prognostic factors. The results showed that low pretreatment PNI value was significantly associated with elderly age, partial surgery procedure, and advanced tumor status such as tumor stage, node stage, and tumor-node-metastasis stage (P

We aimed to compare the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) and PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation in the treatment of advanced extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). A total of 184 advanced EHC patients, who received PTBS (PTBS group) or PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation (PTBS + 125I group) from January 2012 to April 2017 in our department, were retrospectively reviewed. The improvement of jaundice and liver function was observed in both groups. The postoperative complications, risk of biliary re-obstruction, and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Amongst, 71 cases received PTBS and 113 had the additional implantation of 125I particles. The jaundice and liver function were significantly improved in all patients, especially in PTBS + 125I group. There was no significant difference in the risk of postoperative complications between the two groups. However, the risk of biliary re-obstruction significantly reduced in PTBS + 125I group (19.5% vs. 35.2%, p = 0.017). Kaplan Meier analysis showed that patients in PTBS + 125I group had a significantly better OS, both for hilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma. Univariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), total bilirubin, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and different therapeutic method were significant factors affecting OS. Multivariate analysis further identified the treatment of PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation as an independent protective prognostic factor (HR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.17–0.39, p 125I particles implantation is superior to PTBS alone in improving liver function, inhibiting biliary re-obstruction, and prolonging survival time.

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) has been reported as a safe and efficacious treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, in cirrhosis patients, LH may be more ...

Alkaloids, the principal constituents in the caulis of Sinomenium acutum, have gained an increasing interest over the past decades since they are widely employed as a clinical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. In the present study, an integrated characterization strategy by combining mass defect filtering-based structure classification (MDFSC) and diagnostic fragment-ion-based extension (DFIBE) was firstly proposed for rapid profiling of alkaloids in Sinomenii Caulis (SC) via ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). The rectangular MDFSC window could more accurately screen the target alkaloids of different types, and the DFIBE could facilitate the acquisition of characteristic fragment ions for structural elucidation of alkaloids. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprints with principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) was established for identifying the chemical markers and simultaneous determination of sinomenine, magnoflorine, menisperine, stepharanine and ehydrodiscretine. A total of 91 alkaloids, including 82 targeted ones (26 morphinans, 22 aporphines, 20 protoberberines and 14 benzylisoquinolines) were unambiguously identified or tentatively characterized in SC, and 14 of them were reported for the first time. Sinomenine and magnoflorine could be selected as chemical markers to evaluate the quality of SC from different localities. In conclusion, the proposed method provided a potential approach for chemical profiling and holistic quality control of herbal medicines.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Monascus-fermented rice product (MFRP) has been regarded as a dietary supplement and traditional medicine with circulation-promoting effects in China and other countries for centuries. Aim of the study This study was carried out to profile the chemical components in MFRP, and provide available information for elucidating the potential lipid-lowering compounds other than monacolins. Materials and methods High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF MS) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods were applied to comprehensive analysis of chemical components in MFRP. Potential small molecules were identified by comparing with reference standards, or tentatively characterized by comparing their retention time and high-resolution mass spectral data with previous literature. The lipid-lowering properties of ten major non-monacolin compounds were evaluated in cholesterol-fed zebrafish larvae. And one with optimum lipid-lowering activity was subsequently evaluated in high fat diet-fed C57BL/6 J mice, with the dyslipidemia and ectopic lipid deposition being investigated. Results A total of 99 compounds were characterized in MFRP, including 38 monacolins, 5 decalins, 6 isoflavones, 13 pigments, 8 azaphilonoids, 11 amino acids, 4 nucleosides, 9 lipid acids, 4 phytosterols and glycerol. The preliminary screening showed that ergosterol remarkably reduced cholesterol levels in zebrafish larvae. Moreover, ergosterol delayed body weight gain and decreased circulating total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in high fat diet-fed mice. Ectopic lipid accumulation was also ameliorated in the liver and heart of obese mice. Conclusion Global analysis of chemical components and screening of lipid-lowering non-monacolin compounds in MFRP have improved our understanding of its therapeutic material basis.

We aimed to compare the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) and PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation in the treatment of advanced extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). A total of 184 advanced EHC patients, who received PTBS (PTBS group) or PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation (PTBS + 125I group) from January 2012 to April 2017 in our department, were retrospectively reviewed. The improvement of jaundice and liver function was observed in both groups. The postoperative complications, risk of biliary re-obstruction, and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Amongst, 71 cases received PTBS and 113 had the additional implantation of 125I particles. The jaundice and liver function were significantly improved in all patients, especially in PTBS + 125I group. There was no significant difference in the risk of postoperative complications between the two groups. However, the risk of biliary re-obstruction significantly reduced in PTBS + 125I group (19.5% vs. 35.2%, p = 0.017). Kaplan Meier analysis showed that patients in PTBS + 125I group had a significantly better OS, both for hilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma. Univariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), total bilirubin, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and different therapeutic method were significant factors affecting OS. Multivariate analysis further identified the treatment of PTBS combined with 125I particles implantation as an independent protective prognostic factor (HR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.17–0.39, p

