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Objective: To analyze the effect of interventional surgery on treatment efficacy and inflammatory cytokine (ICK) levels in diabetic patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD)., Methods: A total of 116 diabetic patients with PVD admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from August 2020 to March 2022 were selected for this retrospective analysis. Patients were divided into two groups: 58 patients receiving conventional medication were assigned to the control group, while 58 patients receiving interventional surgery in addition to conventional medication were assigned to the research group. Comparative analyses were conducted based on clinical efficacy, symptom relief (limb pain, numbness, intermittent claudication, and coldness), ankle-brachial index (ABI) scores, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), arterial inner diameter, and ICK levels., Results: The research group demonstrated a significantly higher overall effective rate compared to the control group, with markedly higher ABI scores, faster symptom resolution, increased VEGF and TGF-β levels, greater arterial diameters, and lower ICK levels., Conclusion: Interventional surgery provides superior outcomes compared to conventional medication for treating diabetic patients with PVD, offering greater benefits in terms of ABI improvement, symptom relief, vascular factors, arterial diameter expansion, and ICK reduction., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2024.)

Study Objective: Propofol is a commonly utilized anesthetic for painless colonoscopy, but its usage is occasionally limited due to its potential side effects, including cardiopulmonary suppression and injection pain. To address this limitation, the novel compound ciprofol has been proposed as a possible alternative for propofol. This study sought to determine whether there are any differences in the safety and efficacy of propofol and ciprofol for painless colonoscopy., Design: Randomized clinical trial., Setting: Single-centre, class A tertiary hospital, November 2021 to November 2022., Patients: Adult, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status I to II and body mass index of 18 to 30 kg m -2 patients scheduled to undergo colonoscopy., Interventions: Consecutive patients were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive sedation for colonoscopy with ciprofol (group C) or propofol (group P)., Measurements: The primary outcome was the success rate of colonoscopy. The secondary outcomes were onset time of sedation, operation time, recovery time and discharge time, patients and endoscopists satisfaction, side effects (e.g. injection pain, myoclonus, drowsiness, dizziness, procedure recall, nausea and vomiting) and incidence rate of cardiopulmonary adverse events., Main Results: No significant difference was found in the success rate of colonoscopy between the two groups (ciprofol 96.3% vs. propofol 97.6%; mean difference - 1.2%, 95% CI: -6.5% to 4.0%, P = 0.650). However, group C showed prolonged sedation (63.4 vs. 54.8 s, P < 0.001) and fully alert times (9 vs 8 min, P = 0.013), as well as reduced incidences of injection pain (0 vs. 40.2%, P < 0.001), respiratory depression (2.4% vs. 13.4%, P = 0.021) and hypotension (65.9% vs. 80.5%, P = 0.034). Patients satisfaction was also higher in Group C (10 vs 9, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Ciprofol can be used independently for colonoscopy. When comparing the sedation efficacy of ciprofol and propofol, a 0.4 mg kg -1 dose of ciprofol proved to be equal to a 2.0 mg kg -1 dose of propofol, with fewer side effects and greater patient satisfaction during the procedure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The shotgun proteomic analysis is currently the most promising single-cell protein sequencing technology, however its identification level of ~1000 proteins per cell is still insufficient for practical applications. Here, we develop a pick-up single-cell proteomic analysis (PiSPA) workflow to achieve a deep identification capable of quantifying up to 3000 protein groups in a mammalian cell using the label-free quantitative method. The PiSPA workflow is specially established for single-cell samples mainly based on a nanoliter-scale microfluidic liquid handling robot, capable of achieving single-cell capture, pretreatment and injection under the pick-up operation strategy. Using this customized workflow with remarkable improvement in protein identification, 2449-3500, 2278-3257 and 1621-2904 protein groups are quantified in single A549 cells (n = 37), HeLa cells (n = 44) and U2OS cells (n = 27) under the DIA (MBR) mode, respectively. Benefiting from the flexible cell picking-up ability, we study HeLa cell migration at the single cell proteome level, demonstrating the potential in practical biological research from single-cell insight., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Although single-cell multi-omics technologies are undergoing rapid development, simultaneous transcriptome and proteome analysis of a single-cell individual still faces great challenges. Here, we developed a single-cell simultaneous transcriptome and proteome (scSTAP) analysis platform based on microfluidics, high-throughput sequencing, and mass spectrometry technology to achieve deep and joint quantitative analysis of transcriptome and proteome at the single-cell level, providing an important resource for understanding the relationship between transcription and translation in cells. This platform was applied to analyze single mouse oocytes at different meiotic maturation stages, reaching an average quantification depth of 19,948 genes and 2,663 protein groups in single mouse oocytes. In particular, we analyzed the correlation of individual RNA and protein pairs, as well as the meiosis regulatory network with unprecedented depth, and identified 30 transcript-protein pairs as specific oocyte maturational signatures, which could be productive for exploring transcriptional and translational regulatory features during oocyte meiosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Yongcheng Wang is a co-founder, equity holder, and consultant of M20 Genomics., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Music intervention is commonly used as a non-pharmacologic therapeutic modality to alleviate anxiety in perioperative patients. This study aimed to assess the sedative and anxiolytic effects of music on elderly patients receiving transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) under spinal anesthesia., Methods: This was a prospective randomized controlled trial on patients who aged over 60 and received TURP under spinal anesthesia. Participants were randomized to the music group or the control group (no music). The primary outcome was perioperative BIS values, and the secondary outcomes were patient's perioperative anxiety levels, heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and patient satisfaction score., Results: A total of 82 patients were analyzed. The perioperative BIS values in the music group were significantly lower than those of the control group at almost all time points (P < 0.001), as well as showed a significant reduction compared with baseline (P < 0.001), whereas the control group did not. In comparison with the control group, systolic blood pressure (SBP) significantly decreased in the music group at the beginning (mean difference, - 8.0 mmHg; 95% CI - 15.70 to 0.35; P = 0.041) and the 60th minute (mean difference, - 7.9 mmHg; 95% CI - 15.30 to 0.51; P = 0.037) of TURP. Furthermore, compared with baseline within the music group, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HR significant reduced at whole time points (P < 0.05), yet the control group not., Conclusion: Music intervention effectively provided slight sedation for elderly patients when undergoing TURP under spinal anesthesia without sedatives., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists.)

