A study on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of the Artemisia vulgaris L. extract and its fractions.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Vietnamese people use mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris L.) to treat arthritis and gout. Our previous research shows that mugwort contains flavonoids, and its extract possesses antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. However, no publications have been on the xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of mugwort and acute anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study aimed to verify the antioxidant, xanthine oxidase inhibitory, and anti-inflammatory capabilities of mugwort extract in vitro and in vivo, isolate phyto-compounds from potential bioactive fractions, and then evaluate their potential in inhibiting xanthine oxidase. METHODS: According to established methods, the extract and the active flavonoids were obtained using different chromatographic techniques. DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, and H2O2 elimination were used to evaluate antioxidant activity. The model of LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells was used to measure the inhibition of NO production. The carrageenan-induced paw oedema model was used to assess acute inflammation in mice. In vitro, xanthine oxidase inhibition assay was applied to investigate the effects of extract/compounds on uric acid production. Chemical structures were identified by spectral analysis. RESULTS: The assessment of the acute inflammatory model in mice revealed that both the 96% ethanol and the 50% ethanol extracts significantly decreased oedema in the mice's feet following carrageenan-induced inflammation. 96% ethanol extract exhibited a better reduction in oedema at the low dose. The analysis revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction had the highest levels of total polyphenols and flavonoids. Additionally, this fraction demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in various assays, such as DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, and H2O2 removal. Furthermore, it displayed the most potent inhibition of xanthine oxidase, an anti-inflammatory activity. Five phytochemicals were isolated and determined from the active fraction such as luteolin (1), rutin (2), apigenin (3), myricetin (4), and quercetin (5). Except for rutin, the other compounds demonstrated the ability to inhibit effective xanthine oxidase compared to standard (allopurinol). Moreover, quercetin (5) inhibited NO production (IC50 21.87 µM). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that extracts from A. vulgaris effectively suppressed the activity of xanthine oxidase and exhibited antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, potentially leading to a reduction in the production of uric acid in the body and eliminating ROS. The study identified mugwort extract and bioactive compounds derived from Artemisia vulgaris, specifically luteolin, apigenin, and quercetin, as promising xanthine oxidase inhibitors. These findings suggest that further development of these compounds is warranted. At the same time, the above results also strengthen the use of mugwort to treat gout disease in Vietnam.

Clinical characteristics and otolith dysfunction in presbyvestibulopathy: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Objective: The Bárány Society recently established diagnostic criteria for presbyvestibulopathy, an age-related bilateral vestibular impairments in older individuals. Drawing upon a cross-sectional database, this study delves into the demographic and clinical features of presbyvestibulopathy patients and investigates the implications of otolith dysfunction. Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed 1218 patients aged 60 years or older who visited the tertiary dizziness clinic in 2020, due to symptoms of dizziness or instability. By reviewing medical records, we gathered clinical information and laboratory vestibular test results, such as cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, and subjective visual vertical. Results: Out of 1218 patients aged 60 and above who reported dizziness or unsteadiness, 33 patients (2.7 %, with an average age of 74.2 ± 9.2 years) were diagnosed with presbyvestibulopathy. Deficiencies in horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex were found in caloric tests (75 %), video head impulse tests (51.7 %), and rotatory chair tests (47.8 %), respectively. Otolith dysfunction was also observed, as shown by abnormal ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in 62.96 % and 51.85 % of patients, and abnormal subjective visual vertical in 45.8 % of the cases. Conclusions: Among elderly patients experiencing consistent dizziness or instability, the incidence of presbyvestibulopathy was approximately 2.7 % over one year. Alongside the abnormalities detected in the horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex, significant changes were also noted in the ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, as well as in the subjective visual vertical tests. As a result, it's vital to underscore the significance of both otolithic function and vestibulo-ocular reflex in the fundamental mechanisms of presbyvestibulopathy.

The First Genetic Characterization of the SPRN Gene in Pekin Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus).

