Cancer immunotherapy of Wilms tumor: a narrative review.

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common malignant tumor of the urinary system in children. Though the traditional treatment of surgery plus radiotherapy and chemotherapy achieves exciting clinical efficacy, in relapsed and refractory cases, the long-term overall survival rates are poor. Besides, chemotherapy and radiation have serious long-term toxic side effects on children. Cancer immunotherapy is a new tumor therapy that works by activating the body's immune system to allow immune cells to kill tumor cells more efficiently. Currently, cancer immunotherapy has been tested in clinical trials or basic studies in WT. This article reviews the current status of clinical trials and basic research of cancer immunotherapy in WT to promote the application of cancer immunotherapy in WT patients.

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Photoisomerization mechanism of iminoguanidinium receptors from spectroscopic methods and quantum chemical calculations.

The hydrazone functional group, when coupled with a pyridyl substituent, offers a unique class of widely tunable photoswitches, whose E-to-Z photoisomerization equilibria can be controlled through intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the N-H hydrazone donor and the pyridyl acceptor. However, little is known about the photoisomerization mechanism in this class of compounds. To address this issue, we report a pyridine-appended iminoguanidinium photoswitch that is functionally related to acylhydrazones and provides insight into the photoisomerization processes between the E and Z configurations. The E-to-Z photoisomerization of the E-2-pyridyl-iminoguanidinium cation (2PyMIG) in DMSO, prepared as the bromide salt, was quantified by 1H NMR, and probed in real time with ultrafast laser spectroscopy. The photoisomerization process occurs on a picosecond timescale, resulting in low fluorescence yields. The multiconfigurational reaction path found with the growing string method features a small barrier (4.3 or 6.5 kcal mol-1) that the E isomer in the π-π* state must overcome to reach the minimum energy conical intersection (MECI) connecting the E and Z isomers of 2PyMIG. While two possible pathways exist depending on the orientation of the pyridine ring, both exhibit the same qualitative features along the path and at their MECIs, involving simultaneous changes in the CCNN and CNNC dihedral angles. Furthermore, the ground state barrier for pyridine ring rotation is readily accessible, thus a low barrier pathway to the experimentally observed Z isomer exists for both MECIs leading to a transition from the E isomer to photoproduct. Combining multiconfigurational reaction path calculations using growing string method with time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy provided crucial insights into the photoisomerization process of 2PyMIG, resulting in both the computational and experimental results pointing to rapid photoisomerization via a surface crossing between the singlet π-π* and the ground states.

The resting cyst of dinoflagellate Scrippsiella acuminata host bacterial microbiomes with more diverse trophic strategies under conditions typically observed in marine sediments.

Variation in the condition of marine sediments provides selective preservation milieus, which act as a key determinant for the abundance and distribution of dinoflagellate resting cysts in natural sediments. Microbial degradation is an understudied biological factor of potential importance in the processes. However, gaps remain in our knowledge about the fundamental information of the bacterial consortia associated with dinoflagellate resting cysts both in laboratory cultures and in the field. Here we used Scrippsiella acuminata as a representative of cyst-producing dinoflagellates to delineate the diversity and composition of bacterial microbiomes co-existing with the laboratory-cultured resting cysts, and to explore possible impacts of low temperature, darkness, and anoxia (the mock conditions commonly observed in marine sediments) on the associated bacterial consortia. Bacterial microbiome with high diversity were revealed associated with S. acuminata at resting stage. The mock conditions could significantly shift bacterial community structure and exert notably inhibitory effects on growth-promoting bacteria. Resting cysts under conditions typically observed in marine sediments fostered bacterial microbiomes with more diverse trophic strategies, characteristic of prominently enriched anaerobic chemotrophic bacteria generating energy via respiration with several different terminal electron acceptors, which yielded more acidic milieu unfavorable for the preservation of calcareous resting cysts. Our findings suggest that there is complex and dynamic interaction between dinoflagellates resting cysts and the associated bacterial consortia in natural sediments. This intrinsic interaction may influence the maintenance and/or accumulation of dinoflagellate resting cysts with potential of germination and initiation blooms in the field.

