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The nail apparatus is the largest and most complex skin appendage. Defects in this unit can result in significant functional insufficiency and cosmetic disfigurement. Common nail deformities include split nail, short nail, onycholysis, nail malalignment, hooked nail, and absent nail. Currently, surgical repair is the primary treatment for such deformities. Based on the etiological and anatomical classifications, one or more appropriate operations can be selected to repair nail unit deformities. These include autologous fat grafting, longitudinal cicatrectomy, Z-plasties, nail bed elongation, split-thickness sterile matrix grafting, volar V-Y advanced flap reconstruction, sterile matrix particle grafting, germinal matrix flaps, and germinal matrix grafting. This review discusses the fundamental classification of nail unit deformities, common reconstructive surgical techniques, and their features.

Hafnium (Hf)-based UiO-66 series metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely studied on gas storage, gas separation, reduction reaction, and other aspects since they were first prepared in 2012, but there are few studies on proton conductivity. In this work, one Hf-based MOF, Hf-UiO-66-fum showing UiO-66 structure, also known as

Background: Rabdosia rubescens drop pills have the effects of clearing away heat and toxin, detumescence, relieving pain. Objective: A simple and sensitive method for simultaneous determination of oridonin, ponicidin, and rosmarinic acid in rat plasma was developed based on ultra performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Methods: Chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of water containing 0.2% formic acid (mobile phase A) and methanol (mobile phase B) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min over a total run time of 3.8 min. All analytes were measured with optimized multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive and negative ion ESI mode. Results: The transitions of oridonin, ponicidin, rosmarinic acid, diphenhydramine, and chloramphenicol were 365.3→347.3, 363.3→345.2, 359.0→160.9, 256.0→167.2, and 321.1→151.9, respectively. The linear ranges were 1-256 ng/mL for ponicidin and rosmarinic acid and 2-512 ng/mL for oridonin. The validated method was stable and reliable. There was no significant difference in the half-life (t1/2) of the three analytes at three doses. The area under the curve (AUC0-t) and peak concentration (Cmax) of the three analytes decreased linearly in each dose range, and the linear correlation R2 of each analyte under the three doses was greater than 0.95. Conclusion: This method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of oridonin, ponicidin, and rosmarinic acid in rat plasma after intragastric administration of Rabdosia rubescens drop pills.

Telomerase is constitutively overexpressed in the majority of human cancers and telomerase inhibition provides a promising broad-spectrum anticancer therapeutic strategy. BIBR 1532 is a well-known synthetic telomerase inhibitor that blocks the enzymatic activity of hTERT, the catalytic subunit of telomerase. However, water insolubility of BIBR 1532 leads to low cellular uptake and inadequate delivery and thus, limits its anti-tumor effects. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is considered as an attractive drug delivery vehicle for improved transport, release and anti-tumor effects of BIBR 1532. Herein, ZIF-8 and BIBR 1532@ZIF-8 were synthesized, respectively, and the physicochemical characterizations confirmed the successful encapsulation of BIBR 1532 in ZIF-8 coupled with an improved stability of BIBR 1532. ZIF-8 could alter the permeability of lysosomal membrane probably by the imidazole ring-dependent protonation. Moreover, ZIF-8 encapsulation facilitated the cellular uptake and release of BIBR 1532 with more accumulation in the nucleus. BIBR 1532 encapsulation with ZIF-8 triggered a more obvious growth inhibition of cancer cells as compared with free BIBR 1532. A more potent inhibition on hTERT mRNA expression, aggravated G0/G1 arrest accompanied with an increased cellular senescence were detected in BIBR 1532@ZIF-8-treated cancer cells. Our work has provided preliminary information on improving the transport, release and efficacy of water-insoluble small molecule drugs by using ZIF-8 as a delivery vehicle.

