Iliopsoas fibrosis after revision of total hip arthroplasty revealed by 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT: a case report.

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a well-established surgical procedure that has been extensively validated to alleviate pain, enhance joint function, improve the ability to perform daily activities, and enhance overall quality of life. However, this procedure is associated with certain complications, among which skeletal muscle fibrosis is a frequently overlooked but significant complication that can lead to persistent pain. Currently, there is no effective method for diagnosing skeletal muscle fibrosis following total hip arthroplasty. Case report: We report a 75-year-old male patient who complained of left groin pain after revision total hip arthroplasty. Serological examinations, X-rays, and bone scan results were all normal. However, during the 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT examination, we observed significant radiotracer uptake along the iliopsoas muscle. This abnormal uptake pattern suggested potential biological activity in this specific area. Combined with physical examination, the patient was diagnosed with iliopsoas fibrosis. Conclusions: The presented images indicated that the uptake pattern was an important indicator for diagnosis, and the prospect of fibroblast activation protein in the diagnosis of skeletal muscle fibrosis has shown certain application value.

Two-dimensional peptide nanosheets functionalized with gold nanorods for photothermal therapy of tumors.

Self-assembled peptide nanomaterials exhibit great potential for applications in materials science, energy storage, nanodevices, analytical science, biomedicine, tissue engineering, and others due to their tailorable ordered nanostructures and unique physical, chemical, and biological properties. Although one-dimensional peptide nanofibers and nanotubes have been widely used for biomedical applications, the design and synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) peptide nanostructures for cancer therapy remain challenging. In this work, we describe the creation of 2D biocompatible peptide nanosheets (PNSs) through molecular self-assembly, which can provide support matrixes for conjugating gold nanorods (AuNRs) to form high-performance 2D nanomaterials for photothermal conversion. After molecular modification, AuNRs can be chemically conjugated onto the surface of 2D PNSs, and the created PNS-AuNR nanohybrids serve as a potential nanoplatform for photothermal therapy of tumor cells. The obtained results indicate that both PNSs and AuNRs contribute to the improved efficiency of photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors, in which 2D PNSs provide high biocompatibility and a large surface area for binding AuNRs, and AuNRs show a high PTT ability towards tumors. The strategies of molecular design and functional tailoring of self-assembled peptide nanomaterials shown in this study are valuable and inspire the synthesis of biomimetic nanomaterials for biomedicine and tissue engineering applications.

Evaluation of the Effects of R-CHOP Chemotherapy on Brain Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma: A Baseline, Interim, and End-of-Treatment PET/CT Study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) chemotherapy on brain glucose metabolism in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: Seventy-two patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL underwent FDG PET/CT brain and whole-body scans at baseline (PET0), in the interim of chemotherapy (PET2), and at the end (PET6) of chemotherapy. All three brain scans of each patient were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping software. RESULTS: Compared with the PET0 scan, the PET2 and PET6 scans revealed a significantly higher glucose metabolism throughout the whole brain, with the PET6 scan revealing a higher metabolism than the PET2 scan. Patients with a complete response (CR) displayed decreased glucose metabolism in the lingual gyrus and increased glucose metabolism in the pons after chemotherapy compared with the findings in patients with partial responses or progressive disease. CONCLUSIONS: Brain glucose metabolism was affected by R-CHOP treatment throughout the entire chemotherapy protocol.

The role of creative cognitive reappraisals in positively transforming negative emotions.

Recent studies have found the connections between cognitive reappraisals' creativity and their regulatory efficacy. The present study proposed and tested a novel hypothesis on the function of cognitive reappraisals, especially creative ones. That is, whether they could positively alter negative emotional arousal toward unpleasant stimuli. To this end, two questions were investigated: (a) whether the creative reappraisals were more capable than ordinary ones of transforming the negative stimuli (pictures) to be perceived as positive, and (b) whether these two kinds of reappraisals made the "negative-to-positive transformation" through different mechanisms. To answer the first question, we examined the power of the creative and ordinary reappraisals in making the "negative-to-positive transformation" using an indirect and delayed "positive-or-negative" picture-sorting task (Exp. 1, n = 41 with a statistical power of 0.877), or using a direct and immediate subjective rating (Exp. 2, n = 31 with a statistical power of 0.768). To answer the second question, we checked how the factor of creativeness (creative vs. ordinary reappraisal) interacted with the factor of "timing" (simultaneous vs. delayed reappraisal delivery, Exp. 1), or with that of "dose" (one vs. three reappraisal applications; Exp. 2), in making the "negative-to-positive transformation," respectively, and examined if the variation of "timing" or "dose" factors would exert different effects on the creative and ordinary reappraisals' regulatory function. Our results generally proved that creative reappraisal was more capable of making the "negative-to-positive transformation" than the ordinary reappraisal, regardless of the direct and indirect emotion evaluation ratings as well as the variations in the timing and dose of reappraisal delivery. Moreover, we found that these two kinds of reappraisals could show dissociable dose-dependent effects (but not timing-dependent ones), thus partially implying that creative and ordinary reappraisal might make the "negative-to-positive transformation" through fundamentally different processes or mechanisms.

