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Spectroscopic exploration of sulfur-centered hydrogen bonding involving a thiol group (S-H) as the hydrogen bond donor is scarce in the literature. Herein, we have investigated 1:1 complexes of 2-fluorothiophenol (2-FTP) with methanol (MeOH) and ethanol (EtOH) in the gas phase to examine the physical characteristics and strength of the S-H⋯O hydrogen bond. Structures, conformations, and the strength of the S-H⋯O interaction are investigated by measuring the electronic and Infrared (IR) spectra of the two complexes employing resonant two-photon ionization, UV-UV hole-burning, and IR-UV double resonance spectroscopic techniques combined with quantum chemical calculations. Three conformers of 2-FTP⋯MeOH and two conformers of 2-FTP⋯EtOH have been detected in the experiment. A comparison of the IR spectra obtained from the experiment with those of the low-energy conformers of 2-FTP⋯MeOH and 2-FTP⋯EtOH predicted from the theory confirms that all the observed conformers of the two complexes are primarily S-H⋯O hydrogen bonded. The IR red-shifts found in the S-H stretching frequencies in 2-FTP⋯MeOH and 2-FTP⋯EtOH concerning that in 2-FTP are ∼76 and ∼88 cm-1, respectively, which are much larger than that was reported earlier in the 2-FTP⋯H2O complex (30 cm-1). The strength and physical nature of different noncovalent interactions, including the S-H⋯O hydrogen bond existing in the complexes, are further analyzed using natural bond orbital analysis, quantum theory of atoms in molecules, and localized molecular orbital-energy decomposition analysis. The current investigation reveals that the S-H⋯O hydrogen bond can be strengthened by judicial choices of the hydrogen bond acceptors of higher proton affinities., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Background: Inaccurate Forrest classification may significantly affect clinical outcomes, especially in high risk patients. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a real-time deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) system to assess the Forrest classification of peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB)., Methods: A training dataset (3868 endoscopic images) and an internal validation dataset (834 images) were retrospectively collected from the 900th Hospital, Fuzhou, China. In addition, 521 images collected from four other hospitals were used for external validation. Finally, 46 endoscopic videos were prospectively collected to assess the real-time diagnostic performance of the DCNN system, whose diagnostic performance was also prospectively compared with that of three senior and three junior endoscopists., Results: The DCNN system had a satisfactory diagnostic performance in the assessment of Forrest classification, with an accuracy of 91.2% (95%CI 89.5%-92.6%) and a macro-average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80 in the validation dataset. Moreover, the DCNN system could judge suspicious regions automatically using Forrest classification in real-time videos, with an accuracy of 92.0% (95%CI 80.8%-97.8%). The DCNN system showed more accurate and stable diagnostic performance than endoscopists in the prospective clinical comparison test. This system helped to slightly improve the diagnostic performance of senior endoscopists and considerably enhance that of junior endoscopists., Conclusion: The DCNN system for the assessment of the Forrest classification of PUB showed satisfactory diagnostic performance, which was slightly superior to that of senior endoscopists. It could therefore effectively assist junior endoscopists in making such diagnoses during gastroscopy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies have shown that MCM3 plays a key role in initiating DNA replication. However, the mechanism of MCM3 function in most cancers is still unknown. The aim of our study was to explore the expression, prognostic role, and immunological characteristics of MCM3 across cancers. Methods: We explored the expression pattern of MCM3 across cancers. We subsequently explored the prognostic value of MCM3 expression by using univariate Cox regression analysis. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to determine the correlations between MCM3 and immune-related characteristics, mismatching repair (MMR) signatures, RNA modulator genes, cancer stemness, programmed cell death (PCD) gene expression, tumour mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and neoantigen levels. The role of MCM3 in predicting the response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy was further evaluated in four immunotherapy cohorts. Single-cell data from CancerSEA were analysed to assess the biological functions associated with MCM3 in 14 cancers. The clinical correlation and independent prognostic significance of MCM3 were further analysed in the TCGA and CGGA lower-grade glioma (LGG) cohorts, and a prognostic nomogram was constructed. Immunohistochemistry in a clinical cohort was utilized to validate the prognostic utility of MCM3 expression in LGG. Results: MCM3 expression was upregulated in most tumours and strongly associated with patient outcomes in many cancers. Correlation analyses demonstrated that MCM3 expression was closely linked to immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoints, MMR genes, RNA modulator genes, cancer stemness, PCD genes and the TMB in most tumours. There was an obvious difference in outcomes between patients with high MCM3 expression and those with low MCM3 expression in the 4 ICB treatment cohorts. Single-cell analysis indicated that MCM3 was mainly linked to the cell cycle, DNA damage and DNA repair. The expression of MCM3 was associated with the clinical features of LGG patients and was an independent prognostic indicator. Finally, the prognostic significance of MCM3 in LGG was validated in a clinical cohort. Conclusion: Our study suggested that MCM3 can be used as a potential prognostic marker for cancers and may be associated with tumour immunity. In addition, MCM3 is a promising predictor of immunotherapy responses., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Huang, Jiang, Tan, Nong, Yan, Yang, Mo, Ling, Deng and Gong.)

Near-infrared (NIR) spectra of H 3 O + ⋯X n (X = Ar, N 2 , and CO, n = 1-3) in the first overtone region of OH-stretching vibrations (4800-7000 cm -1 ) were measured. Not only OH-stretching overtones but also several combination bands are major features in this region, and assignments of these observed bands are not obvious at a glance. High-precision anharmonic vibrational simulations based on the discrete variable representation approach were performed. The simulated spectra show good agreement with the observed ones and provide firm assignments of the observed bands, except in the case of X = CO, in which higher order vibrational mode couplings seem significant. This agreement demonstrates that the present system can be a benchmark for high precision anharmonic vibrational computations of NIR spectra. Band broadening in the observed spectra becomes remarkable with an increase of the interaction with the solvent molecule (X). The origin of the band broadening is explored by rare gas tagging experiments and anharmonic vibrational simulations of hot bands.

