Search

Prevention of neointima formation is the key to improving long-term outcomes after stenting or coronary artery bypass grafting. RNA N

The rapid warming of the Arctic has led to permafrost degradation, accelerating the transport of terrestrial materials by rivers. The quantitative assessment of riverine nutrients and total suspended solids (TSS) flux is important to clarify the land–ocean connections in the Arctic. However, much is unknown about the estimates of these components from direct measurements in the Arctic rivers and the response of the components to permafrost degradation. Here, we report the results from the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory (Arctic-GRO) for the six major Arctic rivers (Yenisey, Lena, Ob’, Mackenzie, Yukon, and Kolyma) to investigate the riverine exports of TSS, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), nitrate ( NO 3 − ), bicarbonate ( HCO 3 − ), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), and phosphate ( PO 4 3 − ). The results showed that from 2004 to 2017, the annual TSS, TDN, and NO 3 − exports to the Arctic Ocean were approximately 106,026 Gg, 692 Gg, and 130 Gg, respectively, and the HCO 3 − , TDP, and PO 4 3 − exports were approximately 79,092 Gg, 32 Gg, and 18 Gg, respectively. There were remarkable variations in component concentrations and fluxes between seasons. More than 80% of the TDN, TDP, PO 4 3 − , and TSS exports mainly occurred in spring and summer, and a high HCO 3 − flux was recorded in summer, while a high NO 3 − flux in some rivers occurred in winter. The active layer thickness was significantly positively correlated with the annual TDN, NO 3 − , and HCO 3 − exports. In addition, the HCO 3 − flux of the six Arctic rivers increased by 247 Gg per year during 2004–2017. The positive relationship between the active layer thickness and river discharge indicates that permafrost degradation accelerated riverine carbonate, nitrogen, and phosphorus exports. This study demonstrates that riverine exports play an important role both in the Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and permafrost degradation will likely increase the riverine material exports to the ocean.

Objective Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is prevalent in middle-aged and elderly people. This condition negatively affects the quality of life of patients. Although non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often used to relieve symptoms associated with KOA, it is associated with many side effects. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapies have been applied in the treatment of KOA. However, the efficacy of various acupuncture and moxibustion treatments has not been compared. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the application of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of KOA were searched in English databases and Chinese databases. Data were retrieved from establishment of the database to September 2020. Data analysis was performed using Stata14.0 and GeMTC 0.14.3 softwares. Results A total of 40 RCTs involving 3215 patients with KOA were retrieved. Network meta-analysis revealed that the fire needle was superior to western medicine, electro-acupuncture, conventional acupuncture, warm needle and sham acupuncture; warm needle was better than conventional acupuncture and western medicine whereas electro-acupuncture was better than conventional acupuncture in improving pain scores in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Moreover, we found that fire needle and warm needle more effectively improved WOMAC stiffness scores than western medicine and sham moxibustion, whereas electro-acupuncture was superior to western medicine and sham moxibustion in improving WOMAC stiffness scores. Further analysis revealed that fire needle, warm needle and electro-acupuncture were more effective in improving WOMAC joint function scores than conventional acupuncture and western medicine. The fire needle was superior to conventional acupuncture and sham acupuncture, whereas electro-acupuncture was better than western medicine, conventional acupuncture and sham acupuncture in improving visual analogue scale scores. Conclusion This study shows that fire needle is superior to warm needle and electro-acupuncture, whereas warm needle and electro-acupuncture are better than conventional acupuncture, western medicine, sham moxibustion and sham acupuncture.

Two unique trinorlabdane diterpenoid alkaloids, forsyqinlingines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the ripe fruits of Forsythia suspensa. Their structures, including absolute stereochemical configurations, were fully elucidated from extensive spectroscopy experiments, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). In addition, a plausible biosynthetic pathway for the formation of compounds 1 and 2 in Forsythia suspensa was also proposed. In vitro, the two C17-labdane diterpenoid alkaloids exhibited anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting the release of β-glucuronidase in rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), and antiviral activities against influenza A (H1N1) virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

