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Ecosystem exposure to a biological invasion such as plant invasion could contribute to the extinction of native species and loss of productivity and ecosystem balance. Solidago canadensis (S. canadensis) is a highly invasive species that has formed monocultures in China, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It was designated as a notorious invasive species by the Chinese government. It has adversely affected the agroecosystem’s ability to germinate various plant seeds, including wheat, lettuce, and pepper, which could lead to food insecurity. This study was conducted to control the invasive species S. canadensis by utilizing a competitive species, Sorghum bicolor (S. bicolor) as a cover plant. Sorghum bicolor exudes allelochemicals such as sorgoleone from its roots which suppress the photosystem II activity of nearby plants. The synthesis of sorgoleone depends on a supply of nitrogen. The present study involved the cultivation of S. bicolor alongside the invasive species S. canadensis, with three different invasion levels (high, medium, and low) and three different nitrogen forms (ammonical, nitrate, and combined ammonical and nitrate nitrogen) applied as a modified Hogland solution. S. bicolor expressed higher performance over the invasive species under ammonical and combined nitrogen forms under low and medium invasion levels. Furthermore, even at greater levels of invasion, S. bicolor was not suppressed by S. canadensis. However, the plant height and dry biomass of S. bicolor were significantly high across both nitrogen forms. Leaf area, CO2 uptake, and photosystem II activity of S. canadensis were unable to sustain its growth under the low invasion condition. The plant biomass of S. canadensis was suppressed by up to 80% and the relative dominance index of S. bicolor was 5.22 over S. canadensis. There was a strong correlation between CO2 uptake, leaf area, and plant biomass. Principal component analysis showed that the first four components had a total variance of 96.89%, with principal component 1 (PC1) having the highest eigenvalue at 18.65. These promising findings suggested that S. bicolor, whose high intensity might be employed to control the invasion process for environmental safety, might be able to recover the barren ground that S. canadensis had invaded.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a potent novel therapeutic modality that induces cell death through light-induced activation of photosensitizer. But some photosensitizers have characteristics of poor water-solubility and non-specific tissue distribution. These characteristics become main obstacles of PDT. In this paper, we synthesized a targeting drug delivery system (TDDS) to improve the water-solubility of photosensitizer and enhance the ability of targeted TFR positive tumor cells. TDDS is a transferrin-modified Poly(D,L-Lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) nanoparticle loaded with a photosensitizer hypocrellin A (HA), named TF-HA-CMC-PLGA NPs. Morphology, size distribution, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, encapsulation efficiency, and loading capacity of TF-HA-CMC-PLGA NPs were characterized. In vitro TF-HA-CMC-PLGA NPs presented weak dark cytotoxicity and significant photo-cytotoxicity with strong reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and apoptotic cancer cell death. In vivo photodynamic antitumor efficacy of TF-HA-CMC-PLGA NPs was investigated with an A549 (TFR positive) tumor-bearing model in male athymic nude mice. TF-HA-CMC-PLGA NPs caused tumor delay with a remarkable tumor inhibition rate of 63% for 15 days. Extensive cell apoptosis in tumor tissue and slight side effects in normal organs were observed. The results indicated that TDDS has great potential to enhance PDT therapeutic efficacy.

BackgroundIntrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is the second most common primary liver cancer. While multiple risk factors for iCCA have been established, metabolic diseases (obesity, diabetes, NAFLD, dyslipidemia, and hypertension) and other risk factors, including smoking and drinking, are still controversial due to their potential confounders. Here, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to identify the causal relationship between them.MethodIn this study, we obtained GWAS data related to exposures from corresponding large genome-wide association studies. Summary-level statistical data for iCCA were obtained from the UK Biobank (UKB). We performed a univariable MR analysis to identify whether genetic evidence of exposure was significantly associated with iCCA risk. A multivariable MR analysis was conducted to estimate the independent effects of exposures on iCCA.ResultsUnivariable and multivariable MR analysis based on the large GWAS data indicated that there is little evidence to support the genetic role of metabolic factors, smoking, drinking, and NAFLD in iCCA development (P >0.05). In contrast to most current studies, their impact on iCCA development, if any, might be smaller than we thought. The previous positive results might be due to the comorbidities between diseases and potentially unavoidable confounding factors.ConclusionIn this MR study, we found no strong evidence to support causal associations between metabolic factors, NAFLD, smoking, drinking, and iCCA risk.

BackgroundHemoporfin-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for port-wine stains (PWS), and pain is the main adverse effect of this therapy. General anesthesia is commonly used for pain management during PDT, but the effect of general anesthetics on the subsequent treatment efficacy of PDT in PWS has not been reported.ObjectivesTo assess the use of general anesthesia combined with PDT compared with PDT alone in 207 PWS patients, and to provide further safety and efficacy data on this combined therapy.MethodsPropensity score matching (PSM) was used at a 2:1 ratio to create a general anesthetic group (n = 138) and a highly comparable nonanesthetic group (n = 69). The clinical outcomes were evaluated, and the treatment reactions and adverse effects were recorded after one treatment with PDT.ResultsAfter matching, there was no significant difference in the demographic data of the patients in the two groups (p > 0.05), while the treatment efficacy was significantly higher in the general anesthetic group than in the nonanesthetic group (76.81 vs. 56.52%, p 0.05). No serious systemic adverse reactions were observed.ConclusionWe recommend this combined therapy, which is associated with painless, as a high efficacy treatment option for PWS patients, especially for patients with a poor response to multiple PDT alone treatments.

Port-wine stains (PWSs) are a congenital capillary malformed disorder and are caused by a number of somatic mutations that disrupt vascular development. However, the underlying genetic mutations in the pathogenesis of PWS have not yet been fully elucidated. To understand PWS genetic variations and investigate novel genetic mutations, we extracted genomic DNA from four sporadic PWS patients and then performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Using Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant (SIFT), PolyPhen2, Mutation Assessor, MetaSVM to identify candidate genetic mutations and whole-exome sequencing (WES) to confirm the identified variants. We found a previously reported G protein subunit alpha q (GNAQ) mutation c.548G > A, p.Arg183Gln in one case, whereas no such mutation was found in the other three samples. Moreover, six novel somatic mutations in three genes, including KCNJ12, SLC25A5, POTEE, were found in these four samples. Importantly, WES also verified the KCNJ12 (c.433G > A, p.Gly145Ser) and SLC25A5 (c.413G > A, p.Arg138His) mutations in other five sporadic PWS patients, with the frequency of 60% (3 of 5) and 40% (2 of 5), respectively. Thus, we reveal in this study two novel somatic mutations, KCNJ12 and SLC25A5, in the sporadic PWS patients for the first time. These findings highlight the genetic polymorphism of PWS and provide potential clinical prediction targets for this disease.