Search

BACKGROUND Allergic rhinitis is a chronic inflammatory disease with a high incidence, affecting the quality of life of patients. The aim of the present study was to explore the expression and clinical significance of vascular endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-17A in patients with allergic rhinitis. METHODS A total of 180 patients with allergic rhinitis, who were admitted to our hospital from March 2017 to March 2020, were enrolled as the observation group. Patients were further divided into 3 subgroups according to the degree of severity of allergic rhinitis as follows: the mild group (n=66), the moderate group (n=60), and the severe group (n=54). During the same period, 188 people without allergic rhinitis, who underwent physical examination in our hospital, were enrolled as the control group. VCAM-1, IL-6, and IL-17A levels were compared between these groups, and the correlation between the 3 levels and allergic rhinitis was analyzed. RESULTS VCAM-1, IL-6, and IL-17A levels in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P

Background Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), a stable bioactive ingredient in curcuminoids, is associated with various antitumor functions, such as proliferation inhibition, metastasis suppression and apoptosis induction, in many cancer types. However, the mechanism of BDMC in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Methods We assessed the toxicity and the inhibitory effect of BDMC in the HepG2 cell line by using CCK-8 and colony formation assays. The regulatory effects of BDMC on Akt and MAPK signaling were investigated by Western blotting and immunoprecipitation. Results We found that the half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of BDMC after 48 hrs of treatment was 59.13 μM, and BDMC inhibited proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner in HepG2 cells. The inhibitory effect was caused by the inactivation of Akt signaling, but not Erk, Jnk or p38 signaling. In addition, the inactivation of Akt signaling was attributed to the inhibition of ubiquitination mediated by K63-Ub but not K48-Ub. Furthermore, we found that BDMC upregulated the expression of CYLD, leading to Akt deubiquitination and inactivation. Conclusion BDMC inhibited HCC cell proliferation, and that this effect was induced by Akt inactivation via CYLD-mediated deubiquitination.

Source-specific highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs) have been recently served as a binary or semi-quantitative biomarker to indicate the sea ice extent in the past. Since the light intensity controlled by overlying snow cover and sea ice thickness has a significant impact on the productivity of photoautotrophic organisms and environmental water is the sole source of the hydrogen for the biosynthesis of these organisms, the hydrogen isotope ratio (2H/1H) of HBIs holds the potential to reveal more characteristics of sea ice. In this study, based on the observation of natural settings underneath sea ice, diatom Pleurosigma intermedium were grown at irradiances from 20 to 300 μmol m-2 s-1 in laboratory conditions and harvested from exponential phase and stationary phase respectively to investigate the effect of light and growth phase on hydrogen isotope fractionation in HBIs. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) screening showed that a triene (C25:3) and a tetraene (C25:4) C25 HBI alkene were detected in all samples from varying irradiances. A remarkable decline of the ratio of C25:3/C25:4 from higher to lower irradiances was observed. However, there was no significant change in the concentration of C14 (myristic), C16:1 (palmitoleic) and C16 (palmitic) fatty acids with varying light intensity. In addition, terpenoids such as phytol, squalene and range of sterols were also be identified. Published studies on phytol, fatty acid and sterol from Thalassiosira pseudonana and alkenones from Emiliania huxleyi have shown dramatic changes in hydrogen isotope fractionation and concluded that the source of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and the operation of acetogenic pathway, plastidic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) and/or cytosolic mevalonic acid (MVA) of lipids are the key factors controlling 2H/1H fractionation. The integration of molecular distribution of HBIs, fatty acids and terpenoids in Pleurosigma intermedium together with our ongoing work on their 2H/1H and 13C/12C compositions will lead to a better understanding of diatom metabolism and biochemistry under different light conditions. This knowledge will be instrumental to a more robust interpretation of stable isotope data from environmental samples and thus will contribute to further developing HBI biomarkers as a tool for estimating not only the absence/presence of sea ice but also the ice type, thickness, and snow cover.

