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Bang Liu,1,2,* Jia Liu,3,* Xuan Mei,1,* Zhi-Qiang Zhang,1,2 Jian Fang,4 Li-Li Zhou,2 Jiao-Long Zheng,2 Hai-Yan Lin,2 Xiu-Ling Zhu,2 Dong-Liang Li1,2 1Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Hepatobiliary Disease, 900TH Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force, Fuzhou, 350025, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Hepatobiliary Medicine, The Third Affiliated People’s Hospital of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, 350108, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Dong-Liang Li, Department of Hepatobiliary Disease, Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University & 900TH Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force, Fuzhou, 350025, People’s Republic of China, Email ldliang900@163.comBackground: PVTT is a hallmark of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aim to explore the influence of non-invasive biomarkers on the occurrence of PVTT and develop and validate models for predicting prognosis in HBV-related HCC patients without PVTT.Methods: A total of 1026 HBV-related HCC patients without PVTT were enrolled, with 515 in the training cohort, 216 in the internal validation cohort, and 295 in the external validation cohort. We conducted Cox regression analyses to discern the independent risk factors associated with PVTT events, PFS, and OS, then constructed and validated predictive models. The predictive and discriminatory capabilities of models were assessed using the calibration, time-dependent ROC, and DCA curves.Results: In our study, 136 patients (13.3%) experienced PVTT events during the follow-up period. The Cox regression analysis unveiled that male gender, AAPR ≤ 0.49, APRI > 0.48, extrahepatic metastasis, and multiple tumors were independent risk factors for PVTT. In the training cohort, non-invasive biomarkers (AAR and APRI), AFP, ascites, and tumor-related characteristics (extrahepatic metastasis, tumor diameter, tumor number, and PVTT event) were independent risk factors for both OS and PFS, whereas age and ALBI grade independently correlated with OS. The C-indexes of OS and PFS nomogram models were 0.795 and 0.733 in the training cohort, 0.765 and 0.716 in the internal validation cohort, and 0.780 and 0.722 in the external validation cohort, respectively. Our models demonstrated strong predictive and discriminative abilities in all cohorts and yielded a greater net benefit compared to three traditional staging systems.Conclusion: Non-invasive biomarkers are expected to be reliable predictors for assessing PVTT risk and predicting prognosis among HBV-related HCC patients without PVTT.Keywords: non-invasive biomarker, portal vein tumor thrombosis, HBV-related HCC, nomogram, prognosis

Tao Zhang,1 Zhu-Bin Pan,1 Wen-Jia Tong,2 Yu-Liang Zhou,1 Yuan Cheng,1 Dan-Qun Jin,2 Shi-Qin Qi,1 Zhen-Qiang Zhang1 1Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University Anhui Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University Anhui Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhu-Bin Pan, Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University Anhui Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 39 of Wang Jiang Dong Street, Bao He District, Hefei, 230000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13349207050, Fax +86 551 62237461, Email panzhubinpzb5@126.comBackground: Paraneoplastic syndromes often cause endocrine, neurological, cutaneous, and hematologic pathologies, and cases with digestive symptoms as prominent cases are rare.Case Description: A 1-year-old child admitted to the emergency department with severe abdominal distension was later diagnosed with sacrococcygeal yolk cystoma with ulcerative colitis. After symptomatic management, surgical removal of the tumor, and JEB chemotherapy, the symptoms of ulcerative colitis disappeared completely. After 7 years of follow-up, the child grew and developed well, and there was no recurrence of tumor and ulcerative colitis.Conclusion: Yolk sac tumor with ulcerative colitis is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome with complex clinical manifestations.Keywords: children, paraneoplastic syndrome, toxic megacolon, ulcerative colitis, yolk sac tumor

Hao Wu,1,* Yu Wang,1,* Bing Zhang,1,2 Yao-lei Li,1 Zhi-xin Ren,1 Jing-jian Huang,1 Zhi-qi Zhang,1 Zhi-jian Lin,1 Xiao-meng Zhang1 1Department of Clinical Chinese Pharmacy, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Center for Pharmacovigilance and Rational Use of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Bing Zhang, Department of Clinical Chinese Pharmacy, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, South Yang-Guang Road, Fang-shan District, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China, Email zhangb@bucm.edu.cnAbstract: Smilax glabra Roxb. (SGB) is a medicinal plant widely distributed in 17 countries worldwide. It is the primary raw material of the world-famous and best-selling functional food and beneficial tea. SGB was first recorded in Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu of the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420– 589 AD) and was reported for nutritional and medicinal properties for thousands of years. This review searched PubMed, Web of Science, and other databases for relevant literature on SGB species until April 2022. It aims to provide more integrated thinking, detailed awareness, and better knowledge of SGB. More than 200 chemical components have been discovered, including flavonoids, phenolic, phenolic acids, stilbenes, organic acids, phenylpropanoids, and others. Previous studies have demonstrated that SGB and its active ingredients show a wide range of pharmacological effects, including anti-infective, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardiovascular protection, etc. However, many studies on the biological activity of this plant were mainly based on crude extracts and active ingredients, and there is a lack of clinical studies and toxicity studies to support the development of drug design, development, and therapy. In summary, this review will provide specific and valuable suggestions and guidelines for further research and application of this plant in the medicinal field.Keywords: Smilax glabra Roxb, astilbin, traditional usages, phytochemical constituents, pharmacological properties, clinical applications

