Search

Lirong Zhang,1 Shaocong Zhao,1 Qiong Lin,2 Minmin Song,3 Shouren Wu,2 Hua Zheng4 1Department of Physical Education, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Physical Education, JiMei University, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Physical Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 4College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shaocong ZhaoDepartment of Physical Education, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-13806063882Email 358945018@qq.comPurpose: This study aims to identify potential risk factors associated with anxiety or depression and propose algorithms to predict anxiety and depression especially among university students.Methods: We included and analyzed 881 university students from eight colleges in China in November 2020. Student’s basic information, lifestyles, sport habits, comorbidities, and mental health conditions were collected. Anxiety and depression were measured using the generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7) and the patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the ability of 25 potential risk factors for predicting anxiety and depression, and significant risk factors were included in the algorithms.Results: Of all the included students, 44.27% lived with mild or above anxious symptoms and 50.62% had mild or above depressive symptoms. According to the multiple linear regression model, grade levels (P< 0.01), member of college sports dance team (P=0.05), sedentary time (P=0.02), exercise frequency (P< 0.01), only child status (P=0.05), addiction of drinking (P< 0.01), and prefer eating vegetable (P< 0.01) were significantly associated with anxiety; grade levels (P< 0.01), member of college sports dance team (P< 0.01), sedentary time (P< 0.01), exercise frequency (P< 0.01), academic study period during free time (P=0.03), only child status (P< 0.01), addiction of drinking (P< 0.01), prefer eating vegetables (P< 0.01), and main types of drinking water (P< 0.01) were significantly associated with depression. Based on these significant factors, two algorithms were successfully developed, and two risk groups were created according to the algorithms.Conclusion: The study proposed two algorithms to calculate anxiety and depression, respectively, which can be useful tools to identify students with different risk of anxiety or depression. Effective measures are warranted to improve student’s sport habits and healthy lifestyles in order to mitigate anxiety and depression, especially among students in the high risk group.Keywords: students, public health, anxiety, depression, risk factors, algorithms

Yan Sun,1,2 Lixin Yu,1,2 Wei Gao,1,2 Jinzhen Cai,1,2 Wentao Jiang,1,2 Wei Lu,3 Yihe Liu,1,2 Hong Zheng1,2 1Organ Transplantation Center, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, 300192, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Key Laboratory for Organ Transplantation, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 3Liver Cancer Treatment Centre, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yihe Liu; Hong ZhengOrgan Transplantation Center, Tianjin First Central Hospital, No. 24 of Fukang Street, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300192, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +8602223627027Email limyihe@163.com; zhemghomgi@21cn.comObjective: This study aimed to investigate the colonization and prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in pediatric liver transplant recipients and analyze the high-risk factors and prognosis of CRE infection.Methods: A prospective study involving 152 pediatric patients undergoing liver transplantation was carried out. Anal swab bacteria cultures were collected when the patients entered the intensive care unit (ICU) and when they left in order to screen for intestinal CRE colonization. The results were grouped according to the occurrence of CRE infection following surgery, and the patients were divided into two groups: a CRE infection group and a non-CRE infection group. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted to determine the independent risk factors of CRE infection and analyze the survival rate.Results: Of the 152 pediatric liver transplant recipients enrolled in the study, there were 13 cases of postoperative CRE infection and 139 cases of non-CRE infection. The incidence of preoperative CRE infection, preoperative cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, and preoperative sepsis in the CRE infection group was significantly higher than in the non-CRE infection group (P < 0.005). Intraoperative bleeding volume and operation times in the CRE infection group were also significantly higher than in the non-CRE infection group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, postoperative ICU treatment time, postoperative occurrence of unplanned surgery, postoperative mechanical ventilation of more than 24 hours, and the incidence of pre-ICU CRE colonization in the CRE infection group were significantly higher than in the non-CRE infection group (P < 0.05). Finally, the difference between the CRE infection group and the non-CRE infection group in six-month survival rate following surgery was significant (P < 0.001).Conclusion: The independent risk factors of CRE infection following pediatric liver transplantation include preoperative CRE infection and pre-ICU CRE colonization. CRE infection progresses quickly, with a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate. The CRE screening of anal swabs is crucial for the early detection of CRE infection.Keywords: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, CRE, liver transplantation, intestinal colonization, CT screening, anal swabs