Background: Most children with neurocritical illness are at risk of physical, neurocognitive, and psychosocial sequelae and need centralized early rehabilitation care., Objective: To identify the effectiveness and safety of centralized early rehabilitation care for children with severe acquired brain injury., Methods: This is a mixed methods study-an implementation study and single-center retrospective cohort study with historical control. All children with severe acquired brain injury hospitalized in a specialized rehabilitation center in a comprehensive tertiary pediatric hospital between September 2016 and August 2020 were included. Patients treated in the centralized early rehabilitation unit were compared to historical controls dispersed in the normal inpatient rehabilitation ward. The effectiveness outcomes were measured by the Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) scale and the incidence of newly onset comorbidities. The safety outcomes were indicated by the mortality rate and the incidence of unexpected referrals., Results: One hundred seventy-five patients were included. The delta PCPC scores of the first 4 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation in the intervention group were significantly lower than the control group ( Z  = -2.395, p  = 0.017). The PCPC scores at 1 year in the intervention group were significantly reduced as compared to the control group ( Z  = -3.337, p  = 0.001). The incidence of newly onset pneumonia/bronchitis was also decreased in the intervention group ( χ 2  = 4.517, p  = 0.034). No death of patients was recorded, and there was no significant difference in unexpected referral rate between the two groups ( χ 2  = 0.374, p  = 0.541)., Conclusions: The centralized pediatrics early rehabilitation unit is effective and safe for children with severe acquired brain injury. Further multicenter prospective implementation studies on effectiveness, safety, and economic evaluation are needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Aim: To reveal the cellular composition and molecular environment of the periodontal and peri-implant inflammatory infiltrates through a single-cell sequencing technique, which may explain the pathological difference between these two diseases. A special focus was placed on the phenotypes and potential roles of neutrophils and fibroblasts in peri-implant/periodontal tissue immunity., Materials and Methods: High-throughput single-cell transcriptomic profiling of peri-implant tissues from patients with peri-implantitis as well as periodontal tissues from patients with periodontitis and healthy donors was performed. Immunofluorescence analysis was carried out to further validate the identified cell subtypes and their involvement in peri-implantitis and periodontitis., Results: Based on our single-cell resolution analysis, a quantified proportional increase of neutrophil (Neu) subtypes was shown in peri-implantitis. Among these, a predominance of Neutro_CXCR2 was revealed. We also found the involvement of inflammation-promoting fibroblasts as well as a predominance of CXCL8 + fibroblast-CXCR2 + neutrophil interaction in peri-implantitis., Conclusions: Our study indicated that the predominance of CXCL8 + fibroblast-CXCR2 + neutrophil interaction might underline the enhanced host response in peri-implantitis compared with periodontitis. This information offers a molecular basis by which fibroblast and neutrophil subtypes might be diagnostically and therapeutically targeted in peri-implantitis., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Programmed cell death is closely related to glioma. As a novel kind of cell death, the mechanism of disulfidptosis in glioma remains unclear. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the role of disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) in glioma., Methods: We first investigated the genetic and transcriptional alterations of 15 DRGs. Two consensus cluster analyses were used to evaluate the association between DRGs and glioma subtypes. In addition, we constructed prognostic DRG risk scores to predict overall survival (OS) in glioma patients. Furthermore, we developed a nomogram to enhance the clinical utility of the DRG risk score. Finally, the expression levels of DRGs were verified by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining., Results: Most DRGs (14/15) were dysregulated in gliomas. The 15 DRGs were rarely mutated in gliomas, and only 50 of 987 samples (5.07 %) showed gene mutations. However, most of them had copy number variation (CNV) deletions or amplifications. Two distinct molecular subtypes were identified by cluster analysis, and DRG alterations were found to be related to the clinical characteristics, prognosis, and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). The DRG risk score model based on 12 genes was developed and showed good performance in predicting OS. The nomogram confirmed that the risk score had a particularly strong influence on the prognosis of glioma. Furthermore, we discovered that low DRG scores, low tumor mutation burden, and immunosuppression were features of patients with better prognoses., Conclusion: The DRG risk model can be used for the evaluation of clinical characteristics, prognosis prediction, and TIME estimation of glioma patients. These DRGs may be potential therapeutic targets in glioma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants is a global health priority. We aimed to investigate the common manifestations of RSV infection by age group and human development index (HDI) level and to assess its association with the development of wheezing and recurrent wheezing illness., Methods: We searched the literature published between January 1, 2010 and June 2, 2022 in seven databases. Outcomes included common manifestations and long-term respiratory outcomes of RSV infection in children. Random- and fixed-effect models were used to estimate the effect size and their 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analysis was conducted by age and HDI levels. This review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022379401)., Results: The meta-analysis included 47 studies. The top five manifestations were cough (92%), nasal congestion (58%), rhinorrhea (53%), shortness of breath (50%), and dyspnea (47%). The clinical symptoms were most severe in infants. In our analysis, compared to very high and high HDI countries, fewer studies in medium HDI countries reported related manifestations, and no study in low HDI countries reported that. The RSV-infected infants were more likely to develop wheezing than the non-infected infants [odds ratio (OR), 3.12; 95% CI, 2.59-3.76] and had a higher risk of developing wheezing illnesses after recovery (OR, 2.60; 95% CI, 2.51-2.70)., Conclusions: Cough and shortness of breath are common manifestations of RSV infection. More attention should be given to infants and areas with low HDI levels. The current findings confirm an association between RSV infection and wheezing or recurrent wheezing illness., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to elucidate the cadmium (Cd) concentration and transport characteristics of Pueraria thornsonii in farmland with different Cd pollution degrees, so as to provide a reference basis for phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated farmland. The multi-point experiments in farmland with different Cd pollution degrees[ ω (Cd) 0.32-38.08 mg·kg -1 ] were conducted, and the biomass (dry weight), Cd content, accumulation, concentration, and transport of Cd in P. thornsonii tissues under the main growing period were assessed. According to the results, for P. thornsonii , the tuber dry weight ranged from 5.04 to 11.98 t·hm -2 , biomass ranged from 13.21 to 29.07 t·hm -2 , and Cd accumulation ranged from 15.74 to 106.03 g·hm -2 in the study area. The pattern of Cd uptake by P. thornsonii showed that the main vine>leaf>lateral branches>basal part of sti>tuber. The Cd content in P. thornsonii tissues considerably increased with soil Cd content ( P <0.05), whereas the biomass decreased significantly ( P <0.05). The Cd concentration and transport factor of aboveground parts in P. thornsonii showed a trend of initially falling, then increasing and decreasing again, whereas the Cd enrichment and transport coefficient of tubers gradually decreased. Correlation analysis revealed that the amount of Cd in the soil was a major predictor of Cd accumulation in P. thornsonii . Under light to moderate Cd contamination, the commercial portion of P. thornsonii (arrowroot)[ ω (Cd) 0.03-0.22 mg·kg -1 ] was less than the standard limit for medicinal plants (≤ 0.30 mg·kg -1 ). In P. thornsonii from moderately contaminated areas, the Cd concentration and transport factor of aboveground parts were 2.43-7.97 and 3.02-9.81, respectively. This indicates that P. thornsonii is a prospective plant ideal for remediating Cd-contaminated soil because of its high capacity to transfer and enrich Cd.

Vibrational spectra in the acetylenic and aromatic C-H stretching regions of phenylacetylene and fluorophenylacetylenes, viz., 2-fluorophenylacetylene, 3-fluorophenylacetylene, and 4-fluorophenylacetylene, were measured using the IR-UV double resonance spectroscopic method. The spectra, in both acetylenic and aromatic C-H stretching regions, were complex exhibiting multiple bands. Ab-initio anharmonic calculations with quartic potential using B97D3/6-311++G(d,p) and vibrational configuration interaction were able to capture all important spectral features in both the regions of the experimentally observed spectra for all four molecules considered in the present work. Interestingly, for phenylacetylene, the spectrum in the acetylenic C-H stretching region emerges due to anharmonic coupling of modes localized on the acetylenic moiety along with the other ring modes, which also involve displacements on the acetylenic group, which is in contrast to what has been proposed and propagated in the literature. In general, this coupling scheme is invariant to the fluorine atom substitution. For the aromatic C-H stretching region, the observed spectrum emerges due to the coupling of the C-H stretching with C-C stretching and C-H in-plane bending modes., (© 2023 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

With the expansion of mpox virus infection from endemic to a global epidemic in 2022, the WHO declared that the mpox event constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Due to the high degree of gene sequence similarity among orthopox viruses and cross-reactive antibodies induced by orthoviruses, smallpox vaccination may affect the immune response induced by mpox virus infection. The analysis of the protective effects of smallpox vaccination against mpox virus infection will help define the focus of prevention and control. In this review, we clarify the protection of the smallpox vaccine against mpox virus infection by analyzing the correlation between smallpox vaccination, immune response status, and clinical data and providing evidence for the prevention, control, and strategies of mpox epidemics.