Rui Yang,* Xiao-Xia Xu,* Hu Liu, Wei Dai, Zheng-Qin Zhang, Ting-Ting Wang, Shi-Shou Chen, Er-Wei Gu, Xue-Sheng Liu, Bin Mei Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xue-Sheng Liu; Bin Mei, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 551-62922344, Fax +86 551 62923704, Email liuxuesheng@ahmu.edu.cn; binmei@ahmu.edu.cnObjective: Postoperative sleep disturbance after surgery is not conducive to the recovery of patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the timing of surgery (morning vs afternoon) on the postoperative sleep quality of elderly patients and to analyze the relationship between the timing of surgery and the change in the melatonin level.Methods: Sixty patients who received hip surgery were randomly assigned to the Morning Group (Group M) or the Afternoon Group (Group A). The sleep quality was assessed by the Richards–Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Before and after surgery, the nocturnal urine was collected over a 12-h period, and the 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentration was measured. Also, the incidence of postoperative delirium (POD) was observed.Results: On the first and second nights after surgery, the sleep quality scores of the patients in Group A were greater than those in Group M, and there was no difference in the sleep quality scores between the two groups on the third night after surgery (P=0.000, P=0.002, P> 0.05, respectively). In addition, the urine 6-sulphatoxymelatonin concentration was found to be greater in Group A than in Group M on the first night of surgery (P=0.00). Both the postoperative sleep quality scores and urine 6-sulphatoxymelatonin concentration were significantly less than those before surgery (P=0.00, P=0.00).Conclusion: The postoperative sleep quality scores and melatonin levels of elderly patients who received hip surgery under general anesthesia were significantly less than those of the patients before surgery. Furthermore, the short-term sleep quality of the patients who received surgery in the afternoon was better than that of the patients who received surgery in the morning. This difference may be related to the short-term change of the melatonin level after surgery.Keywords: sleep quality, melatonin, timing of surgery

Lu-Lu Qiao, Wen-Jing Yao, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Xiaojing Yang, Mei-Xia Zhao Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune Engineering of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Mei-Xia ZhaoKey Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune Engineering of Henan Province, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng 475004, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail zhaomeixia2011@henu.edu.cnPurpose: Over the past decades, quantum dots (QDs) have shown the broad application in diverse fields, especially in intracellular probing and drug delivery, due to their high fluorescence intensity, long fluorescence lifetime, strong light-resistant bleaching ability, and strong light stability. Therefore, we explore a kind of therapeutic potential against cancer with fluorescent imaging.Methods: In the current study, a new type of QDs (QDs@L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA) capped with L-cysteine (L-Cys) and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) ligands, and conjugated with 5-fluorouracil-1-acetic acid (5-FUA) has been synthesized. Ligands were characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The modified QDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), and fluorescence microscopy. And the biological activity of modified QDs was explored by using MTT assay with HeLa, SMMC-7721 HepG2, and QSG-7701 cells. The fluorescence imaging of modified QDs was obtained by fluorescence microscope.Results: The modified QDs are of controllable sizes in the range of 4– 5 nm and they possess strong optical emission properties. UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA was successfully incorporated into QD nanoparticles. The MTT results demonstrated that L-Cys-TAEA-5-FUA modified QDs could efficiently inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells as compared to the normal cells, illustrating their antitumor efficacy. The mechanistic studies revealed that the effective internalization of modified QDs inside cancer cells could inhibit their proliferation, through excessive production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, leading to apoptosis process.Conclusion: The present study suggests that modified QDs can enter cells efficiently and could be employed as therapeutic agents for the treatment of various types of cancers with fluorescent imaging.Keywords: quantum dots, 5-fluorouracil, nano-drugs, apoptosis, antitumor activity

Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Wen-Jing Yao, Lu-Lu Qiao, Xiaojing Yang, Jiahua Shi, Mei-Xia Zhao Key Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Mei-Xia ZhaoKey Laboratory of Natural Medicine and Immune Engineering, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng 475004, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail zhaomeixia2011@henu.edu.cnPurpose: Quantum dots (QDs) are used as fluorescent probes due to their high fluorescence intensity, longevity of fluorescence, strong light-resistant bleaching ability and high light stability. Therefore, we explore a more precise probe that can target an organelle.Methods: In the current study, a new class of fluorescence probes were developed using QDs capped with 4 different L-cysteine-polyamine-morpholine linked by mercapto groups. Ligands were characterised by Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Modified QDs were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry (UV–Vis), and fluorescence microscopy. And the biological activity of modified QDs was explored by using MTT assay with HeLa, SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells. The fluorescence imaging of modified QDs was obtained by confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy (CLSM).Results: Synthesized QDs ranged between 4 to 5 nm and had strong optical emission properties. UV–Vis and fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the cysteine-polyamine-morpholine were successfully incorporated into QD nanoparticles. The MTT results demonstrated that modified QDs had lesser cytotoxicity when compared to unmodified QDs. In addition, modified QDs had strong fluorescence intensity in HeLa cells and targeted lysosomes of HeLa cells.Conclusion: This study demonstrates the modified QDs efficiently entered cells and could be used as a potential lysosome-targeting fluorescent probe.Keywords: quantum dots, fluorescence probe, lysosome-targetable, cells imaging

