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Background and aim: Few studies have reported hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) kinetics after nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) discontinuation in patients with noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The study specifically investigated long-term HBsAg kinetics after NA discontinuation. Methods: Between January 2014 to January 2024, this study prospectively enrolled 106 outpatients with noncirrhotic CHB who met the discontinuation criteria after NA consolidation treatment. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected and analyzed after NA discontinuation. Results: Ninety-six patients who finished 5 years of follow-up were included. HBsAg remained undetectable in 29 patients with end of treatment (EOT) HBsAg negativity. Among 67 patients with EOT HBsAg positivity, HBsAg seroclearance occurred in 12 (17.9%) patients with an estimated annual incidence of HBsAg seroclearance of 3.6%. Patients with EOT HBsAg levels of ≤1000 IU/mL had a higher HBsAg seroclearance rate than those with EOT HBsAg levels of >1000 IU/mL (33.3% vs. 5.4%). The proportion of patients with HBsAg ≤1000 IU/mL increased during follow-up. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the EOT HBsAg level was an independent factor for HBsAg seroclearance and an HBsAg level decline exceeding 1 log10 IU/mL. The optimal EOT HBsAg cutoff for both HBsAg seroclearance and an HBsAg level decline exceeding 1 log10 IU/mL was 359 IU/mL. Conclusions: Patients with EOT HBsAg negativity experienced no relapse and maintained HBsAg seroclearance during 5 years of follow-up after NA discontinuation. A higher HBsAg seroclearance rate can be obtained in patients with EOT HBsAg levels of ≤1000 IU/mL during 5 years of follow-up after NA discontinuation. Close monitoring and proper NA retreatment are recommended to guarantee the safety of NA discontinuation. Clinical trial number: Clinicaltrials.gov number NCT02883647.

Abstract This paper addresses the adaptive fixed-time fuzzy containment control for uncertain nonlinear multiagent systems, where the states and nonlinear functions are not feasible for the controller design. To address the issue of unmeasurable states, a state observer is developed, and fuzzy logic systems are utilized to approximate unknown nonlinear functions. Under the framework of fixed-time Lyapunov function theory and cooperative control, an adaptive fixed-time fuzzy containment control protocol is derived via the adaptive backstepping and adding one power integrator method. The derived fixed-time containment controller can confirm that the closed-loop systems are practical fixed-time stable, which implies that all signals in the systems are bounded and all follower agents can converge to the convex hull formed by the leader agents within fixed-time in the presence of unmeasurable states and unknown nonlinear functions . Simulation examples are conducted to test the validity of the present control algorithm.

Abstract Background The heavy metal-associated isoprenylated plant protein (HIPP) is an important regulatory element in response to abiotic stresses, especially playing a key role in low-temperature response. Results This study investigated the potential function of PavHIPP16 up-regulated in sweet cherry under cold stress by heterologous overexpression in tobacco. The results showed that the overexpression (OE) lines’ growth state was better than wild type (WT), and the germination rate, root length, and fresh weight of OE lines were significantly higher than those of WT. In addition, the relative conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the OE of tobacco under low-temperature treatment were substantially lower than those of WT. In contrast, peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, soluble protein, and soluble sugar contents were significantly higher than those of WT. Yeast two-hybrid assay (Y2H) and luciferase complementation assay verified the interactions between PavbHLH106 and PavHIPP16, suggesting that these two proteins co-regulated the cold tolerance mechanism in plants. The research results indicated that the transgenic lines could perform better under low-temperature stress by increasing the antioxidant enzyme activity and osmoregulatory substance content of the transgenic plants. Conclusions This study provides genetic resources for analyzing the biological functions of PavHIPPs, which is important for elucidating the mechanisms of cold resistance in sweet cherry.

Emerging evidence demonstrates that curcumin has an inhibitory effect on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and its targets and mechanism of action need further exploration. The goal of this study was to explore the potential targets and mechanism of curcumin against NSCLC by network pharmacology, bioinformatics, and experimental validation, thereby providing more insight into combination treatment with curcumin for NSCLC in preclinical and clinical research. Curcumin targets against NSCLC were predicted based on HIT2.0, STD, CTD, and DisGeNET, and the core targets were analyzed via protein-protein interaction network construction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and molecular docking. The gene expression levels of samples in A549 cells, NCI-H460, and curcumin treated groups were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. A total of 67 common targets between curcumin and NSCLC were collected by screening public databases. GO and KEGG analysis suggested that curcumin treatment of NSCLC mainly involves cancer-related pathways, such as PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, Foxo signaling pathway, microRNAs, MAPK signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, etc. The targets with the highest degree were identified through the PPI network, namely CASP3, CTNNB1, JUN, IL6, MAPK3, HIF1A, STAT3, AKT1, TP53, CCND1, VEGFA, and EGFR. The results of the in vitro experiments showed that curcumin treatment of NSCLC down-regulated the gene expressions of CCND1, CASP3, HIF1A, IL-6, MAPK3, STAT3, AKT1, and TP53. Our findings revealed that curcumin functions as a potential therapeutic candidate for NSCLC by suppressing multiple signaling pathways and interacting with multiple gene targets.

Background: The correlation between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss remains to be further elucidated, particularly in patients receiving pegylated interferon-α (PEG-IFN) treatment. Methods: 758 patients with low HBsAg quantification who had received nucleos(t)ide analog (NUC) therapy for at least one year and subsequently switched to or add on PEG-IFN therapy over an unfixed course were enrolled. 412 patients were obtained with baseline data matched. A total of 206 patients achieved HBsAg loss (cured group) within 48 weeks. Demographic and biochemical data associated with MetS were gathered for analysis. HepG2.2.15 cell line was used in vitro experiments to validate the efficacy of interferon-α (IFN-α). Results: The proportion of patients with diabetes or hypertension in the uncured group was significantly higher than in the cured group. The levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycated albumin remained elevated in the uncured group over the 48 weeks. In contrast, the levels of blood lipids and uric acid remained higher in the cured group within 48 weeks. Triglycerides levels and liver steatosis of all patients increased after PEG-IFN therapy. Baseline elevated uric acid levels and hepatic steatosis may be beneficial for HBsAg loss. IFN-α could induce hepatic steatosis and indirectly promote HBsAg loss by increasing triglyceride level through upregulation of acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 1(ACSL1). Conclusions: IFN-α could induce liver steatosis to promote HBsAg loss by increasing triglyceride level through upregulation of ACSL1. Comorbid diabetes may be detrimental to obtaining HBsAg loss with PEG-IFN therapy in CHB patients.

