Search

It remains challenging to comprehensively understand the packing models of conjugated polymers, in which side chains play extremely critical roles. The side chains are typically flexible and non-conductive and are widely used to improve the polymer solubility in organic solutions. Herein, a buffer chain model is proposed to describe link between conjugated backbone and side chains for understanding the relationship of crystallization competition of conductive conjugated backbones and non-conductive side chains. A longer buffer chain is beneficial for alleviating such crystallization competition and further promoting the spontaneous packing of conjugated backbones, resulting in enhanced charge transport properties. Our results provide a novel concept for designing conjugated polymers towards ordered organization and enhanced electronic properties and highlight the importance of balancing the competitive interactions between different parts of conjugated polymers., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objectives: To explore the changes in gut microbiota and levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in infants with cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA), and to clarify their role in CMPA., Methods: A total of 25 infants diagnosed with CMPA at Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from August 2019 to August 2020 were enrolled as the CMPA group, and 25 healthy infants were selected as the control group. Fecal samples (200 mg) were collected from both groups and subjected to 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze the changes in gut microbial composition and metabolites. Microbial diversity was analyzed in conjunction with metabolites., Results: Compared to the control group, the CMPA group showed altered gut microbial structure and significantly increased α-diversity ( P <0.001). The abundance of Firmicutes , Clostridiales and Bacteroidetes was significantly decreased, while the abundance of Sphingomonadaceae, Clostridiaceae&#95;1 and Mycoplasmataceae was significantly increased in the CMPA group compared to the control group ( P <0.001). Metabolomic analysis revealed reduced levels of acetic acid, butyric acid, and isovaleric acid in the CMPA group compared to the control group, and the levels of the metabolites were positively correlated with the abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium and Roseburia ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: CMPA infants have alterations in gut microbial structure, increased microbial diversity, and decreased levels of SCFA, which may contribute to increased intestinal inflammation.

Objectives: To optimize the oxygen therapy regimens for infants with pulmonary diseases during bronchoscopy., Methods: A prospective randomized, controlled, and single-center clinical trial was conducted on 42 infants who underwent electronic bronchoscopy from July 2019 to July 2021. These infants were divided into a nasal cannula (NC) group and a modified T-piece resuscitator (TPR) group using a random number table. The lowest intraoperative blood oxygen saturation was recorded as the primary outcome, and intraoperative heart rate and respiratory results were recorded as the secondary outcomes., Results: Compared with the NC group, the modified TPR group had a significantly higher level of minimum oxygen saturation during surgery and a significantly lower incidence rate of hypoxemia ( P <0.05). In the modified TPR group, there were 6 infants with mild hypoxemia, 2 with moderate hypoxemia, and 1 with severe hypoxemia, while in the NC group, there were 3 infants with mild hypoxemia, 5 with moderate hypoxemia, and 9 with severe hypoxemia ( P <0.05). The modified TPR group had a significantly lower incidence rate of intraoperative respiratory rhythm abnormalities than the NC group ( P <0.05), but there was no significant difference in the incidence rate of arrhythmias between the two groups ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: Modified TPR can significantly reduce the risk of hypoxemia in infants with pulmonary diseases during electronic bronchoscopy, and TPR significantly decreases the severity of hypoxemia and the incidence of respiratory rhythm abnormalities compared with traditional NC.

To explore the effect of ileostomy on clinical outcomes of children with very early onset inflammatory bowel disease(VEO-IBD). The clinical data of 11 children with VEO-IBD who underwent ileostomy in the Department of Gastroenterology of the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, and the clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. A total of 11 cases were included, including 7 males and 4 females, aged 3.0 (0.9, 8.0) months. The main clinical manifestations were fever and diarrhea, with L2 type the main lesion site (according to the Paris classification of childhood Crohn's disease). There were 7 cases of gene type interleukin (IL)-10RA. After VEO-IBD ileostomy, the disease site, incidence of growth disorders, the weighted children's Crohn's disease activity index, the simplified endoscopic score of Crohn's disease, and severe mucosal inflammation activity rate were all lower than those before ileostomy (all P <0.05). The postoperative inflammatory indicators and factors were lower than those before ileostomy (all P <0.05). The mucosal barrier indicators after ileostomy were increased than before (all P <0.05). The nutritional evaluation indicators after ileostomy were improved ( P <0.05). Ileostomy can reduce inflammatory response of VEO-IBD, improve intestinal mucosal barrier, reduce disease activity, and improve nutritional status.

Polymer semiconductors composed of a carbon-based π conjugated backbone have been studied for several decades as active layers of multifarious organic electronic devices. They combine the advantages of the electrical conductivity of metals and semiconductors and the mechanical behavior of plastics, which are going to become one of the futures of modulable electronic materials. The performance of conjugated materials depends both on their chemical structures and the multilevel microstructures in solid states. Despite the great efforts that have been made, they are still far from producing a clear picture among intrinsic molecular structures, microstructures, and device performances. This review summarizes the development of polymer semiconductors in recent decades from the aspects of material design and the related synthetic strategies, multilevel microstructures, processing technologies, and functional applications. The multilevel microstructures of polymer semiconductors are especially emphasized, which plays a decisive role in determining the device performance. The discussion shows the panorama of polymer semiconductors research and sets up a bridge across chemical structures, microstructures, and finally devices performances. Finally, this review discusses the grand challenges and future opportunities for the research and development of polymer semiconductors.