A unified theoretical method is established to determine the charge-compensated C 3v (II) centers of Er3+ ions in CdF2 and CaF2 crystals by simulating the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameters and Stark energy levels. The potential (Er3+–F−– O 4 2 − ) and (Er3+– F 7 − –O2–) structures for the C 3v (II) centers of Er3+ ions in CdF2 and CaF2 crystals are checked by diagonalizing 364 × 364 complete energy matrices in the scheme of superposition model. Our studies indicate that the C 3v (II) centers of Er3+ ions in CdF2 and CaF2 may be ascribed to the local (Er3+–F−– O 4 2 − ) structure, where the upper ligand ion F− undergoes an off-center displacement by ΔZ ≈ 0.3 Å for CdF2 and ΔZ ≈ 0.29 Å for the CaF2 along the C 3 axis. Meanwhile, a local compressed distortion of the ( ErFO 4 ) 6 − cluster is expected to be ΔR ≈ 0.07 Å for CdF2:Er3+ and ΔR ≈ 0.079 Å for CaF2:Er3+. The considerable g-factor anisotropy for Er3+ ions in each of both crystals is explained reasonably by the obtained local parameters. Furthermore, our studies show that a stronger covalent effect exists in the C 3v (II) center for Er3+ in CaF2 or CaF2, which may be due to the stronger electrostatic interaction and closer distance between the central Er3+ ion and ligand O2– with the (Er3+–F−– O 4 2 − ) structure.

The strain effect on the electronic and optical properties of Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer have been investigated by using first principles calculations with vdW corrections. Different stacking patterns of Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer have been designed, which all show similar electronic and optical properties. Germanene is found to interact with MoS2 monolayer via weak vdW interactions, only leading to a tiny band gap opened with its Dirac cone well preserved. This implies MoS2 monolayer can be a suitable semiconducting substrate for germanene adhension. Through various in-plane external strains, the opened Dirac gap of heterobilayer can be further modulated and a semiconductor-metal transition even occurs. In addition, the Germanene/MoS2 heterobilayer can exhibit much wider optical adsorption range together with a red-shift in adsorption edge compared to individual layers. The position and intensity of optical adsorption peaks in ultraviolet and visible light regions also can be effectively tuned by applying external strains. With the strain controllable electronic and optical properties, Gemanene/MoS2 heterobilayer is expected to be a candidate for applications in new functional nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Silicon solar cells are still dominating the solar cell market due to its mature technology, but its efficiency was limited due to its ineffective response to solar spectrum. Phosphor could modify the solar spectrum by transferring the Sunlight that cannot be effectively used to optimal response range of silicon solar cell. Here, Ba3Y(BO3)3: Ce3+, Nd3+ with near-infrared (NIR) emission were prepared via solid-state reaction route, which offer wide blue-violet light of Ce3+ ions and intense near-infrared light of Nd3+ ions locating at the maximal spectral response of silicon solar cell. The near-infrared emission intensity of Ce3+-Nd3+ sample was increased in comparison with that of Nd3+ single-doped sample, which show that Ce3+ act as an efficient sensitizer with broad absorption cross-section. The energy transfer mechanism was also analyzed. Results reveal that Ba3Y(BO3)3: Ce3+, Nd3+ co-doped phosphor have promising applications as solar spectral convertor for silicon-based solar cells.

The relationship between telomere length and cancer survival has been widely studied. To gain a deeper insight, we reviewed the published studies. A total of 29 studies evaluated telomere length in the peripheral blood; 22 studies evaluated telomere length in the tumor tissue. First, in the peripheral blood studies, for solid tumor patients with shortened telomere length, the combined hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality and tumor progression were 1.21 (95%CI, 1.10-1.32) and 1.71 (95%CI, 1.37-2.13), respectively. Meanwhile, in hematology malignancy, the combined HRs for mortality and tumor progression were 2.83 (95%CI, 2.14-3.74) and 2.65 (95%CI, 2.18-3.22), respectively. Second, in the studies that use tumor tissue, for patients with shortened telomeres, the combined HRs for mortality and tumor progression were 1.26 (95%CI, 0.95-1.66) and 1.65 (95%CI, 1.26-2.15), respectively. In the studies that calculate the telomere length ratios of tumor tissue to adjacent normal mucosa, for patients with lower telomere length ratios, the combined HRs were 0.66 (95%CI, 0.53-0.83) and 0.74 (95%CI, 0.41-1.32) for mortality and tumor progression, respectively. In conclusion, shortened telomere in peripheral blood and tumor tissue might indicate poor survival for cancer patients. However, by calculating the telomere length ratios of tumor tissue to adjacent normal mucosa, the lower ratio might indicate better survival.

