Identification of risk factors and construction of a nomogram predictive model for post-stroke infection in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Post-stroke infection is the most common complication of stroke and poses a huge threat to patients. In addition to prolonging the hospitalization time and increasing the medical burden, post-stroke infection also significantly increases the risk of disease and death. Clarifying the risk factors for post-stroke infection in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is of great significance. It can guide clinical practice to perform corresponding prevention and control work early, minimizing the risk of stroke-related infections and ensuring favorable disease outcomes. AIM: To explore the risk factors for post-stroke infection in patients with AIS and to construct a nomogram predictive model. METHODS: The clinical data of 206 patients with AIS admitted to our hospital between April 2020 and April 2023 were retrospectively collected. Baseline data and post-stroke infection status of all study subjects were assessed, and the risk factors for post-stroke infection in patients with AIS were analyzed. RESULTS: Totally, 48 patients with AIS developed stroke, with an infection rate of 23.3%. Age, diabetes, disturbance of consciousness, high National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission, invasive operation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were risk factors for post-stroke infection in patients with AIS (P < 0.05). A nomogram prediction model was constructed with a C-index of 0.891, reflecting the good potential clinical efficacy of the nomogram prediction model. The calibration curve also showed good consistency between the actual observations and nomogram predictions. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.891 (95% confidence interval: 0.839-0.942), showing predictive value for post-stroke infection. When the optimal cutoff value was selected, the sensitivity and specificity were 87.5% and 79.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Age, diabetes, disturbance of consciousness, NIHSS score at admission, invasive surgery, and COPD are risk factors for post-stroke infection following AIS. The nomogram prediction model established based on these factors exhibits high discrimination and accuracy.

[Analysis on applications and funded projects in physiology and integrative biology of National Natural Science Foundation of China in the past decade].

Here we perform a review on applications and funded projects at Division of Physiology and Integrative Biology in Department of Life Sciences sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China in the past ten years. Based on the research fields of applications and funded projects and the funding cost, we analyzed the sub-disciplines of the funded applications, key support areas, research frontiers and trends in the subjects of physiology and integrative biology, which gives us an insight into the future applications to optimize the layout of research areas in Division of Physiology and Integrative Biology.

IL-33/ST2 axis promotes the inflammatory response of nasal mucosal epithelial cells through inducing the ERK1/2 pathway.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a nasal mucosal inflammatory disease mediated by environmental allergens. At present, the relationship between the IL-33/ST2 axis, ERK1/2 pathway and AR progression needs further exploration. In our study, an AR model was constructed in vitro by treating HNEpC cells with Der p1. qRT-PCR was applied to assess the mRNA levels of IL-33, ST2, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8. Western blotting was used to measure the protein levels of IL-33, ST2, and the downstream proteins p-ERK1/2, ERK1/2, p-RSK, and RSK. IL-6, IL-8, IL-33, and TNF-α protein levels in cell supernatants were evaluated by ELISA. Flow cytometry was performed to check cell apoptosis of HNEpC in the presence or absence of Der p1. Our results indicate that the relative levels of IL-33, ST2, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 were increased significantly in the AR model group. The above effects were notably reversed after transfection with shIL-33 or shST2. IL-33 stimulation further resulted in the increase in both ST2 and inflammation-associated cytokines, and these effects were restored after shST2 treatment. Also, the levels of inflammatory factors induced by IL-33 stimulation or ST2 overexpression were reversed after applying an ERK1/2 pathway blocker. In conclusion, IL-33/ST2 mediated inflammation of nasal mucosal epithelial cells by inducing the ERK1/2 pathway.

Synthesis of anionic ionic liquids@TpBd-(SO3)2 for the selective adsorption of cationic dyes with superior capacity.