Charge transport of conjugated polymers in functional devices closely relates to their density of states (DOS) distributions. However, systemic DOS engineering for conjugated polymers is challenging due to the lack of modulated methods and the unclear relationship between DOS and electrical properties. Here, the DOS distribution of conjugated polymers is engineered to enhance their electrical performances. The DOS distributions of polymer films are tailored using three processing solvents with different Hansen solubility parameters. The highest n-type electrical conductivity (39 ± 3 S cm -1 ), the highest power factor (63 ± 11 µW m -1 K -2 ), and the highest Hall mobility (0.14 ± 0.02 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) of the polymer (FBDPPV-OEG) are obtained in three films with three various DOS distributions, respectively. Through theoretical and experimental exploration, it is revealed that the carrier concentration and transport property of conjugated polymers can be efficiently controlled by DOS engineering, paving the way for rationally fabricating organic semiconductors., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The charge transport properties of conjugated polymers are commonly limited by the energetic disorder. Recently, several amorphous conjugated polymers with planar backbone conformations and low energetic disorder have been investigated for applications in field-effect transistors and thermoelectrics. However, there is a lack of strategy to finely tune the interchain π-π contacts of these polymers that severely restricts the energetic disorder of interchain charge transport. Here, we demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve excellent conductivity and thermoelectric performance in polymers based on thiophene-fused benzodifurandione oligo( p -phenylenevinylene) through reducing the crystallization rate of side chains and, in this way, carefully controlling the degree of interchain π-π contacts. N-type (p-type) conductivities of more than 100 S cm -1 (400 S cm -1 ) and power factors of more than 200 μW m -1 K -2 (100 μW m -1 K -2 ) were achieved within a single polymer doped by different dopants. It further demonstrated the state-of-the-art power output of the first flexible single-polymer thermoelectric generator.

The ability to insolubilize doped semiconducting polymer layers can help enable the fabrication of efficient multilayer solution-processed electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a promising approach to simultaneously n-dope and largely insolubilize conjugated polymer films using tetrakis[{4-(1,3-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1 H -benzo[ d ]imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy}methyl]methane (tetrakis-O-DMBI-H), which consists of four 2,3-dihydro-1 H -benzoimidazole (DMBI-H) n-dopant moieties covalently linked to one another. Doping a thiophene-fused benzodifurandione-based oligo( p -phenylenevinylene)- co -thiophene polymer (TBDOPV-T) with tetrakis-O-DMBI-H results in a highly n-doped film with bulk conductivity of 15 S cm -1 . Optical absorption spectra provide evidence for film retention of ∼93% after immersion in o -dichlorobenzene for 5 min. The optical absorption signature of the charge carriers in the n-doped polymer decreases only slightly more than that of the neutral polymer under these conditions, indicating that the exposure to solvent also results in negligible dedoping of the film. Moreover, thermal treatment studies on a tetrakis-O-DMBI-H-doped TBDOPV-T film in contact with another undoped polymer film indicate immobilization of the molecular dopant in TBDOPV-T. This is attributed to the multiple electrostatic interactions between each dopant tetracation and up to four nearby anionic doped polymer segments.

Here, we describe the unexpected discovery of a Cu-catalyzed condensation polymerization reaction of propargylic electrophiles (CPPE) that transforms simple C3 building blocks into polydiynes of C6 repeating units. This reaction was achieved by a simple system composed of a copper acetylide initiator and an electron-rich phosphine ligand. Alkyne polymers (up to 33.8 kg/mol) were produced in good yields and exclusive regioselectivity with high functional group compatibility. Hydrogenation of the product afforded a new polyolefin-type backbone, while base-mediated isomerization led to a new type of dienyne-based electron-deficient conjugated polymer. Mechanistic studies revealed a new α-α selective Cu-catalyzed dimerization pathway of the C3 unit, followed by in situ organocopper-mediated chain-growth propagation. These insights not only provide an important understanding of the Cu-catalyzed CPPE of C3, C4, and C6 monomers in general but also lead to a significantly improved synthesis of polydiynes from simpler starting materials with handles for the incorporation of an α-end functional group.

Objectives: To study the clinical efficacy, advantages, and disadvantages of adaptive biofeedback training combined with oral administration of compound polyethylene glycol 4000-electrolyte powder in the treatment of children with outlet obstruction constipation (OOC)., Methods: A total of 168 children with OOC were enrolled in this prospective study. All the subjects were randomly divided into a test group and a control group based on the order of visiting time, 84 in each group. The test group was treated with adaptive biofeedback training combined with oral administration of compound polyethylene glycol 4000-electrolyte powder, and the control group was treated with oral administration of compound polyethylene glycol 4000-electrolyte powder alone. Eleven children in the test group and two children in the control group withdrew from the study since they could not finish the whole treatment course. Finally, 73 children in the test group and 82 children in the control group were included in this analysis. As clinical outcomes, the total score of clinical symptoms and overall response rate were compared between the two groups at weeks 4 and 8 of treatment., Results: There was no significant difference in the total score of clinical symptoms between the two groups at beginning of treatment and at week 4 ( P >0.05), while the test group had a significantly lower total score of clinical symptoms than the control group at week 8 ( P <0.05). At week 4, there was no significant difference in overall response rate between the two groups ( P >0.05), while the test group had a significantly higher overall response rate than the control group at week 8 ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: Adaptive biofeedback training combined with oral administration of compound polyethylene glycol 4000-electrolyte powder is significantly associated with improvement of clinical outcomes in the treatment of children with OOC.

Here we report a copper-catalyzed formal dehydration polymerization of propargylic alcohols. Copper catalysis allows for efficient in situ generation of [ n ]cumulenes ( n = 3, 5) by a soft deprotonation/β-elimination pathway and subsequent polymerization via organocopper species. Alkyne polymers ( M n up to 36.2 kg/mol) were produced with high efficiency (up to 95% yield) and excellent functional group tolerance. One-pot synthesis of semiconducting head-to-head poly(phenylacetylene) was demonstrated through a polymerization-isomerization sequence.