To evaluate the curative effect of integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine on gout, and to investigate the therapy timing and exact treatment options of integrated medicine.Totally 860 patients were enrolled, including 460 patients with intermittent gout, 200 patients with active Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome (TCM syndrome score ≥ 6) and 200 patients with stable TCM syndrome (score6). They were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The control group was treated according to Western Medicine guidelines. The intervention group was treated with integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. The efficacy of TCM syndrome, joint pain score, joint swelling score, ESR, C-reactive protein, serum uric acid, liver and kidney function, and the duration of remission of TCM syndrome were compared between the two groups before and after treatments.For the patients with stable TCM syndrome, there was no significant difference in the effective rate and inefficiency between the intervention group and the control group. For the active type, the effective rate of the intervention group is better than the control group significantly. For the stable type, there was no significant difference between the intervention group and the control group in improving the scores of joint pain and swelling, reducing the level of ESR, C-reactive protein, serum uric acid and improving liver and kidney function. For the active type, the differences between the two groups were significant. The stable stage of gout in the intervention group was longer than the control group.For the gout patients with stable TCM syndrome in the acute stage of gout, we can use TCM treatment or Western Medicine alternatively; for the patients with active TCM syndrome, the scheme of combination of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine can be applied, with the better curative effect than any medicine alone.

Predicting the future locations of human is of vital importance in practical applications, such as the urban planning and epidemic controlling. Here we explore how to improve the location prediction accuracy by utilizing multiple human social ties. Besides the trajectories of individuals themselves, the dense social tie, i.e friends and in-roles (F&IR), and the familiar stranger (FS) social tie are also involved to design basic location predictors, according to the social-tie properties. Interestingly, we find that the human location predictor with the FS has an even higher prediction accuracy than the predictor with the F&IR social tie. Moreover, we attempt to select a proper predictor for humans with heterogeneity. We define a social-tie motif to validate the social-tie pattern of an individual and propose a multiple-social-ties (MST) location predication method. The MST predictor opens up avenues for the location prediction considering the social-tie patterns of individuals.

Background and aims Despite the advantage of arterial expansion for life-threatening vascular pathologies, the occurrence of neointima formation remains a prominent complication, with the underlying mechanisms largely unknown. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 22 (ADAM22) belongs to the family of ADAMs that possesses various biological capacities regulating vascular physiopathology. However, little is known about ADAM22 in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-mediated neointima formation. Here, we aimed to evaluate the potential functional regulation of ADAM22 in neointima formation and to further explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods In our study, platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-induced VSMC proliferation was examined using a 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay and a cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, while VSMC migration was detected using a modified Boyden chamber method and a scratch-wound assay. The functional role of ADAM22 in neointima formation was evaluated based on a left carotid artery wire injury model in mice at 14 and 28 days. Results ADAM22 was significantly up-regulated in both PDGF-BB-challenged VSMCs and restenotic arteries of mice. When ADAM22 was overexpressed in VSMCs, cell proliferation, migration and phenotypic switching were simultaneously aggravated, whereas the opposite was observed when ADAM22 was knocked down in vitro. In ADAM22 heterozygote mice, wire-injury induced neointima formation was significantly ameliorated compared to wild-type control mice. Mechanistically, significantly up-regulated ERK phosphorylation is closely involved in the regulatory effects of ADAM22 in neointima formation. Interestingly, an ERK inhibitor largely reversed the aggravated VSMCs migration, proliferation and phenotypic switching induced by ADAM22 overexpression. Conclusions Our results indicate that ADAM22 accelerates neointima formation by enhancing VSMC migration, proliferation and phenotypic switching via promoting ERK phosphorylation. Suppressing ADAM22 expression may be an effective strategy for ameliorating neointima formation.

Background An interesting clinical phenomenon occures frequently in our work, which indicates that blood pressure could return to normal in some hypertension patients with cervical & upper thoracic esophageal cancer undergoing radiotherapy. We speculated that this may be related to thyroid gland damage by radiotherapy.Methods We retrospectively analyzed pre- and post-radiotherapy (RT, 1.5months, 4.5months and 7.5months) systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) for a cohort of esophageal cancer patients. At 7.5 months post-RT, serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free tetraiodothyronine (FT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations were also measured to evaluate the changes of thyroid hormones (THs) and its correaltion with changes of blood pressure. To confirm the influence of radiation on thyroid, patients were divided into cervical & upper thoracic group (C&U, n=55) and middle & lower thoracic group (M&L, n=57). Results In the C&U group, the decreases (±SD) in SBP and DBP, respectively, were 5.51 mmHg (±1.83, P=0.003) and 3.62 mmHg (±1.38, P=0.002) at 1.5 months post-RT, 6.73 mmHg (±2.24, P=0.001) and 6.15 mmHg (±1.57, P=0.012) at 4.5 months post-RT, and 8.02 mmHg (±2.73, PPPPP =0.001; r=0.667, P P =0.005; r = 0.469, P < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion The present study suggests that radiotherapy in patients with cervical and upper thoracic esophageal cancer might result in lowering BP, which might be related to thyroid gland damage by radiotherapy.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a flocculent that is widely used in the downstream purification of monoclonal antibodies. It is an in-process residual that is carried through the drug purification process and strongly inhibits residual DNA quantitation by real-time quantitative PCR assay. Very high sample dilutions (e.g., 1:10,000) can overcome the interference of PEI, but at the cost of DNA assay sensitivity. Diluting samples poses a significant risk to the assay sensitivity needed to satisfy regulatory requirements on the quantitation of residual genomic DNA present per dose (i.e., 10 ng/dose). Removing PEI while retaining DNA, by the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate, heparin and/or sarkosyl can overcome the interference of PEI and allow a more accurate quantitation of residual DNA.