The discharge of industrial printing and dyeing wastewater is one of the main reasons for the increasing water shortage and deterioration. The treatment of dyestuff wastewater is an issue and needs to be urgently solved. In this work, anionic ionic liquid functional covalent organic materials (COMs) were firstly synthesized and used for the selective adsorption of cationic dyes. First, a series of sulfonic acid group (SO3H)-functionalized anionic TpPa-SO3, TpBd-(SO3)2, and TpCR-(SO3)2 were prepared, respectively, and then imidazole was grafted onto TpBd-(SO3)2 to obtain ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2. The full characterization using X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, zeta-potentials, BET surface and pore analysis indicated that these COMs and ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 exhibited different morphologies, porosities, and potentials. The effects of the type of dye, adsorption time, initial dye concentration, and pH on the adsorption of dyes on ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 were systematically investigated, respectively. The results revealed that ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 possessed good adsorption performance for nine different cationic dyes with adsorption capacities in the range from 2865.3 mg g-1 for methylene blue (MB) to 597.9 mg g-1 for basic orange 2 (BO), but little adsorption for anionic and neutral dyes, revealing charge selectivity. The adsorption ratio of ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 for MB was as high as 74.0% at 10 min by using 1.0 mg material, owing to the post modification of TpBd-(SO3)2 with imidazole. The adsorption of MB on ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 was pH dependent. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics fitted well with the Freundlich and pseudo second-order kinetic model, respectively. Finally, the very outstanding advantages of superior selective adsorption, desorption, convenient preparation, and low density of ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 predicted its research and application potential in dye wastewater recovery.

[Silencing LRP1B with huge transcript by RNAi method].

Lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 B (LRP1B) is one of gigatic receptor subgroup members of lipoprotein receptor family. LRP1B encodes a huge transcript of 16.5 kb. There were difficulties for analysis of LRP1B function due to its huge transcript. In order to study the relation of LRP1B with tumor metastasis, the expression of LRP1B was blocked specially by using RNAi. According to the evaluated standard of the siRNAs and mRNA secondary structure at these target regions, out of the 1 100 candidates, 6 superior ones which locate at different regions of mRNA were selected during designing siRNA sequences. For these 6 targets, shRNA-pSilencer 4.1 recombinant were constructed and transfected into HEK 293 cells. The silencing effects of each siRNA were quantitatively assessed by Semi-Quantitative RT-PCR. It was found that 5 of these 6 shRNA-pSilencer4.1 recombinant could effectively silence the targeted gene LRP1B (>50%). Meanwhile several monoclonal cells, in which the expression of LRP1B was almost completely blocked, had been obtained. The results showed that the method for selecting siRNA, which integrates with mRNA secondary structure, provides a feasible and efficient approach on the design of siRNA of huge gene transcript.

[Lycopene liposomes: lycopene release in vitro and pharmaceutical behaviors and antioxidation in vivo].

Lycopene liposomes were prepared by conventional rotary-evaporated film-ultrasonication method. The release of lycopene from lycopene liposome was evaluated in vitro. The pharmacokinetic parameters of lycopene liposomes (L-LYC) and lycopene (LYC) oil, the effect of LYC and L-LYC on antioxidation were also investigated in rats. HPLC method was used to assay the concentration of lycopene in rat's plasma. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by 3P97 program. The release of L-LYC and LYC were measured in the artificial stomach liquid and bowel liquid. After 4 weeks of L-LYC or LYC feeding, the activity of SOD, T-AOC, GSH-Px, MDA and CAT in serum and liver were measured separately. The pharmacokinetic parameters of LYC oil and L-LYC in a single dose were 4.45 and 7.45 h for Tmax; 0.473 and 0.654 microg x mL(-1) for Cmax; 12.38 and 21.67 mirog x h x mL(-1) for AUC,respectively. The activities of GSH-Px and T-AOC in serum and liver of the L-LYC group increased (P < 0.05) and the concentrations of MDA and CAT decreased significantly (P < 0.05). It could be concluded that lycopene liposomes could prolong the time of absorption. L-LYC could increase antioxidative effect and reduce lipid peroxidation obviously compared with LYC in rats.