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Virtual reality therapy (VRT) is a new psychotherapeutic approach integrating virtual reality technology and psychotherapy. This case series aimed to study effectiveness of VRT in treating psychological problems. We described four cases of first-line health care professionals with emerging clinically significant early psychological problems during the COVID-19 outbreak, and specifically received the VRT treatment. We compared the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), PHQ-15, and Athens Insomnia Scale to evaluate psychological symptoms and sleep quality before and after sessions. All four cases showed a reduction in scale comparison. General scores of the PHQ-9 reduced 65%, GAD-7 reduced 52.17%, PHQ-15 decreased 38.17%, and scores of the Athens Insomnia Scale reduced 67.44%. Meanwhile, a reduction in depression, anxiety, psychosomatic, and sleeping symptoms was also found, which decreased 76.92% in general. These results are highly significant statistically. This case series demonstrated the effectiveness of VRT on psychological problems as a promising approach to apply on various psychological distress and disorders.

The current study aimed to investigate the role and underlying mechanism of Resolvin D1 (RvD1) alleviating spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced neuropathic pain (NP) and its interplay with regulatory cascades of Nod-like Receptor Protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Sprague-Dawley male rat models of SNL-stimulated NP were established, which were pre-treated with different doses of RvD1, WRW4 (ALX/FPR2 inhibitor) or U0126 (ERK inhibitor) for three successive days following the operation. Pain behavior was assessed by measuring changes in the mechanical sensitivity of the hind paws during an observation period of seven consecutive days. The spinal cord (SC) and dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) tissues were collected on postoperative day 7. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot were performed to determine the expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome complex, ALX/FPR2 receptor and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK). The pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-1β and IL-18) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that RvD1 could alleviate mechanical allodynia significantly in the SNL-induced NP rat models. Also, RvD1 inhibited the expression of p-ERK, the NLRP3 inflammasomes complex and its corresponding downstream pro-inflammatory mediators which were significantly enhanced in the SC and DRGs of the rat SNL models. While these changes were partially reversed by pre-administration of WRW4 and further strengthened by co-treated with U0126. Our results suggest that RvD1 dependent on ALX/FPR2 may have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory influence on SNL-induced NP driven by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome via ERK signaling pathway. These data also provide strong support for the recent modulation of neuro-inflammatory priming and highlight the potential for specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) as novel therapeutic avenues for NP.

Network Meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of different Chinese medicine injections combined with conventional therapy in the treatment of stroke-associated pneumonia. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for the relevant literature pubslished from inception to April 1, 2022. Stata 17 was used for data analysis. After screening of 1 189 papers, 72 studies were finally selected, which involved 5 819 patients and 6 Chinese medicine injections(Tanreqing Injection, Xingnaojing Injection, Xuebijing Injection, Xiyanping Injection, Shenfu Injection, and Shenmai Injection). The network Meta-analysis ranked the injections as follows.(1) In terms of improving the total clinical effective rate, the surface under the cumulative ranking curve(SUCRA) followed the order of Xiyanping Injection + conventional therapygt; Xuebijing Injection + conventional therapygt; Tanreqing Injection + conventional therapygt; Shenmai Injection + conventional therapygt; Xingnaojing Injection + conventional therapygt; Shenfu Injection + conventional therapygt; conventional therapy.(2) In terms of recovering the National Institute of Health stroke scale(NIHSS) scores, the SUCRA followed the order of Xuebijing Injection + conventional therapygt; Xingnaojing Injection + conventional therapygt; Tanreqing Injection + conventional therapygt; Shenfu Injection + conventional therapygt; conventional therapy.(3) In reducing the average time to abatement of fever, the SUCRA followed the order of Xiyanping Injection + conventional therapygt; Tanreqing Injection + conventional therapygt; Xuebijing Injection + conventional therapygt; conventional therapy.(4) In terms of reducing the mean hospital stay, the SUCRA followed the order of Xiyanping Injection + conventional therapygt; Xubijing Injection + conventional therapygt; Tanreqing Injection + conventional therapygt; Shenmai Injection + conventional therapygt; conventional therapy. The clinical efficacy of Tanreqing Injection, Xuebijing Injection, Xiyanping Injection, Xingnaojing Injection, Shenmai Injection, or Shenfu Injection combined with conventional therapy was superior to that of conventional therapy alone. However, due to the limitations of the quality and methodology of different intervention measures, this conclusion needs to be verified by more high-quality and rigorously designed randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with cancer. The role of inflammation in the association of CAD with cancer remains unclear. The study investigated whether inflammation could impact the relationship between CAD and lung cancer. METHODS: The study involved 96 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients without receiving anti-cancer therapy and 288 matched non-cancer patients. All the patients underwent coronary angiography and were free from previous percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting. SYNTAX score (SXscore) were used to assess severity of CAD. High SXscore (SXhigh) grade was defined as SXscore > 16 (highest quartile). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) served as an inflammatory biomarker. NLR-high grade referred to NLR > 2.221 (median). RESULTS: Among 384 study patients, 380 patients (98.96%) had NLR value (median: 2.221, interquartile range: 1.637–3.040). Compared to non-cancer patients, lung cancer patients had higher rate of SXhigh among total study patients (P = 0.014) and among patients with NLR-high (P = 0.006), but had not significantly higher rate of SXhigh among patients with NLR-low (P = 0.839). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SXhigh was associated with lung cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 1.834, 95% CI: 1.063–3.162, P = 0.029]. Subgroup analysis showed that SXhigh was associated with lung cancer among patients with NLR-high (OR = 2.801, 95% CI: 1.355–5.794, P = 0.005), however, the association between SXhigh and lung cancer was not significant among patients with NLR-low (OR = 0.897, 95% CI: 0.346–2.232, P = 0.823). CONCLUSIONS: Inflammation could lead different association between anatomical severity of CAD and lung cancer. Severity of CAD was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer among patients with high inflammation rather than among patients with low inflammation.

