Establishment and evaluation of rat models of parastomal hernia

PURPOSE

Parastomal hernia poses a challenging problem in the field of hernia surgery. The high incidence and recurrence rates of parastomal hernia necessitate surgeons to enhance surgical techniques and repair materials. This study aimed to develop a rat model of parastomal hernia by inducing various types of defects on the abdominal wall with colostomy. This established method has potential for future studies on parastomal hernia.

METHODS

In this study, 32 male rats were included and randomly divided into four groups: the oblique abdominis excision (OE), oblique abdominis dissection (OD), rectus abdominis excision (RE), and rectus abdominis dissection (RD) groups. In each group, colostomy was performed and an abdominal wall defect was induced. The rats were observed for 28 days following surgery. The survival rate, body weight, parastomal hernia model scores, abdominal wall adhesion and inflammation, and collagen level in the hernial sac were compared.

RESULTS

No significant differences in survival rate and weight were observed among the four groups. The parastomal hernia model scores in the RE and RD groups were significantly higher than those in the OE and OD groups. The ratio of collagen I/III in the RE and RD groups was significantly lower than that in the OE and OD groups. Adhesion and inflammation levels were lower in the RE group than in the RD group.

CONCLUSION

Based on a comprehensive comparison of the findings, RE with colostomy emerged as the optimal approach for establishing parastomal hernia models in rats.

Changes in menopausal symptoms comparing oral estradiol versus transdermal estradiol

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of oral and transdermal estradiol in alleviating menopausal symptoms.

METHOD

A total of 257 recently menopausal women were randomized into two groups. The t-E2 group received transdermal estradiol (2.5 g per day) (n = 128) and the o-E2V group received oral estradiol valerate (2 mg per day) (n = 129) for 24 weeks; both groups received micronized progesterone (200 mg per day). The primary outcome measure is the change in the modified Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI) after 24 weeks of treatment. Menopausal symptoms were recorded at screening and at 4, 12 and 24 weeks using both the KMI and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).

RESULTS

Significant amelioration was observed by KMI and MRS scores for both groups after treatment (p < 0.001). The mean KMI scores showed no difference between the two groups. The mean MRS scores were similar between the two groups at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. The results showed statistical differences after 12 weeks and 24 weeks of treatment (p = 0.005 and p = 0.011). Both the after-treatment scores minus the baseline scores of KMI and MRS and the incidence of adverse effects showed no difference between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that both transdermal and oral estradiol are effective in relieving menopausal symptoms, with little difference in treatment efficacy and safety.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

ChiCTR2300073146.

Measurements of All-Particle Energy Spectrum and Mean Logarithmic Mass of Cosmic Rays from 0.3 to 30 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

We present the measurements of all-particle energy spectrum and mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays in the energy range of 0.3-30 PeV using data collected from LHAASO-KM2A between September 2021 and December 2022, which is based on a nearly composition-independent energy reconstruction method, achieving unprecedented accuracy. Our analysis reveals the position of the knee at 3.67±0.05±0.15  PeV. Below the knee, the spectral index is found to be -2.7413±0.0004±0.0050, while above the knee, it is -3.128±0.005±0.027, with the sharpness of the transition measured with a statistical error of 2%. The mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is almost heavier than helium in the whole measured energy range. It decreases from 1.7 at 0.3 PeV to 1.3 at 3 PeV, representing a 24% decline following a power law with an index of -0.1200±0.0003±0.0341. This is equivalent to an increase in abundance of light components. Above the knee, the mean logarithmic mass exhibits a power law trend towards heavier components, which is reversal to the behavior observed in the all-particle energy spectrum. Additionally, the knee position and the change in power-law index are approximately the same. These findings suggest that the knee observed in the all-particle spectrum corresponds to the knee of the light component, rather than the medium-heavy components.

Fabrication of a Coculture Organoid Model in the Biomimetic Matrix of Alginate to Investigate Breast Cancer Progression in a TAMs-Leading Immune Microenvironment

The current research models of breast cancer are usually limited in their capacity to recapitulate the tumor microenvironment in vitro. The lack of an extracellular matrix (ECM) oversimplifies cell-cell or cell-ECM cross-talks. Moreover, the lack of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), that can comprise up to 50% of some solid neoplasms, poses a major problem for recognizing various hallmarks of cancer. To address these concerns, a type of direct breast cancer cells (BCCs)-TAMs coculture organoid model was well developed by a sequential culture method in this study. Alginate cryogels were fabricated with appropriate physical and mechanical properties to serve as an alternative ECM. Then, our previous experience was leveraged to polarize TAMs inside of the cryogels for creating an in vitro immune microenvironment. The direct coculture significantly enhanced BCCs organoid growth and cancer aggressive phenotypes, including the stemness, migration, ECM remodeling, and cytokine secretion. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis and protein-protein interaction networks implied certain pathways (PI3K-Akt pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, etc.) and targets (TNF, PPARG, TLR2, etc.) during breast cancer progression in a TAM-leading immune microenvironment. Future studies to advance treatment strategies for BCC patients may benefit from using this facile model to reveal and target the interactions between cancer signaling and the immune microenvironment.

Biobased Tannic Acid-Chitosan Composite Membranes as Reusable Adsorbents for Effective Enrichment of Phosphopeptides

High-performance reusable materials from renewable resources are rare and urgently required in bioseparation. Herein, a series of tannic acid-chitosan composite membranes for the enrichment of phosphopeptides were fabricated by the freeze casting method. First, a tannic acid-chitosan composite membrane was acquired via the multiple hydrogen bonds between tannic acid and chitosan, which had a long-range aligned three-dimensional microstructure. Second, a covalent-hydrogen bond hybrid composite was also fabricated, with stable and aligned honeycomb-like microstructures that formed by the synergy of covalence and hydrogen bonding. Besides, a ternary composite membrane was "one-pot" synthesized by the copolymerization of tannic acid, chitosan, and Ti4+ ions, indicating the feasibility of involving metal ions in the composition of the polymer skeleton in place of additional modification steps. The as-prepared chitosan composite membranes exhibited excellent performance in the enrichment of phosphopeptides from β-casein tryptic digest and human serum. Benefitting from the long-range aligned honeycomb-like structure coordinated by hydrogen bonds and covalent bonds, and a large number of pyrogallol functional groups provided by tannic acid, the covalent-hydrogen bond hybrid membrane showed excellent reusability and could be reused up to 16 times in phosphopeptide enrichment, as far as we know, which is the best reported result to date.

Implementation of a dual-phase grating interferometer for multi-scale characterization of building materials by tunable dark-field imaging

The multi-scale characterization of building materials is necessary to understand complex mechanical processes, with the goal of developing new more sustainable materials. To that end, imaging methods are often used in materials science to characterize the microscale. However, these methods compromise the volume of interest to achieve a higher resolution. Dark-field (DF) contrast imaging is being investigated to characterize building materials in length scales smaller than the resolution of the imaging system, allowing a direct comparison of features in the nano-scale range and overcoming the scale limitations of the established characterization methods. This work extends the implementation of a dual-phase X-ray grating interferometer (DP-XGI) for DF imaging in a lab-based setup. The interferometer was developed to operate at two different design energies of 22.0 keV and 40.8 keV and was designed to characterize nanoscale-size features in millimeter-sized material samples. The good performance of the interferometer in the low energy range (LER) is demonstrated by the DF retrieval of natural wood samples. In addition, a high energy range (HER) configuration is proposed, resulting in higher mean visibility and good sensitivity over a wider range of correlation lengths in the nanoscale range. Its potential for the characterization of mineral building materials is illustrated by the DF imaging of a Ketton limestone. Additionally, the capability of the DP-XGI to differentiate features in the nanoscale range is proven with the dark-field of Silica nanoparticles at different correlation lengths of calibrated sizes of 106 nm, 261 nm, and 507 nm.