Lirong Zhang,1 Shaocong Zhao,1 Wei Weng,1 Qiong Lin,2 Minmin Song,3 Shouren Wu,2 Hua Zheng4 1Department of Physical Education, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, Fujian, 361024, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Physical Education, JiMei University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Physical Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350008, People’s Republic of China; 4College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 400047, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hua ZhengCollege of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 400047, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86- 15923028254Email 70478764@qq.comPurpose: This study aims to investigate the role of frequent sports dance in preventing mental disorders, including anxiety and depression, among college students using real-world data, and to further analyze potential risk factors associated with anxiety and depression.Methods: We investigated 921 college students from eight universities in China. A survey was completed by 901 students and they were included in the analysis. The anxiety score was evaluated by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale and the depression score was evaluated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Subgroup comparisons were performed among frequent sports dance students and non-frequent sports dance students.Results: Of all the students, 9.98% had moderate-to-severe anxiety and 14.65% students suffered from moderate-to-severe depression. Compared with non-frequent sports dance students, frequent sports dance students had significantly lower depression scores (P=0.04). According to the multiple logistic regression models, when potential confounding factors were all adjusted, frequent sports dance was also significantly associated with less depression (OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.36– 0.84, P< 0.01). We also found that higher college grade levels (P< 0.01), non-physical education students (P=0.02), higher body mass index (P=0.02), lower exercise frequency per week (P< 0.01), addiction to drinking (P=0.02), and previous diagnosis of anxiety or depression in hospital (P< 0.01) were significantly associated with more anxiety; higher college grade levels (P< 0.01), addiction to drinking (P< 0.01), preference for eating fried food (P=0.02), soda as the main source of drinking water (P=0.01), and previous diagnosis of anxiety or depression (P=0.03) were significantly associated with more depression, while higher exercise frequency per week (P< 0.01), only-child status (P< 0.01), and preference for eating vegetables (P=0.02) were significantly associated with less depression.Conclusion: Anxiety and depression are common among college students. Frequent sports dance may serve as a protective factor for preventing depression and it can be recommended for college students.Keywords: sports dance, college student, anxiety, depression, risk factor

Bai-Rong Wang,1,2 Jun-Teng Yao,2 Hui Zheng,1 Quan-Min Li1 1Department of Endocrinology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; PLA Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center, Beijing, 100088, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, Jinjiang Municipal Hospital, Jinjiang, 362200, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Quan-Min LiPLA Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center, Beijing, 100088, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 10 66927601Email liquanming369@163.comObjective: This study aimed to investigate the association of the glycated albumin (GA)/glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ratio with the mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: A total of 102 patients with T2DM who were first treated in Jinjiang Hospital of Fujian Province were enrolled in this study. The patients’ general clinical data, including HbA1c, GA, fasting blood glucose, and fasting and peak C-peptide values upon diagnosis and after one year of follow-up, were collected, and their MAGE was calculated.Results: With the increase of the GA/HbA1c ratio at baseline, the patients’ fasting and peak C-peptide values decreased gradually from baseline to follow-up, while their MAGE, HbA1c, and fasting blood glucose increased gradually. A regression analysis demonstrated that the baseline MAGE was independently positively correlated with the GA/HbA1c ratio. A Cox regression analysis demonstrated that a baseline GA/HbA1c ratio of > 2.78 was an independent risk factor for poor fasting blood glucose and HbA1c.Conclusion: The GA/HbA1c ratio is closely related to the MAGE and islet function in patients with T2DM.Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, glycated albumin, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose control, blood glucose fluctuation

Semiconductor compounds are widely used for photocatalytic hydrogen production applications, where photogenerated electron-hole pairs are exploited to induce catalysis. Recently, powders of a metallic oxide (Sr1-xNbO3, 0.033+δ and find that their bandgaps are ∼4.1 eV. Surprisingly, the carrier density of the conducting phase exceeds 1022 cm-3 and the carrier mobility is only 2.47 cm2 V-1 s-1. Contrary to earlier reports, the visible light absorption at 1.8 eV (∼688 nm) is due to the plasmon resonance, arising from the large carrier density. We propose that the hot electron and hole carriers excited via Landau damping (during the plasmon decay) are responsible for the photocatalytic property of this material under visible light irradiation.

