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In this study, zein/carboxymethyl dextrin nanoparticles (ZCPs) were used as stabilizers to prepare Pickering emulsions. The contact angle (θ) of ZCPs with a mass ratio of 2:1 (zein:CMD) was 89.1°, which was suitable for stabilizing Pickering emulsions. The droplet sizes of ZCPs stabilized Pickering emulsions were dependent on particle concentration and oil volume fraction. The droplet sizes of emulsions decreased with increasing particle concentration at a constant oil volume fraction, and increased as the oil volume fraction increased fixing particle concentration. Visual observation indicated that ZCPs stabilized Pickering emulsions at various particle concentrations and oil fractions were stable during long-term storage. The rheological measurements indicated that all emulsions exhibited shear thinning behavior and the elastic gel-like structure. Furthermore, the viscosity and gel-like structure were relied on ZCPs concentrations and oil volume fractions. Confocal laser scanning microscope showed that ZCPs formed the densely packed layer around the oil droplets. ZCPs stabilized Pickering emulsions significantly inhibited lipid oxidation compared to zein nanoparticles stabilized emulsions. In vitro digestion study suggested that the free fatty acids (FFA) released, bioaccessibility and stability of curcumin in ZCPs stabilized Pickering emulsions were higher than those in bulk oil and zein nanoparticles stabilized emulsions. These researches might facilitate the preparation of Pickering emulsions with excellent stability for nutraceutical delivery in food and pharmaceutical applications. Image 1 • Zein/carboxymethyl dextrin nanoparticles (ZCPs) were fabricated as effective stabilizers. • Pickering emulsions stabilized by ZCPs had superior storage stability. • Pickering emulsions stabilized by ZCPs significantly inhibited lipid oxidation. • The presence of carboxymethyl dextrin improved bioaccessibility of curcumin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lignin increased the viscosity of the binder at higher and lower temperature. • Lignin increases the rutting resistance and recovery component of bitumen at high temperature. • Lignin had insignificant effect on low temperature cracking behavior of the binder. • Lignin reduced the damage tolerance level of the binder. • LBC binder had a better adhesion with aggregate in the presence of water. The high cost and the environmental impact associated with using petroleum bitumen in pavement construction is a problem facing the asphalt industry. The study analyzes the effects of waste lignin on the properties (characterization, morphology, decomposition behavior, low and high-temperature behavior, fatigue resistance, deformation, adhesion bonding with aggregate in the presence of water and storage stability) of bitumen binders. The results show that increasing the lignin content, increased the cohesion and stiffening of the binder. Adding 10% lignin had a negligible influence on the workability and compaction characteristics of the asphalt mixture. The flow characteristics, of the lignin bitumen composite (LBC), at low and high temperature, decreased with increasing lignin content. Furthermore, the lignin fibers decreased the decomposition rate of the binder thus reducing the volatility of the binder (C0 2 emissions). Dynamic Shear Rheometer test results revealed that adding lignin fibers to bitumen increased the rutting resistance of the binder while the linear amplitude sweep (LAS) results showed a decrease in the fatigue resistance. The multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) results showed that LBC binder recovered better than the pure bitumen. In addition, LBC binder deformed less at different temperatures and stress levels. The LBC binder also had a better adhesion with aggregate as compared to bitumen. The study provides baseline information that complements past studies and can be useful to all stakeholders in the asphalt industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and influence of co-mutated gene on acute myeloid leukemia patients (AML) with FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 ( FLT3 ) mutations., Methods: A total of 273 FLT3 + AML patients were enrolled, and the co-mutation gene data of the patients were collected to further analyze the prognosis of the patients. FLT3 and other common mutations were quantified by PCR amplification products direct sequencing and second-generation sequencing (NGS)., Results: When patients were divided into FLT3 - ITD + , FLT3 - TKD + , FLT3 - ITD + + TKD + and FLT3 - ITD - + TKD - group according to the type of FLT3 mutations, it was found that the frequencies of TET2 , GATA2, NRAS and ASXL1 mutation were significantly different among the 4 groups (all P < 0.05). When patients were divided into allelic ratio (AR) ≥0.5 and <0.5 group, it was found that the frequencies of FLT3 - ITD + , FLT3 - ITD - + TKD - , NPM1, NRAS and C-kit were significantly different between the two groups (all P < 0.05). When patients were divided into normal and abnormal karyotype group, it was found that the frequencies of FLT3 - ITD + , FLT3 - TKD + , NPM1, GATA2 and C-kit were significantly different between the two groups (all P < 0.05). The median overall survival (OS) of AML patients with FLT3 - TKD + (including FLT3 - ITD + + TKD + ) was longer than that of patients with FLT3 - ITD + alone ( P < 0.05). The OS and relapse-free survival (RFS) of AML patients with FLT3 + + TET2 + were both shorter than those of patients with FLT3 + + TET2 - (both P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The mutation frequencies of co-mutated genes are correlated with subtypes of FLT3 , karyotype and AR. AML patients with FLT3 - TKD + have longer OS than patients with FLT3 - ITD + alone, and patients with co-mutation of TET2 have shorter median OS and RFS.

Purpose: Emergency resuscitative thoracotomy (ERT) is a final salvage procedure for critically injured trauma patients. Given its low success rate and ambiguous indications, its use in blunt trauma scenarios remains highly debated. Consequently, our study seeks to ascertain the overall survival rate of ERT in blunt trauma patients and determine which patients would benefit most from this procedure., Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted for this research. Blunt trauma patients who underwent ERT between January 2020 and December 2023 in our trauma center were selected for analysis, with the endpoint outcome being in-hospital survival, divided into survival and non-survival groups. Inter-group comparisons were conducted using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Student's t-test, or the Mann-Whitney U test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess potential predictors of survival. Then, the efficacy of the predictors was assessed through sensitivity and specificity analysis., Results: A total of 33 patients were included in the study, with 4 survivors (12.12%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated a significant association between cardiac tamponade and survival, with an adjusted odds ratio of 33.4 (95% CI: 1.31 - 850, p = 0.034). Additionally, an analysis of sensitivity and specificity, targeting cardiac tamponade as an indicator for survivor identification, showed a sensitivity rate of 75.0% and a specificity rate of 96.6%., Conclusion: The survival rate among blunt trauma patients undergoing ERT exceeds traditional expectations, suggesting that select individuals with blunt trauma can significantly benefit from the procedure. Notably, those presenting with cardiac tamponade are identified as the subgroup most likely to derive substantial benefits from ERT., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