Objective: The study explores the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at the governing vessel (GV) on proteomic changes in the hippocampus of rats with cognitive impairment., Methods: Healthy male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham, model and EA. Cognitive impairment was induced by left middle cerebral artery occlusion in the model and EA groups. Rats in the EA group were treated with EA at Shenting (GV24) and Baihui (GV20) for 7 d. Neurological deficit was scored using the Longa scale, the learning and memory ability was detected using the Morris water maze (MWM) test, and the proteomic profiling in the hippocampus was analyzed using protein-labeling technology based on the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). The Western blot (WB) analysis was used to detect the proteins and validate the results of iTRAQ., Results: Compared with the model group, the neurological deficit score was significantly reduced, and the escape latency in the MWM test was significantly shortened, while the number of platform crossings increased in the EA group. A total of 2872 proteins were identified by iTRAQ. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified between different groups: 92 proteins were upregulated and 103 were downregulated in the model group compared with the sham group, while 142 proteins were upregulated and 126 were downregulated in the EA group compared with the model group. Most of the DEPs were involved in oxidative phosphorylation, glycolipid metabolism and synaptic transmission. Furthermore, we also verified 4 DEPs using WB technology. Although the WB results were not exactly the same as the iTRAQ results, the expression trends of the DEPs were consistent. The upregulation of heat-shock protein β1 (Hspb1) was the highest in the EA group compared to the model group., Conclusion: EA can effect proteomic changes in the hippocampus of rats with cognitive impairment. Hspb1 may be involved in the molecular mechanism by which acupuncture improves cognitive impairment., 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. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The emulsification ability of phospholipids might be associated with fatty acid composition. However, there is no research regarding the emulsification ability of marine-derived phospholipids rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The present study developed a nanoemulsion delivery system using DHA-enriched phosphatidylcholine as an emulsifier to deliver the poorly soluble ingredient nobiletin. The prepared nobiletin-loaded nanoemulsion was stable, with a small particle size of approximately 200 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.082, and a neutral zeta potential. The nobiletin-loaded nanoemulsion exhibited high lipolysis ability in in vitro experiments. Moreover, the nobiletin-encapsulated nanoemulsion was digested quickly and entered the serum faster than the oil suspension. There was a high distribution of nobiletin in organs such as the liver, brain, kidney, and spleen in the emulsion group after oral administration for 2 h. The findings provided a nanoemulsion delivery system to increase the bioavailability of nobiletin in vitro and in vivo., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Glioblastomas are classified into primary and secondary; primary glioblastomas develop rapidly and aggressively, whereas secondary glioblastomas are more common in grade II and III gliomas. Here, we aimed to demonstrate the role of the CNPY4 gene as a potential biomarker in immune infiltration in gliomas. Based on gene expression profile interaction analysis (GEPIA), we studied the survival model of CNPY4 and evaluated its effect on patients with glioma. The glioma dataset was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between clinical data and CNPY4 expression. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models were used to compare clinical features and patient survival. The relationship between CNPY4 and immune infiltration in glioma was studied using GEPIA and CIBERSORT online tools. TCGA data were analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Finally, TIMER was used to analyze the expression and immune infiltration of CNPY4 in glioma to study the cumulative survival rate. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased CNPY4 expression was associated with tumor age, grade, IDH status, and 1p/19q codeletion. Multivariate analysis showed that that downregulation of CNPY4 expression was an independent and satisfactory prognostic factor. CNPY4 expression was correlated with the infiltration level of dendritic cells in glioblastoma. In contrast, in low-grade gliomas, the infiltration level of B cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and CD4+ T cells was significantly correlated with CNPY4 expression. The GSEA results showed that CNPY4 played an immunoregulatory role in immune-related phenotypic pathways between lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells. The intestinal immune networks for IgA production, rabbit thyroid disease, primary immunodeficiencies, and cancer immunotherapy were enriched by PD-1 blockade. High CNPY4 expression is a biomarker of glioma prognosis and is associated with the immune invasion of glioma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Microglia plays an important role in the production of inflammation in the central nervous system. Excessive nerve inflammation can cause neuronal damage and neurodegenerative disease. It has been shown that EPA-enriched ethanolamine plasmalogen (EPA-PlsEtn) significantly inhibited the expressions of inflammatory factors and suppressed neuronal loss in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease. However, whether EPA-PlsEtn protects against neuronal loss by inhibiting the activation of microglia is still not clear. Therefore, we examined the effect of PlsEtn on SH-SY5Y cells incubated by conditioned medium from LPS-induced BV2 cells as a neuroinflammation model. Results showed that pre-incubation of LPS-induced BV2 cells with PlsEtn significantly improved the viability of SH-SY5Y cells by reducing the early apoptosis. The increasing production of NO and TNF-α in BV2 cells was reversed by PlsEtn treatment, while the decreasing level of IL-10 was raised. Polarization toward M1 phenotype and activation of NLRP3 inflammasome pathways are attenuated significantly by pre-treatment of PlsEtn in LPS-induced BV2 cells. The study provides evidence for a positive effect of PlsEtn on neuroprotection and the inhibition of neuroinflammation, and PlsEtn may be explored as a potential functional ingredient with neuroprotection effects., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The prognosis of lower-grade glioma (LGG) is highly variable, and more accurate predictors are still needed. The aim of our study was to explore the prognostic value of ferroptosis-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in LGG and to develop a novel risk signature for predicting survival with LGG., Methods: We first integrated multiple datasets to screen for prognostic ferroptosis-related lncRNAs in LGG. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis was then utilized to develop a risk signature for prognostic prediction. Based on the results of multivariate Cox analysis, a prognostic nomogram model for LGG was constructed. Finally, functional enrichment analysis, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), immunity, and m6A correlation analyses were conducted to explore the possible mechanisms by which these ferroptosis-related lncRNAs affect survival with LGG., Results: A total of 11 ferroptosis-related lncRNAs related to the prognosis of LGG were identified. Based on prognostic lncRNAs, a risk signature consisting of 8 lncRNAs was constructed and demonstrated good predictive performance in both the training and validation cohorts. Correlation analysis suggested that the risk signature was closely linked to clinical features. The nomogram model we constructed by combining the risk signature and clinical parameters proved to be more accurate in predicting the prognosis of LGG. In addition, there were differences in the levels of immune cell infiltration, immune-related functions, immune checkpoints, and m6A-related gene expression between the high- and low-risk groups., Conclusion: In summary, our ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature exhibits good performance in predicting the prognosis of LGG. This study may provide useful insight into the treatment of LGG., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Huang, Li, Yan, Jiang, Guo, Zhao and Mo.)

The COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world, and local clusters and outbreaks related to overseas imports have occurred in many places in China. Vaccination against COVID-19 is one of the most effective tools to prevent disease, severe illness and death. For vaccines developed and used by China, it is particularly important for scientific and targeted prevention and control to study different outbreak scenarios, to conduct in-depth real-world research on SARS-CoV-2 variants, and to further promote vaccine development and technical reserves. This article commented the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine, and prospected the future research on vaccine efficacy, immunization strategy and vaccine development, which provided evidence for optimizing vaccination strategy.

Sea cucumber-derived sulfated sterols exhibited more significant bioactivities compared to plant sterols due to the distinctive structure of the sulfate group at the C-3 position; however, their absorption, pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, and excretion profiles are unknown, which limits the analysis of molecular mechanisms related to their unique activities. In this study, the absorption characteristics of sea cucumber sterols were determined by oral gavage administration, and their pharmacokinetics, excretion, and tissue distribution were studied by tail vein injection. The results showed that SS1 and SS2 reached the peak at 3 h (20.14 ± 1.2 μg/mL) and 4 h (13.32 ± 0.9 μg/mL) in serum, respectively, after oral gavage administration, suggesting the faster absorption rate of SS1 than SS2 due to the difference in the side-chain groups. Besides, lipid-containing food media improved the digestion and absorption rates of sea cucumber sterols. Moreover, SS1 exhibited a relatively longer duration of efficacy than SS2, and they were almost completely excreted within 9 h through urine. Additionally, sea cucumber sterols were found to be mainly accumulated in the liver ( P < 0.05), followed by the kidney and spleen. These findings might provide a theoretical basis for the research and development of functional foods and nutraceuticals associated with sea cucumber sterols.

Objective: To establish a 14-color flow cytometry protocol for the examination of leukocyte subsets in human peripheral blood., Methods: We used cell membrane surface antibodies CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, CD16, CD14, CD25, CD127, HLA-DR, CD123, CD11c and nucleus staining dye DAPI to establish a 14-color flow cytometry assay to determine the major cell subsets in human peripheral blood. We collected peripheral blood specimens from healthy volunteers to test for antibody titers and optimal photomultiplier tube (PMT) voltage, and to conduct single-color staining and fluorescence minus one control staining. After determining the test method and test conditions, the peripheral blood samples of 18 healthy volunteers were analyzed., Results: According to the cell classification and staining index, optimal antibody mass concentrations selected were as follows: CD25 and CD127 at 8.0 μg/mL, CD45, CD3, CD14 and CD123 at 4.0 μg/mL, CD8, CD19, CD56, CD16, HLA-DR and CD11c at 2.0 μg/mL, CD4 at 1.0 μg/mL and DAPI at 0.1 μg/mL. The detection voltages for CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, CD16, CD14, CD25, CD127, HLA-DR, CD123, CD11c and DAPI were 450 V, 410 V, 400 V, 550 V, 405 V, 500 V, 520 V, 550 V, 550 V, 400 V, 450 V, 400 V, 580 V, and 300 V, respectively. The appropriate fluorescence compensation was determined by single-color staining and fluorescence minus one controls. The 14-color flow cytometry panel was established to analyze the main subsets of leukocytes in human peripheral blood, and peripheral blood samples from 18 healthy adults were examined, obtaining the percentages of each subset of peripheral blood leukocytes and the immunophenotypes of the main subsets., Conclusion: We established a 14-color panel for determining leukocyte subsets in human peripheral blood by flow cytometry, which produced stable and reliable results and was easy to operate., (Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

Abstract: Recent studies suggested that RNA binding proteins (RBPs) were related to the tumorigenesis and progression of glioma. This study was conducted to identify prognostic RBPs of glioblastoma (GBM) and construct an RBP signature to predict the prognosis of GBM.Univariate Cox regression analysis was carried out to identify the RBPs associated with overall survival of GBM in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), GSE16011, and Repository for Molecular Brain Neoplasia data (Rembrandt) datasets, respectively. Overlapping RBPs from the TCGA, GSE16011, and Rembrandt datasets were selected. The biological role of prognostic RBPs was assessed by Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and protein-protein interaction analyses. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to construct an RBP-related risk signature. The prognostic value of RBP signature was measured by Kaplan-Meier method and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve. A nomogram based on independent prognostic factors was established to predict survival for GBM. The CGGA cohort was used as the validation cohort for external validation.This study identified 27 RBPs associated with the prognosis of GBM and constructed a 6-RPBs signature. Kaplan-Meier curves suggested that high-risk score was associated with a poor prognosis. Area under the curve of 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival was 0.618, 0.728, and 0.833 for TCGA cohort, 0.655, 0.909, and 0.911 for GSE16011 cohort, and 0.665, 0.792, and 0.781 for Rembrandt cohort, respectively. A nomogram with 4 parameters (age, chemotherapy, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter status, and risk score) was constructed. The calibration curve showed that the nomogram prediction was in good agreement with the actual observation.The 6-RBPs signature could effectively predict the prognosis of GBM, and our findings supplemented the prognostic index of GBM to a certain extent., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The methylammonium ion (CH 3 NH 3 + , or noted as MA-H + ) is one of the smallest organic ammonium ions that play important roles in organic-inorganic halide perovskites. Despite the simple structure, the vibrational spectra of MA-H + exhibit complicated features in the 3 μm region which are sensitive to the solvation environment. In the present work, we have applied the ab initio anharmonic algorithm at the CCSD/aug-cc-pVDZ level to simulate the IR and Raman spectra of the solvated methylammonium ion, MA-H + ⋯X 3 , where X denotes the solvent molecules, to understand the Fermi resonance mechanism in which the overtones of NH bending modes are coupled with the fundamentals of NH stretching modes. The spectral features of the solvated clusters with proper solvent species resemble those observed in the perovskite crystal, indicating that they have similar solvation environments and hydrogen bond interactions. Therefore, a linkage between the gas-phase cluster models and the condensed-phase materials can be established, and our simulations and anharmonic analyses help in interpreting the spectral assignments of the observed IR and Raman spectra of perovskites reliably. Furthermore, we have extended this approach to the SFG spectra to demonstrate the selective appearance of bands depending on both the beam polarization configurations and the symmetry of vibrational modes.