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterized by an accumulation of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) in brain tissues. The shadow of prion protein (Sho) encoded by the shadow of prion protein gene (SPRN) is involved in prion disease progress. The interaction between Sho and PrP accelerates the PrPSc conversion rate while the SPRN gene polymorphisms have been associated with prion disease susceptibility in several species. Until now, the SPRN gene has not been investigated in ducks. We identified the duck SPRN gene sequence and investigated the genetic polymorphisms of 184 Pekin ducks. We compared the duck SPRN nucleotide sequence and the duck Sho protein amino acid sequence with those of several other species. Finally, we predicted the duck Sho protein structure and the effects of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using computational programs. We were the first to report the Pekin duck SPRN gene sequence. The duck Sho protein sequence showed 100% identity compared with the chicken Sho protein sequence. We found 27 novel SNPs in the duck SPRN gene. Four amino acid substitutions were predicted to affect the hydrogen bond distribution in the duck Sho protein structure. Although MutPred2 and SNPs&GO predicted that all non-synonymous polymorphisms were neutral or benign, SIFT predicted that four variants, A22T, G49D, A68T, and M105I, were deleterious. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the genetic and structural characteristics of the duck SPRN gene.

Drug repurposing for regenerative medicine and cosmetics: Scientific, technological and economic issues.

Regenerative medicine and cosmetics are currently two outstanding fields for drug discovery. Although many pharmaceutical products for regenerative medicine and cosmetics have received approval by official agencies, several challenges are still needed to overcome, especially financial and time issues. As a result, drug repositioning, which is the usage of previously approved drugs for new treatment, stands out as a promising approach to tackle these problems. Recently, increasing scientific evidence is collected to demonstrate the applicability of this novel method in the field of regenerative medicine and cosmetics. Experts in drug development have also taken advantage of novel technologies to discover new candidates for repositioning purposes following computational approach, one of two main approaches of drug repositioning. Therefore, numerous repurposed candidates have obtained approval to enter the market and have witnessed financial success such as minoxidil and fingolimod. The benefits of drug repositioning are undeniable for regenerative medicine and cosmetics. However, some aspects still need to be carefully considered regarding this method including actual effectiveness during clinical trials, patent regulations, data integration and analysis, publicly unavailable databases as well as environmental concerns and more effort are required to overcome these obstacles.

Genome-wide expression analysis of vegetative organs during developmental and herbicide-induced whole plant senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: Whole plant senescence represents the final stage in the life cycle of annual plants, characterized by the decomposition of aging organs and transfer of nutrients to seeds, thereby ensuring the survival of next generation. However, the transcriptomic profile of vegetative organs during this death process remains to be fully elucidated, especially regarding the distinctions between natural programmed death and artificial sudden death induced by herbicide. RESULTS: Differential genes expression analysis using RNA-seq in leaves and roots of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that natural senescence commenced in leaves at 45-52 days after planting, followed by roots initiated at 52-60 days. Additionally, both organs exhibited similarities with artificially induced senescence by glyphosate. Transcription factors Rap2.6L and WKRY75 appeared to serve as central mediators of regulatory changes during natural senescence, as indicated by co-expression networks. Furthermore, the upregulation of RRTF1, exclusively observed during natural death, suggested its role as a regulator of jasmonic acid and reactive oxygen species (ROS) responses, potentially triggering nitrogen recycling in leaves, such as the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) shunt. Root senescence was characterized by the activation of AMT2;1 and GLN1;3, facilitating ammonium availability for root-to-shoot translocation, likely under the regulation of PDF2.1. CONCLUSIONS: Our study offers valuable insights into the transcriptomic interplay between phytohormones and ROS during whole plant senescence. We observed distinct regulatory networks governing nitrogen utilization in leaf and root senescence processes. Furthermore, the efficient allocation of energy from vegetative organs to seeds emerges as a critical determinant of population sustainability of annual Arabidopsis.

An Effective Health System Approach to End TB: Implementing the Double X Strategy in Vietnam.

