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Dual-fuel engines, which are powered by natural gas while using a small amount of diesel for ignition, have become an attractive option in the marine sector due to their fuel flexibility and relatively good emission characteristics. Altering the fuel injection timing can change the combustion state of natural gas in the cylinder, which in turn affects engine stability and leads to engine knocking.

The entomopathogenic fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, formerly known as Cordyceps sinensis, has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many illnesses. In recent years its usage has increased dramatically because of the improvement of people's living standard and the emphasis on health. Such demands have resulted in over-harvesting of this fungus in the wild. Fortunately, scientists have demonstrated that artificially cultured and fermented mycelial products of O. sinensis have similar pharmacological activities to wild O. sinensis. The availability of laboratory cultures will likely to further expand its usage for the treatment of various illnesses. In this review, we summarize recent results on the pharmacological activities of the components of O. sinensis and their putative mechanisms of actions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient strategy for the regioselective ortho-acylation of azoxybenzenes with various aldehydes in the presence of palladium catalysts has been developed and furnishes good to excellent yields. The reaction proceeds smoothly and can tolerate a variety of functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor cell stemness plays a pivotal role in generating functional heterogeneity within tumors and is implicated in essential processes such as drug resistance, metastasis, and cell proliferation. Therefore, creating novel tumor diagnostic techniques and therapeutic plans requires a knowledge of the possible processes that preserve the stem cell-like qualities of cancers. Bioinformatics analysis of NOLC1 expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and prediction of its upstream transcription factors and their binding sites were completed. RT-qPCR detection of NOLC1 and FOXA1 expression, colony formation assay of cell proliferation, Transwell assay of cell invasion, sphere formation assay of cell stemness, western blot detection of CD133, OCT4, GLI1, NOTCH1 and Hes1 expression, CCK-8 assay of IC 50 value of cisplatin, and ChIP and dual-luciferase reporter validation of binding relationship between NOLC1 and FOXA1 were done. NOLC1 expression was elevated in LUAD cells and tissues. Decreased NOLC1 expression inhibited the proliferation and invasive capacity of LUAD cells, prevented LUAD cells from becoming stem cells, and suppressed cisplatin resistance in the cells. Rescue tests demonstrated that NOLC1 activated the NOTCH pathway to increase the stemness of LUAD cells and promoted cisplatin resistance in LUAD cells. The activation of NOLC1 transcription by FOXA1 was validated by bioinformatics prediction and molecular verification, and the FOXA1/NOLC1 axis enhanced the stemness of LUAD cells. Activation of NOLC1 transcription by FOXA1 through NOTCH pathway promoted stemness of LUAD. FOXA1/NOLC1 axis is expected to become a new target for inhibiting stemness of LUAD cells., (© 2025 The Author(s). The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Kaohsiung Medical University.)

Background: Gut microbiome on predicting clinical responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has been discussed in detail for decades, while microecological features of the lower respiratory tract within advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are still relatively vague., Methods: During this study, 26 bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) from advanced NSCLC participants who received immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy were performed 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolome sequencing to identify differentially abundant microbes and metabolic characteristics. Additionally, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were also launched in paired BALF and serum samples by immunoassays to uncover their underlying correlations. The omics data were separately analyzed and integrated by using multiple correlation coefficients. Multiplex immunohistochemical staining was then used to assess the immune cell infiltration after immune checkpoint blockade therapy., Results: Lower respiratory tract microbiome diversity favoured preferred responses to ICIs. Microbial markers demonstrated microbial diversity overweight a single strain in favoured response to ICI therapy, where Bacillus matters. Sphingomonas and Sediminibacterium were liable to remodulate lipid and essential amino acid degradations to embrace progression after immunotherapies. Microbiome-derived metabolites reshaped the immune microenvironment in the lower respiratory tract by releasing inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which was partially achieved by metabolite-mediated tumoral inflammatory products and reduction of CD8 + effective T cells and M1 phenotypes macrophages in malignant lesions., Conclusions: This study provided a microecological landscape of the lower respiratory tract with advanced NSCLC to ICI interventions and presented a multidimensional perspective with favoured outcomes that may improve the predictive capacity of the localized microbiome in clinical practices., Highlights: Alterations of the lower respiratory tract microbiome indicate different clinical responses to ICB within advanced NSCLC. Reduced microbial diversity of lower respiratory tracts impairs anti-tumoral performances. Microbe-derived metabolites perform as a dominant regulator to remodify the microecological environment in lower respiratory tracts. Multi-omics sequencings of the lower respiratory tract possess the potential to predict the long-term clinical responses to ICB among advanced NSCLC., (© 2025 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Shanghai Institute of Clinical Bioinformatics.)