Inhibition of 5-HT alleviates PTSD-like behaviors and promotes hippocampal neuroplasticity by modulating hippocampal autophagy in rats.

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) plays a substantial role in mitigating depression and anxiety. However, the potential effects of 5-HT against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Elevated plus maze test evaluates anxiety-related behaviors, and the open field test is used to assess overall activity levels and anxiety. Inflammatory cytokine levels were determined using ELISA. The levels of 5-HT and dopamine were measured using HPLC. mRNA and protein levels were examined by PCR and Western blot, respectively. Rats exposed to single prolonged stress (SPS) exhibited typical PTSD-like phenotypes, with decreased levels of 5-HT in the hippocampus and significant reductions in its downstream targets, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and TrkB. In addition, it was discovered that the autophagy signaling pathway might be involved in regulating hippocampal BDNF in rats exposed to SPS. Subsequent treatment with an intracerebral injection of sh-SERT significantly inhibited anxiety and cognitive dysfunction in rats. Moreover, sh-SERT treatment was observed to substantially reverse the increase in autophagy signaling protein expression and consequently improve the expression of BDNF and TrkB proteins, which had been reduced. The current study demonstrates that sh-SERT exhibits significant anti-PTSD effects, potentially mediated in part through the reduction of cellular autophagy to enhance hippocampal synaptic plasticity.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The study demonstrated that sh-SERT exhibits significant anti-posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) effects, potentially mediated in part through the reduction of cellular autophagy to enhance hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

Adsorption, Orientation, and Speciation of Amino Acids at Air-Aqueous Interfaces for the Direct Air Capture of CO2.

Amino acids make up a promising family of molecules capable of direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 from the atmosphere. Under alkaline conditions, CO2 reacts with the anionic form of an amino acid to produce carbamates and deactivated zwitterionic amino acids. The presence of the various species of amino acids and reactive intermediates can have a significant effect on DAC chemistry, the role of which is poorly understood. In this study, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) based computational simulations and vibrational sum frequency generation (vSFG) spectroscopy studies were conducted to understand the role of competitive interactions at the air-aqueous interface in the context of DAC. We find that the presence of potassium bicarbonate ions, in combination with the anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids, induces concentration and charge gradients at the interface, generating a layered molecular arrangement that changes under pre- and post-DAC conditions. In parallel, an enhancement in the surface activity of both anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids is observed, which is attributed to enhanced interfacial stability and favorable intermolecular interactions between the adsorbed amino acids in their anionic and zwitterionic forms. The collective influence of these competitive interactions, along with the resulting interfacial heterogeneity, may in turn affect subsequent capture reactions and associated rates. These effects underscore the need to consider dynamic changes in interfacial chemical makeup to enhance DAC efficiency and to develop successful negative emission and storage technologies.

Evidence for the production of asexual resting cysts in a free-living species of Symbiodiniaceae (Dinophyceae).