This study aims to observe the effects of the traditional Chinese medicine prescription Dahuang Zhechong Pills(DHZCP on renal aging and explore its potential multi-target effects. Rats were assigned into the normal, model, DHZCP, and vitamin E(VE)groups. Firstly, the rat model of D-galactose(D-gal)-induced renal aging was established. During the modeling period, the rats in the 4 groups were administrated with double distilled water, double distilled water, DHZCP suspension, and VE suspension, respectively,by gavage every day. On day 60 of intervention, the indicators of renal aging and injury in rats were measured, including the function,histopathological characteristics, senescence-associated β-galactosidase( SA-β-gal) staining, and expression levels of Klotho and proteins associated with cell cycle arrest and senescence-associated secretory phenotype(SASP) in the renal tissue. Moreover, nontargeted metabolomic analysis of the renal tissue was performed for the 4 groups of rats to screen out the potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways. Finally, the signaling pathways of key targets were preliminarily validated. The results showed that DHZCP and VE significantly improved the renal function, histopathological features of renal tubular/interstitial tissue, and degree of SA-β-gal staining, up-regulated the expression level of Klotho, and down-regulated the expression levels of proteins associated with cell cycle arrest and SASP in the renal tissue of the aging rats. In addition, DHZCP and VE regulated the metabolites in the renal tissue of the aging rats. There were 21 common differential metabolites. Among them, 5 differential metabolites were significantly increased in the aging rats and recovered after DHZCP or VE treatment, and they were involved in the lipid metabolism and energy metabolism pathways. The areas under the curves of the groups in comparison varied within the range of 0. 88-1. DHZCP regulated multiple signaling pathways, such as the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK), cyclic guanosine monophosphate-protein kinase G( c GMP-PKG), cyclic adenylic acid( c AMP), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B( PI3K-Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR), and autophagy signaling pathways. In addition, it affected the multiple metabolic pathways, such as renin secretion, longevity regulation pathway, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and niacin and nicotinamide metabolism. DHZCP and VE significantly up-regulated the expression level of the key proteins in the AMPK signaling pathway in the renal tissue of the aging rats. In all, DHZCP and VE could mitigate renal aging and injury. DHZCP exerted multi-target effects via multiple signaling pathways and metabolic pathways in the kidney, in which the AMPK signaling pathway may be one of the key targets for action.

A method for the selective construction of S-N/C(sp 2 )-S bonds using N -substituted O -thiocarbamates and indoles as substrates is reported. This protocol features good atom utilization, mild conditions, short reaction time, and wide substrate scope, which can provide a convenient path for the functionalization of indoles. In addition, the reaction could be scaled up on gram scale, showing potential application value in industry synthesis.

Introduction: Neutrophils are important participants in the innate immune response. They rapidly and efficiently identify and clear infectious agents by expressing large numbers of membrane receptors. Upon tissue injury or pathogen invasion, neutrophils are the first immune cells to reach the site of injury and participate in the inflammatory response., Materials and Methods: A thorough search on PubMed related to neutrophil death or clearance pathways was performed., Conclusion: Inflammatory response and tissue damage can be aggravated when neutrophils are not removed rapidly from the site of injury. Recent studies have shown that neutrophils can be cleared through a variety of pathways, including non-inflammatory and inflammatory death, as well as reverse migration. Non-inflammatory death pathways include apoptosis and autophagy. Inflammatory death pathways include necroptosis, pyroptosis and NETosis. This review highlights the basic properties of neutrophils and the impact of their clearance pathways on the inflammatory response., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Perioperative fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is commonly transfused to patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its impacts in this population remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association of perioperative FFP transfusion with short-term and long-term outcomes in these patients., Methods: We retrospectively identified and retrieved clinical data for HCC patients undergoing liver resection between March, 2007 and December, 2016. Study outcomes included postoperative bacterial infection, extended length of stay (LOS) and survival. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to determine the association of FFP transfusion with each outcome., Results: A total of 1427 patients were included, and 245 of them received perioperative FFP transfusions (17.2%). Patients received perioperative FFP transfusions were older, underwent liver resection in the earlier time period, and had more extensive resection, poorer clinical conditions, and higher proportions of receiving other blood components. Perioperative FFP transfusion was associated with higher odds of both postoperative bacterial infection (OR = 1.77, p = 0.020) and extended LOS (OR = 1.93, p=<0.001), and the results remained similar after PS-matching. However, perioperative FFP transfusion did not significantly affect survival in these patients (HR = 1.17, p = 0.185). A potential association of postoperative FFP transfusions and poorer 5-year but not overall survival was observed in a subgroup of patients with low postoperative albumin levels after PS-matching., Conclusion: Perioperative FFP transfusions were associated with poorer short-term postoperative outcomes in HCC patients undergoing liver resection, including postoperative bacterial infection and extended LOS. Reducing perioperative FFP transfusions has the potential to improve their postoperative outcomes., Competing Interests: Declarations of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript submitted to the Journal of the Formosan Medical Association., (Copyright © 2023 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Aim The objective of this study was to understand the occupational protective behaviors of newly recruited nurses and explore the influencing factors., Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to select newly recruited nurses in our hospital from July 2018 to November 2019. The survey was conducted using the general information questionnaire, work attitude scale (Wa), and occupational protective behavior scale., Results: The total score of occupational protective behaviors of 150 newly enrolled nurses was 18.94 ± 3.59. There was a significant negative correlation between work attitude score and occupational protective behaviors (r = -0.324, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, previous participation in nursing skill-based competitions, experience of needlestick injuries before recruit, work attitude score, average daily sleep time (p < 0.05) were independent factors influencing occupational protective behaviors., Conclusions: The overall occupational protective awareness of newly enrolled nurses is relatively weak and needs to be further improved. The group's ability to improve occupational protective behaviors may be positively impacted through increased adaptability, improved sleep, active participation in nursing skill-based competitions, strengthening guidance and education on occupational protection., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