Lung cancer accounts for the large majority of cancer incidence and mortality worldwide for decades. The dysbiotic microbiome and its metabolite secretions in the gut have been regarded as the dominant biological factors in oncogenesis, development, and progression, adding probiotic components of which have come to be potential therapeutic regimes. However, there still exists little knowledge about whether probiotic microorganisms in lower airways inhibit lung cancer by lung microenvironment remodulation. In this study, we performed bioinformatics analysis from previous sequencing data and specific microbiome databases to identify the potent protective microbes in lower airways, followed by bacterial cultivation and morphological verifications in vitro . We found that Paenibacillus odorifer was correlated closely with the anti-tumorous by-product acetic acid in lower respiratory tract. Additionally, the enrichment of this microorganism in the health, rather than in lung neoplasms from public data sets, further confirmed its protective activity in preserving pulmonary homeostasis. Colony cultivation of this strain and targeted metabolite analysis indicated that Paenibacillus odorifer proliferation was weakened at 37°C but lasted longer than it did at the optimal temperature. And performing as a candidate origin of acetic acid, this strain was liable to inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells in time- and dose-dependent approaches which was validated by colony formation assays. These results suggested that Paenibacillus odorifer functions as a candidate probiotic in lower airways to restrict lung cancer cell growth by releasing protective molecules, indicating a potential preventive microbial strategy.IMPORTANCEVarious types of microorganisms in lower respiratory tracts protect local homeostasis against oncogenesis. Although extensive efforts engaged in gut microbiome-mediated pulmonary carcinogenesis, emerging evidence suggested the crucial role of microbial metabolites from respiratory tracts in modulating carcinogenesis-related host inflammation and DNA damage in lung cancer, which was still not fully understood in lower respiratory tract microbes and its metabolite-mediated microecological environment homeostasis in preventing or alleviating lung cancer. In this study, we analyzed the lower respiratory tract microbiome and SCFAs expression among different lung segments from the same participants, further identifying that Paenibacillus odorifer was correlated closely with anti-tumorous by-product, acetate acid in lower respiratory tract by multi-omics analysis. And previous experiments showed this strain could inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells in vitro . These findings indicated that Paenibacillus odorifer in lower respiratory tracts might perform as a candidate probiotic against lung carcinogenesis by releasing protective factor acetate, which further presented a promising diagnostic and interventional approach in clinical settings of lung cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

To explore the effect of refined psychological pain nursing combined with information-motivation-behavioral (IMB) care model on the pain, sleep and quality of life of patients after cervical cancer surgery, so as to provide reference and basis for the nursing of patients after cervical cancer surgery. The clinical data of 798 postoperative cervical cancer patients who were nursing in our hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were included in this retrospective study and divided into the control group (n = 382) and observation group (n = 416) according to the different care methods. The control group used refined psychological pain nursing, and on this basis, the observation group used IMB nursing to observe and compare the differences in pain, sleep and quality of life between the 2 groups. There was no significant difference in pain between the 2 groups before nursing (P > .05). After nursing, the pain of both groups was significantly improved. The scores of NRS, VAS, and PSEQ of the observation group were significantly better than those of the control group (P < .001). After nursing, the quality of life scores such as emotion, cognition, society, and overall health were significantly higher in the observation group than those of the control group, while physical, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and pain were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < .05). The negative emotion score of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < .001). The residual urine volume and urinary tract infection rate of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < .05). The bladder function was significantly better than that of the control group (P < .05). The analgesic effect of refined psychological pain nursing combined with IMB nursing on patients after cervical cancer surgery is better than that of refined psychological pain nursing alone, which can promote pain recovery and further improve the quality of life and sleep quality of patients., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

