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Objective To investigate the application of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in oral mucosal pemphigoid and provide a clinical reference. Methods One case of glucocorticoids combined with MMF in the treatment of oral mucosal pemphigoid was reported, and the clinical application of MMF in oral mucosa-related bullous diseases was discussed. Results One patient with a clinical diagnosis of “oral mucosal pemphigoid” was treated with methylprednisolone (36 mg, qd, morning dose) or combined hydroxychloroquine sulfate (0.1 g/time, bid) and thalidomide capsules (50 mg, qd, bedtime) and other drugs. The patient’s disease was slowly controlled but prone to recurrence. The treatment regimen was immediately adjusted, i.e., methylprednisolone (36 mg, qd, morning dose) was combined with MMF (0.5 g/time, bid) for 2 weeks, which resulted in ideal lesion healing control. After 8 weeks of methylprednisolone combined with MMF, the dose of methylprednisolone was gradually reduced to 12 mg, qd, and MMF was reduced to 0.5 g, qd, the patient’s symptoms improved significantly, and no obvious lesions were found in the mouth. The dose was then reduced and maintained according to the principle of pemphigoid treatment. Methylprednisolone (8 mg, qd, morning dose) and MMF (0.5 g, qd) have been used for 6 months of maintenance treatment, and they are still being followed up. As yet, the patient’s condition is stable without obvious lesions and new blisters, and no obvious side effects have been observed. A review of the literature shows that MMF is widely used in the field of dermatology to treat a variety of immune diseases, such as connective tissue diseases and autoimmune blistering diseases. According to the reports of adverse reactions to MMF, digestive system reactions are the most common adverse reactions; therefore, patients with active gastrointestinal diseases should be treated with caution, followed by bone marrow suppression, and it is recommended to monitor liver function and blood routine in patients using MMF. The safety and efficacy of MMF for treating pemphigoid involving the skin have been reported in the literature, but oral mucosal doctors still lack experience for treating mucous membrane pemphigoid. Conclusions As a new immunosuppressant, MMF has high safety and no obvious side effects and can be considered as a combination adjuvant drug for patients with severe clinical disease and refractory oral mucosal pemphigoid.

The three-dimensional network structure, which is formed by the precipitated wax crystals, is generally considered as the direct cause for gelling of waxy crude oil. Through interaction with wax molecules, the two polar components, namely the resin and asphaltene,participate in the wax crystallization and subsequently alter the wax precipitation properties. This makes it rather complicated to explore the gelling behavior of crude oil. The micro-dynamic behaviors among resin, asphaltene and wax molecules have a direct bearing on the morphology of mesoscopic wax crystals, and then play a decisive role in the macro-rheological property of waxy crude oil multiphase system. Macroscopically, the effect of resin and asphaltene on the rheology of waxy crude oil and its characterization methods were summarized based on the rheological experiments. Mesoscopically, microscopic experiments and molecular simulation were adopted to analyze the effect of resin and asphaltene on the morphology and particle size of wax crystal, as well as the synergistic mechanism among resin, asphaltene and wax crystals. Microscopically, the molecular coalescence and interphase interaction were introduced through the molecular dynamics simulation. Meanwhile, the effect of resin and asphaltene molecules on the gelling properties of waxy crude oil was discussed. Additionally, prospect was made to the application of molecular dynamics simulation in the field of waxy crude oil gelling, which is expected to lay a theoretical foundation for the development of waxy oil pipeline transportation technology and provide reference to the research, development and application of pour point depressant.