Evidence is accumulating highlighting the importance of extracellular miRNA as a novel biomarker for diagnosing various kinds of malignancies. MiR-21 is one of the most studied miRNAs and is over-expressed in cancer tissues. To explore the clinical implications and secretory mechanisms of extracellular miR-21, we firstly meta-analyzed the diagnostic efficiency of extracellular miR-21 in different cancer types. Eighty-one studies based on 59 articles were finally included. In our study, extracellular miR-21 was observed to exhibit an outstanding diagnostic accuracy in detecting brain cancer (area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve or AUC = 0.94), and this accuracy was more obvious in glioma diagnosis (AUC = 0.95). Our validation study (n = 45) further confirmed the diagnostic and prognostic role of miR-21 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for glioma. These findings inspired us to explore the biological function of miR-21. We next conducted mechanistic investigations to explain the secretory mechanisms of extracellular miR-21 in glioma. TGF-β/Smad3 signaling was identified to participate in mediating the release of miR-21 from glioma cells. Further targeting TGF-β/Smad3 signaling using galunisertib, an inhibitor of the TGF-β type I receptor kinase, can attenuate the secretion of miR-21 from glioma cells. Taken together, CSF-based miR-21 might serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosing brain cancer, especially for patients with glioma. Moreover, extracellular levels of miR-21 were affected by exogenous TGF-β activity and galunisertib treatment.

Kai Qu,1,* Qing Pang,1,* Ting Lin,1 Li Zhang,2 Mingliang Gu,3 Wenquan Niu,4 Chang Liu,1,* Ming Zhang5 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ultrasound Diagnostics, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Otolaryngology, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Recent studies have showed interleukin 10 (IL-10) is a critical cytokine that determines antiviral immune response and is related to virus-associated cancers. However, whether genetically elevated circulating IL-10 levels are associated with the risk of human papilloma virus and Epstein–Barr virus-associated cancers (HEACs) is still unclear. Mendelian randomization method was implemented to meta-analyze available observational studies by employing IL-10 three variants (-592C>A, -819C>T, and -1082A>G) as instruments. Atotal of 24 articles encompassing 11,170 subjects were ultimately eligible for the meta-analysis. Overall, there was a significant association between IL-10 promoter variant -1082A>G and HEACs under allelic and dominant models (both PG was significant for nasopharyngeal cancer under allelic, homozygous genotypic and dominant models (all P

A simple, rapid, and highly selective trace matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) technique, coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet detection, was proposed for extracting flavonoids from orange fruit peel matrices. Molecular sieve SBA-15 was applied for the first time as a solid support in trace MSPD. Parameters, such as the type of dispersant, mass ratio of the sample to the dispersant, grinding time, and elution pH, were optimized in detail. The optimal extraction conditions involved dispersing a powdered fruit peel sample (25 mg) into 25 mg of SBA-15 and then eluting the target analytes with 500 μL of methanol. A satisfactory linearity ( r 2 > 0.9990) was obtained, and the calculated limits of detection reached 0.02–0.03 μg/mL for the compounds. The results showed that the method developed was successfully applied to determine the content of flavonoids in complex fruit peel matrices.

Hindlimb ischemia is still a clinical problem with high morbidity and mortality. Patients suffer from consequent rest pain, ulcers, cool limbs, and even amputation. Angiogenesis is a promising target for the treatment of ischemic limbs, providing extra blood for the ischemic region. In the present study, we investigated the role of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) in regulating angiogenesis and relieving hindlimb ischemia. UC-MSCs were isolated from the umbilical cord of tree shrews. Angiography results showed that UC-MSCs injection significantly promoted angiogenesis in tree shrews. Moreover, the ankle brachial index, transcutaneous oxygen pressure, blood perfusion, and capillary/muscle fiber ratio were all markedly increased by the application of UC-MSCs. In addition, the conditioned culture of human umbilical vein endothelial cells using medium collected from UC-MSCs showed higher expression of angiogenic markers and improved migration ability. In short, the isolated UC-MSCs notably contributed to restoring blood supply and alleviating the symptoms of limb ischemia through enhancing angiogenesis.

Bio-based poly(lactic acid) (PLA) ternary systems were prepared by the solution blending of PLA, polybutylene succinate (PBS), and nano-CaCO 3 . The effects of PBS and nano-CaCO 3 on the thermal stability, fracture toughness, mechanical properties, and morphology of PLA were investigated using several techniques. The morphology of the systems was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fracture toughness and flexural strength of PLA were improved by the introduction of PBS and further enhanced by the addition of nano-CaCO 3 . The elastic modulus of PLA decreased with the addition of PBS alone, whereas the elastic modulus increased with the simultaneous addition of PBS and nano-CaCO 3 .