WeiHong Ren,1,2 XuRan Zhang,2 WenBo Li,2 Qian Feng,2 HuiJie Feng,2 Yan Tong,2 Hao Rong,2 Wei Wang,2 Dai Zhang,2 ZhenQiang Zhang,3 ShiChun Tu,4 XiaoYan Zhu,1 QinXian Zhang11Department of Histology and Embryology, College of Basic Medicine, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Immunology Laboratory of Chinese Medicine, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China; 4Neurodegenerative Disease Center, Scintillon Institute, San Diego, CA, USABackground: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) promote immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, support tumor growth and survival, and may contribute to immunotherapy resistance. Recent studies showed that tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) can induce MDSCs accumulation and expansion, the mechanisms of which are largely unknown.Methods: The morphologies and sizes of the exosomes was observed by using a JEM-1400 transmission electron microscope. MicroRNA(miR)-107 and ARG1, DICER1, PTEN, PI3K, AKT, mTOR, and NF-kB mRNAs were quantified by quantitative reverse tanscription PCR. Dual-Luciferase Reports Assay were used to examine the expression of genes which was targeted by miR-107. The expression of proteins were analyzed by using western blot.Results: MiR-107 was not only overexpressed in gastric cancer cells but also enriched in their secreted TDEs. Also, these miR-107 enriched TDEs could be taken up by HLA-DR-,CD33+,MDSCs, where miR-107 was able to target and suppress expression of DICER1 and PTEN genes. Dampened DICER1 expression supported expansion of MDSCs , while decreased PTEN led to activation of the PI3K pathway, resulting in increased ARG1 expression. Furthemore, gastric cancer-derived miR-107 TDEs, when dosed intravenously into mice, were also capable of inducing expansion of CD11b+,Gr1+/high ,MDSCs in mouse peripheral blood and altering expression of DICER1, PTEN, ARG1, and NOS2 in the MDSCs.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate for the first time that gastric cancer-secreted exosomes are able to deliver miR-107 to the host MDSCs where they induce their expansion and activition by targeting DICER1 and PTEN genes, thereby may provide novel cancer therapeutics target for gastric cancer.Keywords: exosome, miRNA-107, myeloid-derived suppressor cell, arginase 1, gastric cancer

We review some recent progress in the exploration of pseudospin-1 physics using dielectric photonic crystals (PCs). We show some physical implications of the PCs exhibiting an accidental degeneracy induced conical dispersion at the Γ point, such as the realization of zero refractive index medium and the zero Berry phase of a loop around the nodal point. The photonic states of such PCs near the Dirac-like point can be described by an effective spin-orbit Hamiltonian of pseudospin-1. The wave propagation in the positive, negative, and zero index media can be unified within a framework of pseudospin-1 description. A scale change in PCs results in a rigid band shift of the Dirac-like cone, allowing for the manipulation of waves in pseudospin-1 systems in much the same way as applying a gate voltage in pseudospin-1/2 graphene. The transport of waves in pseudospin-1 systems exhibits many interesting phenomena, including super Klein tunneling, robust supercollimation, and unconventional Anderson localization. The transport properties of pseudospin-1 systems are distinct from their counterparts in pseudospin-1/2 systems, which will also be presented for comparison.

We discovered unique Anderson localization behaviors of pseudospin systems in a 1D disordered potential. For a pseudospin-1 system, due to the absence of backscattering under normal incidence and the presence of a conical band structure, the wave localization behaviors are entirely different from those of conventional disordered systems. We show that there exists a critical strength of random potential ([Formula: see text]), which is equal to the incident energy ([Formula: see text]), below which the localization length [Formula: see text] decreases with the random strength [Formula: see text] for a fixed incident angle [Formula: see text] But the localization length drops abruptly to a minimum at [Formula: see text] and rises immediately afterward. The incident angle dependence of the localization length has different asymptotic behaviors in the two regions of random strength, with [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text] The existence of a sharp transition at [Formula: see text] is due to the emergence of evanescent waves in the systems when [Formula: see text] Such localization behavior is unique to pseudospin-1 systems. For pseudospin-1/2 systems, there is also a minimum localization length as randomness increases, but the transition from decreasing to increasing localization length at the minimum is smooth rather than abrupt. In both decreasing and increasing regions, the [Formula: see text] dependence of the localization length has the same asymptotic behavior [Formula: see text].