This study aims to investigate the effects of Blaps rynchopetera Fairmaire and/or cyclophosphamide on the proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer cells and decipher the underlying mechanism. B. rynchopetera and cyclophosphamide-containing serum and blank serum were prepared from SD rats. Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was employed to examine the proliferation of lung cancer cell lines A549 and Lewis treated with corresponding agents. The Jin's formula method was used to evaluate the combined effect of the two drugs. According to the evaluation results, appropriate drug concentrations and lung cancer cell line were selected for subsequent experiments, which included control, B. rynchopetera, cyclophosphamide, B. rynchopetera + cyclophosphamide, and B. rynchopetera + Wnt/β-catenin pathway agonist lithium chloride(LiCl) groups. Immunocytochemistry was employed to measure the expression of proliferation-related proteins in Lewis cells after drug interventions. Flow cytometry was employed to determine the cell cycle and apoptosis. The expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA), cyclinD1, B-cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2), Bcl-2-assiocated X protein(Bax), Wnt1, and β-catenin were determined by Western blot. The results showed that B. rynchopetera and/or cyclophosphamide significantly inhibited the proliferation of A549 and Lewis cells. Compared with B. rynchopetera alone, the combination increased the inhibition rate on cell proliferation. The combination of B. rynchopetera and cyclophosphamide demonstrated a synergistic effect according to Jin's formula-based evaluation. Compared with the control group, the B. rynchopetera, cyclophosphamide, and B. rynchopetera + cyclophosphamide groups showed increased proportion of Lewis cells in G&#95;0/G&#95;1 phase, increased apoptosis rate, up-regulated expression of Bax, and down-regulated expression of PCNA, cyclinD1, Bcl-2, Wnt1, and β-catenin. Compared with the cyclophosphamide group, the combination group showed increased proportion of cells in G&#95;0/G&#95;1 phase, increased apoptosis rate, up-regulated expression of Bax, and down-regulated expression of PCNA, cyclinD1, Bcl-2, Wnt1, and β-catenin. Compared with the B. rynchopetera group, the B. rynchopetera + LiCl group had deceased proportion of cells in G&#95;0/G&#95;1 phase, decreased apoptosis rate, down-regulated expression of Bax, and up-regulated expression of PCNA, cyclinD1, Bcl-2, Wnt1, and β-catenin. The results indicated that B. rynchopetera could inhibit the proliferation, arrest the cell cycle, and induce the apoptosis of lung cancer cells by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Moreover, B. rynchopetera had a synergistic effect with cyclophosphamide.

Metal plasmonic nano-gratings possess a high absorption ability and exhibit potential applications in sensing, hot-electron photodetection, metasurfaces, etc. However, the fabrication techniques of high-quality nano-gratings are challenging. In this article, a binary metal micron grating for near-infrared hot-electron photodetectors (HEPDs) is designed in which the surface plasmons are excited by high-diffraction-order modes. The high-diffraction-order micron grating can be fabricated by conventional lithography and has a significantly higher tolerance in the grating parameters than a nano-grating. The range of absorption greater than 70% is ∼3 times that of a nano-grating. Moreover, an interesting relationship between the resonant wavelength and the grating duty cycle is found. When the high-diffraction-order micron grating is applied in metal-insulator-metal HEPDs, a high zero-biased responsivity of 0.533 mA/W is achieved.

Out-of-plane lattice plasmons (OLPs) show great potential in realizing high-quality factors due to the strong interparticle coupling. However, the strict conditions of oblique incidence bring challenges to experimental observation. This Letter proposes a new, to the best of our knowledge, mechanism to generate OLPs: through near-field coupling. Notably, with specially designed nanostructure dislocation, the strongest OLP can be achieved at normal incidence. The direction of energy flux of the OLPs is mainly determined by the wave vectors of Rayleigh anomalies. We further found that the OLP exhibits symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum characteristic, which explains the failure of previously reported symmetric structures to excite OLPs at normal incidence. Our work extends the understanding of the OLP and brings benefit to promote the flexible design of functional plasmonic devices.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of decitabine combined with modified CAG regimen (D-CAG regimen) in patients aged ≥70 years with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML)., Methods: The clinical data of 59 AML patients (≥70 years old) who were newly diagnosed and treated in the Hematology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from November 2010 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Among the 59 AML patients, 28 were males and 31 were females, with a median age of 74 (70-86) years. The complete remission (CR) rate was 69.4% (34/49), and the median duration of CR was 10.7 (0.6-125.4) months after 2 courses of D-CAG treatment. According to the British Medical Research Council (MRC) classification, there was only one patient in the favorable-risk group, and the CR rate was 71.8% (28/39) in the intermediate-risk group, and 55.6% (5/9) in the adverse-risk group, respectively. There was no statistical difference in the CR rate between the intermediate-risk and adverse-risk group. Referring to ELN 2017 genetic risk classification, CR rate was 88.2% (15/17) in the favorable-risk group, 45.5% (5/11) in the intermediate-risk group, and 66.7% (14/21) in the adverse-risk group. There was no significant difference in CR rate between the favorable-risk and adverse-risk categories, but both were significantly higher than that in the intermediate-risk group ( P <0.05). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis showed that 11 gene mutations with a frequency of more than 10%, including TET2 mutation (35.6%), ASXL1 mutation (30.5%), NPM1 mutation (28.8%), FLT3-ITD mutation (27.1%), DNMT3A mutation (22.0%), IDH1 mutation (15.3%), CEBPA single mutation (13.6%), TP53 mutation (13.6%), IDH2 mutation (11.9%), RUNX1 mutation (11.9%), and NRAS mutation (10.2%). There were no statistical differences in mutation frequency of these 11 genes between CR group and non-CR group. Compared with normal karyotypes, patients with complex karyotypes were more likely to develop TP53 mutations ( P <0.001), while FLT3-ITD and DNMT3A mutations were more likely to occur in patients with normal karyotypes ( P =0.04, P =0.047). The median follow-up, overall survival (OS), and event-free survival (EFS) of all the patients was 11.7 (1.5-128.2) months, 12.3 (1.5-128.2) months, and 8.5 (1.5-128.2) months, respectively. The median OS and EFS of CR patients were 19.8 and 13.3 months, respectively, which were significantly longer than 6.4 and 5.7 months in patients experiencing treatment failure ( P < 0.001, P =0.009). In regard to genes with mutation frequency >10%, there were no statistical differences in CR rate, median OS, and median EFS between mutated and wild-type patients by Chi-square test and survival analysis. Univariate analysis showed that age, hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, cytogenetics and CR were factors affecting prognosis, while multivariate analysis showed that only CR failure was an independent adverse prognostic factor for OS. The major adverse reactions to D-CAG regimen were grade 3-4 myelosuppression, pulmonary infection, and fever (infection focus was not identified)., Conclusion: D-CAG regimen is safe and effective in the treatment of AML patients ≥70 years old, and can partially improve the prognosis of elderly and high-risk patients.