This study aims to unveil the effect of ophiopogonin D(OPD) on isoproterenol(ISO)-induced apoptosis of rat cardiomyocytes and the possible targets, which is expected to provide clues for further research on the myocardial protection of ophiopogonins. Cell count kit-8(CCK-8) assay was used to detect viability of cells treated with OPD and ISO, Western blot to examine the effect of OPD and ISO on the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related Bip, Bax, Perk, ATF4, caspase-12, and CHOP, flow cytometry to determine cell apoptosis rate, and Hoechst 33258 and Tunel staining to observe cell apoptosis and morphological changes. In addition, the probe for calcium ion-specific detection was employed to investigate calcium ion release from the endoplasmic reticulum, and OPD-bond epoxy-activated agarose solid-phase microspheres were prepared and used as affinity matrix to capture OPD-binding target proteins in H9 c2 cell lysate. For the target proteins of OPD identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry, the related signal pathways were enriched and the potential targets of OPD against cardiomyocyte injury were discussed. The experimental result showed that 10 μmol·L~(-1) ISO can significantly induce the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and promote cell apoptosis. Different concentration of OPD can prevent the damage of myocardial cells caused by ISO. According to mass spectrometry results, 19 proteins, including Fam129 a and Pdia6, were involved in multiple signaling pathways such as the unfolded protein reaction bound by the ERN1 sensor, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and Nrf2 signal transduction pathway. The above results indicate that OPD protects cardiomyocytes by regulating multiple signaling pathways of target proteins and affecting cell cycle progression.

Manipulation of the valley degree of freedom provides a new path for quantum information technology, but the real intrinsic large valley-polarization materials are rarely reported up to date. Here, we perform first-principles calculations to predict a class of 2H-phase single layer (SL) materials LuX 2 (X = Cl, Br, I) to be ideal candidates. SL-LuX 2 are ferrovalley materials with a giant valley-polarization of 55 meV–148 meV as a result of its large spin–orbital coupling (SOC) and intrinsic ferromagnetism (FM). The magnetic transition temperatures of SL-LuI2 and SL-LuCl2 are estimated to be 89 K–124 K, with a sizable magnetic anisotropy at out-of-plane direction. Remarkably, the anomalous valley Hall effect (AVHE) can be controlled in SL-LuX 2 when an external electric field is applied. Moreover, the intrinsic valley-polarization of SL-LuI2 is highly robust for biaxial strain. These findings provide a promising ferrovalley material system for the experimentation of valleytronics and subsequent applications.

Background: It was designed to investigate whether umbilical cord matrix stem cells (CVMSC) could affect the functionality of trophoblasts to prevent preeclampsia. Methods: In this study, CVMSC-derived exosomes were isolated; its effect on trophoblasts was investigated based on the CCK8 assay, migration assay, and apoptosis detection. And the underlying mechanism of this effect was investigated using mRNA sequencing, western blot, co-immunoprecipitation, luciferase report assay, and ubiquitination assay. Findings: The results showed that CVMSC-derived exosomes promoted migration and proliferation of trophoblasts, and also reduced cell apoptosis. mRNA sequencing confirmed that after treatment of CVMSC-derived exosomes, TRIM72 expression was upregulated and P53 expression was downregulated, both significantly in trophoblasts. Subsequent study confirmed that TRM72 could directly interact with P53 and promoted P53 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, reducing apoptosis rate and elevating proliferation and migration in trophoblasts. Interpretation: Our study confirmed that CVMSC-derived exosomes promoted trophoblast migration and proliferation by upregulating TRIM72 expression, and subsequently advanced P53 ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Funding Statement: This study received no specific grant from public funding agencies, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Declaration of Interests: All authors declare there is no competing interest. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University.

De novo peptide sequencing for large-scale proteomics remains challenging because of the lack of full coverage of ion series in tandem mass spectra. We developed a mirror protease of trypsin, acetylated LysargiNase (Ac-LysargiNase), with superior activity and stability. The mirror spectrum pairs derived from the Ac-LysargiNase and trypsin treated samples can generate full b and y ion series, which provide mutual complementarity of each other, and allow us to develop a novel algorithm, pNovoM, for de novo sequencing. Using pNovoM to sequence peptides of purified proteins, the accuracy of the sequence was close to 100%. More importantly, from a large-scale yeast proteome sample digested with trypsin and Ac-LysargiNase individually, 48% of all tandem mass spectra formed mirror spectrum pairs, 97% of which contained full coverage of ion series, resulting in precision de novo sequencing of full-length peptides by pNovoM. This enabled pNovoM to successfully sequence 21,249 peptides from 3,753 proteins and interpreted 44-152% more spectra than pNovo+ and PEAKS at a 5% FDR at the spectrum level. Moreover, the mirror protease strategy had an obvious advantage in sequencing long peptides. We believe that the combination of mirror protease strategy and pNovoM will be an effective approach for precision de novo sequencing on both single proteins and proteome samples.

Accumulated evidence has demonstrated causative links between neuropathic pain (NP) and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders. However, the role of inflammasome-induced pyroptosis in NP remains elusive. Melatonin possesses a well-documented analgesic action in various pain models. The current study aimed to test our hypothesis that melatonin regulated pyroptosis to alleviate NP by inhibiting NF-κB/NLRP3-dependent signaling. A rat model of spinal nerve ligation (SNL) was established to explore the potential association between melatonin and pyroptosis. Behavioral experiments revealed that SNL provoked severe allodynia which was suppressed by the administration of melatonin, a caspase-1 inhibitor (VX-765), or an NF-κB inhibitor (BAY 11-7085). SNL significantly up-regulated the inflammatory cytokines associated with the excessive activation of NLRP3 components and NF-κB signaling, as well as a marked pyroptosis activation. These effects were partially inhibited by melatonin, VX-765 or BAY 11-7085, and when melatonin and inhibitors were added together, the effect was enhanced. In conclusion, melatonin has potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in SNL models through preventing pyroptosis via the NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway.