A live-imaging protocol for tracking intestinal stem cell divisions in the Drosophila melanogaster pupal midgut

Establishing a long-term ex vivo observation of the intestinal stem cell (ISC) is crucial to help understand the formation and homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium. Here, we present a protocol for tracking the division of Drosophila pupal ISCs during pupal midgut development. We describe steps for dissecting, mounting, and live imaging the pupal midgut. We then detail procedures for fluorescence quantification of each cell. This protocol can be applied to other fluorescently tagged proteins. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wu et al.1.

[Risk factors of systemic allergic reactions caused by subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy]

Objective: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of systemic allergic reactions induced by subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in patients undergoing SCIT injections in Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). Methods: This is a single center retrospective cohort study. Using the outpatient information system of PUMCH, the demographic information and injection-related reaction data of patients undergoing SCIT injection in Allergy Department of PUMCH from December 2018 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed to count the incidence and risk factors of systemic allergic reactions caused by SCIT. Mann-Whitney nonparametric test or chi-square test was used for single-factor analysis, and multiple logistic regression was used for multiple-factor analysis. Results: A total of 2 897 patients received 18 070 SCIT injections in Allergy Department during the four years, and 40 systemic allergic reactions occurred, with the overall incidence rate of 0.22%. The incidence of systemic allergic reaction was 0.37% when using imported dust mite preparation and 0.15% when using domestic multi-component allergen preparation. The risk factors significantly related with SCIT-induced systemic allergic reactions in patients using imported dust mite preparation were age less than 18 years old (OR=3.186,95%CI: 1.255-8.085), highest injection concentration (OR value could not be calculated because all patients with systemic reactions were injected with highest concentration), and large local reaction in previous injection (OR=22.264,95%CI: 8.205-60.411). The risk factors for SCIT-induced systemic allergic reactions in patients using domestic allergen preparation were 5 or more types of allergens (OR=3.455,95%CI: 1.147-10.402), highest injection concentration (OR=3.794,95%CI: 1.226-11.740) and large local reaction in previous injection (OR=63.577,95%CI: 22.248-181.683). However, SCIT injection in pollen allergic patients during the pollen season did not show a correlation with systemic allergic reaction. Conclusion: The incidence of SCIT-induced systemic allergic reactions was low in the Chinese patient population of this study. Patients with one or more risk factors, such as multiple allergen injection, highest injection concentration, large local reaction in previous injection, should be given high attention and vigilance against systemic allergic reactions.

Pixel-wise beam-hardening correction for dark-field signal in X-ray dual-phase grating interferometry

The dark-field signal provided by X-ray grating interferometry is an invaluable tool for providing structural information beyond the direct spatial resolution and their variations on a macroscopic scale. However, when using a polychromatic source, the beam-hardening effect in the dark-field signal makes the quantitative sub-resolution structural information inaccessible. Especially, the beam-hardening effect in dual-phase grating interferometry varies with spatial location, inter-grating distance, and diffraction order. In this work, we propose a beam-hardening correction algorithm, taking into account all these factors. The accuracy and robustness of the algorithm are then validated by experimental results. This work contributes a necessary step toward accessing small-angle scattering structural information in dual-phase grating interferometry.

Fatal bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus argenteus: A case report

RATIONALE

Staphylococcus argenteus (S argenteus) is a novel and emerging species that is part of the Staphylococcus aureus (S aureus) complex. Fatal cases of bloodstream infection caused by S argenteus are rarely reported and should be considered in medical practice.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 44-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with reduced appetite, high fever and unconsciousness. Laboratory tests indicated infection, muscle damage, and alkalosis in the patient. Brain computed tomography (CT) demonstrated small hematoma in left frontal lobe with peripheral cerebral edema. Chest CT demonstrating chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and bullae in the right lung. Blood culture was collected on the first day of hospitalization for microbial culture and pathological examination.

DIAGNOSIS

The isolate from blood culture was identified as S argenteus by MALDI-TOF MS after the patient death.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient was subjected to empirical antibiotic treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam.

OUTCOMES

After 48 hours of hospitalization, the patient died after ineffective rescue.

LESSONS

The patient had long-term heavy drinking and smoking as well as chronic malnutrition, which may account for his immune deficiency. The immunocompromised people are more vulnerable to infection by S argenteus and then develop bacteremia. The use of piperacillin/tazobactam may have contributed to the patient death.

Designer Fat Cells: Adipogenic Differentiation of CRISPR-Cas9 Genome-Engineered Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ that can signal bidirectionally to many tissues and organ systems in the body. With obesity, adipose tissue is a source of low-level inflammation that contributes to various co-morbidities and damage to downstream effector tissues. The ability to synthesize genetically engineered adipose tissue could have critical applications in studying adipokine signaling and the use of adipose tissue for novel therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to develop a method for non-viral adipogenic differentiation of genome-edited murine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and to test the ability of such cells to engraft in mice in vivo . Designer adipocytes were created from iPSCs, which can be readily genetically engineered using CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out or insert individual genes of interest. As a model system for adipocyte-based drug delivery, an existing iPSC cell line that transcribes interleukin 1 receptor antagonist under the endogenous macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 promoter was tested for adipogenic capabilities under these same differentiation conditions. To understand the role of various adipocyte subtypes and their impact on health and disease, an efficient method was devised for inducing browning and whitening of IPSC-derived adipocytes in culture. Finally, to study the downstream effects of designer adipocytes in vivo , we transplanted the designer adipocytes into fat-free lipodystrophic mice as a model system for studying adipose signaling in different models of disease or repair. This novel translational tissue engineering and regenerative medicine platform provides an innovative approach to studying the role of adipose interorgan communication in various conditions.

