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Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have attracted attention due to their important role in inflammation. Several studies have investigated the involvement of MDSCs in chronic liver disease. However, due to the difference of MDSC phenotypes, patient types, and sample sources among the studies, the results are inconsistent and controversial. We took advantage of a large well-defined cohort of 98 (24 patients with CHB, 18 with NAFLD, 13 with HCC, 16 with PBC, and 27 with AIH) patients with liver inflammation and 12 healthy controls to investigate the expression of MDSCs, and the relationships between the expression of hepatic MDSCs and the clinical characteristics were analyzed. We found that the expression of CD11b+CD33+ MDSCs is closely related to chronic liver disease and positively correlated with clinical parameters such as ALT, AST, and globulin. Ultimately, the present study suggests that hepatic CD11b+CD33+ MDSCs are increased in HCC and AIH and positively correlate with the liver stages of hepatitis activity and liver fibrosis stage.

Understanding the mechanism of how a “cold” charge-transfer (CCT) state is dissociated into free charges and how morphologies of bulk heterojunction thin films affect such a process is of critical ...

In this work, fluoranthene-modified polysiloxane (FMPS) was synthesized via the Diels–Alder reaction. This fluorescent polymer showed better thermal stability, stronger fluorescence emission, and higher sensitivity for picric acid (PA) detection with a super-amplification effect (LoD = 69.5 nM) compared with the monomer fluoranthene. Furthermore, FMPS exhibited much higher detection efficiency toward PA in the nanoparticle state (79 times) than in the solution state. We found that the excellent detection ability of FMPS could be attributed to its unique porous nanostructure. The results were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and theoretical calculations. This work provides guidance for the design of linear fluorescent polymers with rapid responses and high sensitivity toward nitroaromatic compound detection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in the regulation of the transcriptome and development of diseases including cancer and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Currently, a comprehensive map, illustrating how miRNAs regulate transcripts, pathways, immune system differentiation, and their interaction with terminal cells, such as T cells, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), osteoblasts, and osteoclasts, is still missing. In this review, we provide a thorough summary of the roles of miRNAs in the susceptibility to pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and prognosis of RA. Numerous miRNAs are abnormally expressed in cells involved in RA, and regulate target genes and pathways including the NF-κB, Fas-FasL, JAK-STAT, IRE1-RIDD, and mTOR pathways. By regulating gene expression, miRNAs affect T cell differentiation to diverse cell types, including Th17 and T-reg cells, and thus constitute promising gene therapy targets to modulate the immune system in RA. We summarize the diagnostic and prognostic potential of blood-circulating and cell-free miRNAs, highlighting the novel opportunities to combine these with rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) to provide accurate diagnosis and prognosis, especially for seronegative patients. Furthermore, we outline how functional genetic variants of miR-499 and miR-146a partly explain the unmet susceptibility to RA. Additionally, we review the evidence implicating miRNAs as promising biomarkers of efficiency, response, and resistance to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMRDs) and immunotherapy. Finally, we discuss the autotherapeutic effect of miRNA intervention as a step toward the development of miRNA-based anti-RA drugs. Collectively, the current evidence supports miRNAs as interesting targets to better understand the pathogenetic mechanisms of RA and design more efficient therapeutic interventions.

The synergy and competition between energy and charge transfer at organic donor/acceptor (D/A) interfaces have been confirmed to remarkably impact the interfacial photovoltaic processes of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, we theoretically clarify the aggregation effect of acceptor molecules on the energy/charge transfer dynamics, and present their quantitative correlations. The D/A interface is constructed by employing an extended Su-Schrieffer-Heeger tight-binding model, where the interfacial electronic structure is modulated by tuning the on-site energy of donor molecule. As a general result, for both type-I and type-II electronic structures, the aggregation of acceptor molecules always favors the energy transfer, while suppressing the charge transfer. It means that, by strengthening the aggregation of acceptor molecules, we can effectively convert donor excitation into acceptor excitation, which thus provides a direction for fully utilizing the acceptor excitation to reduce the voltage loss in OSCs.

