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Background: Psoriasis represents the chronic, recurrent and inflammatory disorder. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Xiyanping injection (XYP) is extensively applied in China for treating diverse inflammatory disorders, such as bronchitis, viral pneumonia or upper respiratory tract infection. XYP may offer a potential treatment for psoriasis vulgaris (PV). This study focused on analyzing whether XYP combined with acitretin was effective and safe.Methods: The present meta-analysis was carried out in line with guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022333273). Besides, relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared XYP plus acitretin with acitretin alone for treating PV were searched from several databases from their inception till May 2022. In addition, this work utilized RevMan5.4 to conduct risk assessment as well as meta-analysis.Results: This meta-analysis selected altogether 10 RCTs including 815 subjects. Upon quality assessment, the RCTs mainly had low or unclear risk. According to our meta-analysis results, relative to acitretin monotherapy, XYP plus acitretin increased the total clinical effective rate, as evidenced by Psoriasis area and severity index score (PASI)-20, PASI-30 and PASI-60 in patients with PV [risk ratio (RR) = 1.23 Z = 4.87, p < 0.00001, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–1.34; RR = 1.29, Z = 3.89, p = 0.009, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.55; and RR = 1.31, Z = 3.89, p = 0.0001, 95% CI: 1.14–1.49]; the reduced levels of TNF-α, MCP-1 and RANTES, the alleviated side effects resulting from acitretin like itchiness (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.4 to 0.74, Z = 3.94, p < 0.0001), and the increased levels of aminotransferases and dyslipidemia (RR = 0.5, 95%CI = 0.29, 0.86, p = 0.01; and RR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.75, p = 0.004).Conclusion: As suggested in the present meta-analysis, XYP combined with acitretin effectively and safely treats PV.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022333273, identifier PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022333273.

Background: Patients at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are prone to hypoxemia during sedated bronchoscopy. The present study aimed to investigate whether high-flow nasal oxygenation (HFNO) reduces the incidence of hypoxemia in patients at high risk of OSA undergoing bronchoscopy under deep sedation.Methods: A total of 176 patients at high risk of OSA who underwent bronchoscopy under deep sedation were randomly assigned into two groups: the HFNO group (humidified oxygen was supplied via a high-flow nasal cannula at a rate of 60 L/min and a concentration of 100%, n = 87) and the Facemask group (oxygen was supplied via tight-fitting facemask at a rate of 6 L/min and a concentration of 100%, n = 89).Results: Hypoxemia occurred in 4 (4.6%) patients in the HFNO group and 26 (29.2%) patients in the Facemask group (P < 0.001). The Facemask group required more jaw thrust maneuvers than the HFNO group (48.3% vs 5.7%, P < 0.001). A total of 9.0% of the patients in the Facemask group and no one in the HFNO group required bag-mask ventilation (P = 0.012).Conclusions: HFNO can reduce the incidence of hypoxemia and the requirement of airway intervention in patients at high risk of OSA during bronchoscopy under deep sedation.Trial registration: www.chiCTR.org.cn Identifier: ChiCTR2100044105. Registered 11/03/2021.

