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Biliary-enteric anastomotic stenosis is one of the main long-term complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy, with an incidence of 2%-8%. Although the relevant reports and studies are relatively few, the consequences such as biliary obstruction and refractory cholangitis seriously affect the quality of life of patients. In this case, the patient is not willing to receive conventional surgery again. This paper provides a bridge technique of EUS-guided Biliary Drainage (EUS-BD) to treat biliary-enteric anastomotic stenosis and solve the problem of obstructive jaundice in the patient.

Biliary signet-ring cell carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor of the biliary tract. signet-ring cell carcinoma often occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, we can intuitively see the location, shape and scope of the tumor through endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) combined with a peroral direct choledochoscope. Through the direct view biopsy technology, the tumor tissue in the biliary tract can be accurately sampled, providing a precise plan for the follow-up treatment of patients.

Chronic pancreatitis in children is an irreversible inflammatory disease, which can cause intractable abdominal pain and abnormal internal and external secretion function of the pancreas, seriously affecting the growth and development of children and the quality of life. ERCP has become the first choice because of its good effect and less trauma. However, the severe stenosis of pancreatic duct caused by chronic pancreatitis may make ERCP more difficult. Here we used the rendezvous technique to assist ERCP to complete the treatment of severe pancreatic duct stenosis and abdominal pain.

Radiotherapy (RT) stands as a frontline treatment modality in clinical breast oncology, yet challenges like ROS reduction, high toxicity, non-selectivity, and hypoxia hinder efficacy. Additionally, RT administered at different doses can induce varying degrees of radioimmunotherapy. High doses of radiation (>10 Gy) may result in immune suppression, while moderate doses (4-10 Gy), although capable of mitigating the immune suppression caused by high-dose radiation, are often insufficient in effectively killing tumor cells. Therefore, enhancing the generation of ROS and ameliorating the tumor hypoxic immune-suppressive microenvironment at moderate radiation doses could potentially drive radiation-induced immune responses, offering a fundamental solution to the limitations of RT. In this study, a novel multifunctional nanoplatform, RMLF, integrating a Ru (II) complex into folate-functionalized liposomes with BSA-MnO 2 nanoparticles was proposed. Orthogonal experimental optimization enhances radiosensitization via increasing accumulation in cancer cells, elevating ROS, and contributing to a dual enhancement of the cGAS-STING-dependent type I IFN signaling pathway, aimed to overcome the insufficient DAMPs typically seen in the conventional RT at 4 Gy. Such a strategy effectively activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes for infiltration into tumor tissues and promoted the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages from the M2 to M1 phenotype, substantially bolstering immune memory responses. This pioneering approach represents the first use of a ruthenium complex in radioimmunotherapy, activating the cGAS-STING pathway to amplify immune responses, overcome RT resistance, and extend immunotherapeutic potential., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The incidence of hilar cholangiocarcinoma is (1-2) / 100,0001. Due to the high location of obstruction, the treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma is complicated, especially for patients with gastrointestinal surgery. The traditional ERCP technique is to find a way to place more stents to treat obstructive jaundice. When ERCP fails, (Percuteneous transhepatic cholangial drainage, PTCD) is often chosen, but the effect is not ideal. The reason is that patients do not want to carry a drainage tube, which affects the quality of life of patients. Secondly, PTCD technology is bile external drainage technology, which will affect the balance of water and electrolytes in the patient's body, and the patient's appetite will also decrease. Here, we provide a bridge technique of EUS-BD to solve the problem of simultaneous drainage of left liver and right liver with a stent, in order to provide a new treatment idea for endoscopists.

EUS-TASR is a derivative of EUS-BD and serves as a remedy when ERCP fails. EUS-BD technology is commonly used in the diagnosis and treatment of biliary tract and pancreatic diseases with anatomical changes of the digestive tract. This article provides an experience of EUS-TASR and a new challenge in the treatment of common bile duct stones after total gastrectomy.