The pea protein isolate nanoparticles/octenyl succinic anhydride linear dextrin (PPINs/OSA-LD) composite particles were fabricated by heating at acidic condition. Heating treatment not only made OSA-LD dissolve, but also promoted the hydrophobic interactions between PPINs and OSA-LD. With the increase of OSA-LD content, the average diameter of composite particles decreased due to the avoidance of hydrophobic aggregation between PPINs during heating, and the composite particles became more compact and regular. The high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) stabilized by composite particles exhibited smaller droplet size, higher viscosity and modulus attributing to the formation of denser interfacial layer. The results of low field nuclear magnetic resonance proved that the HIPEs stabilized by composite particles showed more uniform distribution of water and oil. This work provided a facile method to fabricate composite particles, which had excellent capacity to stabilize the HIPEs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this work, an electro-optical polymer modulator with double-layered gold nanostrips, a polymer nanograting, and a metal substrate is proposed and designed. Interestingly, mode hybridization between the Fabry-Pérot (F-P) and anti-bonding modes is formed, and strongly depends on the nanograting size, which can be controllably modulated by an injection current. The simulation and calculation results show that the temperature sensitivity and large structural sensitivity for the polymer modulator could remain constant during the current-tuning process, and a near-zero reflectance and a low linewidth of 13.8 nm in the red region corresponding to a high quality (Q) factor of 51 is achieved. In addition, a large redshift of 60.7 nm and a super-high modulation depth of 424 are obtained at only 8 µA.

We design and demonstrate a cascaded SiN-based RGB coupler with dual-mode interference (DMI) for a micro laser scanning image projector. The DMI configuration in SiN-based waveguides mitigates the adverse effects of self-image point deviation caused by wavelength dispersion, achieving decreased device length and high transmission efficiency. The underlying mechanisms are discussed based on coupled-mode theory and 3D finite difference time domain simulation. A small footprint of 3µ m ×70µ m is achieved for the RGB coupler device without input/output circuits, and the insertion losses are less than 0.56 dB at RGB wavelengths. There are two orders of magnitude reduction in device length as compared with the conventional S i O 2 -based RGB coupler, which greatly promotes the miniaturization of the couplers and displays integration advantages with a laser diode and waveguide photodetector. In addition, the 3 dB bandwidth is over 50 nm for the coupler, and it demonstrates good fabrication tolerance. This design can further be integrated into visible light communication systems and applied to visible light integrated photonics.

The interaction between high-density lipoprotein hydrolysate hydrolyzed by trypsin (EHT) and carboxymethyl dextrin (CMD) at pH 7.0, and in vitro digestibility of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) were studied. The particle size of EHT/CMD mixtures increased from 207.2 nm to 1229.6 nm with increase of the ratio of EHT to CMD from 8:1 to 1:2. The proportion of EHT adsorbed on the surface increased from 60.83 % to 80.81 %, forming thicker interfacial layer, exhibiting higher resistance to centrifugation and ionic strength. And more uniform proton density distribution and shorter relaxation time (T 2 ) were charactered in HIPEs formed by mixtures. Rheological analysis further proved that CMD could lead to high viscosity, high elasticity, excellent oscillation performance of HIPEs. The spatial and electrostatic repulsion forces reduced the aggregation of oil droplets and promoted the formation of more mixed micelles, improving the bioaccessibility of curcumin. These findings provided theoretical strategies for lipid-soluble nutrients delivery systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most prevalent gynecological malignancy, with a higher risk in obese woman, indicating the possibility of gut microbiota involvement in EC progression. However, no direct evidence of a relationship between EC and gut microbiota in humans has been discovered. Here, we performed 16S rRNA sequencing to explore the relationship between dysbiosis of gut microbiota and cancer development in different types of EC patients. The results clearly show the differential profiles of gut microbiota between EC patients and normal participants as well as the association between gut microbiota and EC progression. Targeted metabolomics of plasma revealed an increased level of C16:1 and C20:2, which was positively associated with the abundance of Ruminococcus sp. N15.MGS-57. The higher richness of Ruminococcus sp. N15.MGS-57 in EC subjects not only was positively associated with blood C16:1 and C20:2 but also was negatively correlated with betalain and indole alkaloid biosynthesis. Furthermore, the combined marker panel of gut bacteria, blood metabolites, and clinical indices could distinguish the EC patients under lean and overweight conditions from normal subjects with high accuracy in both discovery and validation sets. In addition, the alteration of tumor microenvironment metabolism of EC was characterized by imaging mass microscopy. Spatial visualization of fatty acids showed that C16:1 and C18:1 obviously accumulate in tumor tissue, and C16:1 may promote EC cell invasion and metastasis through mTOR signaling. The aberrant fecal microbiome, more specifically, Ruminococcus sp. N15.MGS-57 and spatially distributed C16:1 in EC tissues, can be used as a biomarker of clinical features and outcomes and provide a new therapeutic target for clinical treatment. IMPORTANCE A growing number of studies have shown the connection between gut microbiota, obesity, and cancer. However, to our knowledge, the association between gut microbiota and endometrial cancer progression in humans has not been studied. We recruited EC and control individuals as research participants and further subgrouped subjects by body mass index to examine the association between gut microbiota, metabolites, and clinical indices. The higher richness of Ruminococcus sp. N15.MGS-57 in EC subjects was not only positively associated with blood C16:1 but also negatively correlated with betalain and indole alkaloid biosynthesis. Spatial visualization of fatty acids by imaging mass microscopy showed that C16:1 obviously accumulates in tumor tissue, and C16:1 may promote the EC cell invasion and metastasis through mTOR signaling. The aberrant fecal microbiome, more specifically, Ruminococcus sp. N15.MGS-57 and spatially distributed C16:1, can be used as a biomarker of clinical features and outcomes and provide a new therapeutic target for clinical treatment.