Coral reef ecosystems are the most productive and biodiverse marine ecosystems, with their productivity levels highly dependent on the symbiotic dinoflagellates belonging to the family Symbiodiniaceae. As a unique life history strategy, resting cyst production is of great significance in the ecology of many dinoflagellate species, those HABs-causing species in particular, however, there has been no confirmative evidence for the resting cyst production in any species of the family Symbiodiniaceae. Based on morphological and life history observations of cultures in the laboratory and morpho-molecular detections of cysts from the marine sediments via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), cyst photography, and subsequent singe-cyst PCR sequencing, here we provide evidences for the asexual production of resting cysts by Effrenium voratum, the free-living, red tide-forming, and the type species of the genus Effrenium in Symbiodiniaceae. The evidences from the marine sediments were obtained through a sequential detections: Firstly, E. voratum amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were detected in the cyst assemblages that were concentrated with the sodium polytungstate (SPT) method from the sediments collected from different regions of China Seas by high-throughput next generation sequencing (NGS); Secondly, the presence of E. voratum in the sediments was detected by PCR using the species-specific primers for the DNA directly extracted from sediment; Thirdly, E. voratum cysts were confirmed by a combined approach of FISH using the species-specific probes, light microscopic (LM) photography of the FISH-positive cysts, and a subsequent single-cyst PCR sequencing for the FISH-positive and photographed cysts. The evidences from the laboratory-reared clonal cultures of E. voratum include that: 1) numerous cysts formed in the two clonal cultures and exhibited a spherical shape, a smooth surface, absence of ornaments, and a large red accumulation body; 2) cysts could maintain morphologically intact for a storage of two weeks to six months at 4 °C in darkness and of which 76-92 % successfully germinated through an internal development processes within a time period of 3-21 days after being transferred back to the normal culturing conditions; 3) two or four germlings were released from each cyst through the cryptopylic archeopyle in all cysts with continuous observations of germination processes; and 4) while neither sexual mating of gametes nor planozygote (cells with two longitudinal flagella) were observed, the haploidy of cysts was proven with flow cytometric measurements and direct LM measurements of fluorescence from cells stained with either propidium iodide (PI) or DAPI, which together suggest that the cysts were formed asexually. All evidences led to a conclusion that E. voratum is capable of producing asexual resting cysts, although its sexuality cannot be completely excluded, which guarantees a more intensive investigation. This work fills a gap in the knowledge about the life cycle, particularly the potential of resting cyst formation, of the species in Symbiodiniaceae, a group of dinoflagellates having unique life forms and vital significance in the ecology of coral reefs, and may provide novel insights into understanding the recovery mechanisms of coral reefs destructed by the global climate change and suggest various forms of resting cysts in the cyst assemblages of dinoflagellates observed in the field sediments, including HABs-causing species.

Transoceanic ships as a source of alien dinoflagellate invasions of inland freshwater ecosystems.

Ships' ballast water and sediments have long been linked to the global transport and expansion of invasive species and thus have become a hot research topic and administrative challenge in the past decades. The relevant concerns, however, have been mainly about the ocean-to-ocean invasion and sampling practices have been almost exclusively conducted onboard. We examined and compared the dinoflagellate cysts assemblages in 49 sediment samples collected from ballast tanks of international and domestic routes ships, washing basins associated with a ship-repair yard, Jiangyin Port (PS), and the nearby area of Yangtze River (YR) during 2017-2018. A total of 43 dinoflagellates were fully identified to species level by metabarcoding, single-cyst PCR-based sequencing, cyst germination and phylogenetic analyses, including 12 species never reported from waters of China, 14 HABs-causing, 9 toxic, and 10 not strictly marine species. Our metabarcoding and single-cyst sequencing also detected many OTUs and cysts of dinoflagellates that could not be fully identified, indicating ballast tank sediments being a risky repository of currently unrecognizable invasive species. Particularly important, 10 brackish and fresh water species of dinoflagellate cysts (such as Tyrannodinium edax) were detected from the transoceanic ships, indicating these species may function as alien species potentially invading the inland rivers and adjacent lakes if these ships conduct deballast and other practices in fresh waterbodies. Significantly higher numbers of reads and OTUs of dinoflagellates in the ballast tanks and washing basins than that in PS and YR indicate a risk of releasing cysts by ships and the associated ship-repair yards to the surrounding waters. Phylogenetic analyses revealed high intra-species genetic diversity for multiple cyst species from different ballast tanks. Our work provides novel insights into the risk of bio-invasion to fresh waters conveyed in ship's ballast tank sediments and washing basins of shipyards.

Physicochemical control of solvation and molecular assembly of charged amphiphilic oligomers at air-aqueous interfaces.

