Acupoint Autohemotherapy Attenuates DNCB-Induced Atopic Dermatitis and Activates Regulatory T Cells in BALB/c Mice.

Purpose: Acupoint autohemotherapy (A-AHT) has been proposed as an alternative and complementary treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), yet the exact role of its blood component in terms of therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of action is still largely unknown. Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacies and action mechanisms of intramuscular injections of autologous whole blood (AWB) and mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG) (autologous or heterologous) at acupoints on 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced AD mouse models. Serum levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE), IgG, interleukin-10 (IL-10), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) were measured, as well as mRNA expression levels of Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3), IL-10 and IFN-γ in dorsal skin lesions, and IL-10+, IFN-γ+ and FoxP3+CD4+T cells in murine spleen. Results: It showed that repeated acupoint injection of AWB, autologous total IgG (purified from autologous blood in AD mice) or heterologous total IgG (purified from healthy blood in normal mice) effectively reduced the severity of AD symptoms and decreased epidermal and dermal thickness as well as mast cells in skin lesions. Additionally, AWB acupoint injection was found to upregulate FoxP3+, IL-10+ and IFN-γ+ CD4+T cells in murine spleen, suppressing the production of IgE antibodies and increasing that of IgG antibodies in the serum. Furthermore, both AWB and autologous total IgG administrations significantly elevated FoxP3 expression, mRNA levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ in dorsal skin lesions. However, acupoint injection of heterologous total IgG had no effect on regulatory T (Treg) and Th1 cells modulation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the therapeutic effects of A-AHT on AD are mediated by IgG-induced activation of Treg cells.

Network Pharmacology Prediction and Experimental Validation of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii Action Mechanism Against Lung Adenocarcinoma.

We aimed to study the mechanism of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in treating lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) based on network pharmacology and experimental verification. The effective components and potential targets of Trichosanthis and Fritillaria thunbergii were collected by high-throughput experiment and reference-guided (HERB) database of traditional Chinese medicine and a similarity ensemble approach (SEA) database, and the LUAD-related targets were queried by the GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) databases. A drug-component-disease-target network was constructed by Cytoscape software. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, gene ontology (GO) function, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to obtain core targets and key pathways. An aqueous extract of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii and A549 cells were used for the subsequent experimental validation. Through the HERB database and literature search, 31 effective compounds and 157 potential target genes of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii were screened, of which 144 were regulatory targets of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. The GO functional enrichment analysis showed that the mechanism of action of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii against lung adenocarcinoma is mainly protein phosphorylation. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma by Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii mainly involves the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The experimental validation showed that an aqueous extract of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii could inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells and the phosphorylation of AKT. Through network pharmacology and experimental validation, it was verified that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway plays a vital role in the action of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in treating lung adenocarcinoma.

High optical feedback tolerance of InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers on germanium.

This work experimentally investigates the optical feedback sensitivity of InAs/GaAs quantum dot (Qdot) lasers epitaxially grown on Ge substrate. In comparison with a Qdot laser on GaAs substrate with identical epilayer and cavity structures, the Ge-based laser is found to exhibit lower sensitivity to the optical feedback, although it has a higher epitaxial defect density. Theoretical analysis proves that the high defect density strongly increases the damping factor while slightly reduces the linewidth broadening factor, which lead to high tolerance to the optical feedback. This work suggests the high potential of Qdot lasers on Ge for isolator-free operation in photonic integrated circuits.

Dynamic model and bandwidth characterization of InGaAs/GaAsSb type-II quantum wells PIN photodiodes.

In this work, we demonstrated a normal incident PIN InGaAs/GaAsSb type-II multiple quantum wells (MQW) photodiode on InP substrate for 2 µm wavelength high-speed operation. The photodiode has a responsivity of 0.35 A/W at room temperature at 2 µm, and a 3 dB bandwidth of 3.7 GHz. A carrier dynamic model is developed to study the bandwidth of the multiple quantum wells photodiode. Simulation results match the experimental data well, and analysis shows that hole transport limits the 3 dB bandwidth performance. By optimizing the MQW design, higher bandwidth performance (>10 GHz) can be achieved.

Inference and forecast of H7N9 influenza in China, 2013 to 2015.

The recent emergence of A(H7N9) avian influenza poses a significant challenge to public health in China and around the world; however, understanding of the transmission dynamics and progression of influenza A(H7N9) infection in domestic poultry, as well as spillover transmission to humans, remains limited. Here, we develop a mathematical model-Bayesian inference system which combines a simple epidemic model and data assimilation method, and use it in conjunction with data on observed human influenza A(H7N9) cases from 19 February 2013 to 19 September 2015 to estimate key epidemiological parameters and to forecast infection in both poultry and humans. Our findings indicate a high outbreak attack rate of 33% among poultry but a low rate of chicken-to-human spillover transmission. In addition, we generated accurate forecasts of the peak timing and magnitude of human influenza A(H7N9) cases. This work demonstrates that transmission dynamics within an avian reservoir can be estimated and that real-time forecast of spillover avian influenza in humans is possible.