Background: Primary renal Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is extremely rare, and only two cases causing Cushing's syndrome (CS) have been reported to date. We report that the case of an 18-year-old patient is diagnosed primary renal ES with typical CS characterized by purple stripes, weight gain, and hypertension., Case Summary: CS was first diagnosed by laboratory testing. A huge tumor was revealed in the kidney following an imaging examination. Moreover, brain and bone metastases were observed. After comprehensive treatment, primarily based on surgery, primary renal ES was pathologically diagnosed with a typical EWSR1-FLI1 genetic mutation through genetic testing. Furthermore, the glucocorticoid level returned to normal. By the ninth postoperative month of follow-up, the patient was recovering well. Cushing-related symptoms had improved, and a satisfactory curative effect was achieved., Conclusion: Primary renal ES, a rare adult malignant tumor, can cause CS and a poor prognosis., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare that there are no conflicts of interest between the authors., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Pancreatic cutaneous fistula is a complex condition, making it challenging to achieve favorable outcomes with conservative medical treatment. Surgical interventions often entail surgical risks and postoperative complications. Here, we present a case involving endoscopically guided stent placement between the stomach and the fistula. By internalizing the fistula, patients can potentially remove the external drainage tube, offering a novel endoscopic treatment approach for such cases.

Polysaccharides are the important bioactive macromolecules in Agrocybe cylindracea, but their changes are as yet elusive during developmental process. This study investigated the dynamic changes of polysaccharides from A. cylindracea fruiting body water extract at four developmental stages and its structure characteristics. Results revealed that the polysaccharides from A. cylindracea water extract significantly increased at the pileus expansion stage and the increased fraction could be α-glucan. The further purification and identification indicated that this α-glucan was a glycogen. It had typical morphology of β particles with a molecular weight of 1375 kDa. Its backbone comprised α-D-(1 → 4)-Glcp and α-D-(1 → 4,6)-Glcp residues at a ratio of 5:1, terminated by α-D-Glcp residue. Rheological behavior suggested that it was a Newtonian fluid at the concentration of 1 %. In addition, despite both the glycogen and natural starch were composed of D-glucose, they exhibited the entirely distinct Maltese cross characteristic and unique crystalline structure. This study is the first to demonstrate the presence of abundant glycogen in the pileus expansion stage of A. cylindracea, which provides new insights on the change patterns of fungal polysaccharides., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Glucans are the most abundant class of macromolecule polymers in fungi, which are commonly found in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Fungal glucans are not only essential for cell integrity and function but also crucial for the immense industrial interest in high value applications. They present a variety of structural characteristics at the nanoscale due to the high regulation of genes and the involvement of stochastic processes in synthesis. However, although recent findings have demonstrated the genes of glucans synthesis are relatively conserved across diverse fungi, the formation and organization of diverse glucan structures is still unclear in fungi. Here, we summarize the structural features of fungal glucans and the recent developments in the mechanisms of glucans biosynthesis. Furthermore, we propose the engineering strategies of targeted glucan synthesis and point out the remaining challenges in the synthetic process. Understanding the synthesis process of diverse glucans is necessary for tailoring high value glucan towards specific applications. This engineering strategy contributes to enable the sustainable and efficient production of glucan diversity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The electrochemical-mechanical degradation of ultrahigh Ni cathode for lithium-ion batteries is a crucial aspect that limits the cycle life and safety of devices. Herein, the study reports a facile strategy involving rational design of primary grain crystallographic orientation within polycrystalline cathode, which well enhanced its electro-mechanical strength and Li + transfer kinetics. Ex situ and in situ experiments/simulations including cross-sectional particle electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), single-particle micro-compression, thermogravimetric analysis combined with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS), and finite element modeling reveal that, the primary-grain-alignment strategy effectively mitigates the particle pulverization, lattice oxygen release thereby enhances battery cycle life and safety. Besides the preexisting doping and coating methodologies to improve the stability of Ni-rich cathode, the primary-grain-alignment strategy, with no foreign elements or heterophase layers, is unprecedently proposed here. The results shed new light on the study of electrochemical-mechanical strain alleviation for electrode materials., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