Native and invasive populations might behave differentially due to contrasting genetics and histories of environmental pressures. Here we attempted to understand how climate warming and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition influence native and invasive populations, and thus conducted an experiment to address their effects on the nine invasiveness-related traits (leaf dry matter content, specific leaf area, leaf lifespan, ramet height, ramet number, the first inflorescence buds, the first flowering, the first seed-setting, and the first dieback) of Solidago canadensis populations from the USA and China. Solidago canadensis from the USA had shorter leaf lifespan and ramet height, smaller ramet number, and earlier phenology than that from China. Warming and N addition extended leaf lifespan but failed to influence leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area; warming decreased ramet height and delayed the onset of inflorescence and flowering but N addition increased ramet height and advanced the onset of inflorescence and flowering. Six traits were more sensitive to warming or N addition in the native population than in the invasive population, and the other traits were similar; warming and N addition together had stronger effects on six traits of the native population than those of the invasive population, and the opposite was true for ramet height. Our results suggest that climate warming and N deposition might promote S. canadensis invasion, as indicated by enhanced growth, and could influence its native populations to a greater extent than its invasive populations.

In order to find a reasonable way to return the straw and reduce waste of resources, sustainability assessment of four types of maize straw circulation modes, straw direct returning to the farmland (control), “straw-biogas-straw” (S-B-S), “straw-dairy-straw” (S-D-S) and “straw-dairy-biogas-straw” (S-D-B-S), are analyzed and compared. Based on the Emergetic Ecological Footprint (EEF) method, which is an integration of Ecological Footprint (EF) analysis and emergy accounting, the Footprint Investment per unit of Footprint Delivered (FIFD) was used as an indicator of the sustainability of an ecological system. The results showed that the FIFDs for these straw circulation modes were 0.81, 1.96 and 0.43, respectively, and a sustainability sequence of S-D-B-S>S-B-S>S-D-S, in which S-D-B-S has the highest sustainability and S-D-S is unsustainable. Therefore, the agriculture-biogas mode is better than the agriculture-livestock mode, and longer circulation chains correspond with stronger sustainability. Based on the results, we suggest that integrated-biogas subsystem should be developed and all wastes in agrosystem should be used more efficiently in order to increase the sustainability.

Eight labdane diterpenoids, including two new labdane diterpenoids, named forsyshiyanins A-B (2–3), along with six known ones (1, 4–8), were isolated from the fruits of Forsythia suspensa. The new structures including their absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, X-ray diffraction and computational calculation. In vitro, eight labdane diterpenoids showed anti-inflammatory activities, with the inhibition rates of release of β-glucuronidase from polymorphonuclear leukocytes of rats being in the range 46.8–51.0% at concentrations of 10 µM, as well as anti-viral activities against influenza A (H1N1) virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with the IC50 values in the range 18.4–26.2 μM and EC50 values in the range 10.5–14.4 μM, respectively.

Five previously undescribed labdane diterpenoids, named Forsypensins A-E, were isolated from the fruits of Forsythia suspensa. The structures and relative configurations of the compounds were elucidated via extensive spectroscopic methods, and their absolute configurations were fully confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses using Cu Kα radiation and electronic circular dichroism data. The five labdane diterpenoids showed in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes, inhibiting the rates of β-glucuronidase release by 43.6%–49.2% at concentrations of 10 μM. The compounds also had anti-viral activity against influenza A (H1N1) virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with IC50 values in the range 21.8–27.4 μM, and EC50 values in the range 10.5–15.4 μM, respectively.