Subsequent microvascular decompression (MVD) might be affected by the previous two-isocentre gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) due to the tissue changes caused by its higher dose radiation and larger treatment volume. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MVD as a second step treatment after two-isocentre GKS.Between December 2016 and May 2019, data from 19 consecutive trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients who experienced MVD after failed two-isocentre GKS were collected. The clinical characteristics, intraoperative findings, surgical outcomes and complications were reviewed and compared with 158 patients who underwent MVD as an initial treatment.Fifteen patients (78.9%) achieved complete pain relief (Barrow Neurological Institute, BNI class I) immediately after surgery and nine patients (47.4%) maintained complete pain relief at the last follow-up, which was similar to patients who underwent initial MVD. The median follow-up period was 36 months. The incidence of new or worsened facial numbness showed no statistical significance between the groups. During surgery, trigeminal nerve atrophy was noted in 9 patients (47.4%), thickened arachnoid in 3 patients (15.8%), atherosclerotic plaque in 3 patients (15.8%) and neurovascular adhesion in 1 patient (5.3%).MVD remains an effective and safe rescue therapy for patients who elect the minimally invasive treatment with two-isocentre GKS for the first time, without an increased risk of facial numbness.

Accumulated evidences have demonstrated causative links between neuropathic pain (NP) and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders. However, the role of inflammasome-induced pyroptosis in NP remains elusive. Melatonin possesses a well-documented analgesic action in various pain models. A rat model of spinal nerve ligation was established to explore the potential mechanism of melatonin in pyroptosis. The current study aimed to test our hypothesis that melatonin regulated pyroptosis to alleviate NP by inhibiting NF-κB/NLRP3-dependent signaling. Behavioral experiments revealed that SNL provoked severe allodynia which were suppressed by the administration of melatonin, caspase-1 inhibitor (VX-765) or NF-κB inhibitor (BAY 11-7085). SNL significantly up-regulated the inflammatory cytokines associated with the excessive activation of NLRP3 components and NF-κB signaling, as well as the marked pyroptosis activation which were partially inhibited by melatonin, VX-765 or BAY 11-7085. Collectively, Melatonin has potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in SNL models through preventing pyroptosis via the NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway.

To analyze the polymorphism of the HPA1-5,15 system of the donors in Zhangjiakou area.DNA was extracted from the blood samples of the donors, PCR- SSP method was used to divide HPA1-6, 15 genotype. The gene frequency and genotype frequency were calculated, compared with the difference and regiahal specificity of the populations in our country and foregiens was compared other populations.The gene expression in the HPA-1, HPA-2 and HPA-4 systems were all homozygous aa, and the donors who expressed homozygous bb was not exessed. Among them, one heterozygous ab expression was found in both HPA-1 and HPA-4 systems (1%), and 14 cases of heterozygous ab expression were found in HPA-2 system (14%). The gene expression in the HPA-5 system was mainly homozygous aa (98%), and a very few expressed homozygous bb (2%) was found. The degree of heterozygosity of gene expression in the HPA-3 and HPA-15 systems was relatively high. The proprotion of the expression of aa, ab and bb in the HPA-3 system was respectively 46%, 40% and 14%, the proprotion of the expression of aa, ab and bb in the HPA-15 system was respectively 21%, 64% and 15%.The gene frequency of platelet-specific antigen HPA1-5,15 system in zhangjiakou region shows local characteristics. The heterozygosity degree of gene expression in the HPA-3 and HPA-15 systems are both high, suggesting that they are more likely to result in alloimmunization and ineffective platelet transfusion, which should be pays attention to.张家口地区机采血小板捐献者HPA分型研究.分析河北省张家口地区血小板捐献者血小板特异性抗原HPA1-5，15系统的基因多态性.采集血小板捐献者静脉血并提取DNA，采用聚合酶链-序列特异性引物（PCR-SSP）法进行血小板特异性抗原分型，计算基因频率、基因型频率并与国内外其他地区进行比较是否存在差异及是否表现地区特异性.HPA-1、HPA-2、HPA-4系统中基因表达均为纯合子aa，未出现表达纯合子bb的存在者，其中HPA-1和HPA-4系统各发现杂合子ab表达1例（1%），HPA-2系统发现杂合子ab表达14例（14%）； HPA-5系统基因表达主要为纯合子aa （98%），极少数表达纯合子bb（2%）； HPA-3和HPA-15系统基因表达杂合程度较高，HPA-3系统基因表达aa、ab、bb表达比例分别为46%、40%、14%，HPA-15系统基因表达aa、ab、bb表达比例分别为21%、64%、15.张家口地区血小板特异性抗原HPA1-5,15系统基因频率具有本地区特点； HPA-3和HPA-15系统基因表达杂合程度较高，引发同种免疫及血小板输注无效的可能性较大，因此应引起注意.

Aconitine is attracting increasing attention for its unique positive inotropic effect on the cardiovascular system, but underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. The cardiotonic effect always requires abundant energy supplement, which is mainly related to mitochondrial function. And OPA1 has been documented to play a critical role in mitochondrial morphology and energy metabolism in cardiomyocytes. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the potential role of OPA1-mediated regulation of energy metabolism in the positive inotropic effect caused by repeated aconitine treatment and the possible mechanism involved. Our results showed that repeated treatment with low-doses (0–10 μM) of aconitine for 7 days did not induce detectable cytotoxicity and enhanced myocardial contraction in Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVMs). Also, we first identified that no more than 5 μM of aconitine triggered an obvious perturbation of mitochondrial homeostasis in cardiomyocytes by accelerating mitochondrial fusion, biogenesis, and Parkin-mediated mitophagy, followed by the increase in mitochondrial function and the cellular ATP content, both of which were identified to be related to the upregulation of ATP synthase α-subunit (ATP5A1). Besides, with compound C (CC), an inhibitor of AMPK, could reverse aconitine-increased the content of phosphor-AMPK, OPA1, and ATP5A1, and the following mitochondrial function. In conclusion, this study first demonstrated that repeated aconitine treatment could cause the remodeling of mitochondrial function via the AMPK–OPA1–ATP5A1 pathway and provide a possible explanation for the energy metabolism associated with cardiotonic effect induced by medicinal plants containing aconitine.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication that is characterized by high blood pressure and is associated with high maternal and fetal morbidities. At a mechanistic level, PE is characterized by reduced invasion ability of trophoblasts. Collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) is a well-known tumor-promoting factor in several malignant tumors, but its role in trophoblasts remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the expression of CTHRC1 in placenta tissue samples from PE pregnancies and from normal pregnancies. We used the trophoblasts cell lines HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 to investigate the role of CTHRC1 in cell migration, invasion and proliferation. Western blot, PCR and TOP/FOP luciferase activity assays were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying these cell behaviors. Placenta tissue samples obtained from pregnant women with PE expressed lower levels of CTHRC1 than those of placenta tissues from women with normal pregnancies. Down-regulation of CTHRC1 impaired cell proliferation, migration and invasion of trophoblasts, while CTHRC1 overexpression promoted nuclear translocation of β-catenin, a result that was further confirmed by TOP/FOP luciferase activity assay. Our findings suggest that CTHRC1 promotes migration and invasion of trophoblasts via reciprocal Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Down-regulation of CTHRC1 may be a potential mechanism underpinning the development of preeclampsia.

