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Functionally graded materials (FGMs) structures are increasingly used in engineering due to their superior mechanical and material properties, and the FGMs plate with cutouts is a common structural form, but research on the vibration characteristics of FGMs plate with cutouts is relatively limited. In this paper, the three-dimensional exact solution for the vibration analysis of FGMs rectangular plate with circular cutouts subjected to general boundary conditions is presented based on the three-dimensional elasticity theory. The displacement field functions are expressed as standard cosine Fourier series plus auxiliary cosine series terms satisfying the boundary conditions in the global coordinate system. The plate with circular cutout is discretized into four curve quadrilateral sub-domains using the p-version method, and then the blending function method is applied to map the closed quadrilateral region to the computational space. The characteristic equation is obtained based on the Lagrangian energy principle and Rayleigh–Ritz method. The efficiency and reliability of proposed method are verified by comparing the present results with those available in the literature and FEM methods. Finally, a parametric study is investigated including the cutout sizes, the cutout positions, and the cutout numbers from the free vibration characteristic analysis and the harmonic analysis. The results can serve as benchmark data for other research on the vibration of FGMs plates with cutouts.

Purpose Severe infection has been the leading causes of neonatal death, especially the emergency of multidrug-resistant bacteria such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. This study aimed to investigate the outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-KP) in neonatal wards and to explore the possible pathogenesis of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Materials and Methods CR-KP were collected from neonatal ward of Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children between 2017 and 2019. Broth microdilution method was used to evaluate the antimicrobial activities in vitro, at the same time, the virulence of the strain was evaluated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. At last, prokaryotic chain specific transcriptome sequencing was conducted to explore the possible pathogenesis of CR-KP. Results In this study, a total of 14 carbapenem-resistant-Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-KP) strains were isolated from Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children, among which all CR-KP isolates were identified as NDM-1-producers. Molecular epidemiological studies revealed ST147 being the most common sequence type (ST). Moreover, we first found two phenotypes of K. pneumoniae with different virulence from the same specimen. Type I, which was a white and sticky colony had a slight increase in virulence with higher biofilm formation, serum resistance and virulence than Type II with gray colony. Compared with the Type II, 10 pathways were obviously changed in Type I especially amino acid metabolism, such as arginine and proline metabolism. Conclusion Our findings revealed a new potential threat of NDM-1-positive CR-KP with higher virulence in neonatal ICU ward. We found two phenotypes of K. pneumoniae with different virulent, which may be due to the difference expression of arginine and proline metabolism.

Background: Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often have irritating persistent dry cough. Possible correlations between dry cough and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) remain unclear.Methods: 44 patients with IPF and 30 healthy individuals underwent 24 h laryngopharyngeal pH monitoring. Ryan index score was calculated. Patients’ demographic and clinical data were collected.Results: 44 patients with IPF and 30 healthy individuals were included. The proportions of men and smokers were significantly higher in IPF group than control group (All p < 0.01). The average laryngopharyngeal pH value for 24 h was similar in the IPF (7.11 ± 0.08) group and control group (7.09 ± 0.06). According to the percentage duration of pH < 6.5, pH6.5–7.5, and pH > 7.5 in the overall measure duration, the patients were classified into three pH groups. In entire pH monitoring duration, the proportion of pH > 7.5 group in IPF patients was higher than control group; at upright position, the proportion of pH > 7.5 group in IPF patients was higher than control group; at supine position, the proportion of pH < 6.5 group in IPF patients was higher than control group (All p < 0.01). Seven patients had Ryan index score>9.41 at upright position. All patients had Ryan index scorep < 0.05).Conclusions: Patients with IPF may have LPR. Basic and acidic LPR may likely occur at upright and supine position, respectively. Ryan index may not accurately reflect LPR in patients with IPF.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens are responsible for a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality from neonatal sepsis; however, data on these sepsis-related pathogens among hospitalized neonates in China are not well characterized. In this study, a total of 240 strains were isolated from four Women and Children’s hospitals in Southwest China between 2014 and 2019. Of these included pathogens, 104 (43.33%) were gram-positive bacteria, 129 (53.75%) were gram-negative bacteria, and 7 (2.92%) were fungi. Escherichia coli (E. coli, 34.01%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae, 15.35%) were the main pathogen of neonate bacteremia. ST167 were the most prevalent STs in E. coli and ST11 in K. pneumoniae. Our study found that E. coli (62.71%) was the predominate pathogen of early-onset sepsis, among which 64.86% were MDR. Late-onset sepsis was mainly caused by K. pneumoniae (28.31%) and E. coli (24.78%), with showing that 78.33% of these pathogens were MDR. Notably, the prevalence of EO/LO pathogens were quite different from Indian and south of China. Moreover, we found that blaCTX-M (42.06%) was most dominant resistant genes with about a third isolates (31.09%) were positive for blaCTX-M-15. All the carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae were positive for NDM-1. Moreover, late-onset sepsis and antibiotic exposure were significantly associated with MDR infection. Emerging multi-resistant pathogens of sepsis posts a serious threat to neonatal outcomes and emphasizes an urgent need to control their further spread.

Background: The exacerbation of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) may lead to poor prognosis. The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical efficacy and safety of endobronchial therapy with gentamicin and dexamethasone after airway clearance by bronchoscopy in the exacerbation of NCFB.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 2,156 patients with NCFB between January 2015 and June 2016 and 367 consecutive patients with exacerbation of bronchiectasis who had complete data and underwent airway clearance (AC) by bronchoscopy. The final cohort included 181 cases of intratracheal instillation with gentamicin and dexamethasone after AC (a group with airway drugs named the drug group) and 186 cases of AC only (a group without airway drugs named the control group). The last follow-up was on June 30, 2017.Results: The total cough score and the total symptom score in the drug group were improved compared to those in the control group during 3 months after discharge (p < 0.001). Re-examination of chest HRCT within 4–6 months after discharge revealed that the improvements of peribronchial thickening, the extent of mucous plugging, and the Bhalla score were all significantly improved in the drug group. Moreover, the re-exacerbations in the drug group were significantly decreased within 1 year after discharge. Univariate analysis showed a highly significant prolongation of the time to first re-exacerbation in bronchiectasis due to treatment with airway drugs compared with that of the control group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the risk of first re-exacerbation in the drug group decreased by 29.7% compared with that of the control group.Conclusion: Endobronchial therapy with gentamicin and dexamethasone after AC by bronchoscopy is a safe and effective method for treating NCFB.

