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Shiyiwei Shenqi Tablet (SSTs) has been widely used for treatment of different types of cancer including breast cancer. SST has drawn more and more interest due to the low rate of side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolites in serums of breast cancer patients who received base-line chemotherapy only or combination treatment with SST. An untargeted metabolomics method was developed to investigate the alteration of metabolism in patients’ serums using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/Q-exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The patients were separated based on the metabolomics data, and further analyses showed that SST treatment can affect the metabolism of glucose, fatty acid, bile acid and amino acid. In particular, SST treatment significantly reduced some short peptides which are potential tumor neoantigens. This study may provide novel insights into the mechanism underlying interaction between SST and base-line chemotherapy in terms of affecting metabolic pathways and thereby changing metabolic products, which might shed new light for clinical medication.

BackgroundThe naked-eye invisibility of indocyanine green fluorescence limits the application of near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIR) systems for real-time navigation during sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with breast cancer undergoing surgery. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a novel NIR system in visualizing indocyanine green fluorescence images in the surgical field and the application value of combined methylene blue (MB) and the novel NIR system in SLNB.MethodsSixty patients with clinical node-negative breast cancer received indocyanine green (ICG) and MB as tracers. Two NIR system instruments, namely, lymphatic fluorescence imaging system (LFIS) designed by the University of Science and Technology of China and vascular imager by Langfang Mingde Medical Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Langfang vascular imager), were used as navigation assistance to locate sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Excising the lymph nodes developed by both MB and ICG by two NIR systems or palpably suspicious as SLNs and undergoing rapid pathological examination.ResultsBoth instruments exhibited 95% (57/60) success for real-time lymphatic fluorescent images. A total of 186 SLNs were identified, of which two were pathologically confirmed as lacking any lymph node tissue. SLN identification rate was 100% (184/184) for MB plus LFIS and 86.96% (160/184) for MB alone. The median number of SLNs identified by LFIS combined with MB was 3 (range of 1–8), which was significantly higher than that by MB alone at 2 (range 1–7) (PConclusionLFIS effectively detects SLNs in breast cancer, projects the fluorescence signals during surgery, and provides a continuous surgical navigation system without the need for a remote monitor. The ICG method navigated by combined LFIS and MB may be a promising alternative tracer for radioisotope in SLN mapping.Clinical Trial RegistrationThis clinical trial was registered with the China Clinical Trial Center, registration number ChiCTR2000039542.

We report a facile process to fabricate porous CoxFe3−xO4 catalysts by using a metal organic framework (MOFs) sacrificial template for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation through Oxone activation. The results demonstrated a significantly enhanced catalytic performance with increasing content of cobalt in the catalyst, which peaked at x = 1.51. Further increase in the cobalt content of catalysts exhibited negative effects on the catalytic performance due to the increased cobalt-rich phase with insufficient Fe. The effects of various conditions were evaluated, circa 0.13 (0.20) min−1 of the catalytic rate could be attained in deionized water (reaction condition: [BPA] = 60 μM, [Oxone concentration] = 0.6 mM, [catalyst dosage] = 0.1 (0.3) g L−1, [temperature] = 25 °C, and [initial pH] = 10.2 (6.5)). The radical SO4 − was demonstrated to be a major contributor to the catalytic process, as well as HO . More importantly, the catalysts exhibited desirable BPA degradation efficiencies in various water matrices. Simple thermal treatment at 450 °C in open air significantly regenerated the spent catalyst. B-site cobalt in catalysts was proved to play an important role in activating Oxone in the proposed mechanism.

Lactobacilli are abundant in the intestinal tract where they constantly regulate immune system via interacting with a great diversity of immune cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs). Notably, DCs are powerful antigen-presenting cells and they are capable of initiating primary immune responses. In this study, we studied the effects of Lactobacillus johnsonii (L. johnsonii) and Lactobacillus johnsonii cell-free supernatant (L. johnsonii-CFS) on the activation of porcine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) and their regulation of Th cellular immune responses in vitro. The MoDCs generated from porcine peripheral blood monocytes were stimulated by L. johnsonii and L. johnsonii-CFS, respectively. Pre-incubation with L. johnsonii increased expression of CD172a, CD80, major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) in MoDCs, and enhanced the ability of MoDCs to induce the proliferation of CD4+ T cell, while pre-incubation with L. johnsonii-CFS merely upregulated the expression of MHCII. Analysis of the cytokines showed that L. johnsonii stimulated up-regulation of Th1-type cytokines (IL-12p40, IFN-γ, TNF-α), pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β, chemokine CCL20, and Treg-type / anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 in MoDCs. Notably, a high production of IL-10 was observed in the MoDCs treated with L. johnsonii-CFS, indicating L. johnsonii-CFS exerted anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, L. johnsonii induced up-regulation of TLR2 and TLR6, but L. johnsonii-CFS not. Moreover, MoDCs stimulated by L. johnsonii mainly promoted T cell differentiate into Th1/Th2/Treg cells and plays an important role in improving the balance between Th1/Th2/Treg-type cells, whereas MoDCs stimulated by L. johnsonii-CFS mainly directed T cell to Th2/Treg subset polarization. In conclusion, L. johnsonii and L. johnsonii-CFS exhibited the ability of modulating innate immunity by regulating immunological functions of MoDCs in vitro, suggesting their potential ability to use as microecological preparations and medicines.