Objectives Cyclin-dependent kinase 19 (CDK19) is a component of the mediator coactivator complex, which is required for transcriptional activation. In this study, we utilized public databases and wet-bench hepatic cell line experiments to elucidate the potential roles of CDK19 in hepatocellular cancer (HCC). Materials and methods We studied the relationships between CDK19 expression and several clinical features related to HCC via the Oncomine and UALCAN databases. The prognostic value of CDK19 was tested using the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database. We presented the mutations of CDK19 and addressed the relation of CDK19 expression with immune cell infiltration by means of the cBioPortal, Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) and Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) databases. Hub genes were obtained and further analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database. To test the in silico findings, we knocked down CDK19 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology in two hepatic cell lines and conducted several functional characterization experiments. Results Marked CDK19 upregulation was found in HCC tissues versus normal liver tissues, and CDK19 mRNA expression had high diagnostic value in HCC patients. Subgroup analysis showed that CDK19 overexpression was associated with sex, tumor stage and TP53 mutation status. The prognostic value of CDK19 upregulation for overall survival (OS) was significant in patients with stage 2–3, stage 3–4, and grade 2 disease. One percent of the patients had CDK19 mutations, but no relationship between CDK19 mutation and prognosis was observed. CDK19 was positively correlated with the abundances of CD4 + T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. We identified 10 genes correlated with CDK19, 8 of which presented excellent prognostic value in HCC. These hub genes were directly involved in cell division and regulation of the G2/M cell cycle transition. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) and pathway predictions indicated that CDK19 is highly likely to be involved in several cellular functions, such as proliferation, migration, and invasion. These functions were strongly interfered from two independent hepatic cell lines after CDK19 knockdown. Conclusions CDK19 could be a prognostic marker in HCC, and its therapeutic potential in HCC needs further study.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor prognosis and has become the sixth most common malignancy worldwide due to its high incidence. Advanced approaches to therapy, including immunotherapeutic strategies, have played crucial roles in decreasing recurrence rates and improving clinical outcomes. The HCC microenvironment is important for both tumour carcinogenesis and immunogenicity, but a classification system based on immune signatures has not yet been comprehensively described. Methods HCC datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) were used in this study. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and the ConsensusClusterPlus algorithm were used for clustering assessments. We scored immune cell infiltration and used linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to improve HCC classification accuracy. Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to assess relationships between immune signature indices and immunotherapies. In addition, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify candidate modules closely associated with immune signature indices. Results Based on 152 immune signatures from HCC samples, we identified four distinct immune subtypes (IS1, IS2, IS3, and IS4). Subtypes IS1 and IS4 had more favourable prognoses than subtypes IS2 and IS3. These four subtypes also had different immune system characteristics. The IS1 subtype had the highest scores for IFNγ, cytolysis, angiogenesis, and immune cell infiltration among all subtypes. We also identified 11 potential genes, namely, TSPAN15, TSPO, METTL9, CD276, TP53I11, SPINT1, TSPO, TRABD2B, WARS2, C9ORF116, and LBH, that may represent potential immunological biomarkers for HCC. Furthermore, real-time PCR revealed that SPINT1, CD276, TSPO, TSPAN15, METTL9, and WARS2 expression was increased in HCC cells. Conclusions The present gene-based immune signature classification and indexing may provide novel perspectives for both HCC immunotherapy management and prognosis prediction.

Background and objective: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a type of disease with high mortality and rapid progression with no specific treatment methods currently available. Glucocorticoids exert beneficial clinical effects on therapy for ALF. However, the mechanism of this effect remains unclear and when to use glucocorticoids in patients with ALF is difficult to determine. The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific immunological mechanism of dexamethasone (Dex) on treatment of ALF induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/d-galactosamine (d-GaIN) in mice. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were given LPS and d-GaIN by intraperitoneal injection to establish an animal model of ALF. Dex was administrated to these mice and its therapeutic effect was observed. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to determine liver pathology. Multicolor flow cytometry, cytometric bead array (CBA) method, and next-generation sequencing were performed to detect changes of messenger RNA (mRNA) in immune cells, cytokines, and Kupffer cells, respectively. Results: A mouse model of ALF can be constructed successfully using LPS/d-GaIN, which causes a cytokine storm in early disease progression. Innate immune cells change markedly with progression of liver failure. Earlier use of Dex, at 0 h rather than 1 h, could significantly improve the progression of ALF induced by LPS/d-GaIN in mice. Numbers of innate immune cells, especially Kupffer cells and neutrophils, increased significantly in the Dex-treated group. In vivo experiments indicated that the therapeutic effect of Dex is exerted mainly via the glucocorticoid receptor (Gr). Sequencing of Kupffer cells revealed that Dex could increase mRNA transcription level of nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (Nr4a1), and that this effect disappeared after Gr inhibition. Conclusions: In LPS/d-GaIN-induced ALF mice, early administration of Dex improved ALF by increasing the numbers of innate immune cells, especially Kupffer cells and neutrophils. Gr-dependent Nr4a1 upregulation in Kupffer cells may be an important ALF effect regulated by Dex in this process.