Abstract Background Rye (Secale cereale), one of the drought and cold-tolerant crops, is an important component of the Triticae Dumortier family of Gramineae plants. Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), an important family of transcription factors, has played pivotal roles in regulating numerous intriguing biological processes in plant development and abiotic stress responses. However, no systemic analysis of the bHLH transcription factor family has yet been reported in rye. Results In this study, 220 bHLH genes in S. cereale (ScbHLHs) were identified and named based on the chromosomal location. The evolutionary relationships, classifications, gene structures, motif compositions, chromosome localization, and gene replication events in these ScbHLH genes are systematically analyzed. These 220 ScbHLH members are divided into 21 subfamilies and one unclassified gene. Throughout evolution, the subfamilies 5, 9, and 18 may have experienced stronger expansion. The segmental duplications may have contributed significantly to the expansion of the bHLH family. To systematically analyze the evolutionary relationships of the bHLH family in different plants, we constructed six comparative genomic maps of homologous genes between rye and different representative monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Finally, the gene expression response characteristics of 22 ScbHLH genes in various biological processes and stress responses were analyzed. Some candidate genes, such as ScbHLH11, ScbHLH48, and ScbHLH172, related to tissue developments and environmental stresses were screened. Conclusions The results indicate that these ScbHLH genes exhibit characteristic expression in different tissues, grain development stages, and stress treatments. These findings provided a basis for a comprehensive understanding of the bHLH family in rye.

Abstract There is significant heterogeneity in individual responses to antipsychotic drugs, but there is no reliable predictor of antipsychotics response in first-episode psychosis. This study aimed to investigate whether psychotic symptom-related alterations in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of white matter (WM) at the early stage of the disorder may aid in the individualized prediction of drug response. Sixty-eight first-episode patients underwent baseline structural MRI scans and were subsequently randomized to receive a single atypical antipsychotic throughout the first 12 weeks. Clinical symptoms were evaluated using the eight “core symptoms” selected from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-8). Follow-up assessments were conducted at the 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks by trained psychiatrists. LASSO regression model and cross-validation were conducted to examine the performance of baseline symptom-related alterations FA and MD of WM in the prediction of individualized treatment outcome. Fifty patients completed both clinical follow-up assessments by the 8th and 12th weeks. 30 patients were classified as responders, and 20 patients were classified as nonresponders. At baseline, the altered diffusion properties of fiber tracts in the anterior thalamic radiation, corticospinal tract, callosum forceps minor, longitudinal fasciculi (ILF), inferior frontal-occipital fasciculi (IFOF) and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) were related to the severity of symptoms. These abnormal fiber tracts, especially the ILF, IFOF, and SLF, significantly predicted the response to antipsychotic treatment at the individual level (AUC = 0.828, P

Pork supply prediction is a challenging task of significant importance for pig producers and administrators, as it aids decision-making and maintains the pork supply–demand balance. Previous studies failed to consider impact factors like the month-age transfer principle of pigs, epidemic factors, and the simultaneous import and export volumes of pork, leading to the absence of a quantitative prediction model for pork supply. In this background, we proposed a novel quantitative prediction model of pork supply that incorporates pork production and pork import/export volumes. First, a prediction model for pork production that takes into account the month-age transfer principle of pigs and epidemic factors was presented, along with a recursive model of the pig-herd system. A novel method based on a modified self-organizing migrating algorithm (MSOMA) was proposed for calculating the quantity of monthly newly retained sows (NRS). Furthermore, the pork-production prediction model considered the epidemic factor as a random disturbance term (RDT), and a prediction method based on MSOMA and a back-propagation neural network (MSOMA-BPNN) was introduced to predict such disturbance terms. Second, the proposed MSOMA-BPNN was employed to predict pork import and export volumes. The pork supply was subsequently determined based on the predicted pork production, as well as the pork import and export volumes. The proposed pork supply prediction model was applied to forecast China’s pork supply from 2010 to 2023. The results validate the high effectiveness and reliability of the proposed model, providing valuable insights for decision makers. The empirical results demonstrate that the proposed model is a promising and effective tool for predicting the pork supply. To our knowledge, this is a novel tool for pork supply prediction, considering the pig-herd system and pork import and export volumes from a systemic perspective. These features allow for consideration of the scientific formulation of a pig production plan, the establishment of early warning mechanisms to deal with epidemic situations and emergencies, and the regulation of pork supply and demand balance.

ObjectivesThis clinical trial primarily aimed to investigate the effects of blonanserin on social functioning in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.MethodsIn this prospective, multi-centre, single-arm clinical trial study, blonanserin (flexible oral dose ranging from 8mg to 24mg per day) was given 26 weeks. Outcome measures included the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale for evaluating social functioning, the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) for measuring neurocognitive performance, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for assessing symptom severity. The primary endpoint was social function improvement evaluated by PSP scale at the end of blonanserin treatment. And the secondary endpoint was to validate the efficacy and neurocognitive effects of blonanserin. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were also recorded and analysed.ResultsA total of 96 patients with first-episode schizophrenia were recruited and proceeded to analysis. Fifty-one participants (53.1%) completed the PSP scale measurements at baseline and week 26. Following 26 weeks of blonanserin treatment, all outcome measurements demonstrated significant improvement during the follow-up period. Notably, PSP scores exhibited a continuous increase up to 68.1% ± 103.7% at the end of the treatment (46.6 ± 14.6 at baseline, 69.4 ± 17.4 at week 26, p

IntroductionWe aimed to investigate risk factors for early postoperative recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and determine the effect of surgical methods on early recurrence to facilitate predicting the risk of early postoperative recurrence in such patients and the selection of appropriate treatment methods.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed clinical data concerning 428 patients with HCC who had undergone radical surgery at Mianyang Central Hospital between January 2015 and August 2022. Relevant routine preoperative auxiliary examinations and regular postoperative telephone or outpatient follow-ups were performed to identify early postoperative recurrence. Risk factors were screened, and predictive models were constructed, including patients’ preoperative ancillary tests, intra- and postoperative complications, and pathology tests in relation to early recurrence. The risk of recurrence was estimated for each patient based on a prediction model, and patients were categorized into low- and high-risk recurrence groups. The effect of anatomical liver resection (AR) on early postoperative recurrence in patients with HCC in the two groups was assessed using survival analysis.ResultsIn total, 353 study patients were included. Multifactorial logistic regression analysis findings suggested that tumor diameter (≥5/125/≤125 U/L, OR 2.202, 95% CI 1.162–4.173; P = 0.016) were risk factors for early recurrence following radical HCC surgery. Model validation and evaluation showed that the area under the curve was 0.813. Hosmer-Lemeshow test results (X2 = 1.225, P = 0.996 > 0.05), results from bootstrap self-replicated sampling of 1,000 samples, and decision curve analysis showed that the model also discriminated well, with potentially good clinical utility. Using this model, patients were stratified into low- and high-risk recurrence groups. One-year disease-free survival was compared between the two groups with different surgical approaches. Both groups benefited from AR in terms of prevention of early postoperative recurrence, with AR benefits being more pronounced and intraoperative bleeding less likely in the high-risk recurrence group.DiscussionWith appropriate surgical techniques and with tumors being realistically amenable to R0 resection, AR is a potentially useful surgical procedure for preventing early recurrence after radical surgery in patients with HCC.