Today’s ubiquitous online social networks serve multiple purposes, including social communication (Facebook, Renren), and news dissemination (Twitter). But how does a social network’s design define its functionality? Answering this would need social network providers to take a proactive role in defining and guiding user behavior. In this paper, we first take a step to answer this question with a data-driven approach, through measurement and analysis of the Sina Weibo microblogging service. Often compared to Twitter because of its format,Weibo is interesting for our analysis because it serves as a social communication tool and a platform for news dissemination, too. While similar to Twitter in functionality, Weibo provides a distinguishing feature, comments, allowing users to form threaded conversations around a single tweet. Our study focuses on this feature, and how it contributes to interactions and improves social engagement.We use analysis of comment interactions to uncover their role in social interactivity, and use comment graphs to demonstrate the structure of Weibo users interactions. Finally, we present a case study that shows the impact of comments in malicious user detection, a key application on microblogging systems. That is, using properties of comments significantly improves the accuracy in both modeling Received May 20, 2015; accepted October 29, 2015 E-mail: chenyang@fudan.edu.cn and detection of malicious users.

SK Mohiuddin Choudhury,* XuSheng Ma,* Sahibzada Waheed Abdullah, HaiXue Zheng State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730046, Gansu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: HaiXue ZhengState Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730046, Gansu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-931-8342086Email haixuezheng@163.comAbstract: Inflammation refers to the response of the immune system to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections, or other foreign particles in the body, which can involve the production of a wide array of soluble inflammatory mediators. It is important for the development of many RNA virus-infected diseases. The primary factors through which the infection becomes inflammation involve inflammasome. Inflammasomes are proteins complex that the activation is responsive to specific pathogens, host cell damage, and other environmental stimuli. Inflammasomes bring about the maturation of various pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-18 and IL-1β in order to mediate the innate immune defense mechanisms. Many RNA viruses and their components, such as encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) 2B viroporin, the viral RNA of hepatitis C virus, the influenza virus M2 viroporin, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) small hydrophobic (SH) viroporin, and the human rhinovirus (HRV) 2B viroporin can activate the Nod-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome to influence the inflammatory response. On the other hand, several viruses use virus-encoded proteins to suppress inflammation activation, such as the influenza virus NS1 protein and the measles virus (MV) V protein. In this review, we summarize how RNA virus infection leads to the activation or inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome.Keywords: inflammation, NLRP3 inflammasome, RNA viruses, activation and inhibition of NLRP3, viral protein and genome

Jin Chen,1,* Yan-ni Lv,2,* Xiao-bing Li,1,* Jia-jun Xiong,1,* Hui-ting Liang,1 Liang Xie,3 Chen-yi Wan,1 Yun-qing Chen,1 Han-sen Wang,3 Pan Liu,3 He-qing zheng3 1Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jin ChenDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 17 Yongwaizheng Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail jin_chen080706@yeah.netBackground: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a major complication in stroke survivors, especially in elderly stroke survivors. But there are still no objective methods to diagnose depression in elderly stroke survivors. Thus, this study was conducted to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosing elderly PSD subjects.Methods: Elderly (60 years or older) stroke survivors with depression were assigned into the PSD group, and elderly stroke survivors without depression and elderly healthy controls (HCs) were assigned into the non-depressed group. Urinary metabolite signatures obtained from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomic platform were collected. Both univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were used to find the differential urinary metabolites between the two groups.Results: The 78 elderly HCs, 122 elderly stroke survivors without depression and 124 elderly PSD subjects were included. A set of 13 differential urinary metabolites responsible for distinguishing PSD subjects from non-depressed subjects were found. The Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, Phenylalanine metabolism and Galactose metabolism were found to be significantly changed in elderly PSD subjects. The phenylalanine was significantly negatively correlated with age and depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, a biomarker panel consisting of 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, tyrosine, phenylalanine, sucrose, palmitic acid, glyceric acid, azelaic acid and α-aminobutyric acid was identified.Conclusion: These results provided candidate molecules for developing objective methods to diagnose depression in elderly stroke survivors, suggested that taking supplements of phenylalanine might be an effective method to prevent depression in elderly stroke survivors, and would be helpful for future revealing the pathophysiological mechanism of PSD.Keywords: post-stroke depression, metabolomics, biomarker