Some traditional protection schemes cannot detect a faulted Powerformer when a stator single-line-to-ground fault occurs in parallel Powerformers. A new discrimination method based on kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and Fisher discrimination analysis considering the distribution characteristics of the data is proposed in this paper. First, the algorithms of the KPCA and the Fisher discrimination are introduced. In order to increase the correct rate of the fault recognition, a kernel function for the distribution characteristics of the data is selected according to the error rate under the historical fault data, which is different from the existing application validation methods. Then, the detected data in the system model are processed to detect whether a stator single-line-to-ground fault occurred in the Powerformer using the KPCA and the Fisher discrimination analysis based on an optimal kernel function. Finally, simulation results show that the proposed scheme can exactly detect the fault for a Powerformer in different neutral grounding systems when a stator single-line-to-ground fault occurred.

As a new type of heating equipment, the heat medium heater furnace overcomes the shortage of the traditional heating methods such as the boiler, heating furnace. Through the comparison and analysis of the field application between the heat medium heater, YQWP - 4000/1.6/220/180-QT, and steam boiler in a central gathering station of Changqing oil field, results indicated: in the condition of 0.3 MPa pressure and 200 °Ctemperature above, the heat medium heater is higher thermal efficiency, more safety and security than steam boiler, and it do not pollute the environment and significantly save energy. One the heat medium heater saves by 982700 RMB than one set of steam boiler per each year. Due to the good economy, heat medium heater is suitable for the heating and heat supply of the large-scale central gathering station in the oil field. Thus, heat medium heater has a good application prospects. And the field application of the heat medium heater provides oil field energy saving and safe production with a certain reference in oil field.

Background and Objective: CD133-positive colon cancer stem like cells (CSLCs) are resistant to the conventional cytotoxic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Wnt signaling pathway plays important roles in colon cancer carcinogenesis and metastasis, and regulates the self-renewal capacity of CSLCs. In the present study, we explored the impact of 5-FU on Wnt signaling pathway of CD133-positive colon CSLCs, and the relation between Wnt signaling pathway and drug resistance of CD133-positive colon CSLCs. Methods: Magnetic activation cell separation was used to collect CD133-positive cells from colon cancer cell line DLD1, which was transfected with luciferase reporter for Wnt signaling activity. The activity of Wnt signaling pathway was compared between CD133-positive and CD133-negative cells. After the treatment with 1μg/mL of 5-FU, the cell proliferation rates of DLD1 cells, CD133-positive cells, and CD133-negative cells were compared. After the treatment with 1μg/mL and 10μg/mL of 5-FU for 48h, Wnt activity was compared between CD133-positive and CD133-negative cells. The expression of CD133 and cell apoptosis of CD133-positive cells was detected after exposure to 50ng/mL of dickkopf (DKK)-1, a Wnt pathway inhibitor. Results: After the treatment with 5-FU, the cell proliferation rate of CD133-positive cells was higher than that of CD133-negative cells and the sensitivity of CD133-positive cells to 5-FU decreased. Wnt activity was higher in CD133-positive cells than in CD133-negative cells [(46.3±0.3)% vs. (33.9±2.7)%, P=0.009]. After the treatment with 1μg/mL and 10μg/mL of 5-FU, Wnt activity of CD133-positive cells was (90.1±10.0)% (P=0.012) and (52.9±2.5)% (P=0.047), respectively, whereas that of CD133-negative cells was (35.5±3.3)% (P=0.434) and (26.5±0.4)% (P=0.046), respectively. CD133 expression in CD133-positive cells decreased from (87.2±5.3)% to (60.6±3.1)% (P=0.022) after treatment with DKK-1, whereas the cell apoptosis rate increased from (11.8±0.2)% to (28.3±0.6)% (P=0.013). Conclusions: Wnt activity is higher in CD133-positive DLD1 cells than in CD133-negative DLD1 cells. 5-FU can upregulate Wnt activity of CD133-positive colon CSLCs. Blocking Wnt activity may reverse drug sensitivity of CD133-positive cells to 5-FU.

To study the chemical constituents from rhizomes of Panax notoginseng.The constituents were isolated and purified by various chromatogragraphic methods, all compounds were identified on the basis of special analysis and physicochemical characters.Eight compounds were isolated from the 80% alcohol extract of the rhizomes and their structures were identified as ginsenoside Rh4 (I), ginsenoside Rh1 (II), ginsenoside Re (III), notoginsenoside R1 (IV) , ginsenoside Rd (V), ginsenoside Rh1 (VI), notoginsenoside S (VII), notoginsenoside T (VIII).Compound I was isolated from this plant for the first time, Compound VII, VIII are isolated from rhizomes of Panax notoginseng for the first time.