In the power system, power marketing is a very important work. How to evaluate whether the currently used power marketing strategy is efficient and useful has always been the most important concern of the power system. This paper proposes an efficient electricity marketing strategy evaluation method based on multi-dimensional clustering algorithm, aiming to evaluate whether a new policy has an incentive effect on enterprises through the means of big data. First, we use big data to group motivated users, and then analyze the effect of personalized marketing and key marketing on target customer groups. Based on the existing marketing methods, the influence of different target groups is analyzed, and finally the feasibility of the proposed method is verified through two experiments. In the A and B companies selected in Experiment 1, the average errors of the predicted value and the actual value are 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively. For the 12 industries in the C area selected in experiment 2, the average error between the predicted value and the actual value is 0.55%. Both experiments show that the method proposed in this paper has certain applicability. The method in this paper can be applied to the marketing process of the power supply company, and the corresponding promotion strategy is put forward, which is helpful to improve the management level of the power supply enterprise and increase the economic income of the power supply enterprise.

Formaldehyde-free adhesives are gaining attention due to their compatibility with green production methods. Decorative base paper (DBP) is known for its physical strength and printability and has a high ability for absorbing aldehyde-free adhesives for impregnation. In this paper, DBP was prepared with TiO2 and SiO2 combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), where the amount of TiO2 was reduced in the pulp process. The prepared DBP was impregnated by aldehyde-free adhesive and hot-pressed on wood-based panels. The results showed that upon SiO2 coating, the surface smoothness of base paper increased by 132.3%, whereas the tensile strength increased by 33.6%. Furthermore, the color density of cyan, magenta, yellow and black colors increased by 75.4%, 99.2%, 51.9% and 90.5%, respectively. The surface properties like surface bonding strength and wear resistance of the covered wood-based panels were found to satisfy the standard requirements, which indicates the products can be used for furniture products.

Background: Astragaloside IV (ASG), the main active constituent of Astragalus membranaceus, exerts protective effects against several diseases associated with myocardial fibrosis, while no data suggest its role on macrophages in the process of myocardial fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of ASG on macrophages during extracellular matrix remodeling in fibrotic heart disease Methods and Results: Cardiac fibrosis of Sprague Dawley rats was induced by isoproterenol (5 mg/kg/day, s.c.) for 14 days, and ASG (10 mg/kg/day, 50 mg/kg/day, p.o.) treatment was administered from the 6th day of modeling. Histopathological changes and cytokines secretion by macrophages were observed. NIH-3T3 cells were incubated with the conditioned supernatant of the hypoxia model RAW 264.7 cells to investigate the involvement of macrophage-secreted cytokines. The results showed that cardiac fibrosis accompanied by infiltration of macrophages attenuated after ASG treatment. Importantly, ASG counteracted the activation of the miR-135a-TRPM7-TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway in primary macrophages and the increased levels of profibrotic cytokines in supernatants. In vitro, the conditioned medium secreted by RAW 264.7 macrophages stimulated the proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts in a TRPM7-dependent manner. Moreover, patch-clamp data showed that ASG inhibited macrophage TRPM7 current in dose-dependent. Conclusions: Our results suggest that macrophages promote the proliferation and differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts and remodeling of the extracellular matrix through paracrine function. In addition, TRPM7 may play an important role in the regulation of paracrine cytokines in macrophages. ASG remodeling the extracellular matrix and attenuating cardiac fibrosis by regulating macrophage activation via the miR-135a-TRPM7-TGF-β/Smads pathway.

Hypertensive diseases (HT) have become one of the leading causes of death among older people in developing countries, but data on HT-related deaths and HT-specific deaths in the whole population in the context of healthy ageing have not been well studied. We analysed the HT-related death and HT-specific death spectrum, crude mortality rate (CMR), age-standardized mortality rate by Segi’s world standard population (ASMRW), years of life lost (YLL) and age-specific proportion and then used the Joinpoint Regression Program to analyse the trends. We also studied the mortality rate increases by demographic age structure factors by the decomposition method. Of all 110,393 HT-related deaths, there were 5,757 HT-specific deaths in Pudong, Shanghai, from 2005–2020. The CMR, ASMRW, YLL and YLL rates of HT-related deaths (and HT-specific deaths) were 244.73/105 (12.76/105) person-years, 79.86/105 (4.22/105) person-years, 846,645.55 (43,912.98) years and 1,876.94/105 (97.35/105), respectively. The top 3 common causes of death among HT-related deaths (and HT-specific deaths) were cerebrovascular disease (heart disease), heart disease (renal failure) and diabetes mellitus (cerebrovascular disease). The HT-related and HT-specific CMR increased with age and year (all P P