Penghui Hu,1,2,* Qian Gao,1,2,* Huimin Zheng,1,2 Yujuan Tian,1,2 Guoying Zheng,1 Xiaoyu Yao,1 Junjiang Zhang,1 Xudong Wu,2 Lei Sui1 1Department of Prosthodontics, Tianjin Medical University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cell Biology, 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center of Tianjin for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lei SuiDepartment of Prosthodontics, Tianjin Medical University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail suilei@tmu.edu.cnPurpose: To investigate the role and activation mechanism of TAZ in periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) perceiving hierarchical microgroove/nanopore topography.Materials and Methods: Titanium surface with hierarchical microgroove/nanopore topography fabricated by selective laser melting combined with alkali heat treatment (SLM-AHT) was used as experimental group, smooth titanium surface (Ti) and sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) titanium surface were employed as control groups. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays, qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence were carried out to evaluate the effect of SLM-AHT surface on PDLSC differentiation. Moreover, TAZ activation was investigated from the perspective of nuclear localization to transcriptional activity. TAZ knockdown PDLSCs were seeded on three titanium surfaces to detect osteogenesis- and adipogenesis-related gene expression levels. Immunofluorescence and Western blotting were employed to investigate the effect of the SLM-AHT surface on actin cytoskeletal polymerization and MAPK signaling pathway. Cytochalasin D and MAPK signaling pathway inhibitors were used to determine whether actin cytoskeletal polymerization and the MAPK signaling pathway were indispensable for TAZ activation.Results: Our results showed that SLM-AHT surface had a greater potential to promote PDLSC osteogenic differentiation while inhibiting adipogenic differentiation than the other two groups. The nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of TAZ were strongly enhanced on the SLM-AHT surface. Moreover, after TAZ knockdown, the enhanced osteogenesis and decreased adipogenesis in SLM-AHT group could not be observed. In addition, SLM-AHT surface could promote actin cytoskeletal polymerization and upregulate p-ERK and p-p38 protein levels. After treatment with cytochalasin D and MAPK signaling pathway inhibitors, differences in the TAZ subcellular localization and transcriptional activity were no longer observed among the different titanium surfaces.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that actin cytoskeletal polymerization and MAPK signaling pathway activation triggered by SLM-AHT surface were essential for TAZ activation, which played a dominant role in SLM-AHT surface-induced stem cell fate decision.Keywords: TAZ, hierarchical micro/nanoscale topography, periodontal ligament stem cells, osteogenic differentiation, adipogenic differentiation

Hanrui Zheng,1,* Qian Xie,2,* Mei Zhan,1 Chaohui Jin,1 Qiu Li3,4 1Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2International Medical Center/Ward of General Practice, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 4West China Biomedical Big Data Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chaohui JinDepartment of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-28-85421763Email 695025422@qq.comQiu LiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-28-85423262Email fbqiu9@163.comBackground: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of gastric cancer in patients who have a family history of gastric cancer in first-degree relatives. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of H. pylori eradication therapy in a select population in the People’s Republic of China.Methods: A Markov model was applied to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of H. pylori eradication therapy. The long-term costs of H. pylori eradication therapy were calculated from the Chinese perspective. Health outcomes were measured by quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Epidemiological information and health utilities used in the model were collected from published literatures or statistical bureaus. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the influence of parameters on the uncertainty of the model.Results: Compared with the no eradication therapy group, H. pylori eradication therapy prolonged an average of 4.52 QALYs (32.64 QALYs vs 28.12 QALYs) and saved $3227.07 ($2472.83 vs $5699.90). The cost-effectiveness analysis demonstrated that no H. pylori eradication therapy cost more and produced less QALYs. It was dominated by H. pylori eradication therapy. The one-way sensitive analyses proved that the results were robust to the fluctuations of the input parameters.Conclusion: H. pylori eradication therapy not only reduced the risk of gastric cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with gastric cancer but also was an economical strategy with lower costs and greater efficacy.Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, eradication therapy, gastric cancer, cost-effectiveness analysis

