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Xiaoqing Wei,1,* Junying Zhang,2,* Youwen Mei,3 Eqiong Li,4 Qianling Dai,1 Xiaoli Yang,1 Dan Luo,5 Biao Li,6 Ping Hua,7 Jian Cai,7 Hua Lai,8 Dongfeng Qi,9 Sha Lai,10 Mi Qin,11 Yonghong Lin4 1Department of Cervical Disease and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 2Clinical Laboratory Department, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Reproduction and Infertility, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Gynecology, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Obstetrics, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Chengdu Women’ and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Pathology, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Radiation and Interventional Therapy, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 9Department of Ultrasonics, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 10Dermatology Department, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China; 11Department of Pediatric Surgery, Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yonghong Lin; Xiaoqing Wei, Email linyhcd2011@163.com; xqcherry@163.comObjective: We report a case of Carmi Syndrome in a neonate.Aim: To share our lessons in diagnosis of the case of Carmi Syndrome.Case Report: Carmi Syndrome is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized the coexistence of pyloric atresia and junctional epidermolysis bullosa, and with aplasia cutis congenita in approximately 28% patients. In this case, a full-term male neonate was born to a G4P2+1L1 multipara through cesarean section delivery in hospital in a non-consanguineous marriage with 4000mL of II°meconium-stained amniotic fluid. He was found extensive skin loss over lower legs and other parts, with scattered blisters and bilateral microtia. Plain abdominal X-ray revealed a large gastric air bubble with no gas distally. The mother had an intrauterine fetal loss previously for reasons unknown. The dermatologist diagnosed the newborn with Bart Syndrome, while the pediatric surgeon diagnosed congenital pyloric atresia(CPA). The parents refused further treatment and the neonate passed away about 30 hours after birth.Outcome: The neonate passed away about 30 hours after birth.Conclusion: Lessons from this case:①.Rule out Carmi Syndrome in patients with PA, and differentiate Bart syndrome and Carmi Syndrome in patients with abnormal skin manifestations. ②. For rare and/or severe diseases, multidisciplinary teams(MDTs) should be establish. ③. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis are necessary prior to subsequent childbearings. ④.Termination of pregnancy might be contemplated if certain indicators are revealed.Keywords: Carmi syndrome, bart syndrome, epidermolysis bullosa, EB, junctional epidermolysis bullosa, JEB, congenital pyloric atresia, CPA, aplasia cutis congenita, ACC, congenital localized absence of skin, CLAS, pyloric atresia, PA, epidermolysis bullosa with pyloric atresia, EB-PA, multidisciplinary teams, MDT

Yuan-Gang Liu,1,2 Qing-Lei Dai,1 Shi-Bin Wang,1,2 Qiong-Jia Deng,1 Wen-Guo Wu,1,2 Ai-Zheng Chen1,2 1College of Chemical Engineering, 2Institute of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, People’s Republic of China Abstract: To solve the problem of synthesized magnetic nanoparticles in cancer therapy, a new drug delivery system synthesized from bacteria was used to load cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C). Genipin (GP) and poly-l-glutamic acid (PLGA) were selected as dual cross-linkers. The preparation and characterization of Ara-C-loaded GP-PLGA-modified bacterial magnetosomes (BMs) (ABMs-P), as well as their in vitro antitumor effects, were all investigated. Transmission electron micrographs (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy suggested that Ara-C could be bound to the membrane of BMs modified by GP-PLGA. The diameters of the BMs and ABMs-P were 42.0±8.6 nm and 74.9±8.2 nm, respectively. The zeta potential revealed that the nanoparticles were stable. Moreover, this system exhibited optimal drug-loading properties and long-term release behavior. The optimal encapsulation efficiency and drug-loading were 64.1%±6.6% and 38.9%±2.4%, respectively, and ABMs-P could effectively release 90% Ara-C within 40 days, without the release of an initial burst. In addition, in vitro antitumor experiments elucidated that ABMs-P is cytotoxic to HL-60 cell lines, with an inhibition rate of 95%. The method of coupling drugs on BMs using dual cross-linkers is effective, and our results reveal that this new system has potential applications for drug delivery in the future. Keywords: magnetosomes, dual cross-linkers, nanoparticle, drug delivery