Abstract The application of transformation optics to the development of intriguing electromagnetic devices can produce weakly anisotropic or isotropic media with the assistance of quasi-conformal and/or conformal mapping, as opposed to the strongly anisotropic media produced by general mappings; however, it is typically limited to two-dimensional applications. By addressing the conformal mapping between two manifolds embedded in three-dimensional space, we demonstrate that electromagnetic surface waves can be controlled without introducing singularity and anisotropy into the device parameters. Using fruitful surface conformal parameterization methods, a near-perfect conformal mapping between smooth manifolds with arbitrary boundaries can be obtained. Illustrations of concealing and illusions, including surface Luneburg and Eaton lenses and black holes for surface waves, are provided. Our work brings the manipulation of surface waves at microwave and optical wavelengths one step closer.

Computer-vision-based plant leaf segmentation technology is of great significance for plant classification, monitoring of plant growth, precision agriculture, and other scientific research. In this paper, the YOLOv8-seg model was used for the automated segmentation of individual leaves in images. In order to improve the segmentation performance, we further introduced a Ghost module and a Bidirectional Feature Pyramid Network (BiFPN) module into the standard Yolov8 model and proposed two modified versions. The Ghost module can generate several intrinsic feature maps with cheap transformation operations, and the BiFPN module can fuse multi-scale features to improve the segmentation performance of small leaves. The experiment results show that Yolov8 performs well in the leaf segmentation task, and the Ghost module and BiFPN module can further improve the performance. Our proposed approach achieves a 86.4% leaf segmentation score (best Dice) over all five test datasets of the Computer Vision Problems in Plant Phenotyping (CVPPP) Leaf Segmentation Challenge, outperforming other reported approaches.

Background and aims: The primary goal of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment is to reduce hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for the development of CHB. However, how Th17 and Treg cells contribute to HBsAg loss is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to search for the predictive value of Th17 and Treg cells for HBsAg loss in CHB patients with low HBsAg quantification. Methods: The study included 99 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative CHB patients who had completed a year of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) monotherapy and had received both NA and pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment for less than 96 weeks (96 wk). In the cured group, 48 patients lost HBsAg within 48 wk, while 51 patients did not (uncured group). Blood samples and clinical data were collected for research. Results: During PEG-IFN and NA combination therapy, the proportion of Th17 cells in the cured group increased significantly, while the proportion of Treg cells in the uncured group increased. From 0 to 24 wk, the proportion of Th17 cells in the cured group was significantly higher than in the uncured group, while the opposite was true for Treg cells. Patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≥ 2.5 upper limit of normal (ULN) at 12 wk had a higher proportion of Th17 cells and a lower proportion of Treg cells than those with ALT

We present the current state of the art in micro-transfer printing for heterogeneously integrated silicon photonic integrated circuits. The versatility of the technology is highlighted, as is the way ahead to make this technology a key enabler for next-generation photonic systems-on-chip.

AbstractHigh-resolution remote sensing images provide complete and detailed ground scenes. However, these complex and diverse details make it difficult to interpret large area objects and their small area details at a single granularity. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper refers to the principles of visual working memory, visual attention and visual reasoning, independently analyse the ground objects of different granularities, and integrates the recognition results of the different granularity ground objects to form accurate classification results. This multi-granularity classification strategy suppresses noise interference, protects typical edges, and highlights clear details. Experimental results with dataset of real land use survey projects, including images of different time, multiple perspectives, and different altitudes, The results show that the idea of combining unsupervised edge detection with neural network classification can greatly enhance the generalization ability and edge cognitive ability, making the classification accuracy reach 80% on average, with an improvement of about 5%.

Objectives To evaluate the safety and efficacy of high-dose amoxicillin-proton pump inhibitor dual therapy, and to provide a new eradication regimen as a first-line option for patients with H. pylori infection. Methods A total of 971 H. pylori positive patients who received initial treatment were recruited from March to August 2020, and randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The treatment group received of 20 mg esomeprazole four times daily and 750 mg amoxicillin four times daily for 14 days. Control group received of 220 mg bismuth potassium citrate twice daily, 20 mg esomeprazole twice daily, 1000 mg amoxicillin twice daily and 250 mg clarithromycin capsule twice daily for 14 days. Four weeks after the end of treatment, the urea breath test was reviewed to detect whether H. pylori was eradicated. Results There were no statistical differences in age, gender, the total clinical symptom scores before and after initial treatment, the compliance, and the degree of remission of symptoms before and after initial treatment between the two groups. The eradication rates of H. pylori between dual therapy and quadruple therapy were 88.31% and 85.26% (p=.158) by intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, 88.66% and 85.44% (p=.186) by modified intention-to-treat (mITT) analysis, and 91.63% and 90.60% (p=.116) by PP analysis, respectively. Adverse events in dual therapy group were significantly lower than quadruple therapy group (13.3% vs. 28.2% (p

Highlights 1. Pathologically impaired periventricular white matter was observed in NEC neonatal rats. 2. Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury can also lead to intestinal inflammation. 3. CXCL1 and CXCR2 were significantly upregulated in intestinal and brain tissues in NEC, HIBI, and NEC+HIBI rats compared to the normal group. 4. Compared with the HIBI group, CXCL1 and CXCR2 expression continued to increase in NEC+HIBI rats.

Abstract Background Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), an extracellular secreted glycol phosphoprotein, is closely related to tumor biologies, such as proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the role and biological function of SPP1 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) was still ambiguous. Methods SPP1 expression in LUAD tissues and its associations with clinical features and prognosis was investigated using meta-analysis, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining methods, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, the potential mechanism related to SPP1 was identified by using the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) method. A series of function assays were conducted to determine the biological role of SPP1 in LUAD cell migration and invasion in vitro and vivo. The co-expressed genes of SPP1 were obtained and verified by western blot assays. The influence of SPP1 on Collagen type XI alpha 1 (COL11A1) expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers was analyzed using western blot assays. Results The expression of SPP1 in LUAD tissues and cells was significantly higher than that in normal tissues and cells. And positively associations of SPP1 expression with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and invasion depth were observed. Patients with high SPP1 expression had unfavorable survival. The multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that SPP1 expression was an independent prognostic factor of LUAD patients. Furthermore, downregulation of SPP1 could inhibit cell migration and invasion both in vitro and vivo, reduce the expression of epithelial marker (E-cadherin), and increase the expression of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin and vimentin). Using bioinformatics and western blot assays, we confirmed that COL11A1 acted as the downstream of SPP1, and SPP1 knockdown could significantly downregulate the COL11A1 expression. Importantly, suppression of cell migration and invasion and the expression changes of EMT markers induced by SPP1 downregulation could be reversed by COL11A1 overexpression. Conclusions SPP1 facilitates cell migration and invasion by upregulating COL11A1 expression and that acts as a potential biomarker of metastasis and prognosis for LUAD.