[Mechanism of intestinal injury induced by WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts in Crohn's disease]

Objective: To explore the mechanism of intestinal tissue damage induced by macrophages activated by WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts. Methods: This study involved biological information analysis, pathological tissue research and cell experimental research. The biological information of the colon tissue from the children with inflammatory bowel disease in previous study was analyzed again with single-cell sequencing. The pathological tissues were collected by colonoscopy from 10 children with Crohn's disease treated in the Department of Gastroenterology of Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from July 2022 to September 2022. According to the findings of colonoscopy, tissues with obvious inflammation or ulceration were classified as the inflammatory group, while tissues with slight inflammation and no ulceration were classified as the non-inflammatory group. HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of the colon tissues. Macrophage infiltration and CXCL12 expression were detected by immunofluorescence. In terms of cell experiments, fibroblasts transfected with WNT2B plasmid or empty plasmid were co-cultured with salinomycin treated or non-treated macrophages, respectively; the expression of proteins through Wnt classical pathway were detected by western blotting. Macrophages treated with SKL2001 were used as the experimental group, and those with phosphate buffer as the control group. The expression and secretion of CXCL12 in macrophages were detected by quantitative Real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). T-test or rank sum test were used for the comparison between groups. Results: Single-cell sequencing analysis suggested that macrophages were the main cells in inflammatory bowel disease colon tissue, and there was interaction between WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts and macrophages. HE staining of the 10 patients ((9.3±3.8) years old, 7 males and 3 females) showed that the pathological score of colon tissue in the inflammatory group was higher than that in the non-inflammatory group (4 (3, 4) vs. 2 (1, 2) points, Z=3.05, P=0.002). Tissue immunofluorescence indicated that the number of infiltrating macrophages in the inflammatory group was significantly higher than that in the non-inflammatory group under high power field of view (72.8±10.4 vs.8.4±3.5, t=25.10, P<0.001), as well as the number of cells expressing CXCL12 (14.0±3.5 vs. 4.7±1.9, t=14.68, P<0.001). In cell experiments, western blotting suggested an elevated level of glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation in macrophages co-cultured with fibroblast transfected with WNT2B plasmid, and salinmycin could reverse this change. Real-time PCR suggested that the transcription level of CXCL12 in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (6.42±0.04 vs. 1.00±0.03, t=183.00, P<0.001), as well as the expression and secretion of CXCL12 by ELISA ((465±34) vs. (77±9) ng/L, t=13.21, P=0.006). Conclusion: WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts can secrete WNT2B protein and activate the Wnt classical signaling pathway thus enhancing the expression and secretion of CXCL12 in macrophages, inducing the development of intestinal inflammation of Crohn's disease.

Multi-Scale Topology Optimization of Femoral Stem Structure Subject to Stress Shielding Reduce

Hip replacement femoral implants are made of substantial materials that all have stiffness considerably higher than that of bone, which can cause significant bone resorption secondary to stress shielding and lead to severe complications. The topology optimization design method based on the uniform distribution of material micro-structure density can form a continuous mechanical transmission route, which can better solve the problem of reducing the stress shielding effect. A multi-scale parallel topology optimization method is proposed in this paper and a topological structure of type B femoral stem is derived. Using the traditional topology optimization method (Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization, SIMP), a topological structure of type A femoral stem is also derived. The sensitivity of the two kinds of femoral stems to the change of load direction is compared with the variation amplitude of the structural flexibility of the femoral stem. Furthermore, the finite element method is used to analyze the stress of type A and type B femoral stem under multiple conditions. Simulation and experimental results show that the average stress of type A and type B femoral stem on the femur are 14.80 MPa, 23.55 MPa, 16.94 MPa and 10.89 MPa, 20.92 MPa, 16.50 MPa, respectively. For type B femoral stem, the average error of strain is -1682με and the average relative error is 20.3% at the test points on the medial side and the mean error of strain is 1281με and the mean relative error is 19.5% at the test points on the outside.

Isometric Covalent Triazine Framework-Derived Porous Carbons as Metal-Free Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) and their derivative N-doped carbons have attracted much attention for application in energy conversion and storage. However, previous studies have mainly focused on developing new building blocks and optimizing synthetic conditions. The use of isometric building blocks to control the porous structure and to fundamentally understand structure-property relationships have rarely been reported. In this work, two isometric building blocks are used to produce isometric CTFs with controllable pore geometries. The as-prepared CTF with nonplanar hexagonal rings demonstrates higher surface area, larger pore volume, and richer N content than the planar CTF. After pyrolysis, nonplanar porous CTF-derived N-doped carbons exhibit admirable catalytic activity for oxygen reduction in alkaline media (half-wave potential: 0.86 V; Tafel slope: 65 mV dec^-1 ), owing to their larger pore volume and the abundance of pyridinic and graphitic N species. When assembled into a zinc-air battery, the as-made electrocatalysts show high capacities of up to 651 mAh g^-1 and excellent durability.

Apical-basal polarity precisely determines intestinal stem cell number by regulating Prospero threshold

Apical-basal polarity and cell-fate determinants are crucial for the cell fate and control of stem cell numbers. However, their interplay leading to a precise stem cell number remains unclear. Drosophila pupal intestinal stem cells (pISCs) asymmetrically divide, generating one apical ISC progenitor and one basal Prospero (Pros)+ enteroendocrine mother cell (EMC), followed by symmetric divisions of each daughter before adulthood, providing an ideal system to investigate the outcomes of polarity loss. Using lineage tracing and ex vivo live imaging, we identify an interlocked polarity regulation network precisely determining ISC number: Bazooka inhibits Pros accumulation by activating Notch signaling to maintain stem cell fate in pISC apical daughters. A threshold of Pros promotes differentiation to EMCs and avoids ISC-like cell fate, and over-threshold of Pros inhibits miranda expression to ensure symmetric divisions in pISC basal daughters. Our work suggests that a polarity-dependent threshold of a differentiation factor precisely controls stem cell number.

[Fibroblasts overpressing WNT2b cause impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism by which fibroblasts with high WNT2b expression causes intestinal mucosa barrier disruption and promote the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

METHODS

Caco-2 cells were treated with 20% fibroblast conditioned medium or co-cultured with fibroblasts highly expressing WNT2b, with the cells without treatment with the conditioned medium and cells co-cultured with wild-type fibroblasts as the control groups. The changes in barrier permeability of Caco-2 cells were assessed by measuring transmembrane resistance and Lucifer Yellow permeability. In Caco-2 cells co-cultured with WNT2b-overexpressing or control intestinal fibroblasts, nuclear entry of β-catenin was detected with immunofluorescence assay, and the expressions of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and E-cadherin were detected with Western blotting. In a C57 mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IBD-like enteritis, the therapeutic effect of intraperitoneal injection of salinomycin (5 mg/kg, an inhibitor of WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway) was evaluated by observing the changes in intestinal inflammation and detecting the expressions of tight junction proteins.

RESULTS

In the coculture system, WNT2b overexpression in the fibroblasts significantly promoted nuclear entry of β-catenin (P < 0.01) and decreased the expressions of tight junction proteins in Caco-2 cells; knockdown of FZD4 expression in Caco-2 cells obviously reversed this effect. In DSS-treated mice, salinomycin treatment significantly reduced intestinal inflammation and increased the expressions of tight junction proteins in the intestinal mucosa.

CONCLUSION

Intestinal fibroblasts overexpressing WNT2b causes impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier function and can be a potential target for treatment of IBD.

Detailed analysis of the interference patterns measured in lab-based X-ray dual-phase grating interferometry through wave propagation simulation

In this work, we analyze the interference patterns measured in lab-based dual-phase grating interferometry and for the first time explain the spatial dependencies of the measured interference patterns and the large visibility deviations between the theoretical prediction and the experimental results. To achieve this, a simulator based on wave propagation is developed. This work proves that the experimental results can be simulated with high accuracy by including the effective grating thickness profile induced by the cone-beam geometry, the measured detector response function and a non-ideal grating shape. With the comprehensive understanding of dual-phase grating interferometry, this provides the foundations for a more efficient and accurate algorithm to retrieve sample's structure information, and the realistic simulator is a useful tool for optimizing the set-up.