Invasive group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains a leading cause of illness and death among infants globally. We conducted prospective and retrospective laboratory-based surveillance of GBS-positive cultures from infants

In recent years a number of beneficial health effects have been ascribed to the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) that extend beyond lowering blood pressure, primarily mediated via the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2)/angiotensin (1–7) or Ang(1–7)/MAS receptor axis. Moreover, once thought as merely a systemic effector, RAS components exist within tissues. The highest tissue concentrations of ACE2 mRNA are located in the gut making it an important target for altering RAS function. Indeed, genetically engineered recombinant probiotics are promising treatment strategies offering delivery of therapeutic proteins with precision. An Ang(1–7) secreting Lactobacillus paracasei (LP) or LP-A has been described for regulation of diabetes and hypertension; however, we are the first to the best of our knowledge to propose this paradigm as it relates to aging. In this Research Practice manuscript, we provide proof of concept for using this technology in a well-characterized rodent model of aging: the Fisher344 x Brown Norway Rat (F344BN). Our primary findings suggest that LP-A increases circulating levels of Ang(1–7) both acutely and chronically (after 8 or 28 treatment days) when administered 3× or 7×/week over 4 weeks. Our future preclinical studies will explore the impact of this treatment on gut and other age-sensitive distal tissues such as brain and muscle.

Core-shell silver nanoparticles@mesoporous silica spherical nanoparticles (Ag NPs@MSNs) were prepared by a two-step method. First, Ag NPs were synthesized by chemical reduction using silver nitrate (AgNO₃) as the precursor, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the stabilizer, and sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) as the reductant. Then, MSNs were obtained by employing CTABstabilized Ag NPs as the template and hydrolyzing tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) precursor in the presence of the alkaline precipitant, triethanolamine (TEOA). The effects of different preparation routes (core-first vs. shell-first), type of reductants as well as extraction methods and agents were studied. The obtained core-shell NPs were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our results showed that the core-first route was viable to produce uniform Ag NPs@MSNs with ordered mesostructures. Afterwards, those NPs were used as the catalyst to catalyze the reduction of rhodamine, a model dye compound representing organic pollutants in waste water, in the presence of NaBH₄. It was found that Ag NPs@MSNs not only were efficient catalysts but also participated as coreductants in the reaction. Moreover, they exhibited almost no loss of catalytic efficacy after several reduction cycles, which indicated their promising future use as efficient recyclable catalysts for organic pollutant treatments.

Pickering emulsion stabilized by Fe3O4 nanoparticles and ferrocene derivates via the self-assembly route exhibited good stability and the stability can be modulated by redox and applying magnetic field. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles modified by oxided ferrocene derivates (Fc+H) were used as emulsifier to prepare Pickering emulsions. The structure and properties of the emulsifier particles and emulsions were characterized by contact angle analyzer, Zeta potential meter, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffraction analyzer and polarizing microscope. It was found that the conditions for obtaining stable emulsions were 41.0% molar percentage of Fc+H modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Moreover, the stability of emulsions can be modulated by redox and magnetic fields.

Tumors have emerged as the number one cause of death with the incidence rate rising rapidly due to various factors. Nanoparticle-mediated PolyI:C (PIC) delivery is a promising approach in the treatment of various tumors. However, the delivery of PIC to target cells is very difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to develop carriers which can safely deliver PIC to the target cells. In this study, chitosan-g-poly (ethylene glycol)-g-polyethyleneimine copolymer (CS-g-PEG-g-PEI) which delivers PIC as a carrier was synthesized by carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) coupling method using ionic liquid as the reaction medium. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR and 13C NMR), elemental analysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed that PEG and PEI were grafted onto CS successfully. The result of cytotoxicity assay indicated low levels of cytotoxicity in CS-g-PEG-g-PEI. The positively charged CS-g-PEG-g-PEI self-assembled with the negatively charged PIC to form composite nanoparticles whose physicochemical properties were studied. The results of stability experiments and subsequent gel electrophoresis indicated that the stability of nanoparticles solution was good with water as a solvent, CS-g-PEG-g-PEI as a carrier, the ratio of nitrogen/phosphorus (N/P) is 8, and the concentration of PIC as 0.5 mg/mL. CS-g-PEG-g-PEI could bind to PIC almost completely and effectively protect it from degradation of Rnase A at N/P=8, and the PIC encapsulation efficiency was over 87%. The results of morphological characterization showed that nano-sized self-assembled aggregates with core-shell structure could be prepared successfully. This provides a new carrier for long-circulation and research of solid tumor drug delivery system.

Gut microbiota** play important roles in the health and disease status of both humans and animals. Little is known about whether heat stress changes the composition of the gut microbiota in chicken. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of heat stress on changes in caecal microbiota, including changes in growth performance as well as HSP70 and cortisol levels. Sixty 14-day-old female broilers were equally divided into 2 treatment groups with different housing temperatures for 28 D: a control group (C) at 24 to 26°C and a heat stress (HS) group at 34 to 38°C. The caecal contents of the broiler chicken were then extracted on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified based on the V3∼V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA high-throughput sequence analyses. The results showed that the average daily gain and average daily feed intake were significantly decreased and that the feed conversion ratio was increased by heat stress. The concentrations of HSP70 and cortisol in the serum were significantly increased. The composition of gut microbiota was influenced by heat stress** through beta diversity analysis and taxon-based analysis. In particular, at the phylum level the composition of Firmicutes, Tenericutes, and Proteobacteria in HS group was increased than that of C group, and Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria in HS group were reduced than that of C group. In addition, the composition of Anaeroplasma and Lactobacillus phyla in HS group were increased than that of C group, whereas the Bacteroides, Oscillospira, Faecalibacterium, and Dorea genera in HS group were decreased than that of C group. In conclusion, the gut microbiota in broilers were changed by heat stress. And the changes of the gut microbiota could provide the basis for further research on the heat stress.