The inherent drawbacks of the conventional B-mode ultrasound for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the impact factors and optimize the screening performance of ultrasound in MASLD. In a prospective pilot cohort recruited from July 2020 to January 2022, subjects who had undergone magnetic resonance imaging-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), ultrasound, and laboratory test-based assessments were included in the deprivation cohort. A validation cohort including 426 patients with liver histologic assessments from five medical centers in South China was also recruited. A total of 1489 Chinese subjects were enrolled in the deprivation cohort, and ultrasound misdiagnosed 62.2% of the non-MASLD patients and failed to detect 6.1% of the MASLD patients. The number of metabolic dysfunction components and the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level were associated with a missed diagnosis by ultrasound (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.55–0.82 p < 0.001; OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.31–0.79, p = 0.003, respectively). Compared with ultrasound alone, the new strategy based on ultrasound, in combination with measurements of the number of metabolic dysfunction components and ALT and uric acid levels, significantly improved the AUROC both in the research cohort and the validation cohort (0.66 vs. 0.84, 0.83 vs. 0.92, respectively). The number of metabolic dysfunction components and ALT and uric acid levels improved the screening efficacy of ultrasound for MASLD.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) provides an effective therapeutic option for different types of cancer in addition to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The treatment outcome of PDT is largely determined by both the light and dark toxicity of photosensitizers (PSs), which can be technically improved with the assistance of a drug delivery system, especially the nanocarriers. Toluidine blue (TB) is a representative PS that demonstrates high PDT efficacy; however, its application is largely limited by the associated dark toxicity. Inspired by TB’s noncovalent binding with nucleic acids, in this study, we demonstrated that DNA nanogel (NG) could serve as an effective TB delivery vehicle to facilitate anticancer PDT. The DNA/TB NG was constructed by the simple self-assembly between TB and short DNA segments using cisplatin as a crosslinker. Compared with TB alone, DNA/TB NG displayed a controlled TB-releasing behavior, effective cellular uptake, and phototoxicity while reducing the dark toxicity in breast cancer cells MCF-7. This DNA/TB NG represented a promising strategy to improve TB-mediated PDT for cancer treatments.

Abstract Graphdiyne (GDY), an emerging two‐dimensional all‐carbon allotrope, features the coexistence of sp and sp2 hybridized planar carbon atoms. GDY and GDY‐based materials exhibit unique physical and chemical properties, such as well‐defined molecular skeleton, π‐conjugated structure, high specific surface area with porosity, and good electrical conductivity, which have aroused widespread interest in various disciplines. As an emerging field, in this work, we summarize important synthesis strategies of GDY and GDY‐based materials including classical synthesis, chemical vapor deposition, explosion approach, and interface‐assisted methods. We also elaborate the recent modifications to regulate the structure and properties of GDY from the viewpoint of metal doping, non‐metal doping, and heterostructure construction. Meanwhile, recent achievements and progress in the development of energy and environmental applications in photocatalysis are highlighted. Lastly, the challenges and potential developments of GDY in the catalytic research are given at the end of this article.

The need for affect (NFA), which refers to the motivation to approach or avoid emotion-inducing situations, is a valuable indicator of mental health monitoring and intervention, as well as many other applications. Traditionally, NFA has been measured using self-reports, which is not applicable in today's online scenarios due to its shortcomings in fast, large-scale assessments. This study proposed an automatic and non-invasive method for recognizing NFA based on social media behavioral data. The NFA questionnaire scores of 934 participants and their social media data were acquired. Then we run machine learning algorithms to train predictive models, which can be used to automatically identify NFA degrees of online users. The results showed that Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) performed best among several algorithms. The Pearson correlation coefficients between predicted scores and NFA questionnaire scores achieved 0.25 (NFA avoidance), 0.31 (NFA approach) and 0.34 (NFA total), and the split-half reliabilities were 0.66–0.70. Our research demonstrated that adolescents' NFA can be identified based on their social media behaviors, and opened a novel way of non-intrusively perceiving users' NFA which can be used for mental health monitoring and other situations that require large-scale NFA measurements.

ObjectiveThe disclosure of mental illness is a first and crucial step in alleviating stigma and promoting mental recovery. However, at present, there is a lack of research on this subject in the Chinese context. Therefore, we conducted this survey among patients with mental illness and their family members and analyzed the influencing factors.MethodsQuestionnaires were distributed to qualified patients with mental illness and their family members, who were enrolled from the inpatient departments of two major mental health centers in China. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the factors affecting the disclosure of disease information by patients with mental illness and their family members.ResultsA total of 153 patients and 159 family members were included. The percentages of patients and family members who intended to disclose disease information were 34.6 and 18.2%, respectively. Regarding the benefits of being out (BBO), marital status and the number of hospitalizations explained 13.1% of the variance, and stigma explained 4.3% of the variance. Regarding the reasons for staying in (RSI), marital status and family history of mental illness explained 14.4% of the variance, and stigma explained 14.8% of the variance. In the model predicting the influencing factors of family member disclosure, stigma was a predictor of both BBO and RSI, explaining 8.1 and 8.7% of the variance, respectively.ConclusionBoth patients and their families were more reluctant than willing to disclose. Marital status, number of hospitalizations and family history of mental illness were all influencing factors of patients’ intentions to disclose disease information. Stigma is closely related to disclosure intention and plays an important role in the disclosure intentions of patients and their families. This suggests that the disclosure of disease information is complex, and many factors need to be considered. Disclosure guidelines should be tailored to individuals.

BackgroundTo enrich the probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains and expand the commercialization of new fermented juice products, we have identified two LAB strains with excellent potential in fermenting apple juice from pickles.MethodsThe two strains were morphologically, physiologically, and genetically characterized. The strains’ fermentation performance and alterations in volatile aroma components of apple juice and ability to survive in a simulated gastrointestinal environment were evaluated.ResultsTwo strains were identified as Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (WFC 414) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (WFC 502). The growth of WFC 414 and WFC 502 in apple juice for 48 h reached 8.81 and 9.33 log CFU/mL, respectively. Furthermore, 92% and 95% survival rates were achieved in 2 h simulated gastric juice, and 80.7 and 83.6% survival rates in 4 h simulated intestinal juice. During the fermentation, WFC 414 and WFC 502 reduced the soluble sugars and total polyphenols in apple juice, and consumed malic acid to produce large amounts of lactic acid (3.48 and 5.94 mg/mL). In addition, the esters and aldehydes were reduced, and the production of alcohols, acids and ketones was elevated in the apple juice fermented by both strains.ConclusionThese results show that WFC 414 and WFC 502 have great potential applications in the fermented fruit juice industry.

