Search

Pulmonary arterial aneurysm is a rare condition involving a focal dilation of the pulmonary artery and all three layers of the vessel wall. Few reports have described managing this anomaly using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. We report a 60-year-old woman with a pulmonary artery aneurysm in the truncus superior of the right pulmonary artery. The patient underwent a two-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with a right upper lobectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful. She maintained a good prognosis for 4 months after surgery, and we continue to take great care throughout her follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polygala fallax Hemsl. is a plant that is commonly used as a folk medicine by Guangxi ethnic minorities, and it is also widely used in the clinical treatment of chronic diseases in China. The extract of P. fallax (EPF) contains key biologically active components from the roots and stems. However, the role of P. fallax or EPF in diabetic nephropathy (DN) is unclear.Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of EPF on high glucose (HG)-induced human glomerular mesangial cell (HMC) injury, inflammation, fibrosis, and apoptosis in vitro.Methods: For the in vitro study, MTT and ELISA assays were performed with HG-treated HMCs, as well as MMP, Hoechst, flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, and western blot analyses. The expression of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway, along with its downstream inflammatory, apoptosis, and fibrosis factors, was measured. The expression of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and its downstream inflammatory factors were also measured after the addition of TLR4 inhibitors.Results: Our results suggest that EPF can reverse the hyperproliferation and apoptosis of HMCs induced by HG. In addition, the extract inhibited the increase in inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, and IL-18 in cells treated with HG. The mRNA and protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, Col IV, FN, MMP-9, and MMP-2 were downregulated by EPF. In addition, EPF significantly reduced the loss of MMP and the upregulation of Bcl-2/Bax mRNA and protein levels after HG treatment.Conclusion: These results demonstrated that EPF protects against diabetes-induced renal injury in vitro. EPF protected against HG-induced HMCs proliferation, apoptosis, fibrosis, and inflammation likely via inhibition of TLR4-dependent NF-κB signaling. This herbal extract may also be a novel treatment for DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic acids play important roles in the atmosphere by contributing to formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and rainwater acidity. Vehicle emissions can be an important source of organic acids in urban environments. In this study, we carried out chassis dynamometer tests to measure C1–C5 carboxylic acids, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and isocyanic acid (HNCO) from gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles using an iodide-adduct time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (I− ToF-CIMS). We present fuel-based and mileage-based emission factors base on 31 vehicles under different stages of emission standards. Our measurements show that emission factors of carboxylic acids from diesel vehicles are much higher than those from gasoline vehicles. The determined emission factors of formic acid from diesel vehicles (130 ± 134 mg/kg fuel) are nearly 800 times higher than those from gasoline vehicles (0.16 ± 0.18 mg/kg fuel), which suggests that fuel type is a key metrics affecting emission factors of carboxylic acids from motor vehicles. We quantified the emission factors of toxic species HCN (gasoline: 10.4 ± 17.5 mg/kg fuel , diesel: 12.5 ± 7.49 mg/kg fuel) and HNCO (gasoline: 0.09 ± 0.25 mg/kg fuel , diesel: 2.26 ± 8.94 mg/kg fuel). Although the main source of organic acids is likely to be related to secondary production mechanisms on global scales according to previous research, our results highlight that primary emissions from vehicles may contribute significantly to local and finer regional scales. Emission factors of organic acids obtained in this study can be used to constrain the budget of organic acids in urban environments. • Fuel types and emission standard stages are key metrics affecting emission factors of carboxylic acids, HCN and HNCO. • Emission factors of carboxylic acids from diesel vehicles are much higher than those from gasoline vehicles. • Carboxylic acids emitted by vehicles are mainly contributed by diesel vehicles, while HCN mainly by gasoline vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spermidine have been reported a role in antioxidative, antiaging, and antiinflammatory. Oxidative stress causes granulosa cell (GC) apoptosis, follicular atresia, and impairs poultry reproductive functions. Studies have found that autophagy is the protective mechanism against antioxidant stress and apoptosis in cells. However, the relationship between spermidine-induced autophagy, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in goose GCs remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the autophagy mechanism to mediate spermidine effects on the alleviation of oxidative stress and apoptosis in goose GCs. Follicular GCs were treated with spermidine combination with 3-Nitropropanoic acid (3-NPA), rapamycin (RAPA), and chloroquine (CQ) or with hydrogen peroxide, RAPA, and CQ. Spermidine upregulated the ratio of LC3-II/I, inhibited the accumulation of p62 protein, and induced autophagy. 3-NPA treatment significantly increased ROS production, MDA content, SOD activity, cleaved CASPASE-3 protein expression, and decreased BCL-2 protein expression in follicular GCs. Spermidine inhibited oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by 3-NPA. In addition, hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress was inhibited by spermidine. However, the inhibitory effect of spermidine was eliminated under chloroquine. Our results demonstrated that spermidine relieved oxidative stress and apoptosis of GCs by inducing autophagy, indicating that spermidine has a great potential to maintain proteostasis and sustain granulosa cell viability in geese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of surface ozone during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown in China has aroused great concern. In this study, we combine 1.5 years of measurements for ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxide (NO X) at four sites to investigate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on surface ozone in Dongguan, an industrial city in southern China. We show that the average concentrations of NO X and VOCs decreased by 70%–77% and 54%–68% during the lockdown compared to pre-lockdown, respectively. Based on the source apportionment of VOCs, the contribution of industrial solvent use reduced significantly (86%–94%) during the lockdown, and climbed back slowly along with the re-opening of the industry after lockdown. A slight increase in mean ozone concentration (3%–14%) was observed during the lockdown. The rise of ozone was the combined effect of substantial increase at night (58%–91%) and small reduction in the daytime (1%–17%). These conflicting observations in ozone response between day and night to emission change call for a more detailed approach to diagnostic ozone production response with precursor changes, rather than directly comparing absolute concentrations. We propose that the ratio of daily Ox (i.e. ozone + NO 2) enhancement to solar radiation can provide a diagnostic parameter for ozone production response during the lockdown period. Smaller ratio of daily O X (ozone + NO 2) enhancement to solar radiation during the lockdown were observed from the long-term measurements in Dongguan, suggesting significantly weakened photochemistry during the lockdown successfully reduces local ozone production. Our proposed approach can provide an evaluation of ozone production response to precursor changes from restrictions of social activities during COVID-19 epidemic and also other regional air quality abatement measures (e.g. public mega-events) around the globe. • Both VOCs and NO X significantly declined during the COVID lockdown in Dongguan China. • The largest reduction was observed from solvent use among various VOCs sources. • A new approach was proposed to evaluate the response of ozone production to precursor changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]