Although overweight and obesity increase cancer risk, it is still controversial with respect to cancer mortality. In the current study, we enrolled 2670 patients of 14 tumor types from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, to identify the prognostic role of overweight and obesity in cancer patients. After dividing the patients into different groups by the body mass index (BMI), we found significant lower mortality in the obesity group. In addition, we also treat BMI value as a binary categorical variable or continuous variable, respectively. We found significant lower mortality in the higher BMI group. Furthermore, when focusing on each tumor type, cervical cancer and bladder cancer showed lower mortality in the patients with higher BMI values. Taken together, our results demonstrate that postdiagnosis obesity might indicate a better prognosis in cancer patients. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because of small sample size.

We previously found that chicken egg white extract could promote cell survival and proliferation. In the present study, we further separated this extract into its components to identify those primarily responsible for promoting cell proliferation. Components of differing molecular weight were separated from chicken egg white extract by ultrafiltration and 293T cell cultures were supplemented with various concentrations. The effects on cell proliferation were subsequently determined by a CellTiter 96 Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay kit (Promega). We demonstrate that components from chicken egg white smaller than 3 kDa in size are able to function as active ingredients promoting cellular proliferation. This discovery may identify a new and convenient additive for cell culture media to promote cell growth and proliferation.

King's score (KS) has been developed to predict the presence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver diseases. We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the KS in hepatitis B-associated HCC.We retrospectively analyzed 319 hepatitis B-associated HCC patients. Preoperative data were collected to calculate the KS (age × aspartate aminotransferase × international normalized ratio/platelet count). The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), which was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Then, we carried out a multivariate Cox analysis to assess the independent significance of the KS. Additional analyses were carried out after patients were stratified on the basis of cirrhosis status and therapy methods to investigate the significance of KS in different subgroups.During a median follow-up period of 44 months, 199 (62.4%) patients died and 144 (45.1%) experienced recurrence. The cut-off value for the KS was determined to be 33.31 with 56.8% sensitivity and 66.7% specificity. Compared with patients with low KS, the high group showed a higher probability of cirrhosis and worse Child-Pugh class (both P0.05). Multivariate analysis identified older age, tumor size 5 or more, palliative therapy, high Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, and high KS as significant factors for predicting poor OS and DFS. A combination of the KS and tumor size showed better discrimination ability for survival than Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage.The KS is an effective index for predicting OS and DFS in hepatitis B-associated HCC. Larger cohorts are needed to validate our finding.

First-principles calculations were performed to study the adsorption characteristics of 15 different metal atoms on germanene. For the alkali metal adatoms (Li, Na, and K) on germanene, the bonding is approximately ideal ionic and the semimetallic germanene finally becomes metallic with a small band gap opening at the Dirac point. The bonding of alkaline earth metal atoms (Be, Mg, and Ca) to germanene is a mixture of ionic and covalent. The Be and Mg adsorptions lead to semiconducting behavior in germanene, while similar to Li, Na, and K adsorptions, the Ca adsorbed germanene is metallic. For most transition metal adatoms, a strong covalent bonding behavior is found between the adatom and germanene layer, which causes much larger distortions in the germanene lattice. As a result of partially occupied d orbital, the transition metals show also diverse electronic structures when interacting with germanene, such as nonmagnetic metal, nonmagnetic semiconductor, ferromagnetic metal, ferromagnetic semiconductor, and more particularly, ferromagnetic half-metal. In addition, the analysis of the partial density of states indicates that the ferromagnetic property of the obtained transition metal – germanene systems mainly results from the spin-split of the adatom 3d states. The rich electronic and magnetic properties of metal–germanene systems may have potential applications for designing new nanoscale electronic and spintronic devices.

In this article, effervescence and graphitized multi-walled carbon nanotubes assisted microextraction was first developed for the extraction of antioxidants in hawthorn samples. The use of an effervescent tablet composed of sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium carbonate and micro-scale carboxyl graphitized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (extraction sorbent) was the core of the method. In this study, ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection and quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was performed for qualitative and quantitative analyses of target analytes in hawthorn foodstuffs. Several experimental factors, such as amount of effervescent salts, the sorbent, elution time and elution solvent, were systematically assessed. Under the optimized conditions, a good linearity with R values better than 0.9980 was obtained. The detection limits estimated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1 were ranging from 0.01 to 0.18ng/mL. These results suggested that the proposed method could be an alternative and promising sample preparation tool in future food analysis.