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in diffuse glioma, and to establish a prognostic nomogram accordingly.The hematologic and clinicopathological data of 162 patients with primary diffuse glioma who received surgical treatment from January 2012 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was carried out to determine the optimal cut-off values for NLR, MLR, PLR, age, and Ki-67 index, respectively. Kaplan-Meier method was used to investigate the correlation between inflammatory indicators and prognosis of glioma patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were performed to evaluate the independent prognostic value of each parameter in glioma. Then, a nomogram was developed to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year postoperative survival in diffuse glioma patients based on independent prognostic factors. Subsequent time-dependent ROC curve, calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), and concordance index (C-index) were performed to assess the predictive performance of the nomogram.The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated that patients with high levels of NLR, MLR, and PLR had a poor prognosis. In addition, we found that NLR level was associated with World Health Organization (WHO) grade and IDH status of glioma. The multivariate Cox analysis indicated that resection extent, WHO grade, and NLR level were independent prognostic factors, and we established a nomogram that included these three parameters. The evaluation of the nomogram indicated that the nomogram had a good predictive performance, and the addition of NLR could improve the accuracy.NLR, MLR, and PLR were prognostic factors of diffuse glioma. In addition, the nomogram including NLR was reliable for predicting survival of diffuse glioma patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease leading to periodontal tissue breakdown and subsequent tooth loss, in which excessive host immune response accounts for most of the tissue damage and disease progression. Despite of the imperative need to develop host modulation therapy, the inflammatory responses and cell population dynamics which are finely tuned by the pathological microenvironment in periodontitis remained unclear. To investigate the local microenvironment of the inflammatory response in periodontitis, 10 periodontitis patients and 10 healthy volunteers were involved in this study. Single-cell transcriptomic profilings of gingival tissues from two patients and two healthy donors were performed. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry analysis were performed to further validate the identified cell subtypes and their involvement in periodontitis. Based on our single-cell resolution analysis, we identified HLA-DR-expressing endothelial cells and CXCL13 + fibroblasts which are highly associated with immune regulation. We also revealed the involvement of the proinflammatory NLRP3 + macrophages in periodontitis. We further showed the increased cell-cell communication between macrophage and T/B cells in the inflammatory periodontal tissues. Our data generated an intriguing catalog of cell types and interaction networks in the human gingiva and identified new inflammation-promoting cell subtypes involved in chronic periodontitis, which will be helpful in advancing host modulation therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Qian, Huang, Chen, Mo, Zhou, Zhao, Li and Lai.)

Prevention of acute kidney injury caused by drugs is still a clinical problem to be solved urgently. Astaxanthin (AST) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are important marine-derived active ingredients, and they are reported to exhibit renal protective activity. It is noteworthy that the existing forms of AST in nature are mainly fatty acid-acylated AST monoesters and diesters, as well as unesterified AST, in which DHA is an esterified fatty acid. However, no reports focus on the different bioactivities of unesterified AST, monoesters and diesters, as well as the recombination of DHA and unesterified AST on nephrotoxicity. In the present study, vancomycin-treated mice were used to evaluate the effects of DHA-acylated AST monoesters, DHA-acylated AST diesters, unesterified AST, and the recombination of AST and DHA in alleviating nephrotoxicity by determining serum biochemical index, histopathological changes, and the enzyme activity related to oxidative stress. Results found that the intervention of DHA-acylated AST diesters significantly ameliorated kidney dysfunction by decreasing the levels of urea nitrogen and creatinine, alleviating pathological damage and oxidative stress compared to AST monoester, unesterified AST, and the recombination of AST and DHA. Further studies revealed that dietary DHA-acylated AST esters could inhibit the activation of the caspase cascade and MAPKs signaling pathway, and reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings indicated that the administration of DHA-acylated AST esters could alleviate vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity, which represented a potentially novel candidate or therapeutic adjuvant for alleviating acute kidney injury.

The hemibond is a nonclassical covalent bond formed between a radical (cation) and a closed shell molecule. The hemibond formation ability of water has attracted great interest, concerning its role in ionization of water. While many computational studies on the water hemibond have been performed, clear experimental evidence has been hardly reported because the hydrogen bond formation overwhelms the hemibond formation. In the present study, infrared photodissociation spectroscopy is applied to (H 2 O-Kr n ) + ( n = 1-3) radical cation clusters. The observed spectra of (H 2 O-Kr n ) + are well reproduced by the anharmonic vibrational simulations based on the hemibonded isomer structures. The firm evidence of the hemibond formation ability of water is revealed.

Marine-derived fungi are a treasure house for the discovery of structurally novel secondary metabolites with potential pharmaceutical value. In this study, a pair of new nor-bisabolane derivative enantiomers (±)-1 and two new phthalides (4 and 5), as well as four known metabolites, were isolated from the culture filtrate of the marine algal-derived endophytic fungus Penicillium chrysogenum LD-201810. Their structures were established by detailed interpretation of spectroscopic data (1D/2D NMR and ESI-MS). The optical resolution of compound (±)-1 by chiral HPLC successfully afforded individual enantiomers (+)-1 and (-)-1, and their absolute configurations were determined by TDDFT-ECD calculations. Compound (±)-1 represents the first example of bisabolane analogs with a methylsulfinyl substituent group, which is rare in natural products. All of the isolated compounds 1-7 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against A549, BT-549, HeLa, HepG2, MCF-7, and THP-1 cell lines, as well as for antifungal activity against four plant pathogenetic fungi ( Alternaria solani , Botrytis cinerea , Fusarium oxysporum , and Valsa mali ). Compound 2, a bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid, was shown to possess excellent activity for control of B. cinerea with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 13.6 μg/mL, whereas the remaining investigated compounds showed either weak or no cytotoxic/antifungal activity in this study., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Ge, Tang, Huang, Wei, Li, Jiang, Li, Yu, Zhu, Chen, Zhang and Zhang.)

Fungi play an irreplaceable role in drug discovery in the course of human history, as they possess unique abilities to synthesize diverse specialized metabolites with significant medicinal potential. Trichoderma are well-studied filamentous fungi generally observed in nature, which are widely marketed as biocontrol agents. The secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma have gained extensive attention since they possess attractive chemical structures with remarkable biological activities. A large number of metabolites have been isolated from Trichoderma species in recent years. A previous review by Reino et al. summarized 186 compounds isolated from Trichoderma as well as their biological activities up to 2008. To update the relevant list of reviews of secondary metabolites produced from Trichoderma sp., we provide a comprehensive overview in regard to the newly described metabolites of Trichoderma from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2020, with emphasis on their chemistry and various bioactivities. A total of 203 compounds with considerable bioactivities are included in this review, which is worth expecting for the discovery of new drug leads and agrochemicals in the foreseeable future. Moreover, new strategies for discovering secondary metabolites of Trichoderma in recent years are also discussed herein., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zhang, Tang, Huang, Li, Wei, Jiang, Liu, Yu, Zhu, Chen and Zhang.)

