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Background The toxicity and inefficient delivery of triptolide (TPL) in tumor therapy have greatly limited the clinical application. Thus, we fabricated a CD44-targeting and tumor microenvironment pH/redox-sensitive nanosystem composed of hyaluronic acid-vitamin E succinate and poly (β-amino esters) (PBAEss) polymers to enhance the TPL-mediated suppression of breast cancer proliferation and lung metastasis. Results The generated TPL nanoparticles (NPs) had high drug loading efficiency (94.93% ± 2.1%) and a desirable average size (191 nm). Mediated by the PBAEss core, TPL/NPs displayed a pH/redox-dual-stimuli-responsive drug release profile in vitro. Based on the hyaluronic acid coating, TPL/NPs exhibited selective tumor cellular uptake and high tumor tissue accumulation capacity by targeting CD44. Consequently, TPL/NPs induced higher suppression of cell proliferation, blockage of proapoptotic and cell cycle activities, and strong inhibition of cell migration and invasion than that induced by free TPL in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Importantly, TPL/NPs also showed higher efficacy in shrinking tumor size and blocking lung metastasis with decreased systemic toxicity in a 4T1 breast cancer mouse model at an equivalent or lower TPL dosage compared with that of free TPL. Histological immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical analyses in tumor and lung tissue revealed that TPL/NPs induced a high level of apoptosis and suppressed expression of matrix metalloproteinases, which contributed to inhibiting tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis. Conclusion Collectively, our results demonstrate that TPL/NPs, which combine tumor active targeting and pH/redox-responsive drug release with proapoptotic and antimobility effects, represent a promising candidate in halting breast cancer progression and metastasis while minimizing systemic toxicity. Graphic Abstract

Background Viral infections pose some of the most serious human health concerns worldwide. The infections caused by several viruses, including coronavirus, hepatitis virus, and human immunodeficiency virus, are difficult to treat. Methods This review details the findings of a literature search performed on the antiviral properties of luteolin. The keywords engaged in the search are “virus” along with “luteolin.” Results Luteolin possesses antiviral properties, which is the basis for the current review. It is an important natural flavonoid with numerous important biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, immune regulatory, and antitumor effects, and is found in vegetables, fruits, and several medicinal plants. Recent studies have revealed that many traditional Chinese medicines that contain luteolin inhibit the replication of coronaviruses. Conclusion Luteolin effectively inhibits the replication of coronavirus, influenza virus, enterovirus, rotavirus, herpes virus, and respiratory syncytial virus, among others. In particular, it prevents viral infection by improving the body's nonspecific immunity and antioxidation capacity and inhibiting many pathways related to virus infection and replication, such as MAPK, PI3K-AKT, TLR4/8, NF-κB, Nrf-2/hemeoxygenase-1, and others. It also regulates the expression of some receptors and factors, including hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α, p53, NLRP3, TNF-α, and interleukins, thereby interfering with the replication of viruses in cells. Luteolin also promotes the repair of damaged cells induced by proinflammatory factors by regulating the expression of inflammatory molecules. The overall effect of these processes is the reduction in viral replication and, consequently, the viral load. This review summarizes the antiviral effect of luteolin and the mechanism underlying this property.

Highlights • Incidence of mental disorders is relatively low under the long-term of COVID-19. • The real-time news trends affect the psychological state of the public. • Public's poor mental state will be alleviated while controlling the pandemic., Background The mental health status caused by major epidemics is serious and lasting. At present, there are few studies about the lasting mental health effects of COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health of the Chinese public during the long-term COVID-19 outbreak. Methods A total of 1172 online questionnaires were collected, covering demographical information and 8 common psychological states: depression, anxiety, somatization, stress, psychological resilience, suicidal ideation and behavior, insomnia, and stress disorder. In addition, the geographical and temporal distributions of different mental states were plotted. Results Overall, 30.1% of smokers increased smoking, while 11.3% of drinkers increased alcohol consumption. The prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, mental health problems, high risk of suicidal and behavior, clinical insomnia, clinical post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, moderate-to-high levels of perceived stress were 18.8%, 13.3%, 7.6%, 2.8%, 7.2%, 7.0%, and 67.9%, respectively. Further, the geographical distribution showed that the mental status in some provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities was relatively more serious. The temporal distribution showed that the psychological state of the participants was relatively poorer on February 20, 24 to 26 and March 25, especially on March 25. Limitations This cross-sectional design cannot make causal inferences. The snowball sampling was not representative enough. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the prevalence rate of mental disorders in the Chinese public is relatively low in the second month of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, people's mental state is affected by the geographical and temporal distributions.

Cordycepin is the major bioactive component extracted from Cordyceps militaris. In recent years, cordycepin has received increasing attention owing to its multiple pharmacological activities. This study reviews recent researches on the anti-inflammatory effects and the related activities of cordycepin. The results from our review indicate that cordycepin exerts protective effects against inflammatory injury for many diseases including acute lung injury (ALI), asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease (PD), hepatitis, atherosclerosis, and atopic dermatitis. Cordycepin regulates the NF-κB, RIP2/Caspase-1, Akt/GSK-3β/p70S6K, TGF-β/Smads, and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways among others. Several studies focusing on cordycepin derivatives were reviewed and found to down metabolic velocity of cordycepin and increase its bioavailability. Moreover, cordycepin enhanced immunity, inhibited the proliferation of viral RNA, and suppressed cytokine storms, thereby suggesting its potential to treat COVID-19 and other viral infections. From the collected and reviewed information, this article provides the theoretical basis for the clinical applications of cordycepin and discusses the path for future studies focusing on expanding the medicinal use of cordycepin. Taken together, cordycepin and its analogs show great potential as the next new class of anti-inflammatory agents.

With the explosive development of the computer vision technology, more and more vision-based inspection methods enabled by unmanned aerial vehicle technologies have been researched on the crack inspection of the sundry concrete structures. However, because of the limitation of the low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle hardware, whose cost is around US$500, most of the vision-based methods are difficult to be implemented on the low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle for real-time crack inspection. To address this challenge, in this article, a new computationally efficient vision-based crack inspection method is designed and successfully implemented on a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle. Furthermore, to reduce the acquired data samples, a new algorithm entitled crack central point method is designed to extract the effective information from the pre-processed images. The proposed vision-based crack detection method includes the following three major components: (1) the image pre-processing algorithm, (2) crack central point method, and (3) the support vector machine model–based classifier. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the new inspection method, a concrete structure inspection experiment is implemented. The experimental results indicate that this new method is able to accurately and rapidly inspect the cracks of concrete structure in real time. This new vision-based crack inspection method shows great promise for the practical application.

Thymosin alpha1 (Ta1) is widely used to treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), however, its effect remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of Ta1 as a COVID-19 therapy.PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, Web of Science, and the reference lists of relevant articles were searched to identify eligible studies. Assessment of heterogeneity was done using the I-squared (IA total of 9 studies were included, on a total of 5352 (Ta1 = 1152, control = 4200) patient outcomes. Meta-analysis results indicated that Ta1 therapy had no statistically significant effect on mortality [RR 1.03 (0.60, 1.75), p = 0.92, IThe results of this meta-analysis do not support the use of Ta1 in hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients.

Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) are the most numerous livestock in Tibet Plateau pasture ecosystem and have strong ecological adaptability. In the natural grazing system, soil as a natural nutrient carrier and involuntarily or intentionally ingested by Tibetan sheep contribute as an important feed approach. However, quantifying the dosages of soil ingestion for the Tibetan sheep still needs to be clarified. This study aims to characterize nutrient digestibility and rumen bacterial communities by Tibetan sheep in response to different levels of soil ingestion. Thirty sheep were selected and divided into five treatments with soil ingestion (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). The conclusion demonstrated that soil ingestion improved the dry matter digestibility (59.3-62.97%), ether extract (59.79-67.87%) and crude protein (59.81-66.47%) digestibility, particularly 10% soil ingestion has highest nutrient digestibility. The rumen fermentation environment adjusted after soil ingestion by improvement of pH, ammonia nitrogen and volatile fatty acids. Appropriate soil ingestion reduced the bacterial diversity ranged from 946 to 1000 OUTs as compared control (1012), and the rumen bacterial community dominant by typical fiber digestion associated Firmicutes (47.48-53.56%), Bacteroidetes (34.93-40.02%) and Fibrobacteres (4.36-9.27%). Especially, the highest digestible feed capacity and stronger environment adaptability present in 10% soil ingestion Tibetan sheep. Overall, soil ingestion stimulates rumen metabolism by creating a favorable environment for microbial fermentation, improved bacterial community abundance associated with cellulose and saccharide degradation, contribute nutrient digestibility and growth performance of Tibetan sheep.

Background Concerning viral pneumonia, few large-scale comparative studies have been published describing non-HIV immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients, but the epidemiological characteristics of different viruses or underlying diseases in immunocompromised hosts are lacking. Methods We retrospectively recruited patients hospitalised with viral pneumonia from six academic hospitals in China between August 2016 and December 2019. We measured the prevalence of comorbidities, coinfections, nosocomial infections, and in-hospital mortalities. Results Of the 806 patients, 370 were immunocompromised and 436 were immunocompetent. The disease severity and in-hospital mortality of immunocompromised patients were higher than those of immunocompetent patients. During the influenza season, an increased number of cases of influenza virus (IFV) infection were found in the immunocompromised group, followed by cases of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. During the non-influenza season, CMV was the main virus detected in the immunocompromised group, while RSV, adenovirus (AdV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), and rhinovirus (HRV) were the main viruses detected in the immunocompetent group. Pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii (22.4%), Aspergillus spp. (14.1%), and bacteria (13.8%) were the most frequently observed coinfections in immunocompromised patients but not in immunocompetent patients (Aspergillus spp. [10.8%], bacteria [7.1%], and Mycoplasma spp. [5.3%]). CMV infection and infection with two-or-more viruses were associated with a higher in-hospital mortality rate than non-IFV infection. However, patients with IFV and non-IFV infection in immunocompromised patients had similar disease severity and prognosis. Conclusions Immunocompromised patients have a high frequency of coinfections, and a higher mortality rate was observed among those infected with CMV and two-or-more viruses. In addition, patients with IFV and non-IFV infection in immunocompromised patients had similar same disease severity and prognosis. The type of viral infection varied with seasons.

Particle size distribution is one of the important microphysical parameters to characterize the aerosol properties. The aerosol optical depth is used as the function of wavelength to study the particle size distribution of whole atmospheric column. However, the inversion equation of the particle size distribution from the aerosol optical depth belongs to the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind, which is usually ill-conditioned. To overcome this drawback, the integral equation is first discretized directly by using the complex trapezoid formula. Then, the corresponding parameters are selected by the L curve method. Finally the truncated singular value decomposition regularization method is employed to regularize the discrete equation and retrieve the particle size distribution. To verify the feasibility of the algorithm, the aerosol optical depths taken by a sun photometer CE318 over Yinchuan area in four seasons, as well as hazy, sunny, floating dusty and blowing dusty days, were used to retrieve the particle size distribution. In order to verify the effect of truncated singular value decomposition algorithm, the Tikhonov regularization algorithm was also adopted to retrieve the aerosol PSD. By comparing the errors of the two regularizations, the truncated singular value decomposition regularization algorithm has a better retrieval effect. Moreover, to understand intuitively the sources of aerosol particles, the backward trajectory was used to track the source. The experiment results show that the truncated singular value decomposition regularization method is an effective method to retrieve the particle size distribution from aerosol optical depth.

Background Both Pierson syndrome (PS) and isolated nephrotic syndrome can be caused by LAMB2 biallelic pathogenic variants. Only 15 causative splicing variants in the LAMB2 gene have been reported. However, the pathogenicity of most of these variants has not been verified, which may lead to incorrect interpretation of the functional consequence of these variants. Methods Using high‐throughput DNA sequencing and Sanger sequencing, we detected variants in a female with clinically suspected PS. A minigene splicing assay was performed to assess the effect of LAMB2 intron 20 c.2885‐9C>A on RNA splicing. We also performed the immunohistochemical analysis of laminin beta‐2 in kidney tissues. Results Two novel LAMB2 heteroallelic variants were found: a paternally inherited variant c.2885‐9C>A in intron 20 and a maternally inherited variant c. 3658C>T (p. (Gln1220Ter)). In vitro minigene assay showed that the variant c.2885‐9C>A caused erroneous integration of a 7 bp sequence into intron 20. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the absence of glomerular expression of laminin beta‐2, the protein encoded by LAMB2. Conclusion We demonstrated the impact of a novel LAMB2 intronic variant on RNA splicing using the minigene assay firstly. Our results extend the mutational spectrum of LAMB2., We demonstrated the impact of a novel LAMB2 intronic variant on RNA splicing using the minigene assay firstly. Our results extend the mutational spectrum of LAMB2.

Human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (hIDO1) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (hTDO) have been closely linked to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD); nevertheless, development of dual hIDO1 and hTDO inhibitors to evaluate their potential efficacy against PD is still lacking. Here, we report biochemical, biophysical, and computational analyses revealing that 1H-indazole-4-amines inhibit both hIDO1 and hTDO by a mechanism involving direct coordination with the heme ferrous and ferric states. Crystal structure-guided optimization led to 23, which manifested IC50 values of 0.64 and 0.04 μM to hIDO1 and hTDO, respectively, and had good pharmacokinetic properties and brain penetration in mice. 23 showed efficacy against the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced mouse motor coordination deficits, comparable to Madopar, an anti-PD medicine. Further studies revealed that different from Madopar, 23 likely has specific anti-PD mechanisms involving lowering IDO1 expression, alleviating dopaminergic neurodegeneration, reducing inflammatory cytokines and quinolinic acid in mouse brain, and increasing kynurenic acid in mouse blood.

Predictive maintenance, as a form of pro-active maintenance, has increasing usage and shows significant superiority over the corrective and preventive maintenance. However, conventional methods of predictive maintenance have noteworthy limitations in maintenance optimization and reliability improvement. In the last two decades, machine learning has flourished and overcome many inherent flaws of conventional maintenance prediction methods. Meanwhile, machine learning displays unprecedented predictive power in maintenance prediction and optimization. This paper compares the features of corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance, examines the conventional approaches to predictive maintenance, and analyzes their drawbacks. Subsequently, this paper explores the driving forces, and advantages of machine learning over conventional solutions in predictive maintenance. Specifically, this paper reviews popular supervised learning and reinforcement learning algorithms and the associated typical applications in predictive maintenance. Furthermore, this paper summarizes the four critical steps of machine learning applications in maintenance prediction. Finally, the author proposes the future researches concerning how to utilize machine learning to optimize maintenance prediction and planning, improve equipment reliability, and achieve the best possible benefit.

Background Myricetin (MYR) is a polyhydroxy flavone originally isolated from Myrica rubra, and is widely distributed in a variety of medicinal plants and delicious food. MYR has been proven to have inhibitory effects against various types of cancer. However, the exact role of MYR in lymphoma development is still unclear. Methods In vitro, the MTT assay was performed to evaluate the activity of human diffuse large B lymphoma cell TMD-8 and other tumor cells. Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) and molecular docking were used to detect the target of MYR inhibiting TMD-8 cells. In addition, flow cytometry, Annexin V-FITC/PI assays, Hoechst 33258, and mondansylcadaverine (MDC) fluorescent standing were used to detect the cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy, respectively. Moreover, Western blot analysis was conducted to analyze related signaling pathways. In TMD-8 cell xenotransplanted mice, immunohistochemistry, histopathology, and blood biochemical tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of oral administration of MYR. Results Here, we found that MYR is more sensitive to TMD-8 cells than other tumor cells by targeting bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). BTK is an attractive target for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. The HTRF assay showed that MYR inhibited BTK kinase with an IC50 of 1.82 μM. Furthermore, the HTRF assay and Western blot analysis demonstrated that MYR could bind to key residues (Ala478, Leu408, Thr474) in the BTK active pocket, inhibit the autophosphorylation on tyrosine 223, and block BTK/ERK and BTK/AKT signal transduction cascades (including downstream substrates GSK-3β, IKK, STAT3, and NF-κb). The results of cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy showed that MYR could induce G1/G0 cycle arrest by regulating cyclinB1/D1 expression, induce apoptosis by increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and trigger autophagy by inhibiting mTOR activation. In vivo, oral administration of MYR significantly inhibited the growth of TMD-8 xenograft tumora without toxic side effects. Furthermore, Ki67 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) analysis showed that MYR could inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of tissue lymphoma cells. Conclusion Taken together, MYR is an oral available natural BTK inhibitor that effectively inhibits the growth of lymphoma TMD-8 cells both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, our findings support that the use of MYR is a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of lymphoma.

Introduction Reduced bone mass will increase bone fragility and risk of fractures. Thus, it is better to note its determinants as early as possible. Objective This study aimed to find and determine the determinants for low bone mineral density (BMD) in pre-school children. Methods Between November 2014 and April 2015, a matched case-control study was performed to detect information on growth and development condition and consumption frequency of products of cases with low BMD and controls with normal BMD. Anthropometric data measurement and blood tests were conducted. Besides, the questionnaires concerning the mentioned information were completed to get relevant determinants. A paired t-test, the McNemar test and univariate and multiple conditional logistic regression models were used to explore the association between these factors and low BMD. Results In total, 88 (28 boys, 60 girls) incident cases (4.15 ± 0.78 years) of low BMD and 88 sex- and age-matched (±2 months) controls (4.16 ± 0.80 years) of normal BMD were enrolled. The results of multiple conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that if children had larger chest circumference (odds ratio [OR] = 0.763), longer duration of breastfeeding (OR = 0.899) and lower frequency of eating snacks (OR = 0.439), the risk of low BMD would decrease. Conclusions Our findings suggest that pre-school children with an association of larger chest circumference, longer duration of breastfeeding and lower frequency of eating snacks could have lower risk for low BMD. Intended measures to strengthen those protective factors could be effective in reducing the cases of low BMD.

Recent epidemiological evidence indicates an association between peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients and pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the true prevalence of PH associated with PD has not been well described. So we conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the point prevalence of PH in adults with PD. PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, and the reference lists of relevant articles were searched to identify eligible studies. We used a random-effect meta-analysis model to estimate the prevalence of PH. We also performed sensitivity analyses and assessments of publishing bias. Fourteen observational studies (n = 1483 participants) were included in this meta-analysis. The result of analysis in random-effect model showed that the pooled prevalence was 21% (95% CI 16–28), with significant heterogeneity between these studies (I2 = 84%, p

BackgroundThe toxicity and inefficient delivery of triptolide (TPL) in tumor therapy have greatly limited its clinical application. Therefore, we fabricated a CD44-targeting and tumor-microenvironment pH/redox sensitive nanosystem, composed by hyaluronic acid-Vitamin E succinate (HA-VE) and Poly (β-Amino Esters) (PBAEss) polymers, to enhance the suppression of breast cancer proliferation and lung metastasis of TPL. ResultsThe generated TPL/NPs had the high drug loading efficiency (94.93 ± 2.1%) and a desirable average size (191 nm). Mediated by PBAEss core, TPL/NPs displayed a pH/redox dual stimuli drug release profile in vitro. Based on HA coating, TPL/NPs exhibited selective tumor-cellular uptake and high tumor-tissue accumulation capacity via targeting CD44. As a consequence, TPL/NPs showed higher cell proliferation suppression, pro-apoptosis and cell cycle arrest activities, and stronger inhibitory effects on cell migration and invasion than free TPL in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Importantly, TPL/NPs also showed higher efficacy in shrinking tumor size and block lung metastasis in a 4T1 breast cancer mice model at equivalent or lower TPL dosage compared to free TPL, with the decreased systemic toxicity. Histological immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical analyses in tumor and lung tissue revealed that TPL/NPs induced a high level of apoptosis, suppressed expression of matrix metalloproteinases, which all these contributed to inhibit tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis. ConclusionCollectively, our results demonstrate that TPL/NPs, which integrates tumor active-targeting and pH/redox responsive drug release, pro-apoptosis, and anti-mobility, represent a promising candidate in halting breast cancer progression and metastasis while minimizing systemic toxicity.

Recognition and excretion of metal ions play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and poisoning. Although copper (Cu) is a cofactor of many key enzymes in the human body, its accumulation caused by genetic ATP7B mutation or environmental pollution can lead to hepatotoxicity, renal failure, Wilson's disease, inflammation, and even Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, in this work, a difluoroboron curcumin derivative (DF-Cur) was used for the specific recognition of copper ions (Cu2+). DF-Cur could be further used to as a rapid diagnostic agent for the copper detection in cells and zebrafish at the nanomolar level. DF-Cur could significantly reduce the toxic damage caused by high Cu2+ dose. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis indicated that DF-Cur could promote the excretion of copper ions in the urine and bile and reduce the accumulation of copper ions in vivo. In addition, DF-Cur could selectively detect cholesterol in the blood and adipose tissue in vivo by fluorescent staining. These results demonstrated that this molecule might represent a new and promising diagnostic and therapeutic agent to combat diseases related to copper ions accumulation.

Background Peripartum depression in and after pregnancy are common, reported by 11.9% of women worldwide, and the proportion was even higher during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of peripartum depression under the influence of COVID-19 in China. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, 2026 pregnant and postpartum women residing in Beijing, Wuhan, and Lanzhou of China were recruited from February 28 to April 9, 2020. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to assess their depressive symptoms. The women were divided into four subgroups based on pregnancy stage, and a binary logistic regression analysis was conducted on each subgroup. Results Under the influence of COVID-19, the prevalence rate of peripartum depression among Chinese women was 9.7%. It was 13.6, 10.8, 7.9 and 7.3% in the first, second, third trimester and puerperium, respectively. Regression analysis showed that the influence of current pregnancy status on movement (Mild vs. No, aORs were 3.89, P P = 0.003, 1.58, P = 0.150 in the three trimesters, respectively; Severe vs. No, aORs were 13.00, 20.45, 5.38 in the three trimesters, respectively, all P P Conclusions The prevalence rate of peripartum depression during the COVID-19 outbreak in China was not higher than usual. The influence of current pregnancy status on movement, as well as worries and fears about childbirth were independent risk factors for peripartum depression throughout pregnancy during COVID-19. The stage of pregnancy should be considered when implementing interventions.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading worldwide, with a staggering number of cases and deaths. However, available data on the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on pregnant women are limited. The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among pregnant women, and to compare them with non-pregnant women. From February 28 to March 12, 2020, a cross-sectional study of pregnant and non-pregnant women was performed in China. The online questionnaire was used to collect information of participants. The mental health status was assessed by patient health questionnaire, generalized anxiety disorder scale, insomnia severity index, somatization subscale of the symptom checklist 90, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist-5. Totally, 859 respondents were enrolled, including 544 pregnant women and 315 non-pregnant women. In this study, 5.3%, 6.8%, 2.4%, 2.6%, and 0.9% of pregnant women were identified to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, physical discomfort, insomnia, and PTSD, respectively. However, the corresponding prevalence rates among non-pregnant women were 17.5%, 17.5%, 2.5%, 5.4%, 5.7%, respectively. After adjusting for other covariates, we observed that pregnancy was associated a reduced risk of symptoms of depression (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.12–0.45), anxiety (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.16–0.42), insomnia (OR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.06–0.58), and PTSD (OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04–0.53) during the COVID-19 epidemic. Our results indicate that during the COVID-19 epidemic in China, pregnant women have an advantage of facing mental problems caused by COVID-19, showing fewer depression, anxiety, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms than non-pregnant women.

Background: Viral pneumonia has a high incidence and mortality and often presents with bacterial or fungal infections. However, only a few studies have examined viral infection in immunocompromised patients. In this study, we compared the clinical and etiologic characteristics of viral pneumonia in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients.Methods: We retrospectively recruited patients hospitalized with viral pneumonia from 6 academic hospitals in China between August 2016 and December 2019. We measured the prevalence of comorbidities, coinfections, nosocomial infections, and in-hospital mortalities.Results: Of the 806 patients, 370 were immunocompromised and 436 were immunocompetent. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) was most common (58.1%) in immunocompromised patients, followed by influenza A virus (IFV-A, 21.4%), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, 19.2%), and parainfluenza virus (PIV, 7.3%). IFV-A (46.1%) was the most common in immunocompetent patients, followed by RSV (20.6%), adenovirus (AdV, 10.6%), PIV (10.1%), and rhinovirus (HRV, 9.2%). Disease severity and in-hospital mortality of immunocompromised patients were higher than those of immunocompetent patients. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) (22.4%), Aspergillus (14.1%) and bacteria (13.8%) were most frequent coinfections in immunocompromised patients as to Aspergillus (10.8%), bacteria (7.1%) and mycoplasma (5.3%) in immunocompetent patients. Viral shedding was significantly longer in immunocompromised patients.Conclusions: Immunocompromised patients have a high frequency of coinfections, and persistent viral shedding makes them contagious for prolonged periods. Most deaths were reported among those with CMV and two-or-more viruses, and we found the same disease severity and prognosis for IFV and non-IFV.

Cantharidin (CTD) is the main bioactive component of Cantharides, which is called Banmao in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a structural modifier of CTD. To compare with CTD, NCTD has lighter side effects and stronger bioactivity in anti-cancer through inhibiting cell proliferation, causing apoptosis and autophagy, overwhelming migration and metastasis, affecting immunity as well as lymphangiogenesis. Examples of these effects include suppressing Protein Phosphatase 2A and modulating Wnt/beta catenin signal, with Caspase family proteins, AMPK pathway and c-Met/EGFR pathway involving respectively. Moreover, NCTD has the effects of immune enhancement, anti-platelet aggregation and inhibition of renal interstitial fibrosis with distinct signaling pathways. The immunological effects induced by NCTD are related to the regulation of macrophage polarization and LPS-mediated immune response. The antiplatelet activity that NCTD induced is relevant to the inhibition of platelet signaling and the downregulation of α2 integrin. Furthermore, some of novel derivatives designed and synthesized artificially show stronger biological activities (e.g., anticancer effect, enzyme inhibition effect, antioxidant effect) and lower toxicity than NCTD itself. Plenty of literatures have reported various pharmacological effects of NCTD, particularly the anticancer effect, which has been widely concerned in clinical application and laboratory research. In this review, the pharmaceutical activities and derivatives of NCTD are discussed, which can be reference for further study.

In addition to being a public physical health emergency, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected global mental health, as evidenced by panic-buying worldwide as cases soared. Little is known about changes in levels of psychological impact, stress, anxiety and depression during this pandemic. This longitudinal study surveyed the general population twice - during the initial outbreak, and the epidemic's peak four weeks later, surveying demographics, symptoms, knowledge, concerns, and precautionary measures against COVID-19. There were 1738 respondents from 190 Chinese cities (1210 first-survey respondents, 861 s-survey respondents; 333 respondents participated in both). Psychological impact and mental health status were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. IES-R measures PTSD symptoms in survivorship after an event. DASS -21 is based on tripartite model of psychopathology that comprise a general distress construct with distinct characteristics. This study found that there was a statistically significant longitudinal reduction in mean IES-R scores (from 32.98 to 30.76, p 0.01) after 4 weeks. Nevertheless, the mean IES-R score of the first- and second-survey respondents were above the cut-off scores (24) for PTSD symptoms, suggesting that the reduction in scores was not clinically significant. During the initial evaluation, moderate-to-severe stress, anxiety and depression were noted in 8.1%, 28.8% and 16.5%, respectively and there were no significant longitudinal changes in stress, anxiety and depression levels (p 0.05). Protective factors included high level of confidence in doctors, perceived survival likelihood and low risk of contracting COVID-19, satisfaction with health information, personal precautionary measures. As countries around the world brace for an escalation in cases, Governments should focus on effective methods of disseminating unbiased COVID-19 knowledge, teaching correct containment methods, ensuring availability of essential services/commodities, and providing sufficient financial support.

Psoralen is the principal bioactive component in the dried fruits of Cullen corylifolium (L.) Medik (syn. Psoralea corylifolia L), termed “Buguzhi” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Recent studies have demonstrated that psoralen displays multiple bioactive properties, beneficial for the treatment of osteoporosis, tumors, viruses, bacteria, and inflammation. The present review focuses on the research evidence relating to the properties of psoralen gathered over recent years. Firstly, multiple studies have demonstrated that psoralen exerts strong anti-osteoporotic effects via regulation of osteoblast/osteoclast/chondrocyte differentiation or activation due to the participation in multiple molecular mechanisms of the wnt/β-catenin, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)/apoptosis signaling kinase 1 (ASK1)/c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the Protein Kinase B(AKT)/activator protein-1 (AP-1) axis, and the expression of miR-488, peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In addition, the antitumor properties of psoralen are associated with the induction of ER stress-related cell death via enhancement of PERK: Pancreatic Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase (PERK)/activating transcription factor (ATF), 78kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP78)/C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and 94kD glucose-regulated protein (GRP94)/CHOP signaling, and inhibition of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) or ATPase that overcomes multidrug resistance. Furthermore, multiple articles have shown that the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of psoralen are a result of its interaction with viral polymerase (Pol), destroying the formation of biofilm, and regulating the activation of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), interleukin 4/5/6/8/12/13 (IL-4/5/6/8/12/13), GATA-3, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Finally, the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of psoralen have also been reviewed.

Non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis (non-LCH) is a collective term that encompasses a long list of rare "histiocytosis" that do not meet the criteria for Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). Among cutaneous non-LCH, the xanthogranuloma (XG) family represents a distinct group of disorders derived from dermal dendritic cells (DDCs) at different stages of differentiation.To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of the XG family in adults and review the relevant literature.We performed a retrospective clinicopathological study of five adult cases with a previous diagnosis of non-LCH. Clinicopathological features, immunophenotypes, genetic alterations and ultrastructural characteristics were analysed.Skin biopsies revealed that all five cases were characterized by diffuse infiltration of polymorphic cells, which were immunoreactive to factor XIIIa but negative for Langerin, CD1a, and S100. None of the cases harboured the BRAF V600E mutation. Electron microscopy of two cases exhibited abundant cytoplasmic processes with numerous lysosome-like dense bodies and electron-lucent vesicles in the cytoplasm and extracellular matrix. The overall features suggested that DDCs are the cellular origin, and these cases fulfilled the criteria for the XG family.The XG family represents a spectrum of rare diseases with different clinical presentations, a wide range of morphological appearances, and a shared common origin (DDCs). This group of disorders has been proposed as a unique entity with diagnostic challenges that should not be underestimated.

Pediatric native kidney diseases are common worldwide. The pathological diagnosis of kidney lesions is crucial for clinical treatment and prognosis. The aim of the current study was therefore to evaluate the value of electron microscopy (EM) to the final diagnosis of native kidney biopsies in children.A retrospective evaluation of 855 pediatric kidney biopsies obtained from the Department of Pediatrics in Peking University First Hospital between November 2010 and December 2017 was performed to assess the contribution of EM to the final diagnosis.The role of EM in the final diagnosis was determined to be crucial in 300 cases (35.1%), important in 280 cases (32.7%), and auxiliary in 275 cases (32.2%). EM is considered most valuable in a large percentage of glomerular diseases, mainly including minimal change disease, early-stage membranous nephropathy, postinfectious glomerulonephritis, Alport syndrome, thin basement membrane nephropathy, and thrombotic microangiopathy. EM also provided helpful diagnostic information in cases of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, lupus nephritis, IgA nephropathy, and IgA vasculitis (Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis). Additionally, EM was crucial in 90.0% of cases of subtle pathological changes observed with light microscopy (LM) and immunofluorescence (IF) and in 69.3% of the IF-negative specimens. Patients with nephrotic syndrome or hematuria also benefit from ultrastructural examination.The present study demonstrated the crucial or important role of EM in the diagnosis of a majority of native kidney biopsies in children. The application of EM should be integrated together with LM and IF as a routine method of assessing pediatric kidney specimens. Graphical abstract.

Aerosol plays a very important role in affecting the earth-atmosphere radiation budget, and particle size distribution is an important aerosol property parameter. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the particle size distribution. However, the particle size distribution determined by the particle extinction efficiency factor according to the Mie scattering theory is an ill-conditioned integral equation, namely, the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind, which is very difficult to solve. To avoid solving such an integral equation, the BP neural network prediction model was established. In the model, the aerosol optical depth obtained by sun photometer CE-318 and kernel functions obtained by Mie scattering theory were used as the inputs of the neural network, particle size distributions collected by the aerodynamic particle sizer APS 3321 were used as the output, and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm with the fastest descending speed was adopted to train the model. For verifying the feasibility of the prediction model, some experiments were carried out. The results show that BP neural network has a better prediction effect than that of the RBF neural network and is an effective method to obtain the aerosol particle size distribution of the whole atmosphere column using the data of CE-318 and APS 3321.

Stress wave-based communication has great potential for succeeding in subsea environments where many conventional methods would otherwise face excessive difficulty, and it can benefit logging well by using the drill string as a conduit for stress wave propagation. To achieve stress wave communication, a new stress wave-based pulse position modulation (PPM) communication system is designed and implemented to transmit data through pipeline structures with the help of piezoceramic transducers. This system consists of both hardware and software components. The hardware is composed of a piezoceramic transducer that can generate powerful stress waves travelling along a pipeline, upon touching, and a PPM signal generator that drives the piezoceramic transducer. Once the transducer is in contact with a pipeline surface, the generator integrated with an amplifier is utilized to excite the piezoceramic transducer with a voltage signal that is modulated to encode the information. The resulting vibrations of the transducer generates stress waves that propagate throughout the pipeline. Meanwhile, piezoceramic sensors mounted on the pipeline convert the stress waves to electric signals and the signal can be demodulated. In order to enable the encoding and decoding of information in the stress wave, a PPM-based communication protocol was integrated into the software system. A verification experiment demonstrates the functionality of the developed system for stress wave communication using piezoceramic transducers and the result shows that the data transmission speed of this new communication system can reach 67 bits per second (bps).