To improve the efficiency of radiation therapy (RT) for breast cancer, a designable multifunctional core-shell nanocomposite of FeP@Pt is constructed using Fe(III)-polydopamine (denoted as FeP) as the core and platinum particles (Pt) as the shell. The hybrid structure is further covered with hyaluronic acid (HA) to give the final nanoplatform of FeP@Pt@HA (denoted as FPH ). FPH exhibits good biological stability, prolongs blood circulation time, and is simultaneously endowed with tumor-targeting ability. With CD44-mediated endocytosis of HA, FPH can be internalized by cancer cells and activated by the tumor microenvironment (TME). The redox reaction between Fe 3+ in FPH and endogenous glutathione (GSH) or/and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) initiates ferroptosis therapy by promoting GSH exhaustion and •OH generation. Moreover, FPH has excellent photothermal conversion efficiency and can absorb near-infrared laser energy to promote the above catalytic reaction as well as to achieve photothermal therapy (PTT). Ferroptosis therapy and PTT are further accompanied by the catalase activity of Pt nanoshells to accelerate O 2 production and the high X-ray attenuation coefficient of Pt for enhanced radiotherapy (RT). Apart from the therapeutic modalities, FPH exhibits dual-modal contrast enhancement in infrared (IR) thermal imaging and computed tomography (CT) imaging, offering potential in imaging-guided cancer therapy. In this article, the nanoplatform can remodel the TME through the production of O 2 , GSH- and H 2 O 2 -depletion, coenhanced PTT, ferroptosis, and RT. This multimodal nanoplatform is anticipated to shed light on the design of TME-activatable materials to enhance the synergism of treatment results and enable the establishment of efficient nanomedicine.