In this paper, we report a novel redox-responsive water-in-oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by negatively charged silica nanoparticles in combination with a trace amount of redox switchable fluorescent molecule ferrocene azine (FcA), in which ferrocene serves as a redox-sensitive group and anthryl unit serves as a fluorescence emission center. By alternately adding oxidants and reducing agents at a moderate condition, the amphiphilicity of silica nanoparticles changes because of the adsorption of Fc+A and the desorption of FcA on the silica surface. On the one hand, the stability of emulsions can be transformed between stable and unstable at ambient temperature via redox trigger and the regulation process can be cycled at least three times. On the other hand, the fluorescent intensity of the FcA molecule can be regulated by redox stimuli; thus, the change in fluorescent behavior of the emulsion droplets is observed upon redox cycles, which makes it useful in the fluorescent label of stimuli-responsive Pi...

Although the prevalence of food allergies is rising, the standard of care for these allergies is suboptimal. Probiotics have been reported to regulate the allergic immune response, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of a mixture of probiotics on food allergy in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model. Treatment with the probiotics attenuated OVA-induced allergic symptoms in mice. Flow cytometry analysis showed that oral administration of probiotics induced mucosal CD103+ dendritic cells (DCs), which promoted differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs). 16S rRNA analysis revealed that the probiotics modulated the composition of microbiota, especially by increasing the proportion of the Deferribacteres and Verrucomicrobia phyla and the Mucispirillum and Clostridium XlVa genera, which in turn regulated the immune system. Our findings provide molecular insight into the application of a mixture of probiotics to alleviate food allergies and even gut immune homeostasis.

Herein, we found that serum chemokine ligand 14 (CXCL14) was significantly enhanced in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In our current study, mouse L929 fibroblasts were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/mL). Cell proliferation, the levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and MMP9, as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) content were assessed to evaluate the fibrogenesis of L929 cells. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen and cell viability were assessed to evaluate cell proliferation. Hydroxyproline (Hyp), collagen I/III, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and phosphorylated Smad2/3 (p-Smad2/3) were assessed to evaluate ECM secretion and deposition. α-Smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was used to measure the occurrence of differentiation from fibroblast toward myofibroblast. Our data suggested that knockdown of CXCL14 prevented LPS-induced fibrogenesis of L929 cells through inhibiting cell proliferation and decreasing the expression of MMP2/9, Hyp, collagen I/III, CTGF, p-Smad2/3, and α-SMA. Notably, upregulation of protein phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1A (PPM1A) was involved in this process. On the contrary, recombinant CXCL14 protein led to an opposite effect. We first suggested that overexpression of PPM1A ameliorated LPS-induced fibrogenesis. Furthermore, we substantiated that knockdown of CXCL14 exerted an antifibrotic effect in IPF in vitro probably via the upregulation of PPM1A. Besides, evidently enhanced CXCL14, yet reduced PPM1A, was found in bleomycin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis, confirming the roles of CXCL14 and its potential association with PPM1A in IPF in vivo. In conclusion, CXCL14 could be considered as a therapeutic target for preventing fibrogenesis of mouse L929 fibroblasts.

The photoelectric functional hierarchical materials have been successfully prepared by the simple ionic self-assembly (ISA) strategy from the cationic ferrocenyl surfactant, 16-alkyl (ferrocenyl-methyl)ammonium bromide (Fc16AB) and the anionic alizarin red (AR). The obtained complexes exhibited multiple stimuli-responsive switching behaviour triggered by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion, redox species, and pH. The switching mechanism corresponding to each stimulus was studied in detail. Moreover, the fluorescent intensity of binary complexes could be modulated by the concentration of Fc16AB and redox of ferrocene part. The fluorescence switching mechanism upon redox stimulus was studied in detail. Both the complexes fabrication and transition mechanisms were found to be controlled by the inclusion equilibrium and the cooperative binding of noncovalent interactions, including the electrostatic interactions, π-π stacking, and amphiphilic hydrophobic association. This work provides a deep understanding of electro-photo molecular switching device.

Azithromycin (AZM), that is a macrolide antibiotic, has been found to treat diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) effectively. However, the mechanism of action underlying the therapeutic effects remains unclear. We selected 64 patients with DPB from 305 patients who were diagnosed with DPB at the outpatient clinic in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital from Jan 2010 to Oct 2014. The primary PBLs, CD4 + T cells, and Jurkat T cells were treated with AZM or erythromycin (EM), and the effects of AZM and EM on IL-17A and CXCL-2 production, proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy were evaluated. AZM and EM significantly inhibited IL-17A and CXCL-2 production in patients’ PBLs (all P

The effect of niobium (Nb) doping in one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathode has been investigated for this study. Nb-doped NCM nanofibres have been prepared through an electrospinning method followed by controllable sintering process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed that Nb-doping can effectively reduce cation mixing, thus improve the structural stability. In addition, due to the valence compensation balance, Mn4+ ions are partially reduced to Mn3+ ions, which can further improve the conductivity and stable cycling performance. Therefore, increased discharge capacities, high first cycle efficiencies and superior cycling and rate behaviors are observed between normal voltage limits for the Nb-doped NCM compositions in electrochemical cells. Specifically, Nb-doped NCM nanofibres achieve a high discharge capacity of 200.4 mAh/g at 0.1 C with a high Coulombic efficiency of 92.3%. Moreover, a high discharge capacity of 118.7 mAh/g even at 5 C with 83.3% capacity retention after 200 cycles is also achieved. Also, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results demonstrate that Nb-doping can mitigate the electrochemical polarization of NCM and improve the lithium ion diffusion coefficient, leading to the improvement of electrochemical performances. It is highly expected that our findings can provide a general approach to improve the electrochemical properties of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Fe2O3/WO3 composites were successfully prepared by a two-step solution-based method at low temperature. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The gas sensing properties of Fe2O3/WO3 composites, along with pure WO3 nanoplates and Fe2O3 NPs, were investigated to various volatile organic compounds. The nanohybrids based gas sensor showed a response of 105.8–100 ppm acetone at optimum operating temperature of 260 °C, whereas the pure WO3 nanoplates and Fe2O3 NPs based gas sensors showed responses of 31.0 and 6.6, respectively. The Fe2O3/WO3 sensor also showed high selectivity to acetone.