Objective: To analyse the 3D-Flair MRI manifestations of the inner ear, vestibular function status, and their correlation with hearing treatment outcomes in patients with severe sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), and to explore potential prognostic indicators for sudden deafness. Methods: The clinical data of adult patients with unilateral profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss were retrospectively analyzed in Otorhinolaryngology Department of Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital from March 2018 to August 2020. Patients were categorized based on the results of their inner ear 3D-Flair MRI into two groups: the normal MRI group and the abnormal MRI group. The abnormal group was further divided into three subgroups: those with non-absorbed high signal in the inner ear, those with absorbed high signal, and those with destruction of the blood-labyrinth barrier. SPSS 26.0 statistical software was applied to analyze the differences in hearing efficacy, caloric tests, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP), video head impulse tests (vHIT), and the incidence of dizziness/vertigo among various patient groups. Results: A total of 191 patients with complete data were collected (97 males and 94 females, aged from 13 to 69 years old). There were 50 cases in the normal inner ear 3D-Flair MRI group. A total of 141 cases were found in the group with abnormal 3D-Flair MRI, including 50 cases of high signal unabsorbed, 71 cases of absorption high signal and 20 cases of blood labyrinth barrier destruction. There were no significant differences in age, sex, lateral ratio of hearing loss and course of disease among four groups (all P >0.05).The significant efficiencies of hearing recovery, in the group with normal 3D-FLAIR MRI were better than those in the abnormal group ( P <0.05) after treatment. Among the four groups, there were significant differences in the apparent efficiency and total effective rate between the normal group and the inner ear high signal absorption group ( χ ²=4.007, P =0.045; χ ²=6.925, P =0.009). The abnormal rates of bithermal caloric test, vHIT results and dizziness/vertigo symptoms in the abnormal group were higher than those in the normal group ( P <0.05). There were significant differences in oVEMP abnormality rate, vHIT abnormality rate and incidence of dizziness/vertigo among the three groups with 3D-FLAIR MRI abnormality ( P <0.05). There were significant differences in caloric test, oVEMP, vHIT abnormality rate and incidence of dizziness/vertigo among the four groups ( P <0.05). The positive rates of caloric test, cVEMP test and vHIT test in patients with dizziness/vertigo were higher than those in patients without dizziness/vertigo ( P <0.05). The abnormal rates of posterior semicircular canal and horizontal semicircular canal in patients with dizziness/vertigo were significantly increased ( P <0.05) than patients without dizziness/vertigo. The recovery rate, effective rate and total effective rate of patients without dizziness/vertigo were significantly better than those with dizziness/vertigo ( P <0.05). Conclusions: The 3D-Flair MRI of the inner ear and vestibular function tests have reference value for the prognosis assessment of patients with severe sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Abnormal 3D-FLAIR MRI of the inner ear, especially absorption high signal, is associated with high incidence of vestibular dysfunction and dizziness/vertigo, with poor prognosis. Patients with severe sudden sensorineural hearing loss who have symptoms of dizziness/vertigo are more likely to exhibit abnormal results in vestibular function tests, with a higher susceptibility to involvement of the posterior and horizontal semicircular canals.

The primary goal of national parks is to protect ecological environment, but also with the functions of scientific research, education, and recreation. Aiming for the realization of universal sharing, we used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct an ecotourism suitability evaluation system by selecting four factors, including landscape resources, ecological environment carrying capacity, recreation utilization capacity and social condition, taking Xiaoxiangling area of Giant Panda National Park and the surrounding communities as an example. We evaluated the ecotourism suitability based on GIS, and conducted a questionnaire survey of tourists, to propose suggestions on the functional zoning in terms of ecotourism suitability and subjective choice preferences of tourists. The results showed that the ecotourism suitability of the evaluation area could be classified into five levels. The most suitable areas were located nearby the natural landscape resources and far away from the core conservation area, and the least suitable areas distributed at the edge of the core conservation area. According to the results of suitability analysis, the evaluation area was divided into suitable development area, moderate development area, and restricted development area. Combined with the tourist preferences, we divided the recreational activities in the evaluation area into seven activities, namely, ecotourism, eco-camping, science education, leisure vacation, agricultural and animal husbandry culture experience, eco-education, and mountain adventure. These findings could help provide suitable services for different tourists and offer reference for the ecotourism developmental planning of the Xiaoxiangling area of the Giant Panda National Park.