The role of solution aggregates on the charge transport process of conjugated polymers in electronic devices has gained increasing attention; however, the correlation of the charge carrier mobilities between the solution aggregates and the solid-state films remains elusive. Herein, three polymers, FBDOPV-2T, FBDOPV-2F2T, and FBDOPV-4F2T, are designed and synthesized with distinct aggregation behavior in solution. By combining contact-free ultrafast terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and field-effect transistor measurements, we track the charge carrier mobility of the aggregates of these polymers from the solution to the thin-film state. Remarkably, the mobility of these three polymers is found to follow nearly the same trend (FBDOPV-2T>FBDOPV-2F2T≫FBDOPV-4F2T) in both solutions and thin-film states. The quantitative mobility correlation indicates that the charge transport properties of solution aggregates play a critical role in determining the thin-film charge transport properties and final device performance. Our results highlight the importance of investigating and controlling solution aggregation structures towards efficient organic electronic devices., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The objective of the study was to define and then evaluate an early decision indicator (EDI) trigger that operated within the first 5 weeks of a response that would indicate a large and/or long outbreak of FMD was developing, to be able to inform control options within an adaptive management framework. To define the EDI trigger, a previous dataset of 10,000 simulated FMD outbreaks in New Zealand, controlled by the standard stamping-out approach, was re-analysed at various time points between Days 11 and 35 of each response to find threshold values of cumulative detected infected premises (IPs) that indicated upper quartile sized outbreaks and estimated dissemination rate (EDR) values that indicated sustained spread. Both sets of thresholds were then parameterized within the InterSpread Plus modelling framework, such that if either the cumulative IPs or the EDR exceeded the defined thresholds, the EDI trigger would fire. A new series of simulations were then generated. The EDI trigger was like two diagnostic tests interpreted in parallel, with the diagnostic outcome positive if either test was positive at any time point between Days 11 and 35 inclusive. The diagnostic result was then compared to the final size of each outbreak, to see if the outbreak was an upper quartile outbreak in terms of cumulative IPs and/or final duration. The performance of the EDI trigger was then evaluated across the population of outbreaks, and the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. The Se, Sp, PPV and NPV for predicting large outbreaks were 0.997, 0.513, 0.404 and 0.998, respectively. The study showed that the EDI trigger was very sensitive to detecting large outbreaks, although not all outbreaks predicted to be large were so, whereas outbreaks predicted to be small invariably were small. Therefore, it shows promise as a mechanism that could support an adaptive management approach to FMD control., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics and risk factors of post polypectomy electrocoagulation syndrome (PPECS) in children. Methods: Clinical data of 23 children with PPECS in Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Additionally, 115 children without PPECS who had polypectomy performed by the same endoscopist at the same time were collected into the control group. The morbidity, clinical characteristics and therapeutic protocol were analyzed, and the risk factors of PPECS were analyzed by Logistic regression. Results: Among the total 2 083 children who had endoscopic polypectomy with electrocautery, 23 children (1.1%) developed PPECS. All had abdominal pain and fever. The average age of the children with PPECS was (3.5±1.5) years, including 19 cases (82.6%) younger than 3 years. There were 18 cases with polyps larger than 25 mm (78.3%). The endoscopic operation time ((56±15) vs. (24±8) min, t =18.086, P< 0.01), the rate of piecemeal resection (78.3% (18/23) vs. 17.4% (20/115), χ 2 =17.358, P< 0.01), the lesion size ((38.4±3.7) vs . (15.8±4.3) mm, t =15.127, P <0.01), the proportion of polyps located in the right hemicolon (47.8% (11/23) vs. 23.5% (27/115), χ 2 =7.035, P< 0.05), and the proportion of broad-based polyps (78.3% (18/23) vs. 25.2% (29/115), χ 2 = 29.259, P< 0.01) in the PPECS group were all significantly higher than those in the non-PPECS group. Similarly, the leukocyte counts ((17.4±4.5)×10 9 /L vs. (8.5±1.2)×10 9 /L, t =6.085, P< 0.05) and C-reactive protein ((25.8±3.6) vs. (1.1±0.6) mg/L, t =5.531, P< 0.05) in the PPECS group were higher than those in the non-PPECS group. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that lesion size ≥25 mm ( OR =7.554, 95% CI 3.135-20.158, P= 0.001), broad-based polyps ( OR =5.676, 95% CI 1.153-9.596, P= 0.002) and lesion located in the right hemicolon ( OR =5.845, 95% CI 1.737-9.297, P= 0.008) were independent risk factors of PPECS. Conclusions: The clinical features of PPECS in children are fever, abdominal pain and leukocytosis after the procedure. The lesion size ≥ 25 mm, broad-based polyps and lesion located in the right hemicolon are the independent risk factors of pediatric PPECS.

In this study, we developed a SYBR Green I real-time PCR method for the rapid and sensitive detection of novel porcine parvovirus 7 (PPV7). Specific primers were designed based on the highly conserved region within the Capsid gene of PPV7. The established method was 1,000 times more sensitive than the conventional PCR method and had a detection limit of 35.6 copies. This method was specific and had no cross-reactions with PCV2, PCV3, PRV, PEDV, PPV1, and PPV6. Experiments testing the intra and interassay precision demonstrated a high reproducibility. Testing the newly established method with 200 clinical samples revealed a detection rate up to 17.5% higher than that of the conventional PCR assay. The established method could provide technical support for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation of PPV7., (Copyright© by the Polish Academy of Sciences.)