Countries that are high burden for TB must reverse the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating effects to accelerate progress toward ending TB. Vietnam's Double X (2X) strategy uses chest radiography (CXR) and GeneXpert (Xpert) rapid diagnostic testing to improve early detection of TB disease. Household contacts and vulnerable populations (e.g., individuals aged 60 years and older, smokers, diabetics, those with alcohol use disorders, and those previously treated for TB) with and without TB symptoms were screened in community campaigns using CXRs, followed by Xpert for those with a positive screen. In public non-TB district facilities, diabetics, respiratory outpatients, inpatients with lung disease, and other vulnerable populations underwent 2X evaluation. During COVID-19 restrictions in Vietnam, the 2X strategy improved access to TB services by decentralization to commune health stations, the lowest level of the health system, and enabling self-screening using a quick response mobile application. The number needed to screen (NNS) with CXRs to diagnose 1 person with TB disease was calculated for all 2X models and showed the highest yield among self-screeners (11 NNS with CXR), high yield for vulnerable populations in communities (60 NNS) and facilities (19 NNS), and moderately high yield for household contacts in community campaigns (154 NNS). Computer-aided diagnosis for CXRs was incorporated into community and facility implementation and improved physicians' CXR interpretations and Xpert referral decisions. Integration of TB infection and TB disease evaluation increased eligibility for TB preventive treatment among household contacts, a major challenge during implementation. The 2X strategy increased the rational use of Xpert, employing a health system-wide approach that reached vulnerable populations with and without TB symptoms in communities and facilities for early detection of TB disease. This strategy was effectively adapted to different levels of the health system during COVID-19 restrictions and contributed to post-pandemic TB recovery in Vietnam.

Real-world analysis of afatinib as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced stage non-small-cell lung cancer with uncommon EGFR mutations: a multicenter study in Vietnam.

Background: Afatinib is indicated for advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and uncommon mutations. However, real-world studies on this topic are limited. This study aimed to evaluate afatinib as first-line therapy for locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC with uncommon EGFR mutations. Patients and methods: A retrospective study included 92 patients with advanced NSCLC with uncommon and compound EGFR mutations, treated with afatinib as first-line therapy. Patients were followed up and evaluated every 3 months or when symptoms of progressive disease arose. The endpoints were objective response rate (ORR), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), and adverse events. Results: The G719X EGFR mutation had the highest occurrence rate (53.3% for both monotherapy and the compound). By contrast, the compound mutation G719X-S768I was observed at a rate of 22.8%. The ORR was 75%, with 15.2% of patients achieving complete response. The overall median TTF was 13.8 months. Patients with the G719X EGFR mutation (single and compound) had a median TTF of 19.3 months, longer than that of patients with other mutations, who had a median TTF of 11.2 months. Patients with compound EGFR mutations (G719X and S768I) demonstrated a median TTF of 23.2 months compared to that of 12.3 months for other mutations. Tolerated doses of 20 or 30 mg achieved a longer median TTF of 17.1 months compared to 11.2 months with 40 mg. Median TTF differed between patients with and without brain metastasis, at 11.2 and 16.9 months, respectively. Rash (55.4%) and diarrhea (53.3%) were the most common adverse events, primarily grades 1 and 2. Other side effects occurred at a low rate. Conclusion: Afatinib is effective for locally advanced metastatic NSCLC with uncommon EGFR mutations. Patients with G719X, compound G719X-S768I mutations, and tolerated doses of 20 or 30 mg had a longer median TTF than those with other mutations.

Deep-learning model for evaluating histopathology of acute renal tubular injury.

Tubular injury is the most common cause of acute kidney injury. Histopathological diagnosis may help distinguish between the different types of acute kidney injury and aid in treatment. To date, a limited number of study has used deep-learning models to assist in the histopathological diagnosis of acute kidney injury. This study aimed to perform histopathological segmentation to identify the four structures of acute renal tubular injury using deep-learning models. A segmentation model was used to classify tubule-specific injuries following cisplatin treatment. A total of 45 whole-slide images with 400 generated patches were used in the segmentation model, and 27,478 annotations were created for four classes: glomerulus, healthy tubules, necrotic tubules, and tubules with casts. A segmentation model was developed using the DeepLabV3 architecture with a MobileNetv3-Large backbone to accurately identify the four histopathological structures associated with acute renal tubular injury in PAS-stained mouse samples. In the segmentation model for four structures, the highest Intersection over Union and the Dice coefficient were obtained for the segmentation of the "glomerulus" class, followed by "necrotic tubules," "healthy tubules," and "tubules with cast" classes. The overall performance of the segmentation algorithm for all classes in the test set included an Intersection over Union of 0.7968 and a Dice coefficient of 0.8772. The Dice scores for the glomerulus, healthy tubules, necrotic tubules, and tubules with cast are 91.78 ± 11.09, 87.37 ± 4.02, 88.08 ± 6.83, and 83.64 ± 20.39%, respectively. The utilization of deep learning in a predictive model has demonstrated promising performance in accurately identifying the degree of injured renal tubules. These results may provide new opportunities for the application of the proposed methods to evaluate renal pathology more effectively.