To investigate the expression of IL-9 and IL-6 in patients with BCR-ABL- bone marrow proli- ferative tumor (MPN), and to explore its role in the occurrence and development of MPN.A total of 71 newly diagnosis MPN patients treated in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from 2018 to 2019 were selected, including 32 patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and 22 patients with primary thrombocytosis (ET), and 17 patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Then 58 patients who retestine after treatment were selected as therapy group，and 20 healthy volunteers were recruited as control group. ELISA was used to detect the expression level of IL-6 and IL-9 in bone marrow supernatant, and the relative expression level of IL-6 and IL-9 mRNA in BMMNC was detected by real-time PCR. The proportion of Th9 cells in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The expression level of IL-6 mRNA and IL-9 mRNA of BMMNC and clinical indicators were analyzed, and the correlation between JAK2 gene mutation load and IL-9 level was further analyzed.The level of IL-6 in bone marrow supernatant and the expression of IL-6 mRNA in BMMNC were higher in the newly diagnosed group as compared with those in the treated group and the control group (P0.001). The expression level of IL-9 in bone marrow supernatant and the expression of IL-9 mRNA in BMMNC were lower in the newly diagnosed group as compared with those in the treated group and the control group (P0.05). The proportion of Th9 cells in peripheral blood was lower in the newly diagnosed group as compared with that in the treated group and the control group (P0.001). The level of IL-6 in bone marrow supernatant and the expression of IL-6 mRNA in BMMNC in JAK2The increased expression of IL-6 in MPN and hyperfunction may promote the progression of BCR-ABL- MPN disease. The expression of IL-9 in MPN decreases, and it negatively correlates with the mutation load of JAK2 gene, which may be related with the decrease of tumor environmental antitumor immune effect.IL-9和IL-6在BCR-ABL- MPN患者中的表达及其意义.检测BCR-ABL- 骨髓增殖性肿瘤（MPN）患者的IL-9和IL-6的表达，探讨其在MPN疾病中的意义.选取2018年至2019年间于天津医科大学总医院血液科就诊的MPN初治患者71例（初诊组），包括32例真性红细胞增多症（PV），22例原发性血小板增多症（ET）和17例原发性骨髓纤维化（PMF），治疗后复查患者58例作为治疗组，同时选取健康志愿者20名作为对照组。采用ELISA法检测骨髓上清液中IL-6和IL-9的水平，采用RT-PCR技术检测骨髓单个核细胞IL-6和IL-9 mRNA相对表达水平，应用流式细胞术(FCM)检测外周血Th9细胞的比例，将骨髓单个核细胞IL-6 mRNA和IL-9 mRNA表达水平与临床指标进行相关性分析，并进一步追踪分析JAK2基因突变负荷与IL-9水平之间的关系.初诊组骨髓上清液中IL-6水平及骨髓单个核细胞中IL-6 mRNA表达水平均高于治疗组和对照组（P0.001），初诊组骨髓上清液中IL-9水平及骨髓单个核细胞中IL-9 mRNA表达水平均低于治疗组和对照组（P0.05）；初诊组外周血Th9细胞比例低于治疗组和对照组（P0.001）；JAK2IL-6在MPN中表达水平增加，功能亢进，可能促进BCR-ABL- MPN疾病进展；IL-9在MPN中表达水平减低，且与JAK2基因突变负荷呈负相关关系，这可能与肿瘤微环境抗肿瘤免疫作用减低有关.

Objective To explore the potential analgesic effect of melatonin and its underlying molecular mechanisms in a neuropathic pain model induced by spinal nerve ligation (SNL). Methods The experimental animals were divided into different groups including sham, vehicle, melatonin (MT) treatment, caspase-1 inhibitor (VX-765) treatment and MT2 antagonist (4P-PDOT) treatment. On the first three successive postoperative days, rats were intraperitoneally administered with MT, VX-765 or combination of MT and 4P-PDOT. Hyperalgesic behavior after SNL was evaluated using the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT). We then assessed expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-18, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), NLRP3 inflammasome components, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits (ELISA), real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot, respectively, in spinal cord horn tissues extracted on postoperative day 7. Results The results showed that melatonin treatment alleviated SNL-induced allodynia. We observed an SNL-induced upregulation of TNF-α, IL-18, IL-1β, NLRP3, ASC, cleaved caspase-1, and NF-κB in the lumbar spinal cord horn of rats, which was significantly attenuated by intraperitoneal injection of melatonin or VX-765. Additionally, co-treatment of melatonin and 4P-PDOT abrogated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of melatonin. Conclusion Melatonin had potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in SNL-induced neuropathic pain via NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway. Our results therefore suggested that this pathway could represent a novel therapeutic target for the management of neuropathic pain.