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital form of fiat currency. CBDC is expected to be a game changer in the international financial system, bringing increased complexities arising from technology and regulatory considerations, as well as generating greater currency competition. As more states begin exploring CBDC, the interactions between actors will lead to the emergence of a new CBDC network. What shape would the emerging CBDC network take? What would its network effects be? What would be the impact of the CBDC network on international financial system,or the global financial network? This article explores these questions by examining the emerging CBDC network and its regulatory implications. It argues that the CBDC network would likely be both decentralized and uncoordinated, making it unlikely to lead to convergence in CBDC regulation. The CBDC network would probably bring policy diffusion effects, with states behaving instrumentally, while shaking up the power balance between different actors, generating both cooperation and conflict. The CBDC network also has the potential to push international financial system towards becoming more decentralized.

With the development of social economy, China has entered into an aging society. At the present stage of research, it is found that “home care” is the common social aging model in China, and the vigorous development and use of intelligent design in the new era brings new opportunities for aging at home. The intelligent aging environment becomes one of the effective methods to cope with the aging at home problem. In order to meet the needs of the existing living space for the elderly and improve the quality of life of the elderly, the article takes the “home care” model as the base and proposes a new direction of intelligent design for the elderly living environment from the physiological and psychological aspects of the elderly, so as to provide a comfortable intelligent living space for the elderly.

This article investigates the transnational flow of state, non-state and supranational norms governing over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives at both the contractual and regulatory level. Our analysis reveals that the flow of these norms has fashioned a multi-layered transnational legal order. The flow of norms involves the dynamic processes of ‘uploading’ by powerful markets and ‘downloading’ by peripheral states. Asymmetry in economic power between states drives the transnational flow of norms, which are carried by players such as financial intermediaries, professionals, international organisations and regulators. We observe that various factors may affect the outcomes of transnational flow, resulting in different degrees of convergence or divergence in peripheral states. We examine the norms governing OTC derivatives and find that the transnational flow of contractual norms (specifically the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Master Agreement) results in a high degree of convergence. However, the downloading of regulatory norms depends on the economic situation, market conditions and other national interests of peripheral states. This article shows that powerful states can expect smaller markets to accept uploaded norms when the benefits involved are reciprocal and the norms do not conflict with more pressing local concerns. Under the right conditions, therefore, regulations can be globally harmonised without the need for international treaties.

Non-chlorinated solvents are highly preferable for organic electronic processing due to their environmentally friendly characteristics. Four different halogen-free solvents, tetrafuran, toluene, meta-xylene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, were selected to fabricate n-channel organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) based on 3-hexylundecyl substituted naphthalene diimides fused with (1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)malononitrile groups (NDI3HU-DTYM2). The OTFTs based on NDI3HU-DTYM2 showed electron mobility of up to 1.37 cm2·V−1·s−1 under ambient condition. This is among the highest device performance for n-channel OTFTs processed from halogen-free solvents. The different thin-film morphologies, from featureless low crystalline morphology to well-aligned nanofibres, have a great effect on the device performance. These results might shed some light on solvent selection and the resulting solution process for organic electronic devices.

Estuaries represent an important link between the land and the ocean. Heterotrophic microorganisms in the estuary are fuelled by a composite pool of both recalcitrant terrestrial organic carbon (OC) transported by rivers and labile OC produced by aquatic phototrophs. Bathyarchaeota that are widely distributed in estuarine sediments have unique metabolic functions in carbon metabolism. However, their ecology and physiological capacities are not fully understood. In this study, we coupled taxonomic composition with comprehensive geochemical data to investigate the distribution and the OC utilization potential of Bathyarchaeota in the sediment of Pearl River Estuary (PRE). The subgroups of Bathy-6, Bathy-8, Bathy-15 and Bathy-17 dominated in all sediment samples. Different bathyarchaeotal subgroups occupied different niches along the salinity gradient in the PRE sediment. Seasonal variations of bathyarchaeotal subgroups presented in freshwater sediments are significantly positively correlated with ammonium. The abundance of Bathyarchaeota, such as Bathy-8, was significantly correlated with δ13C and fraction of terrestrially derived OC. These results indicated that Bathyarchaeota potentially utilized recalcitrant terrestrial OC in PRE sediments and may play an important role in the OC turnover in dynamic subtropical estuarine systems.