High biocompatible FITC-conjugated silica nanoparticles for cell labeling in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Fluorescence nanosilica-based cell tracker has been explored and applied in cell biological research. However, the aggregation of these nanoparticles at physiological pH is still the main limitation. In this research, we introduced a novel fluorescence nano-based cell tracker suitable for application in live cells. The silica-coated fluorescein isothiocyanate isomer (FITC-SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were modified with carboxymethylsilanetriol disodium salt (FITC-SiO2-COOH), integrating the dianion form of FITC molecules. This nanosystem exhibited superior dispersion in aqueous solutions and effectively mitigated dye leakage. These labeled NPs displayed notable biocompatibility and minimal cytotoxicity in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Significantly, the NPs did not have negative implications on cell migration or angiogenesis. They successfully penetrated primary fibroblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells and HeLa cells in both 2D and 3D cultures, with the fluorescence signal enduring for over 72 h. Furthermore, the NP signals were consistently observed in the developing gastrointestinal tract of live medaka fish larvae for extended periods during phases of subdued digestive activity, without manifesting any apparent acute toxicity. These results underscore the promising utility of FITC-SiO2-COOH NPs as advanced live cell trackers in biological research.

Improving nitrogen content in soil and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) yield by purple nonsulfur bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris in two consecutive seasons.

The study was conducted to assess the effects of nitrogen (N)-fixing purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) Rhodopseudomonas palustris TLS06, VNW02, VNW64, and VNS89 on soil fertility, N uptake, essential oil (EO) content, growth, and yield of lemon balm. The experiment followed a completely randomized block design with 9 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments consisted of (i) applying 100% N as the recommended fertilizer rate (RFR), (ii) applying 85% N as RFR, (iii) applying 70% N as RFR, (iv) applying 55% N as RFR, (v) the treatment ii combined with N-PNSB, (vi) the treatment iii combined with N-PNSB, (vii) the treatment iv combined with N-PNSB, (viii) 0% as RFR combined with N-PNSB, and (ix) 0% N as RFR. The results showed that applying N-PNSB increased the plant height, and the number of primary branches in both seasons. In addition, the treatment without N fertilizer combined with N-PNSB increased stem leaf biomass by 41.2 and 50.3% in both seasons as compared with the treatment without neither N fertilizer nor N-PNSB. For soil properties, among treatments without N fertilizer, the treatment with N-PNSB increased concentrations of NH4+, soluble P, and exchangeable K+ by 41.3, 41.4, and 26.8%, respectively, as compared with the treatment without N-PNSB at the end of the second season. Applying 85% N as RFR combined with N-PNSB had a greater yield by 5.78-11.8% as compared with the treatment with 100% N as RFR, and a greater EO content by 23% as compared with the treatment with 85% N as RFR.

Cognitively Driven Autonomous Flow Chemistry for Producing On-Demand Perovskite Quantum Dots Via Advanced Closed-Loop Feedback Control.

Recent developments in the synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite quantum dots (HP-QDs) through compositional adjustments have highlighted their potential applications in the fields of photovoltaics and light sources due to their unique optoelectronic properties. However, traditional methods to fine-tune their composition involve repetitive, labor-intensive, and costly processes. Herein, the utilization of a continuous flow chemistry approach is developed, in combination with a Proportional-Integral (PI) feedback control system as an effective method for producing on-demand methylammonium lead bromoiodide (MAPbBrx I3-x ) HP-QDs. The PI feedback control allows for real-time optimization of the flow rates of halide precursor solutions (halide PSs), enabling the precise tuning of the emission wavelength of HP-QDs. HP-QDs having an emission wavelength of 550 and 650 nm are synthesized through a blue-shifted and red-shifted algorithm, respectively, from any arbitrary reaction condition within 400 s. The iterative process through the PI feedback control produces the target HP-QDs with short rise time and low overshoot. The proposed automatic flow chemistry system integrated with a universal and accessible control algorithm of PI can generate the target HP-QDs with high accuracy, stability, and robustness, demonstrating a significant advancement in constructing an autonomous flow chemistry synthetic system.