Similarity join on time series databases is an essential operation for data analysis applications. Due to the curse of dimensionality, it is not suitable to use traditional index techniques, such as R-tree and kd-tree. In the paper, a dynamic segment index (i.e., DSTree) is utilized to reduce the huge comparison cost on the similarity join on time series databases. However, the DSTree is designed for similarity search and only supports bound estimations between a time series and a batch of time series in a DSTree node. To make the DSTree suitable for the similarity join on time series databases, it is necessary to have tight bounds for the nodes to achieve a better pruning power, where the biggest challenge is that the DSTree nodes may have different segmentations. To solve the problem aforementioned, a segmentation alignment and synopsis evaluation method is proposed to support the estimation of DSTree nodes to significantly reduce the time cost by pruning unnecessary comparisons. Moreover, to make our approach I/O efficient, a caching strategy is proposed by taking advantage of both graph partitioning and the locality of the DSTree index. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approaches are verified by experiments on real-life datasets.

Herein, a three-dimensional self-assembled hydrogel of graphene oxide sheets induced by pyrrole and Co2+ is described. Controlled shrinkage and sulfur/nitrogen co-doping occurred in the subsequent hydrothermal process. The obtained 3D sulfur/nitrogen co-doped graphene was further dried through direct evaporation, without freeze-drying. SEM images demonstrated a surface 3D structure with high roughness and composed of interconnected sheets. This newly fabricated 3D sulfur/nitrogen co-doped graphene was used in the simultaneous detection of catechol and hydroquinone with low detection limits of 0.28 and 0.15 μM, respectively.

Lithium vanadium phosphate Li3V2(PO4)3 (LVP)-based cathodes have attracted much attention in pursuit of high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, an ionic liquid (IL) has been introduced into the electrospinning process for the first time, successfully leading to the formation of free-standing cathodes built up of LVP nanocubes embedded in N-doped carbon nanofibers (LVP-NC/NCNF). In particular, the IL plays multiple roles in the resulting free-standing cathodes: (i) the IL improves the feasibility of the PAN-based electrospinning system for preparing electrode materials due to its good solubility, resulting in a self-supporting substrate conductive network with good mechanical properties and electrical conductivity; (ii) the IL can act as a structure-directing agent to induce the formation of (100) facet-oriented LVP nanocubes, giving rise to a convenient lithium-ion transport path; and (iii) the IL adsorbed on the surface of LVP nanocubes can form a N-doped dual-phase carbon coating layer during the heat-treatment process, further enhancing the electronic conductivity of the entire electrode. As a result, LVP-NC/NCNF free-standing electrodes exhibit an outstanding electrochemical performance including a high specific capacity, stable cycling performance and superior rate capability. Specially, the LVP-NC/NCNF free-standing cathodes deliver a high discharge capacity of 143.6 mA h g−1 at 5C for a prolonged cycling life of over 1000 cycles. It is highly expected that this facile IL-assisted electrospinning method can be expanded to other polyanion-based cathodes, thus presenting new opportunities for the design and fabrication of high-performance free-standing electrodes for LIBs.

In the field of aero-engine control, it is valuable to build highly accurate component level models to meet the requirements of controller validation and model-based control. The accuracy of current performance map generation method is limited by the test data that always cannot cover the full envelope. The scaling-based performance map correction methods only focus on the adjustment of the steady-state performance. Therefore, a performance map segmentation-based joint steady-state and transient performance adaptation technique is proposed. Both the idle point and the design point are taken as precision references to scale the performance maps with large deviations. A scaling factor domain determination method is provided based on the characters of the speed lines. The performance map is first optimized with the steady state calculation based on the steady-state test data, and further optimized with the transient calculation based on the transient test data. Both the steady-state and transient performance adaptations are achieved by adjusting the performance maps. The proposed method was applied to a turbofan engine model. For continuous acceleration case, the average error is less than 1% at steady state points and less than 2% during transient operation. For large magnitude acceleration and rapid deceleration cases, the maximum errors for parameters around the idle point decrease by about one time (from 8.3% to 4.1%) and three and a half times (from 28% to 8%), respectively, by comparing with the model without transient performance adaptation. Thus, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated.

Ionogel-based chemoresistive humidity sensors have been successfully fabricated through ionothermal assembly of ionic liquids into a silica network. Our results demonstrated that ionogel sensors with different types of anions (Br−, BF4−, and PF6−) exhibited good humidity sensitivity, low humidity hysteresis, and good reproducibility. In particular, the response and recovery times of the SiO2/[Bmim]Br-based sensor reached 3 s and 10 s, respectively, which were considerably shorter than those of other SiO2-based humidity sensors. The improved sensitivity characteristics of SiO2/[Bmim]Br can be attributed to its high conductivity and hydrophilicity, resulting in fast ion transfer using Br− and H3O+ as charge carriers under humid conditions. Furthermore, this ionogel sensor showed fast and substantial changes in impedance with changing humidity for real-time monitoring of human breath. These findings are expected to provide opportunities for the design and fabrication of high-performance sensors for online humidity monitoring.