Yun Bai,1,* Yinjuan Wang,2,* Huajun Zheng,3 Fei Tan,1 Chao Yuan4 1Central Laboratory, The Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital of Tongji Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China; 2Symrise (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201206, People’s Republic of China; 3Shanghai-Ministry of Science and Technology Key Laboratory of Health and Disease Genomics, Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai, Shanghai 201203, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Skin & Cosmetic Research, The Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital of Tongji Medical University, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Fei TanCentral Laboratory, The Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital of Tongji Medical University, No. 1278 Baode Road, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail tanfeitrue@126.comChao YuanDepartment of Skin & Cosmetic Research, The Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital of Tongji Medical University, No. 1278 Baode Road, Shanghai 200433, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail yuanchaocn@163.comBackground and Aim: The association of microbiota changes with sensitive skin remains controversial until now. Although a strong correlation is detected between skin microbiota distribution and biophysical parameters, there is little knowledge on the link between sensitive skin and skin microbiota in Chinese women. This study aimed to unravel the correlation between facial skin microbiota distribution and skin barriers in Chinese women with sensitive skin.Materials and Methods: In total, 34 volunteers were enrolled, including 24 subjects with sensitive skin (SS group) and 10 subjects with non-sensitive skin (NS group). The cuticle moisture content, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and facial skin sebum secretion were measured, and the facial skin surface morphology was evaluated. Sensitive skin samples were collected from the facial (SS-F group) and chest skin of subjects in the SS group (SS-C group), while non-sensitive skin samples were collected from the facial skin of subjects in the NS group (NS-F group). All skin samples were subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing.Results: 16S rRNA sequencing detected Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria as the three most common microbiota phyla and Propionibacterium, Paracoccus, and Corynebacterium as the three most common microbiota genera, and there were no significant differences in the relative frequency of Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, or Proteobacteria, or Propionibacterium, Paracoccus, or Corynebacterium among the SS-F, SS-C, and NS-F groups (P> 0.05). We detected no significant difference in the diversity of bacterial communities among the SS-F, SS-C, and NS-F groups; however, the Shannon’s diversity index was significantly higher in the NS-F group than in the SS-C group. In addition, Spearman correlation analysis showed a correlation between the microbiota genera and skin physiological parameters (P< 0.05).Conclusion: This study preliminarily unravels the skin microbiota of sensitive skin using a high-throughput tool, and there are no microbiota genera with strong associations with skin physiological parameters.Keywords: sensitive skin, skin microbiota, skin barrier, Chinese woman

This paper studies the consensus tracking control for a class of uncertain high-order nonlinear multi-agent systems under an undirected leader-following architecture. A novel distributed finite-time adaptive control framework is proposed based on the barrier function. The distributed cascaded high-gain observers are introduced to solve the problem of robust consensus tracking with unmeasured intermediate states in multi-agent systems based on the proposed control framework. The proposed control schemes guarantee the finite-time consensus of multi-agent systems, which is proven by the finite-time Lyapunov stability and singular perturbation theory. In conclusion, numerical simulations verify the proposed control protocols’ effectiveness, and their performance advantages are shown by comparing them with another existing method.