Due to excessive clinical blood usage and a rapidly aging population, an impending blood shortage in Taiwan is inevitable. This study aimed to determine the potential blood deficit in Taiwan in 2030. The numbers of units of whole blood (WB) donated and red blood cells (RBC) transfused will increase from 1,182,973 to 1,115,803 in 2018 to 1,230,500 and 1,250,760 in 2030, respectively. Considering the gap between donation and transfusion, we estimate a deficit of 97,633 units of WB in 2030. Blood collection will increasingly rely on donors over the age of 40. Moreover, we observed a large decline in units of WB donated among people less than 25 years old. A growing demand for RBC is attributed to the aging population and limited decreases in age-specific units of RBC transfused per capita. Scrutinizing and forecasting changes in blood collection and transfusion are necessary for generating strategies to mitigate blood shortages., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article., (Copyright © 2021 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), composed of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are important essential amino acids in human physiology. Decades of studies have revealed their roles in protein synthesis, regulating neurotransmitter synthesis, and the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). BCAAs are found to be related to many metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, obesity, and heart failure. Also, many diseases are related to the alteration of the BCAA catabolism enzyme branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase (BCKDK), including maple syrup urine disease, human autism with epilepsy, and so on. In this review, diseases and the corresponding therapies are discussed after the introduction of the catabolism and detection methods of BCAAs and BCKDK. Also, the interaction between microbiota and BCAAs is highlighted., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Du, Liu, Yang, Zhao and Liu.)

Background: Coexistence of hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is common; however, little is known about the impact of hepatic steatosis and its major genetic determinants on the natural history of HBV infection. We aimed to study the effects of hepatic steatosis and PNPLA3 variant p.I148M on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the lifetime probability of HBsAg seroclearance, which is associated with functional remission and improved long-term outcome of HBV infection., Methods: We conducted a cohort study of 2385 male, HBsAg-positive Taiwanese civil servants recruited in 1989-1992, and followed up until 2019. Cox regression with competing-risk models was used to estimate sub-distribution hazard ratios (sHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Of 2385 participants, 628 experienced HBsAg seroclearance and 217 developed HCC. Hepatic steatosis, excess body-mass index, and the PNPLA3-148M variant were significantly associated with higher HBsAg seroclearance rate. However, multivariate analyses accounting for HBsAg seroclearance and various HCC risk factors showed that, while steatosis was associated with decreased HCC risk (sHR [95% CI]: 0.49 [0.36-0.66]), carriage of the PNPLA3-148M variant allele (vs II homozygotes: 1.64 [1.20-2.25] for MI heterozygotes; 1.83 [1.20-2.78] for MM homozygotes) and obesity (1.51 [1.07-2.13]) were associated with increased risk. The inverse hepatic steatosis-HCC association persisted after additional adjustment for other viral factors or using different follow-up time cut-offs to account for reverse causality. Moreover, the PNPLA3 MM genotype was positively associated with elevations of ALT and AST and liver cirrhosis, while hepatic steatosis was positively associated with ALT but inversely associated with AST and liver cirrhosis., Conclusion: Hepatic steatosis and PNPLA3-148M variant appeared to have distinct impacts on the development of HBV-related progressive liver disease and HCC. PNPLA3 p.I148M, but not a diagnosis of hepatic steatosis, can help to identify HBV carriers with high-risk fatty liver disease in the progression to HCC., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest for this work were disclosed by the authors., (© 2022 Hsueh et al.)

The substitution of manure for chemical nitrogen fertilizers has great impacts on the growth of rubber seedlings and soil environment, with implications for rubber cultivation and transplantation and soil environment improvement. In this study, rubber seedlings of thermal research '7-33-97' strain were cultivated under four treatments: No fertilizer application (CK), only application of chemical fertilizer (N), manure replacing 50% chemical fertilizer (M+N), and manure replacing 100% chemical fertilizer (M). Plants parameters (including plant height, basal diameter, biomass, and chlorophyll), soil physicochemical properties (including pH, soil organic carbon and nitrogen, soil enzyme activities), and their relationships were investigated. The results showed that plant height, basal diameter, biomass, and chlorophyll content in the M+N and M treatments were significantly higher, while underground biomass and root-shoot ratio were significantly lower than those of in N treatment. Compared with CK, soil pH was significantly increased in the M treatment, decreased in the N treatment, and was not changed in the M+N treatment. Soil ammonium and nitrate content in the M+N and M treatments were significantly lower, while soil organic carbon content, the activity of β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) were significantly higher than those of in N treatment. Results of correlation analysis showed that soil pH was negatively correlated with soil ammonium and nitrate content, but positively correlated with BG and NAG activities. The structural equation model analysis showed that soil pH had significant positive effects on seedling quality index, while nitrate content had significant negative effects, and soil enzyme activities had no significant effect. Those results indicated that soil pH and nitrate content were the important driving factors on the growth of rubber seedlings. The manure replacing of 50% and 100% chemical nitrogen fertilizer could promote rubber seedlings growth, improve soil environment, and promote sustainable development of rubber production in Danzhou City, Hainan Province.