A planar measurement approach is presented to obtain the radiation pattern, by which rotation operations can be removed or reduced for a source with narrow and divergent viewing angle, respectively. The Étendue conservation is applied to derive the intensity distribution relationship between planar and spherical surfaces, which is further used for the radiation feature measurement on planar systems. As an indirect approach, sampling position distribution and measurement sensitivity is then discussed. Four application scenarios of the method are proposed and experimentally studied, including: 1D, 3D wireframe, pattern reconstruction for Monte Carlo ray-tracing planar data and 3D pattern estimation for luminaires. 1D radiation pattern obtained by classical goniophotometer method is employed as an evaluation standard, and experiments indicate that the results agree well between the two approaches. Therefore, the planar measurement can be applied as an alternative or supplementary method of the goniophotometer to test angle-dependent attributes of sources.

Inhibition of immune and inflammatory reaction induced by the expose of nucleus pulposus (NP) could effectively ameliorate neuropathic pain in the lumbar disc herniation. Maresin1 (MaR1), as a macrophage-derived mediator of inflammation resolution, displayed potent anti-inflammatory action. In the present study, we attempted to elucidate the impact of MaR1 on radicular pain and the interaction with NLRP3 inflammasome. We established a rat model of non-compressive lumbar disc herniation and different administration (MaR1 or Caspase-1 inhibitor) was given to them. The paw withdrawal latency (PWL) and paw withdrawal thresholds (PWTs) were observed to assess pain behaviors. The spinal cord horns were collected and the levels of IL-1β and IL-18 were measured by ELISA. The mRNA and protein expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome components were tested by RT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. The endogenous MaR1 levels of the spinal cord were analyzed using LC-MS/MS. The application of NP in the models lead to mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity, increased IL-1β and IL-18 levels and expressions of NLRP3 inflammasome components, which were reversed markedly by administration of MaR1. Caspase-1 inhibition also improved mechanical hypersensitivity, decreased the expressions of inflammatory cytokines and restrained the activation of inflammasome. Meanwhile, Caspase-1 inhibitor promoted the endogenous MaR1 synthesis, which was hindered in the pain models. Altogether, our study indicated that the negative interaction between MaR1 and NLRP3 inflammasome mediated the inflammatory response in spinal dorsal horn, which involved in the pathogenesis of radicular pain.

Glioma is one of the most common types of tumor of the central nervous system. Due to the aggressiveness and invasiveness of high-level gliomas, the survival time of patients with these tumors is short, at ~15 months, even after combined treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Recently, a number of studies have demonstrated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) serve crucial roles in the multistep development of human gliomas. Gliomas acquire numerous biological abilities during multistep development that collectively constitute the hallmarks of glioma. Thus, in this review, the roles of lncRNAs associated with glioma hallmarks and the current and future prospects for their development are summarized.

Are all religions essentially the same? Are believers of different religions heading in the same mental direction? To answer these questions from a sociopsychological perspective, we compared social sensitivity and causal attribution styles between Mahayana Buddhists, who practice unbiased love and compassion toward every being, and Christians, who pursue a union with God. Despite a similar cultural background, sex ratio, age distribution, socioeconomic status, and fluid intelligence level, these two religious groups in Taiwan showed opposite tendencies when inferring the mental states of others - as religiosity increased, the theory of mind ability increased in Mahayana Buddhists but decreased in Christians. Furthermore, these two religious groups showed opposite tendencies of attributional style - as religiosity increased, self-serving bias decreased in Buddhists but increased in Christians. These marked religiosity-dependent, sociopsychological effects suggest that different religions may shape or attract their followers who are moving in quite distinct mental directions.

De novo peptide sequencing for large-scale proteomics remains challenging because of the lack of full coverage of ion series in tandem mass spectra. We developed a mirror protease of trypsin, acetylated LysargiNase (Ac-LysargiNase), with superior activity and stability. The mirror spectrum pairs derived from the Ac-LysargiNase and trypsin treated samples can generate full b and y ion series, which provide mutual complementarity of each other, and allow us to develop a novel algorithm, pNovoM, for de novo sequencing. Using pNovoM to sequence peptides of purified proteins, the accuracy of the sequence was close to 100%. More importantly, from a large-scale yeast proteome sample digested with trypsin and Ac-LysargiNase individually, 48% of all tandem mass spectra formed mirror spectrum pairs, 97% of which contained full coverage of ion series, resulting in precision de novo sequencing of full-length peptides by pNovoM. This enabled pNovoM to successfully sequence 21,249 peptides from 3,753 proteins and interpreted 44–152% more spectra than pNovo+ and PEAKS at a 5% FDR at the spectrum level. Moreover, the mirror protease strategy had an obvious advantage in sequencing long peptides. We believe that the combination of mirror protease strategy and pNovoM will be an effective approach for precision de novo sequencing on both single proteins and proteome samples.

JAK2, MPL and CALR gene mutations play an important role in the onset of myeloproliferative disease(MPD). The latest researches show that the difference of ATP binding ability between the wild type JAK2 protein and mutated JAK2 protein can help us understand the pathogenesis of the MPD further, and the clinical manifestation is related to the mutation burden of the JAK2. In some ET and PMF patients, research find the expression of MPL mutation, which can affects the progress of the disease by collaborating with the JAK2 mutation. CALR mutation is a gene related with the MPD that has been found recently. The pathogenesis of the CALR is similar to that of the JAK2, while there are some features in clinical manifestation comparing with the other mutations.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose intravenous mecobalamin (HDIME) for the treatment of bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy(BIPN) in the patients with multiple myeloma (MM).A total of 65 newly diagonsed patients with multiple myeloma receiving bortezomib in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were enrolled in this single-centre randomized clinical trial from July 2012 to May 2016. Out of 65 patients 38 in control group received bortezomib-based chemotherapy and 27 patients in HDIME group received the additional high-dose intravenous mecobalamin.The incidence of BIPN in HDIME group was lower than that in control group(29.63% vs 55.26%, χHDIME has a good efficacy for the prophylaxis BIPN and and without serious side effects.