Loss of primary cilia promotes inflammation and carcinogenesis

Primary cilia (PC) are important signaling hubs, and we here explored their role in colonic pathology. In the colon, PC are mostly present on fibroblasts, and exposure of mice to either chemically induced colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis (CAC) or dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis decreases PC numbers. We generated conditional knockout mice with reduced numbers of PC on colonic fibroblasts. These mice show increased susceptibility to CAC, as well as DSS-induced colitis. Secretome and immunohistochemical analyses of DSS-treated mice display an elevated production of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 in PC-deficient colons. An inflammatory environment diminishes PC presence in primary fibroblast cultures, which is triggered by IL-6 as identified by RNA-seq analysis together with blocking experiments. These findings suggest an activation loop between IL-6 production and PC loss. An analysis of PC presence on biopsies of patients with ulcerative colitis or colorectal cancer (CRC) reveals decreased numbers of PC on colonic fibroblasts in pathological compared with surrounding normal tissue. Taken together, we provide evidence that a decrease in colonic PC numbers promotes colitis and CRC.

Monodisperse Ti4+-immobilized macroporous adsorbent resins with polymer brush for improved multi-phosphopeptides enrichment in milk

Enrichment of phosphopeptides before mass spectrometry (MS) analysis is essential due to the limitations of low abundance and poor ionization efficiency in complex biological samples. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), especially titanium ion (Ti⁴⁺)-IMAC, has become a popular strategy for enrichment of phosphopeptides due to high selectivity and sensitivity. Conventional Ti⁴⁺-immobilized macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) fabricated by monolayer modification can preferentially capture mono-phosphopeptide over multi-phosphopeptides, which takes on more functions in the regulation of cell behaviors of organism. In this paper, a kind of monodisperse MAR microsphere with functional polymer brush (Ti⁴⁺-Brush@MAR) was prepared and modified via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Compared with common Ti⁴⁺-MAR without polymer brush, Ti⁴⁺-Brush@MAR exhibited high enrichment specificity not only for mono-phosphopeptides but also for multi-phosphopeptides in β-casein or milk digest samples. As a result, a total of 93 unique phosphopeptides mapped to 18 phosphoproteins were identified from 5 μL milk, and the limit of detection is 10 fmol. It is expected that Ti⁴⁺-Brush@MAR would be utilized to enrich both multi-phosphopeptides and mono-phosphopeptides in additional biological or food samples.

Case report: Infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus sinensis: The first case in mainland China and literature review

Streptococcus sinensis was originally described as a causative agent for infective endocarditis in three Chinese patients from Hong Kong in 2002. Subsequently, several cases were reported outside Hong Kong, indicating that it is an emerging pathogen worldwide. We isolated a closely related strain in a young patient diagnosed with infective endocarditis in mainland China. In this paper, we reviewed the course of infection and provided a comprehensive comparison of its clinical characteristics with the reported cases.

Hemodialysis catheter-related infection caused by Pannonibacter phragmitetus: a rare case report in China

Pannonibacter phragmitetus (P. phragmitetus) is rarely related with human disease. We reported a case of catheter-related infection caused by P. phragmitetus in a 68-year-old woman on hemodialysis. The patient developed recurrent fever during hemodialysis and blood cultures were positive for P. phragmitetus. The patient’s body temperature returned to normal after intravenous cefoperazone/sulbactam treatment, and the hemodialysis catheter was locked with gentamicin and urokinase. The potential anti-infective treatment against P. phragmitetus was discussed.

POS0397 SSD6453, A NOVEL AND HIGHLY SELECTIVE BTK/JAK3 DUAL INHIBITOR IS EFFICACIOUS IN MULTIPLE PRE-CLINICAL MODELS OF INFLAMMATION

Background

The mechanism of inflammatory diseases is complicated and dysfunction of multiple immune cells is thought to be directly related to the pathogenesis. Targeting either JAK-STAT or BCR signaling has been proved solid clinical efficacy in multiple inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). And the combination of BTK and JAK inhibitors demonstrated synergistic effects for the treatment of inflammation models in pre-clinic. JAK3 expression is largely restricted to leukocytes and involves functions in JAK1/JAK3 heterodimer in signal transduction, it might be a more effective and safer target. Meanwhile, both BTK and JAK3 possess a cysteine residue in their active site and this feature makes it possible to design a dual inhibitor. SSD6453 is a highly selective and irreversible JAK3/BTK dual inhibitor which may have synergistic effects for the treatment of RA and other inflammatory diseases such as MS.

Objectives

To develop a potent, oral, highly selective JAK3/BTK inhibitor for treatment of multiple inflammatory diseases.

Methods

ADP-GLO based biochemical assays were performed to determine the enzymatic inhibitory effect and selectivity for JAK family. The target engagement was evaluated by IgM induced pBTK and IL-2 induced pSTAT5 in human PBMCs. In vivo efficacy was evaluated by rat collagen-induced arthritic (CIA) model and mice experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) models induced by MOG1-125 or MOG35-55, respectively. BTK occupancy in spleens post last dose 24h and IL-2 induced pSTAT5 in whole blood post last dose 0.5h were used to evaluate targets inhibitions. Osteoclast was stained by IHC in pathological section of rat paws.

Results

In biochemical assays, SSD6453 inhibited BTK and JAK3 with the IC50 values of 3.4 nM and 1.1 nM, respectively. Notably, SSD6453 displayed high selectivity against JAK1 (510 fold), JAK2 (75 fold) and TYK2 (525 fold). In cellular assays, SSD6453 inhibited anti-IgM induced pBTK and IL-2 induced pSTAT5 in human PBMCs with the IC50 values of 18.8 nM and 168.8 nM, respectively. SSD6453 demonstrated favorable PK properties in broad pre-clinical species. Single oral administration of SSD6453 in rat or mouse, resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of BTK and JAKs concurrently. In the rat CIA model in which disease development was accompanied by a robust T-cell and B-cell inflammation response to collagen, SSD6453 dose-dependently inhibited paw edema. And SSD6453 at 10mpk achieved complete (95%) BTK occupancy and JAK3 inhibition and superior efficacy in comparison of tofacitinib (JAK@10 mpk) or evobrutinib (BTK @30mpk) alone, suggesting that concurrent inhibition of JAK3 and BTK lead to synergistic anti-inflammation effects. In addition, ED-1+ osteoclast count decrease was observed in paws, suggesting the prevention of SSD6453 in joint destruction. In two EAE models either induced by MOG1-125 or MOG35-55, which represented T or B dominant inflammation model, respectively, SSD6453 robustly ameliorated disease in both two models. In comparison, BTK inhibitor is efficacious only in the MOG1-125 induced model.

Conclusion

SSD6453 is a novel and high selective BTK/JAK3 dual inhibitor, and demonstrated synergistic efficacy in multiple pre-clinic inflammation models. SSD6453 showed good pharmacokinetic characteristics and well-tolerant in multiple pre-clinical species, and is moving to IND in 2022.

Disclosure of Interests

Feng Zhou Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: The work is financially support by Simcere, Employee of: Simcere, Lei Jiang Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: The work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of Simcere, Yuxi Yan Grant/research support from: The work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of Simcere, Wenqing Yang Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: the work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of Simcere, Feng Tang Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: The work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of simcere, Ping Chen Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: The work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of Simcere, Renhong Tang Shareholder of: I own the shares of Simcere, Grant/research support from: The work is financially supported by Simcere, Employee of: I am employee of Simcere.

Dual Functions of MDP Monomer with De- and Remineralizing Ability

Methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP) has been speculated to induce mineralization, but there has been no convincing evidence of its ability to induce intrafibrillar mineralization. Polymers play a critical role in biomimetic mineralization as stabilizers/inducers of amorphous precursors. Hence, MDP-induced biomimetic mineralization without polymer additives has not been fully verified or elucidated. By combining 3-dimensional stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy, surface zeta potentials, contact angle measurements, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with circular dichroism, we show that amphiphilic MDP can not only demineralize dentin by releasing protons as an acidic functional monomer but also infiltrate collagen fibrils (including dentin collagen), unwind the triple helical structure by breaking hydrogen bonds, and finally immobilize within collagen. MDP-bound collagen functions as a huge collagenous phosphoprotein (HCPP), in contrast to chemical phosphorylation modifications. HCPP can induce biomimetic mineralization itself without polymer additives by alternatively attracting calcium and phosphate through electrostatic attraction. Therefore, we herein propose the dual functions of amphiphilic MDP monomer with de- and remineralizing ability. MDP in the free state can demineralize dentin substrates by releasing protons, whereas MDP in the collagen-bound state as HCPP can induce intrafibrillar mineralization. The dual functions of MDP monomer with de- and remineralization properties might create a new epoch in adhesive dentistry and preventive dentistry.

Interface-Engineered Hollow Nanospheres with Titanium(IV) Binding Sites and Microwindows as Affinity Probes for Ultrafast and Enhanced Phosphopeptides Enrichment

Enrichment and identification of phosphopeptides in real biological samples are of great significance in many aspects. Herein, Ti⁴⁺-immobilized silica hollow nanospheres were tailored via chelating with phosphonic acid groups produced from dealkylation of phosphonate ester functionalized silica hollow nanospheres, which were synthesized through a single micelle templated method with diethylphosphatoethyltriethoxysilane (DPTES) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) as silane precursors under neutral conditions. The characterization results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen sorption isotherms, FT-IR, and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy confirmed the successful preparation of Ti⁴⁺-immobilized silica hollow nanospheres (SHS-Ti; approximately 17 nm particle size), which possessed a 10 nm hollow cavity with 1.6 nm micropores on the thin shell (about 3.5 nm). Attributed to the immobilized Ti⁴⁺ and high specific area (396 m²/g), SHS-Ti was applied as a Ti⁴⁺-immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Ti-IMAC) material and showed good specificity, a low limit of detection (5 fmol), high selectivity (tryptic digestion mixture of bovine serum albumin/β-casein, 1000:1 molar ratio), high binding capacity (120 mg/g for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate), and a high binding constant (1.30 × 10³ L/mg). Particularly, benefiting from the unique hollow structure with microwindows on the thin shell, a short transport path, and small mass transfer resistance, SHS-Ti exhibited excellent enrichment speed in which both phosphopeptide loading and elution could be completed in 1 min. The 5298 unique phosphopeptides from 1618 unique phosphoproteins were identified after enrichment by SHS-Ti from 100 μg Jurkat cell lysates within three independent replicates. The results showed that SHS-Ti could be utilized as a novel and promising enrichment probe for phosphopeptide characterization in MS-based phosphoproteomics and related fields.

Facile "one-pot" preparation of phosphonate functional polythiophene based microsphere via Friedel-Crafts reaction for selective enrichment of phosphopeptides from milk

A novel kind of phosphonate functionalized polythiophene microsphere was designed and fabricated via Friedel-Crafts reaction. Diethyl (thiophen-2-ylmethyl) phosphonate (DTYP) and thiophene were co-polymerized by Fe (III) catalysis, without any surfactant, stabilizer and initiator. Functional phosphonate group was directly introduced into the microsphere without redundant modification steps. The adsorption amount of the as-synthesized microsphere, Ti-poly(Th-co-DTYP), was as high as 66.7 mg/g, which was higher than that of commercial Ti⁴⁺-IMAC microsphere (49.7 mg/g). The microsphere was explored on the specific capture of phosphopeptides from either tryptic digests of milk or HeLa cell protein. As a result, 88 of unique phosphopeptides mapping to 21 phosphoproteins were identified from 150 μg of milk tryptic digest after enrichment, and a total of 2534 unique phosphopeptides mapping to 1087 phosphoproteins was identified from HeLa cell. It is expected that such a robust and facile approach will be explored in other functional microspheres to be commercialized in the future.

The Influence of Family Function on Occupational Attitude of Chinese Nursing Students in the Probation Period: The Moderation Effect of Social Support

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing the occupational attitudes of nursing students in the probation period.

METHODS

Nursing students in the probation period from five hospitals completed an anonymous survey. The instruments included the nursing occupational attitude scale, family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, and resolve index, and perceived social support scale. The study examined the moderation model between family function, perceived social support, and occupational attitudes using PROCESS 3.2.

RESULTS

For nursing students, when social support was low, family function had a significant positive impact on occupational attitudes and intentions, and the effect was much higher than that of perceived social support.

CONCLUSION

Family function has a significant positive explanatory effect on attitude and intention (β = .13, p < .001 and β = .12, p < .001); the interaction term between family function and perceived social support are significant (β = .01, p < .001 and β = .01, p < .001). Perceived social support has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between family function and occupational attitudes of nursing students in the probation period. Family function has a significant difference in the occupational attitudes and intentions of nursing students with low perceived social support. Nursing students perceive social support in the probation period has a significant moderation effect in the relationship between their family function and occupational attitudes. Interns with low family function should be given more social support to improve their occupational attitudes.

Fabrication of highly crosslinked and monodispersed silicon-containing polymeric microspheres via photo-initiated polymerization and their application in capillary liquid chromatography

Although inorganic silica-based and polymeric micron-sized spheres have widely been explored as column packing materials in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), they are still suffering the problems of either alkali corrosion of silica or polymer swelling. It is still necessary to search simple approaches for fabrication of monodisperse micron-sized hybrid particles as packing materials in HPLC. A novel kind of silicon-containing polyacrylate microspheres was designed and fabricated via two-step swelling and photo-initiated polymerization approach using 3-(allylpropylsilane) propyl acrylate (TAPA) containing both acrylate and vinyl groups and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TRIM) as precursors. After carefully optimizing the fabrication conditions, the monodisperse micron-sized microspheres could be acquired as chromatographic packing, exhibiting excellent mechanical stability and reproducibility. Due to existence of electron-rich vinyl groups, three kinds of thiols such as octadecanethiol (ODT), dithiothreitol (DTT) and trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (TTMP) were facilely anchored onto the surface of microsphere via photo-initiated thiol-ene click reaction. They were applied in the separation of small molecules by cLC-UV and complex biosamples by cLC-MS/MS. A total of 6691 unique peptides from 1771 unique proteins was identified by ODT-modified microsphere, which was higher than those by unmodified and DTT/TTMP-modified poly(TAPA-co-TRIM) microspheres. It was expected this kind of hybrid microspheres can be further modified and widely applied in chromatographic field, offering great potential in commercialization.

Design and construction of a hydrophilic coating on macroporous adsorbent resins for enrichment of glycopeptides

Although macroporous adsorbent resins (MARs) have been commercialized and widely applied in industrial and life fields, it is still of necessity to develop simple approaches to functionalize MARs. One of the most widely used methods to realize excellent fouling resistance performance is surface modification of hydrophilic polymers on substrates to fabricate an anti-biofouling coating. Herein, three kinds of hydrophilic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) MAR were designed and facilely prepared by coating a layer of porous organic polymers (POPs) via either an epoxy-amine ring-opening polymerization or amine-aldehyde condensation reaction using isophthalaldehyde (IPA), 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen), melamine and 1,3,5-triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC) as precursors. By taking advantage of their merits, such as large surface area, excellent hydrophilicity and unbiased affinity toward all types of glycopeptide, three functionalized hydrophilic MARs were successfully applied to capture glycopeptides from complex samples as hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) sorbents. A total of 694 N-glycopeptides and 372 N-glycosylation sites were identified from 2 μL of human serum digest with poly(TC)@MAR, which were not only more than those of poly(MT)@MAR (286 N-glycosylation sites and 547 N-glycopeptides) and poly(IM)@MAR (669 N-glycopeptides and 355 N-glycosylation sites), but also more than those of other reported HILIC materials. This work provided a new and simple way to synthesize enrichment materials for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of glycoproteomes.

Preparation of core-shell microporous organic polymer-coated silica microspheres for chromatographic separation and N-glycopeptides enrichment

Through a "one-pot" strategy, a layer of microporous organic polymer was coated onto the surface of monodisperse amino-functionalized silica microsphere via amino-aldehyde condensation reaction with core-shell structure. The change in chemical structure of material before and after modification was determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Due to existence of a large number of amino and aldehyde groups in microporous organic polymer shell, the water contact angle decreased from 56.8° (silica microspheres) to 34.7° (microporous organic polymer-coated silica microspheres). Based on these properties, microporous organic polymer-coated silica microspheres were employed as the stationary phase for capillary liquid chromatography and successfully offered baseline separation of polar small molecules. Additionally, the material could also be served as the sorbent of hydrophilic interaction chromatography to enrich glycopeptides from human serum digest. A total of 470 unique N-glycopeptides and 342 N-glycosylation sites mapped to 112 N-glycosylated proteins were unambiguously identified from 2 μL of human serum, exhibiting a promising application prospect of microporous organic polymer-coated silica microspheres in the pretreatment of proteomics samples.

Fabrication of hydrophilic zwitterionic microspheres via inverse suspension polymerization for the enrichment of N-glycopeptides

A kind of zwitterionic microsphere was prepared via one-step inverse suspension polymerization employing 3-[N,N-dimethyl-[2-(2-methylpropyl-2-enyloxy) ethyl] ammonium] propane-1-sulfonate (MSA) and N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (BIS) as the precursors. The preparation conditions were carefully investigated and optimized by regulating the content of total monomers, ratio of MSA to BIS, ratio of water to oil, and content of stabilizer. The properties of microspheres were characterized by helium ion microscopy (HIM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N₂ adsorption/desorption measurement, and water contact angle measurement. The particle size of resulting polydisperse microspheres ranged from 15-25 μm, exhibiting high specific surface area of 138 m² g^-1. Owing to great hydrophilicity, the resulting zwitterionic microspheres could be directly used as hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) sorbent to enrich glycopeptides from biosamples without any chemical modification. A total of 19 N-glycopeptides was enriched from 10 μg of IgG digest. Besides, up to 383 N-glycopeptides and 224 N-glycosylation sites were unambiguously identified from 2 μL of human serum digest by cLC-MS/MS after enrichment with zwitterionic microspheres, indicating their great enrichment performance to N-glycopeptides. The approach of preparing hydrophilic zwitterionic microspheres contains only one synthesis reaction and is suitable for large-scale preparation.

Bioinspired dandelion-like silica nanoparticles modified with L-glutathione for highly efficient enrichment of N-glycopeptides in biological samples

The pretreatment of complicated biological samples to eliminate the interference of nonglycopeptides and improve the efficiency of glycopeptides detection is crucial in glycoproteomics research. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) has been adopted for enrichment of glycosylated peptides following identification with mass spectrometry, but it is still urgent to develop novel hydrophilic materials to save cost and improve enrichment efficiency. Scientists are pursuing to fabricate freestanding intelligent artificial materials. One promising approach is to use biomimic material. In our case, "one-pot" strategy was developed to prepare bioinspired nano-core-shell silica microspheres (CSSMs), employing tetrapropylorthosilicate as the silicon source and phenolic resin as the soft template. The pore structure of the obtained microspheres diverged from the center to the outside with diameter ranged from 150 to 340 nm, and shell layer ranged from 25 to 83 nm by adjusting the preparation parameters. Some of them showed dandelion-like morphology. After hydrophilic modification, these CSSMs exhibited great hydrophilicity and could be used as sorbents for enriching N-glycopeptides from complicated biological samples in HILIC. Up to 594 unique N-glycopeptides and 367 N-glycosylation sites from 182 N-glycoproteins were unambiguously identified from 2 μL of human serum, which was superior to the enrichment performance of many HILIC materials in reported papers, demonstrating great potential advantages in proteomic application.

[Diagnosis and surgical treatment of sinonasal phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor]

Objective: To investigate the diagnosis and surgical treatment of sinonasal phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT). Methods: The medical records of nine patients who had been diagnosed as sinonasal PMT in Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai JiaoTong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital between January 2015 and May 2020 were collected, including 4 males and 5 females, ranging from 36 to 59 years. The patient's previous history, clinical manifestations, imaging findings, laboratory results, surgical procedure, pathological results and postoperative follow-up data were analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis. Results: All patients presented hypophosphatemia and tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) with a disease course of 1 to 19 years. The imaging examination and intraoperative findings identified two cases with peripheral tissue infiltration, two cases with contralateral nasal cavity invasion, and one case with intracranial invasion. Five patients underwent unilateral endoscopic resection while two patients underwent bilateral endoscopic resection, and the remaining two patients underwent unilateral transorbital ethmoid artery ligation plus endoscopic tumor resection and endoscopic combined with transfrontal tumor resection (n=1 each). Expect for one case developed recurrence and intracranial involvement, the other patients achieved clinical remission and no recurrence was observed during the six-month follow-up. Conclusions: The diagnosis of sinonasal PMT needs combination of clinical manifestation, imaging, and pathological findings. Complete surgical excision and long-term postoperative follow-up are imperative.

