A newly synthesized flavone avoids COMT-catalyzed methylation and mitigates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in H9C2 cells via JNK and P38 pathways.

Objectives: Luteolin is a flavone that provides defense against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, this compound is subjected to methylation mediated by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), thus influencing its pharmacological effect. To synthesize a new flavone from luteolin that avoids COMT-catalyzed methylation and find out the protective mechanism of LUA in myocardial I/R injury. Materials and Methods: Luteolin and 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) were used to synthesize the new flavone known as LUAAPH-1 (LUA). Then, the myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury cell model was established using H9c2 cells to detect the effect in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion regulation and to identify the underlying mechanism. Results: Pretreatment with LUA (20 µmol/l) substantially increased cell viability while reducing cell apoptosis rate and caspase-3 expression induced by I/R, and the protective effect of LUA on cell viability was stronger than diosmetin, which is the major methylated metabolite of luteolin. In addition, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and calcium accumulation were both inhibited by LUA. Furthermore, we identified that LUA markedly relieved the promotive effects of I/R stimulation upon JNK and p38 phosphorylation. Conclusion: LUT pretreatment conveys significant cardioprotective effects after myocardial I/R injury, and JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathway may be involved.

Factors in consumers' purchase intention for Gejia batik.

In China's vigorous development and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, the sustainability and acceptability of intangible cultural heritage products have become a controversial subject. This study aims to explore the relationship between batik product qualia factors and the purchase intention for batik products and exammine the mediating role of consumer attitude in the relationship. We adopted quantitative research methods and used SPSS 26 and Process 2.15 software to test our hypotheses. We conducted extensive surveys of consumers of different ages, genders, income levels, and educational backgrounds, and finally, a total of 381 valid questionnaires were collected. The results showed that batik products' creativity, delicacy, beauty, and eco-friendliness were significantly and positively related to consumers' attitudes. In addition, creativity, beauty, and eco-friendliness, but not delicacy, were significantly and positively associated with consumers' purchase intention. Consumer attitude plays an intermediary role between qualia factors and purchase intention. This study analyzes Gejia batik from the perspective of qualia factors, breaking through the limitations of previous studies on the aspects of heritage protection and environmental protection. The study's results can inspire batik manufacturers or designers to enhance the competitiveness of batik design products in the tourism market.

Composite Quasi-Solid-State Electrolytes with Organic-Inorganic Interface Engineering for Fast Ion Transport in Dendrite-Free Sodium Metal Batteries.

Quasi-solid-state electrolytes (QSSE) are a promising candidate for addressing the limitations of liquid and solid electrolytes. However, different ion transport capacities between liquid solvents and polymers can cause localized heterogeneous distribution of Na+ fluxes. In addition, the continuous side reactions occurring at the interface between QSSE and sodium anode lead to uncontrollable dendrites growth. Herein, a novel strategy is designed to integrate the composite electrospun membrane of Na3Zr2Si2PO12 and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) into QSSE, aiming to introduce new fast ion conducting channels at the organic-inorganic interface. The efficient ion transfer pathways can effectively promote the homogenization of ion migration, enabling composite QSSE to achieve an ultrahigh ionic conductivity of 4.1 mS cm-1 at room temperature, with a Na+ transference number as high as 0.54. Moreover, the PVDF-HFP is preferentially reduced upon contact with the sodium anode to form a "NaF-rich" solid electrolyte interphase, which effectively suppresses the growth of dendrites. The synergistic combination of multiple strategies can realize exceptional long-term cycling stability in both sodium symmetric batteries (≈700 h) and full batteries (2100 cycles). This study provides a new insight for constructing high performance and dendrite-free solid-state sodium metal batteries.

Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Multifunctional Solid Electrolyte Interphase Layers for Dendrite-Free Sodium Metal Anodes.

