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A non-aqueous Zn2+/Al3+ electrolyte was used for P2W15Nb3–TiO2 films that can significantly enhance the electrochromic performance and charge capacity.

PEG segment-functionalized polystyrene microspheres were prepared by one-step copolymerization of amphiphilic macromolecular monomers, and further used as the latex for photosensitive polymer microspheres in luminescent oxygen channeling assay (LOCI).

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been a preclinical and clinical concern due to high hospitalization rate and mortality. This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) for AMI and exploring the possible mechanism of oxidative stress. Six databases were searched on March 26, 2021. Twenty-four studies were included and accessed by the RoB 2.0 or SYRCLE tool. Compared with routine treatment (RT), SBP showed the effectiveness in the clinical efficacy ( RR = 1.15 , 95% CI [1.06, 1.25]), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ( SMD = 0.73 , 95% CI [0.62, 0.95]), glutathione (GSH) ( SMD = 2.07 , 95% CI [1.51, 2.64]), superoxide dismutase (SOD) ( SMD = 0.92 , 95% CI [0.58, 1.26]), malondialdehyde (MDA) ( SMD = − 4.23 , 95% CI [-5.80, -2.66]), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) ( SMD = − 4.98 , 95% CI [-5.64, -4.33]), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) ( SMD = − 2.17 , 95% CI [-2.57, -1.76]), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) ( SMD = − 1.34 , 95% CI [-1.56, -1.12]), interleukin-6 (IL-6) ( SMD = − 0.99 , 95% CI [-1.26, -0.71]), triglycerides (TG) ( SMD = − 0.52 , 95% CI [-0.83, -0.22]), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) ( SMD = 1.39 , 95% CI [1.06, 1.72]), von Willebrand Factor (vWF) ( SMD = − 1.77 , 95% CI [-2.39, -1.15]), nitric oxide (NO) ( SMD = 0.89 , 95% CI [0.65, 1.13]), and recurrent rate ( RR = 0.30 , 95% CI [0.15, 0.59]). But SBP adjunctive to RT plus PCI had no improvements in almost pooled outcomes except for the Hs-CRP ( SMD = − 1.19 , 95% CI [-1.44, -0.94]) and TG ( SMD = − 0.25 , 95% CI [-0.48, -0.02]). Laboratory findings showed that SBP enhanced the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and regulated laboratory indexes especially for homocysteine. In conclusion, SBP has adjunctive effects on AMI via the mechanism of antioxidative stress. The current evidence supports the use of SBP for mild and moderate AMI patients.

Objective. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) or functional diarrhea (FD) in adults. Method. Five electronic databases—PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang—were searched, respectively, until June 8, 2020. The literature of clinical randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for the treatment of IBS-D or FD in adults were collected. Meta-analysis was conducted by Using Stata 16.0 software, the quality of the included studies was assessed by the RevMan ROB summary and graph, and the results were graded by GRADE. Result. Thirty-one studies with 3234 patients were included. Most of the studies were evaluated as low risk of bias related to selection bias, attrition bias, and reporting bias. Nevertheless, seven studies showed the high risk of bias due to incomplete outcome data. GRADE’s assessments were either moderate certainty or low certainty. Compared with loperamide, acupuncture showed more effectiveness in weekly defecation ( SMD = − 0.29 , 95% CI [-0.49, -0.08]), but no significant improvement in the result of the Bristol stool form ( SMD = − 0.28 , 95% CI [-0.68, 0.12]). In terms of the drop-off rate, although the acupuncture group was higher than the bacillus licheniformis plus beanxit group ( RR = 2.57 , 95% CI [0.24, 27.65]), loperamide group ( RR = 1.11 , 95% CI [0.57, 2.15]), and trimebutine maleate group ( RR = 1.19 , 95% CI [0.31, 4.53]), respectively, it was lower than the dicetel group ( RR = 0.83 , 95% CI [0.56, 1.23]) and affected the overall trend ( RR = 0.93 , 95% CI [0.67, 1.29]). Besides, acupuncture produced more significant effect than dicetel related to the total symptom score ( SMD = − 1.17 , 95% CI [-1.42, -0.93]), IBS quality of life ( SMD = 2.37 , 95% CI [1.94, 2.80]), recurrence rate ( RR = 0.43 , 95% CI [0.28, 0.66]), and IBS Symptom Severity Scale ( SMD = − 0.75 , 95% CI [-1.04, -0.47]). Compared to dicetel ( RR = 1.25 , 95% CI [1.18, 1.32]) and trimebutine maleate ( RR = 1.35 , 95% CI [1.13, 1.61]), acupuncture also showed more effective at total efficiency. The more adverse effect occurred in the acupuncture group when comparing with the dicetel group ( RR = 11.86 , 95% CI [1.58, 89.07]) and loperamide group ( RR = 4.42 , 95% CI [0.57, 33.97]), but most of the adverse reactions were mild hypodermic hemorrhage. Conclusion. Acupuncture treatment can improve the clinical effectiveness of IBS-D or FD, with great safety, but the above conclusions need to be further verified through the higher quality of evidence.

