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Storage energy is an effective means and key technology for overcoming the intermittency and instability of photovoltaic (PV) power. In the early stages of the PV and energy storage (ES) industries, economic efficiency is highly dependent on industrial policies. This study analyzes the key points of policies on technical support, management drive, and financial support. Focusing on the efficiency of PV power and the power load of users, including households and enterprises, in Shanghai City over 24 h in 2016, this study analyzes the costs, benefits, internal rates of return, and investment recovery periods of distributed PV (DPV) and ES systems in the current policy context. This study also discusses the influences of various policy variables, including the ES battery capacity, the peak-valley price ratio, feed-in tariffs for DPV, and the ratio of grid-connected surplus PV power, on economic efficiency. The results show that in China's current policy context, both household and enterprise users of PV power would gain some economic benefits if PV systems were fitted with aqueous sodium-ion batteries of an appropriate capacity. Finally, this study offers some additional government policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-microemulsifying (SME) drug delivery system has been developed to increase oral bioavailabilities, and inhibitory excipients are capable of improving oral bioavailability by inhibiting enzyme mediated intestinal metabolism. However, the potential of enzyme inhibitory excipients containing SME in boosting resveratrol bioavailability remains largely uninvestigated. In this study, we set out to prepare SME-1 with UGT inhibitory excipients (excipients without inhibitory activities named SME-2 as control) to increase the bioavailability of RES by inhibiting intestinal metabolism. Results demonstrated that similar physicochemical properties such as size, polydistribution index and in vitro release, cellular uptake and permeability in Caco-2 cells as well as in vivo lymphatic distribution between inhibitory SME-1 and non-inhibitory SME-2 were observed. In vivo study demonstrated that the molar ratios of RES-G/RES were 7.25 ± 0.48 and 5.06 ± 2.42 for free drug and SME-2, respectively, and the molar ratio decreased to 0.36 ± 0.10 in SME-1 group. Pharmacokinetic study confirmed that the inhibitory excipients containing SME demonstrated potential in increasing bioavailability of RES from 6.5% for the free RES and 12.9% for SME-2 to 76.1% in SME-1 through modulating the glucuronidation by UGT inhibitory excipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone marrow transplantation is regarded as the most effective immunotherapy for hematologic cancer, but it generally faces difficulties in matching. Aberrant expression of histone deacetylases (HDACs) is closely related to the occurrence and development of hematological cancer. Recent studies suggested that HDACs might play a critical role in initiating anti-cancer immune response or enhancing anti-cancer immunotherapy. Besides, combining HDAC inhibition and immunotherapy could prevent immunotherapy resistance in some degree and reach an extended treatment window. This review summarized the relationship between HDACs and immune and described the current understanding of HDACs in immunotherapy for hematologic cancer. HDACs may play a critical role in initiating anti-tumor immune response or enhancing anti-cancer immunotherapy. Combining HDACI and immunotherapy can prevent immunotherapy resistance in some degree and reach an extended treatment window. [Display omitted] •Targeting HDACs could initiate anti-tumor immune response in the hematologic cancer. •Targeting HDACs could enhance anti-tumor immunotherapy for hematologic cancer. •Combining HDACIs and immunotherapy could reach an extended treatment window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone marrow transplantation is regarded as the most effective immunotherapy for hematologic cancer, but it generally faces difficulties in matching. Aberrant expression of histone deacetylases (HDACs) is closely related to the occurrence and development of hematological cancer. Recent studies suggested that HDACs might play a critical role in initiating anti-cancer immune response or enhancing anti-cancer immunotherapy. Besides, combining HDAC inhibition and immunotherapy could prevent immunotherapy resistance in some degree and reach an extended treatment window. This review summarized the relationship between HDACs and immune and described the current understanding of HDACs in immunotherapy for hematologic cancer. HDACs may play a critical role in initiating anti-tumor immune response or enhancing anti-cancer immunotherapy. Combining HDACI and immunotherapy can prevent immunotherapy resistance in some degree and reach an extended treatment window. [Display omitted] •Targeting HDACs could initiate anti-tumor immune response in the hematologic cancer. •Targeting HDACs could enhance anti-tumor immunotherapy for hematologic cancer. •Combining HDACIs and immunotherapy could reach an extended treatment window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial injury is a nonnegligible problem in cardiovascular diseases and cancer therapy. The functional feature of N-containing heterocycles in the cardiovascular field has attracted much attention in recent years. Herein, we discovered a lead compound 12a containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole by extensive screening of anticancer derivatives containing nitrogen-heterocycle, which exhibited potential protective activity against oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes. Follow-up structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies also highlighted the role of substitution sites and bisamide moiety in enhancing the protective activity against oxidative stress. Specifically, compound 12d exhibited low cytotoxicity under high concentration and potent myocardial protection against oxidative stress in H9c2 cells. Preliminary mechanistic studies showed compound 12d could decrease the expression of cardiac hypertrophy and oxidative stress-related proteins/genes and reduce mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis, thereby enhancing the cell vitality of injured cardiomyocytes. In this study, 1,3,4-oxadiazole may represent a novel pharmacophore that possesses potential myocardial protection and provides more choices for future optimization of cardiovascular drugs, especially for the treatment of onco-cardiology. Compound 12d could decrease the expression of cardiac hypertrophy and oxidative stress-related proteins/genes and reduce mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis, and thereby enhancing the cell vitality of injured cardiomyocytes. [Display omitted] • A series of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives were designed and synthesized. • Representatively, 12d exhibited potent myocardial protection and low cytotoxicity. • 12d decreased the expression of hypertrophy and oxidative stress-related markers. • 12d could reduce mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new coordination polymers, [Zn(H 2 biim)(pzdc)] n ( 1 ), [Cd(H 2 biim)(pzdc)] n ( 2 ) and [Cd(H 2 biim) 0.5 (ip-OH)] n ( 3 ) (H 2 biim = 2,2′-biimidazolate, H 2 pzdc = 2,3-pyrazinedicarboxylic acid, H 2 ip-OH = 5-hydroxylisophthalic acid), have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Complexes 1 and 2 are isostructural and display two-dimensional (2D) undulated layers with 3-connected (4.8 2 ) topologies, which are further extended into three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular structures through hydrogen-bonding and C–H⋯π interactions. Complex 3 is a relatively rare 3D compound, featuring a binodal (4,5)-connected (4 4 .6 2 )(4 4 .6 6 ) topology. A comparison of all the complexes demonstrates that the structural characteristics of the dicarboxylate ligands play a great role in the modulation of the coordination structures. Moreover, their luminescent properties and thermal stabilities were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six new coordination polymers, [CdCl 2 (bbim)] n ( 1 ), [ZnCl 2 (bbbm)] n ( 2 ), [ZnCl(HCOO)(bbbm)] n ( 3 ), [Cd(PhCOO) 2 (bbim)] n ( 4 ), [Cd(PhCOO) 2 (bbbm)] n ( 5 ), and {[Zn(ip-OH)(bbim)]·DMF} n ( 6 ) [bbim = 1,1′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(2-methylbenzimidazole), bbbm = 1,1′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(benzimidazole), H 2 ip-OH = 5-hydroxylisophthalic acid], have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Complexes 1 – 5 have one-dimensional (1D) chain structures. Complexes 1 , 3 and 4 possess similar 1D meso-helical chain structures, which are extended into 2D or 3D supramolecular network through intermolecular hydrogen-bonding, C–H⋯ π and π ⋯ π interactions. Complexes 2 and 5 exhibit similar 1D infinite helical chains. The 1D chains further form a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular structure through intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and π ⋯ π interactions in 2 , but form a 2D supramolecular layer via C–H⋯ π interactions in 5 . Complex 6 possesses a 2D 4 4 -sql network. Furthermore, luminescent properties and thermal stabilities of 1 – 6 were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the MRI features of primary Gallbladder Carcinoma and the diagnostic value of MRI. Methods The MRI manifestations of 102 cases with primary Gallbladder Carcinoma were analyzed retrospectively, All patients who received routine MRI plain and enhancement scan were performed DWI examination. Results There were 54 cases of mass-type, 20 cases of wall thickening-type, 26 cases of intrauterine-type, slightly low signal was showed on T1WI, slightly high signal on T2WI, high signal on DWI. There were 38 cases of hepatic infiltration, 31 cases of liver metastasis, 87 cases of cholecystolithiasis, 64 cases of lymph node metastasis, 57 cases of obstruction of common bile duct, 13 cases of ascites and 5 cases of abnormal pancreaticobiliary junction. Conclusion MRI has good value in diagnosis of primary gallbladder carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric micelles represent interesting delivery systems for pulmonary sustained release. However, little is known about their in vivo release and translocation profile after delivery to the lungs. In the present study, curcumin acetate (CA), which is an ester prodrug of curcumin, or the mixture of CA and Nile red was encapsulated into PEG–PLGA micelles by a solvent evaporation method. The micellar formulation increased the stability of CA in water and physiologically relevant fluids and led to a sustained drug release in vitro . Following intratracheal (IT) administration to rats, CA loaded micelles achieved not only prolonged pulmonary retention with AUC values almost 400-fold higher than by IV