Immunogenicity of an Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine in People Living with HIV in Guangxi, China: A Prospective Cohort Study.

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine has demonstrated high efficacy in the general population through extensive clinical and real-world studies. However, its effectiveness in immunocompromised individuals, particularly those living with HIV (PLWH), remains limited. In this study, 20 PLWH and 15 HIV-seronegative individuals were recruited to evaluate the immunogenicity of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine in PLWH through a prospective cohort study. The median age of the 20 PLWH and 15 HIV-seronegative individuals was 42 years and 31 years, respectively. Of the PLWH, nine had been on ART for over five years. The median anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG antibody level on d224 was higher than that on d42 (8188.7 ng/mL vs. 3200.9 ng/mL, P < 0.05). Following COVID-19 infection, the antibody level increased to 29,872.5 ng/mL on dre+90, 12.19 times higher than that on d300. Compared with HIV-seronegative individuals, the antibody level in PLWH was lower on d210 (183.3 ng/mL vs. 509.3 ng/mL, P < 0.01), while there was no difference after d224. The symptoms of COVID-19 infection in PLWH were comparable to those in HIV-seronegative individuals. In this study, the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated good immunogenicity in PLWH. The protective benefit of booster vaccinations for PLWH cannot be ignored. Implementing a booster vaccination policy for PLWH is an effective approach to providing better protection against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Application of 'CDC- Public Security Bureau-NGO' Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism Allied AIDS prevention and control in Guigang, Guangxi.

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS has emerged as a nationwide epidemic and has taken the forefront position as the primary infectious killer of adults in China. The control and prevention of the disease have been hampered by a weak link in the form of heterosexual transmission. However, conventional intervention measures have demonstrated suboptimal efficacy in reducing the incidence of new HIV infections. In light of the current epidemiological characteristics, we have developed and executed an innovative intervention model known as the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the 'CDC-Public Security Bureau-NGO'. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of this model on the AIDS awareness, HIV infection rates, sexual behavior, and associated factors among female sex workers and elderly clients. Through the provision of robust evidence of the efficacy of this innovative model, we seek to advocate for its implementation in future interventions. METHODS: The research design of this study incorporates both a serial cross-sectional study and time-series analysis from 2014 to 2021, including a 4-year traditional intervention (2014-2017) and the 4-year 'CDC-Public Security Bureau-NGO' innovative intervention (2018-2021), was conducted to evaluate the effects of the new intervention. The GM(1, 1) model was performed to predict the proportion of HIV infection without implementing the innovative intervention in 2018-2021; P and C values were used to evaluate the performance of the model. Mann-Kendall test and descriptive methods were used to analyzed the trend of traditional and innovative interventions models on HIV positive detection rate in FSWs and elderly clients. RESULTS: The condom usage rates during the last commercial sexual encounter for FSWs and elderly clients improved from 74.9% and 9.1%, respectively, to 96.9% and 28.1%. (P < 0.05), newly reported cases of HIV have decreased by 15.56% yearly and the HIV positive detection rate among middle-aged and elderly people has dropped by 14.47%. The innovative intervention model has significantly reduced the HIV infection rates. CONCLUSIONS: The 'CDC-Public Security Bureau-NGO' innovative intervention has achieved beneficial effects on HIV/AIDS prevention and control and provides a good reference for Guangxi, China.

Development and Validation of a Carbohydrate Metabolism-Related Model for Predicting Prognosis and Immune Landscape in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The activities and products of carbohydrate metabolism are involved in key processes of cancer. However, its relationship with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. METHODS: The cancer genome atlas (TCGA)-HCC and ICGC-LIRI-JP datasets were acquired via public databases. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HCC and control samples in the TCGA-HCC dataset were identified and overlapped with 355 carbohydrate metabolism-related genes (CRGs) to obtain differentially expressed CRGs (DE-CRGs). Then, univariate Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analyses were applied to identify risk model genes, and HCC samples were divided into high/low-risk groups according to the median risk score. Next, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed on the risk model genes. The sensitivity of the risk model to immunotherapy and chemotherapy was also explored. RESULTS: A total of 8 risk model genes, namely, G6PD, PFKFB4, ACAT1, ALDH2, ACYP1, OGDHL, ACADS, and TKTL1, were identified. Moreover, the risk score, cancer status, age, and pathologic T stage were strongly associated with the prognosis of HCC patients. Both the stromal score and immune score had significant negative/positive correlations with the risk score, reflecting the important role of the risk model in immunotherapy sensitivity. Furthermore, the stromal and immune scores had significant negative/positive correlations with risk scores, reflecting the important role of the risk model in immunotherapy sensitivity. Eventually, we found that high-/low-risk patients were more sensitive to 102 drugs, suggesting that the risk model exhibited sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. The results of the experiments in HCC tissue samples validated the expression of the risk model genes. CONCLUSION: Through bioinformatic analysis, we constructed a carbohydrate metabolism-related risk model for HCC, contributing to the prognosis prediction and treatment of HCC patients.