Flexible lithium ion batteries are important for wearable electronic devices. Herein, 1T/2H phase MoS2 nanosheets are grown on carbon fiber cloth, and the ultra-small SnS2 nanoparticles are anchored in the surface of MoS2 nanosheets uniformly. We fabricate the hierarchical nanostructures via a hydrothermal method then water bath process. During in-situ growth of 1T/2H phase MoS2, urea is used as the surfactant and NH4+ (produced by urea and ammonium molybdate tetrahydrate) is acted as insertion guest ions to stabilize 1T phase MoS2. The synergistic effects between MoS2 nanosheets and SnS2 nanoparticles can improve structural stability of the electrode and significant enhance the transport of Li ions and electrons, thereby ameliorate the electrochemical properties. When applied as a binder-free, flexible Li-ion battery anode, it exhibits admirable cycling stability and excellent rate performance. Due to the presence of 1T phase MoS2 and uniform distribution of ultra-small SnS2 nanoparticles on MoS2 nanosheets, the SnS2/MoS2/carbon fiber cloth composites maintain 1294 mA h g−1 when cycling at 100 mA g−1 after 120 cycles. A highly flexible battery based on SnS2/MoS2/carbon fiber cloth and LiCoO2 is fabricated, demonstrating excellent mechanical flexibility and cycling stability.

A new coumarin-acridone fluorescent probe S was designed and synthesized, and the structure was confirmed with 1H/13C NMR spectrometry, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. This probe has high sensitivity and selectivity for Fe3+ over other testing metal ions at 420 or 436 nm in acetonitrile–MOPS (3-Morpholinopropanesulfonic Acid) buffer solution (20.0 μM, pH = 6.9, 8:2 (v/v)). Under physiological conditions, the probe displayed satisfying time stability with a detection limit of 1.77 µM. In addition, probe S was successfully used to detect intracellular iron changes through a fluorescence-off mode, and the imaging results of cells and zebrafish confirmed their low cytotoxicity and satisfactory cell membrane permeability, as well as their potential biological applications.

Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) has infected a variety of birds, causing major economic losses in China. Understanding the comprehensive criteria of classification and nomenclature of ALV-J would be useful for the investigation of the viral evolution and also for the prevention and control of this infection. An in-depth analysis of the genetic diversity of ALV-J was performed in the present study. Four hundred and seventy-five sequences of the gp85 gene, including thirteen of avian endogenous retrovirus designated ev/J and 462 of ALV-J, were used in the phylogenetic and the evolutionary distance analysis for this classification. The study identified that the current ALV-J strains were divided into two first-order clades (Clades 1 and 2) and three second-order clades (Clades 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3). The current Chinese ALV-J strains are predominantly in Clade 1.3, and the Chinese and Egyptian chicken flocks have been facing the emerging Clade 2 viruses. This system pioneers the classification efforts for ALV-J, which uses Pilot tree for rapid classification of the new isolates and also the addition of possible new clades. The proposed unified classification system will facilitate future studies of ALV-J epidemiology and genetic evolution and of the comparison of sequences obtained across the world.

LIM kinases are involved in various cellular events such as migration, cycle, and differentiation, but whether they have a role in the specification of mammalian early endoderm remains unclear. In the present study, we found that depletion of LIMK2 severely inhibited the generation of definitive endoderm (DE) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and promoted an early neuroectodermal fate. Upon the silencing of LIMK2 during the endodermal differentiation, the assembly of actin stress fibers was disturbed, and the phosphorylation of cofilin was decreased. In addition, knockdown of LIMK2 during DE differentiation also interfered the upregulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes and cell migration. Collectively, the results highlight that the serine/threonine kinase LIMK2, acting as a key regulator in actin remodeling, plays a critical role in endodermal lineage determination.

Rationale: No approved pharmacotherapies are available for patients with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). Objective: In the present work, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pirfenidone for the treatment of IPAF.Methods: A retrospective cohort study consisting of patients who met diagnostic criteria for IPAF was performed after a multidisciplinary review, and the patients receiving pirfenidone were compared with those in the non-pirfenidone group. The baseline data and diagnostic characteristics of patients were assessed. Pulmonary function and prednisone dose were analyzed by a mix-effects model.Results: A total of 184 patients, who met the diagnostic criteria of IPAF, were divided into two groups: pirfenidone group (n=81) and non-pirfenidone group (n=103). Patients in the pirfenidone group had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC%, P< 0.001) and a lower diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO%, P=0.003). The pirfenidone group exhibited a greater increase of FVC% at 6 (P=0.003), 12 (P=0.013), and 24 (P=0.003) months. After adjustment for sex, age, UIP pattern, baseline FVC% and DLCO%, patients in the pirfenidone group continued to show a greater improvement in FVC% (χ2 (1) =4.59, P=0.032). Subgroup analysis identified superior therapeutic effects of pirfenidone in patients with dosage > 600 mg/day (P = 0.010) and medication course > 12 months (P = 0.007). Besides, the pirfenidone group had a lower prednisone dose than the non-pirfenidone group after 12 months of treatment (P=0.002). Moreover, 17 patients (19.32%) experienced side effects after taking pirfenidone, including one case of anaphylactic shock.Conclusions: Pirfenidone (600-1,800 mg/day) might help improve FVC, with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile in IPAF patients.