Paddy soils are widely considered a main source of methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). Comprehensively evaluating CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from double-rice systems in tropical regions with different water irrigation and fertilizer applications is of great significance for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from such systems in China. In this study, eight treatments were evaluated:conventional irrigation-PK fertilizer (D-PK), conventional irrigation-NPK fertilizer (D-NPK), conventional irrigation-NPK+organic fertilizer (D-NPK+M), conventional irrigation-organic fertilizer (D-M), continuous flooding-PK fertilizer (F-PK), continuous flooding-NPK fertilizer (F-NPK), continuous flooding-NPK+organic fertilizer (F-NPK+M), and continuous flooding-organic fertilizer (F-M). CH 4 and N 2 O emissions in double-rice fields in tropical region of china were monitored in situ by closed static chamber-chromatography method and crop yields as well as global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) were determined. The results show that:① The cumulative CH 4 emissions from early rice and late rice are 10.3-78.9 kg·hm -2 and 84.6-185.5 kg·hm -2 , respectively. Compared with F-PK and F-NPK treatments, F-NPK+M and F-M treatments significantly increased the cumulative emissions of CH 4 from early rice season. Under the same fertilizer conditions, the cumulative CH 4 emissions under continuous flooding condition were significantly higher than that under conventional irrigation condition. Irrigation and fertilization had extremely significant effects on CH 4 emission in the early rice season. ② The cumulative N 2 O emissions across all treatments were 0.18-0.76 kg·hm -2 in early rice season and 0.15-0.58 kg·hm -2 in late rice season, respectively. During early rice season, compared with F-PK, F-NPK significantly increased the cumulative N 2 O emission; however, compared with D-PK, D-NPK, D-NPK+M, and D-M treatments significantly increased the cumulative N 2 O emissions. Compared with F-PK, other three treatments under continuous flooding condition significantly increased N 2 O cumulative emission in late rice season; compared with D-PK, D-NPK, and D-M treatment significantly increased the cumulative N 2 O emission. Irrigation and fertilization had significant impacts on N 2 O emissions in late rice season, and fertilization had significant impacts on N 2 O emission in early rice season. ③ Early and late rice yields were 7310.7-9402.4 kg·hm -2 and 3902.8-7354.6 kg·hm -2 , respectively. Early rice yields in both F-NPK and F-M treatments were significantly higher than those in F-PK, D-PK, and D-NPK treatments. Compared with PK, the other three fertilization treatments under the same irrigation condition significantly increased late rice yield. The GWP and GHGI in early rice season were 580.8-2818.5 kg·hm -2 and 0.08-0.30 kg·kg -1 , respectively. There was no significant difference in GWP among four fertilizer treatments under conventional irrigation condition in the early rice season. However, F-NPK+M and F-M treatments had a significant increase in GWP compared with F-PK. The GHGI in F-NPK+M and F-M treatments were significantly higher than that in other treatments. The GWP and GHGI in late rice season were 3091.6-6334.2 kg·hm -2 and 0.50-1.23 kg·kg -1 , respectively. Irrigation significantly affected GWP and GHGI in both early and late rice seasons but fertilization had no significant impact on GWP and GHGI in late rice season. ④ Correlation analysis results showed that soil NH 4 + -N content and soil temperature below 5 cm soil layer had an extremely significant negative correlation with CH 4 emissions. Soil pH was extremely significant positive correlated with CH 4 emissions but significantly negatively correlated with N 2 O emission. Soil NH 4 + -N and NO 3 - -N concentrations were extremely significantly negatively correlated with N 2 O emission. Given crop yield, GWP, GHGI, and D-NPK+M can be recommended for local water and fertilizer management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining rice yields.

Although tropical forest soils contributed substantially global soil methane uptake, observations on soil methane fluxes in tropical forests are still sparse, especially in Southeast Asia, leading to large uncertainty in the estimation of global soil methane uptake. Here, we conducted two-year (from Sep, 2016 to Sep, 2018) measurements of soil methane fluxes in a lowland tropical forest site in Hainan island, China. At this tropical forest site, soils were substantial methane sink, and average annual soil methane uptake was estimated at 2.00 kg CH 4 -C ha -1 yr -1 . The seasonality of soil methane uptake showed strong methane uptake in the dry season (-1.00 nmol m -2 s -1 ) and almost neutral or weak soil methane uptake in the wet season (-0.24 nmol m -2 s -1 ). The peak soil methane uptake rate was observed as -1.43 nmol m -2 s -1 in February, 2018, the driest and coolest month during the past 24 months. Soil moisture was the dominant controller of methane fluxes, and could explain 94% seasonal variation of soil methane fluxes. Soil temperature could not enhance the explanation of seasonal variation of soil methane fluxes on the top of soil moisture. A positive relationship between soil methane uptake and soil respiration was also detected, which might indicate co-variation in activities of methanotroph and roots and/or microbes for soil heterotrophic respiration. Our study highlights that tropical forests in this region acted as a methane sink.

To promote the application of domestic high-resolution satellite data in large-scale carbon storage estimation and measurement, a total of 206 high-resolution remote sensing images covering Hunan Province were used as the data source, and the estimated minimum unit was fixed as a 0.06 hm 2 square composed of multiple pixels. Through the establishment and purification of the interpretation marks, in the extraction of forest information, the pixel-based method and object-oriented classification method were used to compare. In the estimation of carbon storage of arbor forest, the robust estimate, partial least squares method and k-NN estimate were used to compare. Finally, we estimated forest carbon storage in Hunan Province and generated the distribution map of carbon density levels. The results showed that the interpretation mark based on the automatic extraction of plots could increase the extraction accuracy of arbor forest after purification. For the estimation of forest carbon storage at large-scale, the k-NN algorithm embodied a large advantage in forest information extraction and arbor forest carbon storage modeling. The average classification accuracy of the 206 scene images was 76.8%, the average RMSE was 8.95 t·hm -2 , the average RRMSE was 19.1%, and the total carbon stock in Hunan Province was 22.28 Mt. The results provided effective reference for the estimation and measurement of forest carbon storage at the provincial and national scales.

Highly stereoselective syntheses of chiral indolines and tetrahydroquinolines are achieved by combining the asymmetric Zn-mediated allylation of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines with efficient intramolecular C-N cross-coupling. Herein, the advantages of such a synthetic strategy are illustrated by the synthesis of indolines and tetrahydroquinolines with quaternary stereocenters and multi-substituted 1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines.

Despite endoscopic resection has been performed to treat gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GISTs). However, the safety and long-term outcomes remains controversial. This study aims to compare the safety and surgical outcomes of endoscopic versus laparoscopic resection of gastric GISTs. A total of 335 patients that were pathologically confirmed with gastric GISTs (tumor size ≤ 3.5 cm) were surgically treated with endoscopic resection (endoscopic group) or laparoscopic resection (laparoscopic group) in three institutions from March 1, 2011 to October 1 2014. These demographics, tumor characteristics, and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed for identification of outcomes and feasibility of endoscopic or laparoscopic resection. Of 335 patients, 262 and 73 patients underwent endoscopic and laparoscopic resection, respectively. The average tumor size was 1.33±0.78 cm in the endoscopic group and 1.97±0.93 cm in the laparoscopic group. The average operating time was 62.40±36.94 min in the endoscopic group and 112.81±55.69 cm in the laparoscopic group. Days of realimentation was 2.76±1.67 in the endoscopic group and 4.89±2.03 in the laparoscopic group. The average cost was $ 3246.01±1017.61 in the endoscopic group and $ 4884.81±1339.51 in the laparoscopic group. There was no postoperative mortality. Endoscopic resection for gastric GISTs is safe and feasible in tumors ≤ 3.5 cm. Because endoscopic resection showed good results with lower operating time, realimentation days, length of hospital stay and mean total cost, it is a minimally invasive and safe alternative approach which can achieve fast recovery and satisfactory outcomes for appropriately selected patients with gastric GISTs.