Compared with terrestrial organisms, the sterols in sea cucumber exhibit a sulfate group at the C-3 position. Our previous study demonstrated that dietary sterol sulfate was superior to phytosterol in alleviating metabolic syndrome by ameliorating inflammation and mediating cholesterol metabolism in high-fat-high-fructose diet mice, which indicated its potential anti-atherosclerosis bioactivity. In the present study, administration with sea cucumber-derived sterol sulfate (SCS) significantly decreased the cholesterol level in oleic acid/palmitic acid-treated HepG2 cells, while no significant changes were observed in the triacylglycerol level. RNA-seq analysis showed that the metabolic changes were mostly attributed to the steroid biosynthesis pathway. ApoE-/- mice were used as an atherosclerosis model to further investigate the regulation of SCS on cholesterol metabolism. The results showed that SCS supplementation dramatically reduced atherosclerotic lesions by 45% and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by 59% compared with the model group. Dietary SCS inhibited hepatic cholesterol synthesis via downregulating SREBP-2 and HMGCR. Meanwhile, SCS administration increased cholesterol uptake via enhancing the expression of Vldlr and Ldlr. Noticeably, SCS supplementation altered bile acid profiles in the liver, serum, gallbladder and feces, which might cause the activation of FXR in the liver. These findings provided new evidence about the high bioactivity of sterols with the sulfate group on atherosclerosis.

Intriguing vibrational features of solvated protonated methanol between 2400-3800 cm -1 are recorded by infrared predissociation spectroscopy. Positions of absorption bands corresponding to OH stretching modes are sensitive to changes in solvation environments, thus leading to changes in these vibrational features. Two anharmonic coupling mechanisms, Fermi resonance (FR) contributed by bending overtones and combination band (CB) associated with intermolecular stretching modes, are known to lead to band splitting of OH stretching fundamentals in solvated hydronium and ammonium. Theoretical analyses based on the ab initio anharmonic algorithm not only well reproduce the experimentally observed features but also elucidate the magnitudes of such couplings and the resulting interplay between these two mechanisms, which provide convincing assignments of the spectral patterns. Moreover, while the hydroxyl group plays the leading role in all the above-mentioned features, the role of the methyl group is also analyzed. Through the H/D isotope substitution, we identify overtones of the methyl-hydroxyl rocking modes and their participation in FR.

Elucidating the dynamic couplings of hydrogen bonds remains an important and challenging goal for spectroscopic studies of bulk systems, because their vibrational signatures are masked by the collective effects of the fluctuation of many hydrogen bonds. Here we utilize size-selected infrared spectroscopy based on a tunable vacuum ultraviolet free electron laser to unmask the vibrational signatures for the dynamic couplings in neutral trimethylamine-water and trimethylamine-methanol complexes, as microscopic models with only one single hydrogen bond holding two molecules. Surprisingly broad progression of OH stretching peaks with distinct intensity modulation over ∼700 cm -1 is observed for trimethylamine-water, while the dramatic reduction of this progression in the trimethylamine-methanol spectrum offers direct experimental evidence for the dynamic couplings. State-of-the-art quantum mechanical calculations reveal that such dynamic couplings are originated from strong Fermi resonance between the stretches of hydrogen-bonded OH and several motions of the solvent water/methanol, such as translation, rocking, and bending, which are significant in various solvated complexes commonly found in atmospheric and biological systems.

Vibrational spectra of the methyl groups in mono-methylamine (MMA), dimethylamine (DMA), and trimethylamine (TMA) monomers and their clusters were measured in three experimental set-ups to capture their complex spectral features as a result of bend/umbrella-stretch Fermi resonance (FR). Multiple bands were observed between 2800 and 3000 cm-1 corresponding to the methyl groups for MMA and DMA. On the other hand, the corresponding spectrum of TMA is relatively simple, exhibiting only four prominent bands in the same frequency window, even though TMA has a larger number of methyl groups. The discrete variable representation (DVR) based ab initio anharmonic algorithm with potential energy surface (PES) at CCSD/aug-cc-pVDZ quality is able to capture all the experimentally observed spectral features across all three amines, and the constructed vibrational Hamiltonian was used to analyze the couplings that give rise to the observed FR patterns. It was observed that the vibrational coupling among CH stretch modes on different methyl groups is weak (less than 2 cm-1) and stronger vibrational coupling is found to localize within a methyl group. In MMA and DMA, the complex feature between 2850 and 2950 cm-1 is a consequence of closely packed overtone states that gain intensities by mixing with the stretching modes. The simplification of the spectral pattern of TMA can be understood by the red-shift of the symmetric CH3 stretching modes by about 80 cm-1 relative to MMA, which causes the symmetric CH3 stretch to shift outside the FR window.

Infrared spectra for a series of asymmetric proton-bound dimers with protonated trimethylamine (TMA-H + ) as the proton donor were recorded and analyzed. The frequency of the N-H + stretching mode is expected to red shift as the proton affinity of proton acceptors increases. The observed band, however, shows a peculiar splitting of approximately 300 cm -1 with the intensity shifting pattern resembling a two-level system. Theoretical investigation reveals that the observed band splitting and its extraordinarily large gap of around 300 cm -1 is a result of strong coupling between the fundamental of the proton stretching mode and overtone states of the two proton bending modes, that is commonly known as Fermi resonance (FR). We also provide a general theoretical model to link the strong FR coupling to the quasi-two-level system. Since the model does not depend on the molecular specification of TMA-H + , the strong coupling we observed is an intrinsic property associated with proton motions., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Complex vibrational features of solvated hydronium ion, H 3 O + , in 3 μm enable us to look into the vibrational coupling among O-H stretching modes and other degrees of freedom. Two anharmonic coupling schemes have often been engaged to explain observed spectra: coupling with the OH bending overtone, known as Fermi resonance (FR), has been proposed to account for the splitting of the OH stretch band at ∼3300 cm -1 in H 3 O + ···Ar 3 , but an additional peak in H 3 O + ···(N 2 ) 3 at the similar frequency region has been assigned to a combination band (CB) with the low-frequency intermolecular stretches. While even stronger vibrational coupling is expected in H 3 O + ···(H 2 O) 3 , such pronounced peaks are absent. In the present study, vibrational spectra of H 3 O + ···Kr 3 and H 3 O + ···(CO) 3 are measured to complement the existing spectra. Using ab initio anharmonic algorithms, we are able to assign the observed complex spectral features, to resolve seemingly contradictory notions in the interpretations, and to reveal simple pictures of the interplay between FR and CB.

The appearance of multiple bands in the N-H stretching region of the infrared spectra of the neutral methylamine dimer and trimer is a sign of NH bend-stretch anharmonic coupling. Ab initio anharmonic calculations were carried out in a step-wise manner to reveal the origin of various bands observed in the spectrum of the methylamine dimer. A seven-dimensional potential energy surface involving symmetric and asymmetric stretching and bending vibrations of both the hydrogen bond donor and the acceptor along intermolecular-translational modes was constructed using the discrete variable representation approach. The resulting spectrum of the dimer shows five bands that can be attributed to the symmetric stretching (ν sym D ), asymmetric stretchin (ν asym D ), and bending overtone (2ν bend D ) of the donor moiety. These appear along with the combination band arising out of bending vibrations of the donor and acceptor (ν bend D + ν bend A ) and with the combination of the intermolecular translational mode over the donor bending overtone (ν trans + 2ν bend D ). The spectrum of the trimer essentially consists of all the features seen in the dimer with marginal changes in band positions. The analysis of the experimental spectra based on the two-state deperturbation model and ab initio anharmonic calculations yield a matrix element of about 40 cm -1 for the N-H bend-stretch Fermi resonance coupling. In general, the IR spectra of the hydrogen-bonded amino group depict three sets of bands that arise due to bend-stretch Fermi resonance coupling.