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread worldwide. Integrated Chinese and Western medicine have had some successes in treating COVID-19., Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of three traditional Chinese medicine drugs and three herbal formulas (3-drugs-3-formulas) in patients with COVID-19., Search Strategy: Relevant studies were identified from 12 electronic databases searched from their establishment to April 7, 2022., Inclusion Criteria: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs and cohort studies that evaluated the effects of 3-drugs-3-formulas for COVID-19. The treatment group was treated with one of the 3-drugs-3-formulas plus conventional treatment. The control group was treated with conventional treatment., Data Extraction and Analysis: Two evaluators screened and selected literature independently, then extracted basic information and assessed risk of bias. The treatment outcome measures were duration of main symptoms, hospitalization time, aggravation rate and mortality. RevMan 5.4 was used to analyze the pooled results reported as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for continuous data and risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI for dichotomous data., Results: Forty-one studies with a total of 13,260 participants were identified. Our analysis suggests that compared with conventional treatment, the combination of 3-drugs-3-formulas might shorten duration of fever (MD = -1.39; 95% CI: -2.19 to -0.59; P < 0.05), cough (MD = -1.57; 95% CI: -2.16 to -0.98; P < 0.05) and fatigue (MD = -1.36; 95% CI: -2.21 to -0.51; P < 0.05), decrease length of hospital stay (MD = -2.62; 95% CI -3.52 to -1.72; P < 0.05), the time for nucleic acid conversion (MD = -2.92; 95% CI: -4.26 to -1.59; P < 0.05), aggravation rate (RR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.64; P < 0.05) and mortality (RR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.62; P < 0.05), and increase the recovery rate of chest computerized tomography manifestations (RR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.3; P < 0.05) and total effectiveness (RR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.42; P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The 3-drugs-3-formulas can play an active role in treating all stages of COVID-19. No severe adverse events related to 3-drugs-3-formulas were observed. Hence, 3-drugs-3-formulas combined with conventional therapies have effective therapeutic value for COVID-19 patients. Further long-term high-quality studies are essential to demonstrate the clinical benefits of each formula. Please cite this article as: You LZ, Dai QQ, Zhong XY, Yu DD, Cui HR, Kong YF, Zhao MZ, Zhang XY, Xu QQ, Guan ZY, Wei XX, Zhang XC, Han SJ, Liu WJ, Chen Z, Zhang XY, Zhao C, Jin YH, Shang HC. Clinical evidence of three traditional Chinese medicine drugs and three herbal formulas for COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Chinese population. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 441-454., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Shanghai Changhai Hospital. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyze the prevalence, genotype distribution and hematological characteristics of α,β-thalassaemia carriers in Huizhou area of Guangdong Province., Methods: 10 809 carriers of simple β-thalassaemia and 1 757 carriers of α,β-thalassaemia were enrolled as our study cohort. The hematological parameters were detected by automated blood cell counters and automatic capillary electrophoresis. Suspension array technology, gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and PCR-reverse dot blot were used for the genotyping of thalassaemia carriers., Results: The prevalence of α,β-thalassaemia in Huizhou area of Guangdong Province was 1.99%. A total of 62 genotypes were detected, and the most prevalent genotype was -- SEA / αα , β CD41-42 / β N (19.29%), the next was -- SEA / αα , β IVS-II-654 / β N (16.73%). Significant differences in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were found between different genotype groups for simple β-thalassaemia and α,β-thalassaemia. Violin plots showed that carriers with co-inheritance of β-thalassaemia and mild α-thalassaemia expressed the lightest anemia, and carriers with co-inheritance of β-thalassaemia and hemoglobin H (Hb H) disease expressed the most severe anemia., Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of α,β-thalassaemia in Huizhou area of Guangdong Province. Because of the lack of specific hematological makers for diagnosis of α,β-thalassaemia, it is necessary to distinguish it from simple β-thalassaemia by genotyping of α- and β-thalassaemia in order to correctly guide genetic counseling and prenatal disgnosis.

Purpose: Propofol can be used alone or in combination with opioids during gastroscopy. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous propofol and different doses of alfentanil in patients undergoing gastroscopy., Methods: A total of 300 patients undergoing sedative gastroscopy were randomly divided into four groups, and 0.9% saline (group A), 2 μg/kg alfentanil (group B), 3 μg/kg alfentanil (group C) or 4 μg/kg alfentanil (group D) were injected intravenously 1 min before the intravenous injection of 1.5 mg/kg propofol. If body movement and coughing occurred during the procedure, 0.5 mg/kg propofol would be administered intravenously. The primary outcome (awakening time) and secondary outcomes were recorded and analyzed, including hemodynamic changes, the incidences of body movement, coughing, hypoxemia, hypotension, hypertension, bradycardia, tachycardia, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness and dizziness., Results: Patients in group C (7.0 [5.0 to 8.0] min) and group D (6.0 [5.0 to 7.0] min) woke up significantly earlier than those in group A (8.0 [6.0 to 10.0] min) (P < 0.001). Patients in group A experienced more body movement (P = 0.001) and coughing (P < 0.001) than the other groups. With the increasing dose of alfentanil, the morbidity of hypotension and bradycardia increased significantly (P = 0.001), while the incidence of dizziness decreased significantly (P = 0.037). The incidences of hypoxemia, tachycardia, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting were similar among the four groups (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Intravenous 1.5 mg/kg propofol combined with 3 μg/kg alfentanil is more suitable for patients undergoing gastroscopy, and the dose of alfentanil can be reduced according to the patient's actual physical condition., (© 2022. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists.)

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has a long history and abundant experience in external therapy, which marks human wisdom. In the early history of human, people found that fumigation, coating, and sticking of some tree branches and herb stems can help alleviate scabies and remove parasites in productive labor, which indicates the emergence of external therapy. Pathogen usually enters the body through the surface, so external therapy can be used to treat the disease. External therapy is among the major characteristic of surgery of TCM. As one of the external therapies in TCM, external application to acupoints smooths the zang-fu organs through meridians and collaterals, thereby harmonizing yin and yang. This therapy emerged in the early society, formed the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, improved in the Song and Ming dynasties, and matured in the Qing dynasty. With the efforts of experts in history, it has had a mature theory. According to modern research, it can avoid the first-pass effect of liver and the gastrointestinal irritation and improve the bioavailability of Chinese medicine. Based on the effect of Chinese medicine and the theory of meridian and collateral, it can stimulate the acupoints, exert regulatory effect on acupoints, and give full play to the efficacy of TCM and the interaction of the two. Thereby, it can regulate qi and blood and balance yin and yang, thus being widely used in the treatment of diseases. In this paper, the use of external application to acupoints, the effect on skin immunity, the regulation of neuro-inflammatory mechanism, the relationship between acupoint application and human circulation network, and the development of its dosage form were summarized through literature review. On this basis, this study is expected to lay a foundation for further research.

Background: The CYP2C19 gene is highly polymorphic, and CYP2C19 is involved in the broad interindividual variability of the clinical efficacy of certain clinical medications, such as clopidogrel. However, data on the CYP2C19 genotype in the Chinese population of the Foshan area of Guangdong Province are scarce. The purpose of this study was to determine CYP2C19 genetic polymorphisms in patients in the Foshan area and to compare the CYP2C19 genotype frequencies in different populations to determine the allele distribution pattern to identify the most appropriate prescription., Methods: The CYP2C19 gene was detected in 1231 patients on a gene chip platform, and the genotype frequencies of CYP2C19 in Foshan populations from different populations were compared., Results: The frequencies of CYP2C19*1 , *2 and *3 in the Foshan population were 63.89%, 30.46% and 5.65%, respectively. For the three metabolic types, the frequency associated with the rapid metabolism type ( *1/*1 ) was 41.51 [95% confidence interval (CI) 40.11 to 42.91%]; that for the intermediate metabolism type ( *1/*2, *1/*3 ) was 44.76% (95% CI 43.34 to 46.18) and that for the slow metabolism type (*2/*2, *2/*3, *3/*3 ) was 13.73% (95% CI 12.75 to 14.71%). In the Foshan population, the frequencies of the CYP2C19 *2 and *3 alleles were similar to those previously reported for Chinese and other Asian populations., Conclusion: Our study is a report on the genetic basis of CYP2C19 polymorphism in the Foshan population. Our results will potentially contribute to the improvement of pharmacotherapy effectiveness by providing personalized medicine for the Foshan population.