A novel tri-unsaturated C25 highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkene has been identified in a laboratory culture of the diatom Navicula salinicola and its structure determined using a combination of NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). This represents the first report of a C25 HBI in a marine diatom from the Navicula genus, although a different tri-unsaturated C25 HBI has been reported previously in the freshwater species N. sclesvicensis and unspecified HBIs have been identified in the brackish N. phyllepta. The newly characterised HBI contains a relatively unusual conjugated diene sub-unit, a structural feature only previously reported in some HBIs biosynthesised by a further marine diatom, Haslea ostrearia.

According to the calculated results on the charge distribution of oxygenated heme and deoxygenated heme, and based on the theory of electron excitations in photo-acceptor molecules and the absorption spectra of hemoglobin, it is found that low-level laser within the waveband of about 800–1060 nm can promote the release of oxygen from oxyhemoglobin and improve the oxygen supply of capillaries to surrounding tissues. Furthermore, the reasons have been explained that why the low-level laser at a wavelength of 830 nm is better in the treatment on burn injury and stimulation of hair growth. We also explained why the near-infrared laser of 1064 nm is applied to the forehead to improve cerebral oxygenation in healthy humans. Finally, according to comparison of atomic charge distribution in heme before and after bound to small molecule of carbon monoxide or nitric oxide, it could be inferred that the low-level laser with an appropriate wavelength can promote the carbon monoxide hemoglobin and nitric oxide hemoglobin to dissociate the carbon monoxide molecules and the nitric oxide molecules. This may be used for adjuvant therapy of carbon monoxide poisoning or nitric oxide poisoning.

A new class of carbazolo[2,1-a]carbazole diimide compounds (CBZCBZ-DI, 3) are designed and synthesized. The synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, absorption spectra, and electrochemical properties of 3 as well as the charge transport properties are investigated. Theoretical calculation is also carried out based on the X-ray crystal structure of 3 a to understand the relationship between the structure and the charge transport properties. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the molecules of 3 a adopt a slipped face-to-face π-stacking mode with a large intermolecular π-overlap and an interplanar distance of 3.4 A. Crystalline transistors of 3 a display high hole mobility of 0.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is among the highest reported mobility values for carbazole-based N-heteroacenes. Two useful brominated derivatives (4, 5) are also prepared for synthesizing more new π-functional materials.

The cycloheptatrienylvanadium carbonyl (η7-C7H7)V(CO)3 is a stable species that can be synthesized by the reaction of V(CO)6 with cycloheptatriene. The related species of the types (C7H7)V(CO)n (n = 5, 4, 3) and (C7H7)2V2(CO)n (n = 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0), which are potentially accessible from (η7-C7H7)V(CO)3, have now been investigated by density functional theory. For the lowest energy singlet mononuclear (C7H7)V(CO)n (n = 5, 4, 3) structures, the hapticity of the C7H7 ring is adjusted to give the vanadium atom the favored 18-electron configuration. Furthermore, for the lowest energy singlet binuclear (C7H7)2V2(CO)n (n = 5, 4, 3) structures the hapticity of the C7H7 ring is adjusted to give a V V triple bond of ∼2.5 A length with an 18-electron configuration for each vanadium atom similar to the known binuclear cyclopentadienylvanadium carbonyl (η5-C5H5)2V2(CO)5. Evidence is presented for the presence of higher order multiple V–V bonds in the more highly unsaturated singlet (C7H7)2V2(CO)n (n = 2, 1, 0) structures including a formal sextuple bond in the bent singlet (C7H7)2V2 structure. A lower energy coaxial triplet (C7H7)2V2 structure exhibiting the rare D7d point group symmetry is shown to have a σ + 2π V V triple bond by analysis of its frontier molecular orbitals. The thermochemistry of the (C7H7)2V2(CO)n system suggests (η7-C7H7)2V2(μ-CO)3 to be a viable synthetic target analogous to the experimentally known and structurally characterized species (η6-C6H6)2Cr2(μ-CO)3 and (η5-C5H5)2Mn2(μ-CO)3.