The contents of eight carbonaceous subfractions were determined by simultaneously collecting PM 2.5 samples from four sites in different functional areas of Tianjin in 2021. The results showed that the organic carbon (OC) concentration was 3.7 μg·m -3 to 4.4 μg·m -3 , and the elemental carbon (EC) concentration was 1.6 μg·m -3 to 1.7 μg·m -3 , with the highest OC concentration in the central urban area. There was no significant difference in EC concentration. The concentration of PM 2.5 showed the distribution characteristics of the surrounding city>central city>peripheral area. The OC/EC minimum ratio method was used to estimate the concentrations of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in PM 2.5 , and the results showed that the secondary pollution was more prominent in the surrounding city, with SOC accounting for 48.8%. The correlation between carbon subcomponents in each functional area showed the characteristics of the peripheral area>central area>surrounding area, all showing the strongest correlation between EC 1 and OC 2 and EC 1 and OC 4. By including the carbon component concentration into the positive definite matrix factorization (PMF) model for source apportionment, the results showed that road dust sources(9.7%-23.5%), coal-combustion sources (10.2%-13.3%), diesel vehicle exhaust (12.6%-20.2%)and gasoline vehicle exhaust (18.9%-38.8%)were the main sources of carbon components in PM 2.5 in Tianjin. The pollution sources of carbon components were different in different functional areas, with the central city and peripheral areas mainly affected by gasoline vehicle exhaust; the surrounding city was more prominently affected by the secondary pollution and diesel vehicle exhaust.

Irreversible cardiotoxicity limits the clinical applications of doxorubicin (DOX). Cardiotoxicity can be detected early using clinical assessment; however, effective preventive measures are still lacking. Peficitinib (ASP015K), a JAK (Janus kinase) inhibitor, is a potent anti-inflammatory agent in autoimmune diseases. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted on anti-ageing and anti-tumour therapies. In this study, we investigated whether ASP015K could attenuate DOX-induced cardiotoxicity through its anti-ageing effects and whether it would affect the tumour treatment effect of DOX by establishing senescence, acute heart injury, and xenograft models. We observed that ASP015K could antagonise the senescence induced by various factors, including hydrogen peroxide and DOX. In addition, ASP015K treatment significantly alleviated cardiac function damage, histopathological deterioration, myocardial fibrosis, and oxidative damage in acute injury mouse models. ASP015K enhanced the sensitivity of tumour cells to DOX therapy and significantly slowed down the tumour growth rate and tumour volume in the xenograft mouse model. Therefore, ASP015K is expected to be developed as a potential cardioprotective agent to prevent or reduce the cardiotoxic side effects of anthracyclines in chemotherapy., 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 © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent diagnosed malignancies and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and its combination regimen are commonly used as primary chemotherapeutic agents for advanced CRC. Intestinal mucositis is one of the most frequent side effects of 5-FU. Artesunate (Arte) is derived from the wormwood plant Artemisia annua. Arte is not only effective against malaria but also diabetes, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and other conditions. The mechanism by which 5-FU damages the intestinal tract is unclear, and there is no standard treatment for diarrhea caused by 5-FU. Therefore, it is critical to discover novel and promising therapeutic drugs for 5-FU side effect treatment., Methods: The morphology and expression of genes and proteins associated with the aging of HUVECs, HIECs, and intestinal tissues were compared to the those of the control group. The cell lines and tissues were evaluated by SA-β-Gal staining, Western blotting, and RT‒qPCR. HIEC and HCT116 cell viability was assessed in vitro by a CCK-8 assay and in vivo by a subcutaneous tumor mouse assay. Tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis was evaluated by immunohistochemistry., Results: Here, we report that Arte alleviates the adverse side effects caused by 5-FU in intestinal tissue, and that 5-FU-induced intestinal damage is associated with drug-induced chemical inflammation and an increase in the proportion of senescent cells. Arte decreases the ratio of SA-β-Gal-positive cells and downregulated the expression of aging-related proteins (p53, p16) and aging-related genes (p53, p21). Mechanistically, Arte relieves intestinal injury by inhibiting mTOR expression, which is associated with the regulation of aging. Moreover, Arte suppresses the p38MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, which are related to inflammation regulation. In addition, the combined therapy of Arte plus 5-FU significantly decreases cancer cell viability in vitro. Arte and 5-FU synergistically reduce the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) xenografts in vivo., Conclusions: Overall, our findings point to the crucial treatment effect of Arte on inflammation, intestinal cell senescence, and