OBJECTIVES Thanks to the advantages of hearing-in-noise and spatial orientation, currently bilateral cochlear implantation (CI) became popular for patients with profound hearing loss. The aim of this study was to investigate vestibular function in bilateral simultaneous CI recipients. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING University hospital. PATIENTS Sixteen patients with profound hearing loss were included. INTERVENTIONS Bilateral simultaneous CI with flexible electrode using round window approach. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Vestibular function was evaluated using both objective and subjective measures in the subjects preoperatively and 4 months postoperatively. Differences were analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively. RESULTS Preoperative vestibular tests revealed that 8 subjects (50%) had abnormal caloric test results, 11 ears (34.4%) had abnormal ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential results, 6 ears (18.8%) had abnormal cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential results, 7 ears (21.9%) in the anterior semicircular canal, and 6 ears (18.8%) in the posterior semicircular canal had gain loss. However, surgery significantly decreased the sums of the maximal slow-phase velocities evidenced by caloric test (p ‹ 0.05). Cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential abnormal rate significantly increased to 53.1% after surgery (p ‹ 0.05). The postoperative changes regarding ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential, video head impulse test (vHIT), and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were not significant among all the patients. Patients diagnosed as large vestibular aqueduct syndrome showed significantly higher DHI scores than others (p ‹ 0.05). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that DHI moderately correlated with the dysfunction of semicircular canals evidenced by vHIT (r = 0.702; p

FGF signaling pathway is imperative for definitive endoderm (DE) differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which always accompanies an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. However, whether there is an association between FGF signaling and the EMT during DE formation in vitro has remained elusive. In the present study, we identify that several FGF family members were significantly activated during the differentiation of hESCs toward DE. Inhibition of FGF signaling by an efficient and selective inhibitor BGJ398 abolishes both the EMT and DE induction by blocking the activation of the zinc-finger transcription factor SNAI1 which is a direct transcriptional repressor of cell adhesion protein CDH1. In addition, cell proliferation is also severely influenced by attenuating the FGF signaling. Collectively, we propose that the FGF signaling promotes the DE formation through mediating the EMT and cell proliferation.

Purpose A multitude of animal studies substantiates the beneficial effects of Ang-(1-7), a peptide hormone in the protective axis of the renin angiotensin system, in diabetes and its associated complications including diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, the clinical application of Ang-(1-7) is limited due to unfavorable pharmacological properties. As emerging evidence implicates gut dysbiosis in pathogenesis of diabetes and supports beneficial effects of probiotics, we sought to develop probiotics-based expression and delivery system to enhance Ang-(1-7) and evaluate the efficacy of engineered probiotics expressing Ang-(1-7) in attenuation of DR in animal models. Methods Ang-(1-7) was expressed in the Lactobacillus species as a secreted fusion protein with a trans-epithelial carrier to allow uptake into circulation. To evaluate the effects of Ang-(1-7) expressed from Lactobacillus paracasei (LP), adult diabetic eNOS-/- and Akita mice were orally gavaged with either 1 × 109 CFU of LP secreting Ang-(1-7) (LP-A), LP alone or vehicle, 3 times/week, for 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. Results Ang-(1-7) is efficiently expressed from different Lactobacillus species and secreted into circulation in mice fed with LP-A. Oral administration of LP-A significantly reduced diabetes-induced loss of retinal vascular capillaries. LP-A treatment also prevented loss of retinal ganglion cells, and significantly decreased retinal inflammatory cytokine expression in both diabetic eNOS-/- and Akita mice. Conclusions These results provide proof-of-concept for feasibility and efficacy of using engineered probiotic species as live vector for delivery of Ang-(1-7) with enhanced bioavailability. Translational relevance Probiotics-based delivery of Ang-(1-7) may hold important therapeutic potential for the treatment of DR and other diabetic complications.

The reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) and the Marek's disease virus (MDV) cause reticuloendotheliosis (RE) and Marek's disease (MD) in poultry, respectively. According to epidemiological results obtained in our laboratory from 2010 to 2017, the positive rates of REV and MDV co-infection remained at low levels. In the present study, during the period of October 2018 to July 2020, 4 clinical cases with high morbidity (5%-20%) and mortality (2%-10%), caused by the co-infection of REV and vv+ MDV-like strains, were diagnosed and analyzed by histopathological observation, cell cultures and detection with ELISA and IFA, and the PCR and by sequencing of the isolates’ genes. Sequencing and the sequence analysis on the complete genomes of the REV strains and the meq genes of the MDV strains were performed. The results, based on the complete genome, LTR, gag, pol, and env genes’ nucleotide sequences of the REV strains, showed that the REV isolates and 68.0 % (17/25) of the reference strains were in a same branch, and all had a high sequence similarity (>99.0%). The similarities between the four isolates and a vv+MDV strain GX18NNM4 were very high, up to 99.3-99.8%. Also, the amino acid residuals at locations 71, 77, 80, 115, 139, 176, and 217 were all the same as A, E, Y, A, A, R, and A, respectively, in the meq gene of the four MDV isolates. In addition, the substitutes at P176R and P217A interrupted the stretches of the proline-rich repeat PPPP, indicating that these strains belonged to the vv+ MDV-like category. Our findings indicated that the more recent and frequent reemergence of REV and the subsequent co-infection with vv+ MDV-like strain has become one of the causes of the clinical outbreaks of tumors and is undoubtedly a threat to the poultry industry in southern China.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has emerged as a critical regulator of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), which plays important roles in cardiovascular homeostasis by regulating vascular tone, fluid and electrolyte balance. ACE2 functions as a carboxymonopeptidase hydrolyzing the cleavage of a single C-terminal residue from Angiotensin-II (Ang-II), the key peptide hormone of RAS, to form Angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)), which binds to the G-protein–coupled Mas receptor and activates signaling pathways that counteract the pathways activated by Ang-II. ACE2 is expressed in a variety of tissues and overwhelming evidence substantiates the beneficial effects of enhancing ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis under many pathological conditions in these tissues in experimental models. This review will provide a succinct overview on current strategies to enhance ACE2 as therapeutic agent, and discuss limitations and future challenges. ACE2 also has other functions, such as acting as a co-factor for amino acid transport and being exploited by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs) as cellular entry receptor, the implications of these functions in development of ACE2-based therapeutics will also be discussed.