HYPOTHESIS: Understanding the rules that control the assembly of nanostructured soft materials at interfaces is central to many applications. We hypothesize that electrolytes can be used to alter the hydration shell of amphiphilic oligomers at the air-aqueous interface of Langmuir films, thereby providing a means to control the formation of emergent nanostructures. EXPERIMENTS: Three representative salts - (NaF, NaCl, NaSCN) were studied for mediating the self-assembly of oligodimethylsiloxane methylimidazolium (ODMS-MIM+) amphiphiles in Langmuir films. The effects of the different salts on the nanostructure assembly of these films were probed using vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy and Langmuir trough techniques. Experimental data were supported by atomistic molecular dynamic simulations. FINDINGS: Langmuir trough surface pressure - area isotherms suggested a surprising effect on oligomer assembly, whereby the presence of anions affects the stability of the interfacial layer irrespective of their surface propensities. In contrast, SFG results implied a strong anion effect that parallels the surface activity of anions. These seemingly contradictory trends are explained by anion driven tail dehydration resulting in increasingly heterogeneous systems with entangled ODMS tails and appreciable anion penetration into the complex interfacial layer comprised of headgroups, tails, and interfacial water molecules. These findings provide physical and chemical insight for tuning a wide range of interfacial assemblies.

Sagittal balance parameters measurement on cervical spine MR images based on superpixel segmentation.

Introduction: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is essential in diagnosing cervical spondylosis, providing detailed visualization of osseous and soft tissue structures in the cervical spine. However, manual measurements hinder the assessment of cervical spine sagittal balance, leading to time-consuming and error-prone processes. This study presents the Pyramid DBSCAN Simple Linear Iterative Cluster (PDB-SLIC), an automated segmentation algorithm for vertebral bodies in T2-weighted MR images, aiming to streamline sagittal balance assessment for spinal surgeons. Method: PDB-SLIC combines the SLIC superpixel segmentation algorithm with DBSCAN clustering and underwent rigorous testing using an extensive dataset of T2-weighted mid-sagittal MR images from 4,258 patients across ten hospitals in China. The efficacy of PDB-SLIC was compared against other algorithms and networks in terms of superpixel segmentation quality and vertebral body segmentation accuracy. Validation included a comparative analysis of manual and automated measurements of cervical sagittal parameters and scrutiny of PDB-SLIC's measurement stability across diverse hospital settings and MR scanning machines. Result: PDB-SLIC outperforms other algorithms in vertebral body segmentation quality, with high accuracy, recall, and Jaccard index. Minimal error deviation was observed compared to manual measurements, with correlation coefficients exceeding 95%. PDB-SLIC demonstrated commendable performance in processing cervical spine T2-weighted MR images from various hospital settings, MRI machines, and patient demographics. Discussion: The PDB-SLIC algorithm emerges as an accurate, objective, and efficient tool for evaluating cervical spine sagittal balance, providing valuable assistance to spinal surgeons in preoperative assessment, surgical strategy formulation, and prognostic inference. Additionally, it facilitates comprehensive measurement of sagittal balance parameters across diverse patient cohorts, contributing to the establishment of normative standards for cervical spine MR imaging.

Towards Energy-Efficient Direct Air Capture with Photochemically-Driven CO2 Release and Solvent Regeneration.

The intensive energy demands associated with solvent regeneration and CO2 release in current direct air capture (DAC) technologies makes their deployment at the massive scales (GtCO2/year) required to positively impact the climate economically unfeasible. This challenge underscores the critical need to develop new DAC processes with significantly reduced energy costs. Recently, we developed a new approach to photochemically drive efficient release of CO2 through an intermolecular proton transfer reaction by exploiting the unique properties of an indazole metastable-state photoacid (mPAH), opening a new avenue towards energy efficient on-demand CO2 release and solvent regeneration using abundant solar energy instead of heat. In this Concept Article, we will describe the principle of our photochemically-driven CO2 release approach for solvent-based DAC systems, discuss the essential prerequisites and conditions to realize this cyclable CO2 release chemistry under ambient conditions. We outline the key findings of our approach, discuss the latest developments from other research laboratories, detail approaches used to monitor DAC systems in situ, and highlight experimental procedures for validating its feasibility. We conclude with a summary and outlook into the immediate challenges that must be addressed in order to fully exploit this novel photochemically-driven approach to DAC solvent regeneration.