CRC cell proliferation and offer a new option for CRC treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: HCFC1 encodes transcriptional co-regulator HCF-1, which undergoes an unusual proteolytic maturation at a centrally located proteolysis domain. HCFC1 variants were associated with X-linked cobalamin metabolism disorders and mental retardation-3. This study aimed to explore the role of HCFC1 variants in common epilepsy and the mechanism underlying phenotype heterogeneity., Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed in a cohort of 313 patients with idiopathic partial (focal) epilepsy. Functional studies determined the effects of the variants on the proteolytic maturation of HCF-1, cell proliferation and MMACHC expression. The role of HCFC1 variants in partial epilepsy was validated in another cohort from multiple centers., Results: We identified seven hemizygous HCFC1 variants in 11 cases and confirmed the finding in the validation cohort with additional 13 cases and six more hemizygous variants. All patients showed partial epilepsies with favorable outcome. None of them had cobalamin disorders. Functional studies demonstrated that the variants in the proteolysis domain impaired the maturation by disrupting the cleavage process with loss of inhibition of cell growth but did not affect MMACHC expression that was associated with cobalamin disorder. The degree of functional impairment was correlated with the severity of phenotype. Further analysis demonstrated that variants within the proteolysis domain were associated with common and mild partial epilepsy, whereas those in the kelch domain were associated with cobalamin disorder featured by severe and even fatal epileptic encephalopathy, and those in the basic and acidic domains were associated with mainly intellectual disability., Conclusion: HCFC1 is potentially a candidate gene for common partial epilepsy with distinct underlying mechanism of proteolysis dysfunction. The HCF-1 domains played distinct functional roles and were associated with different clinical phenotypes, suggesting a sub-molecular effect. The distinct difference between cobalamin disorders and idiopathic partial epilepsy in phenotype and pathogenic mechanism, implied a clinical significance in early diagnosis and management., (© 2023 The Authors. Clinical and Translational Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Shanghai Institute of Clinical Bioinformatics.)

Irinotecan (CPT-11) is a topoisomerase I inhibitor that was approved for cancer treatment in 1994. To date, this natural product derivative remains the world's leading antitumor drug. However, the clinical application of irinotecan is limited due to its side effects, the most troubling of which is intestinal toxicity. In addition, irinotecan has certain toxicity to cells and even causes cellular senescence. Committed to developing alternatives to prevent these adverse reactions, we evaluated the activity of artesunate, which has never been tested in this regard despite its biological potential. Irinotecan accelerated the process of aging in vivo and in vitro, and we found that this was mainly caused by activating mTOR signaling targets. Artesunate inhibited the activity of mTOR, thereby alleviating the aging process. Our study found that artesunate treatment improved irinotecan-induced intestinal inflammation by reducing the levels of TNF-α, IL1, and IL6; reducing inflammatory infiltration of the colonic ileum in mice; and preventing irinotecan-induced intestinal damage by reducing weight loss and improving intestinal length. In addition, in mouse xenograft tumor models, artesunate and irinotecan significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice., 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 © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Based on the hourly O 3 concentration data of 337 prefectural-level divisions and simultaneous surface meteorological data in China, we applied empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to analyze the main spatial patterns, variation trends, and main meteorological driving factors of O 3 concentration in China from March to August in 2019-2021. In this study, a KZ (Kolmogorov-Zurbenko) filter was used to decompose the time series of O 3 concentration and simultaneous meteorological factors into corresponding short-term, seasonal, and long-term components in 31 provincial capitals.Then, the stepwise regression was used to establish the relationship between O 3 and meteorological factors. Ultimately, the long-term component of O 3 concentration after "meteorological adjustment" was reconstructed. The results indicated that the first spatial patterns of O 3 concentration showed a convergent change, that is, the volatility of O 3 concentration was weakened in the high-value region of variability and enhanced in the low-value region.Before and after the meteorological adjustment, the variation trend of O 3 concentration in different cities was different to some extent. The adjusted curve was "flatter" in most cities. Among them, Fuzhou, Haikou, Changsha, Taiyuan, Harbin, and Urumqi were greatly affected by emissions. Shijiazhuang, Jinan, and Guangzhou were greatly affected by meteorological conditions. Beijing, Tianjin, Changchun, and Kunming were greatly affected by emissions and meteorological conditions.