The commercial active dry yeast strains used for cider production in China are far behind the requirements of the cider industry development in recent decades. In this study, eight yeasts, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Pichia bruneiensis, and Pichia kudriavzevii, were screened and assessed by growth performance, methanol production, aroma analysis, and their transcriptive characterization. Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072 were identified as promising alternatives for cider production. Strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072 showed an excellent growth capacity characterized by 91.6 and 88.8% sugar utilization, respectively. Methanol production by both strains was below 200 mg/L. Key aroma compounds imparting cider appreciably characteristic aroma increased in cider fermented by strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072. RT-qPCR analysis suggested that most genes associated with growth capacity, carbohydrate uptake, and aroma production were upregulated in WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072. Overall, two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are the optimal starters for cider production to enable the diversification of cider, satisfy the differences in consumer demand, and promote cider industry development.

Polygala japonica Houtt. (PJ), a member of the Polygala L. family that is suggested to exhibit detoxification properties in traditional Chinese medicine, is often used to treat upper respiratory tract infections. The anti-inflammatory effects of four main components of PJ (POL, PS-XLIX, PS-E, and PS-F) were examined using the LPS(0.3 μg·mL−1)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage model. The levels of NO, ROS, and iNOS were examined to analyze the anti-inflammatory activity of POL. Additionally, the levels of extracellular inflammation-related cytokines and chemokines were measured using quantibody array. The KEGG pathway analysis was performed to examine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of POL. The levels of NO in the POL-pretreated group were significantly downregulated when compared with those in the PS-E-pretreated, PS-F-pretreated, and PS-XLIX-pretreated groups. POL significantly inhibited the changes of iNOS, ROS, and inflammatory factors caused by LPS stimulation (p

Currently, interferon add-on therapy brings hope for clinical cure of chronic hepatitis B patients with low HBsAg. However, in clinical practice patients with poor responses to their first interferon therapy were often switched to nucleos(t)ide analog therapy and then labeled as unsuitable patients for interferon therapy. Even if their HBsAg levels dropped to a low level, they were reluctant or not recommended to take interferon again, which caused them to miss out on interferon add-on therapy and clinical cure. Therefore, it is urgent to elucidate the effectiveness of interferon add-on therapy to get clinical cure for these interferon-experienced patients with low HBsAg. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether interferon-experienced patients could achieve the same HBsAg clearance and HBsAg seroconversion rates as interferon-naive patients. Also, the associated factor of HBsAg clearance and seroconversion were aimed to be clarified. 292 patients, including 85 interferon-experienced patients, were enrolled with HBsAg< 1500 IU/ml, HBeAg negative and HBV-DNA negative. And then, peg-interferon α-2b add-on therapy was performed. The results showed that the week 48 HBsAg clearance and seroconversion rates of all patients were 29.8% and 22.0%. There was no statistically significant difference between interferon-experienced and interferon-naive patients in week 48 HBsAg clearance and seroconversion rates, suggesting satisfactory clinical cure of the interferon add-on therapy for interferon-experienced patients. The age, baseline HBsAg, and week 12 HBsAg were negative correlated factors for week 48 HBsAg clearance and seroconversion. Furthermore, the age, baseline HBsAg and week 12 HBsAg for predicting the week 48 HBsAg clearance were cut off at 40.5 years, at 152.0 IU/ml and at 34.99 IU/ml, and for predicting seroconversion were cut off at 40.5 years, at 181.9 IU/ml and at 34.99 IU/ml, correspondingly. Significantly, interferon-experienced patients with low HBsAg were suggested with interferon add-on therapy to achieve clinical cure as soon as possible. This research provided evidences and cut-offs for the interferon add-on therapy against chronic hepatitis B.

This article concentrates upon the issue of finite-time tracking control for a category of nonlinear systems in pure-feedback form with actuator faults and unmodeled dynamics, where the loss of effectiveness and bias fault are considered. Meanwhile, the function approximation method utilizing fuzzy logic systems and dynamic surface control approach with first-order filter are implemented to model the unknown nonlinear terms induced from the proposed controller procedure and tackle the “explosion of complexity” issue of the classic backstepping method. The use of the maximal norm of the weight vector estimation method and adaptive approach reduces the computation load induced by fuzzy logic systems. Within the framework of backstepping control, a finite-time adaptive fuzzy fault-tolerant control protocol is derived to guarantee the boundedness of all signals and tracking error of the controlled system within a finite-time. Simulation studies are offered to show the validity of the derived theoretical results of the finite-time control protocol.

Summary: Liver fibrosis is a severe stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is closely associated with the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and their interaction with macrophages. Exosomes can mediate crosstalk between macrophages and HSCs in NAFLD-associated fibrosis. We found that M2 macrophage-derived exosomes significantly inhibit HSCs activation. RNA-seq studies revealed that miRNA-411-5p was decreased in serum exosomes of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients as compared with that in healthy controls. Besides, miR-411-5p and M2 macrophage markers are decreased in the liver of the NASH model. We further proved that exosomal miR-411-5p from M2 macrophages inhibit HSCs activation and miR-411-5p directly downregulated the expression of Calmodulin-Regulated Spectrin-Associated Protein 1 (CAMSAP1) to inactivate stellate cells. Importantly, knockdown of CAMSAP1 also inhibited HSCs activation. This study contributes to understanding the underlying mechanism of HSCs activation and indicates CAMSAP1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for NASH.

Cat8 is an important transcription factor regulating the utilization of non-fermentative carbon sources in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, our previous studies found that Cat8 may play a critical role in nitrogen metabolism, but the regulatory mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, the nuclear localization and analysis of regulatory activity showed that the Cat8 function relies on Snf1 kinase. In the fermentation with glucose or glycerol as carbon sources under phenylalanine (Phe) induction, by comparing the changes of cellular gene expression and Cat8 target gene binding profiles after Cat8 overexpression, enhanced transcription was shown among key genes involved in the Ehrlich pathway (e.g., ARO9, ARO10, and ADH2) and its upstream and downstream related factors (e.g., GAP1, AGP1, GAT1, PDR12, and ESPB6), indicating that Cat8 participated in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, highly active Cat8 interacts with transcriptional activator Aro80 and GATA activator Gat1 coordinately to regulate the transcription of ARO10. Altogether, our results showed that Cat8 may act as a global transcription factor in response to nutritional changes, regulating both carbon and nitrogen utilization. This provides a new insight for us to explore the regulation of cell nutrient metabolism networks in yeast.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most disabling form of stroke, but effective treatment protocols for ICH are still limited. The minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a potential and effective treatment for ICH in recent years. However, it is associated with a risk of rebleeding. This review aims to discuss some key facts about rebleeding, such as thrombolytic agents, therapeutic time window, and first aspiration volume.