Synergistic Assembly of Charged Oligomers and Amino Acids at the Air-Water Interface: An Avenue toward Surface-Directed CO2 Capture.

Interfaces are considered a major bottleneck in the capture of CO2 from air. Efforts to design surfaces to enhance CO2 capture probabilities are challenging due to the remarkably poor understanding of chemistry and self-assembly taking place at these interfaces. Here, we leverage surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy, Langmuir trough techniques, and simulations to mechanistically elucidate how cationic oligomers can drive surface localization of amino acids (AAs) that serve as CO2 capture agents speeding up the apparent rate of absorption. We demonstrate how tuning these interfaces provides a means to facilitate CO2 capture chemistry to occur at the interface, while lowering surface tension and improving transport/reaction probabilities. We show that in the presence of interfacial AA-rich aggregates, one can improve capture probabilities vs that of a bare interface, which holds promise in addressing climate change through the removal of CO2 via tailored interfaces and associated chemistries.

DNA and RNA Stability of Marine Microalgae in Cold-Stored Sediments and Its Implications in Metabarcoding Analyses.

The ever-increasing applications of metabarcoding analyses for environmental samples demand a well-designed assessment of the stability of DNA and RNA contained in cells that are deposited or buried in marine sediments. We thus conducted a qPCR quantification of the DNA and RNA in the vegetative cells of three microalgae entrapped in facsimile marine sediments and found that >90% of DNA and up to 99% of RNA for all microalgal species were degraded within 60 days at 4 °C. A further examination of the potential interference of the relic DNA of the vegetative cells with resting cyst detection in sediments was performed via a metabarcoding analysis in artificial marine sediments spiked with the vegetative cells of two Kareniaceae dinoflagellates and the resting cysts of another three dinoflagellates. The results demonstrated a dramatic decrease in the relative abundances of the two Kareniaceae dinoflagellates in 120 days, while those of the three resting cysts increased dramatically. Together, our results suggest that a positive detection of microalgae via metabarcoding analysis in DNA or RNA extracted from marine sediments strongly indicates the presence of intact or viable cysts or spores due to the rapid decay of relic DNA/RNA. This study provides a solid basis for the data interpretation of metabarcoding surveys, particularly in resting cyst detection.

Characteristics and Attendance of Patients Eligible for the PASS Clinic: A Transition of Care Model After Acute Symptomatic Seizures.

Background and Objectives: Most acute symptomatic seizure (ASyS) patients stay on antiseizure medications (ASM) long-term, despite low epilepsy development risk. The Post-Acute Symptomatic Seizure (PASS) clinic is a transition of care model for ASyS patients who individualize ASM management with the goal of a safe deprescription. We evaluated patients discharged on ASMs after a witnessed or suspected ASyS to analyze their PASS clinic visit attendance and its predictors. Methods: A single-center, retrospective cohort study of adults without epilepsy who were discharged from January 1, 2019, to September 30, 2019, on first-time ASMs due to witnessed or suspected ASyS (PASS clinic-eligible). We fit a cause-specific Cox proportional hazards model to analyze factors associated with PASS clinic attendance, which depends on survival in this patient population that has a high early postdischarge mortality (a competing risk). We checked for multicollinearity and the assumption of proportional hazards. Results: Among 307 PASS clinic-eligible patients, 95 (30.9%) attended the clinic and 136 (44.3%) died during a median follow-up of 14 months (interquartile range = 2-34). ASyS occurred in 60.2% (convulsive 47%; electrographic 26.7%) of patients. ASMs were continued in the absence of ASyS or epileptiform abnormalities (EAs) in 27% of patients. Multivariable analysis revealed that the presence of EAs (HR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.10-2.59), PASS clinic appointments provided before discharge (HR = 3.39, 95% CI 2.15-5.33), and less frequently noted ASyS etiologies such as autoimmune encephalitis (HR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.07-3.86) were associated with an increased clinic attendance rate. Medicare/Medicaid insurance (HR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.24-0.78, p = 0.005) and the presence of progressive brain injury (i.e., tumors; HR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.32-0.95, p = 0.032) were associated with reduced rate of PASS clinic attendance. Discussion: Our real-world data highlight the need for appropriate postdischarge follow-up of ASyS patients, which can be fulfilled by the PASS clinic model. Modest PASS clinic attendance can be significantly improved by adhering to a structured discharge planning process whereby appointments are provided before discharge. Future research comparing patient outcomes, specifically safe ASM discontinuation in a PASS clinic model to routine clinical care, is needed.