The structure, electrostatic properties, and Raman spectra of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and AFB1-Ag complex are studied by density functional theory with B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)/Lanl2dz basis set. The results show that the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and pre-resonance Raman spectra of AFB1-Ag complex strongly depend on the adsorption site and the excitation wavelength of the incident light. The SERS factors are found to enhance 102−103 order compared to normal Raman spectrum of AFB1 molecule due to the larger static polarizabilities of the AFB1-Ag complex, which directly results in the stronger chemical enhancement in SERS spectra. The pre-resonance Raman spectra of AFB1-Ag complex are explored at 266, 482, 785, and 1064 nm incident light wavelength, in which the enhancement factors are about 102−104, mainly caused by the charge-transfer excitation resonance. The vibrational modes are analyzed to explain the relationship between the vibrational direction and the enhanced Raman intensities.

The adsorbed structures, Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and pre-resonance Raman spectra of the U Ag and U〈 〉U Ag complexes are calculated using density-functional theory (DFT) method with B3LYP/6-311g (d, p) (C, H, O)/Lanl2dz (Ag) basis set. The uracil and uracil dimer prefer to a perpendicular orientation adsorbed on the Ag surface via atom O 8 site. The SERS of the U Ag and U〈 〉U Ag complexes are similar with the normal Raman spectra of the isolated uracil and uracil dimer but with an enhancement factor less than 10. The enhancement mechanism is ascribed to the ground state static chemical enhancement from the static polarizability changes. The pre-resonance Raman spectra of the complexes are obtained at 316 nm and 315 nm, in which the enhancement factors are up to 10 3 –10 4 . The greatest enhancement factor is observed for the C 2 O 8 stretching vibration, caused by the electron transfer from the molecules to Ag atom. The charge transfer resonant enhancement plays the major role in the molecule–metal system.

The single proton transfer at the different sites of the Watson-Crick (WC) guanine-cytosine (GC) DNA base pair are studied here using density functional methods. The conventional protonated structures, transition state (TS) and proton-transferred product (PT) structures of every relevant species are optimized. Each transition state and proton-transferred product structure has been compared with the corresponding conventional protonated structure to demonstrate the process of proton transfer and the change of geometrical structures. The relative energies of the protonated tautomers and the proton-transfer energy profiles in gas and solvent are analyzed. The proton-transferred product structure G(+H(+))-H(+)C(N3)(-H(+))(PT) has the lowest relative energy for which only two hydrogen bonds exist. Almost all 14 isomers of the protonated GC base pair involve hydrogen-bonded proton transfer following the three pathways, with the exception of structure G-H(+)C(O2). When the positive charge is primarily "located" on the guanine moiety (H(+)G-C, G-H(+)C(C4), and G-H(+)C(C6)), the H(1) proton transfers from the N(1) site of guanine to the N(3) site of cytosine. The structures G-H(+)C(C5) and G-H(+)C(C4) involve H(4a) proton transfer from the N(4) of cytosine to the O(6) site of guanine. H(2a) proton transfer from the N(2) site of guanine to the O(2) site of cytosine is found only for the structure G-H(+)C(C4). The structures to which a proton is added on the six-centered sites adjoining the hydrogen bonds are more prone to proton transfer in the gas phase, whereas a proton added on the minor groove and the sites adjoining the hydrogen bonds is favorable to the proton transfer in energy in the aqueous phase.