Twelve Asian patients with sarcoma received interval-compressed (ic-) chemotherapy scheduled every 14 days with a regimen of vincristine (2 mg/m2), doxorubicin (75 mg/m2), and cyclophosphamide (1200–2200 mg/m2) (VDC) alternating with a regimen of ifosfamide (9000 mg/m2) and etoposide (500 mg/m2) (IE), with filgrastim (5–10 mcg/kg/day) between cycles. Carboplatin (800 mg/m2) was added for CIC-rearranged sarcoma. The patients were treated with 129 cycles of ic-VDC/IE with a median interval of 19 days (interquartile range [IQR], 15–24 days. Median nadirs (IQR) were neutrophil count, 134 (30–396) × 106/L at day 11 (10–12), recovery by day 15 (14–17) and platelet count, 35 (23–83) × 109/L at day 11 (10–13), recovery by day 17 (14–21). Fever and bacteremia were observed in 36% and 8% of cycles, respectively. The diagnoses were Ewing sarcoma (6), rhabdomyosarcoma (3), myoepithelial carcinoma (1), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (1), and CIC-DUX4 Sarcoma (1). Seven of the nine patients with measurable tumors responded (one CR and six PR). Interval-compressed chemotherapy is feasible in the treatment of Asian children and young adults with sarcomas.

Effect of MPT0L145 on autophagosome formation.

Supplementary Fig. S1, Time-dependent effects of BGJ398 on autophagy in bladder cancer cells. Supplementary Figure. S2. In vitro inhibitory effects of MPT0L145 and SAR405 on PIK3C3 (VPS34). Supplementary Figure. S3. A and B, The potentiation of MPT0L145-increased cytotoxicity by PIK3C3 knockdown in Panc1 and A2780 cells. C and D, ROS inhibitors partially reversed MPT0L145-decreased cell viability. Supplementary Figure S4. Validation of ATG5-knockout (K.O.) RT-112 cells. Supplementary Fig. S5. A, Effect of specific CSF1R inhibitor, BLZ945, on the viability in RT-112 and RT-4 cells. B, Dual inhibition of FGFR3 signaling and autophagy by MPT0L145. C, Effect of MPT0L145 on necrosis in bladder cancer cells.

Supplementary Table S1. In vitro inhibitory effects of MPT0L145 on a panel of lipid kinases. Supplementary Table S2. Binding kinetics and affinity of MPT0L145 to wildtype and mutant PIK3C3.

Purpose: MPT0L145 has been developed as a FGFR inhibitor exhibiting significant anti-bladder cancer activity in vitro and in vivo via promoting autophagy-dependent cell death. Here, we aim to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.Experimental Design: Autophagy flux, morphology, and intracellular organelles were evaluated by Western blotting, transmission electron microscope, and fluorescence microscope. Molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance assay were performed to identify drug–protein interaction. Lentiviral delivery of cDNA or shRNA and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing was used to modulate gene expression. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate was measured by a Seahorse XFe24 extracellular flux analyzer, and ROS level was measured by flow cytometry.Results: MPT0L145 persistently increased incomplete autophagy and phase-lucent vacuoles at the perinuclear region, which were identified as enlarged and alkalinized late-endosomes. Screening of a panel of lipid kinases revealed that MPT0L145 strongly inhibits PIK3C3 with a Kd value of 0.53 nmol/L. Ectopic expression of PIK3C3 reversed MPT0L145-increased cell death and incomplete autophagy. Four residues (Y670, F684, I760, D761) at the ATP-binding site of PIK3C3 are important for the binding of MPT0L145. In addition, MPT0L145 promotes mitochondrial dysfunction, ROS production, and DNA damage, which may in part, contribute to cell death. ATG5-knockout rescued MPT0L145-induced cell death, suggesting simultaneous induction of autophagy is crucial to its anticancer activity. Finally, our data demonstrated that MPT0L145 is able to overcome cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer cells.Conclusions: MPT0L145 is a first-in-class PIK3C3/FGFR inhibitor, providing an innovative strategy to design new compounds that increase autophagy, but simultaneously perturb its process to promote bladder cancer cell death. Clin Cancer Res; 24(5); 1176–89. ©2017 AACR.