Solution-processable highly conductive polymers are of great interest in emerging electronic applications. For p-doped polymers, conductivities as high a nearly 10 5 S cm -1 have been reported. In the case of n-doped polymers, they often fall well short of the high values noted above, which might be achievable, if much higher charge-carrier mobilities determined could be realized in combination with high charge-carrier densities. This is in part due to inefficient doping and dopant ions disturbing the ordering of polymers, limiting efficient charge transport and ultimately the achievable conductivities. Here, n-doped polymers that achieve a high conductivity of more than 90 S cm -1 by a simple solution-based co-deposition method are reported. Two conjugated polymers with rigid planar backbones, but with disordered crystalline structures, exhibit surprising structural tolerance to, and excellent miscibility with, commonly used n-dopants. These properties allow both high concentrations and high mobility of the charge carriers to be realized simultaneously in n-doped polymers, resulting in excellent electrical conductivity and thermoelectric performance., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Pinus bungeana is one of indigenous trees in China and widely distributed in poor and arid regions for vegetation and industrial woody use. However, since a high-incidence disease threatens the growth of mature P. bungeana tree in the garden and in the plantation every year, the overwintering shoots were infected and died in the next spring with a ratio over 70%, but the cause was beyond understood. A total of 120 fungal isolates were separated from symptomatic twigs by histological isolation methods, including Pestalotiopsis spp., Fusarium spp., Trichothecium spp., Penicillium and some unknown fungal species. Pestalotiopsis spp. was dominant, accounting for 85%. Morphological observation under microcopy showed all Pestalotiopsis species are identical, and six isolations among them were randomly selected for pathogenicity tests. Fulfilling Koch's postulates showed that all six isolates of Pestalotiopsis spp. were pathogens of twig blight, causing the same symptoms as observed in the field, while other non-Pestalotiopsis isolates were avirulent to P. bungeana twigs. Multi-gene (ITS, tub2 and TEF1) analysis and morphological observation revealed that all the six Pestalotiopsis isolates belonged to P. trachicarpicola. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting P. trachicarpicola as the pathogens responsible for P. bungeana twig blight in China.

In the past few decades, conjugated polymers have aroused extensive interest in organic electronic applications. The electrical performance of conjugated polymers has a close relationship with their backbone conformation. The conformation of the polymer backbone strongly affects the πelectron delocalization along polymer chains, the energy band gap, interchain interactions, and further affects charge transport properties. To realize a rigid coplanar backbone that usually possesses efficient intrachain charge transport properties and enhanced π-π stackings, such conformation control becomes a useful strategy to achieve high-performance (semi)conducting polymers. This minireview summarizes the most important polymer structures through conformation control at the molecular level, and then divides these rigid coplanar conjugated polymers into three categories: 1) noncovalent interactions locked conjugated polymers; 2) double-bond linked conjugated polymers; 3) ladder conjugated polymers. The effect of the conformation control on physical nature, optoelectronic properties, and their device performance is also discussed, as well as the challenges of chemical synthesis and structural characterization., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The low n-doping efficiency of conjugated polymers with the molecular dopants limits their availability in electrical conductivity, thermoelectrics, and other electric applications. Recently, considerable efforts have focused on improving the ionization of dopants by modifying the structures of host polymers or n-dopants; however, the effect of ionized dopants on the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric performance of the polymers is still a puzzle. Herein, we try to reveal the role of molecular dopant cations on carrier transport through the systematic comparison of two n-dopants, TAM and N -DMBI-H. These two n-dopants exhibit various doping features with the polymer due to their different chemical structure characteristics. For instance, while doping, TAM negligibly perturbs the polymer backbone conformation and microstructural ordering; then after ionization, TAM cations possess weak π-backbone affinity but strong intrinsic affinity with side chains, which enables the doped system to screen the Coulomb potential spatially. Such doping features lead to high carrierization capabilities for TAM-doped polymers and further result in an excellent conductivity of up to 22 ± 2.5 S cm -1 and a power factor of over 80 μW m -1 K -2 , which are significantly higher than the state of the art values of the common n-dopant N -DMBI-H. More importantly, this strategy has also proven to be widely applicable in other doped polymers. Our investigations indicate the vital role of dopant counterions in high electrical and thermoelectric performance polymers and also suggest that, without sacrificing Seebeck coefficients, high conductivities can be realized with precise regulation of the interaction between the cations and the host.

Objective: This study evaluated different influences of 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and demographic factors leading to individual differences in the antihypertensive efficacy of felodipine in healthy Chinese subjects., Materials and Methods: 24 subjects were sequenced for candidate SNPs. Plasma samples were obtained as clinical trial protocol, and were determined by a HPLC-MS/MS method. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by WinNonlin 6.0. Statistical analysis was mainly performed by SPSS 22.0. A multiple linear regression model provided different weight coefficients of different demographic and genetic factors., Results: The trend of C max is almost consistent with AUC ss increase, but t max of individuals is different; the antihypertensive effect of felodipine is individually different. A significant association was observed between systolic blood pressure decrease (ΔSBP) and SNPs of CACNA1C , CACNA1D , GNB3 respectively, while CACNA1C and CACNA1 were associated with diastolic blood pressure decrease (ΔDBP). CYP3A5 rs766746 and CYP3A4 rs2242480 were linked with C max and AUC ss , and ABCB1 rs1045642 was associated with T 1/2 . Significant relationships were shown between AUC ss and ΔSBP (p = 0.022) as well as C max and ΔSBP (p = 0.015)., Conclusion: The efficacy of felodipine is individually different, influenced especially by CACNA1C rs1051375 and ABCB1 rs1045642. ΔDBP is associated with ΔSBP in multiple-dosing of felodipine in healthy Chinese subjects.