Oxidative stress is a crucial pathological process that contributes to secondary injury following intracerebral hemorrhage. P2X7 receptor (P2X7R), which is activated by the abnormal accumulation of extracellular ATP, plays an important role in the regulation of oxidative stress in the central nervous system, although the effects of activated P2X7R-associated oxidative stress after intracerebral hemorrhage remain unclear. Mouse models of intracerebral hemorrhage were established through the stereotactic injection of 0.075 U VII collagenase into the right basal ganglia. The results revealed that P2X7R expression peaked 24 hours after intracerebral hemorrhage, and P2X7R expressed primarily in neurons. The inhibition of P2X7R, using A438079 (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 2 (NOX2) expression and malondialdehyde generation, increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione/oxidized glutathione levels, and alleviated neurological damage, brain edema, and apoptosis after intracellular hemorrhage. The P2X7R inhibitor A438079 (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection) inhibited the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) after intracerebral hemorrhage. Blocking ERK1/2 activation, using the ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 (2 µg, intraventricular injection), reduced the level of NOX2-mediated oxidative stress induced by P2X7R activation after intracellular hemorrhage. Similarly, the inhibition of NF-κB, using the NF-κB inhibitor JSH-23 (3.5 µg, intraventricular), reduced the level of NOX2-mediated oxidative stress induced by P2X7R activation. Finally, GSK2795039 (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), a NOX2 antagonist, attenuated P2X7R-mediated oxidative stress, neurological damage, and brain edema after intracerebral hemorrhage. The results indicated that P2X7R activation aggravated NOX2-induced oxidative stress through the activation of the ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways following intracerebral hemorrhage in mice. The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (approval No. TJ-A20160805) on August 26, 2016.

C14H16N6O8Ni, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 6.3975(3) Å, b = 11.6712(5) Å, c = 11.7199(5) Å, β = 96.677(4)°, V = 869.15(7) Å3, Z = 2, R gt(F) = 0.0340, wR ref(F 2) = 0.0789, T = 291 K.

Introduction Both the pharmacological characteristics of blonanserin and its related small sample size studies suggest that blonanserin could alleviate social and cognitive dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia. However, no large sample size studies have been performed so far. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of blonanserin in improving social and cognitive functions in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.Methods and analysis This is a prospective, multicentre, single-arm clinical trial. A total of 188 patients with first-episode schizophrenia will be enrolled and will undergo a 0–7 day washout period before blonanserin administration. Doses of blonanserin will first be set to 4 mg P.O. twice per day after meals and gradually increased to 8–16 mg/d P.O., depending on patient’s age and symptoms, for 26 weeks. Maximum dose of blonanserin will not be exceeding 24 mg/day. The primary endpoint of the study is the changes of Personal and Social Performance (PSP) score in patients from baseline to week 26. Secondary endpoints include changes in MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), grooved pegboard test (GPT), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score and PANSS 5-factor subscale scores. Other endpoints include changes of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) at corresponding visits and MRI results. Moreover, incidence of adverse events, changes in endocrine and metabolic profiles, renal, hepatic and sexual functions and extrapyramidal symptoms will be strictly monitored and recorded.Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the ethics committee of the leading site Peking University Sixth Hospital (No. 2018–18), and all included patients are requested to provide written informed consent before enrolment. The study will be conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and follow the principles for clinical research.Trial registration number NCT03784222.

Abstract Background To investigate whether quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) pharmacokinetic parameters can be used to predict the pathologic stages of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Methods For this prospective study, DCE-MRI was performed in participants with OTSCC from May 2016 to June 2017. The pharmacokinetic parameters, including Ktrans, Kep, Ve, and Vp, were derived from DCE-MRI by utilizing a two-compartment extended Tofts model and a three-dimensional volume of interest. The postoperative pathologic stage was determined in each patient based on the 8th AJCC cancer staging manual. The quantitative DCE-MRI parameters were compared between stage I–II and stage III–IV lesions. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent predictors of tumor stages, followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to evaluate the predictive performance. Results The mean Ktrans, Kep and Vp values were significantly lower in stage III–IV lesions compared with stage I–II lesions (p = 0.013, 0.005 and 0.011, respectively). Kep was an independent predictor for the advanced stages as determined by univariate and multivariate logistic analysis. ROC analysis showed that Kep had the highest predictive capability, with a sensitivity of 64.3%, a specificity of 82.6%, a positive predictive value of 81.8%, a negative predictive value of 65.5%, and an accuracy of 72.5%. Conclusion The quantitative DCE-MRI parameter Kep can be used as a biomarker for predicting pathologic stages of OTSCC.

Abstract Rendering translucent materials is costly: light transport algorithms need to simulate a large number of scattering events inside the material before reaching convergence. The cost is especially high for materials with a large albedo or a small mean-free-path, where higher-order scattering effects dominate. In simple terms, the paths get lost in the medium. Path guiding has been proposed for surface rendering to make convergence faster by guiding the sampling process. In this paper, we introduce a path guiding solution for translucent materials. We learn an adaptive approximate representation of the radiance distribution in the volume and use it to sample the scattering direction, combining it with phase function sampling by resampled importance sampling. The proposed method significantly improves the performance of light transport simulation in participating media, especially for small lights and media with refractive boundaries. Our method can handle any homogeneous participating medium, with high or low scattering, with high or low absorption, and from isotropic to highly anisotropic.