The occurrence of osteoarthritis (OA) is highly correlated with the reduction of joint lubrication performance, in which persistent excessive inflammation and irreversible destruction of cartilage dominate the mechanism. The inadequate response to monotherapy methods, suboptimal efficacy caused by undesirable bioavailability, short retention, and lack of stimulus-responsiveness, are few unresolved issues. Herein, we report a pH-responsive metal-organic framework (MOF), namely, MIL-101-NH 2 , for the co-delivery of anti-inflammatory drug curcumin (CCM) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) for hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-2α). CCM and siRNA were loaded via encapsulation and surface coordination ability of MIL-101-NH 2 . Our vitro tests showed that MIL-101-NH 2 protected siRNA from nuclease degradation by lysosomal escape. The pH-responsive MIL-101-NH 2 gradually collapsed in an acidic OA microenvironment to release the CCM payloads to down-regulate the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and to release the siRNA payloads to cleave the target HIF-2α mRNA for gene-silencing therapy, ultimately exhibiting the synergetic therapeutic efficacy by silencing HIF-2α genes accompanied by inhibiting the inflammation response and cartilage degeneration of OA. The hybrid material reported herein exhibited promising potential performance for OA therapy as supported by both in vitro and in vivo studies and may offer an efficacious therapeutic strategy for OA utilizing MOFs as host materials., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To investigate the significance and distribution of oxidized low-density lipoprotein antibodies (ox-LDL-Ab) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)., Methods: In this study, 334 patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital were included. There were 162 APS patients, 122 patients with other autoimmune diseases without thrombosis or obstetric disease as disease control and 50 healthy controls. The clinical data and laboratory indicators were retrospectively collected. The ox-LDL-Ab, anticardiolipin (aCL) IgG/IgA/IgM, and anti-β2-glycoprotein Ⅰ (aβ2GPI) IgG/IgA/IgM were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The relationship between ox-LDL-Ab and clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed by SPSS 27.0., Results: In APS group, 60.5% of patients had thrombosis, 48.1% had pregnancy morbidity, 34.0% had thrombocytopenia. The positive rates of aCL, aβ2GPI and lupus anticoagulant (LAC) were 17.9%, 34.6%, and 46.9%, respectively. The ox-LDL-Ab titers and positive rate in APS group were higher than that in healthy controls [titers: 40.8 (25.4-66.0) U/mL vs. 24.1 (12.3-36.5) U/mL, P =0.001; positive rate: 67.3% vs. 36.0%, P =0.001]. The diffe-rences in titers and positive rate of ox-LDL-Ab between APS patients and disease controls were not statistically significant [titers: 40.8 (25.4-66.0) U/mL vs . 35.9 (24.2-53.1) U/mL, P =0.118; positive rate: 67.3% vs. 61.5%, P =0.318]. The area under curve (AUC) for aβ2GPI, aCL, and ox-LDL-Ab were 0.745 (95% CI : 0.692-0.797), 0.666 (95% CI : 0.608-0.724), 0.609 (95% CI : 0.549-0.669), respectively. The Youden's index was 0.388, 0.269, and 0.132, respectively. The AUC for ox-LDL-Ab in seronegative APS patients was 0.562 (95% CI : 0.480-0.645). The sensitivity and specificity of ox-LDL-Ab in seronegative APS patients were 63.9% and 47.0%, respectively, and the Youden's index was 0.109. The ox-LDL-Ab positive group had higher positive rate of aβ2GPI (42.2% vs . 18.9%, P =0.003) and aCL (22.9% vs . 7.5%, P =0.017) than the ox-LDL-Ab negative group. There was no correlation between ox-LDL-Ab and thrombosis, coronary artery disease, pregnancy morbidity, hyperlipidemia, hypocomplementemia, and LAC positivity., Conclusion: Ox-LDL-Ab was correlated with aCL and aβ2GPI, and no association were observed between ox-LDL-Ab and thrombosis, coronary artery disease, and pregnancy morbidity.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory type of arthritis that causes joint pain and damage. The inflammatory cell infiltration (e.g., M1 macrophages), the poor O 2 supply at the joint, and the excess reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative injury are the main causes of RA. We herein report a polydopamine (PDA)-coated CeO 2 -dopped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanocomposite CeO 2 -ZIF-8@PDA (denoted as CZP ) that can synergistically treat RA. Under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation, PDA efficiently scavenges ROS and results in an increased temperature in the inflamed area because of its good light-to-heat conversion efficiency. The rise of temperature serves to obliterate hyper-proliferative inflammatory cells accumulated in the diseased area while vastly promoting the collapse of the acidic-responsive skeleton of ZIF-8 to release the encapsulated CeO 2 . The released CeO 2 exerts its catalase-like activity to relieve hypoxia by generating oxygen via the decomposition of H 2 O 2 highly expressed in the inflammatory sites. Thus, the constructed CZP composite can treat RA through NIR-photothermal/ROS-scavenging/oxygen-enriched combinative therapy and show good regression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in vitro and promising therapeutic effect on RA in rat models. The multimodal nano-platform reported herein is expected to shed light on the design of synergistic therapeutic nanomedicine for effective RA therapy.