In this study, a novel graphitic carbon nitride decorated nanoscale FeS composite (g-C3N4/FeS) was prepared and performed for the removal of U(VI) in aqueous system. Results revealed that g-C3N4/FeS had excellent adsorbability, which can reach 917.1 mg/g at 303 K. In addition, the effects of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial U(VI) concentration were investigated by batch experiments. Experimental results indicated the removal of U(VI) on g-C3N4/FeS was strongly dependent on pH, and the adsorption capacity reached the maximum at pH = 6.0. Kinetics studies under different conditions indicated the removal of U(VI) on g-C3N4/FeS fitted the pseudo-second-order model well. Furthermore, the adsorption isotherms of U(VI) on g-C3N4/FeS fitted with Freundlich models well. These results demonstrated that g-C3N4/FeS could be the promising alternative material for environmental remediation.

In this paper, a variety of experimental techniques including batch equilibrium reactions, density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculation, and X-ray spectroscopic techniques, were utilized to investigate the colloidal GO, Cr(VI) and Fe(II) interaction. The results indicated that a Cr(III)-Fe(III) precipitate could be formed when Fe(II) was added in Cr(VI) solution, and then Cr(VI) was adsorbed on the neoformed precipitate. The kinetics for all systems can be described by the pseudo-second-order model the best, suggesting chemical reaction mainly contributed to colloidal GO, Cr(VI) and Fe(II) interaction. There co-existed reductive and oxidative functional group on GO surfaces simultaneously, leading to the reduction Cr(VI) into Cr(III), and/or oxidation of Fe(II) into Fe(III), when Fe(II) and Cr(VI) were adsorbed on GO, individually. Furthermore, in comparison with individual GO and Fe(II) in solution, more Cr(VI) could be reduced into Cr(III) via Fe(II)-treated GO, due to the much higher reactivity of GO adsorbed Fe(II). So, GO demonstrated excellent adsorption and reduction capacity for Cr(VI) in the presence of Fe(II). These findings are vital to apply GO in the elimination of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

Objective. To investigate the risk factors for hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), to determine its correlation with liver necroinflammation and fibrosis and response to peginterferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFNα-2a) antiviral therapy, and to explore the mechanisms underlying the poor antiviral effect of PEG-IFNα-2a in CHB patients with hepatic steatosis. Methods. We analysed the impact of hepatic steatosis on the antiviral effect of PEG-IFNα-2a on CHB patients in a cohort of 226 patients who underwent pretherapeutic liver biopsy. To assess the complete response (CR), virological response (VR), and biochemical response (BR), the 226 patients were treated with PEG-IFNα-2a for 48 weeks and were followed-up for 24 weeks. The expressions of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in the liver tissue were detected in all patients to explore the possible mechanism of hepatic steatosis with regard to antiviral effects. Results. The patients were divided into four groups based on the severity of hepatic steatosis: 119 with no steatosis, 76 with mild steatosis, 22 with moderate steatosis, and 9 with severe steatosis. In the hepatic steatosis groups, the proportions of male patients, patients aged >40 years, patients with hyperuricaemia, patients with a BMI>23 kg/m2, and total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), glucose (GLU), and uric acid (UA) levels were significantly higher than those in the group without steatosis, whereas the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were significantly lower than those in the group without steatosis. The multivariate analysis results indicated that a BMI>23 kg/m2 was independently associated with CHB patients with hepatic steatosis; the levels of baseline AST and UA were independently associated with CHB patients with significant hepatic steatosis, and the baseline AST level was independently associated with significant liver fibrosis. After 48 weeks of treatment and 24 weeks of follow-up, the rates of CR, VR, and BR had gradually decreased, whereas the severity of hepatic steatosis had increased. Conclusion. Hepatic steatosis can reduce the efficacy of PEG-IFNα-2a in the treatment of CHB patients, and its mechanism may be related to the different HBcAg expression patterns in liver tissue.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), to determine its correlation with liver necroinflammation and fibrosis and response to peginterferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFNα-2a) antiviral therapy, and to explore the mechanisms underlying the poor antiviral effect of PEG-IFNα-2a in CHB patients with hepatic steatosis. Methods We analysed the impact of hepatic steatosis on the antiviral effect of PEG-IFNα-2a on CHB patients in a cohort of 226 patients who underwent pretherapeutic liver biopsy. To assess the complete response (CR), virological response (VR), and biochemical response (BR), the 226 patients were treated with PEG-IFNα-2a for 48 weeks and were followed-up for 24 weeks. The expressions of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in the liver tissue were detected in all patients to explore the possible mechanism of hepatic steatosis with regard to antiviral effects. Results The patients were divided into four groups based on the severity of hepatic steatosis: 119 with no steatosis, 76 with mild steatosis, 22 with moderate steatosis, and 9 with severe steatosis. In the hepatic steatosis groups, the proportions of male patients, patients aged >40 years, patients with hyperuricaemia, patients with a BMI > 23 kg/m2, and total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), glucose (GLU), and uric acid (UA) levels were significantly higher than those in the group without steatosis, whereas the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were significantly lower than those in the group without steatosis. The multivariate analysis results indicated that a BMI > 23 kg/m2 was independently associated with CHB patients with hepatic steatosis; the levels of baseline AST and UA were independently associated with CHB patients with significant hepatic steatosis, and the baseline AST level was independently associated with significant liver fibrosis. After 48 weeks of treatment and 24 weeks of follow-up, the rates of CR, VR, and BR had gradually decreased, whereas the severity of hepatic steatosis had increased. Conclusion Hepatic steatosis can reduce the efficacy of PEG-IFNα-2a in the treatment of CHB patients, and its mechanism may be related to the different HBcAg expression patterns in liver tissue.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an epidemic infectious disease resulted from 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Up till now, COVID-19 has swept globally. Currently, due to many high-profiled benefits, clinical studies on Toujie Quwen granule (TJQW) have been increasing. The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy and safety of TJQW used with conventional western therapy for COVID-19. METHODS: Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in Chinese and English databases, and the search time is January 2020 to May 2021. English databases include PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Chinese databases include CNKI, WF, VIP, and CBM. The international clinical trial registration platform and the Chinese clinical trial registration platform of controlled trials will be searched by us from January 2020 to May 2021. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, screening literature, extraction data will be conducted by 2 researchers independently. Statistical analysis will be conducted using the RevMan 5.3.5 software. After screening the literature based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, The Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system will be used to evaluate the quality of each result. RESULTS: This study will provide the evidence for TJQW to be used with conventional western therapy for COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The efficacy and safety of TJQW used with conventional western therapy for COVID-19 will be assessed. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202150038.