BACKGROUND To explore the curative effect of the combined transvaginal and hysteroscopic electrocauterization of partial endometrium to treat previous cesarean scar diverticulum. METHODS The retrospective study method is adopted. 28 cases of cesarean scar diverticulum patients were selected as research objects and divided into two groups: one is combined hysteroscopic and transvaginal surgery group (n=15) and the other is hysteroscopic electrocauterization group (n=13). The curative effects of the two groups are observed and compared, including clinical treatment indicators (operation duration, intraoperative blood loss, fever, length of hospital stay (LOS), etc.), and follow-up visits are carried out to check the differences of diverticulum repair and menostaxis improvement one to six months after surgery. RESULTS The average operation duration, length of stay, and hospitalization expenses for the hysteroscopic electrocauterization group are respectively (28.84 ± 12.61) min, (2.93 ± 1.04) d, and (7916.57 ± 1948.45) yuan, all significantly lower than the combined hysteroscopic and transvaginal surgery group, those are respectively 73.93 ± 15.46 min, 5.93 ± 1.22 d, and 10,130.10 ± 1,037.75 yuan. The differences are statistically significant (P < 0.05). The follow-up visits in six months after operation find that the effective rate of menstrual period (menostaxis) improvement of the combined hysteroscopic and transvaginal surgery group is 93.3% (14 / 15), and that of scar diverticulum repair is 73.3% (11/15), which are notably higher than the hysteroscopic electrocauterization group, those are respectively 46.2% (6/13) and 23.1% (3/13). The differences are also statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The repairing effect of the combined transvaginal and hysteroscopic electrocauterization of partial endometrium to treat previous cesarean scar diverticulum [previous cesarean scar defect (PCSD)] is obvious. As it can fully remove previous cesarean scars and the surrounding ectopic intimae and reduce the recurrence rate, it is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Alpinetin is the major active ingredient of Alpiniakatsumadai Hayata. As a kind of novel plant-derived flavonoid, alpinetin has shown potent hepatoprotective effect against many liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver and lipopolysaccharide/d-Galactosamine-induced liver injury. However, its roles in liver fibrosis remain to be determined. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of alpinetin in mice with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action. Alpinetin ameliorated the CCl4-induced liver injury and fibrosis in mice, as shown by decreased collagen deposition and the decreased expression of liver fibrosis marker proteins. Alpinetin suppressed the inflammation and oxidative stress in fibrotic livers of mice, as evidenced by decreased levels of proinflammatory factors, the decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and the increased activities of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, alpinetin attenuated the angiogenesis in fibrotic livers of the test animals. Mechanistically, alpinetin inhibited the CCl4-induced expression of NLRP3, ASC, cleaved caspase-1, mature (cleaved-) IL-1β, and IL-18 in livers of mice. Furthermore, alpinetin resulted in an increased in the nuclear expression and a decrease in the cytoplasmic expression of Nrf2, as well as increased protein expression of downstream target enzymes, GCLC, HO-1, NQO1, and GCLM, thus exerting the antioxidant effect. Overall, these findings suggested that the anti-fibrotic effect of alpinetin can be attributed to the inhibition of NLRP3-mediated anti-inflammatory activities and Nrf2-mediated anti-oxidative activities, in addition to the decrement of hepatic angiogenesis.