Background Patients with vestibular neuritis (VN) displayed differential prognosis despite of the same treatment. Thus, identifying unique characteristics in different populations and creating individually customized treatments are necessary. However, studies about the clinical features according to different ages are scarce. Purpose This article compares the differences in VN patients among different age groups. Research Design A prospective study. Study Sample A total of 70 VN patients were enrolled in the present study. Intervention All the patients started vestibular rehabilitation at the time of initial presentation to our clinic. They were followed up at 1-month intervals using the questionnaire until 4 months. Data Collection and Analysis Patients' clinical data including clinical presentation, vestibular testing results, treatment, and recovery was collected and analyzed with Duncan's multiple range test, the sign test, and the Kruskal–Wallis test using SPSS18.0. Results The mean age of the 70 patients was 47.2 ± 17.1, ranging from 10 to 76 years old. The sex ratios (male:female) were 3.5 in the adolescent group, 0.643 in the young adult group, 1.375 in the middle-aged group, and 0.583 in the senior group. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus showed a significantly increasing trend from young adults to the seniors (p Conclusion The canal response was statistically better for younger patients compared with the elderly. The younger patients demonstrated a greater improvement than patients in the senior group, among whom adolescents improved the most, meanwhile psychological factors played a minor role in adolescents. Self-perceived disability-handicap positively correlated with anxiety and depression in all patients.

Background: Bloodstream Infections (BSIs) continue to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, which multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens present an ever-growing burden in the hospital and community settings. Data on antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of BSIs pathogens among hospitalized neonates in China are few and not clearly defined. Methods: we retrospectively collected clinical and bacteria data about patients with BSI from 2013 to 2017 in Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children. The patients were divided into the early- and late-onset BSI groups according to if BSI occurred within or beyond 72 hours after admission.Results: 210 BSIs occurred from January 1st, 2014 to December 31th, 2019. Of all included 210 patients, there were 99(47.14%), 105 (50.00%), and 6 (2.86%) infected with gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi, respectively. For early-onset BSI, the predominated pathogen was E. coli, accounting for 59.6% with 29.72% producing of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs). CNS (40.3%), K. pneumoniae (23.8%), and E. coli (20.9%) constitute the main causes of late-onset BSIs. Notably, 75.0% of K. pneumoniae produced ESBLs and 81.3% were MDR, which were higher than early-onset BSIs. Late onset BSIs and antibiotic exposure were significantly associated with MDR infection. Conclusion: Gram-negative bacteria gradually became the main pathogenic bacteria, among which E. coli and K. pneumoniae accounted for the largest proportion. The phenomenon of multi-drug resistance of bacteria is serious, and the first-line drug can't meet the practical needs. Late onset sepsis and antibiotic exposure were significantly associated with MDR infection.

The differences among different sub-groups of the avian leukosis virus (ALV) genome are mainly concentrated in the env gene, which binds to cell-specific receptors and determines the characteristics of viral tropism and pathogenicity. In this study, two rescued viruses rGX15MM6-2 (ALV of subgroup J, ALV-J) and rGX14FF03 (ALV of subgroup B, ALV-B) and a recombinant virus rALV-B-Jenv (ALV-B's backbone with ALV-J's env) were generated and tested utilizing both in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results showed that the replication ability of the viruses released in DF-1 cell cultures was listed in order as rGX15MM6-2 > rALV-B-Jenv > rGX14FF03. rGX15MM6-2 caused the most serious suppression of body weight gain, exhibited a significant negative effect on the development of immune organs (P < 0.05) and lower antibody responses to vaccinations with the commercial oil-emulsion vaccines (OEVs) (P

The main purpose of this paper is to establish an analysis model of laminated composite rectangular plate with/without cutouts on the basis of three-dimensional elasticity theory and provide the exact three-dimensional solution. In the present work, the effect of the cutout is considered by subtracting the energies of cutouts from the total energy of the entire plate. The standard three-dimensional trigonometric cosine Fourier series and auxiliary Fourier series are chosen as admissible functions, and the Hamilton&rsquo, s principle and Rayleigh&ndash, Ritz procedure are used to obtain the exact solution. In order to verify the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed method, some numerical results are obtained, and the results are compared with the ones available in the literature or finite element analysis. Finally, the effects of some key parameters which will affect the vibration characteristics are analyzed, and the non-dimensional frequency parameters are obtained, which can serve as benchmark data for the future research.

In this paper, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was applied to investigate the stability of oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsions prepared with negatively charged silica nanoparticles in combination with a trace amount of redox switchable fluorescent molecules, ferrocene azine (FcA). Electrical impedance values of emulsions obtained at different emulsification speeds were estimated according to the frequency response data with frequencies ranging from 1 MHz to 1 Hz. The equivalent circuit model of toluene-in-water emulsion was established by the resistor (RO/W) and capacitor (CO/W) in parallel connection. Nyquist diagrams for the emulsions prepared by toluene and water were characterized by the formation of one semi-circle. The droplet size distribution is one of the important factors that affect the stability of the emulsion, except for the volume fraction of water and oil, the size of stabilizing particles, etc. The average particle size of the emulsion droplets decreased as the emulsification speed increased, indicating the higher stability of the emulsion. It was found that the fitted impedance value RO/W of the emulsion decreased with decreasing particle size prepared at different emulsification speeds and storage time by performing real-time EIS detection techniques. The results suggested that EIS could be used to characterize the stability of a toluene-in-water emulsion stabilized by FcA modified silica nanoparticles. Moreover, based on the good electrochemical activity of the FcA molecule, the stability of the Pickering emulsion can be modulated by adding oxidant and reductant and detected by EIS in real-time.

A novel ternary MoSx-CdS-NaNbO3 (MoSx-CN) photocatalyst was successfully fabricated through a two-step method (hydrothermal synthesis and photo-deposition step). The results demonstrated that CdS nanoparticles and amorphous MoSx uniformly dispersed on one-dimensional (1D) NaNbO3 nanowires, thus forming multi-junctions (CdS-NaNbO3, CdS-MoSx and NaNbO3-MoSx) that could increase the migration efficiency of photo-excited charge carriers. In addition, an abundance of unsaturated sulfur atoms in MoSx led to a strong attraction to H+, thus providing active sites for water splitting. Consequently, the optimized composite sample (MoSx-CN-100) exhibited a hydrogen (H2) evolution efficiency of 2.386 mmol g-1 h-1, which was about 125.58 and 11.93 times that of NaNbO3 and CdS, respectively. Moreover, the ternary photocatalyst also exhibited excellent stability in the long-term hydrogen production process compared with the binary and single samples. Our work provided new insight into the rational design of multi-heterojunction photocatalysts with high efficiency for H2 evolution under visible light irradiation.