A multifunctional nanoplatform with core-shell structure was constructed in one-pot for the synergistic photothermal, photodynamic, and chemotherapy against breast cancer. In the presence of gambogic acid (GA) as the heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitor and the gold nanostars (AuNS) as the photothermal reagent, the assembly of Zr 4+ with tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) gave rise to the nanocomposite AuNS@ZrTCPP-GA (AZG), which in turn, further coated with PEGylated liposome (LP) to enhance the stability and biocompatibility, and consequently the antitumor effect of the particle. Upon cellular uptake, the nanoscale metal - organic framework (NMOF) of ZrTCPP in the resulted AuNS@ZrTCPP-GA@LP (AZGL) could be slowly degraded in the weak acidic tumor microenvironment to release AuNS, Zr 4+ , TCPP, and GA to exert the synergistic treatment of tumors via the combination of AuNS-mediated mild photothermal therapy (PTT) and TCPP-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT). The introduction of GA serves to reduce the thermal resistance of the cell to re-sensitize PTT and the constructed nanoplatform demonstrated remarkable anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Our work highlights a facile strategy to prepare a pH-dissociable nanoplatform for the effective synergistic treatment of breast cancer., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: To identify the influencing factors of thrombosis besides antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Methods: The 169 patients diagnosed with APS were enrolled according to the current APS classification criteria from January 2003 to August 2017 in Peking University People's Hospital. There were 23 males and 146 females with a mean age of (41±15) years. Antiphospholipid antibodies, including anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-β2glycoprotein-1 (β2GP1) antibodies and antibodies to the phosphatidylserine-prothrombin complex (aPS/PT), were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. Lupus anticoagulant (LA) was identified using the STA Compact coagulation testing system. The differences of clinical and laboratory characteristics between patients with and without thrombosis were analyzed (100 cases and 69 cases, respectively). The influencing factors for thrombosis in patients with APS were determined using binary logistic regression. Results: Compared with patients without thrombosis, patients with thrombosis were older and had a longer disease duration ((45±17) years vs (35±9) years and M ( Q 1 , Q 3 ) 12.0(3.8, 84.0) months vs 48.0(12.0, 108.0) months, both P <0.05). The percentage of male, primary APS, smoking, low blood platelet count, hypertension, and diabetes in patients with thrombosis were significantly higher than those in patients without thrombosis (all P <0.05). Similarly, the rates of antinuclear antibodies positive, aCL positive, aPS/PT-IgM positive, and aPS/PT-IgG positive in patients with thrombosis were significantly higher than those in patients without thrombosis (all P <0.05). The levels of D-dimer in patients with thrombosis were significantly higher than that in patients without thrombosis ( P <0.05). There was significant difference in global anti-phospholipid syndrome score (GAPSS) between patients with and without thrombosis ( P <0.05). The GAPSS score was also significantly higher in patients with arterial thrombosis than that in patients with venous thrombosis ( P <0.05). Smoking and D-dimer levels were independent influencing factors for thrombosis in patients with APS (smoking: OR =11.222, 95% CI :1.119-112.544, P =0.040, D-dimer levels: OR =1.002, 95% CI : 1.000-1.003, P =0.037). Conclusions: Thrombotic APS patients are older and have a longer suffering duration, a higher ratio of male, primary APS, smoking, hypertension, lower blood platelet count, diabetes, higher GAPSS scale, and higher D-dimer levels. Smoking and D-Dimer levels may be independent risk factors for thrombosis in patients with APS.