Gout arthritis (GA) is a common and curable type of inflammatory arthritis that has been attributed to a combination of genetic, environmental and metabolic factors. Chronic deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in articular and periarticular spaces as well as subsequent activation of innate immune system in the condition of persistent hyperuricemia are the core mechanisms of GA. As is well known, drugs for GA therapy primarily consists of rapidly acting anti-inflammatory agents and life-long uric acid lowering agents, and their therapeutic outcomes are far from satisfactory. Although MSU crystals in articular cartilage detected by arthrosonography or in synovial fluid found by polarization microscopy are conclusive proofs for GA, the exact molecular mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the course of GA still remains mysterious, severely restricting the early diagnosis and therapy of GA. On the one hand, the activation of Nod-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome requires nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)-dependent transcriptional enhancement of NLRP3, precursor (pro)-caspase-1 and pro-IL-1β, as well as the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome complex and sustained release of inflammatory mediators and cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-18 and caspase-1. On the other hand, NLRP3 inflammasome activated by MSU crystals is particularly relevant to the initiation and progression of GA, and thus may represent a prospective diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target. As a result, pharmacological inhibition of the assembly and activation of NLRP3 inflammasome may also be a promising avenue for GA therapy. Herein, we first introduced the functional role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and relevant biological mechanisms in GA based on currently available evidence. Then, we systematically reviewed therapeutic strategies for targeting NLRP3 by potentially effective agents such as natural products, novel compounds and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the treatment of MSU-induced GA mouse models. In conclusion, our present review may have significant implications for the pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of GA.

Background Long-term consumption of an excessive fat and sucrose diet (Western diet, WD) has been considered a risk factor for metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular disease. Caveolae and caveolin-1 (CAV-1) proteins are involved in lipid transport and metabolism. However, studies investigating CAV-1 expression, cardiac remodeling, and dysfunction caused by MS, are limited. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the expression of CAV-1 and abnormal lipid accumulation in the endothelium and myocardium in WD-induced MS, and the occurrence of myocardial microvascular endothelial cell dysfunction, myocardial mitochondrial remodeling, and damage effects on cardiac remodeling and cardiac function. Methods We employed a long-term (7 months) WD feeding mouse model to measure the effect of MS on caveolae/vesiculo-vacuolar organelle (VVO) formation, lipid deposition, and endothelial cell dysfunction in cardiac microvascular using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) assay. CAV-1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression and interaction were evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunostaining. Cardiac mitochondrial shape transition and damage, mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane (MAM) disruption, cardiac function change, caspase-mediated apoptosis pathway activation, and cardiac remodeling were examined using TEM, echocardiography, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot assay. Results Our study demonstrated that long-term WD feeding caused obesity and MS in mice. In mice, MS increased caveolae and VVO formation in the microvascular system and enhanced CAV-1 and lipid droplet binding affinity. In addition, MS caused a significant decrease in eNOS expression, vascular endothelial cadherin, and β-catenin interactions in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells, accompanied by impaired vascular integrity. MS-induced endothelial dysfunction caused massive lipid accumulation in the cardiomyocytes, leading to MAM disruption, mitochondrial shape transition, and damage. MS promoted brain natriuretic peptide expression and activated the caspase-dependent apoptosis pathway, leading to cardiac dysfunction in mice. Conclusion MS resulted in cardiac dysfunction, remodeling by regulating caveolae and CAV-1 expression, and endothelial dysfunction. Lipid accumulation and lipotoxicity caused MAM disruption and mitochondrial remodeling in cardiomyocytes, leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction and remodeling.