Purpose: Shear wave elastography (SWE) accurately and sensitively evaluates arterial wall stiffness by quantifying the elastic modulus (EM); however, the absence of reference values has precluded its widespread clinical application. This prospective cohort study aimed to establish reference values for the carotid EM using SWE; investigate the main determinants of the EM; and evaluate EM changes in coronary slow flow (CSF), which is characterized by delayed coronary opacification without evident obstructive lesion in epicardial coronary artery on angiography., Method: This study enrolled 169 healthy volunteers and 30 patients with CSF. The carotid maximum EM (EMmax), mean EM, and minimum EM were measured using SWE. CSF was diagnosed by thrombolysis in the myocardial infarction frame count during coronary angiography., Results: No differences were found in the EM between the left and right carotid arteries and between men and women. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age was independently correlated with the EMmax, which progressively increased with age. Moreover, smoking had an independent influence on the EM after adjusting for age; smokers had higher EM than non-smokers. Age-specific reference values for the carotid EM were established. The EM was higher in patients with CSF than in controls after adjusting for age and smoking status., Conclusions: This study first established the reference values for the carotid EM using SWE. Age and smoking status were the main determinants of the EM. Patients with CSF had high EM. SWE can effectively and noninvasively evaluate arterial stiffness in patients with CSF., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the fact that most hemoglobin (Hb) variants are clinically and hematologically silent, they can interact with thalassemias, which could sometimes give rise to complicated routine thalassemia diagnostics. Hb G-Siriraj [β7(A4)Glu→Lys; HBB : c.22G>A] alone is a benign condition, but its coinheritance with α-thalassemia (α-thal) may lead to misdiagnosis. We describe the case of a Chinese woman with an elevated Hb A 2 level who was assumed to carry heterozygous β-thalassemia (β-thal), but was later shown to be a double heterozygote for Hb G-Siriraj and Hb H disease. This study for the first time described hematological characteristics of a patient with a double heterozygosity for Hb G-Siriraj and Hb H disease. It is of great significance for technicians and clinicians to expand their knowledge as well as to help guide clinical diagnosis, population screening and genetic counseling.

Objectives: To evaluate the value of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) combined with impulse oscillometry (IOS) in the diagnosis of asthma in preschool children, and to establish the optimal predictive model., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 156 children with wheezing, aged 3-5 years, who were admitted from September 2019 to December 2020. These children were divided into an asthma group with 52 children and a non-asthma group with 104 children. The two groups were compared in terms of IOS parameters, FeNO, and clinical data. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to establish the optimal predictive model., Results: Compared with the non-asthma group, the asthma group had significantly higher total respiratory system impedance at 5 Hz (Z5), resistance of respiratory system at 5 Hz and 20 Hz (R5 and R20, respectively), resonance frequency, reactance area (AX), and FeNO and a significantly lower reactance difference at 5 Hz ( P <0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that Z5, R5, R20, and FeNO had a certain value in the diagnosis of asthma ( P <0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis established the optimal predictive model of R20+AX+FeNO, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.858 ( P <0.05), a sensitivity of 78.8%, and a specificity of 76.9%., Conclusions: FeNO combined with IOS is helpful for the diagnosis of asthma in preschool children, and the model of R20+AX+FeNO has a certain value in the diagnosis of asthma in these children.

Advances in science and technology promote the rapid development of toxicological detection technologies. However, there is still a lack of decision-making tools for toxicological risk assessment, such as the lack of transparent schemes to evaluate current toxicological research and practice and the lag of toxicological testing tools to evaluate toxicity, resulting in difficulties in toxicity verification and hindering the transformation of toxicological research paradigm. Some scholars have proposed to integrate the concept of evidence-based medicine with the toxicological practice to improve the technical methods of toxicological research concept and risk assessment decision-making. With the promotion of relevant scholars and academic organizations, the concept and connotation of evidence-based toxicology have gradually become clear and a framework for research and practice has been initially formed. Although there are still many challenges, it also provides a new idea for the toxicity risk assessment and safe medication decision-making of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). The era of digital intelligence has brought new opportunities and broad space for the development of TCM evidence-based toxicology. The exploration of TCM evidence-based toxicology from concept to method is an important embodiment of the development of TCM evidence-based toxicology, and will also promote the continuous enrichment and improvement of the research and practice system of TCM evidence-based toxicology.

Tissue engineering based on the combined use of isolated cells, scaffolds, and growth factors is widely used; however, the manufacture of cell-preloaded scaffolds faces challenges. Herein, we fabricated a multicomponent scaffold with multiple component accommodations, including bioactive molecules (BMs), such as fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and l-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (A2-P), and living cells of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs), within one scaffold construct. We report an innovative fabrication process based on vapor-phased construction using iced templates for vapor sublimation. Simultaneously, the vaporized water molecules were replaced by vapor deposition of poly- p -xylylene (PPX, USP Class VI, highly compatible polymer, FDA-approved records), forming a three-dimensional and porous scaffold matrix. More importantly, a multicomponent modification was achieved based on using nonvolatile solutes, including bioactive molecules of FGF-2 and A2-P, and living cells of hASCs, to prepare iced templates for sublimation. Additionally, the fabrication and construction resulted in a multicomponent scaffold product comprising the devised molecules, cells, and vapor-polymerized poly- p -xylylene as the scaffold matrix. The clean and dry fabrication process did not require catalysts, initiators or plasticizers, and potentially harmful solvents, and the scaffold products were produced in simple steps within hours of the processing time. Cell viability analysis showed a high survival rate (approximately 86.4%) for the accommodated hASCs in the fabricated scaffold product, and a surprising multilineage differentiation potential of hASCs was highly upregulated because of synergistic guidance by the same accommodated FGF-2 and A2-P components. Proliferation and self-renewal activities were also demonstrated with enhancement of the multicomponent scaffold product. Finally, in vivo calvarial defect studies further revealed that the constructed scaffolds provided blood vessels to grow into the bone defect areas with enhancement, and the induced conduction of osteoblast growth also promoted bone healing toward osseointegration. The reported scaffold construction technology represents a prospective tissue engineering scaffold product to enable accommodable and customizable versatility to control the distribution and composition of loading delicate BMs and living hASCs in one scaffold construct and demonstrates unlimited applications in tissue engineering repair and regenerative medicine applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

In this experiment, Panax notoginseng saponins chitosan nanoparticles(PNS-NPs) were prepared by self-assembly and their appearance, particle size, encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, polydispersity index(PDI), Zeta potential, and microstructure were characterized. The prepared PNS-NPs were intact in structure, with an average particle size of(209±0.258) nm, encapsulation efficiency of 42.34%±0.28%, a drug loading of 37.63%±0.85%, and a Zeta potential of(39.8±3.122) mV. The intestinal absorption of PNS-NPs in rats was further studied. The established HPLC method of PNS was employed to investigate the effects of pH, perfusion rate, and different drugs(PNS raw materials, Xuesaitong Capsules, and PNS-NPs). The absorption rate constant(K&#95;a) and apparent permeability coefficient(P&#95;(app)) in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon were calculated and analyzed. As illustrated by the results, the intestinal absorption of PNS-NPs was increased in the perfusion solution at pH 6.8(P&lt;0.05), and perfusion rate had no significant effect on the K&#95;a and P&#95;(app) of PNS-NPs. The intestinal absorption of PNS-NPs was significantly different from that of PNS raw materials and Xuesaitong Capsules(P&lt;0.05), and the intestinal absorption of PNS-NPs was significantly improved.