Constructing a stable and robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is crucial for achieving dendrite-free sodium metal anodes and high-performance sodium batteries. However, maintaining the integrity of SEI during prolonged cycle life under high current densities poses a significant challenge. In this study, we propose an integrated multifunctional SEI layer with inorganic/organic hybrid construction (IOHL-Na) to enhance the durability of sodium metal anode during reduplicative plating/stripping processes. The inorganic components with high mechanical strength and strong sodiophilicity demonstrate optimized ionic conduction efficiency and dendrite inhibition ability. Simultaneously, the organic component contributes to the formation of a dense and elastic membrane structure, preventing fracture and delamination issues during volume fluctuations. The symmetrical batteries of IOHL-Na achieve stable cycling over 2000 hours with an extremely low voltage hysteresis of around 15.8 mV at a high current density of 4 mA cm-2 . Moreover, the Na-O2 batteries sustain exceptional long-term stability and impressive capacity retention, exploiting a promising approach for constructing durable SEI and dendrite-free sodium metal anodes.

Fluorine Substitution Promotes Air-Stability of P'2-Type Layered Cathodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

As one of the most promising cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries, manganese-based layered oxides have aroused wide attention due to their high specific capacity and plentiful reserves. However, they are plagued by poor air stability rooting in water/Na+ exchange and adverse structural reconstruction, hindering their practical applications. Herein, it is demonstrated that utilizing fluorine to substitute oxygen atoms can narrow the interlayer spacing of novel P'2-Na0.67 MnO1.97 F0.03 (NMOF) cathode material, which resists the attack of water molecules, significantly prolonging exposure time in air. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that fluorine substitution alleviates the insertion of water molecules and spontaneous extraction of Na+ effectively. Benefiting from the structural modulation, NMOF can deliver a high specific capacity of 227.1 mAh g-1 at 20 mA g-1 and a promising capacity retention of 84.0% after 100 cycles at 200 mA g-1 . This facile and available strategy provides a feasible way to strengthen the air-stability and expands the scope of practical applications of layered oxide cathodes.

Fluorination Treatment of Conjugated Protonated Polyanilines for High-Performance Sodium Dual-Ion Batteries.

The overall performance of dual-ion batteries (DIBs) is strongly linked to anions storage properties of cathodes. Whereas high energy/power densities and stabilities for DIBs are limited by cathodes. To overcome these barriers, we have designed a novel fluoridized-polyaniline-H+ /carbon nanotubes (FPHC) as cathode for high-efficiency PF6 - storage. F- in PF6 - is easy to form covalent bond with H on -NH- in FPHC, so that PF6 - can stably coordinate with FPHC, showing a symmetrical structure. FPHC cathode shows a highly reversible capacity of 73 mAh g-1 at 2 A g-1 after 2000 cycles, which provides a solid base for the advanced sodium dual-ion batteries (SDIBs) (310 Wh kg-1 /7720 W kg-1 ). Besides, the relative pouch-type SDIB can drive a vacuum cleaner model with an electric machine. This work may shed light on an up-and-coming strategy of robust cathodes for SDIBs.

Psychosocial adaptation and influencing factors among patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a severe and long-lasting side effect caused by various anticancer agents that damage sensory, motor and autonomic nerves. It can cause maladaptive behaviors, including disease severity, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, falls, and social impairment. These disorders have physical, psychological and social effects on patients and can seriously influence their quality of life. AIM: To investigate the current situation of psychosocial adaptation to the disease and its influencing factor in patients with CIPN. METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used to select 233 patients with CIPN in our hospital from February to August 2021. In addition, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Self-Report Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale, and the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life CIPN20 (QLQ-CIPN20). Factors influencing psychosocial adaptation in patients with CIPN were analyzed by t-test or one-way analysis of variance, correlation analysis, multiple stepwise regression analysis, and structural equation models. RESULTS: The psychosocial adaptation score of patients with CIPN was 52.51 ± 13.18. Multivariate analysis showed that autonomic nerves, tumor stage, motor nerves, education level, availability of caregivers, semi-retirement status, CIPN grade were independent risk factors for patients with CIPN (P < 0.05). Structural equation models showed that QLQ-CIPN20 mediated the relationship between CIPN grade, tumor stage, and psychosocial adaptation. CONCLUSION: Patients with CIPN have poor psychosocial adaptation and are affected by a variety of physiological, psychological, and social factors. Patients' adaptive responses should be assessed, and targeted interventions implemented.

Inorganic Electrolyte for Low-Temperature Aqueous Sodium Ion Batteries.

Aqueous sodium ion batteries have received widespread attention due to their great application potential and high safety. However, the serious capacity fading under low temperature dramatically restricts their practical application. Compared to flammable and toxic organic antifreezing additives, addition of common cheap inorganic inert additives to improve low-temperature performance is of interest scientifically. Herein, low-cost calcium chloride is served as antifreezing additive in 1 m NaClO4 aqueous electrolyte due to its strong interaction with water molecules. The freezing point of the optimized electrolyte is significantly reduced to below -50 °C with an ultrahigh ionic conductivity (7.13 mS cm-1 ) at -50 °C. All pure inorganic composition of the full battery delivers a high capacity of 74.5 mAh g-1 under 1 C (1 C = 150 mA g-1 ) at -30 °C. More importantly, when tested under 10 C at -30 °C, the battery can achieve an ultralong cycling stability of 6000 cycles with no obvious capacity decay, indicating fast Na+ transport under low temperature. Significantly, this work provides an easy-to-operate strategy by adding cheap inorganic salt to develop high-performance low-temperature aqueous batteries.

A Newly Synthesized Flavone from Luteolin Escapes from COMT-Catalyzed Methylation and Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in RAW264.7 Macrophages via JNK, p38 and NF-κB Signaling Pathways.

Luteolin is a common dietary flavone possessing potent anti-inflammatory activities. However, when administrated in vivo, luteolin becomes methylated by catechol-O-methyltransferases (COMT) owing to the catechol ring in the chemical structure, which largely diminishes its anti-inflammatory effect. In this study, we made a modification on luteolin, named LUA, which was generated by the chemical reaction between luteolin and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). Without a catechol ring in the chemical structure, this new flavone could escape from the COMT-catalyzed methylation, thus affording the potential to exert its functions in the original form when administrated in the organism. Moreover, an LPS-stimulated RAW cell model was applied to detect the anti-inflammatory properties. LUA showed much more superior inhibitory effect on LPS-induced production of NO than diosmetin (a major methylated form of luteolin) and significantly suppressed upregulation of iNOS and COX-2 in macrophages. LUA treatment dramatically reduced LPS-stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory mediators such as IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8 and IFN-ß. Furthermore, LUA significantly reduced the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 without affecting that of ERK. LUA also inhibited the activation of NF-κB through suppression of p65 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation.

HIF-1α overexpression in mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome-encapsulated arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) hydrogels boost therapeutic efficacy of cardiac repair after myocardial infarction.

AIMS: Naturally secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in stem-mediated cardioprotection. This study aimed to investigate the cardioprotective function and underlying mechanisms of EVs derived from HIF-1α engineered mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a rat model of AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: EVs isolated from HIF-1α engineered MSCs (HIF-1α-EVs) and control MSCs (NC-EVs) were prepared. In in vitro experiments, the EVs were incubated with cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells exposed to hypoxia and serum deprivation (H/SD); in in vivo experiments, the EVs were injected in the acutely infarcted hearts of Sprague-Dawley rats. Compared with NC-EVs, HIF-1α-EVs significantly inhibited the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and enhanced angiogenesis of endothelial cells; meanwhile, HIF-1α-EVs also significantly shrunk fibrotic area and strengthened cardiac function in infarcted rats. After treatment with EVs/RGD-biotin hydrogels, we observed longer retention, higher stability in HIF-1α-EVs, and stronger cardiac function in the rats. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) displayed that miRNA-221-3p was highly expressed in HIF-1α-EVs. After miR-221-3p was inhibited in HIF-1α-EVs, the biological effects of HIF-1α EVs on apoptosis and angiogenesis were attenuated. CONCLUSION: EVs released by MSCs with HIF-1α overexpression can promote the angiogenesis of endothelial cells and the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes via upregulating the expression of miR-221-3p. RGD hydrogels can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of HIF-1α engineered MSCs-derived EVs.

A Five Collagen-Related Gene Signature to Estimate the Prognosis and Immune Microenvironment in Clear Cell Renal Cell Cancer.

Collagen is the main component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and might play an important role in tumor microenvironments. However, the relationship between collagen and clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC) is still not fully clarified. Hence, we aimed to establish a collagen-related signature to predict the prognosis and estimate the tumor immune microenvironment in ccRCC patients. Patients with a high risk score were often correlated with unfavorable overall survival (OS) and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. In addition, the collagen-related genetic signature was highly correlated with clinical pathological features and can be considered as an independent prognostic factor in ccRCC patients. Moreover, GSEA results show that patients with a high risk grade tend to be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal junctions (EMT) and immune responses. In this study, we developed a collagen-related gene signature, which might possess the potential to predict the prognosis and immune microenvironment of ccRCC patients and function as an independent prognostic factor in ccRCC.

Metabolomic analysis of biochemical changes in the tissue and urine of proteoglycan-induced spondylitis in mice after treatment with moxibustion.

BACKGROUND: Moxibustion is widely used in East Asian countries to manage the symptom of rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to identify potential metabolic profiles of moxibustion on relieving ankylosing spondylitis (AS) mice through UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS metabolomic study. METHODS: Thirty-two female Balb/c mice were randomized into healthy control (HC), AS model, moxibustion at acupuncture points (MA) in AS model, and moxibustion at non-acupuncture points (MNA) AS model groups. Moxibustion was administered daily at GV4, bilateral BL23 and bilateral ST36 acupuncture points for four weeks in the MA group. The overall health status, the thickness of hind paws and the tissue concentrations of IL-1ß, PGE2, IL-6 and TNF-α were assessed. The UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS was used to explore the perturbations of endogenous metabolites in tissue and urine of AS model mice intervened by moxibustion. RESULTS: Compared with the AS group, the overall health status was significantly improved after 4-week moxibustion intervention (p < 0.05). The results also showed that MA significantly reduced the levels of paw thickness and decreased the levels of four cytokines in the tissue (p < 0.01). Thirty-seven endogenous metabolites identified by the OPLS-DA were considered to be contributing to therapeutic effects of moxibustion. Moreover, metabolic pathway analysis further revealed that the identified metabolites were mainly involved in TCA cycle, Lipid metabolism, Amino Acid metabolism, Intestinal flora metabolism and Purine metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS based metabolomics approach, as a novel and powerful tool, can help us to gain the insights into potential mechanisms of action of moxibustion for AS.

Machine Learning to Predict Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Objective: To develop predictive models for contrast induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) among acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients treated invasively. Methods: Patients with AMI who underwent angiography therapy were enrolled and randomly divided into training cohort (75%) and validation cohort (25%). Machine learning algorithms were used to construct predictive models for CI-AKI. The predictive models were tested in a validation cohort. Results: A total of 1,495 patients with AMI were included. Of all the patients, 226 (15.1%) cases developed CI-AKI. In the validation cohort, Random Forest (RF) model with top 15 variables reached an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.76-0.87), while the best logistic model had an AUC of 0.69 (95% CI: 0.62-0.76). ACEF (age, creatinine, and ejection fraction) model reached an AUC of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.53-0.71). RF model with top 15 variables achieved a high recall rate of 71.9% and an accuracy of 73.5% in the validation group. Random Forest model significantly outperformed logistic regression in every comparison. Conclusions: Machine learning algorithms especially Random Forest algorithm improves the accuracy of risk stratifying patients with AMI and should be used to accurately identify the risk of CI-AKI in AMI patients.

Nomograms based on pre-operative parametric for prediction of short-term mortality in acute myocardial infarction patients treated invasively.

Objective Our aim was to develop and independently validate nomograms to predict short-term mortality in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Results There were 1229 AMI patients enrolled in this study. In the training cohort (n=534), 69 deaths occurred during a median follow-up period of 375 days. The C-index for 1-year mortality in the training group and the validation cohort was 0.826 (95%CI: 0.780 - 0.872) and 0.775 (95%CI: 0.695 - 0.855), respectively. Integrated Discrimination Improvement (IDI) and net reclassification improvement (NRI) also showed a significant improvement in the accuracy of the new model compared with the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score. Furthermore, C-index of the prospective cohort (n=309) achieved 0.817 (95%CI: 0.754 - 0.880) for 30-day mortality and 0.790 (95%CI: 0.718 - 0.863) for 1-year mortality. Conclusions Collectively, our simple-to-use nomogram effectively predicts short-term mortality in AMI patients. Methods AMI patients who had undergone invasive intervention between January 2013 and Jan 2018 were enrolled. Cox regression analysis was used on the training cohort to develop nomograms for predicting 30-day and 1-year mortality. Model performance was then evaluated in the validation cohort and another independent prospective cohort.

Development and Validation of Nomogram to Predict Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction Treated Invasively.

To identify patients who are likely to develop contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a nomogram was developed in AMI patients. Totally 920 patients with AMI were enrolled in our study. The discrimination and calibration of the model were validated. External validations were also carried out in a cohort of 386 AMI patients. Our results showed in the 920 eligible AMI patients, 114 patients (21.3%) developed CI-AKI in the derivation group (n = 534), while in the validation set (n = 386), 50 patients (13%) developed CI-AKI. CI-AKI model included the following six predictors: hemoglobin, contrast volume >100 ml, hypotension before procedure, eGFR, log BNP, and age. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.775 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.732-0.819) in the derivation group and 0.715 (95% CI: 0.631-0.799) in the validation group. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test has a p value of 0.557, which confirms the model's goodness of fit. The AUC of the Mehran risk score was 0.556 (95% CI: 0.498-0.615) in the derivation group. The validated nomogram provided a useful predictive value for CI-AKI in patients with AMI.

Flexible Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 Nanofibers as Binder-Free Electrodes for High-Performance All-Solid-State Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

Flexible, highly porous Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 nanofibers (NFs) have been synthesized by a facile electrospinning method followed by calcination. They have been directly used as binder-free electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors. These Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 NFs interconnect with one another and construct three-dimensional hierarchical porous films with high specific surface areas. Benefitting from their unique structural features, binder-free Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 porous nanofiber electrodes offer high specific capacitances of 255 F g-1 and 256 F g-1 , respectively, at 2 mV s-1 in 1 m aqueous Na2 SO4 as electrolyte. An all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) has been fabricated using Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 nanofibers as negative and positive electrodes, respectively. It could be operated at up to 1.8 V, taking advantage of the wide and opposite potential windows of the respective electrodes. The assembled all-solid-state ASC achieved a high energy density up to 32.2 W h kg-1 at an average power density of 128.7 W kg-1 , and exhibited excellent cycling stability and power capability. The effective and facile synthesis method and superior electrochemical performance described herein make electrospun Fe2 O3 and V2 O5 NFs promising electrode materials for high-performance ASCs.

Theory of mind deficits in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression.

AIM: To characterize the two components of theory of mind (ToM) in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression. METHODS: Sixty-five patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression (depressed group) and 62 normal controls (control group) were assessed using reading the mind in the eyes test, faux pas task, verbal fluency test, digit span test and WAIS IQ test. The depressed group was divided into two subgroups including psychotic depressed (PD) group (32 cases) and nonpsychotic depressed (NPD) group (33 cases). The clinical symptoms of patients were assessed using Beck depression inventory version II and brief psychiatric reacting scale (BPRS). RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the depressed group and the control group on tasks involving ToM social perceptual components (mind reading: t = 7.39, P < 0.01) and tests involving ToM social cognitive components (faux pas questions: t = 13.75, P < 0.01), respectively. A significant difference was also found among the PD group, the NPD group and the control group on mind reading (F = 32.98, P < 0.01) and faux pas questions (χ² = 78.15, P < 0.01), respectively. The PD group and NPD group performed worse than normal group controls both on mind reading and faux pas questions (P < 0.05). The PD group performed significantly worse than the NPD group on tasks involving ToM (mind reading: F = 18.99, P < 0.01; faux pas questions: F = 36.01, P < 0.01). In the depressed group, there was a negative correlation between ToM performances and BPRS total score (mind reading: r = -0.35, P < 0.01; faux pas questions: r = -0.51, P < 0.01), and between ToM performances and hostile suspiciousness factor score (mind reading: r = -0.75, P < 0.01; faux pas questions: r = -0.73, P < 0.01), respectively. CONCLUSION: The two components of ToM are both impaired in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression. This indicates that there may be an association between ToM deficits and psychotic symptoms in clinical depression.