The photodetachment of H– ions in a nonuniform electric field has been investigated on the basis of closed orbit theory. Firstly, we give a clear physical description of the detached electron's movement in a nonuniform electric field. Then we put forward an analytical formula for calculating the photodetachment cross section of this system. Our study suggests besides the closed orbit previously reported for the photodetachment of H– in a uniform electric field, some additional closed orbits are produced owing to the effect of the nonuniform electric field. Compared with the photodetachment cross section of H– in a uniform electric field, the oscillation in the cross section of our system becomes much more complicated and the cross section exhibits a multiperiodic oscillatory structure. To show the relation between the oscillation in the photodetachment cross section and the detached electron's classical closed orbits clearly, we make a Fourier transformation for the scaled photodetachment cross section of this system. Each peak in the Fourier transformed cross section corresponds to the contribution of one closed orbit. This study provides a new understanding of the photodetachment of negative ions in the presence of a nonuniform electric field.

We combine a simple model potential with closed-orbit theory to study the photodetachment of H � near a dielectric-covered metal surface. We calculate photodetachment cross sections to show that the chem- isorption of a dielectric thin layer on the metal surface can significantly affect the photodetachment of negative ions. Compared to the photodetachment of hydrogen negative ions near clean metallic surfaces, our calculated cross sections show stronger oscillations, the amplitude of the oscillation growing with the layer thickness. For fixed thickness, the amplitude depends on the dielectric constant and on the metallic surface. We expect our study to guide future experimental studies of negative- ion photodetachment from dielectric-covered metallic surfaces.

Clone library of bacterial 16S rRNA gene was constructed to evaluate the bacterial diversity and community structure of uterus samples obtained from three postpartum healthy cows and three metritic cows on days 10 and 40. Sequences were assigned to five major groups (Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes) and to an uncultured group. On day 10, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Fusobacteria were the dominant group both in healthy and metritic cows. On day 40, the major sequences were affiliated with Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Tenericutes, and Proteobacteria. Tenericutes (Ureaplasma diversum) were revealed only from healthy cows, while Proteobacteria (Histophilus somni) were found only from metritic cows. Quantitative PCR revealed that metritic cows on day 10 showed higher value of total bacteria, Bacteroidetes, Peptostreptococcus, and Fusobacterium compared with healthy cows, while only a higher value of Fusobacterium spp. was observed from the metritic cows on day 40 compared with that from healthy cows (P

To investigate the expression pattern of HOXA9 in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients and its relation with clinical characteristics and treatment response.The mRNA and protein expression levels of HOXA9 in bone marrow cells from 33 cases of MDS, 12 cases of AML, 20 cases of ITP and 18 normal controls were detected by real-time guautitative PCR(RT-PCR) and flow cytometry, respectively.The percentage of HOXA9(+)/CD34(+) and HOXA9(+)/CD34(+)CD38(-) in MDS patients were significantly higher than that in control group (P0.05), and the mRNA and protein expression of HOXA9 in MDS patients had a similar trend. The percentages of HOXA9(+)/CD34(+) and HOXA9(+)/CD34(+)CD38(-) before decitabine treatment were (50.64±27.59)% and (55.67±28.57)% respectively, which were both higher than those in control group (P0.05). After decitabine treatment, expression of HOXA9 significantly decreased (P0.05).HOXA9 is overexpressed in MDS patients and associated with several clinical characteristics. The detection of HOXA9 expression may have guide roles for diagnosis and treatment of MDS patients.

To explore the effect of costimulatory signaling molecules (CD80, CD86) expression on the quantity and function of B lymphocytes in peripheral blood (PB) of the patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).A total of 55 ITP patients (30 cases were newly diagnosed and 25 cases were in remission), 25 healthy volunteers as controls were enrolled in this study. The levels of CD19(+)CD5(+), CD19(+)CD80(+), CD19(+)CD86(+), CD41a(+)IgG, CD41a(+)IgM and IgG, IgM in CD19(+)B cells were measured by flow cytometry (FCM). The correlation of CD19(+)B cells with clinical parameters of ITP patients was analyzed.The level of B1 (CD19(+)CD5(+)) of newly diagnosed ITP patients was significantly higher than that of remitted ITP patients and controls (P0.05). The level of CD19(+)CD80(+) of newly diagnosed ITP patients was significantly higher than that of remitted ITP patients and controls (P0.05). And the expression of IgG and IgM in CD19(+)B cells of newly diagnosed ITP patients was significantly higher than that of remitted ITP patients and controls (P0.05). The levels of IgG and IgM in remitted ITP patients after treatment were significantly lower than that before treatment (P0.05). The level differences of IgG and IgM before and after treatment in refractory ITP patients were not statistically significant (P0.05). The expression of CD19(+)CD80(+) in newly diagnosed ITP patients positively correlated with the level of Th1 and Th1/Th2 (r=0.502, r=0.471, P0.05). The expression of CD19(+)CD80(+) of newly diagnosed ITP patients positively correlated with the level of IgG and IgM in CD19(+)B cells (r=0.552, r=0.467, P0.05), and negatively correlated with PB platelet count (r= -0.424, P0.05). The levels of IgG and IgM in CD19(+)B cells of newly diagnosed ITP patients negati- vely correlated with PB platelet count (r=-0.658, r=-0.526, P0.05).The enhacement of costimulatory signaling pathway of CD19(+)B cells in ITP patients results in the abnormal activation of B lymphocytes, thereby mediates the dysfunction of immune system and involves in the pathogenesis of ITP.

This study was aimed to investigate the expression of microRNA-21 and its correlation with PTEN in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) paraffin-embedded tissues, and evaluate its potential relevance with clinical characteristics. The expression levels of miR-21 in 26 primary DLBCL and 10 normal lymph node tissue specimens were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The expression of PTEN was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The results indicated that the expression of miR-21 was significantly higher in tumor tissues [6.586(1.10,38.22)] than that in normal tissues [0.791 (0.35,2.87)] (P0.05). Among 26 patients with DLBCL the expression of PTEN protein was positive in 6 patients (23%), and was negative in 20 patients (77%). In patients with DLBCL, the expression level of miR-21 was negatively correlated with the level of PTEN protein. The high expression of miR-21 was positively correlated with the level of serum LDH. The expression level of miR-21 in patients with Ann Arbor III-IV stage was obviously higher than that of patients with Ann Arbor I-II stage, but did not correlate with the subtype of patients in clinic (P0.05). It is concluded that the expression of miR-21 is high in DLBCL and its overexpression may be related with poor prognosis of DLCBL. These findings suggest that PTEN is possibly one of the targets of miR-21 in DLBCL.