Background: Percutaneous compression of the trigeminal ganglion (PCTG) can induce significant hemodynamic perturbations secondary to the trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of atropine pretreatment on hemodynamic responses during PCTG for trigeminal neuralgia., Materials and Methods: A total of 120 patients who received PCTG were randomly assigned to control and atropine groups that were pretreated with saline (n=60) and atropine 0.004 mg/kg intravenously (n=60), respectively. Heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured at 9 timepoints from before induction of anesthesia until the end of the PCTG procedure; the incidence of TCR was also observed., Results: HR was higher in the atropine compared with control group from the time of skin puncture with the PCTG needle until after the procedure was completed (P<0.05). MAP was also higher in the atropine compared with control group, but only at entry of the needle into the foramen ovale until 1 minute after trigeminal ganglion compression (P<0.05). HR was reduced in both groups during entry of the needle into the foramen ovale and during ganglion compression, but less so in the atropine compared with the control group (P<0.05). MAP increased during PCTG compared with baseline in both groups, but with a larger increase in the atropine group (P<0.05). Two and 52 cases in the control group, and 6 and 1 cases in the atropine group, exhibited a TCR during entry of the needle into the foramen ovale and at ganglion compression, respectively (P<0.05)., Conclusion: Pretreatment with atropine was effective in most patients at minimizing abrupt reduction in HR during PCTG., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand the characteristics of DNA methyltransferase 3a (DNMT3a) in thymoma associated Myasthenia Gravis reveal its transcriptional regulator network as while as analyze the effect of DNMT3a on Rel/ nuclear factor-kappaB family (RelA/RelB) and its downstream autoimmune regulatory factor (Aire)., Methods: Tissues of 30 patients with thymoma, with or without myasthenia gravis (MG), were collected and the DNMT3a protein expression were evaluated through immunohistochemistry. We performed mRNA expression profiling microarray detection and analysis, and integrated the analysis by constructing protein-protein interaction networks and the integration with other database. We identified molecular difference between low and high DNMT3a in the thymoma by heatmap. We also performed PCR validation in thymoma tissues. The DNMT3a-shRNA plasmid was transfected into TEC cells, and these cells were treated with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine, a blocker of DNMT3a. After the down-regulation of DNMT3a in TEC cells, the transcript and protein levels of RelA, RelB, Aire, and CHRNA3 were evaluated by western blotting. In addition, changes in gene expression profiles were screened through microarray technology. We performed differential gene analysis in the thymoma cohort by heatmap with R (v.4.3.0) software., Results: In 30 matched tissue specimens, the expression of DNMT3a protein in thymoma with MG was lower than that in thymoma. Through mRNA expression profiling analysis, we constructed a co-expression network of DNMT3a and found direct interaction between IKZF1 and DNMT3a, and this co-expression relationship was overlappted with Cistrome DB database. We found up-regulation of 149 mRNAs and repression of 177 mRNAs in thymoma with MG compared with thymoma. Gene ontology and pathway analysis show the involvement of a multitude of genes in the mis-regulation of MG-related pathways. RNA interference significantly reduced the level of mRNA of DNMT3a, which proved that plasmid DNMT3a was effective. In comparison to the control group, the levels of DNMT3a, Aire, and CHRNA3 mRNA and protein in TEC cells transfected with DNMT3a-shRNA interference plasmid were significantly decreased, while the expression level of RelA and RelA/RelB was significantly increased., Conclusions: Our study reveals the DNMT3a-NF-κB pathway has a major effect on MG, and can be used as a marker for diagnosis as well as a target for MG treatment., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: We report a rare mutation on the α2-globin gene, HBA2: c.91&#95;93delGAG and its potential functions., Case Report: We mainly described four patients with hemoglobin (Hb) H disease caused by the rare mutation and the SEA deletion but diversity in clinical presentation. Two had survived to adulthood with normal physical and mental development, except for mild anemia. However, two were children, who had more severe clinical manifestations. One child had developmental disorders of speech and language and mild growth retardation, and the other child suffered from severe hemolytic crises precipitated by infection and received blood transfusion., Conclusion: This study is of great significance for clinicians to provide genetic counseling to couples at-risk of having offspring with Hb H disease and let them make the pregnancy decision, particularly reduce the occurrence of severe Hb H disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Bottom-up approaches using building blocks of modules to fabricate scaffolds for tissue engineering applications have enabled the fabrication of structurally complex and multifunctional materials allowing for physical and chemical flexibility to better mimic the native extracellular matrix. Here we report a vapor-phased fabrication process for constructing three-dimensional modulated scaffold materials via simple steps based on controlling mass transport of vapor sublimation and deposition. We demonstrate the fabrication of scaffolds comprised of multiple biomolecules and living cells with built-in boundaries separating the distinct compartments containing defined biological configurations and functions. We show that the fabricated scaffolds have mass production potential. We demonstrate overall >80% cell viability of encapsulated cells and that modulated scaffolds exhibit enhanced cell proliferation, osteogenesis, and neurogenesis, which can be assembled into various geometric configurations. We perform cell co-culture experiments to show independent osteogenesis and angiogenesis activities from separate compartments in one scaffold construct.

A scaffold was fabricated to synergistically encapsulate living human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) based on a vapor-phase sublimation and deposition process. During the process, ice templates were prepared using sterile water as the solvent and were used to accommodate the sensitive living cells and PRP molecules. Under controlled processing conditions, the ice templates underwent vapor sublimation to evaporate water molecules, while at the same time, vapor-phase deposition of poly- p -xylylene (Parylene, USP Class VI highly biocompatible) occurred to replace the templates, and the final construction yielded a scaffold with Parylene as the matrix, with simultaneously encapsulated living hASCs and PRP molecules. Evaluation of the fabricated synergistic scaffold for the proliferation activities toward the encapsulated hASCs indicated significant augmentation of cell proliferation contributed by the PRP ingredients. In addition, osteogenic activity in the early stage by alkaline phosphatase expression and later stage with calcium mineralization indicated significant enhancement toward osteogenetic differentiation of the encapsulated hASCs, which were guided by the PRP molecules. By contrast, examinations of adipogenic activity by lipid droplet formation revealed an inhibition of adipogenesis with decreased intracellular lipid accumulation, and a statistically significant downregulation of adipogenic differentiation was postulated for the scaffold products when compared to the osteogenetic results and the control experiments. The reported fabrication method featured a clean and simple process to construct scaffolds that combined delicate living hASCs and PRP molecules inside the structure. The resultant synergistic scaffold and the selected commercially available hASCs and PRP are emerging as tissue engineering tools that provide multifunctionality for tissue repair and regeneration.