A complex case of necrotizing pneumonia and parapneumonic effusion in a healthy 20-month-old child: Successful management with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and chest tube placement.

Necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is characterized by destruction of pulmonary tissue, resulting in multiple thin-walled cavities. There are limited reports on NP and parapneumonic effusion cases in children associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the optimal timing for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) following failure of chest tube placement and antibiotic treatment. A healthy 20-month-old child was hospitalized with symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia, progressing to severe NP and parapneumonic effusion. Despite receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics and chest tube placement on the third day of treatment, the condition continued to deteriorate, prompting VATS intervention on the sixth day. The presence of a "split pleural sign" and extensive lung necrosis on chest computed tomography contributed to initial treatment failure. Multidrug resistance P. aeruginosa was identified through nasal trachea aspiration specimens on the eighth day of treatment, leading to an adjustment in antibiotic therapy to high-dose meropenem and amikacin. Subsequently, the patient became afebrile, showed clinical improvement, and was discharged after 35 days of treatment. Through this case, we aim to emphasize an unusual pathogenic bacteria in the context of NP and the need for standardized surgical interventions in pediatric patients with NP.

Photochemical oxidation of VOCs and their source impact assessment on ozone under de-weather conditions in Western Taiwan.

The application of statistical models has excellent potential to provide crucial information for mitigating the challenging issue of ozone (O3) pollution by capturing its associations with explanatory variables, including reactive precursors (VOCs and NOX) and meteorology. Considering the large contribution of O3 in degrading the air quality of western Taiwan, three-year (2019-2021) hourly concentration data of VOC, NOX and O3 from 4 monitoring stations of western Taiwan: Tucheng (TC), Zhongming (ZM), Taixi (TX) and Xiaogang (XG), was evaluated to identify the effect of anthropogenic emissions on O3 formation. Owing to the high-ambient reactivity of VOCs on the underestimation of sources, photochemical oxidation was assessed to calculate the consumed VOC (VOCcons) which was followed by the source identification of their initial concentrations. VOCcons was observed to be highest in the summer season (16.7 and 22.7 ppbC) at north (TC and ZM) and in the autumn season (17.8 and 11.4 ppbC) in southward-located stations (TX and XG, respectively). Results showed that VOCs from solvents (25-27%) were the major source at northward stations whereas VOCs-industrial emissions (30%) dominated in south. Furthermore, machine learning (ML): eXtreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost) model based de-weather analysis identified that meteorological factors favor to reduce ambient O3 levels at TC, ZM and XG stations (-67%, -47% and -21%, respectively) but they have a major role in accumulating the O3 (+38%) at the TX station which is primarily transported from the upwind region of south-central Taiwan. Crucial insights using ML outputs showed that the finding of the study can be utilized for region-specific data-driven control of emission from VOCs-sources and prioritized to limit the O3-pollution at the study location-ns as well as their accumulation in distant regions.

A real-world cohort study of first-line afatinib in patients with EGFR-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of first-line afatinib treatment in a real-world setting in Vietnam. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted across nine hospitals in Vietnam. Advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who received afatinib as first-line therapy between April 2018 and June 2022 were included, and patient medical records were reviewed. Key outcomes were overall response rate (ORR), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), and tolerability. RESULTS: A total of 343 patients on first-line afatinib were eligible for the study. EGFR exon 19 deletion (Del19) alone was detected in 46.9% of patients, L858R mutation alone in 26.3%, and other uncommon EGFR mutations, including compound mutations, in 26.8%. Patients with brain metastases at baseline were 25.4%. Patients who received 40 mg, 30 mg, and 20 mg as starting doses of afatinib were 58.6%, 39.9%, and 1.5%, respectively. The ORR was 78.1% in the overall population, 82.6% in the Del19 mutation subgroup, 73.3% in the L858R mutation subgroup, and 75.0% in the uncommon mutation subgroup (p > 0.05). The univariate and multivariate analyses indicate that the ORR increased when the starting dose was 40 mg compared to starting doses below 40 mg (83.9% vs. 74.3%, p = 0.034). The median TTF (mTTF) was 16.7 months (CI 95%: 14.8-18.5) in all patients, with a median follow-up time of 26.2 months. The mTTF was longer in patients in the common EGFR mutation subgroup (Del19/L858R) than in those in the uncommon mutation subgroup (17.5 vs. 13.8 months, p = 0.045) and in those without versus with brain metastases at baseline (17.5 vs. 15.1 months, p = 0.049). There were no significant differences in the mTTF between subgroups based on the starting dose of 40 mg and < 40 mg (16.7 vs. 16.9 months, p > 0.05). The most common treatment-related adverse events (any grade/grade ≥ 3) were diarrhea (55.4%/3.5%), rash (51.9%/3.2%), paronychia (35.3%/5.0%), and stomatitis (22.2%/1.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Afatinib demonstrated clinical effectiveness and good tolerability in Vietnamese EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients. In our real-world setting, administering a starting dose below 40 mg might result in a reduction in ORR; however, it might not have a significant impact on TTF.