Confined La2O3 particles in mesoporous carbon material for enhanced phosphate adsorption.

Novel phosphate adsorbents with confined La2O3 inside mesoporous carbon were fabricated by the solid-state grinding method using pristine mesoporous carbon material CMK-3 (PCMK-3) and oxidized CMK-3 (OCMK-3) as the matrixes (denoted as La2O3@PCMK-3 and La2O3@OCMK-3). Compared with pure La2O3, La2O3@PCMK-3 and La2O3@OCMK-3 exhibited higher normalized phosphate adsorption capacity, indicative of efficient loading of La2O3 inside the mesopores of the carbon materials. Furthermore, La2O3 loading led to substantially enhanced phosphate adsorption. The adsorption capacities of La2O3@OCMK-3 samples were higher than those of La2O3@PCMK-3 samples, possibly owing to the oxygen-containing groups forming in OCMK-3 during HNO3 oxidation, which enhanced the dispersion of La2O3 in the mesopores of OCMK-3. The adsorption capacities of La2O3@PCMK-3 and La2O3@OCMK-3 increased with the La2O3 loading amount. Phosphate adsorption onto La2O3(14.7)@PCMK-3 followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics with respect to correlation coefficient values (larger than 0.99). As pH increased from 3.4 to 12.0, the phosphate adsorption amounts of La2O3(14.7)@PCMK-3 and La2O3(15.7)@OCMK-3 decreased from 37.64 mg g-1 and 37.08 mg g-1 to 21.92 mg g-1 and 14.18 mg g-1, respectively. Additionally, La2O3@PCMK-3 showed higher adsorption selectivity towards phosphate than coexisting Cl-, NO 3 - and SO 4 2 - . The adsorbent La2O3(14.7)@PCMK-3 remained stable after five regeneration cycles.

Degradation of aqueous methylparaben by non-thermal plasma combined with ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites: Performance, multi-catalytic mechanism, influencing factors and degradation pathways.

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) combined with zinc ferrite-reduced graphene oxide (ZnFe2O4-rGO) nanocomposites were used for the degradation of aqueous methylparaben (MeP). ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites were prepared using the hydrothermal method, with the structure and photoelectric properties of nanocomposites then characterized. The effects of discharge power, initial MeP concentration, initial pH, and air flow rate on MeP degradation efficiency were investigated, and the multi-catalytic mechanism and MeP degradation pathways were established. Results showed that ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites with a 10%:90% mass ratio of GO:ZnFe2O4 had an optimal catalytic effect. The MeP degradation efficiency of NTP combined with ZnFe2O4-rGO (10 wt%), was approximately 25% higher than that of NTP alone. Conditions favorable for MeP degradation included higher discharge power, lower MeP concentration, neutral pH value, and higher air flow rate. The degradation of MeP by NTP combined with ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. O2•-, •OH, H2O2, and O3 were found to play important roles in the MeP degradation, as part of the multi-catalytic mechanism of NTP combined with ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites. MeP degradation pathways were proposed based on the degradation intermediates detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry, including demethylation, hydroxylation, carboxylation, ring-opening, and mineralization reactions. The prepared ZnFe2O4-rGO nanocomposites provide an approach for improved contaminant degradation efficiency, with reduced energy consumption in the NTP process.

Transcriptome sequencing of adenomyosis eutopic endometrium: A new insight into its pathophysiology.