Surimi is produced from the various sequences of filleting, deboning, washing, dehydrating, blending with cryprotectant, and freezing. Deboning, after which fish flesh is minced and separated from bone, skin, etc., is a vital step in the surimi production. In this study, effects of repeated deboning on yield, structure, composition, and gelling properties of silver carp surimi were investigated.Surimi yield increased rapidly from 10% to 23% as the cycle of repeated deboning was increased from one to three, and then slowly increased up to 26%. As the cycle increased, cellular structure and ultrastructure of muscle fibers progressively fractured. Contents of fat, cathepsins, heme proteins, and transglutaminase of surimi obviously increased and then decreased. Three-dimensional network of surimi gel without setting (NS gel) became more porous with the increase of cycles. It became more compact, and then turned to aggregated forms with lower homogeneity, for the surimi gel with setting (WS gel). Correspondently, the NS gel textural values gradually decreased with the cycles, while the WS gel textural values increased up to three cycles and then decreased. Regardless of setting, whiteness of surimi gels decreased and then increased with the cycles.Our results suggested that structure and compositions of surimi changed with the cycle of repeated deboning, which affected gelling properties of surimi. It is recommended to debone three or four cycles in silver carp surimi production. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Objective. To observe the morphological changes of corneal endothelial cells in healthy Chinese children and youngsters and analyze the sensitive and specificity of the endothelial assessments. Methods. 14,670 Chinese healthy volunteers enrolled were examined by specular microscopy, and the endothelial descriptive indexes: the central corneal thickness (CCT), endothelial cell density (ECD), coefficient of variation in average cell size (CV), the percentage of regular hexagonal cells (hexagonality, HEX), cell size of minimal cell ( S min ), cell size of maximal cell ( S max ), average cell size ( S avg ), and size of standard deviation of cell area ( S sd ) as well as sex and age were analyzed. Results. The average age of this study is 17.36 ± 7.58 (4–30) years. There is no sex predominance: 7,260 male (49.5%) and 7,410 female (50.5%). The mean CCT, ECD, CV, HEX, S min / max , S avg , and S sd are 529.94 ± 31.53 (437–644) μm, 3,051.28 ± 375.49 (2,031–4,074) cells/mm2, 28.34 ± 4.36 (18–40) %, 61.21 ± 10.29 (17–89) %, ( 147.79 ± 21.94 to 678.29 ± 120.96 ) μm2, 332.74 ± 44.62 μm2, and 95.02 ± 23.17 μm2, respectively. The CCTs keep consistency. The ECD decreased rate is 1.02%/year. The curve of ECD and hexagonality expresses the same linear tender. The CCT and endothelial evaluation indexes have no sex predominant ( p > 0.05 ); the quantitative indicators: CCT, ECD, and HEX are significant negative associated with age ( p = 0.001 or p < 0.001 ); the variability indexes: the CV, S min , S max , S avg , and S sd are positive correlation ( p < 0.001 ). The coefficients of CCT, HE, and S min are -0.35, -0.59, and 1.17, respectively. Conclusions. The ECD decrease rate is 1.02%/year of the normal Chinese Han childhood to the earlier adulthood. The ages 4 to 12, 13 to 20, and 21 to 30 can be named as the childhood, puberty and adulthood from endothelial biologic identity. The HEX is the sensitivity marks for the polymorphisms while the S min is the specificity indicator CVs upon the Topcon Noncon Specular microscopy results.

To investigate the implementation of treat-to-target (T2T) and treatment satisfaction from Chinese rheumatologists' perspectives.This retrospective analysis of a cross-sectional database collected from rheumatologists and their adult patients with RA in China using Adelphi Real World Disease Specific Programme™ methodology. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate factors associated with T2T use, achievement of T2T goals, and physician treatment satisfaction.Sixty physicians provided data for 600 patients, of whom 39.0% (234/600) were being treated using T2T, and 64.9% (366/564) had achieved their T2T goal. Physicians were satisfied with treatment in 74.3% (445/599) of patients. Patients with a higher pain score were more likely to be managed using T2T (odds ratio (OR) 1.25; p = 0.017), but less likely to have achieved the T2T goal (OR 0.76; p = 0.004). T2T use was more likely if patients had a longer time since diagnosis ( 2 vs ≤ 2 years; OR 1.61; p = 0.031) or received targeted synthetic or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs or bDMARDs; OR 6.90; p 0.001). T2T goal achievement was more likely for patients with higher body mass index (≥ 24 vs 24 kg/mT2T implementation in China is suboptimal. Our findings provide insight into T2T implementation and physician treatment satisfaction, supporting T2T use in Chinese RA clinical practice. Key Points • T2T implementation in China is currently suboptimal. • Patients with greater pain were more likely to be managed using T2T but were less likely to have achieved their T2T goals. • Physician treatment satisfaction was associated with T2T goal achievement.