Unravelling photoisomerization dynamics in a metastable-state photoacid.

Direct access to trans-cis photoisomerization in a metastable state photoacid (mPAH) remains challenging owing to the presence of competing excited-state relaxation pathways and multiple transient isomers with overlapping spectra. Here, we reveal the photoisomerization dynamics in an indazole mPAH using time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) spectroscopy by exploiting a unique property of this mPAH having fluorescence only from the trans isomer. The combination of these experimental results with time-dependent density function theory (TDDFT) calculations enables us to gain mechanistic insight into this key dynamical process.

Discussion on the medication law of Wang Xugao for the treatment of phlegm-drinking disease based on data mining / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To explore the prescription ideas of treating phlegm-drinking disease in Wang Xugao Lin Zheng Yi An; To analyze the medication law of Wang Xugao's clinical treatment of phlegm-drinking disease. Methods:The database was established based on the medical records of the chapter of phlegm, fluid retention and liver wind and phlegm fire contained in Wang Xugao Lin Zheng Yi An. Excel 2017 software was used to analyze the frequency, taste and meridian tropism of all Chinese materia medica. For Chinese materia medica with frequency≥10, IBM SPSS Modeler 18 software was used to analyze the association rules based on Apriori algorithm, and SPSS 25.0 software was used for cluster analysis based on Ochiai algorithm. Results:A total of 80 medical cases were included, involving 114 prescriptions, including 191 flavors of Chinese materia medica . High-frequency Chinese materia medica mainly included Poria, Pinelliae Rhizoma, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Armeniacae Semen Amarum, etc. The main properties in Wang Xugao's medication for the treatment of phlegm-drink disease were warm, followed by cold and mild. The main tastes were sweet, bitter and pungent. Drugs mainly belong to the lung meridian and spleen, stomach, liver, kidney meridians; several core medicinal pairs were obtained, such as Farfarae Flos - Armeniacae Semen Amarum, Pinelliae Rhizoma - Zingiberis Rhizoma, Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis - Haliotidis Concha, etc. Eight groups of core drug combinations could be sorted out by clustering analysis.Conclusions:In the treatment of phlegm-drinking disease, Wang Xugao paid attention to the simultaneous treatment of multiple viscera to coordinate the balance between the viscera, emphasized the complex etiology of phlegm-drinking disease combined with cold, fire and dampness, attached importance to the treatment of healthy qi to retreat pathogens, the regulation of three-energizer to regulate qi flow. The treatment of three-energizer, promoting yang and reducing phlegm, clearing liver and dispelling wind are the main methods. Medication mainly chooses properties of sweet and warm, with bitter and pungent.