BACKGROUND: At present, the effect of western-medicine (WM) therapy to treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is limited. Moxibustion is a representative external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine that has been beneficial to DPN. We aim to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of moxibustion in treating DPN, following PRISMA guidelines. METHODS: Eight electronic databases were searched to acquire information on eligible trials published from inception to June 1, 2019. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) applying moxibustion therapy with a minimum of 14-days treatment duration for DPN patients compared with placebo, no intervention, or conventional WM interventions. The primary outcomes in our study include the sensory-nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) and motor-nerve conduction velocity (MNCV). We used the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool to assess the methodological quality of eligible RCTs. Statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.3. Risk ratios (RR) and mean differences (MD) were calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The χ test was applied to assess the heterogeneity. RESULTS: In total, 11 RCTs were included that involved 927 DPN patients. Compared with the control group, there was an increase in median MNCV (MD = 6.26, 95% CI 2.64-9.89, Z = 3.39, P = .0007) and peroneal MNCV (MD = 6.45, 95% CI 5.30-7.61, P 

Neighborhood discriminant index (NDI) is an effective feature selection method for supervised learning. In reality, it is easy to obtain unlabeled data and is costly to tag them all. Thus, the given dataset commonly has only a small amount of tagged samples and a large amount of unlabeled ones, which cannot be handled by supervised learning methods. For this situation, we propose a semi-supervised feature selection method called semi-supervised neighborhood discriminant index (SSNDI) that combines NDI and the Laplacian score method to effectively deal with both labeled and unlabeled samples. The goal of SSNDI is to find an optimal feature subset that has a good ability to keep local geometrical structure and to distinguish samples belonging to different classes. In SSNDI, the classical Laplacian score method is modified to cooperate the iterative form of NDI. In each iteration, SSNDI picks up an important feature according to the new criterion that is a mixture of NDI and the modified Laplacian score. Extensive experiments are conducted on UCI and microarray gene datasets. Experimental results confirm that SSNDI can achieve a better performance than NDI and the other state-of-the-art semi-supervised methods.

The design on synthesizing a sturdy, low-cost, clean, and sustainable electrocatalyst, as well as achieving high performance with low overpotential and good durability toward water splitting, is fairly vital in environmental and energy-related subject. Herein, for the first time the growth of sulfur (S) defect engineered self-supporting array electrode composed of metallic Re and ReS2 nanosheets on carbon cloth (referred as Re/ReS2 /CC) via a facile hydrothermal method and the following thermal treatment with H2 /N2 flow is reported. It is expected that, for example, the as-prepared Re/ReS2 -7H/CC for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under acidic medium affords a quite low overpotential of 42 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a very small Tafel slope of 36 mV decade-1 , which are comparable to some of the promising HER catalysts. Furthermore, in the two-electrode system, a small cell voltage of 1.30 V is recorded under alkaline condition. Characterizations and density functional theory results expound that the introduced S defects in Re/ReS2 -7H/CC can offer abundant active sites to advantageously capture electron, enhance the electron transport capacity, and weaken the adsorption free energy of H* at the active sites, being responsible for its superior electrocatalytic performance.

Integrating two-dimensional (2D) transition metal sulfide (TMS) nanostructures with the semiconductor materials is one strategy to improve their photocatalytic performance. Herein, for the first time, supporting noble-metal-free Co1.62Mo6S8 (CMS) with a 2D structure on three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 hollow shells (THS) is developed to construct the special CMS/THS 2D-3D film-shell photocatalyst. Based on a range of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques, such structure can accelerate charge separation and transfer, provide abundant active sites for water reduction, and enhance light harvesting capacity through light scattering and slow photon effects. As expected, the optimized CMS/THS photocatalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic H2 evolution activity and good stability under simulated solar light irradiation, whose rate is 39 times higher than that of THS and even much better than those of CoS2/THS and MoS2/THS. This strategy may be applicable to construct other various 2D-3D integrated nanostructures for excellent performance.

The structures, energies, spontaneous polarized properties and charge densities of 180° domain walls with Mn doping at different lattice positions were investigated in ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PT) using the first-principles calculations. The results show that Mn ion prefers to enter the bulk region rather than the domain wall in terms of energy minimization whether it substitutes for an A-site Pb ion or a B-site Ti ion of PT. In addition the domain wall energy has a minimum value of 124.52 mJ/m2 when Mn ion substitutes for Pb ion in the bulk region. And the spontaneous polarization along z axis increasing and the charge density in the domain wall region reducing could be the essential reasons for improving PT's performance after Mn doping at A site.

Child-Pugh (CP) grade A patients with early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are candidates for curative surgery, while some patients still have a poor outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic values of 2 new evaluation models for liver function, named albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) and platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) grades, in CP grade A patients with HCC.In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed 134 cases of CP grade A patients with hepatitis B-associated HCC who underwent radical surgery. ALBI and PALBI grades were calculated based on preoperative serologic examinations. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression. The prognostic performances of the models were estimated by using the concordance index (C-index).During a median follow-up time of 27 months, 27.6% (37/134) of patients died and 26.1% (35/134) experienced recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that ALBI and PALBI grades were significantly associated with OS and RFS. Multivariate analyses further revealed that both ALBI and PALBI grades were independent predictors for survival. Furthermore, the prognostic values of the combination of tumor size with ALBI (C-index = 0.754, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.675-0.849) or with PALBI (C-index = 0.762, 95% CI: 0.664-0.844) may be comparable with both Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer and Cancer of Liver Italian Program staging systems.The ALBI and PALBI grades, in particular the combination with tumor size, are effective models for discriminating survival in CP grade A patients with HCC.