Uranium is one of the most important radioactive elements using in the nuclear technology application, but it is hazardous for environment and human health because of its high mobility and toxicity. Hence, designing effective materials for uranium immobilization is highly desirable. In this paper, a novel adsorbent of GO/FeS prepared using a simple and convenient manner, by anchoring graphene oxide on nanoscale FeS was investigated for the immobilization of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The mechanism of U(VI) immobilized onto GO/FeS was unveiled by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results revealed that FeS nanoparticles were successfully anchored onto GO surface, resulting in more reactive sites than pristine FeS or GO. Impressively, it was found that GO/FeS can enhance the immobilization of U(VI), leading to high adsorption capacity up to 347.2 mg/g. The kinetics of U(VI) immobilization was in accordance with the pseudo-second order kinetic model, and the isotherm of U(VI) immobilization was described by the D–R model, indicating chemical interaction mainly contributed to U(VI) immobilization on GO/FeS. The synergy between surface adsorption and reduction/precipitation mainly accounted for the immobilization mechanisms of U(VI) on GO/FeS, making GO/FeS to be as potential materials for remediation of U(VI)-contaminated wastewater.

Different particle sizes in cloudy apple juice were obtained following filtration with different mesh sizes (100, 200, 300, and 400-mesh). The effects of cloud particle size on the stability, nutrient content, and volatile flavor of cloudy apple juice were evaluated. With increasing mesh number, particle size decreased (p

Competition between the energy and charge transfer dynamics plays a crucial role in different photoelectric applications of organic donor/acceptor (D/A) interfaces, while its microscopic quantum dynamics and the quantitative correlation with the interface structure remain unclear. Here, by theoretically constructing an organic D/A interface with the donor initially photo-excited, we give a full consideration to this issue. Firstly, we investigate the effect of the interface electronic structure on the dynamics, which is modulated by tuning the on-site energy of donor. The results show that there exists a critical value of the on-site energy, below which energy transfer is dominant, otherwise charge transfer is dominant. Especially, when the on-site energy reaches up to a certain strength, the transferred electron into acceptor will experience an ultrafast internal conversion process. Furthermore, by separately choosing three typical electronic structures, we demonstrate the effect of the interface spatial structure on the dynamics. It is found that there exists an optimal spatial structure in either the energy transfer dominant interface or the charge transfer dominant interface, making the transfer efficiency to be the highest. These findings provide a microscopic understanding of how to optimize the interface structure to modulate the energy and charge transfer dynamics in different applications of organic D/A interfaces.