Abstract: Aim of the study was to determine the characteristics and prognosis, and to identify the risk factors for mortality in patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) with interstitial lung disease (pSS-ILD).A total of 1422 patients with SS were screened and 178 patients with pSS-ILD were recruited. The medical records and outcomes were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival and case control study were performed to explore the predictors of death.Among 178 pSS-ILD patients, 87.1% were women. Mean age was 61.59 ± 11.69-year-old. Median disease duration was 72.0 (24.0, 156.0) months. Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia was the predominant high-resolution computed tomography pattern (44.9%). Impairment in diffusion capacity was the most common abnormality of pulmonary function test (75.8%) and the most severe consequence. Type 1 respiratory failure and hypoxia were observed in 15.0% and 30.0% patients, respectively. Mean survival time after confirmation of pSS-ILD diagnosis was 9.0 (6.8, 13.0) years. The 10-year survival rate for all patients with pSS-ILD was 81.7%. Forty-four (24.7%) of 178 patients died during the follow-up period. The most predominant cause of death was respiratory failure (n = 27). Twenty-seven patients died of ILD and formed study group. The 78 patients who survived formed control group. Age and smoking were risk factors for mortality in patients with pSS-ILD. In addition, severity of ILD, as reflected by high-resolution computed tomography, pulmonary function test, and arterial blood gas, was an independent risk factor. However, inflammation status (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein) and anti-Sjögren syndrome-related antigen A and anti-Sjögren syndrome-related antigen B were not.ILD is a severe complication of pSS. Age, smoking, and severity of lung involvement are more critical for prognosis rather than inflammation status and autoantibodies., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Gymnosperms such as ginkgo, conifers, cycads, and gnetophytes are vital components of land ecosystems, and they have significant economic and ecologic value, as well as important roles as forest vegetation. In this study, we investigated the structural variation and evolution of chloroplast transfer RNAs (tRNAs) in gymnosperms. Chloroplasts are important organelles in photosynthetic plants. tRNAs are key participants in translation where they act as adapter molecules between the information level of nucleic acids and functional level of proteins. The basic structures of gymnosperm chloroplast tRNAs were found to have family-specific conserved sequences. The tRNAΨ -loop was observed to contain a conforming sequence, i.e., U-U-C-N-A-N 2 . In gymnosperms, tRNA Ile was found to encode a "CAU" anticodon, which is usually encoded by tRNA Met . Phylogenetic analysis suggested that plastid tRNAs have a common polyphyletic evolutionary pattern, i.e., rooted in abundant common ancestors. Analyses of duplication and loss events in chloroplast tRNAs showed that gymnosperm tRNAs have experienced little more gene loss than gene duplication. Transition and transversion analysis showed that the tRNAs are iso-acceptor specific and they have experienced unequal evolutionary rates. These results provide new insights into the structural variation and evolution of gymnosperm chloroplast tRNAs, which may improve our comprehensive understanding of the biological characteristics of the tRNA family., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2020 Zhang et al.)

Angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) is an important biologically-active peptide of the renin-angiotensin system. This study was designed to determine whether inhibition of Ang-(1-7) in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) attenuates sympathetic activity and elevates blood pressure by modulating pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICs) and oxidative stress in the PVN in salt-induced hypertension. Rats were fed either a high-salt (8% NaCl) or a normal salt diet (0.3% NaCl) for 10 weeks, followed by bilateral microinjections of the Ang-(1-7) antagonist A-779 or vehicle into the PVN. We found that the mean arterial pressure (MAP), renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), and plasma norepinephrine (NE) were significantly increased in salt-induced hypertensive rats. The high-salt diet also resulted in higher levels of the PICs interleukin-6, interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1, as well as higher gp91 phox expression and superoxide production in the PVN. Microinjection of A-779 (3 nmol/50 nL) into the bilateral PVN of hypertensive rats not only attenuated MAP, RSNA, and NE, but also decreased the PICs and oxidative stress in the PVN. These results suggest that the increased MAP and sympathetic activity in salt-induced hypertension can be suppressed by blockade of endogenous Ang-(1-7) in the PVN, through modulation of PICs and oxidative stress.

Metformin (MET), an antidiabetic agent, also has antioxidative effects in metabolic-related hypertension. This study was designed to determine whether MET has anti-hypertensive effects in salt-sensitive hypertensive rats by inhibiting oxidative stress in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Salt-sensitive rats received a high-salt (HS) diet to induce hypertension, or a normal-salt (NS) diet as control. At the same time, they received intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of MET or vehicle for 6 weeks. We found that HS rats had higher oxidative stress levels and mean arterial pressure (MAP) than NS rats. ICV infusion of MET attenuated MAP and reduced plasma norepinephrine levels in HS rats. It also decreased reactive oxygen species and the expression of subunits of NAD(P)H oxidase, improved the superoxide dismutase activity, reduced components of the renin-angiotensin system, and altered neurotransmitters in the PVN. Our findings suggest that central MET administration lowers MAP in salt-sensitive hypertension via attenuating oxidative stress, inhibiting the renin-angiotensin system, and restoring the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the PVN.