Study on the Effect of Liuwei Dihuang Pills on Regulating the Antigen Cross-Presenting Ability of Dendritic Cells by Interfering with Gap Junctional Communication Function / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To investigate whether Liuwei Dihuang Pills enhances the antigen cross-presenting ability of dendritic cell(DC)by increasing gap junctional intercellular communication(GJIC),and to explore the mechanisms involved.Methods Western Blot and immunofluorescence were used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the expression and membrane localisation of gap junction protein connexin43(Cx43)in mouse melanoma cells(B16);Calcein-AM/DiI fluorescence tracer assay was used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the function of GJIC in B16 cells;flow cytometry was used to observe the role of GJIC in the enhancement of DC antigen presenting ability by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and propidium iodide(PI)/Hoechst staining assay was used to observe the immunocidal effect of CD8+ T-lymphocytes.Results Western Blot and immunofluorescence experiments showed that Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum led to the up-regulation of Cx43 expression;fluorescence tracer experiments proved that the GJIC function of B16 cells was significantly enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;flow cytometry analyses showed that the DC antigen-presenting ability was enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and the results of PI/Hoechst staining showed that the immuno-killing effect of CD8+T-cells was more significant after the intervention of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum in B16-OVA.Conclusion Liuwei Dihuang Pills improve the GJIC function by up-regulating the Cx43 expression of melanoma cells,and then enhance the cross-presenting ability of DCs thus activating stronger CD8+ T-cell immunocidal responses.

Study on the Distribution Pattern of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes in Patients with Dry Eye and Its Correlation with Gender and Age / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To explore the etiology and pathogenesis of dry eye by studying the distribution pattern of gender,age and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome type in dry eye patients and by analyzing their correlation.Methods A total of 244 patients with dry eye who met the inclusion criteria were selected.The distribution of gender,age and TCM syndrome types was statistically analyzed,and then the correlation of TCM syndrome types with gender and age of dry eye patients was explored.Results(1)Of the 244 dry eye patients,96(39.34%)were male and 148(60.66%)were female,the incidence of the female being higher than that of the male.There were 124(50.82%)patients younger than 45 years old,81(33.20%)patients aged 45-60 years old,and 39(15.98%)patients older than 60 years old.The proportion of the patients younger than 45 years old was higher than that of other age groups.(2)Among the 244 patients with dry eyes,89 cases(36.47%)were differentiated as liver and kidney deficiency syndrome,75 cases(30.74%)were differentiated as qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome,69 cases(28.28%)were differentiated as spleen and kidney deficiency,and 11 cases(4.51%)were differentiated as yin deficiency and damp-heat syndrome.And the occurrence frequency of the above four syndrome types was in descending order.(3)In the dry eye patients of various age groups,patients aged＜45 years old predominantly suffered from qistagnation and blood stasis syndrome,accounting for 41.94%(52/124);patients aged 45-60 years old and those aged＞60 years old predominantly suffered from liver and kidney deficiency syndrome,accounting for 46.91%(38/81)and 53.85%(21/39),respectively.The distribution of TCM syndrome types varied in the patients with different age groups,and the difference was statistically significant(χ2 = 22.128,P＜0.01).(4)In male dry eye patients,qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome was predominant,accounting for 39.58%(38/96);among female dry eye patients,liver and kidney deficiency syndrome and spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome were prevalent,accounting for 41.89%(62/148)and 31.08%(46/148),respectively.The distribution of TCM syndrome types varied in the patients with different genders,and the difference was statistically significant(χ2 = 82.610,P＜0.01).Conclusion The TCM syndromes of patients with dry eyes are frequently differentiated as liver and kidney deficiency syndrome,followed by the qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome.The prevalence of dry eyes is related to the gender and age,and gender and age are correlated with the TCM syndrome types to certain extent.