In order to investigate effects of Platycodon grandiflorum and pepper intercropping on root growth, yield and quality of P. grandiflorum, field experiments were conducted in the soils of continuously cultivated P. grandiflorum for three years. The cultivation model was designed as monoculture and intercropping. The monoculture of P. grandiflorum was denoted as CK and the intercrop association of P. grandiflorum/pepper was arranged as follow: in intercrops every two rows of pepper was planted between every three, four and five rows of P. grandiflorum, respectively, and denoted as JC₃₂, JC₄₂ and JC₅₂. Results showed that taproot length and diameter of P. grandiflorum in intercropping association of JC₃₂ was higher than those of P. grandiflorum in monoculture association. This fact suggested that P. grandiflorum intercropped with pepper facilitated its root growth. Compared with monoculture association, the number of lateral root in intercropping association was significantly decreased and the location of lateral root at taproot also altered. This fact suggested that P. grandiflorum intercropped with pepper enhanced appearance quality of P. grandiflorum root. Total root yield and taproot yield of P. grandiflorum in JC₄₂ and JC₅₂ intercropping associations were increased by 4.88%, 8.91% and 14.23%, 12.92%, respectively, compared with monoculture, while root rot incidence decreased significantly. Compared with JC₅₂ intercropping association, JC₄₂ intercropping association significantly increased total saponin and protein contents of P. grandiflorum, decreased root rot incidence, but did not affect taproot yield significantly. Considering root yield and quality, when P. grandiflorum planted in the soil having continuously cultivated P. grandiflorum for three years, the optimal cultivation model was every two rows of pepper was planted between four rows P. grandiflorum., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation effects of recombinant human CuZn superoxide dismutase(rhSOD) on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by meconium aspiration in rats., Methods: 1 ml/kg of 20% human newborn meconium suspension was intratracheally (IT) administrated to induce the model of ALI in 32 male Sprage-Dawley rats, and the animals were then randomized to 4 groups: 3 treatment groups with IT administration of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg rhSOD dissolved in 1 ml/kg saline and the control group with IT administration of 1 ml/kg saline. The animals were killed after 24 h of treatments. The measurements included lung tissue wet/dry ratio, broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein, BALF protein/plasma protein (pulmonary permeability index, PPI),lung myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, nitric oxide (NO) and 8-isoprostane levels. Lung injury score was also evaluated., Results: Compared with the control group, pulmonary MPO activity, NO and 8-isoprostane levels were significantly decreased and SOD activity was markedly increased in all rhSOD treatment groups (P<0.05 or 0.01). Compared with the rhSOD 5 mg/kg group, pulmonary 8-isoprostane level was further low in the rhSOD 20 mg/kg group(P=0.01). Lung injury score was decreased in rhSOD 20 mg/kg group (P<0.05). But there were no statistically differences in lung wet/dry, BALF protein and PPI among all groups., Conclusion: The results suggest that a single IT dose of 5,10 or 20 mg/kg rhSOD can prevent lung damages in rats with ALI following meconium aspiration.

Objective: To evaluate the protective effects of recombinant human superoxide dismutase (rhSOD) in acute lung injury (ALI) following meconium aspiration., Methods: Thirty-two healthy male Sprage-Dawley rats were divided into two groups, 8 were used as control (saline group) by infusing 1 ml/kg saline through endotracheal tube; the other 24 rats were used to establish model of ALI by infusing 1 ml/kg of 20% human newborn meconium suspension through endotracheal tube, and then were randomized to 3 groups (8 each): meconium group with no administration of saline or rhSOD; meconium + saline group by infusing 1 ml/kg saline through endotracheal tube; meconium + rhSOD group by infusing 20 mg/kg rhSOD dissolved in 1 ml/kg saline through endotracheal tube. The rats were killed 24 h after treatment. The measurements included bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell counts, protein, BALF protein/plasma protein (pulmonary permibility index, PPI), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), pulmonary myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) level. Lung injury score was also evaluated., Results: Compared with the saline group, the rats in the meconium group had significantly increased BALF cell counts (4.04 +/- 1.01 vs. 0.53 +/- 0.19), protein (2.54 +/- 0.74 vs. 0.67 +/- 0.26), PPI (0.50 +/- 0.18 vs. 0.12 +/- 0.05), LDH (263.50 +/- 97.84 vs. 17.38 +/- 3.58), pulmonary MPO (1.49 +/- 0.22 vs. 0.62 +/- 0.16), MDA (3.30 +/- 0.85 vs. 1.40 +/- 0.35), NO (12.77 +/- 5.00 vs. 4.89 +/- 1.32) and lung injury score (9.88 +/- 2.10 vs. 2.25 +/- 1.04), P < 0.01 for all, whereas pulmonary SOD activity had no statistically significant differences (103.28 +/- 24.53 vs. 94.49 +/- 12.93, P > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between meconium + saline group and meconium group (all P > 0.05). Compared with the meconium + saline group, meconium + rhSOD group had decreased BALF cell counts (3.13 +/- 0.77 vs. 4.68 +/- 1.40, P < 0.01), LDH (162.63 +/- 76.90 vs. 273.75 +/- 111.83, P < 0.05), pulmonary MPO activity (1.23 +/- 0.28 vs. 1.54 +/- 0.24, P < 0.05), MDA (2.46 +/- 0.42 vs. 3.50 +/- 0.82, P < 0.01), NO level (9.17 +/- 2.34 vs. 13.04 +/- 4.38, P < 0.05), lung injury score (8.63 +/- 1.30 vs. 10.00 +/- 1.07, P < 0.05) and increased pulmonary SOD activity (134.45 +/- 23.30 vs. 106.79 +/- 17.77, P < 0.05), but there were no statistically significant differences in BALF protein and PPI between these two groups., Conclusion: Inflammation and lipid peroxidation might play important roles in the pathogenesis of ALI with meconium aspiration, a single early administration of 20 mg/kg rhSOD intratracheally can reduce lung damage in rats following meconium aspiration.