Studies on the vibrational spectra of various ammonium-centered clusters under different solvation environments have raised interest over the last thirty years. The gas-phase infrared photodissociation spectroscopy (IRPD) experiments showed that these NH4+Xn clusters exhibit rich spectral features from 2600 to 3400 cm-1. In this work, we have simulated the vibrational spectra and analyzed couplings among vibrational quantum states in the aforementioned frequency range using ab initio anharmonic algorithms. Originating from the anharmonic couplings between NH stretching fundamentals and bending overtones, Fermi resonance (FR) is a common feature in these spectra, and its extent is determined by the magnitude of couplings and the energy matching conditions between relevant states, which are governed by the proton affinity, number, and bonding configuration of the solvation species. For weakly bound clusters consisting of rare gas atoms, FR is insignificant but not negligible; for strongly bound clusters, such as ammonium-water clusters, the hydrogen-bonded NH stretching fundamentals redshift and reach a better resonance condition, and thus light up the bending overtones as prominent FR bands. Our simulated spectra are in good agreement with previous experimental reports of these ammonium-centered clusters and provide a better understanding of the vibrational coupling behind the spectra of the NH stretching region.

Strong coupling between stretching fundamentals and bending overtones of vibrational modes, known as Fermi resonance (FR), has been observed for proton motions in the protonated trimethylamine-water cluster. To investigate the role of FR, we examined the vibrational spectra of other three protonated ammonia/amine-water clusters, including the NH4+ ion and its mono- and di-methylated analogues, respectively, with and without argon tagging. In these systems, a simple frequency-scaled harmonic oscillator model will predict only one strong band between 2600 and 3200 cm-1 uniquely due to the hydrogen-bonded NH stretching fundamental for a given conformer. In the experimental vibrational spectra, however, multiple sharp bands were observed. Such a discrepancy often leads to the notions of the coexistence of multiple conformers and/or the appearance of an overtone state as a result of FR. In this work, we applied a discrete variable representation (DVR) implementation of ab initio anharmonic algorithms and demonstrated how one N-H+ stretching fundamental can lead to multiple bands as a result of intrinsic anharmonic couplings. A prominent effect of tuning these FR bands and lighting up dark overtone states in this wide frequency range was investigated by changing the number of methyl groups in the protonated amine moiety. The effect of Ar-tagging was also analyzed and decent agreement between the experimental and simulated spectra certified the above-mentioned simple pictures. We also found that the coupling constant for trimethylamine is the largest among these protonated amine-water clusters, and the overall coupling strength decreases as the hydrogen-bonded NH stretching frequency redshifts in the order of dimethylamine, methylamine, and ammonia.

The application of exogenous organic matter is considered the main method of increasing the organic matter content of acidic red soils. Nitrogen is an important limiting factor for soil fertility. Changes to the soil ecosystem under organic matter promotion can affect soil nitrogen cycling and related functional microorganisms; however, there have been no studies on this aspect. Acidic upland red soils, with or without long-term organic fertilizer application, were chosen as the research materials in this study. Based on metagenomic sequencing and alignment in the nitrogen-cycling gene database, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of organic matter promotion on nitrogen-cycling genes and functional microorganisms in acidic red soils, which had been amended with exogenous organic matter for 32 years. The results showed that organic matter promotion in acidic soils increased the total organic carbon and total nitrogen content, and alleviated soil acidification. Organic matter promotion increased the soil net nitrification activity and potential for ammoxidation. Organic matter promotion increased the abundance of amoA genes (encoding ammonia monooxygenase) and nar , nap , nir , nor , and nos genes (encoding denitrification reductase); decreased the abundance of hao genes (encoding hydroxylamine oxidase) and nrf genes related to the dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia; increased the abundance of glnA , gdh , glsA , ansB , and nao genes related to organic nitrogen metabolism; altered the abundance of functional genes related to assimilatory nitrate reduction; and changed the community composition of nitrogen-cycling microorganisms. After organic matter promotion, alleviation of soil acidification and enhancement of total organic carbon were the most important factors that affected the abundance of nitrogen-cycling genes and the community composition of functional microorganisms. Our results comprehensively investigated the inorganic and organic nitrogen-cycling genes, and correlated the functional genes, microbial populations, and functional activities in the ammonia oxidizing process, which provided supporting data to understand the nitrogen-cycling characteristics of acidic red soils and provided ideas for acidic soil improvement.

Cholesterol was usually used to stabilize liposome, although there have been controversies on the relationship between dietary cholesterol and health. The present study aimed to prepare a novel multifunctional nanoliposomes stabilized by sea cucumber-derived saponins using ultrasound-assisted film dispersion method. A novel uniform liposome with a mass ratio of egg yolk lecithin/sea cucumber saponins at 75:25 was successfully prepared to encapsulate saponin, and the particle size was 164.8 ± 1.70 nm with a PDI value of 0.214 ± 0.022 and zeta potential of -15.97 ± 1.23 mV. The digestion and absorption results in vivo showed that the dietary saponins in liposome form could delay the peak time of saponins and prolong their residence time in the serum. Moreover, saponins were more easily converted into their corresponding metabolites after administration with saponins in the liposome form. The novel liposome as an efficient carrier with multiple functions had great potential in the development of functional food and biomedical applications.

EPA-enriched phosphoethanolamine plasmalogens (EPA-pPE), widely present in marine creatures, is a unique glycerophospholipid with EPA at the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone. EPA-pPE has been reported to exhibit numerous distinctive bioactivities. However, the digestion, absorption, and metabolism characteristics of EPA-pPE in vivo are not clear, which restrict the molecular mechanism analysis related to its distinctive activities. The aim of the present study was to illustrate the digestion, absorption, and metabolism characteristics of EPA-pPE by lipid analysis in serum, intestinal wall, and content after oral administration of EPA-pPE emulsion. Results showed the EPA percentage of total fatty acids in serum was increasing over time, with two peaks at 5 and 10 h by 1.89 ± 0.2 and 2.58 ± 0.27, respectively, and then fell from 1.89 ± 0.17 at 10 h to 1.35 ± 0.16 at 16 h. In small intestinal content, EPA-pPE was hydrolyzed to lyso-phospholipids and EPA by phospholipases A2 and the vinyl ether bond was retained at the sn-1 position. The released EPA could be quickly taken up into the enterocytes and enter circulation. The comparison of simulated digestion in vitro showed that the distinct digestion and absorption process of EPA-pPE was a unique phenomenon. EPA could be retained in serum at a high level for a substantial period of time, which suggested that EPA-pPE was not just a short-lived circulating molecule.