A bibliometric analysis of m6A methylation in viral infection from 2000 to 2022.

BACKGROUND: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation has become an active research area in viral infection, while little bibliometric analysis has been performed. In this study, we aim to visualize hotspots and trends using bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive and objective overview of the current research dynamics in this field. METHODS: The data related to m6A methylation in viral infection were obtained through the Web of Science Core Collection form 2000 to 2022. To reduce bias, the literature search was conducted on December 1, 2022. Bibliometric and visual analyzes were performed using CiteSpace and Bibliometrix package. After screening, 319 qualified records were retrieved. RESULTS: These publications mainly came from 28 countries led by China and the United States (the US), with the US ranking highest in terms of total link strength.The most common keywords were m6A, COVID-19, epitranscriptomics, METTL3, hepatitis B virus, innate immunity and human immunodeficiency virus 1. The thematic map showed that METTL3, plant viruses, cancer progression and type I interferon (IFN-I) reflected a good development trend and might become a research hotspot in the future, while post-transcriptional modification, as an emerging or declining theme, might not develop well. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, m6A methylation in viral infection is an increasingly important topic in articles. METTL3, plant viruses, cancer progression and IFN-I may still be research hotspots and trends in the future.

The role and mechanisms of PD-L1 in immune evasion during Talaromyces marneffei infection.

Talaromycosis, caused by Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei), is a systemic fungal disease that involves dissemination throughout the body. The ability of T. marneffei to evade the immune system is considered a crucial factor in its persistent infection, although the specific mechanisms are not yet fully understood. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the occurrence of latent T. marneffei infection and immune evasion. The gene expression profile analysis in T. marneffei-infected mouse revealed that Pd-l1 exhibited the highest correlation strength with other hub genes, with a median of 0.60 (IQR: 0.50-0.69). T. marneffei infection upregulated the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in PBMCs from HIV patients, which was also observed in the T. marneffei-infected mouse and macrophage models. Treatment with a PD-L1 inhibitor significantly reduced fungal burden in the liver and spleen tissues of infected mice and in the kupffer-CTLL-2 co-culture system. PD-L1 inhibitor treatment increased CTLL-2 cell proliferation and downregulated the expression of PD-1, SHP-2, and p-SHP-2, indicating the activation of T cell viability and T cell receptor signaling pathway. Additionally, treatment with a PI3K inhibitor downregulated PD-L1 in T. marneffei-infected kupffer cells. Similar results were observed with treatment using the T. marneffei cell wall virulence factor ß-glucan. Overall, T. marneffei infection upregulated PD-L1 expression in HIV / T. marneffei patients, mice, and kupffer cells. Treatment with a PD-L1 inhibitor significantly reduced fungal burden, while activating T cell activity and proliferation, thereby promoting fungal clearance. Furthermore, the PI3K signaling pathway may be involved in the regulation of PD-L1 by T. marneffei.

Role of MAPK Signaling Pathway in Prevention and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Chinese Medicine Intervention： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Rheumatoid arthritis （RA） is an autoimmune disease involving symmetrical small joints， with clinical manifestations such as small joint swelling， morning stiffness， progressive pain， and even joint deformity and loss of function. Due to the complex immune mechanism， the pathogenesis of RA remains unclear. However， studies have shown that the pathogenesis of RA is related to abnormal immune mechanism， increased synovial inflammatory response， abnormal biological behavior of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes （RA-FLSs）， and abnormal degradation of extracellular matrix. Mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth， proliferation， differentiation， and apoptosis. It is involved in the abnormal release and activation of inflammatory mediators in RA， the abnormal proliferation， migration， and invasion of RA-FLSs， synovial angiogenesis， bone erosion， and cartilage destruction. The thousands of years of practical experience show that Chinese medicine can effectively mitigate the clinical symptoms such as joint swelling， morning stiffness， and pain and delay the occurrence of joint deformity in RA patients. Moreover， the Chinese medicine treatment has the advantages of overall regulation， personalized treatment， multiple pathways and targets， high safety， few adverse reactions， and stable quality. Modern studies have confirmed that Chinese medicine can play a role in the prevention and treatment of RA by interfering in the MAPK signaling pathway， reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines， inhibiting the abnormal proliferation， migration， and invasion of RA-FLSs， regulating the apoptosis of RA-FLSs， and protecting extracellular matrix. This article elaborates on the key role of MAPK signaling pathway in the development of RA and reviews the latest research results of Chinese medicine intervention in MAPK signaling pathway for the prevention and treatment RA， aiming to provide a basis for the development of new drugs and the clinical application of Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of RA.

Ormosianines A-P, Structurally Diverse Quinolizidine Alkaloids with AChE Inhibitory Effects from Ormosia yunnanensis.

Sixteen new quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs), named ormosianines A-P (1-16), and 18 known congeners (17-34) were isolated from the stems and leaves of Ormosia yunnanensis. The structures were elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses and electron circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Structurally, ormosianines A (1) and B (2) are the first examples of cytisine and Ormosia-type alkaloids with the cleavage of the piperidine ring. Results of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory assay revealed that the pentacycline Ormosia-type QAs, including 1, 16, 24, and 27-29, are good AChE inhibitors. Ormosianine A (1) exhibited more potent AChE inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 1.55 µM. Molecular docking revealed that 1 might bind to the protein 1DX4, forming two hydrogen bonds with residues SER-238 and HIS-480.

Quality assurance of postharvest grapes against Botrytis cinerea by terbinafine.

Worldwide, fruit is an indispensable treasure house of nutrition for human beings, occupying a vital position of human diet. Postharvest fruit storage requires efficient antifungal agents to control Botrytis cinerea, which is a vital postharvest disease affecting fruit and leading to enormous losses. However, with the enormous abuse of existing antifungal drugs, the problem of drug-resistant fungi is imminent, making the controlling diseases caused by pathogenic fungi even more challenging. Drug repurposing is an efficient alternative method, we evaluated a well-known antifungal chemical, terbinafine, against the agricultural pathogen, B. cinerea in vitro, as a result, terbinafine showed strong antifungal activity. Furthermore, the in vivo antifungal activity of terbinafine was evaluated, the results showed that terbinafine could reduce the decay area on grapes. Terbinafine could disrupt the cell membrane integrity, increase cell membrane permeability, and eventual cell death of B. cinerea. In addition, terbinafine reduced decay incidence, and weight loss and maintained the soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenolic, and malondialdehyde content during the storage period of grapes. Overall, terbinafine could be an antifungal preservative for postharvest table grapes fresh-keeping.

Phenome-wide association study and precision medicine of cardiovascular diseases in the post-COVID-19 era.

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes injuries of not only the lungs but also the heart and endothelial cells in vasculature of multiple organs, and induces systemic inflammation and immune over-reactions, which makes COVID-19 a disease phenome that simultaneously affects multiple systems. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are intrinsic risk and causative factors for severe COVID-19 comorbidities and death. The wide-spread infection and reinfection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and the long-COVID may become a new common threat to human health and propose unprecedented impact on the risk factors, pathophysiology, and pharmacology of many diseases including CVD for a long time. COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent demand for precision medicine which needs new knowledge network to innovate disease taxonomy for more precise diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of disease. A deeper understanding of CVD in the setting of COVID-19 phenome requires a paradigm shift from the current phenotypic study that focuses on the virus or individual symptoms to phenomics of COVID-19 that addresses the inter-connectedness of clinical phenotypes, i.e., clinical phenome. Here, we summarize the CVD manifestations in the full clinical spectrum of COVID-19, and the phenome-wide association study of CVD interrelated to COVID-19. We discuss the underlying biology for CVD in the COVID-19 phenome and the concept of precision medicine with new phenomic taxonomy that addresses the overall pathophysiological responses of the body to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also briefly discuss the unique taxonomy of disease as Zheng-hou patterns in traditional Chinese medicine, and their potential implications in precision medicine of CVD in the post-COVID-19 era.

Research Progress on the Pathogenesis of Knee Osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic joint bone disease characterized by inflammatory destruction and hyperplasia of bone. Its main clinical symptoms are joint mobility difficulties and pain, severe cases can lead to limb paralysis, which poses major pressure to the quality of life and mental health of patients, but also brings serious economic burden to society. The occurrence and development of KOA is influenced by many factors, including systemic factors and local factors. The joint biomechanical changes caused by aging, trauma and obesity, abnormal bone metabolism caused by metabolic syndrome, the effects of cytokines and related enzymes, genetic and biochemical abnormalities caused by plasma adiponectin, etc. all directly or indirectly lead to the occurrence of KOA. However, there is little literature that systematically and comprehensively integrates macro- and microscopic KOA pathogenesis. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively and systematically summarize the pathogenesis of KOA in order to provide a better theoretical basis for clinical treatment.

Time series prediction for the epidemic trends of monkeypox using the ARIMA, exponential smoothing, GM (1, 1) and LSTM deep learning methods.

Monkeypox is a critical public health emergency with international implications. Few confirmed monkeypox cases had previously been reported outside endemic countries. However, since May 2022, the number of monkeypox infections has increased exponentially in non-endemic countries, especially in North America and Europe. The objective of this study was to develop optimal models for predicting daily cumulative confirmed monkeypox cases to help improve public health strategies. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), exponential smoothing, long short-term memory (LSTM) and GM (1, 1) models were employed to fit the cumulative cases in the world, the USA, Spain, Germany, the UK and France. Performance was evaluated by minimum mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), among other metrics. The ARIMA (2, 2, 1) model performed best on the global monkeypox dataset, with a MAPE value of 0.040, while ARIMA (2, 2, 3) performed the best on the USA and French datasets, with MAPE values of 0.164 and 0.043, respectively. The exponential smoothing model showed superior performance on the Spanish, German and UK datasets, with MAPE values of 0.043, 0.015 and 0.021, respectively. In conclusion, an appropriate model should be selected according to the local epidemic characteristics, which is crucial for monitoring the monkeypox epidemic. Monkeypox epidemics remain severe, especially in North America and Europe, e.g. in the USA and Spain. The development of a comprehensive, evidence-based scientific programme at all levels is critical to controlling the spread of monkeypox infection.

[Effect of lime water processing of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum on toxic component lectin protein].

The present study investigated the effect of immersion in the excipient lime water on the toxic component lectin protein and explained the scientific connotation of lime water detoxication during the processing of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum. Western blot was used to investigate the effects of immersion in lime water with different pH(pH 10, 11, and 12.4), saturated sodium hydroxide, and sodium bicarbonate solution on the content of lectin protein. The protein compositions of the supernatant and the precipitate after immersing lectin protein in lime water of different pH were determined by the SDS-PAGE method combined with the silver staining technique. The MALDI-TOF-MS/MS technique was used to detect the molecular weight distribution of peptide fragments in the supernatant and precipitate after immersing lectin protein in lime water of different pH, and circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to detect the ratio changes in the secondary structure of lectin protein during the immersion. The results showed that immersion in lime water at pH>12 and saturated sodium hydroxide solution could significantly reduce the content of lectin protein, while immersion in lime water at pH<12 and sodium bicarbonate solution had no significant effect on lectin protein content. The corresponding lectin protein bands and molecular ion peaks were not detected at the 12 kDa position in the supernatant and precipitate after immersing the lectin protein in lime water at pH>12, which was attributed to the fact that lime water immersion at pH>12 could significantly change the ratio of the secondary structure of lectin protein, resulting in irreversible denaturation, while lime water immersion at pH<12 did not change the ratio of the secondary structure of lectin protein. Therefore, pH>12 was the key condition for the detoxication of lime water during the processing of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum. Lime water immersion at pH>12 could cause irreversible denaturation of lectin protein, resulting in a significant decrease in the inflammatory toxicity of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum, which played a key role in detoxification.

Homocysteine levels correlate with AVSS-RigiScan test parameters in men with erectile dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Although elevated homocysteine levels have been shown to affect penile erection, the relationship between homocysteine and erection at the tip or base of the penis has not been extensively studied. RESULTS: We found that homocysteine levels were negatively correlated with the average event rigidity of the base (r = -0.2225, p = 0.0142). Homocysteine levels were also negatively correlated with the average maximum rigidity of the base (r = -0.2164, p = 0.0171). In particular, homocysteine levels were negatively correlated with ∆ Tumescence of the tip (r = -0.1866, p = 0.0404). Similarly, homocysteine was negatively correlated with ∆ Tumescence of the base (r = -0.2257, p = 0.0128). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that homocysteine inhibits penile erection. At the same time, homocysteine levels were negatively correlated with the parameters of the AVSS-RigiScan test.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: Bien qu'il ait été démontré que des niveaux élevés d'homocystéine affectaient l'érection pénienne, la relation entre homocystéine et érection à l'extrémité ou à la base du pénis n'a pas été étudiée de manière approfondie. RéSULTATS: Nous avons constaté que les niveaux d'homocystéine étaient négativement corrélés avec la rigidité moyenne de la base (r = -0,2225, p = 0,0142). Les taux d'homocystéine étaient également négativement corrélés avec la rigidité maximale moyenne de la base (r = -0,2164, p = 0,0171). En particulier, les taux d'homocystéine étaient négativement corrélés avec la tumescence Δ de l'extrémité (r = -0,1866, p = 0,0404). De même, l'homocystéine était négativement corrélée avec la tumescence Δ de la base (r = -0,2257, p = 0,0128). CONCLUSIONS: Nos données ont montré que l'homocystéine inhibe l'érection pénienne. Dans le même temps, les niveaux d'homocystéine étaient négativement corrélés avec les paramètres du test AVSS-RigiScan.

A full-scale black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) bioconversion system for domestic biodegradable wastes to resource.

Domestic biodegradable wastes (DBW) pose a threat to environmental quality and human health. Bioconversion via black soldier fly larvae (BSFL; Hermitia illucens L.) is an expedient way for converting 'waste to resource' (insect protein and biofertilizer). Although researches abounded in laboratory-reared experiments and bioconversion mechanisms were pertinent, the void of data from actual and full-scale operation restricts the intensification of BSFL technology and its global adoption. Hence, a full-scale BSFL bioconversion system lasting 4 years in Hangzhou (China) was investigated, and the feasibility and efficiency of 15 tonnes of DBW per day were studied. Through continuous technical optimization, the average production of fresh larvae was increased from 8.5% in 2017 to 15.3% in 2020, along with bioconversion rate of final vermicompost decreased from 35.4% to 14.5%. The total biomass reduction rate in 2020 was 68.7 ± 17.4 kg/(m3 d), equivalent to 0.735 ± 0.215 kg/(kg d) in the form of fresh larvae. Crude fat in fresh larvae accounted for 13.4%, and crude protein accounted for 16.2% in which the determined amino acid profile bore a strong resemblance to fish meal only except histidine and tyrosine. Its economic benefits proved the feasibility of this technology, and the profit reached up to 35.9 US$ per tonne of DBW in 2019. In conclusion, BSFL bioconversion system under current 'insect-farm' operation was a promising solution for DBW treatment with value-added waste recycling.

Technique optimization of intravenous or intraperitoneal injection of Evans blue combined with retinal preparations in mice / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To optimize the technique of intravenous injection of Evans blue and retinal preparations in mice, improving the accuracy and repeatability of staining experiment of retinal preparations.METHODS: C57BL/6 male mice were intravenous injected with 10g/L(1%)Evans Blue 0.3mL and circulated in vivo for 10 or 20min, and the eyes were removed after sacrificed and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 20, 40 or 60min. When failure of intravenous injection, the experiment was remediated by intraperitoneal injection of 1% Evans Blue 0.3mL, circulated in vivo for 3h and fixed for 60min to observe morphology, distribution and leakage of the retinal vessels. Besides, we compared the morphology, distribution and leakage of the retinal vessels after intravenous injection with those after intraperitoneal injection to determine the optimal conditions for in vivo circulation time and retinal preparations.RESULTS: After intravenous injection, compared to the retinal vascular condition under 20min in vivo circulation time of Evans blue and 20 or 40min of fixation, with 10min of in vivo Evans blue circulation and 60min of fixation, the morphology of retinal vascular was more intact with less retinal vascular leakage, and the vascular branches are clear. When intravenous injection failed, remediated results from intraperitoneal injection showed that the morphology and distribution of retinal vessels were intact. There was no significant difference in morphology, distribution and leakage of the retinal vessels after 3h of intraperitoneal Evans blue circulation compared to 10min intravenous Evans blue circulation.CONCLUSION: This experiment optimizes the protocol, improves the accuracy and reproducibility of retinal preparations, and provides a reference for the study of related retinal vascular diseases.

Role of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Bone and Joint Diseases and Traditional Chinese Medicine Intervention： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Nucleotide binding oligomeric dome-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome is an intracellular sensing protein complex， and it is an important player in the innate immune system， capable of sensing foreign pathogens and endogenous danger signals. After tissue injury， the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome induces the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin （IL）-1β and IL-18， while promoting gasdermin D-mediated pyroptosis. Existing studies have shown that NLRP3 inflammasome plays a key role in the occurrence and development of common bone and joint diseases such as osteoporosis， osteoarthritis， rheumatoid arthritis， and gouty arthritis by inducing inflammatory cascade reaction and accelerating bone resorption and cartilage destruction. Therefore， blocking the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway may be an effective strategy to treat or prevent bone and joint diseases. Currently， researchers have developed and tested several drugs that selectively target the NLRP3 inflammasome in animal and clinical studies， but the progress has been poor due to obvious side effects and high prices. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has been widely recognized in the treatment of bone and joint diseases due to its unique advantages of multi-target， multi-pathway， multi-mechanism synergism， low price， and low side effects. With the deepening of research， the targeted intervention of NLRP3 inflammasome by TCM in the treatment of bone and joint diseases has attracted wide attention. In this paper， the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome in osteoarthritis was summarized by analyzing relevant literature in China and abroad in recent years， and the progress of targeted intervention of NLRP3 inflammasome by TCM in the treatment of bone and joint diseases was systematically reviewed， so as to provide new ideas and theoretical basis for the treatment of bone and joint diseases.

[Preparation of monoclonal antibodies against Pinellia ternata lectin protein and establishment of double-antibody sandwich ELISA].

To determine the content of endogenous toxic substance Pinellia ternata lectin(PTL) protein in Pinelliae Rhizoma and the related processed products, this study prepared specific monoclonal antibodies against PTL by hybridoma cell technology, and established a quantitative double-antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) for PTL antigen. The detection conditions were 2.5 µg·mL~(-1) working concentration of the captured antibody and 1∶450 of the dilution multiple of detected antibody. The coating condition was staying overnight at 4 ℃. The blocking time and incubation times of antigen and detected antibody were all 90 minutes. The incubation time of horseradish peroxidase conjugated streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase(SA-HRP) was 15 minutes. The quantitative limit of the method for PTL antigen was 0.375 ng·mL~(-1). The linear range was 75.000-4 800.000 pg·mL~(-1), and R~2=0.997 1. The recovery rate was 90.0%-110.0%, and the variation coefficients of intra-test and inter-test precision were 2.0%-3.0% and 2.0%-8.5%.The content of PTL in three batches of Pinelliae Rhizoma and the related processed products was determined by the method, and the average content of PTL in Pinelliae Rhizoma was 35.42 mg·g~(-1). The average content of PTL in Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine, Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum, and Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Zingibere Et Alumine were 1.15 mg·g~(-1), 16.53 µg·g~(-1), and 122.63 ng·g~(-1), respectively, indicating that the content of PTL decreased significantly after processing. The quantitative double-antibody sandwich ELISA for PTL antigen established in this paper had good linearity, sensitive response, and high accuracy, which provided a simple and effective monitoring method for the detection of PTL content in the processing of Pinelliae Rhizoma.

What we have learned from a patient with partial tracheal rupture caused by penetrating neck injuries: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Airway management of patients with direct airway trauma caused by penetrating neck injuries is always challenging. When a failed airway occurs and surgery access is difficult, it is crucial to find the optimal approach to save the life. We propose the concept "Cannot intubate, Cannot oxygenate, Difficult surgery access" to describe this emergency scenario. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 24-year-old woman who presented with partial tracheal rupture and pneumothorax caused by a knife stab injury to the neck. A "double setup" strategy, simultaneous preparation for orotracheal intubation and tracheotomy, was carried out before rapid sequence induction. A tracheotomy under local anesthesia or an awake intubation was not preferred in consideration that the patient had a high risk of being uncooperative owing to existing mental disease and potential smothering sensation during operation. During rapid sequence intubation, distal part of the tube penetrates the tear and creates a false lumen outside the trachea then a failed airway subsequently occurred. Rescue tracheotomy was successfully performed by an otolaryngology surgeon, with the help of limited ventilation using sequential bag-mask and laryngeal mask airway ventilation provided by an anesthesiologist, without severe sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: The endotracheal tube have a risk of penetrating the tear outside the trachea in patient with partial tracheal rupture during orotracheal intubation, and once it occurs, proceeding directly to an emergency invasive airway access with optimizing oxygenation throughout procedure might increase the chance of success in rescuing the airway.

Effect and Mechanism of Cotrimoxazole Against Talaromyces marneffei in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Talaromyces marneffei (formerly Penicillium marneffei) is an important thermally dimorphic fungus endemic which is characterized by one of the most frequent opportunistic infections in HIV/AIDS patients, mainly prevalent in Southeast Asia, southern China, and northeastern India. Cotrimoxazole(CTX) inhibits folic acid synthesis which is important for the survival of many bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, thereby commonly used to prevent several opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients. In addition to preventing other HIV-associated opportunistic infections, CTX prophylaxis are considered to have the potential to prevent T. marneffei infection in HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the effect of cotrimoxazole towards T. marneffei fungus in vitro remains unclear. METHODS: Human THP-1 macrophages were used as cell model in vitro to explore the effect and mechanism of cotrimoxazole resistance towards T. marneffei. Cell viability assay and drug sensitivity colony forming units (CFU) experiments were conducted to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of cotrimoxazole inside and outside THP-1 macrophages respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) was used to measure the concentration of Dihydropteroic acid synthetase (DHPS), Dihydrofolate synthetase (DHFS) and Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) between T. marneffei adding TMP/SMX and without adding TMP/SMX group respectively. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qPCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels in Dectin-1 mediated signaling pathway and downstream inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-10, IL-23A, CXCL8 and TNF-α released by T. marneffei-infected macrophages between adding TMP/SMX and without adding TMP/SMX group respectively. RESULTS: Cotrimoxazole can inhibit the proliferation of T. marneffei within safe concentration inside and outside THP-1 macrophages. Drug susceptibility results showed the minimal inhibit concentration(MIC) of 1:5 TMP/SMX was ranging from 14/70 to 68/340 µg/ml. The MIC of SMX was ranging from 100 to 360 µg/ml. The MIC of TMP was ranging from 240 to 400 µg/ml outside macrophages. The MIC of TMP/SMX was ranging from 36/180 to 68/340 µg/ml. The MIC of SMX was ranging from 340 to 360 µg/ml. The MIC of TMP was ranging from 320 to 400 µg/ml inside macrophages. The synergistic interaction of 1:5 TMP/SMX was more effective in inhibiting T. marneffei than separate SMX and TMP. DHPS, DHFS and DHFR can be inhibited by cotrimoxazole within safe and effective concentration. Dectin-1 expression is increased following T. marneffei infection, leading to the increase of IL-6, IL-10, IL-23A and the decrease of CXCL8 and TNF-α. Conversely, cotrimoxazole decrease the levels of Dectin-1, IL-6, IL-10, IL-23A and increase the levels of CXCL8 and TNF-α, thereby enhancing the intracellular killing-T. marneffei capacity of macrophages. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that cotrimoxazole directly inhibited T. marneffei growth by blocking DHPS, DHFS and DHFR and indirectly inhibited T. marneffei growth perhaps by regulating the Dectin-1 signaling pathway, which may effectively interfere with the defense ability of the host against T. marneffei infection.

Multiprocessing Quantum Computing through Hyperfine Couplings in Endohedral Fullerene Derivatives.

Magnetic molecules have shown great potential in quantum information processing due to the chemical tunablity of their quantum behaviors. Chemical derivatives of endohedral nitrogen fullerenes with long coherence time and rich energy levels were synthesized and studied to demonstrate the ability of multiprocessing in quantum information using electron magnetic resonance. After initialization of the 12-levelled spin system, subgroups of spin energy levels coursed by the hyperfine couplings can be selectively manipulated. The cooperatively combining of the parallel calculations enabled quantum error correction, increasing the correct rate by up to 17.82 %. Also, different subgroups of transitions divided by hyperfine coupling can be treated as independent qubits, and multi-task quantum computing were realized by performing Z-gate and X-gate simultaneously, which accelerates the overall gating speed.