The crosstalk between the estrogen receptor (ER) and NF-κB signalling pathways has merged in vertebrates and plays a key role in the control of genes involved in inflammation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, such crosstalk between the endocrine and immune systems needs to be explored in lower invertebrates. In this study, we identified a 2856-bp homologue of the estrogen receptor from Hong Kong oyster (ChER), containing a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 234 bp, a 3' UTR of 387 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 2235 bp. We observed that overexpression of ChER suppressed ChRel-dependent NF-kappaB (NF-κB) activation in the HEK293T (human embryonic kidney 293T) cell line, and depletion of ChER in vivo resulted in upregulation of two NF-κB-responsive marker genes, namely, TNF-α and IL-17, which confirmed its potential role in controlling NF-κB signalling. Furthermore, an EMSA (electrophoretic mobility shift assay) showed that ChER could negatively regulate the binding of ChRel to NF-κB probe-responsive elements. Serial domain requirement analysis showed that both region C (DNA-binding domain) and region E (ligand-binding domain) of ChER were essential for mediating the crosstalk underlying ChER-dependent NF-κB suppression. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time the negative regulatory role of the ER in NF-κB signalling in oysters, strongly indicating the presence of complex crosstalk between the endocrine and immune systems in lower marine molluscs.

Background Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), is a form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) and is diagnosed by clinical-radiologic-pathologic (CRP) diagnosis. To summarize the clinical, imaging, pathological, and prognostic characteristics of 176 patients with confirmed COP. Methods Patients who were diagnosed with organizing pneumonia (OP) by lung biopsy between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2013, in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed and followed up until 12/31/2017. COP was confirmed by CRP diagnosis. Results A total of 1,346 OP cases were identified including 1,170 (86.9%) secondary OP cases (31 cases were originally misdiagnosed as COP but later confirmed as secondary OP during follow-up) and 176 (13.1%) cases of COP. The 176 patients with COP presented with no specific clinical symptoms and chest CT revealed diverse imaging features, such as patchy ground-glass opacity (112/176, 63.6%), consolidation (100/176, 56.8%), nodules (70/176, 39.8%), and fibrous stripes (69/176, 39.2%). The majority of patients (65.3%, 115/176) presented mixed patterns, and 12 (6.8%) showed a reversed halo sign. Of the 176 patients, 83 patients had unilateral lesions (ULs) and did not undergo glucocorticoid therapy. Of the 93 patients with bilateral lesions (BLs), 3 underwent complete resection and were radically cured. The other 90 patients underwent partial resection; of these patients, 37 cases achieved spontaneous remission, and 53 were treated with glucocorticoid therapy. After steroid therapy was reduced or stopped, 35 (66%) patients experienced recurrence. Overall, the 5-year survival rate for the COP patients in our study was 98.3%. Conclusions Our study showed that the majority of the patients pathologically diagnosed as OP had secondary OP (86.9%), with COP accounting for only 13.9% of cases. CRP diagnosis and continuous follow-up may be the key for the accurate diagnosis of COP.

Therapeutic advances for pulmonary hypertension (PH) have been incremental because of the focus on the pulmonary vasculature in PH pathology. Here, we evaluate the concept that PH is, rather, a systemic disorder involving interplay among multiorgan systems, including brain, gut, and lungs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that PH is associated with a dysfunctional brain-gut-lung axis and that global overexpression of ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) rebalances this axis and protects against PH. ACE2 knockin and wild-type (WT; C57BL/6) mice were subjected to chronic hypoxia (10% FIO2) or room air for 4 weeks. Cardiopulmonary hemodynamics, histology, immunohistochemistry, and fecal 16S rRNA microbial gene analyses were evaluated. Hypoxia significantly increased right ventricular systolic pressure, sympathetic activity as well as the number and activation of microglia in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in WT mice. This was associated with a significant increase in muscularis layer thickening and decreases in both villi length and goblet cells and altered gut microbiota. Global overexpression of ACE2 prevented changes in hypoxia-induced pulmonary and gut pathophysiology and established distinct microbial communities from WT hypoxia mice. Furthermore, WT mice subjected to fecal matter transfer from ACE2 knockin mice were resistant to hypoxia-induced PH compared with their controls receiving WT fecal matter transfer. These observations demonstrate that ACE2 ameliorates these hypoxia-induced pathologies and attenuates PH. The data implicate dysfunctional brain-gut-lung communication in PH and provide novel avenues for therapeutic interventions.

Background Sarcoidosis is associated with a wide range of disease outcomes including spontaneous remission and progressive courses. It is necessary to identify patients with spontaneous remission without corticosteroid treatment. This study aimed to identify the markers for predicting spontaneous remission in patients with sarcoidosis. Methods 453 patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis at the Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital between Jan 2013 and Aug 2017 and were followed-up for more than 2 years were enrolled. Patients were divided into spontaneous remission group and non-remission group. Differences of variables between groups were analyzed by chi-square test or unpaired Student's t-test. The cumulative spontaneous remission rate was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Of the 173 patients (stage I/II/III/IV, 53/110/6/4) without medication, 117 (67.6%) achieved spontaneous remission. The serum level of soluble interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor (sIL-2R) and the ratio of CD4/CD8 was significantly lower and CD8+ T cell was significantly higher in spontaneous remission group when compared with non-remission group (P Conclusion This study provided useful information that sIL-2R level could be used as a maker for spontaneous remission in determining the treatment strategies for patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.