Five alkaloids, including two previously undescribed alkaloids, named forsyshiyanines A and B, attributable to the rare skeletons 4b,5,6,7,8,8a,9,10-octahydrobenzo[f]quinoline and (6,7-dihydro-5H-cyclopenta[c]pyridin-7-yl)methyl, respectively, along with three known ones (3–5), were isolated from the ripe fruits of Forsythia suspensa. The chemical structures including absolute configurations of two undescribed compounds were established using integrated spectroscopic techniques, electronic circular dichroism calculations, and single-crystal x-ray diffraction analysis. In vitro, five alkaloids showed anti-inflammatory activities, with the inhibition rates of the release of β-glucuronidase from polymorphonuclear leukocytes of rats being in the range 47.9%–56.0% at a concentration of 10 μM. Moreover, five compounds exhibited anti-viral activities against influenza A virus and respiratory syncytial virus, with IC50 values in the range of 7.3–32.5 μM and EC50 values in the range 3.7–14.1 μM.

We evaluated radiotherapy using helical tomotherapy (HT) combined with sorafenib for treatment of pulmonary metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We also analyzed potential prognostic factors and further validated the combination treatment. The objective response rate in the total cohort of 45 patients treated with HT (with or without sorafenib) was 66.7% (complete response, n = 1; partial response, n = 29), with no adverse events > grade 2 in severity. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7.50 ± 0.53 and 26.40 ± 2.66 months, respectively. The addition of sorafenib was associated with increased PFS (11.80 ± 1.55 vs 5.80 ± 0.52 months, p = 0.006) and increased OS (29.60 ± 5.23 vs 21.90 ± 5.17 months, p = 0.007). After multivariate adjustment, the risk of disease progression associated with combination treatment was significantly lower (p = 0.022) compared with HT only, and survival was significantly longer (p = 0.014). Further validation confirmed the benefit of combination treatment. Prognostic factors were number of pulmonary metastases for PFS (19.00 ± 7.15 months for ≤3 lesions vs 5.80 ± 0.26 months for >3 lesions, p < 0.001) and intrahepatic tumor status for OS (28.50 ± 2.76 months for well-controlled tumors vs 15.60 ± 6.38 months for uncontrolled tumors, p = 0.011). In conclusion, radiotherapy with HT for pulmonary metastases is feasible without major complications, and its combination with sorafenib may be a promising approach in a subgroup of patients.

Haliotid herpesvirus-1 (HaHV-1) is the viral agent causative of abalone viral ganglioneuritis, a disease that has severely affected gastropod aquaculture. Although limited, the sequence similarity between HaHV-1 and Ostreid herpesvirus-1 supported the assignment of both viruses to Malacoherpesviridae, a Herpesvirales family distantly related with other viruses. In this study, we reported the first transcriptional data of HaHV-1, obtained from an experimental infection of Haliotis diversicolor supertexta. We also sequenced the genome draft of the Chinese HaHV-1 variant isolated in 2003 (HaHV-1-CN2003) by PacBio technology. Analysis of 13 million reads obtained from 3 RNA samples at 60 hours post injection (hpi) allowed the prediction of 51 new ORFs for a total of 117 viral genes and the identification of 207 variations from the reference genome, consisting in 135 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and 72 Insertions or Deletions (InDels). The pairing of genomic and transcriptomic data supported the identification of 60 additional SNPs, representing viral transcriptional variability and preferentially grouped in hotspots. The expression analysis of HaHV-1 ORFs revealed one putative secreted protein, two putative capsid proteins and a possible viral capsid protease as the most expressed genes and demonstrated highly synchronized viral expression patterns of the 3 infected animals at 60 hpi. Quantitative reverse transcription data of 37 viral genes supported the burst of viral transcription at 30 and 60 hpi during the 72 hours of the infection experiment, and allowed the distinction between early and late viral genes.

Haliotid herpesvirus-1 (HaHV-1) is the first identified gastropod herpesvirus, causing a highly lethal neurologic disease of abalone species. The genome of HaHV-1 has been sequenced, but the functions of the putative genes and their roles during infection are still poorly understood. In the present study, transcriptomic profiles of Haliotis diversicolor supertexta at 0, 24 and 60 h post injection (hpi) with HaHV-1 were characterized through high-throughput RNA sequencing. A total of 448 M raw reads were obtained and assembled into 2.08 &times, 105 unigenes with a mean length of 1486 bp and an N50 of 2455 bp. Although we detected increased HaHV-1 DNA loads and active viral expression at 24 hpi, this evidence was not linked to significant changes of host transcriptomic profiles between 0 and 24 hpi, whereas a rich immune-related gene set was over-expressed at 60 hpi. These results indicate that, at least at the beginning of HaHV-1 infection, the virus can replicate with no activation of the host immune response. We propose that HaHV-1 may evolve more effective strategies to modulate the host immune response and hide during replication, so that it could evade the immune surveillance at the early stage of infection.