OBJECTIVE: Although pure titanium (PT) and its alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties, they lack biological activity as implants. The purpose of this study was to improve the biological activity of titanium implants through surface modification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Titanium was processed into titanium discs, where the titanium discs served as anodes and stainless steel served as cathodes, and a copper- and cobalt-doped porous coating [pure titanium model (PTM)] was prepared on the surface of titanium via plasma electrolytic oxidation. The surface characteristics of the coating were evaluated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and profilometry. The corrosion resistance of PTM was evaluated with an electrochemical workstation. The biocompatibility and bioactivity of coated bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were evaluated through in vitro cell experiments. RESULTS: A copper- and cobalt-doped porous coating was successfully prepared on the surface of titanium, and the doping of copper and cobalt did not change the surface topography of the coating. The porous coating increased the surface roughness of titanium and improved its resistance to corrosion. In addition, the porous coating doped with copper and cobalt promoted the adhesion and spreading of BMSCs. CONCLUSIONS: A porous coating doped with copper and cobalt was prepared on the surface of titanium through plasma electrolytic oxidation. The coating not only improved the roughness and corrosion resistance of titanium but also exhibited good biological activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hongkun Wang,1,2 Honggang Liu,1 Jun Li,2 Shuanyu Wei,2 Xiaojun Liu,2 Huili Wan,2 Peiming Zheng,2 Huixia Zheng2 1Department of Pathology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan City, Shanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Honggang LiuDepartment of Pathology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100005, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail liuhg1125@163.comObject: To identify the expression levels of ECT2 (epithelial cell transforming sequence 2) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) before and after administration of paclitaxel (PTX) and explore the interaction between ECT2 and PTX in breast cancer treatment.Methods: Lentiviral (LV) packaging ECT2 overexpression and interference plasmids were constructed for in vitro assays. The effects of ECT2 expression on the TNBC cell line (HCC1806), particularly its roles in the proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis and cell cycle, were evaluated using the CCK-8 and other methods before and after PTX treatment. In nude mouse xenograft settings were performed to detect cell apoptosis and Ki-67 expression levels by TUNEL and immunohistochemical staining, respectively.Results: In the vitro assays, before and after the PTX treatment, comparison of the LV-ECT2 and sh-ECT2 groups and the remaining three groups (control, LV-NC, sh-NC) showed statistically significant differences in terms of cell proliferation, invasion and migration and apoptosis and changes in the cell cycle. In the vivo assays, the control, LV-ECT2 and sh-ECT2 groups markedly outweighed the corresponding PTX-treated groups. The LV-ECT2, PTX, sh-ECT2 and sh-ECT2-PTX were all significantly different from the control group in terms of body weight and tumour size changes. Cell apoptosis occurred in the PTX, sh-ECT2 and sh-ECT2-PTX groups. About the Ki-67 proliferation index, the PTX, LV-ECT2-PTX, sh-ECT2 and sh-ECT2-PTX groups were significantly different from the control group.Conclusion: ECT2, which is a major driving factor in the growth of breast cancer cells, plays an important role in regulating TNBC growth. PTX therapy had significantly improved efficacy after silencing ECT2. This finding indicates that the inhibition of ECT2 expression may facilitate the treatment of breast cancer as a new regimen and provide a theoretical basis for the development of new targeted drugs as a replacement for PTX in breast cancer treatment.Keywords: ECT2, TNBC, paclitaxel

Mei Zhan,1– 3 Hanrui Zheng,1– 3 Yu Yang,2,4 Zhiyao He,1 Ting Xu,1,3 Qiu Li2,4 1Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2West China Biomedical Big Data Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ting XuDepartment of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail tingx2009@163.comQiu LiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail fbqiu9@163.comObjective: The phase III POLO trial demonstrated that olaparib as maintenance therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with a germline BRCA mutation had greater efficacy than placebo, but maintenance olaparib places an economic burden on patients. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of olaparib as maintenance therapy based on the POLO trial (NCT02184195).Methods: A three-state Markov model (progression-free survival [PFS], progressive disease [PD] and death) based on data from the POLO trial was used to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of maintenance olaparib versus placebo for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with a germline BRCA mutation. The cost was evaluated from the Chinese society’s perspective, and health outcomes were assessed in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The primary outcome was the ICER gained in terms of 2019 US$ per QALY. Model robustness was explored with one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.Results: Compared with placebo, maintenance olaparib increased costs by $23,544.35 while gaining 0.69 QALYs, resulting in an ICER of $34,122.25 per QALY. The ICER was far higher than the commonly accepted willingness-to-pay threshold ($28,255.55 per QALY).Conclusion: Compared with placebo, maintenance olaparib for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with a germline BRCA mutation is not cost-effective in China.Keywords: cost effectiveness, pancreatic cancer, olaparib, BRCA, Markov model