To explore the changes in telomere length and gene expression of complex shelterin (composed of 6 core components: TRF1, TRF2, POT1, TIN2, TPP1 and RAP1) in severe aplastic anemia (SAA).Bone marrow samples were obtained from 20 SAA patients and 10 normal controls. CD3(+)T cells were sorted by immunomagnetic separation. Telomere length was tested by Southern blot and the gene expressions of TRF1, TRF2, POT1, TIN2, TPP1 and RAP1 were detected by reverse transcription-PCR(RT-PCR).Telomeres of CD3(+)T cells were found significantly shorter in SAA untreated ((4.4 ± 1.1) kb, n = 9) and recovering groups((5.8 ± 1.0) kb, n = 11) than control group ((9.2 ± 3.3) kb, P0.05). Telomere length of CD3(+)T cells shortened with TH/S decreasing (r = 0.564, P = 0.029). The mRNA expression of POT1 decreased in untreated SAA patients (0.16(0.02-0.29)) and over-expressed in recovering patients (1.17(0.82-1.86), P0.05). The mRNA expression of RAP1 was significantly higher in untreated patients (4.14 (1.93-6.92)) than that in recovering group (0.87 (0.30-1.73) ) and controls (0.62 (0.45-4.07) , both P0.05).Changes in telomere length and shelterin gene expression occur in CD3(+)T cells of SAA patients and may be correlated with disease severity.

To study the quantity and function of bone marrow (BM) T follicular helper (Tfh) cells of the cytopenia patients with positive bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC)- Coombs test (also known as immuno-related pancytopenia, IRP), and explore the role of Tfh cells in the pathogenesis of IRP.Forty- three untreated IRP patients, 47 recovered IRP patients and 25 healthy donors were enrolled in this study. The percentages of Tfh cells, Tfh-related molecules ICOS, CD40L, IL-21 and Bcl-6 in BM were investigated by flow cytometry and semiquantitive RT-PCR.The ratio of CD4⁺CXCR5⁺/CD4⁺ cells of untreated IRP patients [(28.79 ± 19.70)%] was significantly higher than that of recovered IRP patients [(21.15 ± 12.81)% ] and normal controls ([ 13.42 ± 6.72)% ](P0.05). The ratio of CD4⁺CXCR5⁺ICOS⁺/CD4⁺CXCR5⁺ cells of untreated IRP patients [(5.05 ± 4.71)% ] was significantly higher than that of recovered IRP patients [(2.96 ± 2.89)% ] and normal controls [(2.99 ± 2.23)% ] (P0.05). The ratio of CD4⁺CXCR5⁺CD40L⁺/CD4⁺CXCR5⁺ cells of untreated IRP patients [(5.87 ± 4.14)%] and recovered IRP patients [(6.52±5.47)%] were significantly higher than that of normal controls [(2.93 ± 2.92)%] (P0.05). The ratio of intracytoplasmic CD4⁺CXCR5⁺IL-21⁺/CD4⁺CXCR5⁺ cells of untreated IRP patients [(8.20 ± 7.41)% ] and recovered IRP patients [(6.30 ± 6.03)% ] were significantly higher than that of normal controls [(3.43 ± 3.40)%] (P0.05). The relative expressions of Bcl-6 mRNA in BMMNC were 0.625 ± 0.248, 0.485 ± 0.253, 0.306 ± 0.210 in three groups, respectively. The differences between untreated IRP patients, recovered IRP patients and normal controls were significant (P0.05).There exists increased quantity and hyperfunction of Tfh cells in the IRP patients, they may play important role in the pathogenesis of IRP. Tfh cells and their related effector molecules could be a potential therapeutic target for the disease.