Abstract Background Sedum sarmentosum is traditionally used to treat various inflammatory diseases in China. It has protective effects against acute liver injury, but the exact mechanism of such effects remains unclear. This study investigated the protective effects of S. sarmentosum extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced acute liver injury in mice and the mechanism of such effects. Methods Mice were randomly divided into control, treatment, model, and model treatment groups. Acute liver injury was induced in model mice via intraperitoneal injection of LPS and D-GalN with doses of 10 μg/kg of LPS and 500 mg/kg, respectively. The mRNA expression levels of miR-124, Hedgehog, Patched (Ptch), Smoothened (Smo), and glioma-associated oncogene homolog (Gli) in liver tissues were determined through RT-PCR, and the protein levels of Hedgehog, Ptch, Smo, Gli, P13k, Akt, HMGB1, TLR4, IkB-α, p-IkB-α, and NF-kB65 were evaluated via Western blot analysis. The serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, IL-12, and ICAM-1 were determined via ELISA. TLR4 and NF-κBp65 activity and the levels of DNA-bound NF-KB65 and TLR4 in LPS/D-GalN-induced liver tissues were also determined. We recorded the time of death, plotted the survival curve, and calculated the liver index. We then observed the pathological changes in liver tissue and detected the levels of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate transaminase [AST]) in the serum and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and plasma inflammatory factors in the liver homogenate. Afterward, we evaluated the protective effects of S. sarmentosum extracts on acute liver injury in mice. Results Results showed that after S. sarmentosum extract was administered, the expression level of miR-124 increased in liver tissues. However, the protein expression levels of Hedgehog, Ptch, Smo, Gli, P13k, p-Akt, HMGB1, TLR4, p-IκB-α, and NF-κB65 and the mRNA expression levels of Hedgehog, Ptch, Smo, and Gli decreased. The MPO level in the liver, the IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, IL-12, and MMP-9 levels in the plasma, and the serum ALT and AST levels also decreased, thereby reducing LPS/D-GalN-induced liver injury and improving the survival rate of liver-damaged animals within 24 h. Conclusions S. sarmentosum extract can alleviate LPS/D-GalN-induced acute liver injury in mice and improve the survival rate of mice. The mechanism may be related to the increase in miR-124 expression, decrease in Hedgehog and HMGB1 signaling pathway activities, and reduction in inflammatory responses in the liver. Hedgehog is a regulatory target for miR-124.

Abstract Background Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders that leads to disabilities. However, the conventional drug therapy for migraine might be unsatisfactory at times. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of calcitonin-gene-related peptide binding monoclonal antibody (CGRP mAb) for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine, and provide high-quality clinical evidence for migraine therapy. Methods A systematic electronic database search was conducted to identify the potentially relevant studies. Two independent authors performed data extraction and quality appraisal. Mean difference (MD) and risk ratio (RR) were pooled for continuous and dichotomous data, respectively. The significance levels, weighted effect sizes and homogeneity of variance were calculated. Results Eleven high-quality randomized control trials that collectively included 4402 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to placebo group, CGRP mAb therapy resulted in a reduction of monthly migraine days [weighted mean difference (WMD) = − 1.44, 95% CI = (− 1.68,− 1.19)] and acute migraine-specific medication days [WMD = − 1.28, 95% CI = (− 1.66,− 0.90)], with an improvement in 50% responder rate [RR = 1.51, 95% CI = (1.37,1.66)]. In addition, the adverse events (AEs) and treatment withdrawal rates due to AEs were not significantly different between CGRP mAb and placebo groups. Similar efficacy and safety results were obtained for erenumab, fremanezumab, and galcanezumab in subgroup analysis. Conclusions The current body of evidence reveals that CGRP mAb is an effective and safe preventive treatment for episodic migraine.

The high-resolution devices for image capturing and the high professional requirement for users, are very complex to extract features of the fruit fly image for classification. Therefore, a bilinear CNN model based on the mid-level and high-level feature fusion (FB-CNN) is proposed for classifying the fruit fly image. At the first step, the images of fruit fly are blurred by the Gaussian algorithm, and then the features of the fruit fly images are extracted automatically by using CNN. Afterward, the mid- and high-level features are selected to represent the local and global features, respectively. Then, they are jointly represented. When finished, the FB-CNN model was constructed to complete the task of image classification of the fruit fly. Finally, experiments data show that the FB-CNN model can effectively classify four kinds of fruit fly images. The accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score in testing dataset are 95.00%, respectively.

Cyber-Physical-Social Systems (CPSS) integrates cyber, physical and social spaces together, which makes our lives more convenient and intelligent by providing personalized service. In this paper, we will provide CPSS service for fine-grained recognition. Fine-grained visual recognition is a hot but challenging research in computer vision that aims to recognize object subcategories. The reason why it is challenging is that it extremely depends on the subtle discriminative features of local parts. Recently, some bilinear feature based methods were proposed, and the experimental results show state-of-the-art performance. However, most of them neglect the spatial relationships of part-region feature among multiple layers. In this paper, a novel approach of Self-layer and Cross-layer Bilinear Aggregation(SCBA) is proposed for fine-grained recognition. Firstly, a self-layer bilinear feature fusion module is proposed to model the spatial relationship of feature at the same layer. Secondly, we propose a cross-layer bilinear feature fusion module to capture the inter-layer interreaction of information to boost the ability of feature representation. In summary, the method we proposed not only can learn the correlations among different layers but the same layer, which makes it efficient and the experimental results show that it achieves state-of-the-art accuracy on three common fine-grained image datasets.

Archidendron clypearia (A. clypearia), a Fabaceae family member, is widely used as an anti-inflammatory herbal medicine; however, its antibacterial and antidiabetic properties have not been extensively investigated. This study aimed to systematically analyze the antibacterial and antidiabetic components of A. clypearia by utilizing a combination of analytical methods. First, ten different polarity extracts were analyzed through ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), and their antibacterial and antidiabetic activities were evaluated. Then the spectrum–effect relationship between the biological activity and UPLC chromatograms was analyzed by partial least squares regression and gray relational analysis, followed by corresponding validation using isolated components. Finally, network pharmacology and molecular docking were implemented to predict the main antibacterial target components of A. clypearia and the enzyme inhibition active sites of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. P15, P16, and P20 were found to be the antibacterial and antidiabetic active components. The inhibitory effect of 7-O-galloyltricetiflavan (P15) on six bacterial species may be mediated through the lipid and atherosclerosis pathway, prostate cancer, adherens junctions, and targets such as SRC, MAPK1, and AKT1. The molecular docking results revealed that 7-O-galloyltricetiflavan and 7,4′-di-O-galloyltricetiflavan (P16/P20) can bind to α-amylase and α-glucosidase pockets with binding energies lower than −6 kcal/mol. Our study provides guidance for the development of antibacterial and antidiabetic products based on A. clypearia and can be used as a reference for the evaluation of bioactivity of other herbs.