Objective: Smoking affects sensory gating, as assessed by the event related potential P50, which is evoked by auditory stimuli and is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ). However, few studies have compared sensory gating and cognitive performance between smoking and non-smoking SCZ patients in the Chinese Han population., Methods: We recruited two groups of Chinese subjects: 128 male chronic SCZ patients and 76 male healthy controls, measuring cognition with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and sensory gating with the P50 EEG components. Based on their smoking status, they were further divided into 4 subgroups: smoking SCZ patients, non-smoking SCZ patients, smoking healthy controls, and non-smoking healthy controls. We assessed psychopathological symptoms of the patients using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)., Results: Compared with healthy controls, SCZ patients had lower MCCB total score and scores of all 10 tests (all p < 0.05), while SCZ patients had higher S2 amplitudes and P50 ratios (both p < 0.05). When comparing smoking versus non-smoking SCZ patients, non-smokers had significantly better spatial span (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the S1 amplitude was negatively correlated with the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT-R) in smoking patients (p < 0.05), while the S1 latency was negatively correlated with spatial span in non-smoking patients (p < 0.01)., Conclusions: Our finding shows a difference in the relationship between sensory gated P50 and cognition in smoking and non-smoking SCZ patients, suggesting that nicotine may improve cognitive and P50 deficits in SCZ patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Trifluridine, a key component of trifluridine/tipiracil, is a potential anti-cancer drug that can act effectively on refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Chemotherapy is important for cancer treatment, but its adverse effects limit its use. Long-term side-effects caused by the drug used during chemotherapy are closely related to the accumulation of cellular senescence. However, the relationship between trifluridine and normal cell aging remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether trifluridine can induce the senescence of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and to explore the possible mechanism. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with trifluridine, senescence levels were measured via senescence-related acidic β-galactosidase staining and senescence-associated secretory phenotype levels respectively. Autophagy was assessed by the protein levels of LC3II/LC3I and p62, and LC3 fusion was detected by fluorescence microscopy. Chloroquine diphosphate salt and rapamycin were used to detect the effect of trifluridine on autophagy flux and mTOR signaling pathway. Trifluridine increased the expression of senescence-associated acidic β-galactosidase and senescence-related secretory phenotype mRNA levels in cells. In addition, also trifluridine induced cellular senescence by inhibiting autophagy and was closely related to the activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, therefore, we believe that trifluridine may be an effective mTOR activator. The findings also provide a new strategy for establishing autophagy or aging models, as well as a new theoretical basis for the use of trifluridine in clinical treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest in this work. We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Release of individuals is an effective conservation approach to protect endangered species. To save this small isolated giant panda population in Liziping Nature Reserve, a few giant pandas have been released to this population. Here we assess genetic diversity and future changes in the population using noninvasive genetic sampling after releasing giant pandas. In this study, a total of 28 giant pandas (including 4 released individuals) were identified in the Liziping, China. Compared with other giant panda populations, this population has medium-level genetic diversity; however, a Bayesian-coalescent method clearly detected, quantified, and dated a recent decrease in population size. The predictions for genetic diversity and survival of the population in the next 100 years indicate that this population has a high risk of extinction. We show that released giant pandas can preserve genetic diversity and improve the probability of survival in this small isolated giant panda population. To promote the recovery of this population, we suggest that panda release should be continued and this population will need to release 10 males and 20 females in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2020.)