A breakthrough reform is undergoing in the Chinese capital market: a proposal to modify the current security law is under the review of the National People’s Congress, which attempts to the current offering system from approval system to the registration system. If such proposal is approved by the National People’s Congress, then China’s security regime will enter a new post- registration time. In the post-registration time, the securities regulators would not focus on keeping the gate and the offering and play the role as the allocator of financial resources. Instead, they need to focus on the investors’ protection, which should be the center of the regulation of Chinese capital market. The core issue of the investors’ protection would be the information asymmetry problem, which haunts the relationship of the issuers and the investors. The asset-backed security (ABS) business is an emerging business in China. The information asymmetry problem is significant in ABS market due to the complexity and the opacity of securitization. This article will take ABS as an example to explore the information asymmetry problem in the Chinese ABS market and seek solutions. The first part of this article provides a snapshot of the ABS market in China. The second part discusses the functions, benefits and concerns of ABS via the lens of the Lemon Market Theory. Then, the article comments on the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)’s rules of disclosure regarding the underline assets, which are apparently hailed as pioneering but unfortunately still a platitude. Part Four analyzes the dilemma of signaling and screening and explores possible alternative solutions by allocating risks to originators. The final part summarizes the article.

According to the absorption spectra of blood and hemoglobin, a photon-bond energy formula is established using physical methods and the effects on hemoglobin of low-level laser at different wavelengths are analyzed. The results show that lasers with the peak wavelengths of 200∼240, 275, and 342 nm in the whole blood absorption spectra curve are easy to destroy protein molecules and then lead to hemoglobin lose biological activity. While lasers with wavelengths longer than 800 nm will reduce the oxygen carrying capacity of blood, only lasers with wavelengths between 630 and 670 nm have the best efficacy.

The neutral DNA trimers with the hydrogen atom added to the C8 site of the middle guanine-cytosine (GC) base pair, the DNA trimers protonated at the N7 site of the middle GC base pair, and the anionic species resulting from hydride addition to the C6 site of the middle GC base pair are investigated using theoretical methods. The canonical Watson-Crick structures (WC), transition state structures (TS) and proton-transferred structures (PT) of each relevant system are optimized in the gas phase and in aqueous solution, in order to understand the processes of proton transfer. The proton transfer reactions of the DNA trimers are compared with the corresponding isolated hydrogenated GC base pairs to explore the influence of the surrounding molecules and the base sequence. The proton transfer reactions of the neutral species, cations, and anions are compared, aiming to clarify the effects of the system's total charge. The results reveal that the surrounding molecules decrease the reaction energies of proton-transfer in aqueous solution. The structures with the dATGCAT and dGCGCGC sequences facilitate proton H4a transfer, but hinder proton H1 transfer. The structures with the dCGGCCG and dTAGCTA sequences facilitate proton H1 transfer. The net charge on the system plays an important role in determining the single and double proton-transfer patterns. Anions are more likely to experience proton-transfer reactions than neutral species and cations, and all the proton-transfer reactions of the anions are exothermic.

High-quality surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of aflatoxin (AF) B(1), B(2), G(1) and G(2) have been acquired using silver nanorod (AgNR) array substrates fabricated by oblique angle deposition method. Significant vibrational peaks are identified on the argon plasma-cleaned substrates, and those peaks agree very well with the Raman spectra calculated by density function theory (DFT). The concentration-dependent SERS detection is also explored. The relationship between the concentration (C) of different AFs and the SERS intensity (I) of the Raman peak at Δν = 1592 cm(-1) is found to follow the general relationship I = AC(α), with α ranging from 0.32 to 0.46 for the four AFs. The limits of detection (LODs) reach 5 × 10(-5) mol L(-1) for AFB(1), 1 × 10(-4) mol L(-1) for AFB(2), and 5 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) for both AFG(1) and AFG(2) in bulk solution, or 6.17 × 10(-16) mol/1.93 × 10(-4) ng of AFB(1), 1.23 × 10(-15) mol/3.88 × 10(-4) ng for AFB(2), 6.17 × 10(-17) mol/2.03 × 10(-5) ng for AFG(1), and 6.17 × 10(-17) mol/2.04 × 10(-5) ng for AFG(2) per laser spot. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to successfully differentiate these four different kinds of AFs at different concentrations up to their detection limits. The LODs obtained from PCA agree with the LODs obtained by using peak fitting method. With such a low detection limit and outstanding differentiation ability, we prove the possibility of utilizing the SERS detection system as a platform for highly sensitive mycotoxin detection.