Aim. Child-Pugh (CP) grade has been used to assess liver function and postoperative outcomes in biliary tract neoplasms. The aim of this study was to preliminarily explore the prognostic significance of an alternative model of liver function, called albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). Methods. A total of 109 advanced EHC patients, who received percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting combined with iodine-125 seed implantation from January 2012 to April 2017 in our department, were enrolled. Preoperative clinical data were collected to calculate the CP and ALBI grades. The performance of ALBI score in predicting postoperative death was compared with that of CP score by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model were performed for overall survival (OS) analysis. Results. The median survival time of our cohort was 12 months, and the 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 56.9% and 12.8%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve of ALBI score for predicting death was significantly greater than the CP score (0.751, 95% CI: 0.641–0.861, P<0.001 vs. 0.688, 95% CI: 0.567–0.809, P<0.001). The univariate analysis revealed that the factors related to overall survival of EHC were carbohydrate antigen 19-9, total bilirubin, albumin, ALBI grade, and CP score. In multivariate analysis, ALBI grade (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.04–2.61, P=0.032), but not CP score, was identified as an independent prognostic model. Conclusion. We demonstrated that the ALBI grade could be used as a predictor of survival in unresectable EHC patients.

We mainly aimed to preliminarily explore the prognostic values of nutrition-based prognostic scores in patients with advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA). We retrospectively analyzed 73 cases of HCCA, who underwent percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) combined with 125I seed intracavitary irradiation from November 2012 to April 2017 in our department. The postoperative changes of total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and albumin (ALB) were observed. The preoperative clinical data were collected to calculate the nutrition-based scores, including controlling nutritional status (CONUT), C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Kaplan–Meier curve and Cox regression model were used for overall survival (OS) analyses. The serum levels of TBIL, DBIL, ALT, AST, and ALP significantly reduced, and ALB significantly increased at 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. The median survival time of the cohort was 12 months and the 1-year survival rate was 53.1%. Univariate analysis revealed that the statistically significant factors related to OS were CA19-9, TBIL, ALB, CONUT, and PNI. Multivariate analysis further identified CA19-9, CONUT, and PNI as independent prognostic factors. Nutrition-based prognostic scores, CONUT and PNI in particular, can be used as predictors of survival in unresectable HCCA.

As a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, Xin-Sheng-Hua Granule (XSHG) has been applied in China for more than 30 years to treat postpartum diseases, especially anemia. However, underlying therapeutic mechanisms of XSHG for anemia were still unclear. In this study, plasma metabolomics profiling with UHPLC-QTOF/MS and multivariate data method was firstly analyzed to discover the potential regulation mechanisms of XSHG on anemia rats induced by bleeding from the orbit. Afterward, the compound-target-pathway network of XSHG was constructed by the use of network pharmacology, thus anemia-relevant signaling pathways were dissected. Finally, the crucial targets in the shared pathways of metabolomics and network pharmacology were experimentally validated by ELISA and Western Blot analysis. The results showed that XSHG could exert excellent effects on anemia probably through regulating coenzyme A biosynthesis, sphingolipids metabolism and HIF-1α pathways, which was reflected by the increased levels of EPOR, F2, COASY, as well as the reduced protein expression of HIF-1α, SPHK1, and S1PR1. Our work successfully explained the polypharmcological mechanisms underlying the efficiency of XSHG on treating anemia, and meanwhile, it probed into the potential treatment strategies for anemia from TCM prescription.

Background and Aim Although the influence of cigarette smoking on the incident risk of liver cancer has been determined, the association between smoking and liver cancer mortality remains uncertain. Methods We searched Pubmed, EmBase, and Web of Science databases to obtain eligible studies. Hazard ratio (HR) value and 95% confidential intervals (CI) were pooled by using a random-effects model, and dose–response analyses were conducted to quantify associations between smoking and mortality from liver cancer. Results A total of 27 articles involving four million participants from seven countries by retrieval (published 1986–2014) were finally included. Pooled HR values for liver cancer mortality was 1.45 (95% CI: 1.33–1.59), 1.22 (95% CI: 1.11–1.34) and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.01–1.32) for current, former, and ever smokers, respectively, when compared with nonsmokers. The risk increased by 7.1% (95% CI: 1.4–13.2) for per additional 10 cigarettes per day and by 5.2% (95% CI: 0.02–11.2) for per additional 10 pack-years. In our population recruiting 597 patients with liver cancer, smoking status was further identified as a significant determinant factor of tumor size and serum level of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, but not a significant prognostic factor. Conclusions Cigarette smoking, especially current smoking, significantly increased mortality risk from liver cancer.