An open dataset on individual perceptions of transport policies.

Many cities are facing challenges caused by the increasing use of motorised transport and Hanoi, Vietnam, is no exception. The proliferation of petrol powered motorbikes has caused serious problems of congestion, pollution, and road safety. This paper reports on a new survey dataset that was created as part of the Urban Transport Modelling for Sustainable Well-Being in Hanoi (UTM-Hanoi) project. The survey of nearly 30,000 respondents gathers data on households' demographics, perceptions, opinions and stated behaviours. The data are informative in their own right and have also been used to experiment with multi-scale spatial statistics, synthetic population generation and machine learning approaches to predicting an individual's perceptions of potential government policies. The paper reports on the key findings from the survey and conducts a technical validation to contrast the outcomes to similar datasets that are available.

Neutrophil: Lymphocyte and Platelet: Lymphocyte ratios measured before transplantation and their correlation with new-onset diabetes post-transplantation in renal transplant recipients.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to evaluate the neutrophil:lymphocyte (NLR) and platelet:lymphocyte (PLR) ratios measured before transplantation and their correlation with new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) in renal transplant recipients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted our study in 324 adult patients consecutively admitted to Military Hospital 103, Ha Noi, Viet Nam, who received kidney allografts from living donors. These patients were followed-up during the first 2 years post-transplantation for NODAT. We examined the association between NLR and PLR measured prior to transplantation in patients with NODAT: NLR and PLR were calculated based on the results of the complete blood count. The criteria for diagnosis of a fully symptomatic NODAT case were based on the guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association and included fasting venous blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, with or without an oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS: The overall rate of NODAT during the two years after kidney transplantation was 13.6%. We found mean values of age and body mass index (BMI), and median values of NLR, PLR, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels, and the arteriosclerosis ratio in the NODAT group to be significantly higher than those of the non-NODAT group (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, an adjusted multivariate regression analysis showed that age (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.727, p < 0.001), BMI (AUC = 0.846, p < 0.001), serum hs-CRP levels (AUC = 0.884, p < 0.001), NLR (AUC = 0.888; p < 0.001), and PLR (AUC = 0.818; p < 0.001) had predictive value for NODAT. CONCLUSION: NLR and PLR measured before transplantation were good predictors for NODAT in the first 2 years post-renal transplantation.

KTt-45, a T-type calcium channel blocker, acts as an anticancer agent by inducing apoptosis on HeLa cervical cancer cell line.

The abnormal expression in the T-type calcium channels is involved in various cancer types, thus inhibiting T-type calcium channels is one of approaches in cancer treatment. The fact that KTt-45 acted as a T-type calcium channel inhibitor as well as a pain-relief agent prompts us to address if KTt-45 plays any role against cancer cells. The results showed that KTt-45 caused cytotoxic effects towards HeLa cervical, Raji lymphoma, MCF-7 breast cancer, and A549 lung cancer cell lines with IC50 values less than 100 µM, in which highly selective toxicity was against HeLa cells (IC50 = 37.4 µM, SI > 3.2). Strikingly, the KTt-45 induced an accumulation of cytoplasmic vacuoles after 48 h treatment and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis activation as evidenced by morphological features, chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and significant activation of caspase-9 as well as caspase-3. In conclusion, KTt-45 could inhibit cell growth and trigger mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in HeLa cervical cancer cells. The results, taken together, strongly demonstrated that KTt-45 is a potential agent for further study on anticancer drug development which not only targets cancer cells but also helps to relieve neuropathic pain in cancer patients.