The etiology of early-onset hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers remains unclear. DNA methylation levels in peripheral leukocytes have been associated with different environmental exposures and immune or inflammatory response. We aimed to identify methylation signatures of peripheral leukocytes that could track hepatitis B progression to HCC, especially for early-onset HCC. We first performed an epigenome-wide association analysis on 48 matched case-control pairs in a nested case-control study within a 22-yr follow-up cohort of HBV carriers. Through this analysis we found that progression to early-onset HCC involved methylation variable positions across the genome, in which a substantial proportion displayed significant variation due to HBV viral load, chronic hepatitis status, and/or leukocyte subtype composition, and these associations were significantly enriched among genes in immune pathways. Methylation at probes cg00300879, cg06872964, and cg07080864, that are located within the proximal promoter of CNKSR1, IFI44L, and PENK, respectively, was validated by bisulfite pyrosequencing and findings were replicated in a case-sibling study of early-onset HCC (134 cases vs. 174 sibling controls). Furthermore, a high methylation score, constructed using the three probes, was predictive for the risk of early-onset HCC in two datasets (adjusted-odds ratios = 0.21-0.32, P ≤ 0.0206). This association was also observed for late-onset HCC (adjusted-odds ratio = 0.42-0.47, P ≤ 0.0194) in a nested case-control study (120 cases vs. 178 controls). In prospective analysis, change in the score was detected 5-9 yr before HCC onset. Blood-based methylation profiling provides new insights into the complexity of virus-host interaction underlying HBV-related HCC, holding promise for the disease risk management. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) integrated with two dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy (2DCOS IR) was employed to rapidly discriminate Dendrobium loddigesii Rolfes (DR) from different regions and harvesting periods. The results showed that the IR peaks around 1 035, 1 051, 1 078, 1 156, 1 500, 1 511 and 1 736 cm-1had perceptible differences among DRs from different regions, indicating that different DRs containing remarkable different compositions and contents of polysaccharides, ketones and esters. 2DCOS IR spectra of DRs from Vietnam, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou each had seven, eight, eight, nine auto peaks, respectively; furthermore, DRs from Guagnxi had the strongest peak in 1 220 cm-1, which was distinguish to those of other DRs (980 cm -1). In the IR spectra of DRs from different harvest seasons, the wave number of key peaks in (1 034 approximately1 023)cm- 1, the wave number of minor peaks in (1 6174)cm-1, as well as the presence of peaks in 1 078(1 076, 1 079)cm-1, showed obvious periodic changes with the seasons, which indicated the accumulation of polysaccharides and ketones from DRs displayed an evident periodic variability discipline. The application of FTIR in DRs could facilitate acquiring their growth conditions, composition and content changes, which would be significant in rational exploitations and utilizations of DR

Objective: To investigate and collect medicinal resources and methods of prevention and treatment of diseases in Baima Tibetan of Pingwu Sichuan in order to rescue and protect the ethenological medicine., Method: Through visiting, field survey in four ethnic townships of Baima Tibetan in Pingwu Sichuan as well as referring literatures to collect information and data analysis of them the investigation was carried out., Result: The investigation area showed rich medical resources. Rheumatism, stomach disease, pharyngitis and trauma are local common diseases which caused by local climate, diet and life style and so on. The Baima Tibetan are good at using local herb singly and simply to treat disease, using cold water medicine and powder snuffing are their own characters., Conclusion: It is an extremely urgent issue to rescue Baima Tibetan medicine which is disappearing by the influence of the Han nationality culture.

Objective: To study the chemical constituents, antimicrobial activity and antitumor activity of the essential oil from Zanthoxylum avicennae., Methods: The essential oil from the leaves of Zanthoxylum avicennae was extracted by steam distillation. The components of the essential oil were separated and identified by GC-MS., Results: 72 components were identified and accounted for 98.15% of the all peak area. The essential oil exhibited strong antitumor activity against K-562 human tumor cell lines with IC50 of 1.76 microg/mL. It also exhibited moderate antimicrobial activity against three bacteria., Conclusion: The essential oil of Zanthoxylum avicennae contains various active constituents. This result provides scientific reference for the pharmacological further research of Zanthoxylum avicennae.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of cataract and its surgical coverage rate together with the burden related to bilateral cataract-blindness, among adults aged 40 or above in Gongshan county of Yunnan province and to evaluate the current cataract status and the efficacy of local cataract prevention program., Methods: Cluster sampling was used. The protocol consisted of personal interview, pilot study, visual acuity checking, measuring the intraocular pressure; slit lamp microscopy and the fundus of the eye examination etc. Cataract was graded clinically using the Lens Opacity Classification System (LOCS) III. Bilateral cataract-blindness burden, bilateral cataract-blindness burden and cataract surgical coverage rate were calculated respectively, using two different criteria. Odds ratios (OR) were compared among different groups regarding age, gender, education, ethnic group and altitude of living area., Results: Among the 1236 eligible residents, 1116 (90.3%) were enrolled in the present study. The prevalence of cataract was 23.8% among adults aged 40 or order. When the bilateral best refractive vision<3/60 was defined as the blindness criterion, the bilateral cataract-blindness burden showed as 1.3%, and cataract blindness surgical coverage rate was 50.0%. When the bilateral presenting vision<6/60 was defined as the blindness criterion, the bilateral cataract-blindness burden was 25.0%, and cataract blindness surgical coverage rate was 12.9%. The cataract surgical coverage rates were much lower and the bilateral cataract-blindness burden much higher in women, illiterates, living in high altitude areas and those who were aged 70 or above., Conclusion: Cataract blindness was a serious public health problem in aged individuals and illiteracy in the residents of the studied areas. Poor prevention programs on cataract called for urgent action to be taken.