The Nihewan Basin is one of the most important areas for the study of early human evolution and land mammals in East Asia. More than 100 Paleolithic sites have been discovered in the basin, spanning the Early Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. The chronological framework for the Early Pleistocene sites is well established using magnetostratigraphy. However, few independent ages are associated with Middle Pleistocene sites; one such example is the Hougou Paleolithic site, where interpolated magnetostratigraphic ages are not precise and accurate enough, owing to the artifact layer of the site is far relative to the Matuyama/Brunhens (M/B) boundary. In this study, we use the ESR signals of Al and Ti–Li centers in quartz to date the Hougou site. The advantages of the regenerative dose method over the additive dose method were discussed. Our ESR results indicate that the age of the Hougou Paleolithic site is between 436 ± 30 and 416 ± 42 ka, approximately with an average of 426 ± 36 ka, which corresponds to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12 or loess layer L5. In addition, the disappearance time of the eastern part of the Nihewan paleolake may be approximately 430 ka.

Epilepsy is commonly recognized as a disease driven by generalized hyperexcited and hypersynchronous neural activity. Sodium-activated potassium channels (KNa channels), which are encoded by the Slo 2.2 and Slo 2.1 genes, are widely expressed in the central nervous system and considered as “brakes” to adjust neuronal adaptation through regulating action potential threshold or after-hyperpolarization under physiological condition. However, the variants in KNa channels, especially gain-of-function variants, have been found in several childhood epileptic conditions. Most previous studies focused on mapping the epileptic network on the macroscopic scale while ignoring the value of microscopic changes. Notably, paradoxical role of KNa channels working on individual neuron/microcircuit and the macroscopic epileptic expression highlights the importance of understanding epileptogenic network through combining microscopic and macroscopic methods. Here, we first illustrated the molecular and physiological function of KNa channels on preclinical seizure models and patients with epilepsy. Next, we summarized current hypothesis on the potential role of KNa channels during seizures to provide essential insight into what emerged as a micro-macro disconnection at different levels. Additionally, we highlighted the potential utility of KNa channels as therapeutic targets for developing innovative anti-seizure medications.

Personalized treatments based on the genetic profiles of tumors can simultaneously optimize efficacy and minimize toxicity, which is beneficial for improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to integrate gene alterations associated with predictive and prognostic outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in-house next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations. In the present study, 41 patients with mCRC were assessed between August 2017 and June 2019 at a single institution. The overall concordance between NGS and PCR results for detecting KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations was considerably high (87.8–92.7%), with only 15 discrepant results between PCR and NGS. Our companion diagnostic test analyzes KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF as a panel of CRC molecular targets; therefore, it has the advantages of requiring fewer specimens and being more time and cost efficient than conventional testing for separate analyses, allowing for the simultaneous analysis of multiple genes.

A new ternary Ag(I) coordination polymer, namely [Ag(L)0.5(2-cpy)(H2O)]n (1, H2L = 1, 5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid, 2-cpy = 2-cyanopyridine), has been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Its photocatalytic performance was also investigated via methylene blue (MB) photodegradation via the irradiation of UV light. For the prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bone metastasis, the liver cancer cells invasion and migration ability was measured with trans-well assay. The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) relative expression in the cancer cells was examined with real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Aims. The study aims to explore the effects of the single-nucleotide polymorphism of miR-27a and its expression in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-related diseases and the relationship between gastric pathology and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Methods. Subjects were classified into six histopathological groups and five TCM syndrome groups. All specimens underwent H. pylori detection through rapid urease test and methylene blue staining. Histopathological characteristics were observed by hematoxylin-eosin. The expression of miR-27a and its genotype were, respectively, detected by Quantitative Real-Time PCR and direct sequencing. Results. H. pylori promoted the malignant evolution of gastric mucosa and were involved in the formation of TCM syndrome. In H. pylori-positive patients, the frequency of miR-27a CT genotype at the rs895819 locus and its expression in the gastric cancer group were higher than those in other pathological groups. TCM syndrome had a close relationship with histopathological changes, and patients with spleen-qi deficiency syndrome had a higher risk of gastric cancer than other syndromes, regardless of H. pylori infection. Conclusion. The C allele at miR-27a rs895819 locus may be an oncogene in gastric cancer. High levels of miR-27a could play an important role in gastric malignant evolution, especially cancerization. There is a certain connection between TCM syndrome and pathological changes of the gastric mucosa to some extent, where patients with SQD syndrome had a higher risk of GC.