Objective: To study the complications of upper gastrointestinal foreign body in children and related risk factors., Methods: Clinical data were collected from 772 children with upper gastrointestinal foreign bodies who were treated at the outpatient service or were hospitalized from January 2014 to December 2018. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for the development of complications in children with upper gastrointestinal foreign bodies., Resilts: The upper gastrointestinal foreign bodies were taken out by electronic endoscopy for the 772 children. There were 414 boys and 358 girls, with a median age of 2.8 years. Children under 3 years old accounted for 59.5%. The foreign bodies were mainly observed in the esophagus (57.5%) and the stomach (28.9%), with a retention time of ≤24 hours in 465 children (60.2%) and >24 hours in 307 children (39.8%). The types of upper gastrointestinal foreign bodies mainly included round metal foreign bodies (37.2%), long foreign bodies (24.7%), sharp foreign bodies (16.2%), batteries (14.4%), corrosive substances (4.8%), and magnets (2.7%). As for the severity of complications, 47.7% (368 children) had mild complications, 12.7% (98 children) had serious complications, and 39.6% (306 children) had no complications. The logistic regression analysis showed that an age of <3 years, underlying diseases, location of foreign body, type of foreign body, and a retention time of >24 hours were risk factors for the development of complications in these children (OR=2.141, 7.373, 6.658, 8.892, and 6.376 respectively, P<0.05)., Conclusions: An understanding of the above high-risk factors for the complications of upper gastrointestinal foreign bodies is helpful to choose appropriate intervention methods and thus reduce the incidence of serious complications.

In recent years, cellular immunotherapy has served an important role in the combined treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. The possibility of specific cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumours has been further explored following the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)‑T cell therapy in the treatment of haematological tumours. The present study aimed to evaluate the specificity and efficiency of c‑MET‑targeted CAR‑NK cell immunotherapy on human liver cancer in vitro. A CAR structure that targeted and recognised a c‑MET antigen was constructed. c‑MET‑CAR was transferred into primary NK cells using lentiviral infection. c‑MET‑positive HepG2 cells were used as an in vitro study model. The cytotoxicity assay results revealed that c‑MET‑CAR‑NK cells exhibited more specific cytotoxicity for HepG2 cells with high c‑MET expression compared with the lung cancer cell line H1299, which has low levels of c‑MET expression. The results of the present study demonstrated that c‑MET may be a specific and effective target for human liver cancer cell CAR‑NK immunotherapy. Based on these results, CAR‑NK cell‑based immunotherapy may provide a potential biotherapeutic approach for liver cancer treatment in the future.

Low n-doping efficiency and inferior stability restrict the thermoelectric performance of n-type conjugated polymers, making their performance lag far behind of their p-type counterparts. Reported here are two rigid coplanar poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives, LPPV-1 and LPPV-2, which show nearly torsion-free backbones. The fused electron-deficient rigid structures endow the derivatives with less conformational disorder and low-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels, down to -4.49 eV. After doping, two polymers exhibited high n-doping efficiency and significantly improved air stability. LPPV-1 exhibited a high conductivity of up to 1.1 S cm -1 and a power factor as high as 1.96 μW m -1  K -2 . Importantly, the power factor of the doped LPPV-1 thick film degraded only 2 % after 7 day exposure to air. This work demonstrates a new strategy for designing conjugated polymers, with planar backbones and low LUMO levels, towards high-performance and potentially air-stable n-type polymer thermoelectrics., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Wetland plays an important role in stabilizing climate change and makes a significant contribution to global soil carbon storage due to its huge carbon storage capacity. Based on a summary of estimation methods of carbon storage, this study analyzed carbon storage and its influencing factors of typical wetlands in China, inclusing climate, vegetation, soil property and land use. The results showed that wetlands in Northeast China and the Tibetan Plateau had the highest carbon sto-rage among the eight wetland areas. Peat wetland had the highest carbon storage in inland area due to its higher stability, lower decomposition rate, and the impact of phenol oxidase. The bidirectional interference of single factor and combined effects of multiple factors made the influencing factors and mechanisms more complicated. Our results would contribute to the prediction and evaluation of wetland carbon storage and the value of ecosystem services through laying emphasis on the combined effects of multiple factors and applying the data assimilation technology.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) performs excellently in removing pollutants from agricultural runoff, and thus have been widely used as an effective measure to control agricultural runoff pollution. Based on reviews on domestic and overseas literature, we introduced the current situation of water bodies polluted by pesticides. The removal mechanisms of pesticides by CWs were elucidated according to physical, chemical and biological processes, and the main processes were discussed in detail. The removal efficiency of pesticides in CWs vary greatly with pesticide types. Based on their uses, the average removal efficiency of pesticides are in the order of insecticides > fungicides > herbicides. According to their chemical constitution, they follow the order of pyrethroid > organopho-sphorus > triazole > amide > triazine > ureas. Considering comprehensively, subsurface flow CWs perform better than surface flow CWs in removing pesticides. Furthermore, the effects of the physicochemical properties of pesticides, the types and operating parameters of CWs, pesticides concentration in influent, as well as vegetation on the removal of pesticides in CWs were also analyzed. Finally, problems in the current research and the future application of CWs in treating pesticides were discussed.

Vaccination is increasingly being recognised as a potential tool to supplement 'stamping out' for controlling foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in non-endemic countries. Infectious disease simulation models provide the opportunity to determine how vaccination might be used in the face of an FMD outbreak. Previously, consistent relative benefits of specific vaccination strategies across different FMD simulation modelling platforms have been demonstrated, using a UK FMD outbreak scenario. We extended this work to assess the relative effectiveness of selected vaccination strategies in five countries: Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK and Canada. A comparable, but not identical, FMD outbreak scenario was developed for each country with initial seeding of Pan Asia type O FMD virus into an area with a relatively high density of livestock farms. A series of vaccination strategies (in addition to stamping out (SO)) were selected to evaluate key areas of interest from a disease response perspective, including timing of vaccination, species considerations (e.g. vaccination of only those farms with cattle), risk area vaccination and resources available for vaccination. The study found that vaccination used with SO was effective in reducing epidemic size and duration in a severe outbreak situation. Early vaccination and unconstrained resources for vaccination consistently outperformed other strategies. Vaccination of only those farms with cattle produced comparable results, with some countries demonstrating that this could be as effective as all species vaccination. Restriction of vaccination to higher risk areas was less effective than other strategies. This study demonstrates consistency in the relative effectiveness of selected vaccination strategies under different outbreak start up conditions conditional on the assumption that each of the simulation models provide a realistic estimation of FMD virus spread. Preferred outbreak management approaches must however balance the principles identified in this study, working to clearly defined outbreak management objectives, while having a good understanding of logistic requirements and the socio-economic implications of different control measures.