Aim: To investigate the effects of sevoflurane inhalation anesthesia only and propofol total intravenous anesthesia on perioperative cytokine balance in lung cancer patients., Methods: ASA I or II patients undergoing lobectomy for lung cancer were randomly divided into two groups with 45 cases each. In group A, patients received g sevoflurane inhalation anesthesia only and patients in group B received propofol total intravenous anesthesia. The cervical venous blood samples were obtained at the following time points: before induetion of anesthesia(T0), before the start of one-lung ventilation(T1), before the end of one-lung ventilation(T2), after closed chest surgery(T3), after 24 h (T4) . The serum concentrations of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were measured by ELISA., Results: (1) In both groups the concentration of IL-6 increased at T1 and kept raising to a high level at T4 which showed significant differences with that of pre-operation(P < 0.05).Compared between the groups, the concentration of IL-6 at T1 and T2 in group B was lower than that of group A(P < 0.05). (2) In both groups the concentration of IL-8 kept at T1 and T3 which were significant with that of pre-operation(P < 0.01). The concentration of IL-8 decreased apparantly at T4 in both groups, it was significant with that of pre-operation though(P < 0.01).Compared between the groups, the concentration of IL-8 at T1, T2 and T3 in group B were all lower than that of group A (P < 0.05). (3) In both groups the concentration of IL-10 increased at T1 which was significant with that of pre-operation(P < 0.05)and kept at T2 and T3. It dropped somehow at T4 but still maintained at a high level.Compared between the groups, the concentration of IL-10 in group B at T1, T2, T3 and T4 was singicantly higher than that of group A(P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Propofol causes less inflammatory mediator release and can also modulate the balance of cytokines. It is a better anesthetic for lung cancer than sevoflurane.

Objective: To explore characteristics of the myelin-like bodies in the hepatocytes of patients with Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS) complicated with chronic hepatitis B (CHB)., Methods: 11 cases of DJS complicated with CHB and 5 cases DJS without CHB were studied clinicopathologically. The hepatocyte ultrastructure was observed with transmission electron microscope and taken photos. The data were compared and analyzed using Fisher's Exact Test., Results: Deposition of myelin-like bodies can be observed in the hepatocytes of DJS patients with CHB but can not in DJS patients without CHB. The morphology of pigment varys. The electron density and volume of pigment in DJS patients with CHB can be classified into five types: brights (2/11,18.2%), reticulation (1/11, 9.1%), punctiform (6/11, 54.5%), abnormity (1/11, 9.1%) and primary type (1/11, 9.1%). The myelin-like bodies in the hepatocytes of patients with DJS are high density and round with membrance (we named it as primary type) (5/5, 100%)., Conclusions: The myelin-like bodies in the hepatocytes of DJS patients with CHB possess special pleomorphism and may have important diagnostic value.

Objective: To assess if the modulating effect of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB on p21(WAF1) was mediated by upregulating transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta(1) expression in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC)., Methods: TGF-beta(1) mRNA and protein expressions were measured by reverse transcription-PCR and ELISA, the protein expressions of p21(WAF1) and the downstream TGF-beta signalling including TGF-beta type I receptor (ALK-5 in VSMC), Smurf2, pSmad2/3, Smad4, Smad7 were detected by Western blot., Results: PDGF-BB significantly upregulated the expressions of TGF-beta(1) at mRNA (0.79-fold) and protein (1.98-fold) levels in VSMC, significantly inhibited the expression of p21(WAF1) (-67 +/- 12)%, and enhanced the expressions of ALK-5, pSmad2/3, Smad4, Smurf2 protein by 1.21-fold, 0.95-fold, 0.69-fold and 2.55-fold respectively, inhibited Smad7 expression (-65 +/- 9)%, these alterations were partially restored by anti-TGF-beta(1) neutralizing antibody., Conclusions: These findings suggested that PDGF-BB inhibited p21(WAF1) expression in VSMC partially through upregulating TGF-beta(1) expression via PDGF-BB and TGF-beta signalling pathways.

In order to curb the deterioration of ecological environment and promote the economic and social sustainable development of Shiyang River Basin, the Minqin government implemented water-saving measures of the shut-in and pressure fields and water discharge engineering in Shiyang River downstream in 2001 and in 2006, respectively. Sixty-five groundwater samples were collected in Minqin County in 2008 and the concentrations of major ions were analyzed in laboratory. The hydrochemistry characteristic of the groundwater was studied by traditional statistical analysis method. Results indicated the concentrations of the major ions, such as SO4(2-), Cl-, HCO3, CO3(2-), Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and K+ in the groundwater samples, were (921 +/- 1042), (241 +/- 211), (282 +/- 123), (4.7 +/- 11.7), (468 +/- 599), (156 +/- 166), (142 +/- 89) and (17.6 +/- 34.5) mg/L, respectively. There was increasing tendency for major ion concentrations along the groundwater flow direction. The groundwater mineralization was (2.2 +/- 1.9) g/L in 2008. The type of water samples in Minqin oasis mainly belonged to SO4(2-) - Cl- -Na+ -Mg2+. The average concentration of the NO3- was (8.1 +/- 9.9) mg/L in the groundwater of Minqin, and the nitrate-N content was over 10 mg/L in 1.54% of all of water samples, which was unsuitable for drinking. Based on the data of groundwater mineralization in 2002, 2005 and 2008, the spatial-temporal variations of groundwater mineralization were studied by geo-statistical analysis method. Kringing interpolation results showed that groundwater mineralization at the spatial distribution scale were took on a gradual increase pattern from south to north. As for the change trend of groundwater mineralization in south area of Minqin County, there was increasing trend from 2002 to 2005, but decreasing trend was occurred from 2005 to 2008. Change trend of groundwater mineralization in north area of Minqin oasis was opposite to that of in south area. There was decreasing trend for the groundwater mineralization in south area from 2005 to 2008, which was due to the impact on water discharge in Shiyang River Basin. There was no significant improvement for groundwater by single water-saving measure, but the quality of groundwater was improved after water discharge in Shiyang River Basin.

[reaction: see text] A stable and efficient Pd(OAc)2/DABCO (triethylenediamine) catalytic system for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction has been developed. In the presence of Pd(OAc)2 and DABCO, coupling of aryl halides with arylboronic acids was carried out smoothly to afford good to excellent yields and high turnover numbers (TONs) (the maximal TONs were up to 960,000 for the reaction of 1-iodo-4-nitrobenzene with phenylboronic acid) using PEG-400 as the solvent. Moreover, the Pd(OAc)2/DABCO/PEG-400 system could be recycled and reused five times without any loss of catalytic activity for aryl iodides and bromides.

An inexpensive and highly efficient Pd(OAc)(2)/Dabco catalytic system has been developed for the cross-coupling of aryl halides with arylboronic acids. A combination of Pd(OAc)(2) and Dabco (triethylenediamine) was observed to form an excellent catalyst, which affords high TONs (turnover numbers; TONs up to 950 000 for the reaction of PhI and p-chlorophenylboronic acid) for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of various aryl iodides and bromides with arylboronic acids. [reaction: see text]