Background: The specific mechanism underlying the role of oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts in angiogenesis remains undefined. Herein, the expression of Galectin‐3 in oral lichen planus and verifying whether Galectin‐3 can promote angiogenesis through oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts has been investigated. Methods: The expression of Galectin‐3 and CD34 in the oral lichen planus tissues (n = 30) and normal oral mucosa tissues (n = 15) was detected by immunohistochemistry. The expression of Galectin‐3 in the oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts was determined by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Galectin‐3 overexpression lentiviral vector was constructed and transfected with oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts. In addition, oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts were treated with GB1107 (5 and 10 μM) to inhibit Galectin‐3 expression and co‐cultured with human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells, and analyzed by Transwell and tube formation assays. The expression of VEGF and FGF2 in oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts was detected, and the expression and phosphorylation levels of VEGFR2 and FAP in human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells were determined. Results: Oral lichen planus subcutaneous tissues highly expressed Galectin‐3, positively correlated with angiogenesis. Oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts expressed significantly higher Galectin‐3 than NFs. Oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts overexpressing Galectin‐3 enhanced the migration and tube‐forming capacity of co‐cultured human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells. In oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts, 10 μM GB1107 reduced the proliferation and migration capacity, decreased the expression of α‐SMA, FAP, VEGF, and FGF2, and inhibited the tube‐forming capacity and the expression of VEGFR2 phosphorylation and FAK in co‐cultured human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells. Conclusions: The upregulation of Galectin‐3 expression in oral lichen planus is associated with angiogenesis, and the oral lichen planus‐activated fibroblasts promote human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells migration and tube‐forming differentiation through VEGFR2/FAP activation by Galectin‐3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting the decompression behavior and controlling the fracture of CO2 pipelines are crucial research areas for the safe transport of CO2. Existing decompression wave prediction models have problems such as large errors in calculating the sound speed of the gas-liquid two-phase flow and difficulties in convergence near the critical point. The local sound speed calculation method based on isochoric thermodynamics was improved and a new decompression wave prediction model was established. The effects of gas compositions, initial phase state, initial pressure, and initial temperature on decompression wave curves and pressure drop curves were calculated and analyzed. Additionally, the decompression behavior of CO2 pipeline leaks in practical engineering scenarios was predicted. The results show that compared to post-combustion capture or pre-combustion capture, the initial decompression wave speed under gas by oxy-fuel combustion capture is reduced by approximately 26%, and the decompression plateau pressure increases by 22%. During the decompression process, the temperature and pressure operating point of medium inside the pipeline no longer move along the gas-liquid equilibrium line but directly enter the gas-liquid two-phase region. Compared to the dense phase state, the saturation pressure corresponding to the intersection of the pressure drop curve and the CO2 bubble point line is about 26% higher in the supercritical state, and the decompression plateau pressure is higher. Lower operating temperatures and higher operating pressures can effectively reduce the decompression plateau pressure. Due to the differences in operating parameters along the pipeline, the risk of pipeline fracture decreases sequentially from the starting point of the pipeline, with the front section of the pipeline being the high-risk section. This study provides a theoretical basis for CO2 pipeline design and engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An in vitro diagnostic device (IVD) that is essential for the safe and effective use of a corresponding therapeutic product is commonly referred to as companion diagnostic device. Clinical trials using companion diagnostic devices (tests) together with therapies can yield the information necessary to address whether both products are safe and effective. A clinical trial ideally assesses safety and effectiveness of a therapy, where the clinical trial enrolls subjects based on the final market ready companion diagnostic test (CDx). However, such a requirement may be difficult to accomplish or impractical to achieve at the time of the clinical trial enrollment, due to unavailability of the CDx. Instead, clinical trial assay(s) (CTA), which are not the final marketable product, are often used in enrollment of patients in a clinical trial. When CTA is used for subject enrollment, a clinical bridging study provides a mechanism to bridge the clinical efficacy of the therapeutic product from CTA to CDx. This manuscript reviews some issues and challenges commonly associated with clinical bridging studies, including missing data, use of local tests for enrollment, prescreening before enrollment, and evaluation of CDx for low positive rate biomarkers, with particular focus on clinical trials using a binary endpoint and provide alternative statistical methodologies to assess effectiveness of CDx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 sequestration in sediments as solid hydrate is considered a potential way to capture and store anthropogenic CO2. When CO2 hydrate is formed in front of CO2 migration, the injection channel will be blocked, and the removal of hydrate blockage becomes the first problem that must be faced. This work proposed an N2 injection method to remove CO2 hydrate blockage. Based on numerical simulation, a study was conducted using TOUGH+MIXHYD v.1.0 to confirm the feasibility of N2 injection and compare it to depressurization. The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of pressure, temperature, hydrate saturation, and gas saturation were investigated. Under the combined effects of temperature, pressure, and gas composition, secondary CO2-N2 hydrate can form far from the injection point, causing an increase in local temperature and hydrate saturation. The rate of CO2 hydrate dissociation using direct depressurization is significantly slower compared to N2 injection methods. As the pressure of N2 injection increases, the rate of CO2 hydrate dissociation notably accelerates, which does not show a significant increase with increasing injection temperature. This work introduced a novel approach to addressing the issue of CO2 hydrate blockage, which holds prominent significance for the advancement of hydrate-based CO2 geological sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]