Biomineralization technology is a feasible and promising route to fabricate phosphate cathode materials with hierarchical nanostructure for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, to improve the electrochemical performance of LiMn 0.8 Fe 0.2 PO 4 (LMFP), hierarchical LMFP/carbon nanospheres are wrapped in situ with N-doped graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) via biomineralization by using yeast cells as the nucleating agent, self-assembly template, and carbon source. Such LMFP nanospheres are assembled by more fine nanocrystals with an average size of 18.3 nm. Moreover, the preferential crystal orientation along the [010] direction and certain antisite lattice defects can be identified in LMFP nanocrystals, which promote rapid diffusion of Li ions and generate more active sites for the electrochemical reaction. Moreover, such N-doped GNR networks, wrapped between LMFP/carbon nanospheres, are beneficial to the fast mobility of electrons and good penetration of the electrolyte. As expected, the as-prepared LMFP/carbon multicomposite presents the outstanding electrochemical performance, including the large initial discharge capacity of 168.8 mA h g -1 , good rate capability, and excellent long-term cycling stability over 2000 cycles. Therefore, the biomineralization method is demonstrated here to be effective to manipulate the microstructure of multicomponent phosphate cathode materials based on the requirement of capacity, rate capability, and cycle stability for LIBs.

Objective: To investigate the influence of the amount of portal blood stasis removal on endotoxemia and liver function after liver transplantation., Methods: Forty-seven patients who received liver transplantation from February 2006 to November 2007 were divided into 2 groups according to the amount of portal blood stasis removal during operation: group A (n = 26) 50 ml and group B (n = 21) 200 ml of portal blood stasis removal respectively. The levels of plasma endotoxin, D-lactate, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, liver function and blood coagulation were examined and analyzed., Results: Under the condition of no significant difference in sex, age, primary liver diseases and Child-pugh's classification, cold ischemic time, total operation and anhepatic time, operation methods, volume of blood loss and transfusion, and all preoperative observations. Most of observations showed the restoration of the patients in group B was better than that in group A. The plasma levels of endotoxin, D-lactate, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time in group B were significantly lower than those in group A (P < 0.05). The level of plasma prealbumin in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The removal of 200 ml portal blood stasis leads to a better results than that of 50 ml, and it can help alleviate endotoxemia and facilitate the restoration of the liver function after liver transplantation.

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of portal blood stasis on lung and renal injury induced by hepatic ischemia reperfusion., Methods: A rabbit hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury model was established by hepatic portal occlusion and in situ hypothermic irrigation for 30 min. Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were employed and randomly divided into 3 groups equally by different dosage of portal blood stasis removal: group A5 (5 ml blood removal), group A10 (10 ml blood removal),and group B (no blood removal). Eight rabbits were served as controls with no hepatic portal occlusion and hypothermic irrigation. After reperfusion 4 h serum endotoxin content, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine (Cr) were examined respectively, meantime lung and kidney tissues were sampled to determine the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), the pathology, and wet to dry weight ratio, broncho-alveolar lavage fluid protein content in lung tissues., Results: Removing portal blood stasis ameliorated lung and renal injury as shown by decreasing the level of serum endotoxin, TNF-alpha, BUN, Cr, wet to dry weight ratio, broncho-alveolar lavage fluid protein content, MDA, SOD. TNF-alpha, Cr, broncho-alveolar lavage fluid protein content in lung tissues and MDA in kidney tissue in group A5 were significantly reduced compared with those in group B (P < 0.05), while in lung tissue in group A10 were also markedly reduced (P < 0.05). The activation of SOD in group A5 were significantly increased (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Removal of portal blood stasis before the resume of splanchnic circulation may ameliorate the lung and renal injury induced by hepatic ischemia reperfusion. The possible mechanism may be that portal blood stasis removal reduces endotoxin absorption, and further decreases production of serum TNF-alpha.