Objective: To investigate whether intact umbilical cord milking (I-UCM) can aggravate infection or result in other undesirable complications in preterm infants with premature prolonged rupture of membranes (PPROM). Methods: Neonates vaginally delivered between 28 and 37 weeks' gestation and complicated by PPROM before birth were randomly divided into two groups according to the cord clamping procedure: I-UCM before clamping and immediate cord clamping (ICC). Various parameters of the study participants were compared between the two groups. Results: Of 102 preterm infants, 48 and 54 were randomly allocated to the I-UCM and ICC groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding hematological parameters (platelet count, white blood count, neutrophil ratio, and C-reactive protein) or neonatal outcomes (probable or certain neonatal infection, respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, and intraventricular hemorrhage) ( p  > .05). However, preterm neonates in the I-UCM group had higher serum hemoglobin and hematocrit levels ( p  < .05) and received fewer blood transfusions ( p  < .05) than those in the ICC group. Conclusion: Milking the umbilical cord to a preterm neonate with PPROM will not aggravate neonatal infection or result in other undesirable complications. This simple procedure will improve hemoglobin values and hematocrit levels and may lessen the need for transfusion during the neonatal period.

Laser cladded WC/Fe coatings have the advantages of low cost and high abrasion wear resistance. However, cracks always appear in WC/Fe coatings, which limits their industrial application. In this paper, the co-effects of the re-melting process, heat treatments, and amount of Co element on the cracking susceptibility, microstructures, and mechanical properties of WC/Fe laser cladding coatings were studied. Experimental results show that re-melting process is helpful to improve the surface quality of the coating and to reduce the cracking susceptibility. The hardness of the coating decreases slightly but distributes more uniformly. Cracks in the coating can be inhibited effectively by preheating the substrate to 250 °C and maintaining the temperature during the laser cladding process, as well as applying an annealing treatment at 300 °C for 1 h. Heat treatment also results in a slight decrease in the hardness. Crack initiation cannot be restrained completely by applying the above two methods when laser cladding a big area of coating. On the basis of the above two methods, addition of Co element to the coating can further improve its toughness and decrease the crack susceptibility. Crack-free WC/Fe coating can be manufactured when 8% Co is added, and its wear resistance is much better than that of the hardened medium steel, especially when the wear time is long., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

In recent times, co-delivery of therapeutics has emerged as a promising strategy for treating dreadful diseases such as cancer., Materials and Methods: In this study, we developed a novel nanocarrier based on bacterial magnetosomes (BMs) that co-loaded with siRNA and doxorubicin (DOX) using polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a cross-linker (BMs/DP/siRNA). The delivery efficiency of siRNA as well as the pH-responsive release of DOX, and synergistic efficacy of these therapeutics in vitro were systematically investigated., Results: The structure of DOX-PEI (DP) conjugates that synthesized via hydrazone bond formation was confirmed by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The in vitro release experiments showed that the DP conjugate (DOX-loading efficiency - 5.77%±0.08%) exhibited the long-term release behavior. Furthermore, the optimal BMs/DP/siRNA particle size of 107.2 nm and the zeta potential value of 31.1±1.0 mV facilitated enhanced cellular internalization efficiency. Moreover, the agarose gel electrophoresis showed that the co-delivery system could protect siRNA from degradation in serum and RNase A. In addition, the cytotoxicity assay showed that BMs/DP/siRNA could achieve an excellent synergistic effect compared to that of siRNA delivery alone. The acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) double staining assay also showed that BMs/DP/siRNA complex could induce cells in a stage of late apoptosis and nanocomplex located in the proximity of the nucleus., Conclusion: The combination of gene and chemotherapeutic drug using BMs is highly efficient, and the BMs/DP/siRNA would be a promising therapeutic strategy for the future therapeutics., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Umbilicus application to treat ascites caused by cirrhosis is a simple and effective characteristic therapy. This article analyzed the regularity of application traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs on umbilicus to treat ascites caused by cirrhosis through TCM inherited auxiliary system. This study chose academic literatures related to TCM dressing umbilicus to treat ascites caused by cirrhosis in CNKI database, VIP database, Wanfang database over the past 20 years as the data source, and established database to analyze the core drugs and their channel tropism, property and flavor, compatibility law, and core composition,by means of frequency statistics, and association rules (Apriori method, complicated system entropy clustering). Finally, 92 prescription to treat ascites caused by cirrhosiss were screened out. These prescription includes 109 traditional Chinese medicines. And the analysis showed that there are 14 drugs with usage frequency of 10 and more than 10, 19 common drug pairs, 12 core drug combination. The drugs with high usage frequency include Kansui Radix, Borneolum Syntheticum, Pharbitidis Semen, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, Moschus, Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, Natrii Sulfas, Cinnamomi