Accurate quantification of low level of blood drugs by Latex enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay (LEITA) remains a challenge due to its inherent limited sensitivity. To deal with this problem, we designed a new agglutination-enhancement strategy, and applied it for development of a highly sensitive and accurate tacrolimus LEITA. By this principle, a very small amount of biotin labeled anti-tacrolimus monoclonal antibodies (BLATMA) can arise agglutination strong enough for accurate reading of the increased absorbance since the BLATMA bears multiple biotin molecules, and the agglutination mediated by BLATMA can be inhibited by a similarly small amount of tacrolimus when the drug binds to BLATMA, giving rise to an improved sensitivity. The limit of detection (LOD) and functional sensitivity obtained by the proposed tacrolimus LEITA was 0.22 ng/mL and 0.59 ng/mL, respectively, 8-20 times more sensitive than the conventional drug-latex or antibody-latex based direct inhibition LEITA formats. Good precision was observed in the whole range of clinically significant tacrolimus concentration. The reliability of the tacrolimus LEITA was demonstrated by its strong correlation with both liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) (R2 = 0.977, slope = 0.998) and the ABBOTT tacrolimus chemiluminescent magnetic immunoassay (CMIA) (R2 = 0.982, slope = 1.01) in the analysis of 119 clinical samples. It's concluded that the agglutination-enhancement strategy can be applied to construct highly sensitive LEITA for accurate tacrolimus analysis; owing to the improved sensitivity, this technique can be expected not only to improve the reliability of LEITA for low-level drug monitoring, but also to broaden the scope of analytes detectable by LEITA.

The monodisperse and water-soluble YVO4:Eu nanoparticles (NPs) with uniform size and shape were synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly co-precipitation at room temperature with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as surfactant and water as solvent. The morphology of the obtained YVO4:Eu NPs is sphere-like with a diameter of about 38 nm. Intense red emission from NPs is achieved under ultraviolet (UV) excitation. The intense red emission could be selectively quenched by Cu2+ ions with limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.57 μM in aqueous solution. The emission quenched by Cu2+ ions would be recovered when adding ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), due to the strong interaction between Cu2+ ions and EDTA. These results indicate that the NPs would be a potential sensor for detecting Cu2+ ions in aqueous solution.

Monodisperse and water-soluble lanthanide (Ln3+)-doped Y(Gd)VO4 nanocrystals (NCs) have been successfully synthesized by a fast, facile, and environmentally friendly microwave-assisted route with poly(acrylic acid) as the surfactant. The Y(Gd)VO4:5 %Ln3+ (Ln = Eu, Dy, Sm) NCs have unique fluorescence properties and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based white solid nanocomposites containing YVO4:5 %Eu3+ NCs show red emission upon UV irradiation. GdVO4 NCs can act as CT and MRI contrast agents as a result of their magnetic and X-ray absorption properties. A layer of SiO2 was coated onto the surfaces of the nanoparticles and MTT assays were carried out to test the cytotoxicity of the YVO4@SiO2 and GdVO4 NCs. The results indicate that the Y(Gd)VO4 NCs have potential in multimodal optical/MRI/CT bio-imaging.

The morphology of CuInSe2 nanocrystals plays a key role in their functional properties. Achieving controllable morphology is significant for studying their structures and novel properties. Here, CuInSe2 nanocrystals with a trigonal-pyramidal shape have successfully been synthesized by a facile solution-phase method. The nanocrystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. The morphological evolution of the CuInSe2 nanocrystals was illustrated by tuning the injection temperature of oleylamine-selenium (OAm-Se). In addition, CuInSe2 nanocrystals with spherical and ellipsoidal shapes were also obtained when copper stearate was used as the copper precursor.

Nitrogen-doped (N-doped) photoluminescent carbon dots (CDs) were prepared by a one-pot microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment using histidine as the sole carbon source in the absence of acid, alkali, or metal ions. With a diameter of 2-5 nm, the synthesized CDs had apparent lattice fringes and exhibited an excitation-dependent photoluminescent behavior. The CDs were highly yielded, well-dispersed in aqueous solution, and showed high photostability in the solutions of a wide range of pH and salinity. They were used as probes to identify the presence of Fe(3+) ions with a detection limit of 10 nM. With confirmed nontoxicity, these CDs could enter the cancer cells, indicating a practical potential for cellular imaging and labeling.

A facile solution-phase route for the preparation of AgInSe2 nanocrystals was developed by using silver nitrate, indium stearate, and oleylamine–selenium (OAm–Se) as precursors. The evolution process of the AgInSe2 nanocrystals is discussed in detail and different reaction conditions all have a great impact on the growth and morphology of the nanocrystals. Alloyed AgIn(S1−xSex)2 nanocrystals with controlled composition across the entire range (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) was also successfully prepared by modulating the S/Se reactant mole ratio. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm that the alloyed AgIn(S1−xSex)2 nanocrystals are homogeneous. The UV-vis absorption spectra revealed that the band gap energies of the alloyed AgIn(S1−xSex)2 nanocrystals could be continuously tuned by increasing the Se content.