The Theory of Mind Inventory-2 (ToMI-2) is a promising measure for assessing theory of mind (ToM) and social-related functions. However, limited evidence on its factorial validity hampers score interpretation. To examine the factorial validity, confirmatory factor analysis for two currently-available structures was performed in 420 typically developing children aged three to seven years. One, the development-based structure, contains three stages of ToM development: the early, basic, and advanced ToM stages. The other, the social-related structure, comprises three social-related ToM functions: emotion recognition, mental state term comprehension, and pragmatics. The results showed that these structures and the unidimensionality of each domain were not supported even after modifications. Thus, further revisions and examinations of the underlying structures of the ToMI-2 are needed.

The Yinchuan Basin, one of the most important basins in the area adjacent to the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, contains a continuous sequence of fluvio-lacustrine deposits, which makes it an ideal area to study the interactions between the Tibetan Plateau uplift, climate change, and geomorphological evolution. Here, a 1200-m-deep drill core (YNZK01) is described with an average recovery rate of 96% in the depo-center of the Yinchuan Basin to establish a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and tectonic reconstruction. Stepwise alternating-field demagnetization results showed a stable and high-qualified remanent magnetization of the samples. The polarity sequences consisted of 8 normal and 8 reverse zones that correlate well with the geomagnetic polarity timescale. Magnetostratigraphic results date the entire YNZK01 core from 3.927 Ma to the present. The B/M boundary (0.781 Ma) is at a depth of 246.4 m while the M/G boundary (2.581 Ma) is at a depth of 863.4 m. The G/Gi boundary (3.596 Ma) is identified at 1117.8 m and the bottom of the core was extrapolated to 3.927 Ma (1201 m) with an average sedimentation rate of 863.4–1117.8 m. This high-resolution magnetostratigraphy record provides a baseline chronological framework for further research and publications on the tectonic, paleoclimatic, and paleoenvironmental proxy data of the YNZK01 core in the Yinchuan Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau.

Objective To explore the core acupoints and combination rules of acupuncture therapy for postoperative urinary retention after hemorrhoidectomy, and, further to analyze the characteristics of the prescription of acupuncture therapy for postoperative urinary retention after hemorrhoidectomy. Methods Relevant clinical studies in seven databases were searched systematically from database inception to 1st October 2020. Based on data mining techniques, the core acupoints, characteristics and combination rules of acupuncture therapy for postoperative urinary retention after hemorrhoidectomy were analyzed comprehensively. Statistics collected and analysis of acupoint selection included the frequency of usage of acupoints, the meridian of acupoints, the location of acupoints and the combination of acupoints. Cluster and association analysis were performed utilizing Excel 13.0 and SPSS 26.0. Results In the 36 studies included, the most frequently adopted acupoint was Sānyīnjiāo (三阴交 SP6); the most frequently adopted meridian was the foot-taiyin spleen meridian; the most frequently involved location was the lower limbs; and the most frequently adopted combination of acupoints was SP6 and Zhōngji (中极CV 3). Cluster analysis showed that the acupoints could be divided into three categories: the first group comprised SP6 alone; the second group included CV3, Guānyuan (关元CV4), Yīnlingquan (阴陵泉SP9) and Zusānlǐ (足三里ST36); and the third group included Pangguāngshū (膀胱俞BL28), Chengshān (承山BL57), Taichōng (太冲LR3), Zhibiān (秩边 BL54), Taixī (太溪KI6), Hegǔ (合谷 LI4), Xuehǎi (血海SP10), Qihǎi (气海CV6) and Shǔidao (水道ST28). Conclusion It was found that acupuncture therapy for postoperative urinary retention after hemorrhoidectomy mainly follows the four characteristic rules: the selection of acupoints following the meridian, selection of acupoints at local points, selection of acupoints at distal points and selection of acupoints according to special symptoms.

Biochar has attracted great interest in both CO2 capture and supercapacitor applications due to its unique physicochemical properties and low cost.