Cortex, Genkwa Flos, Phytolaccae Radix, Arecae Semen. And the channel which are mostly invoivet includ lung meridian, spleen meridian and kidney meridian; while the property and flavor of the herbs used have the properties of cold and acrid; the common drug pairs include Pharbitidis Semen-Kansui Radix, Borneolum Syntheticum-Kansui Radix, Kansui Radix-Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix, Kansui Radix-Moschus, Rhei Radix et Rhizome-Kansui Radix, Kansui Radix-Genkwa Flos, Borneolum Syntheticum-Pharbitidis Semen, Borneolum Syntheticum-Pharbitidis Semen-Kansui Radix, Kansui Radix-Arecae Semen; herbs with the function of expelling water and purgation used as main conponents, and resuscitation, promoting the circulation of Qi, and increaseing Yang used as auxilizy conponents., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Background: A loading dose of antiplatelets reduces in-stent thrombosis after stent implantation. However, whether it is safe in patients undergoing acute stenting after intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is unclear., Methods: A case series of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous rt-PA followed by emergent stenting were prospectively included in Jinling Hospital Stroke Unit. An emergent loading dose of antiplatelets (aspirin 300 mg and clopidogrel 300 mg) were administered to all patients through a nasogastric tube immediately before stenting. Clinical and angiographic outcomes were evaluated in these patients., Results: A total of 12 patients were included. The median of NIHSS score on admission was 15 points (interquartile range 11-19). The median of time from stroke symptom onset to start IV rt-PA and stent placement was 172 min (interquartile range 123.75-189) and 311.5 min (interquartile range 285.5-349.5), respectively. All patients reached complete or partial recanalization (TICI ≥2a). One patient occurred hemorrhagic transformation at 24 h following the emergent loading dose of antiplatelets. A favorable outcome as defined by mRS ≤2 at 90 days was obtained in 58.3% (7/12) of all patients., Conclusion: Our finding preliminary suggested that an emergent loading dose of antiplatelets may be safe and feasible for acute stenting after IV rt-PA.

Background: Fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided revascularization strategy is popular in coronary intervention. However, the feasibility of assessing stenotic severity in intracranial large arteries using pressure gradient measurements still remains unclear., Methods: Between March 2013 and May 2014, 12 consecutive patients with intracranial large artery stenosis (including intracranial internal carotid artery, middle cerebral M1 segment, intracranial vertebral artery, and basilar artery) were enrolled in this study. The trans-stenotic pressure gradient was measured before and/or after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS), and was then compared with percent diameter stenosis. A Pd /Pa cut-off of ≤0.70 was used to guide stenting of hemodynamically significant stenoses. The device-related and procedure-related serious adverse events and recurrent cerebral ischemic events were recorded., Results: The target vessel could be reached in all cases. No technical complications occurred due to the specific study protocol. Excellent pressure signals were obtained in all patients. For seven patients who performed PTAS, the mean pre-procedural pressure gradient decreased from 59.0 ± 17.2 to 13.3 ± 13.6 mm Hg after the procedure (P < 0.01). Only one patient who refused stenting experienced a TIA event in the ipsilateral MCA territory. No recurrent ischemic event was observed in other patients., Conclusion: Mean trans-stenotic pressure gradients can be safely and easily measured with a 0.014-inch fluid-filled guide wire in intracranial large arteries. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Previous studies have found a strong association between HLA-B*1502 and carbamazepine-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome in Asian areas including Taiwan, Hongkong and Thailand. This study explores the association between HLA-B*1502 allele and carbamazepine-induced cutaneous adverse reactions in Han Chinese of southern China mainland, and find the genetic marker that can predict carbamazepine-induced cutaneous adverse reactions. HLA-B*1502 allele genotyping was performed by a polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) method in 48 Han Chinese subjects who had carbamazepine-induced cutaneous adverse reactions, including 9 severe cutaneous adverse reaction patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and 39 cutaneous adverse reaction patients with maculopapular eruption (MPE). Meanwhile 80 carbamazepine-tolerant controls and 62 healthy individuals were also tested. The frequency of HLA-B*1502 allele among SJS/TEN patients (100%) is significantly higher than carbamazepine-tolerant controls (13.75%, P<0.001) and healthy individuals (17.74%, P<0.001). But the frequency between MPE patients and carbamazepine-tolerant controls (25.64% vs.13.75%, P=0.110) did not have any significant difference. The data showed that HLA-B*1502 allele is strongly associated with carbamazepine-induced SJS/TEN but not MPE in Han Chinese of southern China mainland., (Copyright © 2011 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A group of Ti(60)Cu(14)Ni(12)Sn(4)M(10) (M=Nb, Ta, Mo) alloys was prepared using arc melting and copper mold casting. The as-prepared alloys have a composite microstructure containing a micrometer-sized dendritic beta-Ti(M) phase dispersed in a nanocrystalline matrix. These new alloys exhibit a low Young's modulus in the range of 59-103 GPa, and a high yield strength of 1037-1755 MPa, together with large plastic strains. The combination of high strength and low elastic modulus offers potential advantages in biomedical applications.