The eutopic endometrium has been suggested to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of adenomyosis. However, the specific genes in eutopic endometrium responsible for the pathogenesis of adenomyosis still remain to be elucidated. We aim to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and molecular pathways/networks in eutopic endometrium from adenomyosis patients and provide a new insight into disease mechanisms at transcriptome level. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed with 12 eutopic endometrium from adenomyosis and control groups. Differentially expressed genes in adenomyosis were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and immunochemistry. Functional annotations of the DEGs were analysed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Quantitative DNA methylation analysis of CEBPB was performed with MassArray system. A total of 373 differentially expressed genes were identified in the adenomyosis eutopic endometrium compared to matched controls. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that IL-6 signalling and ERK/MAPK signalling were activated in adenomyosis endometrium. We also found that the increased expression and DNA hypomethylation of CEBPB were associated with adenomyosis. Our results revealed key pathways and networks in eutopic endometrium of adenomyosis. The study is the first to propose the association between C/EBPß and adenomyosis and can improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of adenomyosis.

Atrial natriuretic peptide inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of bronchial epithelial cells through cGMP/PKG signaling by targeting Smad3 in a murine model of allergic asthma.

Background: Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) inhibits TGF-ß1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human airway cells. We aim to explore the role and mechanism of ANP on EMT of bronchial epithelial cells from murine model of allergic asthma in vitro. Methods: Murine model of allergic asthma was established with BALB/c mice using ovalbumin (OVA). Bronchial epithelial cells were isolated from OVA-exposed mice, and then were cocultured with TGF-ß1, ANP, natriuretic peptide receptor A antagonist, cGMP analog, cGMP inhibitor or/and protein kinase G (PKG) inhibitor, respectively. We assessed expressions of E-Cadherin, α-SMA, cGMP, Smad3 and p-Smad3 in the murine cells before and after Smad3 silence. Results: Compared with bronchial epithelial cells from controls and OVA-exposed mice without additional stimulation, the mRNA and protein expressions of E-Cadherin were decreased but α-SMA expressions were increased in cells with TGF-ß1 stimulation from OVA-exposed mice in vitro. That could be reversed by ANP. The effect of ANP could be mimicked by the cGMP analog, which could be reversed by cGMP or PKG inhibitor. Moreover, the phosphorylated Smad3 expression was consistent with that of α-SMA. When Smad3 was silenced, Smad3 was mostly expressed in cytoplasm. In contrast, it is mostly expressed in nucleus of non-silenced cells during EMT. Conclusions: In a murine model of allergic asthma, ANP could inhibit TGF-ß1-induced EMT of bronchial epithelial cells through cGMP/PKG signaling, targeting TGF-ß1/Smad3 via attenuating phosphorylation of Smad3 in vitro, which may provide potential of ANP in treating allergic asthma with airway remodeling.

Cesarean scar endometriosis: presentation of 198 cases and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Cesarean scar endometriosis (CSE) is the most common type of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE). The aim of this study was to systematically identify the clinical features of CSE and recommend precautionary measures. METHODS: A large, retrospective study was undertaken with CSE patients treated surgically at our hospital between January 2005 and December 2017. RESULTS: A total of 198 CSE patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 32.0 ± 4.0 years. The main complaint of the patients was abdominal mass (98.5%), followed by cyclic pain (86.9%). The latency period of CSE was 31.6 ± 23.9 months, and the duration between the onset of symptoms and this surgery was 28.3 ± 25.0 months. A majority (80.8%, n = 160) of the patients had undergone a Pfannenstiel incision, and a minority (19.2%, n = 38) a vertical midline incision. The latency period of CSE in the case of a Pfannenstiel incision was significantly shorter than that in the case of a vertical midline incision (24.0 vs 33.0 months, P = 0.006). A total of 187 (94.4%) patients had a single endometrioma, 11 (5.6%) patients had multiple endometriomas, and the 11 multiple-endometrioma patients had all undergone a Pfannenstiel incision. Lesions of endometrioma were common in corner sites, after either incision: 142/171 (83.0%) in Pfannenstiel incision scars and 32/38 (84.2%) in vertical incision scars. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that the Pfannenstiel incision carries a higher risk of CSE than the vertical midline incision. Thorough cleaning at the conclusion of CS, particularly of both corner sites of the adipose layer and the fascia layer, is strongly recommended for CSE prevention. Further studies might provide additional recommendations.

Simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and acid orange 7 from water solution by dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

A feasibility study was conducted for simultaneous removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and azo dye acid orange 7 (AO7) by the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. The results showed that there was a synergistic effect between Cr(VI) reduction and AO7 degradation. The presence of Cr(VI) enhanced the degradation efficiency of AO7. Meanwhile, the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) also increased in the presence of AO7. Under acidic conditions (pH = 3.0), the reduction efficiency of Cr(VI) was higher (approximately 94%). However, the presence of Cr(VI) diminished the effect of pH on the AO7 degradation efficiency. By increasing the input voltage from 80 to 120 V, the removal efficiencies of Cr(VI) and AO7 were observably increased from 54% to 88% and 62% to 89%, respectively. Adding organic matters inhibited the degradation of AO7 and promoted the reduction of Cr(VI). The addition of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III) could inhibit the Cr(VI) reduction, but not significantly affect the degradation of AO7. The degradation intermediates of AO7 were identified by LC-MS/MS system and a possible degradation pathway was proposed. This study showed that the DBD plasma can simultaneously remove Cr(VI) and AO7, which provided a new idea for the actual wastewater treatment.

[Role of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and its inhibitor in the respiratory diseases].

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) is known as a highly conserved type II transmembraneous glycoprotein widely distributed in a variety of tissues and cells, and expressed in the peripheral blood as a soluble form. It has been reported that DPP4 play a distinct role in the physiological and pathological processes, such as immune regulation, inflammatory reaction, cell adhesion, and cell apoptosis. DPP4 inhibitor showes an incredible effect on the control of blood glucose and it is thought as a newly-developed drug for diabetes, especially in regulation of post-prandial glycemia. It has been reported that DPP4 plays a potential role in many respiratory diseases, especially in the pathogenesis of asthma.

Atrial natriuretic peptide: A novel mediator for TGF-ß1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in 16HBE-14o and A549 cells.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is increasingly expressed on airway and inhibits pulmonary arterial remodeling. However, the role of ANP in remodeling of respiratory system is still unclear. The role of ANP on airway remodeling and the possible mechanism was explored in this study. Both human bronchial epithelial 16HBE-14o cells and alveolar epithelial A549 cells were stimulated by TGF-ß1, ANP, cGMP inhibitor, PKG inhibitor, and cGMP analogue. The expressions of epithelial markers, mesenchymal markers, and Smad3 were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. Immunohistochemical staining was employed to assess Smad3 expression once it was silenced by siRNA in 16HBE-14o or A549 cells. Our results showed that the mRNA and protein expressions of E-Cadherin were decreased, whereas α-SMA expressions were increased after induction by TGF-ß1 in 16HBE-14o and A549 cells. The E-Cadherin expressions were increased and α-SMA expressions were decreased after ANP stimulation. Inhibition of cGMP or PKG decreased E-Cadherin expression but increased α-SMA expression, which could be reversed by cGMP analogue. Moreover, the phosphorylated Smad3 expression was consistent with α-SMA expression. After smad3 was silenced, Smad3 was mostly expressed in cytoplasm instead of nucleus as non-silenced cells during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In conclusion, ANP inhibits TGF-ß1-induced EMT in 16HBE-14o and A549 cells through cGMP/PKG signaling, by which it targets TGF-ß1/Smad3 via attenuating phosphorylation of Smad3. These findings suggest the potential of ANP in the treatment on pulmonary diseases with airway remodeling.

Decomposition of acetaminophen in water by a gas phase dielectric barrier discharge plasma combined with TiO2-rGO nanocomposite: Mechanism and degradation pathway.

Acetaminophen (APAP) served as the model pollutant to evaluate the feasibility of pollutant removal by gas phase dielectric barrier discharge plasma combined with the titanium dioxide-reduced Graphene Oxide (TiO2-rGO) nanocomposite. TiO2-rGO nanocomposite was prepared using the modified hydrothermal method and characterized by TEM and XPS before and after plasma process. The results indicated that the APAP degradation efficiency was significantly improved to 92% after 18min of discharge plasma treatment coupling 0.25gL-1 TiO2-rGO 5%wt at 18kV, compared with the plasma alone and plasma combined with P25 TiO2. The degradation mechanism for APAP in this system was studied by investigating the effects of the operational variables (e.g. discharge voltage and pH value) and the amount of the generated active species; and the results showed that O3 and H2O2 yields were influenced notably by adding TiO2-rGO. Also, it was observed that, compared with unused TiO2-rGO, the photocatalytic performance of used TiO2-rGO declined after several recirculation times due to the further reduction of Graphene Oxide in plasma system. Finally, intermediate products were analyzed by UV-vis spectrometry and HPLC/MS, and possible transformation pathways were identified with the support of theoretically calculating the frontier electron density of APAP.

