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Thrombotic diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide, especially in cold climates. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-based therapies have gained increasing popularity worldwide, but also raised some concerns about its efficacy, safety profile and exact mechanisms. TCM has been traditionally used in the management of thrombosis and convincingly proven effective in modifying thrombosis progression, particularly the platelet function, coagulation system and fibrinolytic system. This review article focuses on TCM regulation of thrombosis with brief discussion on the fundamental aspects and relevant background information for better understanding of the subject. In addition to its antithrombotic effects, we will dive insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of TCM as pharmacological regulators of platelet aggregation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. With increasing awareness and understanding of the benefits and potentials of TCM, TCM products will in no doubt gain its broader applications in the treatment of thrombosis and associated disorders, which in turn will deepen our understanding of its pharmacological and molecular mechanisms. Finally, current review provides a perspective view on the future directions to TCM research on thrombosis.

Background Familial renal glucosuria (FRG) is a hereditary disorder caused by variants in SLC5A2 encoding sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2). In this study, we aimed to characterize proximal tubule solute transport, glucagon secretion and the genotype–phenotype relationship in FRG patients. Methods We sequenced SLC5A2 and PDZK1IP1 in 21 FRG patients and measured the renal threshold of glucose (RTG) in 15 patients. We built an open-source online calculator of RTG, evaluated the proximal tubule transport of amino acid, uric acid and phosphate, and explored glucagon secretion after glucose ingestion in FRG patients. Results We identified 12 novel SLC5A2 variants (G484D, R564W, A212S, c.574+1G>C, W649*, S592Cfs*6, Q579*, Y339*, V39F, G491E, A464E and G360D) in our cohort and yielded 111 SLC5A2 variants from literature review. RTG in our cohort ranged from 1.0 to 9.2 mmol/L. Patients with two SLC5A2 variants had lower RTG (3.9 vs 6.2 mmol/L) and higher 24-h urinary glucose excretion (24hUG) than single-variant carriers (291.0 vs 40.0 mmol/1.73 m2). Patients with homozygous missense or in-frame indels had mean 24hUG of 457.2 mmol/1.73 m2, comparable to those with homozygous truncating variants (445.0 mmol/1.73 m2) and significantly more than those with homozygous splicing variants (196.6 mmol/1.73 m2). Patients with homozygous missense variants involving conservative residues (582.0 mmol/1.73 m2) had more 24hUG than those with variants at non-conservative residues (257.6 mmol/1.73 m2). Four out of 14 tested patients had mild aminoaciduria. The RTG of FRG patients had no significant correlation to phosphate reabsorption but a potential negative correlation to the fractional excretion of uric acid. Postprandial suppression of glucagon secretion was absent in most FRG patients. Conclusions We built a comprehensive map showing the impact of SLC5A2 variant type and variant location on glucosuria severity. Our results highlighted the role of key residues in maintaining the transport function of SGLT2 and the functional link between glucosuria and reabsorption of amino acid and uric acid in FRG patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible electrochromic devices (FECDs) hold great promise for energy‐saving static displays. As the most widely used flexible transparent electrode (FTE) material for FECDs, the indium tin oxide (ITO) coated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET‐ITO) suffers from relatively high sheet resistance which can cause nonuniform coloration during the device operation, hindering the development of large‐area FECDs. Herein, a hybrid FTE is developed in which an additional copper (Cu) mesh as an embedded current collector layer underneath the ITO film to achieve ultra‐low sheet resistance (<0.2 Ω □−1) compared to that of PET‐ITO (≈35 Ω □−1). The figure of merit (FoM) of the fabricated Cu mesh‐ITO is calculated to be 9500, nearly 200 times better than that of PET‐ITO. A binary‐solvent ink of electrochromic polymer (ECP‐magenta) is also developed to realize the patterning of FECDs via the inkjet‐printing method. Consequently, the inkjet‐printed FECD exhibits a fast response (≤1.2/1.9 s for coloration/bleaching) and excellent stability (less than 15% degradation after 50 000 switching cycles). In addition, uniform coloration is realized within 1 s on a 10 × 10 cm2 large size FECD, indicating great promise for Cu mesh‐ITO as a new FTE material to replace PET‐ITO for large‐area FECDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing interest in the application of electrochromism to flexible and wearable electronics in recent years, flexible electrochromic devices (ECDs) that can function at extreme temperatures are required. However, the functionalities of flexible ECDs are severely hampered by the inadequate choice of electrolytes, which might ultimately result in performance fading during low‐ and high‐temperature operations. Here, we develop a deep eutectic solvent (DES)‐based gel electrolyte that can maintain its optical, electrical, and mechanical properties over a wide range of temperatures (−40 to 150°C), exhibiting an extremely high visible‐range transmittance over 90%, ion conductivity of 0.63 mS cm−1, and fracture strain exceeding 2000%. Owing to the excellent processability of the DES‐based electrolytes, provided by dynamic interactions such as the lithium and hydrogen bonding between the DES and polymer matrix, a directly written patterning in ECDs is realized for the first time. The fabricated ECDs exhibit an excellent electrochromic behavior superior to the behavior of the ECDs fabricated with traditional gel electrolytes. The introduction of such DES‐based electrolytes is expected to pave the way for a widespread application of electrochromic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the clinical and pathological differences in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) with different ages, and to determine whether age is a risk factor for progression of IgAN. Methods: This was a single centre retrospective cohort study. Patients with biopsy‐diagnosed primary IgAN were stratified into three groups: young‐aged (14‐29 years), middle‐aged (30‐49 years) and older‐age (≥50 years). The primary outcome was end‐stage renal disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <15 mL/min/1.73 m2, dialysis or renal transplantation) or doubling of the baseline serum creatinine. Results: A total of 981 patients were enrolled, including 65 (6.6%) patients in older‐age group, 517 (52.7%) in middle‐aged group and 399 (40.7%) in young‐aged group. The older‐age group had significantly higher levels of serum IgA, cholesterol, triglycerides and creatinine, and a reduced eGFR. In contrast to the young adults who had a higher percentage of crescent formation in glomeruli, the older‐aged patients had more severe chronic pathological changes including global glomerulosclerosis and vascular lesions (p <.01). The cumulative renal survival in the older‐age group was slightly shorter than that in the young adult or middle‐aged group, but not achieving significant (p >.05). The 3‐ and 5‐year renal survival rates were similar among the three groups. A multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age was not an independent predictor of an unfavourable prognosis. Conclusion: The IgAN patients with aged 50 years or older had different clinical pathological changes as compared with younger patients. However, aging was not found as an independently predictor of renal progression of IgAN. Prolonged follow up is necessary to confirm this trend. SUMMARY AT A GLANCE: The authors reviewed the outcomes of IgA nephropathy stratified by three different age groups in a single centre in China, and evaluated the differences in clinical and pathological characteristics between the different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]