Objective: To explore the epidemiological characteristics and to help accomplish accurate diagnosis and treatment strategies by analyzing the composition and clinical features of various diseases with acute constant vertigo. Method: We retrospectively analyzed medical records (including name, sex, age, diabetes, hypertension, history of vertigo, family history, etc.),otoneurological examination, vestibular function tests and radiological examination of patients with acute vestibular syndrome.We classified various diseases according to diagnostic criteria, and then analyze the clinical data. Result: A total of 77 patients with acute vestibular syndrome were enrolled in this study. It included 34 patients with vestibular neuritis, 18 patients with sudden sensorineural deafness with vertigo, 1 with vestibular schwannoma, 6 with acute vestibular syndrome with migraine, 3 with Hunter syndrome with vertigo, 1 with vertigo after trauma,1 with acute bilateral vestibulopathy, 9 with acute vertigo syndrome with other etiology, 3 with acute labyrinthitis, and 1 with posterior circulation infarction. There were no significant differences in the age and course of disease between different etiologies ( P >0.05). There were statistical differences between vestibular neuritis and sudden sensorineural deafness with vertigo among head impulse test and hearing loss ( P <0.05). There was significant difference in hearing between sudden sensorineural deafness with vertigo and acute vertigo syndrome ( P <0.05). Conclusion: Most of the acute vestibular syndrome patients attending the otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery clinic were peripheral acute vestibular syndrome, vestibular neuritis, and sudden sensorineural deafness with vertigo.Patients with acute vestibular syndrome with migraine are not rare, and central vertigo can also be seen., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Three new Talaromyces species isolated from soil are reported here, namely T. dimorphus (ex-type strain AS3.15692 T ), T. lentulus (ex-type strain AS3.15689 T ) and T. mae (ex-type strain AS3.15690 T ). T. dimorphus is characterized by biverticillate and monoverticillate penicilli, ampulliform phialides, slimy texture with sparse mycelial funicles and absent conidiogenesis on MEA. T. lentulus is featured by vivid yellow mycelium on Cz and MEA, absent conidiogenesis on CYA, and globose smooth-walled conidia. T. mae presents sparse conidia on CYA and YES, funiculous and floccose texture on MEA, and ovoid smooth-walled conidia. Both morphological and molecular characters show that T. dimorphus is unique and has no close relatives. Although T. lentulus and T. mae resembles T. adpressus and T. pinophilus very much, phylogenetic analyses of CaM, BenA, ITS and Rpb2 sequences all support their status as novel species.

Although nitric oxide (NO) is known to regulate root growth, the factor(s) modulating NO during this process have not yet been elucidated. Here, we identified Arabidopsis WD40-REPEAT 5a (WDR5a) as a novel factor that functions in root growth by modulating NO accumulation. The wdr5a-1 mutant accumulated less NO and produced longer roots than the wild type, whereas the WDR5a overexpression lines had the opposite phenotype. The role of NO was further supported by our observation that the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO) rescued the root meristem growth phenotypes of the wdr5a-1 and WDR5a overexpression lines, respectively. The regulation of root growth by WDR5a was found to involve auxin because the auxin levels were similar in SNP-treated wdr5a-1 and wild-type roots, but higher in untreated wdr5a-1 roots than in wild-type roots. In addition, the wdr5a-1 mutant had higher production and activity levels of the auxin biosynthetic enzyme TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS1 (TAA1), in contrast to its reduced expression and activity in the WDR5a overexpression lines, and the increased root meristem growth in wdr5a-1 was suppressed by treatment with l-kynurenine, which inhibits TAA1, as well as by mutating TAA1. WDR5a therefore functions in root meristem growth by maintaining NO homeostasis, and thus TAA1-mediated auxin biosynthesis., (© 2018 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Increased fatty acid β-oxidation is essential for early postgerminative growth in seedlings, but high levels of H 2 O 2 produced by β-oxidation can induce oxidative stress. Whether and how catalase (CAT) functions in fine-tuning H 2 O 2 homeostasis during seedling growth remain unclear. Here, we report that CAT2 functions in early seedling growth. Compared to the wild type, the cat2-1 mutant, with elevated H 2 O 2 levels, exhibited reduced root elongation on sucrose (Suc)-free medium, mimicking soils without exogenous sugar supply. Treatment with the H 2 O 2 scavenger potassium iodide rescued the mutant phenotype of cat2-1. In contrast to the wild type, the cat2-1 mutant was insensitive to the CAT inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole in terms of root elongation when grown on Suc-free medium, suggesting that CAT2 modulates early seedling growth by altering H 2 O 2 accumulation. Furthermore, like cat2-1, the acyl-CoA oxidase (ACX) double mutant acx2-1 acx3-6 showed repressed root elongation, suggesting that CAT2 functions in early seedling growth by regulating ACX activity, as this activity was inhibited in cat2-1. Indeed, decreased ACX activity and short root of cat2-1 seedlings grown on Suc-free medium were rescued by overexpressing ACX3. Together, these findings suggest that CAT2 functions in early seedling growth by scavenging H 2 O 2 and stimulating ACX2/3 activity., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Der p 2, a major allergen derived from the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, is one of the most clinically relevant allergens worldwide. Recombinant Der p 2 (rDer p 2) is useful in clinical diagnosis and disease-specific immunotherapy. However, previous studies showed that Der p 2 can only be expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells as inclusion bodies, thus protein refolding is required to obtain functional products. Here we report a new method to produce biologically active Der p 2 protein in E. coli. N-terminal hexahistidine- and trigger factor (TF)-tagged Der p 2 was expressed in soluble form in E. coli and purified using a combination of chromatography processes. This procedure produced milligram-level high purity Der p 2 per liter of bacterial culture. Moreover, far-UV region circular dichroism (CD) analysis and serum specific IgE reactivity test demonstrated that the secondary structure and IgE reactivity properties of rDer p 2 produced in our study were almost identical to those of natural Der p 2 (nDer p 2). In conclusion, the method developed in this work provides a useful tool for the production of immunologically active recombinant Der p 2 for clinical applications., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Characterization of defense-related genes is critical for breeding disease-resistant poplar varieties and for better management and control of leaf rust disease. In the present study, full-length cDNAs of five Populus szechuanica defense-related (PsDR) genes, pathogen-related protein 1 (PsPR1), β-1,3-glucanase (PsGns), thaumatin-like protein 1 (PsTLP1), thaumatin-like protein 2 (PsTLP2), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PsPAL), were cloned from the leaves of P. szechuanica infected with Melampsora larici-populina (MLP). PsPR1 (728 bp), PsGns (1189 bp), PsTLP1 (929 bp), PsTLP2 (885 bp), and PsPAL (2586 bp) were predicted to encode 161, 347, 245, 225, and 711 amino acid residue-containing proteins with isoelectric points of 8.53, 4.96, 4.51, 7.32, and 5.87, respectively. Moreover, the deduced PsDR proteins displayed more than 90% similarity to proteins from other Populus species. In response to the avirulent isolate, Sb052, and the virulent isolate, Th053, of MLP, the expression of PsDR genes was rapidly up-regulated in the leaves of P. szechuanica, peaked at 2 or 7 days post-inoculation (dpi), with levels in the incompatible interaction being higher than those in the compatible interaction. Meanwhile, the expression of PsDR genes (except for PsGns) was also differentially up-regulated at 3, 7, or 18 dpi in the petioles of the infected leaves, leaves next to the inoculated leaves, and in the top buds of the infected plants, respectively, compared to that at 0 dpi. These results suggest that these PsDR genes could play distinctive roles in the defense response of poplar against rust infection.