Limei Wen,1– 3,* Guodong Lv,2,4,* Jun Zhao,1,3,* Shuai Lu,1,3 Yuehong Gong,1,3 Yafen Li,2 Haiya Zheng,2 Bei Chen,1,3 Huijing Gao,1,3 Chunyan Tian,2 Jianhua Wang1,3 1Pharmaceutical Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Pharmacy, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention, Treatment of Central Asian High Incidence Diseases, Urumqi 830054, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Medical Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianhua WangPharmaceutical Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, No. 137 Liyushan South Road, Urumqi 830054, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail jhw716@sohu.comBackground: In this study, we aim to investigate the efficiency of artesunate (AS) on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces and metacestodes.Methods: For the in vitro assay, the eosin dye exclusion test and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were utilized to evaluate the effects of AS against protoscoleces (PSCs) from Echinococcus granulosus. In addition, mortality, ultrastructure change, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and DNA damage were measured in order to explore the anti-echinococcosis mechanism of AS. For the in vivo assay, CE-infected mice were divided into model group, albendazole (ABZ) group (200 mg/kg), low AS (AS-L) group (50 mg/kg), moderate AS (AS-M) group (100 mg/kg), and high AS (AS-H) group (200 mg/kg). Upon 6 weeks oral administration, wet weight of cysts and the ultrastructural changes of cystic wall were utilized to evaluate the effects of AS on metacestodes. In addition, the liver biochemical parameters, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), glutathione/glutathione oxidized (GSH/GSSG) ratio in serum, and H2O2, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in cyst fluid were detected.Results: Both in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that AS showed anti-parasitic effects on CE. The AS could elevate the ROS level in the PSCs, which then resulted in obvious DNA damages. AS could significantly improve the liver biochemical parameters in infected mice compared with the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, AS-M and AS-H decrease the TNF-α content (P < 0.05); AS-H group significantly decrease in the serum GSH/GSSG ratio (P < 0.05). The content of H2O2 in hydatid fluid treated by AS showed significant decrease compared with the model group (P < 0.01), while the T-SOD level showed significant elevation compared with model group (P < 0.01).Conclusion: In this study, we confirmed that the effects of AS on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces and metacestodes may be related to the DNA damages induced by oxidative stress, which provided solid information for the research and development of drugs for cystic echinococcosis.Keywords: cystic echinococcosis, artesunate, Echinococcus granulosus, reactive oxygen species, DNA damage

Hao-cheng Zheng,1,* Yong-an Wang,1,* Zi-rui Liu,1 Ya-lan Li,1 Jing-wei Kong,1 Dong-yu Ge,2 Gui-ying Peng1 1Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China; 2Experimental Teaching Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Gui-ying PengBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 11, East Road North Ring 3rd, Chao-Yang District, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-010-53912169Email penggy@bucm.edu.cnObjective: In China, lamb and fish are well-known triggers for an asthma attack. Our investigation aims at assessing whether the long-term intake of lamb meat or Basa fish would aggravate pulmonary inflammation as well as exploring changes in the intestinal microbiota and immune cells in asthmatic mice.Materials and Methods: The murine asthmatic model was established by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA) plus aluminum on day 0 and 14 and nebulization of OVA from day 21 to 27. Lamb meat or fish was administered to asthmatic mice by oral gavage from day 0 to 27.Results: Our results showed that long-term consumption of lamb meat or Basa fish in asthmatic mice increased the number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), enhanced levels of IL-5, IL-13 in BALF and total IgE in serum, aggravated pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration and mucus secretion. Long-term oral lamb enhanced the proportion of type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) from small intestine while it inhibited that of Treg from lung in asthmatic mice. Oral fish showed no remarkable effect on that of ILC2 from lung and small intestine but inhibited that of intestinal Treg in asthmatic mice. What’s more, the chao-1 and observed species richness as well as PD whole tree diversity increased in asthmatic mice while these increments were inhibited after lamb treatment. PCA analysis indicated that there were significant differences in the bacterial community composition after lamb or fish treatment in asthmatic mice. Both lamb and fish treatment enhanced the abundance of colonic Alistipes in asthmatic mice.Conclusion: Collectively, long-term intake of lamb or fish shapes colonic bacterial communities and aggravates pulmonary inflammation in asthmatic mice, which provides reasonable food guidance for asthmatic patients.Keywords: asthma, intestinal microbiota, lamb, fish, ILC2, Treg