Background: Percutaneous compression of the trigeminal ganglion (PCTG) has been used to treat trigeminal neuralgia since 1983. A PCTG-related trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) can induce dramatic hemodynamic disturbances. This study investigates the effects of depth of propofol anesthesia on hemodynamic changes during PCTG., Materials and Methods: A total of 120 patients who underwent PTCG for trigeminal neuralgia were randomly assigned to control group-intravenous saline pretreatment before PCTG puncture and anesthesia targeted to bispectral index (BIS) 40 to 60 throughout, and study group-intravenous propofol 1 to 2 mg/kg pretreatment to deepen anesthesia to BIS<40 before PCTG. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate (HR), cardiac output, system vascular resistance, and BIS were measured at 9 time points during the procedure, and the incidence of the TCR was observed at T5 and T6., Results: BIS was lower in the study group compared with the control after pretreatment with propofol or saline, respectively. Compared with the control group, mean arterial pressure was lower in the study group at several points during the procedure, but there was no difference in HR between the 2 groups at any point. Cardiac output was higher and system vascular resistance lower in the study compared with the control group. In the control group, 42 (70.0%) and 52 (86.7%) of patients developed a TCR at the 2 points, and 37 (67.1%) and 45 (75.0%) in the study group. There was no difference in the incidence of TCR between the 2 groups., Conclusion: Increasing the depth of propofol anesthesia partially attenuated PTCG-related elevation of blood pressure but did not modify the abrupt reduction in HR.

Purpose: To explore the challenges of parents caring for early-stage schizophrenia (ESS) children/adolescents in China., Design and Methods: Thirteen parents of ESS subjects completed semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data., Findings: Seven themes emerged from the data: psychological shock and emotional burden; lack of disease knowledge and care skill; poor treatment compliance of the patient; difficulty getting along with the patient; conflict within the family or in the workplace; financial burden; and need sufficient social support. Each challenge was produced and influenced under the Chinese special social context., Practice Implications: Professional support was needed to help patients with schizophrenia to cope with their situation promptly. Education initiatives should focus on mental health to prevent discrimination from society and enable people to recognize the early symptoms of schizophrenia in children. Telemedicine should be explored for application in the treatment of mental illness. Also, a broader nationwide healthcare policy would be needed to help to reduce the individual and societal financial burdens associated with schizophrenia., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In this study, a porous, three-dimensional material of parylene (poly- p -xylylene) incorporating keratin was fabricated. As an FDA-approved material, parylene is highly stable and biocompatible. Keratin is an abundant natural material that can enhance cell adhesion and wound healing. A unique vapor deposition construction technique dispersed keratin homogenously in the parylene system. Instead of using a conventional template, a sublimating template was applied. This composite porous scaffold was investigated mechanically and biologically. In addition, human adipose stem cells were cultured on the scaffold. The synergistic functions, including biocompatibility, permeability, cell adhesion, and stem cell differentiation, were investigated. A mouse excisional wound-healing model further verified that using the porous composite scaffold with stem cells accelerated the wound healing process, supporting its in vivo efficacy. The positive results demonstrated that this material has the potential to serve as a wound repair platform.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality. Therapies targeting programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD1L1) have promising effects on NSCLC. However, resistance to targeted therapy has become the main problem and the underling molecular mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of PD1L1 in NSCLC was determined and the association with clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. A combination therapy was also constructed, including pembrolizumab (Pem) and iodine-125 ( 125 I), which represented an efficient strategy for the treatment of NSCLC. The expression of PD1L1 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues and positively correlated with the Ki-67 index, pathological subtypes and risk stages. A higher level of PD1L1 expression was associated with poorer survival in patients with NSCLC, which could be used as a prognostic indicator. When NSCLC cells were cultured in the presence of Pem and 125 I seeds, the combination treatment significantly abrogated the tumor proliferation and aggressiveness through the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 secretion. Flow cytometry analysis revealed pembrolizumab combined with 125 I contributed to a higher rate of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, indicating that the combination treatment improved the resistance to immunotherapy. Furthermore, the associated molecular mechanism was the dysregulation of ADAM metallopeptidase domain 17. The findings from the present study revealed that PD1L1 could be used as a predictive biomarker, and the application of combination treatment of pembrolizumab and 125 I showed promising effects on NSCLC., (Copyright © 2020, Spandidos Publications.)

Investigations on mechanical behaviors of intravital human skin are of significance in various fields. However, due to the great complexity and the individual variation of human skin, traditional experimental mechanics often fails to work in such research objects. In this study, the friction property considering the skin-uplift effect of human skin was in vivo studied experimentally and theoretically. An in situ and noninvasive friction experiment was performed in vivo on human skin, where the projected contact morphology was captured through a novel specially developed optical system. According to the contact morphology, a model taking uplift resistance into account is proposed based on Greenwood model, in which the contact area was depicted as a combination of two ellipses to better characterize the skin deformation. Moreover, since the model degrades into Greenwood model in small deformation, it can be considered as an extension from the perspective of small deformation to large deformation. Based on the model, the adhesion friction and deformation friction have been separated according to the ratio of indentation depth to probe radius. The results show that the friction property of skin varies with the indentation depth changing, and the deformation friction is positively correlated with the ratio of indentation depth to probe radius., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, as an active ingredient, puerarin chitosan nanoparticles (Pur-CS/TPP-NPs) are prepared by an ionic gelation method. The chitosan (CS) concentration, pH of the CS solution, sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) concentration, stirring speed, stirring time, ultrasonic power, and dosage are used as single factors for investigation, and the encapsulation efficiency, drug loading capacity, particle size, and polydispersity index (PDI) are used as indicators for investigation. The optimal prescription is determined using the Box-Behnken effect surface design method. The characterization of the best formulation, which is determined via an in vitro release assay and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis methods, is used here for pharmacokinetic studies. An in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion model is used to investigate drug absorption in the intestine. After characterization, the morphologies of the nanoparticles are intact. It can be seen from the in vitro release experiments that the equation fitted by the nanoparticles is the Higuchi model, the nanoparticle release process is very stable and without sudden release, indicating that the nanoparticles are well-released in vitro. The pharmacokinetic results and the in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion model study show that the bioavailability and absorption of Pur-CS/TPP-NPs were significantly higher than Pur. Thus, all the results show that the prepared nanoparticles can significantly improve the bioavailability of Pur, and we hope to lay the foundation for the development of new products of Pur.

Introduction: When humans breathe compressed air or N 2 -O 2 mixtures at three to four atmospheres pressure, they will experience nitrogen narcosis that may possibly lead to a diving accident, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear., Methods: Mice were exposed to 1.6 MPa breathing a N 2 -O 2 mixture adjusted to deliver an inspired PO 2 of 32-42 kPa. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and forced swimming test were used to evaluate the narcotic effect of nitrogen. Neuronal activity was observed via c-Fos expression in cortex and hippocampus tissue after decompressing to the surface. To further investigate underlying molecular mechanisms, we incubated cultured hippocampal neurons with various NMDA concentrations, and measured expression of NMDA receptors and its down-stream signal with or without 1.6 MPa N 2 -O 2 exposure., Results: Both the frequency of the EEG and the drowning time using the forced swimming test were significantly decreased during exposure to 1.6 MPa N 2 -O 2 (P < 0.001). Additionally, in cultured hippocampal neurons, the increased levels of phosphorylated NR2B and cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) induced by NMDA stimulation were significantly inhibited by exposure to 1.6 MPa N 2 -O 2 ., Conclusions: Our findings indicated that NR2B-containing NMDA receptors were inhibited during nitrogen narcosis., (Copyright: This article is the copyright of the authors who grant Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in electronic and other forms.)