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: Albiflorin, a monoterpene glycoside, is a main component of Radix paeoniae Alba, which could be a Chinese herbal medicine used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. However, the exact role of albiflorin in depression is poorly understood., Aim of the Study: The current study aimed to evaluate the antidepressant effect of albiflorin in mice and rats, and the possible mechanism was also determined., Materials and Methods: The antidepressant-like effects of albiflorin was determined by using animal models of depression including forced swim and tail suspension tests in mice and chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) in rats. The acting mechanism was explored by determining the effect of albiflorin on the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus by western blot and the levels of monoamine in the hippocampus by HPLC., Results: Our results showed that 7 days treatment with albiflorin significantly decreased immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST) and the tail suspension test (TST) at doses of 3.5, 7.0 and 14.0mg/kg without alter the locomotor activity in mice. Moreover, western blot analysis showed that albiflorin could increase the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus. We further exposed rats to a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) protocol for a period of 35d to induce depressive-like behaviors. We found that chronic treatment with albiflorin, at doses of 7.0 and 14.0mg (i.g., once daily for 35d), restored the sucrose preference in CUS rats. In the open-field test, albiflorin significantly increased the number of crossings and rearings in the CUS rats at three doses. Moreover, chronic treatment with albiflorin up-regulated the hippocampal BDNF expression levels and the hippocampal 5-HT, 5-HIAA, and NA levels., Conclusion: Albiflorin produced significant antidepressant-like effects, which were closely related to the hippocampal 5-HT/NE increase and BDNF expression. Our data indicated that albiflorin could be a potential anti-depressant drug., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma has very high incidence and high mortality worldwide. MiRNA is related to the tumorigenesis and metastasis of a variety of tumors. In the present study, we verify that the expression of miR-494 in NPC tissues and NPC-derived cells was down-regulated, respectively. The proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of NPC-derived cells were suppressed, while the cell apoptosis was promoted, when miR-494 was over-expressed in these cells. GALNT7 and CDK16 were confirmed to be the direct targets of miR-494. These results suggested that miR-494 play an inhibitory role in the tumorigenesis of NPC.

Simulation models can offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of different control strategies and act as important decision support tools when comparing and evaluating outbreak scenarios and control strategies. An international modelling study was performed to compare a range of vaccination strategies in the control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Modelling groups from five countries (Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, The Netherlands) participated in the study. Vaccination is increasingly being recognized as a potentially important tool in the control of FMD, although there is considerable uncertainty as to how and when it should be used. We sought to compare model outputs and assess the effectiveness of different vaccination strategies in the control of FMD. Using a standardized outbreak scenario based on data from an FMD exercise in the UK in 2010, the study showed general agreement between respective models in terms of the effectiveness of vaccination. Under the scenario assumptions, all models demonstrated that vaccination with 'stamping-out' of infected premises led to a significant reduction in predicted epidemic size and duration compared to the 'stamping-out' strategy alone. For all models there were advantages in vaccinating cattle-only rather than all species, using 3-km vaccination rings immediately around infected premises, and starting vaccination earlier in the control programme. This study has shown that certain vaccination strategies are robust even to substantial differences in model configurations. This result should increase end-user confidence in conclusions drawn from model outputs. These results can be used to support and develop effective policies for FMD control.