The objective of the following research is to theoretically quantify the enhancement of interphase mass transfer of dissolved non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) compounds from the non-aqueous phase to the aqueous phase and the enhancement of dispersive mass transport from a NAPL zone due to destruction of dissolved NAPL compounds. For relatively slow reaction rates, such as for permanganate and perchloroethene (PCE), local-scale mass transfer enhancement is expected to be small. Dispersive mass transport with reaction from a horizontal NAPL zone can be quantified using equations derived for a mathematically equivalent falling film reactor system. In contrast to local-scale interphase mass transfer, dispersive mass transport from NAPL zones may be significantly increased by reaction. Enhancement factors due to destruction of the NAPL compound(s) are mainly dependent on NAPL solubility and oxidant concentration and to a lesser extent on reaction rate, stoichiometry, and transverse dispersion coefficients. Higher NAPL solubility and/or lower oxidant concentration reduces the maximum expected enhancement factor. Reaction enhancement factors for mass transport from NAPL zones are expected to be in the range of 5-50 for permanganate and chlorinated solvents. Theoretical results suggest that assuming instantaneous reaction rates may be appropriate for dispersive mass transport from NAPL zones.

In order to provide a valuable cell model for studying the mechanism of DNA damage to kill tumor cells and enhance the curative effect, an antisense cDNA, which effectively expressed ATM gene encoding carboxyl terminal 100 kD domain fragment, was constructed, and a cell line U937-ASPI3K, which stably expressed the antisense ATM/PI3K cDNA was established through transfection and Zeocin selection. The results showed the constructed ATM/PI3K cDNA is in the opposite orientation in expression vector pZeoSV2(+) through examination of gene sequence. The cell line U937-ASPI3K was total loss of constitutive ATM protein, while the ATM abundance was not influenced in both the control cell lines U937-pZeoSV(-) and U937. The present experiment provided a practical cell model to elusidate mechanism of cell cycle checkpoints in DNA damage signal transduction pathway and search a new approach for tumor therapy.

The activities of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD) and 5 beta-reductase were analyzed in 39 normotensive controls and 128 patients with essential hypertension. The activity of 11 beta-HSD was obtained by dividing the 24-hour urinary tetrahydrocortisone by the sum of tetrahydrocortisol (THF) and allotetrahydrocortisol (aTHF), whereas the activity of 5 beta-reductase was obtained by dividing the 24-hour urinary THF by aTHF. The activity of 5 beta-reductase was significantly lower in essential hypertensives compared with normotensive controls (P < 0.05). However, the activity of 11 beta-HSD did not differ between normotensive controls and essential hypertensives. A positive correlation between the activities of 11 beta-HSD and 5 beta-reductase was observed in essential hypertensives (r = 0.60, P < 0.01). Neither 11 beta-HSD nor 5 beta-reductase activity correlated with indices of renal mineralocorticoid receptor activation, which were assessed by determination of plasma potassium and urinary excretion of sodium as well as potassium. Taken together, these results suggest that disturbances of one of the inactivation pathways of cortisol may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension.