Association between gestational cardiovascular health in the first trimester and pregnancy outcomes in the China birth cohort

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether gestational cardiovascular health (CVH) during the first trimester is associated with a risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN

A multicentre prospective cohort; part of the China birth cohort study.

METHODS

Pregnant women were recruited at 6-13+6 gestation weeks and followed to delivery to identify pregnancy outcomes. Gestational CVH in the first trimester was assessed using five CVH metrics: body mass index, smoking, blood pressure, glucose, and lipids. Multilevel modified Poisson regression models calculated the relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of gestational CVH for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

RESULTS

Among 56,852 pregnant women, the mean score for gestational CVH during the first trimester was 9.1. Adjusting for confounding factors, each 1-point decrease in the total gestational CVH score significantly increased the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (RR = 1.682, 95% CI: 1.624-1.743), gestational diabetes mellitus (RR = 1.405, 95% CI: 1.384-1.426), preterm birth (RR = 1.184, 95% CI: 1.174-1.195), large for gestational age (RR = 1.224, 95% CI: 1.199-1.250), caesarean delivery (RR = 1.073, 95% CI: 1.049-1.097), and low Apgar score (RR = 1.131, 95% CI: 1.003-1.277) significantly increased. Meanwhile, the risk of small for gestational age decreased (SGA; RR = 0.922, 95% CI: 0.898-0.946). Worsened CVH categories significantly increased the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, excluding SGA.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor gestational CVH in the first trimester significantly increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, emphasising the need for early improvement in gestational CVH.

The influence of near-infrared therapy on arteriovenous fistula patency in haemodialysis patients: A multicentre, randomised, controlled clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access for patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD). AVF malfunction remains a major clinical problem and is a significant independent risk factor for death. Although far-infrared (FIR) therapy has been shown to reduce complications and improve the patency rate of AVFs in various studies, it has been cautiously recommended by the Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines for AVF care due to insufficient evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to identify more effective methods for preventing AVF dysfunction. Many in vitro studies and few clinical studies have examined the effects of near-infrared (NIR) therapy on the vasculature. This study will examine the effects of NIR therapy on AVF.

METHODS

A randomised, controlled, open-label, multicentre trial will compare the effect of NIR on AVF patency after 1 year of therapy with that of a control group of patients with existing AVF. One group of patients received NIR treatment above their AVFs, whereas the control group received regular care. The primary outcome is the primary fistula patency rate within 12 months. In addition, acute changes in inflammatory, vasodilatory and haemodynamic parameters after a single treatment in the first 40 participants will be examined. This study was registered in the Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR2300071305) at https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/.

DISCUSSIONS

This study will explore the long-term and acute effects of NIR on AVFs. The study findings will provide information that can be used to develop new technical support for the prevention of AVF dysfunction in patients undergoing haemodialysis.

Globular adiponectin induces esophageal adenocarcinoma cell pyroptosis via the miR-378a-3p/UHRF1 axis

BACKGROUND

Antiapoptosis is a major factor in the resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Thus, activation of cell pyroptosis may be an effective option to deal with antiapoptotic cancers such as esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC).

METHODS

Differential expression of ubiquitin-like versus PHD and ring finger structural domain 1 (UHRF1) in EAC and near normal tissues was analyzed, as well as the prognostic impact on survival in EAC. Also, the same study was done for globular adiponectin (gAD). Simultaneously, the mRNA expression of UHRF1 was observed in different EAC cell lines. Real time cellular analysis (RTCA) was used to detect cell proliferation, and flow cytometry and inverted fluorescence microscopy were used to detect pyroptosis. Biocredit analysis was conducted to observe the correlation between UHRF1 and key pyroptosis proteins. OD values and CCK8 assay were used to determine the effect of miR-378a-3p on EAC cells. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to detect the correlation between UHRF1, gAD, and miR-378a-3p in EAC cells. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to detect the relevant effects on tumor migration and invasion after inhibiting UHRF1 expression.

RESULTS

UHRF1 was negatively correlated with the survival of patients with EAC, while miR-378a-3p showed the opposite effect. Additionally, gAD promoted EAC cell pyroptosis, upregulated miR-378a-3p, and significantly inhibited the proliferation of EAC cells. gAD directly reduced UHRF1 expression in EAC cells by upregulating miR-378a-3p. In cell migration and invasion assays, inhibition of UHRF1 expression significantly suppressed EAC cell metastasis. In animal experiments, we again demonstrated that gAD induced pyroptosis in EAC cells by inhibiting the expression of UHRF1.

CONCLUSION

gAD-induced upregulation of miR-378a-3p significantly inhibited the proliferation of EAC by targeting UHRF1. Therefore, gAD may serve as an alternative therapy for chemotherapy- and radiation-refractory EAC or other cancers with the same mechanism of pyroptosis action.

Expression and self-assembly of virus-like particles from porcine parvovirus and its application in antibody detection

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is a major causative agent in reproductive pig disease. The swine industry faces a significant economic and epizootic threat; thus, finding a reliable, quick, and practical way to detect it is essential. In this investigation, recombinant PPV VP2 protein was expressed in the Escherichia coli ( E. coli) expression systems. As shown by electron microscopy (TEM), Western blot, and hemagglutination (HA) assays, the recombinant VP2 protein was successfully assembled into virus-like particles (VLPs) after being expressed and purified. These VLPs had a structure that was similar to that of real PPV viruses and also exhibited HA activity. These VLPs induced high levels of PPV-specific antibody titers in mice after immunization, indicating that the VLPs may be beneficial as potential candidate antigens. VLPs were used as the coating antigens for the VLP ELISA, and the PPV VLPs-based ELISA displayed a high sensitivity (99%), specificity (93.0%) and agreement rate (98.3%) compared to HI assay, and the agreement rate of this ELISA was 97.5% compared to a commercial ELISA kit. Within a plate, the coefficient of variation (CV) was 10%, and between ELISA plates, the CV was 15%. According to a cross-reactivity assay, the technique was PPV-specific in contrast to other viral illness sera. The PPV VLP indirect-ELISA test for PPV detection in pigs with an inactivated vaccine showed that the PPV-positive rate varied among different sample sources from 88.2 to 89.6%. Our results indicate that this ELISA technique was quick, accurate, and repeatable and may be used for extensive serological research on PPV antibodies in pigs.

The value of multimodal functional magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating p53abn from p53wt endometrial carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is the sixth most common cancer in women. P53 gene expression in patients with endometrial cancer can predict the efficacy and prognosis of patients with neoadjuvant therapy.

PURPOSE

To explore the value of multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in differentiating p53 abnormal (p53abn) from p53 wild-type (p53wt) EC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data from 47 EC patients, including 14 p53abn cases and 33 p53wt cases, were retrospectively analyzed. The preoperative MRI sequences included amide proton transfer weighted (APTw) imaging, T2 mapping, mDIXON-Quant imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). After post-processing, APT, T2, transverse relaxation rate (R2*), fat fraction (FF) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were obtained. The APT, T2, R2*, FF and ADC values for lesions of the two groups of cases were measured by two observers who were blind to the pathological data.

RESULTS

The APT value and R2* value in the p53abn group were higher than those in the p53wt group, while the ADC value was lower (all P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in T2 value and FF value between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The area under curve of APT, R2*, ADC and combined APT + R2*+ADC values for identification of p53abn and p53wt EC were 0.739, 0.689, 0.718 and 0.820, respectively (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

APTw, mDIXON-Quant and DWI techniques can be usedfor quantitative identification of p53abn and p53wt EC. The multimodal MRI provides a new way for preoperative quantitative evaluation of EC molecular typing, which has certain clinical application value.

Papermaking wastewater treatment coupled to 2,3-butanediol production by engineered psychrotrophic Raoultella terrigena

The simultaneous bioremediation and bioconversion of papermaking wastewater by psychrotrophic microorganisms holds great promise for developing sustainable environments and economies in cold regions. Here, the psychrotrophic bacterium Raoultella terrigena HC6 presented high endoglucanase (26.3 U/mL), xylosidase (732 U/mL), and laccase (8.07 U/mL) activities for lignocellulose deconstruction at 15 °C. mRNA monitoring and phenotypic variation analyses confirmed that cold-inducible cold shock protein A (CspA) facilitated the expression of the cel208, xynB68, and lac432 genes to increase the enzyme activities in strain HC6. Furthermore, the cspA gene-overexpressing mutant (strain HC6-cspA) was deployed in actual papermaking wastewater and achieved 44.3%, 34.1%, 18.4%, 80.2% and 100% removal rates for cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, COD, and NO3--N at 15 °C. Simultaneously, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) was produced from the effluent with a titer of 2.98 g/L and productivity of 0.154 g/L/h. This study reveals an association between the cold regulon and lignocellulolytic enzymes and provides a promising candidate for simultaneous papermaking wastewater treatment and 2,3-BD production.

Multi-step-ahead and interval carbon price forecasting using transformer-based hybrid model

Accurate and stable carbon price forecasts serve as a reference for assessing the stability of the carbon market and play a vital role in enhancing investment and operational decisions. However, realizing this goal is still a significant challenge, and researchers usually ignore multi-step-ahead and interval forecasting due to the non-linear and non-stationary characteristics of carbon price series and its complex fluctuation features. In this study, a novel hybrid model for accurately predicting carbon prices is proposed. The proposed model combines multi-step-ahead and interval carbon price forecasting based on the Hampel identifier (HI), time-varying filtering-based empirical mode decomposition (TVFEMD), and transformer model. First, HI identifies and corrects outliers in carbon price. Second, TVFEMD decomposes carbon price into several intrinsic mode functions (imfs) to reduce the non-linear and non-stationarity of carbon price to obtain more regular features in series. Next, these imfs are reconstructed by sample entropy (SE). Subsequently, the orthogonal array tuning method is used to optimize the transformer model's hyperparameters to obtain the optimal model structure. Finally, after hyperparameter optimization and quantile loss function, the transformer is used to perform multi-step-ahead and interval forecasting on each part of the reconstruction, and the final prediction result is obtained by summing them up. Five pilot carbon trading markets in China were selected as experimental objects to verify the proposed model's prediction performance. Various benchmark models and evaluation indicators were selected for comparison and analysis. Experimental results show that the proposed HI-TVFEMD-transformer hybrid model achieves an average MAE of 0.6546, 1.3992, 1.6287, and 2.2601 for one-step, three-step, five-step, and ten-step-ahead forecasting, respectively, which significantly outperforms other models. Furthermore, interval forecasts almost always have a PICI above 0.95 at a confidence interval of 0.1, thereby indicating the effectiveness of the hybrid model in describing the uncertainty in the forecasts. Therefore, the proposed hybrid model is a reliable carbon price forecasting tool that can provide a dependable reference for policymakers and investors.

Apatinib combined with olaparib induces ferroptosis via a p53-dependent manner in ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

PARP inhibitors combined with antiangiogenic drugs have been reported to improve outcomes in BRCA wild-type ovarian cancer patients, the mechanism of the combination is unclear. In this study, we explored the mechanism of apatinib combined with olaparib in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

METHODS

In this study, human ovarian cancer cell lines A2780 and OVCAR3 were used as experimental objects, and the expression of ferroptosis-related protein GPX4 after treatment with apatinib and olaparib was detected by Western blot. The SuperPred database was used to predict the target of the combined action of apatinib and olaparib, and the predicted results were verified by Western blot experiment to explore the mechanism of ferroptosis induced by apatinib and olaparib.

RESULTS

Apatinib combined with olaparib-induced ferroptosis in p53 wild-type cells, and p53 mutant cells developed drug resistance. The p53 activator RITA sensitized drug-resistant cells to ferroptosis induced by apatinib combined with olaparib. Apatinib combined with olaparib-induced ferroptosis via a p53-dependent manner in ovarian cancer. Further studies showed that apatinib combined with olaparib-induced ferroptosis by inhibiting the expression of Nrf2 and autophagy, thereby inhibiting the expression of GPX4. The Nrf2 activator RTA408 and the autophagy activator rapamycin rescued the combination drug-induced ferroptosis.

CONCLUSION

This discovery revealed the specific mechanism of ferroptosis induced by apatinib combined with olaparib in p53 wild-type ovarian cancer cells and provided a theoretical basis for the clinical combined use of apatinib and olaparib in p53 wild-type ovarian cancer patients.

Printable High-Efficiency and Stable FAPbBr3 Perovskite Solar Cells for Multifunctional Building-Integrated Photovoltaics

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) show great promise for next-generation building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications because of their abundance of raw materials, adjustable transparency, and cost-effective printable processing. Owing to the complex perovskite nucleation and growth control, the fabrication of large-area perovskite films for high-performance printed PSCs is still under active investigation. Herein, the study proposes an intermediate-phase-transition-assisted one-step blade coating for an intrinsic transparent formamidinium lead bromide (FAPbBr3 ) perovskite film. The intermediate complex optimizes the crystal growth path of FAPbBr3 , resulting in a large-area, homogeneous, and dense absorber film. A champion efficiency of 10.86% with high open-circuit voltage up to 1.57 V is obtained with a simplified device architecture of glass/FTO/SnO2 /FAPbBr3 /carbon. Moreover, the unencapsulated devices maintain 90% of their initial power conversion efficiency after aging at 75 °C for 1000 h in ambient air, and 96% after maximum power point tracking for 500 h. The printed semitransparent PSCs, with average visible light transmittance over 45%, demonstrate high efficiencies for both small devices (8.6%) and 10 × 10 cm2 modules (5.55%). Finally, the ability to customize the color, transparency, and thermal insulation properties of FAPbBr3 PSCs makes them high prospects as multifunctional BIPVs.

Surprising leopard restoration in fragmented ecosystems reveals connections as the secret to conservation success

The Chinese Loess Plateau has been the cradle of Chinese civilization and the main human settlement in China for thousands of years, where anthropogenic activities are believed to have deeply eroded natural landscapes. After decades of minimal leopard sighting in forests of northern China, due to serious human interference, we recently discovered that the leopard population is recovering. This finding provides hope for successful biodiversity conservation in human-dominated ecosystems. To understand the mechanism of leopard return into such a highly fragmented landscape, we applied the concept of ecological networks (ENs) to identify key factors promoting leopard restoration and quantify the ecological links among habitats. We first determined the existence of a healthy leopard population in the study area based on the size of its home range and presence of breeding individuals. We then innovatively used the relationship between species richness and top predators to generate ENs, and found that the connectivity of ENs had a significant positive interaction with leopard survival. Our study validates the effectiveness of establishing ecologically connected habitats for leopard protection, and highlights the importance of applying ENs for conservation planning in highly fragmented ecosystems. This study provides a successful case for the protection of top predators in human-dominated landscapes.

Chinese herbal injection for cardio-cerebrovascular disease: Overview and challenges

Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide and there is currently no optimal treatment plan. Chinese herbal medicine injection (CHI) is obtained by combining traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and modern production technology. It retains some characteristics of TCM while adding injection characteristics. CHI has played an important role in the treatment of critical diseases, especially cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, and has shown unique therapeutic advantages. TCMs that promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, Carthami flos, Panax notoginseng, and Chuanxiong rhizoma, account for a large proportion of CHIs of cardio-cerebrovascular disease. CHI is used to treat cardio-cerebrovascular diseases and has potential pharmacological activities such as anti-platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis, and anti-apoptosis. However, CHIs have changed the traditional method of administering TCMs, and the drugs directly enter the bloodstream, which may produce new pharmacological effects or adverse reactions. This article summarizes the clinical application, pharmacological effects, and mechanism of action of different varieties of CHIs commonly used in the treatment of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, analyzes the causes of adverse reactions, and proposes suggestions for rational drug use and pharmaceutical care methods to provide a reference for the rational application of CHIs for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.

MicroRNA-29a-3p regulates chemosensitivity in hypopharyngeal carcinoma via targeting Cdc42

INTRODUCTION

Hypopharyngeal carcinoma is one kind of high malignant tumour followed by poor prognosis in head and neck carcinomas. This study aimed to detect miR-29a-3p and Cdc42 in patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of miR-29a-3p and Cdc42 mRNA were detected, and the correlation between miR-29a-3p/Cdc42 and clinical stages was investigated.

RESULTS

The relative expression of miR-29a-3p in stage II, III and IV hypopharyngeal carcinoma tissues was significantly lower than that of stage I (P< 0.05). The relative expression of Cdc42 mRNA in stage I, III and IV tissues was significantly higher than that of stage I (P< 0.05). The expression of miR-29a-3p in hypopharyngeal carcinoma with lymph node metastasis was significantly lower than that without lymph node metastasis (P = 0.045).

CONCLUSION

MiR-29a-3p and Cdc42 mRNA could be potential diagnostic biomarkers of hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

[Induction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to hepatocyte-like cells and preliminary study of cell response to injury under the effect of acetaminophen]

Objective: To establish a method for the induction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to hepatocyte-like cells, and preliminarily investigate cell response to injury under the effect of acetaminophen (APAP). Methods: The surface marker CD45 of peripheral blood mononuclear cells wase detected cells by using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence methods. The cellular morphology of induced hepatocyte-like cells was observed under an inverted microscope. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression level of hepatocyte-specific genes, such as cytochrome (CY) P1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, albumin (ALB), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)4α mRNA. Immunofluorescence method was used to detect intracellular hepatocyte markers AFP, HNF4α, and ALB expression at the protein level. Biochemical analyzer was used to detect hepatocyte-specific secretory functions of AFP, ALB, and urea. Luciferase chemiluminescence method was used to detect the activity of key drug metabolizing enzyme CYP3A4. Colorimetric assay was used to detect the effect of the drug acetaminophen on hepatocyte-like cells, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was used as an indicator of liver cell injury. The statistical differences between the data were compared with t-test and rank-sum test. Results: The positive expression rate of CD45 cell surface markers isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells was about 98%, and hepatocyte-like cell morphology changes appeared on 15th day of induction. Compared with isolated mononuclear cells, CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, ALB, AFP and HNF4α mRNA was markedly elevated. The expression level of AFP, ALB and HNF4α protein were equally increased, and the secretory function of AFP, ALB and urea were enhanced. Compared with primary hepatocytes, CYP1A2, CYP2C9, AFP, HNF4α mRNA, and CYP3A4 mRNA did not decrease. The expression levels of AFP, ALB, and HNF4α proteins in the cells did not decrease, and the secretory function of AFP, ALB, and urea did not decrease. In addition, the CYP3A4 enzyme activity produced by hepatocyte-like cells was similar to that of primary hepatocytes. Compared with hepatocyte-like cells incubated without APAP, hepatocyte-like cells incubated with APAP had higher ALT level. Under the effect of APAP, the ALT level of hepatocyte-like cells was higher than isolated mononuclear cells. Conclusion: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells can be induced into hepatocyte-like cells with partial characteristics of hepatocytes, including the activity of CYP3A4, a key enzyme of hepatocyte drug metabolism. Additionally, preliminarily ALT secretory features reflect the hepatocytes injury under the effect of acetaminophen.

Extracellular Vesicles as Drug Delivery System for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders: Optimization of the Cell Source

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a next generation drug delivery system that combines nanoparticle size with extraordinary ability to cross biological barriers, reduced immunogenicity, and low offsite toxicity profiles. A successful application of this natural way of delivering biological compounds requires deep understanding EVs intrinsic properties inherited from their parent cells. Herein, we evaluated EVs released by cells of different origin, with respect to drug delivery to the brain for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. The morphology, size, and zeta potential of EVs secreted by primary macrophages (mEVs), neurons (nEVs), and astrocytes (aEVs) were examined by nanoparticle NTA, DLS, cryoTEM, and AFM. Spherical nanoparticles with average size 110-130 nm and zeta potential around -20 mV were identified for all EVs types. mEVs showed the highest levels of tetraspanins and integrins compared to nEVs and aEVs, suggesting superior adhesion and targeting to the inflamed tissues by mEVs. Strikingly, aEVs were preferentially taken up by neuronal cells in vitro, followed by mEVs and nEVs. Nevertheless, the brain accumulation levels of mEVs in a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease were significantly higher than those of nEVs or aEVs. Therefore, mEVs were suggested as the most promising nanocarrier system for drug delivery to the brain.

Dissolution pretreatment of cellulose by using levulinic acid-based protic ionic liquids towards enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis

In this study, an economically competitive and sustainable levulinic acid-based protic ionic liquids were identified to be good solvents for the dissolution pretreatment of cellulose towards enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis. The influences of protic ionic liquids species, dissolution pretreatment time, and pretreatment temperature on the physico-chemical structures of cellulose were systematically investigated by various analytical techniques. The findings indicate that the pretreatment efficiency was correlated to the basicity of the organic bases, and the presence of ketone group in the levulinate anion with particular hydrogen bonding forming ability via keto-enol tautomerism. The DBN derived protic ionic liquids exhibited best performance at 100 °C in 1 h, as evidenced by a 94% glucose yield. This solvent system was also suitable for the dissolution pretreatment of corn stover-based lignocellulosic biomass for sugars production, although a higher temperature and longer pretreatment time was required. Furthermore, the solvent system could be recycled and reused.

Polystyrene microplastics-induced ROS overproduction disrupts the skeletal muscle regeneration by converting myoblasts into adipocytes

The environmental problem of Microplastics (MPs) pollution poses a great threat to human and animal health, which has attracted global attention. The physiological integrity of skeletal muscle is extremely important for the survival of animals. Here, we investigated the effect of two size polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs, 1-10 µm and 50-100 µm) on the growth of anterior tibial (TA) muscle and repair after injury in mice. Results showed that the regeneration of skeletal muscle was delayed by PS-MPs exposure and was negatively correlated with particle size. H&E staining and Oil red O staining showed that PS-MPs exposure reduced the average cross-sectional area (CSA) and diameter of the muscle fibers, increased lipid deposition. Further mechanistic research displayed that though PS-MPs treatment did not affect cell viability of myoblast, it aggravated intracellular ROS generation and oxidative stress, inhibited myogenic differentiation by decreasing the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, and promote adipogenic differentiation by increasing the expression of NF-κB, which could be alleviated by NAC. In brief, our data demonstrated that the ROS overproduction caused by PS-MPs disturbed the regeneration of skeletal muscle and directed the fate of satellite cells in mice.

Elucidating the Macroeconomic Determinants of Undernourishment in South Asian Countries: Building the Framework for Action

Undernourishment is a big challenge for humanity across the world. Considering the significance of reducing undernourishment, the current study focuses on exploring the macroeconomic determinants of undernourishment in the South Asian panel. The study employed econometric models that are more robust to underpin cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity in a panel data set. The overall findings reveal that an increase in food production increases undernourishment and infer that food availability at the national level is insufficient to reduce undernourishment unless poor people also had economic and physical access to food. In the case of economic growth and governance, the results are negatively significant in some countries. The results infer that GDP and quality of governance are nuanced in declining the rate of undernourishment in some countries, while in other countries where the results are found insignificant, the government should seek other interventions to curtail the prevalence of undernourishment. Unexpectedly, an increase in food prices lessens the undernourishment in developing countries that reflect that food prices might transform the dietary patterns of poor people from nutrient-rich foods to nutrient-poor staples, thus lead to undernourishment reduction but trigger overweight and obesity alongside. In conclusion, the results depict that policymakers should devise strategies keeping in view fundamental aspects of the country to reduce undernourishment.

Improvement of Gold Nanorods in Photothermal Therapy: Recent Progress and Perspective

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and there is a significant need for novel technologies to treat cancer with an effective outcome and low toxicity. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a noninvasive therapeutic tool that transports nanomaterials into tumors, absorbing light energy and converting it into heat, thus killing tumor cells. Gold nanorods (GNRs) have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to their unique optical and electronic properties and potential applications in biological imaging, molecular detection, and drug delivery, especially in the PTT of cancer and other diseases. This review summarizes the recent progress in the synthesis methods and surface functionalization of GNRs for PTT. The current major synthetic methods of GNRs and recently improved measures to reduce toxicity, increase yield, and control particle size and shape are first introduced, followed by various surface functionalization approaches to construct a controlled drug release system, increase cell uptake, and improve pharmacokinetics and tumor-targeting effect, thus enhancing the photothermal effect of killing the tumor. Finally, a brief outlook for the future development of GNRs modification and functionalization in PTT is proposed.

A intermediate concentration of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide enhances PSII activity and inhibits PSI activity in expanded leaves of tobacco seedlings

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a major air pollutant that affects plant growth, development and yields. Previous studies have found that atmospheric NO2 changes plant photosynthesis in a concentration-dependent manner. Low concentrations of NO2 (4.0 μL L-1) can increase photosynthetic rates, while high concentrations of NO2 (16.0 μL L-1) can have an inhibitory effect. However, the specific effects of a critical intermediate concentration of NO2 on the photosynthetic apparatus of plants has remained unknown. Therefore, in this study, tobacco seedlings at three-leaf ages were fumigated with a intermediate concentration of 8.0 μL L-1 NO2 for 15 days to determine the effects on leaf weight, leaf number per plant, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, the reaction center activity of photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII, respectively) and core protein gene expression (PsbA and PsaA). Fumigation with 8.0 μL L-1 NO2 increased the number of leaves per plant and the weight of leaves, and the leaves became dark green and curly after 10 days of fumigation. During NO2 fumigation for 15 days, the chlorophyll content, PSII maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), electron transfer rate (ETR) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) increased most in the oldest leaves (Lmax leaves), but decreased PSI activity (∆I/Io). The Fv/Fm, ETR and NPQ in the youngest leaves (Lmin leaves) were lower than those of Lmax leaves, but the actual photochemical efficiency (ΦPSII) of PSII increased most and ∆I/Io was the highest in these samples. The Fv/Fm, ETR, NPQ and ΦPSII in the leaves at the middle leaf age (Lmid leaves) were lower than those of Lmin and Lmax leaves, but the relative fluorescence intensity of point L (VL) and the relative fluorescence intensity of point K (VK) decreased the most in these samples. Thus, this critical concentration of atmospheric NO2 increased the activity of PSII and inhibited PSI activity in expanded leaves of tobacco seedlings.

Effects of salt concentration, pH, and their interaction on plant growth, nutrient uptake, and photochemistry of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) leaves

In order to explore the main limiting factors affecting the growth and physiological function of alfalfa under salt and alkali stress, the effect of the salt and alkali stress on the growth and physiological function of alfalfa was studied. The results showed that effects of the excessive salt concentration (100 and 200 mM) on the growth and physiological characteristics were significantly greater than that of pH (7.0 and 9.0). Under 100 mM salt stress, there was no significant difference in the growth and photosynthetic function between pH 9.0 and pH 7.0. Under the 200 mM salt concentration the absorption of Na⁺ by alfalfa treated at the pH 9.0 did not increase significantly compared with absorption at the pH 7.0. However, the higher pH directly reduced the root activity, leaf's water content, and N-P-K content also decreased significantly. The PSII and PSI activities decreased with increasing the salt concentration, especially the damage degree of PSI. Although the photoinhibition of PSII was not significant, PSII donor and electron transfer from the Q_A to Q_B of the PSII receptor sides was inhibited. In a word, alfalfa showed relatively strong salt tolerance capacity, at the 100 mM salt concentration, even when the pH reached 9.0. Thus, the effect on the growth and photosynthetic function was not significant. However, at 200 mM salt concentration, pH 9.0 treatment caused damage to root system and the photosynthetic function in leaves of alfalfa was seriously injured.

[Mechanism of Alisma orientale in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease]

In this study, network pharmacology technology was combined with molecular docking technology and experimental verification to clarify the active ingredients, potential targets and mechanism of Alisma orientale for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD), providing a basis for its clinical application. The active ingredients of A. orientale were screened through traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database(TCMSP), and the potential targets related to both active ingredients and NAFLD were predicted through protein databases by considering the oral bioavailability(OB) and drug-likeness(DL). The &quot;active ingredient-potential target&quot; network was constructed by using Cytoscape software, and the molecular docking was performed between active ingre-dients and potential targets. KEGG pathway analysis and enrichment analysis were performed through DAVID biological information annotation databases. ClueGO software was used to analyze target GO annotation. Western blot and immunocytochemistry were used to detect the protein expression levels, and fluorescent probe was used to detect the reactive oxygen species(ROS) generation level. The results revealed that 7 active ingredients of A. orientale were obtained from TCMSP database and analysis platform, 140 ingredient-related targets were screened, and 59 potential targets were obtained by intersecting disease targets with ingredient-related targets. Molecular docking showed that 7 active ingredients of A. orientale could act on the potential targets including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase(HMGCR) and tyrosine-protein phosphatase non-receptor type 1(PTPN1). In addition, KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the potential targets were mainly enriched in inflammatory mediator regulation, insulin resistance, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, vascular smooth muscle contraction, FcγR-mediated phagocytosis and other related pathways of tryptophan(TRP) channel. GO enrichment analysis showed that potential targets mainly affected the biological processes of G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathway, organic hydroxyl compound transport, positive regulation of lipid biosynthesis process, positive regulation of lipid metabolic process. Western blot, immunocytochemistry and fluorescent probe confirmed that the extract of A. orientale could reduce HMGCR and PTPN1 protein expression levels effectively, and also could reduce ROS production level of HepG2 cells. This study systematically revealed the material basis and mechanism of A. orientale in regulating NAFLD through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics, which provided a theoretical basis and scientific basis for the clinical application of A. orientale.

Inhibition of CD44 attenuates pressure overload-induced cardiac and lung inflammation, fibrosis, and heart failure progression

Background

Inflammation contributes to heart failure (HF) development and progression. CD44 is a member of the hyaluronate receptor family of cell adhesion molecules, which regulates tissue inflammation and fibrosis through modulating macrophage and lymphocyte migration and homing in several diseases. Here we evaluated the role and cellular mechanism of CD44 in regulating transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced HF development and progression in mice.

Methods and results

C57/B6 background CD44 KO and wild type mice (6–8 weeks) were subjected to TAC to evaluate the effect of CD44 on the development of TAC-induced LV hypertrophy and cardiac dysfunction. Due to the rapid response to TAC, Balb/c mice (6–8 weeks) were used to determine the effect of CD44 on the progression of TAC-induced congestive heart failure. We found that CD44 expression is dramatically increased in left ventricular (LV) tissues obtained from HF patients and mice. While CD44 gene knockout (KO) has no detectable effect on cardiac structure and function under control conditions, CD44 KO mice were protected from TAC-induced LV inflammation, fibrosis, hypertrophy, dysfunction, and lung remodeling as compared with wild type mice. In addition, we found that inhibition of CD44 signaling with blocking antibodies (Abs) significantly attenuated the transition from LV failure to lung remodeling, and right ventricular hypertrophy in mice with existing HF.

Conclusions

These data identify an important role of CD44 in attenuating cardiac and lung inflammation, fibrosis, HF development, and HF progression, suggesting that inhibition of CD44 signaling may be useful in preventing and treating HF.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Chinese National Natural Science Foundation Grants and American Heart Association

Elevated air temperature damage to photosynthetic apparatus alleviated by enhanced cyclic electron flow around photosystem I in tobacco leaves

High temperature can lead to increased production of excess light energy, thus reducing photosynthetic capacity in plants. Photosynthetic cyclic electron flow (CEF) in photosystem I (PSI) can effectively protect photosystems, but its physiological mechanism under high temperature is poorly understood. In this study, antimycin A (AA) and thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTFA) were used to inhibit PGR5-and NDH-dependent CEF pathways, respectively, to reveal the photoprotective functions of CEF for PSII in tobacco leaves under high temperature stress (37 °C, HT). High temperatures caused decreases in maximal photochemistry efficiency (Fv/Fm) and damaged photosystem II (PSII) in tobacco leaves. Under AA inhibition of PGR5-dependent CEF, high temperature increased the fluorescence intensity of point O (Fo) in OJIP curves, i.e., the energy absorption per active reaction center (ABS/RC), the trapping rate of the reaction center (TRo/RC), and the electron transport efficiency per reaction center (ETo/RC) in tobacco leaves. High temperature induced an increase in the hydrogen peroxide content and a decrease in pigment content in tobacco leaves. Under the high temperature treatment, inhibition of PGR5-dependent CEF reduced the activities of the PSII reaction center significantly, destroyed the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC), and impeded photosynthetic electron transfer from PSII to the plastoquinone (PQ) pool in tobacco leaves. The TTFA treatment inhibited the NDH-dependent pathway under high temperature conditions, with the relative fluorescence intensity of point I (VI) decreased significantly, and the content of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion increased significantly. Additionally, Fo and the redox degree of the PSII donor side (Wk) increased, and pigment content decreased compared to the control, but with little change compared to high temperature treatment, indicating that the inhibition of the NDH-dependent pathway directly weakened the capacity of the PQ pool to lead to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tobacco leaves. In conclusion, CEF alleviated damage to the photosynthetic apparatus in tobacco leaves by increasing PSII heat dissipation, reducing ROS production, and maintaining the stability of the PQ pool to accommodate photosynthetic electron flow.

Abstract 1050: Serum interleukin-27 serves as an early biomarker predicting development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in two large prospective cohorts

Background: Interleukin-27 (IL-27), which consists of p28 and Epstein-Barr virus induced gene 3 (EBI3) subunits, is a heterodimeric member of the IL-12/IL-23 cytokine family. Overexpression of IL-27 increases T cell expression of inhibitory receptors including PD-1, LAG3, TIGIT, and TIM3 that could limit intensity and duration of T cell responses to infection and cancer. IL-27 is overexpressed in HCC. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of IL-27 in the development of HCC in humans.

Methods: Two parallel studies were conducted. The discovery study included 100 HCC cases and 100 individually matched controls from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which enrolled 32,000 participants with blood samples free of cancer at entry into the study and subsequently followed up for &gt;15 years. The validation study also included 100 HCC cases and 100 matched controls from the Shanghai Cohort Study, a prospective cohort of 18,000 participants who were free of cancer at entry and similarly followed up for &gt;20 years. Human IL-27 protein was quantified in sera that were collected, on average, 4.5 year prior to the diagnosis of HCC. Conditional logistic regression method was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of HCC for higher tertiles of IL-27 with adjustment for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), alcohol intake, body mass index and cigarette smoking. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were analyzed for the IL-27 gene expression in liver and other cancers.

Results: Serum IL-27 levels were significantly higher in persons who subsequently developed HCC than controls who remained free of HCC in both studies. In the discovery study, persons in the 2nd (1.39-1.95 ng/mL) and 3rd tertile of IL-27 (&gt;1.95 ng/ml) had 9.3 (95% CI = 1.07-80.36) and 51.7 (95% CI = 5.1-527.8) times the risk of developing HCC, respectively, compared with the lowest IL-27 (&lt;1.39 ng/ml). These novel results were confirmed in the validation study; the corresponding ORs (95% CIs) for HCC were 4.9 (1.2-19.6) and 16.3 (3.5-77.4) (both Ptrend &lt; 0.001). When IL-27 and HBsAg were jointly analyzed, the OR (95% CI) of HCC was 24.73 (3.23-189.09) for lowest IL-27 & positive HBsAg, 45.52 (8.71-237.91) for highest IL-27 & negative HBsAg, and 265.19 (40.69-1728.45) for highest IL-27 & positive HBsAg, compared with lowest IL-27 & negative HBsAg. The TCGA analysis revealed that the IL-27 mRNA levels in primary liver cancer was at least 20 times higher than that of any other cancer.

Conclusion: Higher serum levels of IL-27 are associated with significantly higher risk of HCC development.

Implications: IL-27 can be further developed as a biomarker for identification of individuals at high risk for HCC and for diagnosis of HCC at an early stage, enabling more frequent surveillance. Anti-IL-27 agents may be developed for primary prevention of HCC. The blockade of IL-27 alone or in combination with other anti-immunosuppressive agents such as anti-PD1, anti-PD-L1, IL-2 and anti-LAG3 may represent novel immunotherapy strategies for HCC.

Citation Format: Jian-Min Yuan, Wang Yue, Renwei Wang, Jennifer Admas-Haduch, Woon-Puay Koh, Yu-Tang Gao, Michael T. Lotze. Serum interleukin-27 serves as an early biomarker predicting development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in two large prospective cohorts [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1050.

Elevated NO2 damages the photosynthetic apparatus by inducing the accumulation of superoxide anions and peroxynitrite in tobacco seedling leaves

This study aimed to further understand the toxicity of high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to plants, especially to plant photosynthesis. Tobacco plants in the six-leaf stage were exposed to 16.0 μL L-1 NO2 to determine the activities of photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) reaction centers, the blocking site of PSII electron transport, the degree of membrane peroxidation and the relative expression of PsbA, PsbO and PsaA genes in the third fully expanded leaves by using gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques, biochemical and RT-PCR analysis. The results showed that 16.0 μL L-1 NO2 caused necrotic lesions to form on leaves and significantly increased the generation rate of superoxide anions (O2-) and the content of peroxynitrite (ONOO-) in leaves of tobacco seedling, leading to damage to cell membrane, chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate reduction, and photosynthetic apparatus destruction. Fumigation with 16.0 μL L-1 NO2 decreased the activity of PSII reaction center and oxygen evolution complex, and the relative expression of PabA in leaves of tobacco seedlings to inhibit the electron transport from the donor side to the receptor side of PSII, especially blocking the electron transport from QA to QB on the receptor side. The activity of the PSI reaction center and the relative expression of PsaA decreased, weakening the ability to accept electrons and inhibiting the electron transfer from PSII to PSI, which further increased the damage of PSII of tobacco seedling leaves caused by 16.0 μL L-1 NO2. Therefore, 16.0 μL L-1 NO2 leaded to the accumulation of O2- and ONOO-, which damaged the cell membrane and thylakoid membrane, inhibit the electron transport, and destroyed the photosynthetic apparatus in leaves of tobacco seedlings. The results from this study emphasized the importance of reducing the NO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

A novel femoral artery compression device (butterfly compress) versus manual compression for hemostasis after femoral artery puncture: a randomized comparison

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the hemostatic efficacy of a novel femoral artery compression device in patients undergoing an interventional procedure through femoral artery puncture.Material and methods: Patients enrolled in this trial were randomly assigned 1:1 to the novel femoral artery compression device (NFACD) or the manual compression (MC) group. The primary endpoints were time to hemostasis (TTH), time to ambulation (TTA), any other complications, such as the occurrence of hematoma, bleeding, pseudoaneurysm and arteriovenous fistula at the puncture site, and time to hospital discharge.Results: A total of 617 patients were included in this study (NFACD, n = 308 versus MC, n = 309) from May 2017 to September 2019, and the baseline characteristics of the groups were similar. We found that the TTH and TTA were significantly shorter in the NFACD group than in the MC group (4.4 ± 11.6 min vs. 20.1 ± 22.5 min; p < 0.001; 8.9 ± 14.2 h vs. 16.3 ± 27.5 h; p = 0.002). There were few other complications in either group. In addition, there was no significant difference in time to hospital discharge between the NFACD group and the MC group.Conclusion: The novel femoral artery compression device is effective in achieving hemostasis in patients undergoing femoral artery puncture and is associated with a marked shortening of the TTH and TTA.

Toxic effects of heavy metals Pb and Cd on mulberry (Morus alba L.) seedling leaves: Photosynthetic function and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism responses

To explore the mechanism of how lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) stress affects photosynthesis of mulberry (Morus alba L.), we looked at the effects of different concentrations of Pb and Cd stress (at 100 and 200 μmol L^-1), which are two heavy metal elements, on leaf chlorophyll (Chl), photosynthesis gas exchange, Chl fluorescence, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism in mulberry leaves. The results showed that higher concentrations of Pb and Cd reduced leaf Chl content, especially in Chl a where content was more sensitive than in Chl b. Under Pb and Cd stress, the photosynthetic carbon assimilation capacity of mulberry leaves was reduced, which was a consequence of combined limitations of stomatal and non-stomatal factors. The main non-stomatal factors were decreased photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) activity and carboxylation efficiency (CE). Damage to the donor side of the PSII reaction center was greater than the acceptor side. After being treated with 100 μmol L^-1 of Pb and Cd, mulberry leaves continued to be able to dissipate excess excitation energy by starting non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), but when Pb and Cd concentrations were increased to 200 μmol L^-1, the protection mechanism that depends on NPQ was impaired. Excessive excitation energy from chloroplasts promoted a great increase of ROS, such as superoxide anion (O₂^•-) and H₂O₂. Moreover, under high Pb and Cd stress, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were also inhibited to some extent, and excessive ROS also resulted in a significantly higher degree of oxidative damage. Compared with Cd, the effect of Pb stress at the same concentration level displayed a significantly lower impact on Chl content, photosynthetic carbon assimilation, and stomatal conductance. Meanwhile, Pb stress mainly damaged activity of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) located on PSII donor side, but it reduced the electronic pressure on the PSII acceptor side and PSI. Furthermore, under Pb stress, the NPQ, SOD, and APX activity were all significantly higher than those under Cd stress. Thus under Pb stress, the degree of photoinhibition and oxidative damage of PSII and PSI in mulberry leaves were significantly lower than under Cd stress.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) diagnosed in children and adolescents

Background

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare but potentially fatal congenital coronary anomaly associated with early infant mortality and sudden adult death. By the development or lack of coronary collateral, it can be classified as infantile or adult type. However, even with the compensatory mechanism in adult patients, there is an estimated 80 to 90% incidence of sudden death at the mean age of 35 years.

Methods

We enrolled 9 patients with ALCAPA within the age group 5 to 16 years.

Results

Only one patient developed symptoms (apsychia), whereas other patients were asymptomatic, and there was no evident left ventricular dysfunction found in any of the cases.

Conclusion

With the development of imaging techniques, asymptomatic adult-type ALCAPA patients could be identified and diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. As a potential cause of sudden death, ALCAPA should be surgically repaired soon after the diagnosis.

Physiological and proteomic responses of reactive oxygen species metabolism and antioxidant machinery in mulberry (Morus alba L.) seedling leaves to NaCl and NaHCO3 stress

In this paper, the effects of 100 mM NaCl and NaHCO₃ stress on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and physiological and proteomic aspects of ROS metabolism in mulberry seedling leaves were studied. The results showed that NaCl stress had little effect on photosynthesis and respiration of mulberry seedling leaves. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the expression of related proteins in leaves increased by varying degrees, and accumulation of superoxide anion (O₂·^-) not observed. Under NaHCO₃ stress, photosynthesis and respiration were significantly inhibited, while the rate of O₂·^- production rate and H₂O₂ content increased. The activity of catalase (CAT) and the expression of CAT (W9RJ43) increased under NaCl stress. In response to NaHCO₃ stress, the activity and expression of CAT were significantly decreased, but the ability of H₂O₂ scavenging of peroxidase (POD) was enhanced. The ascorbic acid-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle in mulberry seedling leaves was enhancement in both NaCl and NaHCO₃ stress. The expression of 2-Cys peroxiredoxin BAS1 (2-Cys Prx BAS1), together with thioredoxin F (TrxF), thioredoxin O1 (TrxO1), thioredoxin-like protein CITRX (Trx CITRX), and thioredoxin-like protein CDSP32 (Trx CDSP32) were significantly increased under NaCl stress. Under NaHCO₃ stress, the expression of the electron donor of ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase (FTR), together with Trx-related proteins, such as thioredoxin M (TrxM), thioredoxin M4 (TrxM4), thioredoxin X (TrxX), TrxF, and Trx CSDP32 were significantly decreased, suggesting that the thioredoxin-peroxiredoxin (Trx-Prx) pathway's function of scavenging H₂O₂ of in mulberry seedling leaves was inhibited. Taken together, under NaCl stress, excessive production of O₂·^- mulberry seedlings leaves was inhibited, and H₂O₂ was effectively scavenged by CAT, AsA-GSH cycle and Trx-Prx pathway. Under NaHCO₃ stress, despite the enhanced functions of POD and AsA-GSH cycle, the scavenging of O₂·^- by SOD was not effective, and that of H₂O₂ by CAT and Trx-Prx pathway were inhibited; and in turn, the oxidative damage to mulberry seedling leaves could not be reduced.

Chlorophyll synthesis and the photoprotective mechanism in leaves of mulberry (Morus alba L.) seedlings under NaCl and NaHCO3 stress revealed by TMT-based proteomics analyses

Chlorophyll (Chl) and effective photoprotective mechanism are important prerequisites to ensure the photosynthetic function of plants under stress. In this study, the effects of 100 mmol L^-1 NaCl and NaHCO₃ stress on chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthetic function of mulberry seedlings were studied by physiological combined with proteomics technology. The results show that: NaCl stress had little effect on the expression of Chl synthesis related proteins, and there were no significant changes in Chl content and Chl a:b ratio. However, 13 of the 15 key proteins in the process of Chl synthesis were significantly decreased under NaHCO₃ stress, and the contents of Chl a and Chl b were significantly decreased (especially Chl a). Although stomatal conductance (G_s) decreased significantly under NaCl stress, net photosynthetic rate (P_n), PSII maximum photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m) and electron transfer rate (ETR) did not change significantly, but under NaHCO₃ stress, not only G_s decreased significantly, PSII activity and photosynthetic carbon were the same. In the photoprotective mechanism under NaCl stress, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH)-dependent cyclic electron flow (CEF) enhanced, the expression of related proteins subunit, ndhH, ndhI, ndhK, and ndhM, the key enzyme of the xanthophyll cycle, violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) were up-regulated, the ratio of (A + Z)/(V + A + Z) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) was increased. The expressions of proteins FTR and Fd-NiR were also significant up-regulated under NaCl stress, Fd-dependent ROS metabolism and nitrogen metabolism can effectively reduce the electronic pressure on Fd. Under NaHCO₃ stress, the expressions of NDH-dependent CEF related proteins subunit (ndhH, ndhI, ndhK, ndhM and ndhN), VDE, ZE, FTR, Fd-NiR and Fd-GOGAT, were significant down-regulated, and ZE, CP26, ndhK, ndhM, Fd-NiR, Fd-GOGAT and FTR genes expression also significantly decreased, the photoprotective mechanism, like the xanthophyll cycle，CEF and Fd-dependent ROS metabolism and nitrogen metabolism might be damaged, resulting in the inhibition of PSII electron transfer and carbon assimilation in mulberry leaves under NaHCO₃ stress.

[The role of poloxamer 188 for cord blood mononuclear cells into megakaryocytes cultivation and induction in three-dimensional WAVE Bioreactor]

目的

观察泊洛沙姆188（P188）对体外三维（3D）培养诱导脐血单个核细胞向巨核细胞分化的影响。

方法

将分离的脐血单个核细胞分别接种于细胞瓶和细胞培养袋中，后者采用WIGGENS摇床模拟生物反应器进行3D培养。在巨核细胞诱导培养基中加入P188体外培养14 d，观察细胞形态、计数细胞数并计算细胞存活率，采用流式细胞术观察巨核细胞表面标志表达情况。

结果

与采用传统的细胞培养瓶二维（2D）培养诱导巨核细胞相比，2D+P188培养组巨核系CD41⁺、CD41⁺/CD61⁺、CD61⁺细胞数明显增加（P值均<0.01）；在3D培养中加入P188，细胞体积变大，核形状不规则，胞质含紫红色颗粒，细胞分化更接近成熟。2D培养、3D培养及3D+P188培养组组间巨核细胞表面标志CD41、CD41/CD61、CD61表达水平差异有统计学意义（P值均<0.01）。LSD-t检验两两比较显示，与2D培养相比，3D培养诱导巨核细胞存活率及细胞数均降低（P值分别为0.018、0.027），3D+P188培养组细胞数、细胞存活率与2D和3D培养组比较差异均无统计学意义（P值均>0.05）。而3D培养组巨核细胞CD41/CD61表达水平为（36.30±1.27）%，高于2D培养组的（23.95±1.34）%（P=0.002），3D+P188培养组CD41/CD61表达水平更高[（59.45±1.20）%]。

结论

3D培养有利于巨核系祖细胞诱导分化，但细胞存活率低，加入P188，细胞生存状态好，且诱导效率更高。

Colorectal laterally spreading tumours : subtype evaluation by EUS and BLI and outcome of ESD

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

Colorectal laterally spreading tumour (LST) is a specific type of colonic space-occupying lesion unlike other common polypoid lesions. Here, we explored the diagnostic values of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and blue laser image (BLI) in LST subtypes, their relationship with histopathological characteristics and the therapeutic effect of endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD) for LST.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective study of 138 patients with LST was conducted. All LSTs were explored for invasion depth and superficial microstructure through EUS and BLI before ESD. Histopathological characteristics of LSTs were demonstrated through pre-operative biopsy and post-operative specimen detection. Finally, the correlations among varied morphologies, manifestations of EUS and BLI, and histopathological characteristics of LSTs were analysed comprehensively. All patients underwent follow-up after ESD.

RESULTS

Nodular-mixed and pseudodepressed subtypes were more likely to invade the submucosa, and BLI revealed a greater proportion of types B and C than the homogeneous or flat-elevated subtypes. These endoscopic features were consistent with and proved by histopathological results. Pathological severity of LST on post-ESD specimen detection was greater than that on pre-ESD biopsy analysis. En bloc R0 resection was achieved in 128 cases, and only two patients suffered recurrence during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-operative evaluation through EUS and BLI examination provided clues of possible pathological features and helped guide the treatment of LST. ESD is a safe and effective therapy for colorectal LST.

Cause or prevention of breast cancer with estrogens: analysis from tumor biologic data, growth kinetic model and Women's Health Initiative study

The existing medical literature suggests that estrogens may cause breast cancer but, paradoxically, can also prevent this neoplasm under specific circumstances. Appropriate interpretation of this complex data requires an understanding of emerging concepts of tumor biology. A substantial body of data, including animal models and epidemiologic studies, suggests that estrogens contribute to the development of breast cancer. Additionally, pre-clinical experiments indicate that the responsible mechanisms include both estrogen receptor α-dependent and -independent effects (ERα-dependent and ERα-independent effects). We recently developed two models to describe the growth kinetics of occult breast tumors, one based on autopsy studies and tumor doubling time and the other, computer-based. Validation of the models involved comparison of the predicted incidence of breast cancer with the actual incidence in population-based studies. Utilization of these models allowed us to determine that 16 years on average are required for tumors to undergo the 30 doubling times necessary for the occult tumors to reach the threshold for clinical detection. These models suggest that menopausal hormone therapy with estrogen plus a progestogen in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study accelerated the doubling time of occult, pre-existing tumors from 200 to 150 days and thus, increased the rate of tumor diagnosis. Based on estrogen-induced apoptosis data, the model accurately predicted the prevention of diagnosed breast cancer in the estrogen-alone arm of the WHI. Notably, pre-clinical studies demonstrated that conjugated equine estrogen, as used in the WHI, has unique, pro-apoptotic properties compared to the anti-apoptotic effects of estradiol, a finding providing an explanation for the reduction in breast cancer with conjugated equine estrogen.

Effects of Sulfide Flavors on AHL-Mediated Quorum Sensing and Biofilm Formation of Hafnia alvei

In this study, 10 different sulfide flavor compounds commonly used as food additives were screened for antiquorum-sensing activity. Among these, diallyl disulfide (DADS) and methyl 2-methyl-3-furyl disulfide (MMFDS) were found to exert the strongest inhibition against violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum 026, the tested biosensor strain. DADS and MMFDS also inhibited the growth of Hafnia alvei H4, yielding MIC values of 48 and 41.6 mM, respectively. In addition, DADS and MMFDS also inhibited the ability of H. alvei H4 to produce acyl-homoserine lactone as demonstrated by the reduced level of C6-HSL in the supernatant of DADS-treated culture. At concentrations corresponding to 1/4 MIC, DADS, and MMFDS inhibited the swarming ability of H. alvei H4 by 73.50% and 76.43%, respectively, while having virtually no effect on cell growth. The same concentrations of DADS and MMFDS also completely inhibited the formation of biofilm. These antiquorum sensing effects of DADS and MMFDS involved changes in the expression of the quorum-sensing genes luxI and luxR. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that the mRNA levels of both genes were significantly reduced by DADS and MMDFS at concentrations below their MICs. However, further test using a mutant strain of H. alvei lacking luxR (ΔluxR) revealed significant reduction in luxI mRNA level upon treatment of the strain with DADS or MMDFS, but no change in luxR mRNA level occurred when a luxI-lacking mutant (ΔluxI) was treated with these compounds. The result therefore suggested that the antiquorum-sensing effect of DADS and MMFDS against H. alvei H4 might operate mainly through the inhibition of luxI expression in the cells.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

The sulfide flavors compounds used in this paper are commonly used in food processing in China and are listed in the national standard of Chinese food additives GB2760-2014. The application of sulfide flavors in food processing can enhance aroma and prevent food spoilage.

Mesenchymal stem cells inhibit T cell activation by releasing TGF-β1 from TGF-β1/GARP complex

Intervention with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reveals a promising therapeutic tool to treat transplantation and autoimmune disease due to their immunoregulation capability. But the mechanisms of action are not fully investigated yet. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) exhibit multiple effects in migration, differentiation, and immunomodulation of MSCs. Glycoprotein A repetitions predominant (GARP) is an important marker of activated Treg (regulatory T cells). GARP binds latent TGF-β1 to regulate its activation, which is the indispensable step in Treg suppressing effector T cells. So far we don't know whether GARP present on MSCs and its association with MSCs function. Our study show that MSCs express GARP which binds latent TGF-β1 on their cell surface. We also found that TGF-β1+/- MSCs produce less TGF-β1 and exhibit reduced capacity in inhibiting T cells. When TGF-β1 signaling pathway was blocked, MSCs show decreased activity in inhibiting T cells. Importantly, silencing GARP expression distinctively damaged the capacity of MSCs to inhibit IFN-γ production. These findings indicated the expression of GARP on MSCs and its functionality in activating LAP, thus demonstrating GARP as a novel biomarker and new target to improve the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs.

Secreted GRP78 activates EGFR-SRC-STAT3 signaling and confers the resistance to sorafeinib in HCC cells

Acquired resistance is a common phenomenon for HCC patients who undergone sorafenib treatment, however the mechanism by which acquired resistance develops remains elusive. In this study, we found that GRP78 could be detected in the serum samples of HCC patients and the conditional medium of multiple HCC cell lines, suggesting that GRP78 is secreted by HCC cells. Further studies showed that secreted GRP78 facilitated the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis induced by sorafenib both in HCC cell lines and in tumor xenografts. We further found that secreted GRP78 could interact physically with EGFR, therefore activates EGFR signaling pathway. knockdown of EGFR decreased secreted GRP78 induced phosphorylation of SRC and STAT3. By contrast, overexpression of EGFR further enhanced the phosphorylation of SRC and STAT3 induced by secreted GRP78, suggesting the critical role of EGFR in secreted GRP78 conferred resistance to sorafeinib. Moreover, inhibition of SRC by PP2 antagonized the resistance to sorafenib and inhibited the activation of STAT3 conferred by secreted GRP78. Taken together, our results showed that secreted GRP78 could interact with EGFR, activate EGFR-SRC-STAT3 signaling, conferring the resistance to sorafenib.

[Dynamic change of population structure of Oncomelania hupensis]

Objective To understand the successive dynamic change of population structure of Oncomelania hupensis during a one-year period, so as to provide the evidence for snail control. Methods A river beach and a ditch infested with O. hupensis snails were selected and longitudinally investigated in the midmonth during one year. The snail survey indices included the survival status, gender, number of whorls, length and width of shell, and gonad development status (measured by the color depth of gonad and the length ratio of gonad to liver), and the monthly snail eggs in the soil were collected and counted simultaneously. In addition, the temperature and humidity of the soil and the daily data of air temperature and precipitation were measured or collected during the study period (every month). Results Both survival rate of snails and live snail density at the two environments were positively correlated with the temperatures of air and soil. With a slight bimodal distribution, the snail survival rate peaked from May to June, and in September. The living snail densities got the highest level in July and September in the river beach, and from April to May in the ditch. The regression equations of snail length (L) and width (W) were L_beach = 2.355 + 1.678W (F = 2 989.43, P < 0.01) and L_ditch = 0.478 + 2.091W (F = 2.989.43, P < 0.01), respectively. The snails were the ones with 4.07-11.81 mm in the length (8.98 ± 0.92) mm in the river beach, and the snails were the ones with 3.63-9.92 mm in the length (7.03 ± 0.82) mm in the ditch. The main snails were the ones with five to eight whorls of shell in the river beach and four to seven whorls of shell in the ditch. The proportions of snails with less than or equal to five whorls (in the river beach) and four (in the ditch) were the highest in May and September, about 20%. The ratios of male and female snails were 1.66 in the river beach and 1.22 in the ditch, respectively. The gonad development status of male and female snails was basically synchronous and had a bimodal abundance period - from April to May and September to October. The numbers of snail eggs in the soil among months were significantly different, reaching the highest in June in the river beach (100.8/0.1 m²), and May in the ditch (82.5/ 0.1 m²). Conclusion The principal periods of breeding and alternation of generations of snails are April-May and SeptemberOctober every year, which should also be the optimal time for mollusciciding in schistosomiasis susceptible zones.

Common variants on 2p16.1, 6p22.1 and 10q24.32 are associated with schizophrenia in Han Chinese population

Many schizophrenia susceptibility loci have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in European populations. However, until recently, schizophrenia GWASs in non-European populations were limited to small sample sizes and have yielded few loci associated with schizophrenia. To identify genetic risk variations for schizophrenia in the Han Chinese population, we performed a two-stage GWAS of schizophrenia comprising 4384 cases and 5770 controls, followed by independent replications of 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in an additional 4339 schizophrenia cases and 7043 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. Furthermore, we conducted additional analyses based on the results in the discovery stage. The combined analysis confirmed evidence of genome-wide significant associations in the Han Chinese population for three loci, at 2p16.1 (rs1051061, in an exon of VRK2, P=1.14 × 10-12, odds ratio (OR)=1.17), 6p22.1 (rs115070292 in an intron of GABBR1, P=4.96 × 10-10, OR=0.77) and 10q24.32 (rs10883795 in an intron of AS3MT, P=7.94 × 10-10, OR=0.87; rs10883765 at an intron of ARL3, P=3.06 × 10-9, OR=0.87). The polygenic risk score based on Psychiatric Genomics Consortium schizophrenia GWAS data modestly predicted case-control status in the Chinese population (Nagelkerke R2: 1.7% ~5.7%). Our pathway analysis suggested that neurological biological pathways such as GABAergic signaling, dopaminergic signaling, cell adhesion molecules and myelination pathways are involved in schizophrenia. These findings provide new insights into the pathogenesis of schizophrenia in the Han Chinese population. Further studies are needed to establish the biological context and potential clinical utility of these findings.