Four soil conditioners, SAMMNS, CCT01, Mineral, and Tebeigai were selected for this study. The effects of the four conditioners on soil pH, bulk density, organic matter, available nutrients, texture, microaggregates, Cd available in soil, and Cd content in brown rice were investigated using field-controlled cadmium tests conducted in cadmium-contaminated paddy fields in Pingxiang. The results showed that compared to the control, soil conditioners could increase pH, bulk density, and cation exchange capacity in soil. SAMMNS and CCT01 soil conditioners increased the amount of silt and clay, but that of sand decreased, whereas the Mineral and Tebeigai soil conditioners decreased silt and clay, and sand increased. In addition to the CCT01 soil conditioner, the application of soil conditioners increased large-scale agglomerates and reduced small-scale microaggregates. The effects of soil conditioners on soil physical and chemical properties promoted the conversion of Cd from contaminated soil from high activity to low activity, which reduced available Cd content in soil (5.21%-34.78%) and Cd content in brown rice (51.39%-68.06%). Correlation analysis showed that Cd content in brown rice was significantly positively correlated with available Cd and available phosphorus in soil, whereas it was negatively correlated with pH and bulk density in soil. Considering the effects of soil and brown rice on cadmium reduction and physicochemical properties, Tebeigai soil conditioner exhibited the best repair effects, followed by SENMES and Mineral soil conditioner.

Purpose: To develop a multi-RNA-based model to provide survival risk prediction for colon cancer by constructing a competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network. Methods: The prognostic information and expression of the lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in colon cancer specimens from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were assessed. Constructing prognostic models used the differentially expressed RNAs. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses and Gene Ontology were used to identify the functional role of the ceRNA network in the prognosis of colon cancer. Results: Five lncRNAs (AC007384.1, AC002511.1, AC012640.1, C17orf82, and AP001619.1), 8 miRNAs (hsa-mir-141, hsa-mir-150, hsa-mir-375, hsa-mir-96, hsa-mir-107, hsa-mir-106a, hsa-mir-200a, and hsa-mir-1271), and 5 mRNAs (BDNF, KLF4, SESN2, SMOC1, and TRIB3) were highly correlated with tumor status and tumor stage. Three prognostic models based on the 5 lncRNAs, 8 miRNAs, and 5 mRNAs were constructed. The prognostic ability was 0.850 for the lncRNA-based model, 0.811 for the miRNA-based model, and 0.770 for the mRNA-based model. Patients with high-risk scores revealed worse overall survival. The KEGG pathways were significantly enriched in the "neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction." Conclusion: This study identified several potential prognostic biomarkers to construct a multi-RNA-based prognostic model for colon cancer.

Objective: To explore the specificity of the relevant points along the governor vessel in chronic gastritis through the synchronous observation of the tenderness reaction and tenderness threshold on the back along the governor vessel in the volunteers with chronic gastritis and make the comparison with healthy volunteers., Methods: A chronic gastritis group and a healthy volunteer group were prepared, 30 cases in each one. Using synchronous comparison, the tenderness reaction at the point inferior to each of the spinous processes from T 1 to L 3 along the governor vessel was observed. The mechanical pressure pain threshold was determined., Results: Regarding the tenderness reaction at the point inferior to each spinous process on the back along the governor vessel, the occurrence rate was different significantly between the chronic gastritis group and the healthy volunteer group ( P <0.01). The tenderness threshold at the point inferior to each spinous process from T 1 to L 3 along the governor vessel in the chronic gastritis group was lower than the healthy volunteer group, the tenderness thresholds from T 4 to T 9 and T 12 were different significantly between the two groups ( P <0.01, P <0.05). The tenderness reaction at the point inferior to each spinous process on the back along the governor vessel presented the significant negative correlation with the tenderness threshold in the chronic gastritis group ( P <0.01), and the correlation was not displayed in the healthy volunteer group ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: The point inferior to the spoinous process of T 4 on the governor vessel, Shendao (GV 11, T 5 ) and Lingtai (GV 10, T 6 ) are the points with the high specificity in chronic gastritis, which provides the reference to clinical treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion. The occurrence rate of high tenderness reaction and the low tenderness threshold may be the important manifestation of the point specificity on the back along the governor vessel in chronic gastritis.

Objective: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on learning-memory ability and its correlation with miR-664-3p levels in the hippocampus in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CI/RI) rats., Methods: A total of 27 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation, CI/RI model and EA groups ( n ＝9 in each group). The CI/RI model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MACO) according to the modified Longa methods. EA was applied to "Baihui" (GV20) and "Shenting" (GV24) for 20 min, once a day for 7 days. The Morris water maze tests (place navigation tasks and spatial probe trials) were used to evaluate the rats' learning-memory ability. After EA intervention, the hippocampal tissue was collected to measure the mRNA and miRNA expression profiles by using high-throughput next generation sequencing. Bioinformatics analyses including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to screen the most abundant differentially-expressed miRNAs and mRNAs, particularly the target genes of miR-664-3p. Their biological functional categories including the key biochemical metabolic pathways and signaling pathways involved in CI and EA effect in the left hippocampus tissue were analyzed., Results: The average escape latency of place navigation tests was significantly longer in the CI/RI model group than in the sham operation group ( P <0.01), and obviously shorter in the EA group than in the model group ( P <0.01); and the times of escape-platform quadrant crossing of the spatial probe trials were considerably fewer in the CI/RI model group than in the sham operation group ( P <0.05), and markedly more in the CI/RI EA group than in the model group ( P <0.05). Combined analysis of miRNA and mRNA showed that the differentially-expressed target genes of miR-664-3p were significantly up-regulated after CI/RI relevant to the sham operation rats ( P <0.05) and notably down-regulated in the EA group relevant to the CI/RI model group ( P <0.05). The GO analysis displayed that the target genes of miR-664-3p were significantly enriched in the category of cell transportation activity, ion binding，and transmembrane transporter activity, the production of precursor metabolites and energy, transportation, signal transduction，localization, etc. KEGG analysis showed that the target genes of miR-664-3p in this study were mainly enriched in the thyroid hormone pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, MAPK signal transduction pathway，cAMP signaling pathway, neurotrophic factor signal transduction pathway, etc., Conclusion: EA of GV20 and GV24 can improve the learning-memory ability of CI/RI rats, which is closely related to its effect in down-regulating the levels of hippocampal target genes of miR-664-3p involving cellular transmembrane transportation，cell to environment interaction，cell-cell communication, etc.

Infrared-vacuum ultraviolet (IR-VUV) spectra of neutral dimethylamine clusters, (DMA) n (n = 2-5), were measured in the spectral range of 2600-3700 cm -1 . The experimental IR-VUV spectra show NH stretch modes gradually redshift to 3200-3250 cm -1 with the increase in the cluster size and complex Fermi Resonance (FR) pattern of the CH 3 group in the 2800-3000 cm -1 region. Ab initio anharmonic vibrational calculations were performed on low-energy conformers of (DMA) 2 and (DMA) 3 to examine vibrational coupling among CH/NH and to understand the Fermi resonance pattern in the observed spectra features. We found that the redshift of NH stretching mode with the size of DMA cluster is moderate, and the overtone of NH bending modes is expected to overlap in frequency with the CH stretching fundamental modes. The FR in CH 3 groups is originated from the strong coupling between CH stretching fundamental and bending overtone within a CH 3 group. Well-resolved experimental spectra also enable us to compare the performance of ab initio anharmonic algorithms at different levels.