To investigate the mechanisms underlying bone marrow damage by iron overload in pancytopenic patients with positive BMMNC-Coombs test (IRP).Twenty-one iron overloading, 26 non-iron overloading IRP patients and 10 normal controls were enrolled in this study. The expressions of ROS, Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and apoptosis of BMMNC were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM). Antioxidants were added to iron overloading IRP BMMNC, and then the changes of indices above were detected by FCM. The number and apoptosis of T lymphocytes of IRP patients were also detected.ROS and apoptosis of BMMNC, myelocytes, erythrocytes and stem cells of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly higher than that of non-iron overloading IRP ones and normal controls (P0.05). The expressions of Bcl-2 on BMMNC, erythrocytes and stem cells of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly lower than those of non-iron overloading IRP ones (P0.05). The levels of Caspase-3 on myelocytes, erythrocytes and stem cells of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly higher than those of non-iron overloading IRP ones and normal controls (P0.05). After treatment with antioxidants, the expressions of ROS, Caspase-3 and apoptosis of iron overloading IRP BMMNC significantly decreased, but opposite for Bcl-2. The percentages of CD4(+) lymphocytes [ ( 40.86 ± 8.74）%] and CD4(+)/CD8(+) (1.44 ± 0.36) in PB of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly higher than that of non-iron overloading IRP ones [(35.96 ± 7.03)% and 1.14 ± 0.37] and normal controls [(28.00 ± 6.73)% and 0.79 ± 0.21], respectively (P0.05), as opposite for CD8(+) lymphocytes (P0.05). The apoptosis of CD8(+) lymphocytes [(27.35 ± 10.76)%] and the ratio of CD8(+) apoptosis/CD4(+) apoptosis (2.51 ± 0.81) in BM of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly higher than those of non-iron overloading IRP ones [(15.47 ± 8.99)%] and normal controls (1.39 ± 0.47), respectively (P0.05). The apoptosis of erythrocytes and stem cells coated with auto-antibodies in BM of iron overloading IRP patients were significantly higher than those of non-iron overloading IRP and normal controls.Mechanisms underlying bone marrow damage by iron overload might be through the follows: ①The increased ROS induced by excessive iron deposition affected the expressions of Caspase-3 and Bcl-2, which caused more BMMNC apoptosis; ②The abnormal number and ratio of T lymphocytes caused by iron overload aggravated the abnormality of immunity of IRP; ③Iron overload may increase the damage to erythrocytes and stem cells coated with auto-antibodies.目的 探究铁过载对骨髓单个核细胞（BMMNC）Coombs试验阳性全血细胞减少症（又称免疫相关性全血细胞减少症，IRP）患者骨髓造血损伤的机制。方法 采用流式细胞术检测21例铁过载IRP患者、26例非铁过载IRP患者及10名正常对照者骨髓造血细胞活性氧自由基（ROS）、Bcl-2、Caspase-3水平及凋亡情况；并检测铁过载组BMMNC经N-乙酰半胱氨酸处理后上述指标的变化；同时检测IRP患者T细胞数量、比例及凋亡率。结果 铁过载组BMMNC、粒系、红系和干细胞ROS水平及凋亡率均明显高于非铁过载组及正常对照组（P0.05）；铁过载组BMMNC、红系和干细胞Bcl-2水平均明显低于非铁过载组（P0.05）；铁过载组粒系、红系和干细胞Caspase-3水平均明显高于非铁过载组及正常对照组（P0.05）。铁过载组经N-乙酰半胱氨酸处理后，BMMNC ROS、Caspase-3水平及凋亡率均较前明显下降，Bcl-2水平较前明显升高。铁过载组外周血CD4+细胞、CD4+/CD8+细胞比值分别为（40.86±8.74）%及1.44±0.36，均明显高于非铁过载组[（35.96±7.03）%及1.14±0.37]和正常对照组[（28.00±6.73）%及0.79±0.21]（P0.05），铁过载组CD8+细胞百分率明显低于非铁过载组和正常对照组（P0.05）。铁过载组骨髓CD8+细胞凋亡率、CD8+细胞凋亡率/CD4+细胞凋亡率比值分别为（27.35±10.76）%及2.52±0.81，均明显高于非铁过载组[（15.47±8.99）%及1.39±0.47]（P0.05）。在骨髓有核红细胞膜抗体或干细胞膜抗体阳性IRP患者中，铁过载组骨髓红系或干细胞凋亡率均高于非铁过载组（P0.05）。结论 铁过载可能通过以下机制影响IRP患者骨髓造血功能：①过量铁沉积可诱导骨髓造血细胞ROS生成增加，影响Bcl-2、Caspase-3凋亡信号的表达，引起IRP患者骨髓造血细胞凋亡增加；②铁过载可通过影响T细胞数量及比例加重IRP患者免疫异常；③铁过载可增加IRP患者被覆自身抗体的骨髓有核红细胞和干细胞的破坏。

To investigate the function of dendritic cells (DC) of patients with immune related pancytopenia (IRP) and explore the role of DC in IRP.The expression of CD80 and CD86 on myeloid DC (mDC, Lin-HLA-DR(+) CD11c(+) cells) and plasmacytoid DC (pDC, Lin-HLA-DR(+) CD123(+) cells) of 65 IRP (37 untreated and 28 remitted) patients and 17 healthy controls were analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression of CD86 on pDC was (82.47 ± 13.17)% in untreated group and (60.08 ± 14.29)% in remission group, which were significantly higher than that of controls (47.95 ± 18.59)% (P0.05), while the expression in untreated group was higher than that of remission group (P0.05). The expression of CD80 on pDC was (6.31 ± 4.49)% in untreated group, which was significantly higher than that of remitted patients (3.09 ± 2.93)% and controls (2.33 ± 2.25)% (P0.05). The expression of CD86 on mDC was (97.06 ± 4.82)% in untreated group and (91.35 ± 12.20)% in control group, while the expression in untreated group was higher than that of control group (P0.05). The expression of CD80 on mDC was (6.20 ± 5.44)% in untreated group and (3.97 ± 3.24)% in remission group, which were significantly higher than that of controls (1.86 ± 1.73)% (P0.05). The expression of CD86 on pDC was negatively correlated to Th1/Th2 (r = -0.733, P0.05), it was positively correlated to the antibody on membrane of BMMNC (r = 0.283, P0.05) and the quantity of CD5(+)B cells (r = 0.436, P0.05), while it was negatively correlated to the level of hemoglobin, platelets and white blood cells (r = -0.539, P0.05; r = -0.519, P0.05; r = -0.567, P0.05, respectively). The expression of CD80 on pDC was negatively correlated to the level of hemoglobin and platelets (r = -0.431, P0.05; r = -0.464, P0.05).The function of pDC in PB of IRP were strengthened, which was relevant to the immunopathogenesis of IRP.

From March 2009 to November 2011, an investigation was conducted on the spatiotemporal variation of soil moisture and its effects on the needle-fall in Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) forests in acid rain region of Chongqing, Southeast China, with the corresponding soil moisture thresholds determined. No matter the annual precipitation was abundant, normal or less than average, the seasonal variation of soil moisture in the forests could be obviously divided into four periods, i.e., sufficient (before May), descending (from June to July), drought (from August to September), and recovering (from October to November). With increasing soil depth, the soil moisture content increased after an initial decrease, but the difference of the soil moisture content among different soil layers decreased with decreasing annual precipitation. The amount of monthly needle-fall in the forests in growth season was significantly correlated with the water storage in root zone (0-60 cm soil layer), especially in the main root zone (20-50 cm soil layer). Soil field capacity (or capillary porosity) and 82% of field capacity (or 80% of capillary porosity) were the main soil moisture thresholds affecting the litter-fall. It was suggested that in acid rain region, Masson pine forest was easily to suffer from water deficit stress, especially in dry-summer period. The water deficit stress, together with already existed acid rain stress, would further threaten the health of the Masson forest.