The location prediction issue impacts a wide range of practical areas ranging from urban planning to epidemic controlling. Numerous previous studies regarding location prediction have been carried out based on both individual historical trajectories and traces of the dense social ties of individuals such as friend and in-role. However, a kind of the so-called Familiar Stranger social tie has been discovered and identified recently, which was neglected previously and may improve the location prediction. In this paper, we propose a novel location prediction method which first takes the trajectories of the familiar stranger of individuals into account. We validate our method to achieve better performance with multiple social ties to predict locations of users with three empirical human traces datasets.

Juglonols A-C (

Mindin/spondin 2, an extracellular matrix (ECM) component that belongs to the thrombospondin type 1 (TSR) class of molecules, plays prominent roles in the regulation of inflammatory responses, angiogenesis and metabolic disorders. Our most recent studies indicated that mindin is largely involved in the initiation and development of cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases [Zhu et al. (2014) J. Hepatol. 60, 1046–1054; Bian et al. (2012) J. Mol. Med. 90, 895–910; Wang et al. (2013) Exp. Neurol. 247, 506–516; Yan et al. (2011) Cardiovasc. Res. 92, 85–94]. However, the regulatory functions of mindin in neointima formation remain unclear. In the present study, mindin expression was significantly down-regulated in platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and wire injury-stimulated vascular tissue. Using a gain-of-function approach, overexpression of mindin in VSMCs exhibited strong anti-proliferative and anti-migratory effects on VSMCs, whereas significant suppression of intimal hyperplasia was observed in transgenic (TG) mice expressing mindin specifically in smooth muscle cells (SMCs). These mice exhibited blunted VSMC proliferation, migration and phenotypic switching. Conversely, deletion of mindin dramatically exacerbated neointima formation in a wire-injury mouse model, which was further confirmed in a balloon injury-induced vascular lesion model using a novel mindin-KO (knockout) rat strain. From a mechanistic standpoint, the AKT (Protein Kinase B)−GSK3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3β)/mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin)−FOXO3A (forkhead box O)–FOXO1 signalling axis is responsible for the regulation of mindin during intimal thickening. Interestingly, an AKT inhibitor largely reversed mindin-KO-induced aggravated hyperplasia, suggesting that mindin-mediated neointima formation is AKT-dependent. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that mindin protects against vascular hyperplasia by suppression of abnormal VSMC proliferation, migration and phenotypic switching in an AKT-dependent manner. Up-regulation of mindin might represent an effective therapy for vascular-remodelling-related diseases.

We design a music player system based on white light emitting diode (LED) in visible light communication (VLC) system, using infrared remote to control. The transmitter loads music data from the storage device, decodes it and sends it to modulate LED arrays. The receiver transforms the optical signals to electrical signals, through the PIN circuits. After the amplifying circuits manage them, they are sent to a speaker to play. At the same time, a LCD will display the information of the music playing. The test shows that the music player can play fluently a variety of formats of music files and be easily controlled by the infrared remote control.

We report an $L$ -band passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. The center wavelength of the fiber laser can be tuned from 1575.5 to 1603.6 nm. The 458.7-fs pulses at 1603.6 nm show an 8.6-MHz pulse repetition rate. To the best of our knowledge, it is the longest wavelength for which subpicosecond pulses have been achieved so far with the nonlinear polarization rotation technique.

To determine whether FTY720, a sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, would protect sinusoid endothelial cells (SECs) from radiation injury in vitro. The effect of FTY720 on the viability of irradiated human liver SECs were examined by MTT assay or FACS analysis. The effect of FTY720 on the survival of hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HepG2 and McA-RH7777, were determined by clonogenic assays. The activation of Akt pathway was tested by western bolt. FTY720 increases the survival of irradiated SECs; in contrast, it does not appear to be radioprotective of tumor cells. Furthermore, the activation of Akt pathway was confirmed in the protective effect of FTY720 on SECs. These results suggest that FTY720 will be a potential therapeutic protector for the SEC apoptosis during RILD.