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of germanene adsorbed with 10 different 3 d transition metal (TM) atoms have been investigated by using the spin-polarized DFT calculations. The 3 d TM adatoms we considered prefer to bind to the hexagon hollow site of germanene, except Zn which favors to bind to the valley site. A strong covalent bonding character between TM adatom and germanene layer is found in most of TM/germanene adsorption systems. By means of adsorption, the germanene can exhibit various electronic and magnetic properties depending on the adatom species, such as nonmagnetic metal (Cu adsorption), nonmagnetic semiconductor (Ni or Zn adsorption), ferromagnetic metal (Cr or Mn adsorption), ferromagnetic semiconductor (V adsorption), and more particular, ferromagnetic half-metal (Sc, Ti, Fe or Co adsorption) with 100% spin-polarization at the Fermi level. In addition, Cr adatom introduces the largest magnetic moment in germanene, while Sc, Ti, V, Mn, Fe and Co adatoms all generate nearly integer magnetic moments. The effects of the on-site Coulomb interaction as well as the magnetic interaction between TM adatoms on the stability of the half-metallic TM/germanene systems are also considered, and the results show that the half-metallic states for the Sc/germanene and Ti/germanene are all robust. These ferromagnetic TM/germanene systems should have potential applications in the fields of two-dimensional spintronics devices. The analysis of the PDOS indicates the ferromagnetic property of the obtained TM/germanene systems mainly resulted from the spin-split of the TM 3 d states.

Zymosan-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is a multifactorial pathology that involves the deterioration of function of several organs. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a small monoamine molecule that is primarily known for its role as a neurotransmitter. Previous studies have shown that 5-HT could serve as an important inflammatory mediator in the peripheral immune system. In the present study, we investigated the effect of 5-HT on the development of non-septic shock caused by zymosan in mice. Tryptophan hydroxylase 1-knockout mice (TPH1, leading to the absence of 5-HT), TPH1 + 5-hydroxytryptophan (precursor of 5-HT) treatment mice, wild-type (TPH1) mice, and wild-type plus p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA, TPH1 inhibitor) treatment mice received zymosan intraperitoneally at a dose of 500 mg/kg. Organ failure and systemic inflammation in the mice were assessed 18 h after the administration of zymosan. Deficiency of 5-HT caused a significant reduction of the 1) peritoneal exudate formation, 2) neutrophil infiltration, 3) MODS, 4) nitrosative stress, and 5) cytokine formation. In addition, at the end of the observation period (7 days), deficiency of 5-HT in the mice was shown to be able to alleviate the severe illness characterized as systemic toxicity, significant loss of body weight, and high mortality caused by zymosan. In conclusion, the lack of 5-HT by genetic knockout or by pharmacologic inhibition of the TPH1 enzyme significantly attenuated zymosan-induced MODS.

Background: To compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis between younger and aged patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We analyzed the outcome of 451 HCC patients underwent liver resection, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation, respectively. Then risk factors for aged and younger patients' survival were evaluated by multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: The patients who were older than 55 years old were defined as the older group. The overall survival for aged patients was significantly worse than those younger patients. The younger patients had similar liver functional reserve but more aggressive tumor factors than aged patients. Cox regression analysis showed that the elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (Wald χ 2 = 3.963, P = 0.047, hazard ratio [ HR ] =1.453, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.006-2.098), lower albumin (Wald χ 2 = 12.213, P HR = 1.982, 95% CI : 1.351-2.910), tumor size (Wald χ 2 = 8.179, P = 0.004, HR = 1.841, 95% CI : 1.212-2.797), and higher alpha-fetoprotein level (Wald χ 2 = 4.044, P = 0.044, HR = 1.465, 95% CI : 1.010-2.126) were independent prognostic factors for aged patients, while only elevated levels of AST (Wald χ 2 = 14.491, P HR = 2.285, 95% CI : 1.493-3.496) and tumor size (Wald χ 2 = 21.662, P HR = 2.928, 95% CI : 1.863-4.604) were independent prognostic factors for younger patients. Conclusions: Age is a risk factor to determine the prognosis of patients with HCC. Aged patients who have good liver functional reserve are still encouraged to receive curative therapy.