Magnetite nanoparticles decorated on cellulose aerogel for p-nitrophenol Fenton degradation: Effects of the active phase loading, cross-linker agent and preparation method.

Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) are among the most effective Fenton-Like heterogeneous catalysts for degrading environmental contaminants. However, Fe3O4 NPs aggregate easily and have poor dispersion stability because of their magnetic properties, which seriously decrease their catalytic efficiency. In this study, a novel environmentally friendly method for synthesising Fe3O4@CA was proposed. Fe3O4 NPs were immobilized on the 3D cellulose aerogels (CAs) in order to augment the degradation efficiency of p-nitrophenol (PNP) treatment and make the separation of the catalyst accessible by vacuum filtration method. Besides, CAs were fabricated from a cellulose source extracted from water hyacinth by using different cross-linking agents, such as kymene (KM) and polyvinyl alcohol-glutaraldehyde system (PVA-GA), and other drying methods, including vacuum thermal drying and freeze drying, were evaluated in the synthesis process. As-synthesized samples were analysed by various methods, including Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. Then, using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, the difference in the degradability of PNP of the obtained material samples was also investigated to determine their potential applications. Results highlighted that the Fe3O4-3@CA-KF catalyst with an Fe3O4 loading of 0.40 g/gCA used KM as a cross-linker and the freeze-drying method demonstrated the highest PNP removal efficiency (92.5 %) in all Fe3O4@CA samples with a H2O2 content of 5 g/L. The degradation kinetics and well-fitted pseudo-first-order model were investigated. Notably, after five successive PNP degradation experiments, this catalyst retained ∼80 % of the ability to degrade PNP, indicating its outstanding reusability. In environmental remediation, this study provides valuable insights into the development of simply separated and high-efficiency catalysts for heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

Long noncoding RNAs as versatile molecular regulators of cellular stress response and homeostasis.

Normal cell and body functions need to be maintained and protected against endogenous and exogenous stress conditions. Different cellular stress response pathways have evolved that are utilized by mammalian cells to recognize, process and overcome numerous stress stimuli in order to maintain homeostasis and to prevent pathophysiological processes. Although these stress response pathways appear to be quite different on a molecular level, they all have in common that they integrate various stress inputs, translate them into an appropriate stress response and eventually resolve the stress by either restoring homeostasis or inducing cell death. It has become increasingly appreciated that non-protein-coding RNA species, such as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), can play critical roles in the mammalian stress response. However, the precise molecular functions and underlying modes of action for many of the stress-related lncRNAs remain poorly understood. In this review, we aim to provide a framework for the categorization of mammalian lncRNAs in stress response and homeostasis based on their experimentally validated modes of action. We describe the molecular functions and physiological roles of selected lncRNAs and develop a concept of how lncRNAs can contribute as versatile players in mammalian stress response and homeostasis. These concepts may be used as a starting point for the identification of novel lncRNAs and lncRNA functions not only in the context of stress, but also in normal physiology and disease.

Quantum Confinement in Epitaxial Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons on SiC Sidewalls.

The integration of graphene into devices necessitates large-scale growth and precise nanostructuring. Epitaxial growth of graphene on SiC surfaces offers a solution by enabling both simultaneous and targeted realization of quantum structures. We investigated the impact of local variations in the width and edge termination of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) on quantum confinement effects using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM, STS), along with density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) calculations. AGNRs were grown as an ensemble on refaceted sidewalls of SiC mesas with adjacent AGNRs separated by SiC(0001) terraces hosting a buffer layer seamlessly connected to the AGNRs. Energy band gaps measured by STS at the centers of ribbons of different widths align with theoretical expectations, indicating that hybridization of π-electrons with the SiC substrate mimics sharp electronic edges. However, regardless of the ribbon width, band gaps near the edges of AGNRs are significantly reduced. DFTB calculations successfully replicate this effect by considering the role of edge passivation, while strain or electric fields do not account for the observed effect. Unlike idealized nanoribbons with uniform hydrogen passivation, AGNRs on SiC sidewalls generate additional energy bands with non-pz character and nonuniform distribution across the nanoribbon. In AGNRs terminated with Si, these additional states occur at the conduction band edge and rapidly decay into the bulk of the ribbon. This agrees with our experimental findings, demonstrating that edge passivation is crucial in determining the local electronic properties of epitaxial nanoribbons.