One-step preparation of cyclen-containing hydrophilic polymeric monolithic materials via epoxy-amine ring-opening reaction and their application in enrichment of N-glycopeptides

Considering the special structure of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) which is easy to form complexes with ions, it is beneficial to achieve particular selectivity. Cyclen was selected as a precursor to react with triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC), and a novel kind of hydrophilic polymeric monolithic material was facilely prepared via epoxy-amine ring-opening reaction in the presence of a binary porogenic system of acetonitrile (ACN) and polyethylene glycol. The resulting poly (TGIC-co-cyclen) monolithic column was used to separate both nonpolar alkylbenzenes using mobile phase of ACN/H₂O (35/65, v/v) and polar phenolic compounds and anilines under the mobile phase of ACN/H₂O (60/40, v/v) in reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). It should be pointed that the monolith was further used for separation of a mixture of toluene, DMF, acrylamide and thiourea under the mobile phase of ACN/H₂O (95/5, v/v) by hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). These results indicated that the poly (TGIC-co-cyclen) column exhibited mixed-mode retention mechanism. As a result, the prepared monolithic material was employed for enrichment of glycosylated peptides from the tryptic digest of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) and serum protein tryptic digests. A total of 531 N-glycopeptides and 329 N-glycosylation sites, mapped to 166 glycoproteins, were identified from 2 μL human serum digest. The results indicated the prepared monolith had ability for enriching N-glycopeptides from complex biological samples.

[Three-dimensional changes of oropharyngeal airway after orthodontic extraction treatment in skeletal class Ⅰ adolescents]

Objective: To explore the effect of extraction on upper airway in skeletal class Ⅰ adolescents. Methods: According to random number table method, 30 skeletal class Ⅰteenagers who underwent orthodontic straight wire treatment were selected randomly in Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University between January 2016 and December 2019. There were 13 males and 17 females, aged (13.7±1.5) years (12.2-15.7 years). In all patients, four first premolars were removed and the upper and lower anterior teeth were retracted under non-maximal anchorage (non-implant anchorage or face bow). The cone-beam CT (CBCT) data before and after orthodontic extraction treatments were studied. The three-dimensional model of the upper airway was reconstructed and segmented, and the relevant indexes of oropharyngeal volume and cross-sectional area were measured. Cephalograms was generated to measure tooth-jaw indexes and hyoid position. The changes of each index before and after orthodontic treatment were compared. The correlation between the changes in the volume or sectional area of the oropharyngeal airway and the changes in the dental and maxillary indexes and the hyoid position was tested. Results: Compared with those before treatment, palatopharyngeal volume, glossopharyngeal volume, oropharyngeal total volume, and minimum transection area increased by 632 (558) mm³, 758 (549) mm³, 1 454 (955) mm³ and 14 (29) mm² respectively, and statistically significant differences were found (P<0.05). The minimum oropharyngeal area was mostly located in the glossopharynx. The cross-sectional area and the maximum anterior-posterior diameter of uvula tip decreased by (4±10) mm² and (0.4±0.8) mm respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the maximum lateral diameter before and after treatment (P>0.05). The ratio of the maximum antero-posterior diameter to the maximum lateral diameter at the uvula tip decreased from 0.589 (0.034) before treatment to 0.535 (0.047) after treatment (P<0.05), indicating that its shape tends to be more elliptic after treatment. In addition, the change of cross-sectional area at the apex of uvula was positively correlated with the changes of mandibular central incisor lip inclination and the distances from the upper and lower central incisor points to the Frankfort plane perpendicular to the sella point (UI-FHp and LI-FHp) (P<0.05). Conclusions: The impact of orthodontic extraction treatment on oropharyngeal airway was generally small in skeletal class Ⅰ adolescents. However, it could change the shape of the airway to some extent. The change of airway cross-sectional area at the uvula tip was positively correlated with the retraction of anterior teeth.

Dual-Energy X-Ray Dark-Field Material Decomposition

Dual-energy imaging is a clinically well-established technique that offers several advantages over conventional X-ray imaging. By performing measurements with two distinct X-ray spectra, differences in energy-dependent attenuation are exploited to obtain material-specific information. This information is used in various imaging applications to improve clinical diagnosis. In recent years, grating-based X-ray dark-field imaging has received increasing attention in the imaging community. The X-ray dark-field signal originates from ultra small-angle scattering within an object and thus provides information about the microstructure far below the spatial resolution of the imaging system. This property has led to a number of promising future imaging applications that are currently being investigated. However, different microstructures can hardly be distinguished with current X-ray dark-field imaging techniques, since the detected dark-field signal only represents the total amount of ultra small-angle scattering. To overcome these limitations, we present a novel concept called dual-energy X-ray dark-field material decomposition, which transfers the basic material decomposition approach from attenuation-based dual-energy imaging to the dark-field imaging modality. We develop a physical model and algorithms for dual-energy dark-field material decomposition and evaluate the proposed concept in experimental measurements. Our results suggest that by sampling the energy-dependent dark-field signal with two different X-ray spectra, a decomposition into two different microstructured materials is possible. Similar to dual-energy imaging, the additional microstructure-specific information could be useful for clinical diagnosis.

Generalized headache among Chinese climacteric women: findings from a prospective cohort

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to prospectively identify the prevalence of generalized headache and associated risk factors in Chinese midlife women.

METHODS

We identified 411 qualified women from a Chinese urban community, contributing a total of 2544 surveys. The presence of generalized headache was measured. Climacteric symptoms and other risk factors were evaluated by generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS

The prevalence of headache complaints is associated with menopausal stages. Perimenopausal women have relatively high prevalence of headache symptoms, especially stage +1a women (59.0%) compared to late postmenopausal women (37.8%), although menopause stages were not statistically significant in the multivariate analysis. Women who had headache at baseline and depression were much more likely to have headache during menopause. According to the univariate and multivariate analyses in women without headache at baseline, starting menopausal status, insomnia, sweats, and depression were independently associated with newly developed headache.

CONCLUSIONS

Symptoms of generalized headache were less prevalent in late postmenopausal women. Our findings highlight the association between headache and climacteric changes.

Cyclin A2 maintains colon homeostasis and is a prognostic factor in colorectal cancer

To clarify the function of cyclin A2 in colon homeostasis and colorectal cancer (CRC), we generated mice deficient for cyclin A2 in colonic epithelial cells (CECs). Colons of these mice displayed architectural changes in the mucosa and signs of inflammation, as well as increased proliferation of CECs associated with the appearance of low- and high-grade dysplasias. The main initial events triggering those alterations in cyclin A2-deficient CECs appeared to be abnormal mitoses and DNA damage. Cyclin A2 deletion in CECs promoted the development of dysplasia and adenocarcinomas in a murine colitis-associated cancer model. We next explored the status of cyclin A2 expression in clinical CRC samples at the mRNA and protein levels and found higher expression in tumors of patients with stage 1 or 2 CRC compared with those of patients with stage 3 or 4 CRC. A meta-analysis of 11 transcriptome data sets comprising 2239 primary CRC tumors revealed different expression levels of CCNA2 (the mRNA coding for cyclin A2) among the CRC tumor subtypes, with the highest expression detected in consensus molecular subtype 1 (CMS1) and the lowest in CMS4 tumors. Moreover, we found high expression of CCNA2 to be a new, independent prognosis factor for CRC tumors.