A novel effervescent-salt-assisted dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction using mesoporous hybrid materials was developed for the extraction of minute traces of constituents in complicated plant preparations. In this study, a special tablet containing carbon dioxide sources (sodium dihydrogenphosphate and sodium carbonate) and the sorbent (mesoporous hybrid materials) was prepared. The effects of different parameters influencing the extraction efficiency such as the concentration of salts, the type and concentration of mesoporous material, pH of diluent, and desorption solvents were investigated and optimized. Results show that the proposed method using green solvents (water) as extraction solutions required low consumption of sample amount and obtained high enrichment efficiency. Moreover, under optimized conditions, the tested tanshinones exhibited good linearity (r(2) 0.994) in the concentration range of 0.5 to 80 ng mL(-1). The limits of detection values were lower than 0.0803 pg using UV-visible detection. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of trace tanshinones in compound Danshen dripping pill and Danqi tablet samples.

Background. Hepatocellular carcinogenesis is associated with the progression of cirrhosis, and the latter further aggravates tumor development and prognosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the prognostic values of 12 cirrhosis-relative noninvasive models in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 363 HCC patients who either underwent partial hepatectomy (PH) or received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TCAE). Preoperative data were collected to calculate these indices using the original formulas. Diagnostic accuracy of these models in detection of cirrhosis was evaluated by area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess the independent prognostic signifi cance of the 12 indicators. Results. Aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI) and Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI) were found to be signifi cant in discriminating cirrhotic patients from non-cirrhotic individuals. When the indices were expressed as continuous variables, multivariate analyses indicated that APRI and GUCI were independent indices to predict overall survival in patients underwent PH, with a hazard ratio (HR) value 1.04 ( p 0.005) and 1.07 ( p 0.001), respectively. In the cohort of TACE, APRI and GUCI were independently associated with survival as well. Conclusion. Of the 12 indices, APRI and GUCI were relatively accurate predictors of cirrhosis status as well as outcome of HCC. As only a limited study population was enrolled in the current study, larger cohorts are needed to validate our results.

The article by Kirschbaum et al. (1) shows that temporary von Willebrand factor-mediated platelet influx in the liver remnant drives platelet-mediated liver regeneration (LR) following partial hepatectomy. Indeed, there is mounting evidence that platelet and endogenous factors are beneficial to hepatocyte regeneration in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Furthermore, platelet-increasing therapy has been recommended to improve LR following partial hepatectomy. However, we want to point out that, platelets may play adverse roles in the remnant liver of HCC and metastatic hepatic carcinoma (MHC) patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Discovering a new cell transplantation approach for treating chronic renal insufficiency is a goal of many nephrologists. In vitro-cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were reprogrammed into induced mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) by using natural inducing agents made in our laboratory. The stem cell phenotype of the iMSCs was then identified. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) was used to create an animal model of chronic renal insufficiency characterized by renal interstitial fibrosis. The induced and non-induced PBMCs were transplanted, and the efficacy of iMSCs in treating chronic renal insufficiency was evaluated using a variety of methods. The ultimate goal was to explore the effects of iMSC transplantation on the treatment of chronic renal insufficiency, with the aim of providing a new therapeutic modality for this disease.

The structural, energetic and electronic properties of alkali metal (AM) atoms (including Li, Na and K) adsorbed germanene with a wide range of coverages are investigated by means of first-principles calculations. All AM atoms we considered prefer to bind on the hexagonal hollow site of germanene. In contrast to graphene, the interaction between adatom and germanene surface is quite strong due to its buckled hexagonal structure. As the increasing adatom coverage, the binding between AM atom and germanene sheet is weakened, due to the enhanced adatom–adatom repulsion while the decreased adatom-germanene attraction at high coverage. As a consequence of heavy charge transfer from AM to germanene, the formed adatom–Ge bonds perform mainly an ionic character. Through adsorption, the semimetallic germanene becomes to be metallic with its Dirac point moving below the Fermi level, thus making germanene behave as n-type doped. In addition, a small band gap can be opened at the Dirac point, and both the band gap and the concentration of charge carries of AM/germanene system can be tuned by controlling the adatom coverage. The strong binding of AM adatoms to germanene and the rich electronic properties of the AM/germanene systems suggest possible potential applications in germanene based field effect transistor (FET) devices.

Ground-roll is an interferential wave existing widely in seismic data, and it is an important step in seismic data processing to suppress ground-roll. Wavelet Transform lacks of detecting the singularities of the signal with straight line or curve, and the method can separate the different waves at the same time because of Curvelet transform simultaneously has the characteristics of frequency and direction. The experiment results show that the Curvelet transform has better effects in ground-roll suppression.

Biofilms can adhere to most surfaces and have caused a wide range of problems in various industrial processes as well as daily life activities. In this work, the anti-biofilm ability of Nafion-coated stainless steel surface was investigated and our results showed that stainless steel discs coated with 1% Nafion can significantly reduce E. coli adhesion. Nafion has a large amount of negatively charged sulphonate groups, and the findings of this study suggest that the negative surface charge can greatly reduce bacterial adhesion through increasing the electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged bacterial cells and Nafion coated stainless steel surface. The roughness of coated and uncoated stainless steel discs made no significant differences while the hydrophobic of the discs increased after coated with Nafion.