Heterogeneous electro-Fenton oxidation of azo dye methyl orange catalyzed by magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles.

Azo dye methyl orange (MO) degradation by heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) with a magnetic nano-Fe3O4 catalyst was investigated. In this study, Fe3O4 was synthesized by a coprecipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The influences of the main operating parameters such as current density, pH, catalyst dosage and aeration rate were studied. The results revealed that higher current density, catalyst dosage and aeration rate facilitated the degradation of MO, whereas the degradation efficiency of MO was decreased with an increase in the initial pH. After 90 min EF process, the volume of 500 mL, the initial concentration of 50 mg L(-1) MO solution could be degraded by 86.6% with the addition of 1 g L(-1) Fe3O4 under the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) and pH 3, compared with 69.5% for the electrolytic process alone. Meanwhile, a total organic carbon removal of 32% was obtained, up to 35.5 mg L(-1) accumulated H2O2 and less than 3.5 mg L(-1) Fe leaching were detected. Moreover, based on the results of natural bond orbital (at B3LYP/6-311G (d, p)) and liquid chromatograph-triple quadrupole mass spectrometer analysis, nine intermediates were identified and the proposed degradation pathways were investigated.

[Serum levels of ANP signaling in different degree of allergic asthmatics and its role in the pathogenesis ofallergic asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the severity of allergic asthma and the levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and to analyze the potential role of ANP signaling in the pathogenesis of asthma.
 METHODS: We recruited 96 subjects, including 23 healthy volunteers, 25 stable allergic asthmatics, 21 mild allergic asthmatics and 27 moderate allergic asthmatics, from the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University. ANP, IFN-γ and IL-4 levels in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the mRNA and protein expressions of natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPRA), transcription factor T-bet and GATA3 were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot.
 RESULTS: The levels of ANP in serum and the expressions of NPRA mRNA and protein in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from the mild asthma group or the moderate group were elevated compared with those in the stable asthma group or the mild group, respectively (P<0.05). Consistently, expressions of GATA3 and levels of IL-4 showed the same tendency (P<0.05). In addition, levels of ANP in serum were positively correlated with the severity of asthma, whereas negatively correlated with the ratio of T-bet/GATA3 and IFN-γ/IL-4 (r=-0.85, P<0.05; r=-0.88, P<0.05, respectively).
 CONCLUSION: Levels of ANP signaling in serum were significantly increased with the severity of allergic asthma, suggesting a close relation with the pathogenesis of asthma; ANP signaling may play a role in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma through inducing the Th2-type immune response.

Degradation of triclosan in aqueous solution by dielectric barrier discharge plasma combined with activated carbon fibers.

The degradation of triclosan (TCS) in aqueous solution by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with activated carbon fibers (ACFs) was investigated. In this study, ACFs and DBD plasma coexisted in a planar DBD plasma reactor, which could synchronously achieve degradation of TCS, modification and in situ regeneration of ACFs, enhancing the effect of recycling of ACFs. The properties of ACFs before and after modification by DBD plasma were characterized by BET and XPS. Various processing parameters affecting the synergetic degradation of TCS were also investigated. The results exhibited excellent synergetic effects in DBD plasma-ACFs system on TCS degradation. The degradation efficiency of 120 mL TCS with initial concentration of 10 mg L(-1) could reach 93% with 1 mm thick ACFs in 18 min at input power of 80 W, compared with 85% by single DBD plasma. Meanwhile, the removal rate of total organic carbon increased from 12% at pH 6.26-24% at pH 3.50. ACFs could ameliorate the degradation efficiency for planar DBD plasma when treating TCS solution at high flow rates or at low initial concentrations. A possible degradation pathway of TCS was investigated according to the detected intermediates, which were identified by liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) combined with theoretical calculation of Gaussian 09 program.

High mobility group box 1: a novel mediator of Th2-type response-induced airway inflammation of acute allergic asthma.