Evaluation and analysis of bleeding risk of anticoagulation therapy in severe non-ICU patients with COVID-19 based on heparinase-modified TEG / 中国输血杂志

【Objective】 To investigate the clinical application of heparinase-modified TEG (hmTEG) in evaluating coagulation status and monitoring anticoagulant therapy in severe non-ICU patients with COVID-19. 【Methods】 The clinical data of severe non-ICU patients with COVID-19 confirmed to be infected with novel coronary disease (SARS-CoV-2) from December 2022 to May 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into therapeutic dose group and prophylactic dose group according to the initial dose of enoxaparin. The changes of platelet count, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, thrombin time, fibrinogen, D-dimer, TEG and hmTEG before and after heparin treatment were compared between the two groups, so as to evaluate the changes of coagulation function and bleeding risk of COVID-19 severe non-ICU patients after anticoagulation with different doses of heparin. 【Results】 A total of 179 severe non-ICU patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in this study, including 102 patients in therapeutic dose group and 77 patients in prophylactic dose group. Before receiving heparin anticoagulation, except for age(63.4±11.6 vs 59.8±9.1) D-dimer(678 ng/mL vs 621 ng/mL) and MA values [(69.1±10.2)mm vs (65.6±8.5)mm], there were no statistical differences in platelet count, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, thrombin time, fibrinogen, R value, K time, α angle and coagulation index (CI) between the therapeutic dose group and the prophylactic dose group (P>0.05). After receiving heparin anticoagulation, there were significant differences in CKR value [(12.2±4.1)min vs (10.2±3.3)min] and CKHR value [(8.1±3.2)min vs (7.1±2.6)min] between therapeutic dose group and prophylactic dose group (P0.05). Meanwhile, the proportion of heparin overdose in the therapeutic dose group was significantly higher than that in the prophylactic dose group 15.69%(16/102) vs 5.19%(4/77)(P0.05). 【Conclusion】 In the current epidemic trend of COVID-19, in order to reduce the occurrence of bleeding events, the heparin dose should be selected more carefully in the prevention of thrombosis in severe non-ICU patients with COVID-19. The individualized assessment of bleeding risk by hmTEG is more conducive to the adjustment and control of heparin dose.

Tracking Molecular Transport Across Oil/Aqueous Interfaces: Insight into "Antagonistic" Binding in Solvent Extraction.

Liquid/liquid (L/L) interfaces play a key, yet poorly understood, role in a range of complex chemical phenomena where time-evolving interfacial structures and transient supramolecular assemblies act as gatekeepers to function. Here, we employ surface-specific vibrational sum frequency generation combined with neutron and X-ray scattering methods to track the transport of dioctyl phosphoric acid (DOP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) ligands used in solvent extraction at buried oil/aqueous interfaces away from equilibrium. Our results show evidence for a dynamic interfacial restructuring at low ligand concentrations in contrast to expectation. These time-varying interfaces arise from the transport of sparingly soluble interfacial ligands into the neighboring aqueous phase. These results support a proposed "antagonistic" role of ligand complexation in the aqueous phase that could serve as a holdback mechanism in kinetic liquid extractions. These findings provide new insights into interfacially controlled chemical transport at L/L interfaces and how these interfaces vary chemically, structurally, and temporally in a concentration-dependent manner and present potential avenues to design selective kinetic separations.

Photochemically-Driven CO2 Release Using a Metastable-State Photoacid for Energy Efficient Direct Air Capture.

One of the grand challenges underlying current direct air capture (DAC) technologies relates to the intensive energy cost for sorbent regeneration and CO2 release, making the massive scale (GtCO2 /year) deployment required to have a positive impact on climate change economically unfeasible. This challenge underscores the critical need to develop new DAC processes with substantially reduced regeneration energies. Here, we report a photochemically-driven approach for CO2 release by exploiting the unique properties of an indazole metastable-state photoacid (mPAH). Our measurements on simulated and amino acid-based DAC systems revealed the potential of mPAH to be used for CO2 release cycles by regulating pH changes and associated isomers driven by light. Upon irradiating with moderate intensity light, a ≈55 % and ≈68 % to ≈78 % conversion of total inorganic carbon to CO2 was found for the simulated and amino acid-based DAC systems, respectively. Our results confirm the feasibility of on-demand CO2 release under ambient conditions using light instead of heat, thereby providing an energy efficient pathway for the regeneration of DAC sorbents.