Background: To describe the current status of standardized patient (SP) practice in mainland China., Methods: We conducted a nationwide survey in 2016. One hundred and eighty-three SP educators (SPEs) responded to the questionnaire, representing 80 medical centers from 25 provinces in mainland China. All of these centers were affiliated with China Standardized Patients Practice Teaching Guidance. In the survey, we assessed the methods of SPs' recruitment, hourly wage, how SPs were used and challenges of SP role. We also compared these data among the 4 different regions in China., Results: In mainland China, the most frequent range of SPs' age was between 30 and 40 years (24.8%). The SPs were usually recruited by recommendations from the SPEs or a current SP (43.8%), as well as advertising in the hospitals (43.8%). The mean hourly wage was US$12.60 for teaching activities and US$18.82 for medical examinations. The median frequency for training SPs was 12.9 times per year. The SPs were used in areas such as internal medicine (89.6%), surgery (79.2%) and pediatrics (56.3%). The most challenging parts for the SPs were to remember all of the key points of the cases (51.9%) and portraying the emotions of the case (51.9%). Almost half of the SPs reported that, when interacting with medical students, they had difficulty in providing feedback in consistent with students' learning objectives. SPs' gender, age, rewards and scenarios playing were different significantly among the 4 geographic regions in China (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: This survey provided the reliable data on the current situation of SP application in China. SP activities have had an encouraging progress but regional development imbalance.

In order to study the relationship between the vertical distribution of nutrients and bacterial community structures in sediment interstitial waters of stratified reservoirs with different water temperatures, MiSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze and compare the structural characteristics of sediment bacterial communities after reservoirs were built. Additionally, redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to assess the bacterial communities and environmental factors with Cannoco software. The results showed that the temperature difference between the surface and bottom layer of the Xiaowan Reservoir was 3.3℃, and the maximum thermal gradient was 0.2℃·m -1 ; thus, it was a typical stratified reservoir. The temperature difference between the surface and bottom layer of the Manwan Reservoir was 0.1℃; thus, it was a typical mixed reservoir. The average concentrations of NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N in sediment interstitial waters of the Xiaowan Reservoir were 2.233 mg·L -1 and 0.030 mg·L -1 , while those of Manwan were 2.569 mg·L -1 and 0.016 mg·L -1 , respectively. In the different reservoirs, the concentrations of NH 4 + -N showed upward trends, and while variation of NO 3 - -N was not obvious, the content of NO 3 - -N reached a minimum value in the deep layer. In comparisons between reservoirs, only NO 3 - -N showed a significant difference, in which Xiaowan had obviously higher concentrations than Manwan. The bacterial community structures in the Xiaowan and Manwan reservoir sediments had the same dominant bacteria at the phylum, class, and genus levels. The differences of water temperature stratification had no significant effect on nutrients and microorganisms in the sediments. Under the influence of other factors, the denitrifying bacteria in the Manwan Reservoir sediments were more abundant than those in the Xiaowan Reservoir, and the nitrifying bacteria and anammox bacteria in the Xiaowan Reservoir sediments were more abundant than those in the Manwan Reservoir. In the same reservoir, the denitrifying bacteria in the bottom of the sediments were more abundant, and the organic degradation bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, anammox bacteria, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria were less abundant in this zone. These trends contributed to the differences of nutrients vertically in the different reservoirs.

The efficient and practical nucleophilic cyanation and trifluoromethylation with appropriate trimethylsilyl nucleophiles were developed. Catalytic amounts of cheap and nontoxic Cs 2 CO 3 were used to maintain a sufficiently high concentration of nucleophilic anion (CN - or CF 3 - ) which could begin the catalytic cycle. The present methodologies provide diverse functionalized monofluoroalkenes bearing a cyano and trifluoromethyl group with excellent to moderate stereoselectivities.

Surface modification layers are performed on the surfaces of biomaterials and have exhibited promise for decoupling original surface properties from bulk materials and enabling customized and advanced functional properties. The physical stability and the biological compatibility of these modified layers are equally important to ensure minimized delamination, debris, leaching of molecules, and other problems that are related to the failure of the modification layers and thus can provide a long-term success for the uses of these modified layers. A proven surface modification tool of the functionalized poly-para-xylylene (PPX) system was used as an example, and in addition to the demonstration of their chemical conjugation capabilities and the functional properties that have been well-documented, in the present report, we additionally devised the characterization protocols to examine stability properties, including thermostability and adhesive strength, as well as the biocompatibility, including cell viability and the immunological responses, for the modified PPX layers. The results suggested a durable coating stability for PPXs and firmly attached biomolecules under these stability and compatibility tests. The durable and stable modification layers accompanied by the native properties of the PPXs showed high cell viability against fibroblast cells and macrophages (MΦs), and the resulting immunological activities created by the MΦs exhibited excellent compatibility with non-activated immunological responses and no indication of inflammation.

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the gene expression profiles associated with thymoma to better understand the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of thymoma., Methods: Eight patients with thymomas (type A, AB, B1, and B2) and four controls with thymic cysts were analyzed using microarray profiling to identify changes in gene expression., Results: Across all of our samples, 2319 messenger RNAs were upregulated and 2776 were downregulated in thymomas relative to thymic cysts. Gene ontology and pathway analyses revealed that a large number of genes participate in cellular functions, among which MHC class II protein complex assembly, assembly with peptide antigen, calcium activated phosphatidylcholine scrambling, and release of cytoplasmic sequestered NF-κB were dysregulated, whereas intestinal immune network for immunoglobulin A production, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, the calcium signaling pathway, and pathways related to autoimmune diseases were downregulated., Conclusions: Our results revealed gene expression differences between thymomas and thymic cysts, and identified key candidate genes/pathways that might be used as diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets to treat cancer metastasis., (© 2019 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

A prospective design for interface properties is enabled to perform precise functionalization, erasure capability for existing properties, reactivation of surface functionality to a second divergent property. A vapor-deposited, 2-nitro-5-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)methylbenzyl carbamate-functionalized poly- para -xylylene coating is synthesized in this study to realize such tasks by offering the accessibility of the azide/alkyne click reaction, an integrated photochemical decomposition/cleavage moiety, and the reactivation sites of amines behind the cleavage that allow the installation of a second surface function. With the benefits from the mild processing conditions used for the coatings and the rapid response of the photochemical reaction, the creation of sophisticated interface properties and localized chemical compositions was elegantly demonstrated with a hybrid functionality including a confined hydrophlic/hydrophobic wetting property and/or a cell adherent/repellent platform on such a coating surface.

The field of implantable electronics relies on using silicon materials due to the merits of a well-established fabrication process and favorable properties; of particular interest is the surface modification of such materials. In the present study, we introduce a surface modification technique based on coatings of functionalized Parylene on silicon substrates, where the modified layers provide a defined cell adhesion capability for the resultant silicon materials/devices. Functionalization of Parylene was achieved during a one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization process, forming NHS ester-functionalized Parylene, and subsequent RGD attachment was enabled via a conjugation reaction between the NHS ester and amine groups. The modification procedures additionally provided a clean and gentle approach to avoid thermal excursions, intense irradiation, chemicals, or solvents that might damage delicate structures or sensitive molecules on the devices. The modification layers exhibited excellent mechanical strength on the substrate, meeting the high standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the resultant cell adherence property was verified by a centrifugation assay and the analysis of attached cell morphologies; the results collectively demonstrated robust and sustainable modification layers of the NHS ester-functionalized Parylene and confirmed that the cell-adherence property imparted by using this facile modification technique was effective. The modification technology is expected to benefit the design of prospective interface properties for silicon-based devices and related industrial products., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: To investigate the gene expression profile of a set of candidate genes for a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of thymoma with or without myasthenia gravis., Methods: Thymoma patients and thymoma patients with myasthenia gravis were analyzed using microarray profiling to identify significant changes in gene expression of autoimmune regulator pathway genes including AIRE, IL-7R, CHRNA3, SYMD1, THRA, and CAV3., Results: Across all of our samples, we found that 1484 mRNAs were upregulated and 770 were downregulated in thymoma patients compared with thymoma with myasthenia gravis patients. Gene ontology and pathway analysis revealed that a large number of genes participated in cellular functions for humoral immune response, sequence-specific DNA binding RNA polymerase II transcription factor activity, positive regulation of gene expression, regulation of neuron projection development, extracellular ligand-gated ion channel activity, positive regulation of striated muscle cell differentiation, and regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB import into the nucleus., Conclusion: Our results revealed genetic differences between thymomas and myasthenia gravis, and identified the key candidate genes/pathways for molecular mechanism., (© 2019 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

To identify the high yield planting date and pinching pattern, we compared the yields of five new varieties (lines) of tea-applied chrysanthemum, the &lsquo;Suju 10&rsquo;, &lsquo;Suju 12&rsquo;, &lsquo;Suju 13&rsquo;, &lsquo;CH1-44&rsquo; and &lsquo;CH5-13&rsquo;. A field experiment with split-split plot design was carried out. The main plot treatments including three (early, middle and late) planting dates, split-plot treatments including 5 new varieties (lines), and split-split-plot treatments including four different kinds of pinching schemes. The results showed that the yield of &lsquo;CH5-13&rsquo; and &lsquo;Suju 13&rsquo; was relatively higher among the five varieties (lines), followed by &lsquo;CH1-44&rsquo; and &lsquo;Suju10&rsquo;, and &lsquo;Suju 12&rsquo; showed the lowest yield. Among the five varieties (lines), planting date on May 27th and two-time pinching treatments showed the highest values of plant height, crown width, flower number, flower diameter, fresh mass, yield per plant and yield per unit area. Compared with the planting date on May 7th and June 13th, the above indexes increased by 16.0% and 19.0%, 18.0% and 22.8%, 36.7% and 42.2%, 11.1% and 2.3%, 13.0% and 4.0%, 47.8% and 36.6%, 48.5% and 36.7%, respectively. With the pinching time postponed, plant height decreased. Compared with the no pinching treatment, plant height of the two-time pinching treatment decreased by 50.2%, and values of crown width, flowers number, the flower fresh mass, the yield per plant and the yield per unit area were highest, with increases of 17.0%, 29.1%, 5.5%, 34.0% and 34.8%, respectively. The impact performance of three main factors on the growth and yield of the tea-applied chrysanthemum was in order of planting date&gt;varieties&gt;pinching time.

Background: Recombined humanized endostatin (Rh-endostatin) exhibits a potent anti-cancer effect involving multiple molecular targets and signaling pathways. HMGB1 is a highly conserved DNA-binding protein involved in cancer development. The therapeutic effect of Rh-endostatin on HMGB1 has not been reported, thus we investigate the effect in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells., Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were used to analyze the messenger RNA and protein expression of HMGB1 in A549 cancer cells, while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the release of HMGB1. Western blot was performed to evaluate HMGB1 expression in SK-MES-1 and H661 NSCLC cells., Results: Rh-endostatin inhibited the proliferation of A549 cancer cells and distinctly downregulated the expression and release of HMGB1 in dose and time dependent manners. Rh-endostatin-induced HMGB1 downregulation was confirmed in different types of NSCLC cells., Conclusion: These results demonstrate the general phenomenon that Rh-endostatin can induce HMGB1 suppression in a variety of NSCLC cells. Rh-endostatin may suppress HMGB1 expression and release in A549 cancer cells, thus inhibiting cell proliferation., (© 2018 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

An efficient rhodium-catalyzed coupling of N-phenoxyacetamides and nonterminal propargyl alcohols has been developed. A series of β-Alkyl 2-hydroxychalcones bearing diverse functional groups were obtained with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity, and the desired chalcones could then be converted to triazole and chromene smoothly.

The vapor deposition of polymers on regular stationary substrates is widely known to form uniform thin films. Here we report porous polymer particles with sizes controllable down to the nanometer scale can be produced using a fabrication process based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a dynamic substrate, i.e., sublimating ice particles. The results indicate that the vapor deposition of a polymer is directed by the sublimation process; instead of forming a thin film polymer, the deposited polymers replicated the size and shape of the ice particle. Defined size and porosity of the polymer particles are controllable with respect to varying the processing time. Extendable applications are shown to install multiple functional sites on the particles in one step and to localize metals/oxides forming composite particles. In addition, one fabrication cycle requires approximately 60 min to complete, and potential scaling up the production of the porous particles is manageable.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) has been regarded as an efficient process to treat nitrogen-containing wastewater. However, the treatment process is not fully understood in terms of reaction mechanisms, process simulation, and control. In this paper, a multi-objective control strategy mixed soft-sensing model (MCSSM) is developed to systematically design the operating variations for multi-objective control by integrating the developed model, a least square support vector machine optimized with principal component analysis (PCA-LSSVM) and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II). The results revealed that the PCA-LSSVM model is a feasible and efficient tool for predicting the effluent ammonia nitrogen concentration ([Formula: see text]) and the total nitrogen removal concentration (C TN, rem ) with determination coefficients (R 2 ) were 0.997 for [Formula: see text] and 0.989 for C TN, rem , and gives us the reasonable solutions in influent by using NSGA-II. To achieve a better removal effect, the influent pH should be kept between 7.50 and 7.52, the COD/TN ratio is suggested to maintain at 0.15 and the NH 4 + -N/NO 2 - -N ratio is suggested to maintain at 0.61. The developed MCSSM approach and its general modeling framework have a high potential of applicability and guidance to bioprocess in wastewater treatment, and numerical models can be structured for predicting and optimization and experiments can be conducted for data acquisition and model establishment.

Objective: Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a life-threatening hepatic disease characterized by hepatic venous obstruction at the level of hepatic vein, hepatic venules, or inferior vena cava. No evidence reported the relationship between the endothelial progenitor cells and the deficiency of factor V Leiden and protein C in patients with primary Budd-Chiari syndrome., Patients and Methods: We recruited participants between June 2014 and July 2015. For primary BCS group, 28 patients were collected. 20 patients were included in the NAFLD group. Another 73 healthy participants were recruited into the control group. None of the patients and participants had received interventional therapy or had undergone surgery prior to being recruited. Levels and functions of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were examined. The factor V Leiden mutation, protein C deficiency and protein S deficiency were evaluated. Finally, the relationship between the levels and function of endothelial progenitor cells and factor V Leiden and protein C deficiency in patients with primary Budd-Chiari syndrome was analyzed., Results: The results showed that no significant differences were found between the BCS (and NAFLD) and control group considering age, sex, BMI, smoking (p>0.05 for variables). However, significant differences were observed in TG, TC, HDL-C, white blood cells, hemoglobin, ALT, AST, ALP, γ-GT, total bilirubin, and albumin (p<0.05 for variables). Compared with the healthy participants, significant downregulation was found in BCS and NAFLD patients regarding CD34+/CD45-, late outgrowth endothelial cells (OECs) colonies, OECs proliferation, and OECs tubulogenesis (p<0.001 for variables). Among the 28 BCS patients, factor V Leiden mutation (n=10, 35.71%, OR 12.67, 95% CI 5.24-27.93) and hereditary protein C deficiency (n=4, 14.29%, OR 7.48, 95% CI 2.02-21.43) were more prevalent than those in the control group. These results suggested that factor V Leiden mutation and protein C deficiency were major risk factors for BCS. Finally, we demonstrated that factor V Leiden and protein C deficiency may negatively regulate the OECs levels and functions in BCS patients., Conclusions: It's important to improve the OECs levels and functions, and to prevent the deficiency of factor V Leiden and protein C in the treatment of BCS.

An advanced material interface is modified by using a substrate-independent coating of detachable poly-para-xylylene, enabling dynamical control of the immobilization and detachment of biomolecules, and a previously installed biological function is deactivated or tuned with reduced activity. The induction of osteogenesis activity, and subsequent deactivation of such osteogenesis activity, is demonstrated.

MIL-88A@MIP was fabricated for the first time in this experiment with a metal-organic framework of MIL-88A as the precursor based on the molecular imprinting method. It was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and N 2 adsorption. The catalytic performance of MIL-88A@MIP was tested to activate persulfate (PS) to generate SO 4 -· for the degradation of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which was used as a target pollutant. Compared with the precursor MIL-88A, the catalytic activity of MIL-88A@MIP was improved effectively through targeted modification, and the DBP removal rate increased 80.4% after reacting for 480 min. An experiment determining the influencing factors showed that the optimum activation condition of the catalyst was PS:DBP=600:1, MIL-88A@MIP dosage of 0.5 g·L -1 ,and pH=3.26. Furthermore, MIL-88A@MIP shows a high capability of removing different phthalic acid ester (PAE) contaminants that reflect its targeting selectivity.

A new gomphid species, named as Gomphidictinus tongi sp. nov. (Holotype male, Mt. Diaoluoshan, altitude 930m a.s.l., Lingshui County, Hainan Province, China) is described here. It is regarded as the third species of Gomphidictinus based on the presence of the basal spine on median segment of the penis organ. Gomphidia interruptistria Zha, Zhang & Zheng, 2005 is regarded as a junior synonym of Gomphidictinus perakensis (Laidlaw, 1902), which is recorded from Yunnan, China.

The present study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of latifolin on pituitrin(Pit) or isoproterenol(ISO)-induced myocardial injury in rats, and further investigate its underlying mechanisms. Rats were administrated sublingually with pituitrin or subcutaneously with isoproterenol to induce acute myocardial ischemia in rats, and lead II electrocardiograph was recorded. In rats with isoproterenol, ELISA assay or colorimetric method was used to detect the content or activity of myocardial injury markers in serum, and the SOD activity and MDA content in myocardium were detected by colorimetric assay; histopathological examination was conducted by HE staining; the frozen section of myocardial tissues was used for DCFH-DA fluorescent staining to detect the content of ROS in myocardium; Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of Nrf2, Keap1, HO-1 and NQO1 in myocardium. Results showed that latifolin significantly inhibited ST-segment changes induced by pituitrin or isoproterenol, and increased heart rate. Further mechanism study showed that latifolin reduced cardiac troponin I(cTnI) level, aspartate transaminase(AST) and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) activities in serum, increased myocardial superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity and reduced myocardial malondialdehyde(MDA) level, and protected myocardium with less necrosis, infiltration of inflammatory cells and fracture of myocardial fibers. Furthermore, latifolin obviously reduced ROS level in myocardium, inhibited the expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1(Keap1), increased the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2(Nrf2), and promoted the expression of Heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) in myocardial tissues. Our data suggest that latifolin has a potent protective effect against pituitrin or isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury, which may be related to inhibition of oxidative stress by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway., 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.)

In addition to the widely adopted method of controlling cell attachment for cell patterning, pattern formation via cell proliferation and differentiation is demonstrated using precisely defined interface chemistry and spatial topology. The interface platform is created using a maleimide-functionalized parylene coating (maleimide-PPX) that provides two routes for controlled conjugation accessibility, including the maleimide-thiol coupling reaction and the thiol-ene click reaction, with a high reaction specificity under mild conditions. The coating technology is a prime tool for the immobilization of sensitive molecules, such as growth factor proteins. Conjugation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) was performed on the coating surface by elegantly manipulating the reaction routes, and confining the conjugation reaction to selected areas was accomplished using microcontact printing (μCP) and/or UV irradiation photopatterning. The modified interface provides chemically and topologically defined signals that are recognized by cultured murine preosteoblast cells for proliferation (by FGF-2) and osteogenesis (by BMP-2) activities in specific locations. The reported technique additionally enabled synergistic pattern formation for both osteogenesis and proliferation activities on the same interface, which is difficult to perform using conventional cell attachment patterns. Because of the versatility of the coating, which can be applied to a wide range of materials and on curved and complex devices, the proposed technology is extendable to other prospective biomaterial designs and material interface modifications.

The oncogenic mechanisms of overnutrition, a confirmed independent cancer risk factor, remain poorly understood. Herein, we report that enoyl-CoA hydratase-1 (ECHS1), the enzyme involved in the oxidation of fatty acids (FAs) and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), senses nutrients and promotes mTOR activation and apoptotic resistance. Nutrients-promoted acetylation of lys 101 of ECHS1 impedes ECHS1 activity by impairing enoyl-CoA binding, promoting ECHS1 degradation and blocking its mitochondrial translocation through inducing ubiquitination. As a result, nutrients induce the accumulation of BCAAs and FAs that activate mTOR signaling and stimulate apoptosis, respectively. The latter was overcome by selection of BCL-2 overexpressing cells under overnutrition conditions. The oncogenic effects of nutrients were reversed by SIRT3, which deacetylates lys 101 acetylation. Severely decreased ECHS1, accumulation of BCAAs and FAs, activation of mTOR and overexpression of BCL-2 were observed in cancer tissues from metabolic organs. Our results identified ECHS1, a nutrients-sensing protein that transforms nutrient signals into oncogenic signals.Overnutrition has been linked to increased risk of cancer. Here, the authors show that exceeding nutrients suppress Enoyl-CoA hydratase-1 (ECHS1) activity by inducing its acetylation resulting in accumulation of fatty acids and branched-chain amino acids and oncogenic mTOR activation.