BACKGROUND: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an inflammatory mediator involved into the advanced stage of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and is over-expressed in bacterial sepsis and hemorrhagic shock. Recently, it has been found that the HMGB1 was abnormally expressed in induced sputum and plasma of asthmatic patients. However, the precise role of HMGB1 in the acute allergic asthma is unclear. Therefore, we aim to investigate the role HMGB1 in regulating airway inflammation of acute allergic asthma and its possible mechanism in this study. METHODS: Forty-eight BALB/c female mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group (Control), asthma group (Asthma), HMGB1 group (HMGB1) and anti-HMGB1 (HMGB1 monoclonal antibody of mice) group (Anti-HMGB1). Acute allergic asthma mice models were established by ovalbumin (OVA)-challenge. Then, we measured the levels of HMGB1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue of mice. Finally, after exogenous HMGB1 and/or anti-HMGB1 administration, pulmonary function test, histological analysis, Western blot, cytological analysis and ELISA assay were performed to explore the effect of HMGB1 in acute allergic asthma. RESULTS: The levels of HMGB1 in BALF and lung tissue and the expression of HMGB1 protein in the lung tissue of asthma group were significantly higher than those in control group, respectively (P<0.01). Moreover, the HMGB1 group was showed an increased mucus secretion and infiltration of eosinophils and neutrophils in the airway of asthma mice, and a decrease of pulmonary function, compared to control group (P<0.01, respectively). Meanwhile, exogenous HMGB1 could increase the levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-17, whereas could reduce the IFN-γ in the BALF and lung tissue (P<0.05, respectively). Exogenous HMGB1 could enhance GATA3 expression of Th2 cells and attenuate the T-bet expression of Th1 cells (P<0.05, respectively), which could be abrogated after inhibiting HMGB1. CONCLUSIONS: HMGB1 could aggravate eosinophilic inflammation in the airway of acute allergic asthma through inducing a dominance of Th2-type response and promoting the neutrophilic inflammation.

ANP/NPRA signaling preferentially mediates Th2 responses in favor of pathological processes during the course of acute allergic asthma.

Although atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has been well recognized for its role in the regulation of volume-pressure homeostasis in cardiovascular system, its impact on respiratory system, particularly on the pathogenesis of acute allergic asthma, is yet to be elucidated. In the present report, we induced mice with OVA for onset of acute allergic asthma along with the administration of recombinant ANP or A71915 (an antagonist for ANP/natriuretic peptide receptor A, NPRA). It was noted that treatment of mice with ANP significantly promoted inflammatory infiltration in the airway and the production of inflammatory cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung homogenates, and the number of inflammatory cells in the BALF was significantly higher as compared with that of PBS treated asthmatic mice. Moreover, blockade of ANP/NPRA signaling by A71915 almost completely attenuated the effect of ANP administration. Mechanistic studies revealed that ANP repressed the expression of Th1 transcription factor T-bet, but enhanced Th2 transcription GATA3 expression. Together, our data provided feasible evidence suggesting that ANP/NPRA signaling predominantly induces a Th2-type response in favor of pathological processes during the course of acute allergic asthma.

Degradation of TAIC by water falling film dielectric barrier discharge--influence of radical scavengers.

This work describes the application of plasma generated by water falling film dielectric barrier discharge for the degradation of triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC). The results indicated that TAIC solution of 1000mg/L was effectively removed within 60min treatment at 120W output power. Six intermediates were identified and a possible evolution of the TAIC degradation process was continuously proposed basing on the results of mass spectrum analysis. The effects of metal ions and radical scavengers were investigated. Results showed that whatever hydrogen radical scavengers (carbon tetrachloride, perfluorooctane) or hydroxyl radical scavengers (iso-propyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol) all could further enhance the degradation processes, and both kings of radical scavengers could promote the generation of H2O2. In the present study, we employed a novel method by introducing the mixed additives of Fe(2+) and radical scavengers into the plasma. It was found that the reaction rate constant and energy efficiency were improved by 309.2% and 387.8%, respectively. Among the mixed additives, Fe(2+) could promote the decomposition and increase the oxidizing power of H2O2, which is generated from the plasma discharge and greatly enhanced by the radical scavengers.

Dielectric barrier discharge induced degradation of diclofenac in aqueous solution.

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor as one of the advanced oxidation processes was applied to the degradation of diclofenac in aqueous solution. The various parameters that affect the degradation of diclofenac and the proposed evolutionary process were investigated. The results indicated that the inner concentrations of 10 mg/L diclofenac can be all removed within 10 min under conditions of 50 W and pH value of 6.15. The existence of Fe(2+) in the liquid phase can promote the degradation of diclofenac. But it was rather ineffective in mineralization, because the intermediates containing the aromatic rings were recalcitrant to be degraded. Five intermediates were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), the OH · radical and O(3) were the major reactive species, and played an important role in the degradation of diclofenac. The toxicity of diclofenac degraded by DBD was assessed and the results indicated the efficiency of the DBD in the detoxification of the diclofenac solution.