Background: Community psychiatric rehabilitation has proven effective in supporting individuals and their families in recovering from mental illness. The delivery of evidence-based community rehabilitation services, however, requires health care workers to possess a set of specially trained knowledge and skills. Most developing countries, including China, do not have specially trained mental health personnel. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of a community psychiatric rehabilitation program delivered by laypeople.Method: We conducted a randomized controlled study. Patients at two sites in Chengdu, China, were randomly assigned to either the laypeople-delivered (LPD) community psychiatric rehabilitation group (N = 49) or the drop-in center control group (N = 45). The outcomes were changes in symptoms, social functioning, and family functioning over 6 months, as measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), the Family Burden Scale of Disease (FBS), and the Family APGAR index.Results: The number of sessions received over the 12-week period of treatment ranged from 20 to 100%, with a mean completion rate of 77.32% for all 12 sessions. Statistically significant interactions between group and time were found for the total PANSS [F(2, 94) = 12.51, p < 0.001] and both the Negative PANSS [F(2, 94) = 5.89, p < 0.01] and Positive PANSS [F(2, 94) = 6.65, p < 0.01] as well as the PSP [F(2, 94) = 3.34, p < 0.05], FBS [F(2, 94) = 5.10, p < 0.01], and Family APGAR index [F(2, 94) = 4.58, p < 0.01]. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in symptom management, personal social functioning, family care burden, and coherence.Conclusion: These results support the feasibility and efficacy of having laypeople deliver psychiatric rehabilitation services. A discussion and limitations of the study have been included.

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-2873-1.

Background: This study examines changes over time in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children who survived the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the relevant predictive variables.Methods: A total of 203 children and adolescents were investigated 24 months after the earthquake, and 151 children and adolescents completed the 1-year follow-up study. Participants completed the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictors of changes in PTSD severity.Results: Eighty percent of the children still had some PTSD symptoms 2 years after the Wenchuan earthquake, and 66.25% of the children had symptoms that lasted 3 years. In the model predicting PTSD symptom severity, the loss of family members and child burial explained a significant 21.9% of the variance, and depression explained a significant 16.7% of the variance. In the model predicting changes in PTSD severity, the change scores for resilience and depression explained a significant 18.7% of the variance, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) explained a significant 33.6% of the variance.Conclusions: PTSD symptoms in children and adolescents can persist for many years after trauma. In addition to using psychological interventions to improve PTSD symptoms, improvements in depression and resilience should also be considered.

The polysaccharides (PS) have been widely used as biomaterials in drug delivery, due to their excellent biocompatibility, ease of functionalization, and intrinsic biological activities. Among the various PS-based biomaterials, the self-assembled PS nanogels (NG) featuring facile preparation are attracting evergrowing interests in various biomedical applications. Specifically, NG derived from the self-assembly of natural PS well maintain both the physicochemical and biological properties of PS while avoiding the chemical modification or alteration of PS structure, representing a potent drug delivery system for various therapeutic agents. In this review, the natural PS, such as chitosan, alginate, and hyaluronan, for self-assembled NG construction and their advantages in the applications of drug delivery have been summarized. The residues, such as amine, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups, on these PS provide multiple sites for both ionic cross-linking and metal coordination, which greatly contribute to the formation of self-assembled NG as well as the drug loading, thus enabling a wide biomedical application of PS NG, especially for drug delivery. Future developments and considerations in the clinical translation of these self-assembled PS NG have also been discussed.

Since mass effect and secondary brain injuries persist in the pathogenesis of intracerebral hemorrhage, hematoma evacuation within a limited time is reasonable. However, it is complex to define an accurate therapeutic time window (TTW) for hematoma evacuation. In this review, studies about TTW were discussed from four aspects: histopathology, molecular pathophysiology, neuroimaging and clinical outcomes. Animal experiments indicated that 6–12 h is the pathophysiological TTW of minimally invasive surgery. Clinical trials suggested that there is a correlation between TTW and clinical outcomes, while the exact TTW is still unclear due to lack of sufficient clinical studies, which deserves further investigation.

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a carcinogen, leads to the severe liver injury. Isoorientin (ISO), a natural flavonoid, is known for its bioactivities, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and so on. However, there is no report on the effects of ISO on liver injury induced by BaP. The present study demonstrated that ISO treatment could relieve BaP-caused autophagic and pyroptotic injury in HL-7702 human hepatocyte and male BALB/c mice by down-regulating the numbers of autophagosomes, the mRNA expression of LC3 II and Beclin-1, and the levels of pyroptotic characteristic indices. Histopathology stained also confirmed that ISO could suppress the BaP-induced liver injury. Meanwhile, ISO was able to improve the liver function, and remarkably (p

Objective To investigate the effect of hematoma puncture and catheter drainage on perihematomal cerebral hemodynamics in patients with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods A total of 30 patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH underwent hematoma puncture and catheter drainage. CT perfusion imaging (CTP) was used to determine regions of interest (ROIs) in the central hematoma, perihematomal edema (PHE), peripheral PHE (1 cm from the margin of PHE) and remote cortex in both hematoma side and enantiomorphic contralateral side. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), mean transit time (MTT) and time to peak (TTP) of ROIs were measured. Results 1) Different degrees of hypoperfusion existed in perihemtomal brain tissue after ICH: compared with enantiomorphic contralateral side, CBF (P = 0.000) and CBV (P = 0.000) were significantly decreased, MTT was prolonged (P = 0.000), while peak was not reached in the central hematoma; CBF (P = 0.000) and CBV (P = 0.000) were significantly decreased, while MTT was prolonged in PHE (P = 0.000);CBF (P = 0.000) and CBV (P = 0.000) were significantly decreased in peripheral PHE of hematoma side. There was no significant difference on CBF, CBV, MTT and TTP in remote cortex between hematoma side and enantiomorphic contralateral side (P > 0.05, for all). 2) The perfusion parameters showed stepped change from central hematoma to remote cortex: CBF and CBV showed a gradual increase (P < 0.05, for all), and MTT showed a gradual decrease from central hematoma to remote cortex of hematoma side (P < 0.05, for all), while TTP showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference on CBF, CBV, MTT and TTP among central hematoma, PHE, peripheral PHE and remote cortex of enantiomorphic contralateral side (P > 0.05, for all). 3) CBF (P = 0.000) and CBV (P = 0.000) in PHE after operation were significantly higher than those before operation. Conclusions Hematoma puncture and catheter drainage can effectively improve the perfusion of perihematomal regions. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2018.12.004

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common diagnosed cancers around the world. The poor prognosis and high fatality caused by metastasis are still the challenges for clinical treatment. Therefore, it is promising to clarify the detailed molecular mechanism of CRC metastasis. Accumulating evidences indicate that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in cancer progression including CRC. In this study, the function of lncRNA UCA1 was investigated. UCA1 was confirmed to be highly expressed in colorectal cancer. Moreover, the UCA1 expression level was positively related to tumor stages. Silencing UCA1 showed inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and metastasis. Both UCA1 and NOTCH3 were validated as direct targets of miR-185. Silencing UCA1 repressed NOTCH3 expression through the miR-185 sponge. NOTCH3 was found to be highly expressed in CRC patients and positively related to UCA1 expression. Furthermore, HES5 was verified as a transcription factor of UCA1, which induced UCA1 expression. In conclusion, UCA1 is a direct target of HES5. UCA1 promotes CRC metastasis through regulating the miR-185/NOTCH3 axis.