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Epimedium has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for several thousands of years. This plant is known for tonifying kidney Yang, strengthening muscles and bones, and dispelling wind and dampness. It is worth noting that icaritin, a prenylated flavonoid isolated from Epimedium, has received increasing attention in recent years due to its wide range of pharmacological activities. Icaritin exhibits significant therapeutic potential against various diseases, such as osteoporosis, tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma, stomach cancer, breast cancer, and glioblastoma), cerebral ischemia skin injury, thrombocytopenia, and systemic lupus erythematosus. We review the pharmacological activities of icaritin and its potential molecular mechanisms for the treatment of related diseases. The data suggest that icaritin can have the pharmacological effects of mediating Wnt/β-catenin, IL-6/JAK2/STAT3, AMPK/mTOR, PTEN/AKT, MAPK, NF-κB, and other signaling pathways. This paper also discusses the progress of clinical trials of icaritin. Icaritin was approved by the State Food and Drug Administration in January 2022 for the treatment of advanced HCC, and has various clinical drug prospects. Although it has some disadvantages, including poor solubility, and low bioavailability, icaritin is still a prospective candidate for the development of naturally derived drugs, especially in the treatment of tumors and inflammatory diseases. This review aims to update and deepen the understanding of icaritin, and provide a theoretical basis for its further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was one of the common complications in patients with HCC who had undergone TACE. This study was a prospective analysis of patient data to investigate risk factors for PONV in patients after TACE. Material and Methods: Data were collected from 212 patients undergoing TACE in the interventional department between August 2022 and August 2023. Including: gender, age, education, BMI, operation time, concomitant underlying diseases and drugs, preoperative limosis, history of nausea and vomiting, history of kinetosis, history of smoking or drinking, and occurrence of PONV. A visual analog scale was used to measured pain. Neuropsychological status was also assessed, using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9). To identify risk factors for PONV, multiple logistic regression analysis was used. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to assess the regression model. The clinical trial number did not apply in the study. Results: In this study, 212 out of a total of 904 patients with HCC undergoing TACE during their hospital stay were included for analysis. Among the included patients, the incidence of PONV was as high as 42% (89/212). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that chronic gastritis (odds ratio [OR] = 10.350; p = 0.020), VAS (OR = 3.835; p = 0.003), epirubicin (OR = 26.685; p < 0.001), and the dosage of lipiodol (≥5 mL) (OR = 1.385; p < 0.001) were independent risk factors of PONV after TACE. The ROC curve demonstrated that the AUC was 0.902, the sensitivity was 84.3%, and the specificity was 87%. Conclusions: PONV is highly prevalent among patients with HCC after TACE. Chronic gastritis, pain, epirubicin, and the dosage of lipiodol were independent risk factors for PONV. The risk prediction model that was constructed according to the aforementioned factors demonstrated good discriminatory capacity for predicting the risk of post-TACE PONV, which can improve the recognition of medical providers, and has a good ability to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen evolution capacity of MoS2 is impeded by its intrinsically highly electronegative sulfur sites, which firmly bind absorbed atomic H through S–Hads bonds and subsequently diminish H2 release. Designing effective surface-active sites to optimize atomic hydrogen activation and desorption for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water, while also expanding near-infrared (NIR) light responsiveness, remains a significant challenge. We have developed complexes of sulfur vacancy (Sv) enriched CdSv capped with W-modified MoS2+x (MoWS2+x) through an in situ substitution approach, followed by a photoreduction reaction. The bimetallic MoWS2+x cocatalyst not only increases the density of unsaturated coordinating S active sites but also attenuates the strength of the S–Hads bond. The optimized MoWS2+x/CdSv hybrid shows synergistic improvement of atomic H activation and desorption for the solar-driven HER, achieving the highest recorded H2-evolution rate of 9166.13 μmol g−1 h−1 under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm), which marks a substantial improvement (greater than 750%), and an apparent quantum yield of 19.13%. Remarkably, the target photocatalyst, which is abundant in sulfur vacancies within its CdSv component, also achieves H2 production driven by NIR light beyond 780 nm, with a H2 evolution rate of 1326.82 μmol g−1 h−1. Comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigations corroborate that the existence of unsaturated coordinated S sites mitigates the strength of S–Hads bonds, resulting in the high driving force of H2 bubble release from water and long-lived active charge carriers. In this paper, we constructed visible light and NIR-active photocatalysts successfully for hydrogen production, highlighting the synergetic effects within this unique system. Additionally, the photo-behaviors of charge carriers have been investigated by ultra-fast spectroscopic techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the interfacial charge transfer kinetics. This study provides valuable insights into the development and optimization of photocatalysts that are responsive to both NIR and visible light, paving the way for more efficient solar-driven applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the expression of ENO3 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma and its effect on the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines to OXA, and to explore the possible mechanism. Methods qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis were used to detect the expression of ENO3 in 48 pairs of hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and normal liver tissues.Overexpression plasmid was constructed and transfected into MHCC97H and HepG2 cells.The experiments were divided into empty group (Vector group), ENO3 overexpression group (ENO3 group), empty+OXA group (Vector+OXA group) and ENO3 overexpression+OXA group (ENO3+OXA group).The proliferation ability of MHCC97H and HepG2 cells were detected by CCK-8 assay and cell colony formation assay.The apoptosis rate was determined by flow cytometry assay.Protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3 were detected by Western blot assay. Results The expression of ENO3 was significantly decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, compared with normal liver tissues adjacent to the carcinoma.The expression of ENO3 gene in the ENO3 overexpression group was significantly higher than that in the empty group.Compared with the Vector+OXA group, cell viability was decreased, apoptosis rate was increased, Bcl-2 protein expression was decreased, Bax and Caspase-3 protein expression were increased in the ENO3+OXA group. Conclusion The expression of ENO3 is down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and the overexpression of ENO3 can enhance the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines to oxaliplatin by promoting cell apoptosis.

Highlight Rcl1 mRNA expression is down-regulated within HCC tissues and associated with poor prognosis and disease progression. Anti-cancer effects of Rcl1 on HCC were confirmed in vitro. Rcl1 may be a potential tumor suppressor in HCC.

Utilizing long-wavelength laser diodes (LDs) for pumping to achieve high-power fiber laser output is an effective method for attaining high quantum efficiency and excellent thermal management. In this work, we report on a Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA)-structured long-tapered Yb3+-doped fiber laser directly pumped by long-wavelength laser diodes. By shifting the center wavelength of the pump source to 1010 nm, the heat generation within the fiber laser is effectively controlled, thereby increasing the transverse mode instability (TMI) threshold. Additionally, the use of a long-tapered fiber enlarges the mode area and suppresses stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effects that typically arise from increased fiber length. As a result, an output of 6030 W is achieved with an optical-to-optical (O–O) efficiency of 83.7%, a SRS suppression ratio exceeding 50 dB, and no occurrence of dynamic TMI. This approach provides a valuable reference for optimizing long-wavelength pumping to suppress nonlinear effects and also holds potential for wide-temperature operational applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]