Hao Long,1 Hui Zheng,2 Long Ai,1 Kamil Osman,1 Zhigang Liu3 1Department of Pain Management, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, People’s Republic of China; 2Orthopedics Department, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pain Management, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhigang Liu Department of Pain ManagementThe Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218, Ziqiang Street, Nanguan District, Changchun, Jilin 130041, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail liuzhigang_82@163.comIntroduction: Cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) is very common in patients with advanced cancer. Recent studies have shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) can sense and regulate pain response process through spinal cord mechanism, and play a role in CIBP. NADPH oxidase (NOX) is a group of protease complexes that produce ROS. In the current study, we investigated the expression of NOX4 in the spinal dorsal horn of rats with CIBP and its related role and molecular mechanism.Materials and Methods: A rat CIBP model was established by injecting Walker-256 cells into the tibia medullary cavity, and the expression of NOX4 in spinal dorsal horn was down-regulated by injecting lentivirus into spinal cord. RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the expression of NOX4 in CIBP rats, cell localization and its effect on CIBP rats, and the effect of down-regulating the expression of NOX4 on the expression of H2O2, nitric oxide synthase nNO, antioxidant enzyme SOD, and the activity of neuro-receptor in spinal dorsal horn of rats.Results: In rats with CIBP, the expression of NOX4 was significantly increased, and immunofluorescence showed that NOX4 was mainly expressed in microglia in the dorsal horn of spinal cord. Down-regulating the expression of NOX4 in rats can reduce the level of H2O2 and nNO in dorsal horn tissue, and increase the expression of SOD to reduce the oxidative stress response. At the same time, down-regulating NOX4 can reduce the sensitivity of spinal cord and relieve the pain of bone cancer by inhibiting the expression of NMDAR and GABAA-γ 2 in dorsal horn tissue.Conclusion: NOX4 is a promising therapeutic target in CIBP, and down-regulation of NOX4 expression can alleviate CIBP in rats by reducing oxidative stress and weakening spinal cord sensitization.Keywords: cancer-induced bone pain, NOX4, reactive oxygen species, spinal cord sensitization

We use magnetic-field-dependent features in the photoluminescence of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers to measure magnetic fields without the use of microwaves. In particular, we present a magnetometer based on the level anti-crossing in the triplet ground state at 102.4 mT with a demonstrated noise floor of 6 nT/ Hz, limited by the intensity noise of the laser and the performance of the background-field power supply. The technique presented here can be useful in applications where the sensor is placed close to conductive materials, e.g., magnetic induction tomography or magnetic field mapping, and in remote-sensing applications since principally no electrical access is needed.

Graphene and topological insulators (TI) possess two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions with distinct physical properties. Integrating these two Dirac materials in a single device creates interesting opportunities for exploring new physics of interacting massless Dirac fermions. Here we report on a practical route to experimental fabrication of graphene-Sb2Te3heterostructure. The graphene-TI heterostructures are prepared by using a dry transfer of chemical-vapor-deposition grown graphene film. ARPES measurements confirm the coexistence of topological surface states of Sb2Te3and Dirac 7rbands of graphene, and identify the twist angle in the graphene-TI heterostructure. The results suggest a potential tunable electronic platform in which two different Dirac low-energy states dominate the transport behavior.