The present study describes the use of bidirectional chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with gastric cancer and peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), using newly developed response criteria for the treatment of malignant ascites. In addition, the association between effusion response and survival was analyzed. Between June 2010 and May 2014, patients affected by malignant ascites secondary to unresectable PC of gastric origin were treated with a combination of systemic and loco-regional chemotherapy. Cisplatin (75 mg/m2) at an inflow temperature of 43°C was infused intraperitoneally, and docetaxel (75 mg/m2) was infused simultaneously via a peripheral vein, on day 1 every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was overall survival rate, and the secondary endpoint was efficacy against malignant ascites using new response criteria. In total, 41 patients were enrolled, the majority of whom received 6 cycles of intraperitoneal chemotherapy in combination with hyperthermia. The majority of patients exhibited clinical regression of ascites and relief of associated symptoms. Malignant ascites disappeared [complete response (CR)] or decreased by 50% [partial response (PR)] in 73.2% of patients. No mortalities associated with the procedures occurred. The median survival time was 8.6 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 24.4%. As these new response criteria for the treatment of malignant ascites were found to be feasible, bidirectional chemotherapy may be the preferred strategy for the treatment of gastric cancer with PC. The CR, PR and non-PR groups showed significant differences in overall survival, indicating that decreased effusion was associated with improved patient survival.

To understand lncRNAs expression profiling and their potential functions in bladder cancer, we investigated the lncRNA and coding RNA expression on human bladder cancer and normal bladder tissues. Bioinformatic analysis revealed thousands of significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs and coding mRNA in bladder cancer relative to normal bladder tissue. Co-expression analysis revealed that 50% of lncRNAs and coding RNAs expressed in the same direction. A subset of lncRNAs might be involved in mTOR signaling, p53 signaling, cancer pathways. Our study provides a large scale of co-expression between lncRNA and coding RNAs in bladder cancer cells and lays biological basis for further investigation.

Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed direct amination of electron-rich arenes with azodicarboxylates gives the corresponding aryl hydrazides in moderate to good yields within two minutes under mild conditions. This method will serve as an important tool for the synthesis of bioactive nitrogen-containing products and pharmaceuticals.

Spindle and kinetochore-associated protein 1 (SKA1), a component of microtubule-binding complex of kinetochore, is essential for proper chromosome segregation. Recently, SKA1 has been shown to be involved in malignant progression of several human cancers. However, its role in bladder cancer is still unknown. To evaluate the function of SKA1 in bladder cancer cells, the authors employed an RNA interference lentivirus system to deplete its expression in both BT5637 and T-24 bladder cancer cells. The cell proliferation was significantly decreased in both cell lines after SKA1 knockdown. Moreover, the colony formation capacity was impaired by SKA1 silencing. Flow cytometry analysis showed that depletion of SKA1 led to cell cycle arrest at S phase. Furthermore, knockdown of SKA1 in T-24 cells obviously downregulated the expressions of CDK4 and Cyclin D1, and alleviated the activations of ERK2 and AKT, conducive to cell growth inhibition. These findings suggested that knockdown of SKA1 could potently suppress bladder cancer cell proliferation in vitro and lentivirus-mediated silencing of SKA1 might serve as a novel strategy for gene therapy of bladder cancer.

Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed direct amination of electron-rich arenes with azodicarboxylates gives the corresponding aryl hydrazides in moderate to good yields within two minutes under mild conditions. This method will serve as an important tool for the synthesis of bioactive nitrogen-containing products and pharmaceuticals.

Biologically active 3H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]quinolin-4(5H)-ones have been synthesized in an efficient and concise manner utilizing readily available 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones as the starting material. The key strategy relies on the construction of the pyrrole ring through the palladium catalyzed sequential cross-coupling reaction and cyclization process.