Comparative evaluation of MAX-Ti3AlC2 and MXene-Ti3C2 as affinity chromatographic materials for highly selective enrichment of phosphopeptides

MAX and MXene have received considerable attention owing to their outstanding performance in fields like battery and catalysis. However, their possible biomedical applications have rarely been considered, especially the affinity chromatographic applications in proteomics. In this work, considering the large number of exposed metal sites, small binding potential resistance and fast mass transfer speed, layered ternary carbides MAX-Ti₃AlC₂ and MXene-Ti₃C₂ with a two-dimensional nanostructure were successfully explored for the first time as affinity chromatography stationary phases for the specific capture of phosphopeptides from complex biological samples. Helium ion microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and zeta potential measurement results confirmed that the MXene-Ti₃C₂ was well exfoliated from the pristine MAX-Ti₃AlC₂. Ti₃AlC₂ showed better enrichment specificity than MXene-Ti₃C₂. The detection limit of Ti₃AlC₂ was as low as 5 fmol. Even when the molar ratio of BSA to β-casein tryptic digests increased to 1000 : 1, two characteristic phosphopeptides with a relatively clear background could be detected after enrichment. After five cycles of repeated use, the enrichment specificity of Ti₃AlC₂ still remains. Furthermore, 91 and 830 unique phosphopeptides from 23 and 525 phosphoproteins were identified from milk and BEL7402 cells, respectively. Among them, 27 and 170 phosphopeptides, 12 and 56 phosphoproteins identified from milk and BEL7402 cells were not detected with commercial TiO₂ after three independent replicates, which have great potential in providing complementary coverage of phosphoproteome. This work opens up new applications of Ti₃AlC₂ and MXene-Ti₃C₂, and will play more important role for phosphorylated proteomics in biomedicine.

Facile preparation of bifunctional adsorbents for efficiently enriching N-glycopeptides and phosphopeptides

In bottom-up strategy, specific enrichment of glycopeptides and phosphopeptides from complicated biological samples is a prerequisite for efficient identifying glycosylation and phosphorylation by mass spectrometry. Although there were a plethora of materials used as either hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) or immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) adsorbents, even several bifunctional materials for simultaneous enrichment of glycopeptides and phosphopeptides, most of them are not easily commercialized as many other well-performing adsorbents due to the complicated preparation process. In our case, a one-step modification strategy was developed to prepare bifunctional adsorbents for HILIC and IMAC, employing O-phospho-l-serine as the modifier and poly(GMA-co-EDMA) microspheres, a kind of macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) with epoxy groups, as the matrix. The MARs were directly modified with O-phospho-l-serine under facile condition for HILIC strategy and further chelated with Ti⁴⁺ for IMAC strategy. A total of 522 unique N-glycopeptides and 442 unique N-glycosylation sites mapped to 275 N-glycoproteins was identified from HeLa cell proteins, showing excellent enrichment efficiency in HILIC. Additionally, 3141 unique phosphopeptides were unambiguously identified from 200 μg of digest of HeLa cell proteins, demonstrating great enrichment efficiency in IMAC. Moreover, these materials have been successfully applied in the analysis of multiple biological samples including human serum and milk, demonstrating their feasibility for real sample applications and potential business value.

Morphine post-conditioning-induced up-regulation of lncRNA TINCR protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia-reperfusion injury via inhibiting degradation and ubiquitination of FGF1

BACKGROUND

Our previous study has demonstrated that morphine post-conditioning (MpostC) protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury partly through activating protein kinase-epsilon (PKCε) signaling pathway and subsequently inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening.

AIM

In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship between long non-coding RNA TINCR and PKCε in cardiomyocytes under MpostC-treated I/R injury.

DESIGN

The myocardial I/R rat model was established by the ligation of lower anterior descending coronary artery for 45 min followed by the reperfusion for 1 h, and MpostC was performed before the reperfusion.

METHOD

H/R and MpostC were performed in the rat cardiomyocyte cell line (H9C2), and the Cytochrome-c release in cytosol and mPTP opening were determined. Cell viability was detected by using Cell Counting Kit-8, and cell apoptosis was determined by using flow cytometry or TUNEL assay.

RESULTS

The results indicated that MpostC restored the expression of TINCR in I/R rat myocardial tissues. In cardiomyocytes, the therapeutic effect of MpostC, including reduced mPTP opening, reduced Cytochrome-c expression, increased cell viability and reduced cell apoptosis, was dramatically negated by interfering TINCR. The expression of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), a protein that activates PKCε signaling pathway, was positively correlated with TINCR. The RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assay further confirmed the binding between FGF1 and TINCR. Furthermore, TINCR was demonstrated to inhibit the degradation and ubiquitination of FGF1 in cardiomyocytes using the cycloheximide experiment and the ubiquitination assay. The TINCR/FGF1/PKCε axis was revealed to mediate the protective effect of MpostC against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury both in vitro and in vivo.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that MpostC-induced up-regulation of TINCR protects cardiomyocytes from I/R injury via inhibiting degradation and ubiquitination of FGF1, and subsequently activating PKCε signaling pathway, which provides a novel insight in the mechanism of TINCR and PKCε during MpostC treatment of I/R injury.

Relationship between vasomotor symptoms and metabolic syndrome in Chinese middle-aged women

PURPOSE

This study aimed to find the associations between vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Chinese middle-aged women in a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 675 participants were recruited from an urban Chinese community. MetS was defined by the 2009 criteria of the Joint Interim Statement. VMS including hot flashes and sweats, blood pressure, weight, height, waist circumference (WC), serum glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), estradiol, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were collected.

RESULTS

The presence of hot flashes was independently associated with the risk of MetS after adjusting for age, menopausal status, FSH_log, estradiol_log, and physical activity (odds ratio: 1.98, 95% confidence interval: 1.21-3.24, p = 0.006). Both hot flashes and sweats were also independently associated with WC (for hot flashes, p = 0.016; and for sweats, p = 0.007) and triglycerides (for hot flashes, p = 0.041; and for sweats, p = 0.014) significantly. However, VMS were not significantly associated with blood pressure, glucose, HDL, and LDL.

CONCLUSION

Women with hot flashes had a higher risk of MetS. Both hot flashes and sweats were related to a higher amount of central fat indicated by WC and higher triglycerides, but were not related to blood pressure, glucose, and HDL in Chinese women.

Xiangshao granules can relieve emotional symptoms in menopausal women: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of Xiangshao granules for treating emotional disorders in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

METHODS

The current investigation was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial that included 300 perimenopausal and postmenopausal Chinese women aged 40-60 years. Participants received either a placebo (n = 150) or Xiangshao granules (n = 150) for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) scores, which were assessed at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variables were changes in HAMD and HAMA scores after 8 weeks.

RESULTS

After 8 weeks, the mean HAMD scores decreased from 15.0 to 7.9 in the Xiangshao group and from 16.3 to 10.0 in the placebo group, and the respective mean reductions in HAMA scores were from 16.0 to 8.5 and from 17.1 to 10.9. Clinical improvements in symptoms of both depression and anxiety after 8 weeks differed significantly in the two groups (p < 0.05). The cure rate was significantly higher in the Xiangshao group. There were no significant differences in the rates of adverse events in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Xiangshao granules can relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety significantly and safely.