Background & Objective: Tumor metastasis-suppressor gene KiSS-1 is related to the metastasis of malignancies. However, its correlation to the metastasis, especially the formation of portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has seldom been reported. This study was to investigate the function of KiSS-1 gene in the formation of PVTT of HCC, and explore the machanism., Methods: The expression of KiSS-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in 50 specimens of HCC (31 cases with PVTT and 19 cases without PVTT) and 11 specimens of PVTT was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC)., Results: The positive rates of KiSS-1 mRNA and protein were significantly lower in PVTT group and HCC with PVTT group than in HCC without PVTT group (18.2% and 16.1 % vs. 63.2%, 0% and 12.9% vs. 47.4%, P < 0.05)û the positive rates of MMP-9 mRNA and protein were significantly higher in PVTT group and HCC with PVTT group than in HCC without PVTT group (72.7% and 77.4% vs. 31.6%, 81.8% and 83.9% vs. 42.1%, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between PVTT group and HCC with PVTT group (P > 0.05). KiSS-1 expression was negatively related to MMP-9 expression (r=-0.362 for mRNA, and r=-0.473 for protein, each P < 0.05)., Conclusions: KiSS-1 and MMP-9 are closely related to the formation of PVTT. KiSS-1 gene might suppress the formation of PVTT by suppressing MMP-9 synthesis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on airway mucous cells and its mechanisms., Methods: (1) Normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBEs) were cultured under specific conditions, and treated by IFN-gamma for 3 days. The cells were analyzed with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. (2) Twenty wild type C57BL/6J mice were immunized and divided into 4 groups, and treated with IFN-gamma (50 ng and 100 ng, respectively), interleukin-13 (IL-13, 5 microg) and saline by nostril instillation. The mice were sacrificed and the airway mucous cells were analyzed by morphometry and TUNEL assay., Results: (1) IFN-gamma induced apoptosis in NHBEs, which showed condensed nuclei, nuclear and DNA fragmentaion, and were positive by TUNEL assay. Bax was upregulated and translocated from cell plasma to mitochondria under the treatment. (2) Airway mucous cell account in 100 ng IFN-gamma instillation immunized mice group (28 +/- 6 mucous cells/mm basal lamina) was significantly decreased as compared to that in saline (58 +/- 12) and IL-13 (59 +/- 6) instillation groups (all < 0.05). There was no difference among the IFN-gamma 50 ng (48 +/- 11), saline (58 +/- 12) and IL-13 (59 +/- 6) instillation groups (all P > 0.05). TUNEL assay was also positive in airway mucous cells from IFN-gamma instillation mice as compared to saline instillation mice., Conclusions: IFN-gamma leads to airway mucous cell apoptosis by Bax upregulating and translocation into mitochondria. This might be of significance in the new therapies of asthma.

Background: The success of laparoscopic biliary surgery has encouraged application of laparoscopic surgery in colorectal disease. There are some questions regarding laparoscopic colorectal surgery, especially for colorectal cancer. Most important is whether adequate resection of colorectal malignancy can be achieved. A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the pathology of resected specimens following laparoscopic surgery and that following open surgery in cancer of the low rectum. Comparing the number of lymph nodes in specimens, we could then prove whether laparoscopic surgery can provide adequate clearance as well as open surgery and if laparoscopic surgery has no difference in comparison with open surgery., Methods: The retrospective study was performed to evaluate the pathology of resected specimens following laparoscopic surgery and that following open surgery in cancer of the low rectum. Data regarding patient details and tumor pathology were obtained by case-note review and from Taichung Veterans General Hospital from July, 1998 to April, 1999. There were nine patients with rectal carcinoma in the low rectum who received laparoscopic surgery, 7 male and 2 female. The control group had 8 patients, 7 male and 1 female, with similar tumor location who received similar operation with open method by the same surgical team in the same period. The average age was 67.7 years in the laparoscopic group and 67.4 years in the control group. The characteristics of tumor and the location of tumor were well matched between these two groups., Results: All of the resected specimens in the two groups were free of tumor in margin of clearance. The average number of lymph nodes harvested was 13 in the laparoscopic group and 9.4 in the open group., Conclusions: Although the case number was not adequate, the clinical implication is obvious. Laparoscopic surgery in cancer of the low rectum allows lymphovascular clearance even better than that is afforded by open surgery.