A novel kind of nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) with strong blue fluorescence emission was synthesized via microwave pyrolysis method using humic acid, urea, and citric acid as the precursor. We found that the fluorescence emission of N-CDs can be firstly quenched by Fe3+ (turn-off) and then recovered by glutathione (turn-on). Moreover, N-CDs applied as an “on-off-on” fluorescent sensor for the detection of Fe3+ and glutathione (GSH) was further studied in this work. N-CDs showed good selectivity and sensitivity towards Fe3+ than other metal ions, and the limit of detection (LoD) is lower to 0.102 μM. Furthermore, the stable N-CDs/Fe3+exhibited a high sensitivity detection for GSH with a LoD of 0.226 μM. In addition, density functional theory calculations were further performed to reveal the mechanism of the “turn-off” and “turn-on” process. According to geometries and frontier molecular orbital (FMO) results, N-CDs exhibited strong interaction with Fe3+ rather than other metal ions, and the N-CDs/Fe3+ complex exhibited the highest stability among other complexes. Furthermore, this “on–off–on” fluorescent sensor was successfully applied as a stain-screening detector for Streptococcus thermophilus with high production of GSH.

Salvia miltiorrhiza, as a traditional Chinese medicine, displayed excellent effect on the therapies of promoting blood circulation and removing meridian obstruction. Otherwise, it also showed advantages in detumescence and clearing heart. According to the literatures, the traditional extraction method had defects, such as low extraction rate, long reaction time and high cost. Based on our precious research, enzymatic methodand HPLC were combined in this work to evaluate the extraction condition. Via plenty of single factor experiments and orthogonal experiments, we conclude that the best extraction conditions of salvia miltiorrhiza phenolic acid B is extraction time for 20 minutes, pH value of 3, extraction temperature at 45℃, the ratio of material to liquid is 1:20, the ratio of pectinase to cellulase is 2:1 and the volume of addition enzyme is 1.5%. As a result, the extraction rate of phenolic acid B in salvia miltiorrhiza reaches 78%. The optimized extraction process is reasonable, stable and feasible, which provides a certain theoretical basis for the industrial production of salvianolic acid B.

Mycobaterium neoaurum MN4 is a substrate-resistant mutant strain with high-yield androstenedione. In order to further study MN4 strain substrate-resistant mechanism and androstenedione biosynthetic pathway, it is necessary to decipher the MN4 strain genome.The genome was sequenced using highthroughput sequencing technology, and analyzed using relevant software for genome assembly, gene prediction and functional annotation, COG cluster analysis and secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters prediction.The whole genome is assembled into 33 contigs, and the genome size is 5.39 Mb, GC content of 66.9% with encoding 4920 protein genes. The genome sequence was deposited in the GenBank database under the accession number JXYZ00000000.This study is the first report of androstenedione producing strain Mycobacterium neoaurum MN4 genome sequence, and provides a theoretical basis for further heterologous expression of secondary metabolites on Mycobacterium neoaurum MN4.

By incorporating a third component into the host donor/acceptor organic components, we theoretically investigate the effects of its electronic structure and spatial location on charge transfer character. It is found that both of the two factors can modulate the distribution of transferred charges, and thus change the role of the third component in charge transfer (i.e., electron donor or acceptor). The binding energy of the formed charge transfer (CT) state is also determined by the two factors. Especially, we find an optimized spatial location of the third component, at which the binding energy of the formed CT state has a minimum value. It suggests that charge separation can be promoted. These findings will provide us a clear direction on how to optimize the electronic structure and spatial location of the third component to further improve the charge transfer and separation in ternary organic solar cells.