Poplars are extensively cultivated worldwide, and their susceptibility to the foliar rust fungus leads to considerable damages in plantations. To better understand the molecular basis of poplar responses to the foliar rust, suppression subtractive hybridization was used to identify the potential important or novel genes involved in the Populus szechuanica infection by Melampsora larici-populina. A total of 515 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) with high quality were obtained and clustered into 66 contigs and 75 singletons to give a set of 141 uniESTs. The nucleotide Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLASTn) program was used to search for homologous sequences of the uniESTs in the GenBank database. Among them, 92.9% showed homology to the poplar genome, and 2% showed similarity to the rust fungus genome. In addition, homology to known genes was analyzed by the BLASTx algorithm, and approximately 50% of the uniESTs were significantly homologous to genes encoding proteins with known functions. Based on a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR approach, five uniESTs were analyzed, and the results showed that the expression level of the thaumatin-like gene was highest at 72 h post-inoculation, and the pathogenesis-related protein 1 gene was highest at 48 h post-inoculation. The information generated in this study provides new clues to aid in the understanding of incompatibility between poplar and the foliar rust.

This paper was aimed to study conserved motifs of voltage sensing proteins (VSPs) and establish a voltage sensing model. All VSPs were collected from the Uniprot database using a comprehensive keyword search followed by manual curation, and the results indicated that there are only two types of known VSPs, voltage gated ion channels and voltage dependent phosphatases. All the VSPs have a common domain of four helical transmembrane segments (TMS, S1-S4), which constitute the voltage sensing module of the VSPs. The S1 segment was shown to be responsible for membrane targeting and insertion of these proteins, while S2-S4 segments, which can sense membrane potential, for protein properties. Conserved motifs/residues and their functional significance of each TMS were identified using profile-to-profile sequence alignments. Conserved motifs in these four segments are strikingly similar for all VSPs, especially, the conserved motif [RK]-X(2)-R-X(2)-R-X(2)-[RK] was presented in all the S4 segments, with positively charged arginine (R) alternating with two hydrophobic or uncharged residues. Movement of these arginines across the membrane electric field is the core mechanism by which the VSPs detect changes in membrane potential. The negatively charged aspartate (D) in the S3 segment is universally conserved in all the VSPs, suggesting that the aspartate residue may be involved in voltage sensing properties of VSPs as well as the electrostatic interactions with the positively charged residues in the S4 segment, which may enhance the thermodynamic stability of the S4 segments in plasma membrane.

Objective: To investigate the effect of pH value and fluoride ions on the corrosion resistance of pure Ti and Ni-Cr-Ti alloy in the artificial saliva., Methods: Electrochemical technique was used to measure the electric potential of corrosion (Ecorr), current density of corrosion (Icorr) and polarization resistance (Rp) of pure titanium and Ti-Ni-Cr alloy in the artificial saliva with different pH value and fluoride concentrations. After electrochemical analysis, microstructure and phase diffraction were examined by FSEM., Results: With the lower pH value, the Ecorr and Icorr of pure titanium and Ti-Ni-Cr alloy increased, the Rp decreased, there was a significant difference (P<0.05). The Ecorr and Icorr increased markedly, the Rp significantly reduced in the artificial saliva containing 0.2% NaF (P<0.01). FSEM showed that pure titanium and Ti-Ni-Cr alloy surface corrosion, pure titanium in the artificial saliva containing 0.2% NaF was most serious., Conclusion: Lower pH value decreases the corrosion resistance of pure titanium and Ti-Ni-Cr alloy and the artificial saliva containing fluoride ions decreases the corrosion resistance of pure titanium.

The formation of embryoid bodies (EBs) is the principal step in the differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. In this study, the morphological characteristics and gene expression patterns of EBs related to the sequential stages of embryonic development were well defined in four distinct developmental groups over 112 days of culture: early-stage EBs groups (1-7 days of differentiation), mid-stage EBs groups (9-15 days of differentiation), maturing EBs groups (17-45 days of differentiation) and matured EBs groups (50 days of differentiation). We first determined definite histological location of apoptosis within EBs and the sequential expression of molecular markers representing stem cells (Oct4, SSEA-1, Sox-2 and AKP), germ cells (Fragilis, Dazl, c-kit, StellaR, Mvh and Stra8), ectoderm (Neurod, Nestin and Neurofilament), mesoderm (Gata-1, Flk-1 and Hbb) and endoderm (AFP and Transthyretin). Our results revealed that developing EBs possess either pluripotent stem cell or germ cell states and that three-dimensional aggregates of EBs initiate mES cell differentiation during prolonged culture in vitro. Therefore, we suggest that this EB system to some extent recapitulates the early developmental processes occurring in vivo.

The Lijang river which passes through the Guilin mountains, and Guilin city is a world renowned scenic spot on the southwest border of China. The river and its tributaries receive water from the mountain tops and springs underground. The river water was clean two decades ago before the development of industrial establishments and extra heavy tourism. Deforestation over the mountain tops on the upper stream and its tributaries in the last decades has created serious erosion and increased sedimentation in the river. In the present study, the Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) and Tradescantia stamen hair mutation (Trad-SHM) assays were used to evaluate the genetoxicity of water samples collected from 60 different sites along the river. Results indicate that most of the water samples from the tributaries were highly mutagenic, and that pollutants had accumulated in the main river in the Guilin city area from the industrial effluent and city sewage. Both the Trad-MCN and Trad-SHM assays were highly effective for the detection of mutagens in the water samples., (Copyright 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.)

A reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method for the assay of midecamycin was developed. The method used a Hitachi Gel 3050 column at 50 degrees C and a mobile phase of methanol--0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer solution at pH 5.8 (45:55). The column effluent was monitored Z at 231 nm. SF-837A1, leucomycin A6 and minor components could be separated in less than 15 min. The retention times of SF-837A1 and leucomycin A6 are 7 and 10 min respectively. The method is very simple and rapid.