route, but also local sustained release up to 24 h. In addition, IT delivery of micelles appeared to facilitate the uptake into the pulmonary vascular endothelium and efficiently translocate across the air–blood barrier and penetrate into the brain. Co-localization of CA and Nile red confirmed that micelles in lung and brain tissue were still intact. This study is the first to demonstrate that aerosolized PEG–PLGA micelles are a promising carrier for both pulmonary and non-invasive systemic sustained release of labile drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Follicular atresia is a process of spontaneous degradation of follicles, hindering growth and development in the mammalian ovary. Previous studies showed that follicular atresia was caused by apoptosis of granulosa cells, for which a number of apoptosis-related genes have already been identified. The roles of p53 in apoptosis of mouse granulosa cells and its post-translational modification are still unclear. The main objective of this study was to explore the roles of p53 in mouse granulosa cells. We found that mouse p53b, but not p53a, could be SUMOylated by SUMO-1 at lysine 375, which was essential for the protein stability of p53b in a dose-dependent manner. Immunofluorescent staining showed that wild p53b was located in the nucleus of granulosa cells, while its mutation of SUMOylated site (K375R) was localized in both nucleus and cytoplasm, implying that SUMOylation was necessary for the nuclear localization of p53b in granulosa cells. Overexpression of wild-type p53b, but not the mutation of SUMOylation site (K375R), significantly induced the expression of apoptosis-related gene, Bax, and increased the level of apoptosis in granulosa cells. This suggested that SUMO-1 modification of p53b was essential for inducing apoptosis in granulosa cells. Our results provide strong evidences that modification of p53b by SUMO-1 at lysine 375 was necessary for its activity to induce apoptosis in mouse granulosa cells, and it was involved in the regulation of p53b protein stability and nuclear localization. This implies that modification of p53b by SUMO-1 might regulate follicular atresia by inducing the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1-azido-2-hydroxypropyl cellulose ether, a novel potential energetic material, was prepared by reacting cellulose with glycidyl azide, which is synthesized from epihalohydrin via ring-opening and ring-closing reactions in the presence of diazoimide, under an alkaline condition, wherein a degree of substitution of the azido side chains as high as 0.5 and a nitrogen content of 10% (mass percentage) were achieved in the 1-azido-2-hydroxypropyl cellulose ether thus obtained. The structure and degree of substitution of the product were identified by characterizations such as elemental analysis, infrared absorption spectrum (IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to analyze the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in Eupatorium fortunei herbs and its derived finished products with a view to evaluating their effects on the proliferation and oligodendrogenesis of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Using a LC-MS/MS method with 32 PAs reference standards, 8 PAs including intermedine, intermedine N-oxide, lycopsamine, lycopsamine N-oxide, retronecine, seneciphylline and senkirkine and 7-acetylintermedine N-oxide were identified with intermedine N-oxide and lycopsamine N-oxide being most abundant. The total PA amounts were found to vary from 0.18 to 61.81 μg/g in 30 batches of herbs and from 0.86 to 36.96 μg/g in 4 commercial finished products, respectively. Risk assessments indicated that the short-term intake seemed unlikely lead to acute toxic effects but the chronic use warranted cautions. Using NPCs derived from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells as an in vitro testing model, intermedine, intermedine N-oxide and lycopsamine N-oxide appeared to decrease cell viability at 30 μM whereas intermedine N-oxide inhibited oligodendrogenesis of NPCs at 10 μM. The present results suggested that the PAs in the majority of E. fortunei herbs and the derived products not only resulted in their exposure far exceeding the acceptable intake limit (i. e. 1.0 μg PA per day for adults) in herbal medicinal products recommended by the European Medicines Agency but also induced neurotoxicity to NPCs in vitro. • Eight PAs in Eupatorium fortunei herbs and finished products were identified. • Intermedine and lycopsamine N-oxides were the major PAs in Eupatorium fortunei. • The PA intakes from E. fortunei far exceeded the acceptable daily intake limit proposed by the EMA. • Intermedine and lycopsamine N-oxides were cytotoxic to neural progenitor cells. • Intermedine N-oxide impaired the oligodendrogenesis of neural progenitor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SME-1 improved in vitro release, cellular uptake, and transport. • SME-1 decreased the production of phase II metabolite, CSA-G. • Inhibitory SME-1resulted in significantly higher oral bioavailability. • Enhanced oral bioavailability attributed to the inhibition of glucuronidation. Cajaninstilbene acid (CSA) exerts wide pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammation, hypoglycaemic activity, analgesic effect and cognition improvement. However, it underwent severe phase II metabolism mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract after oral administration, affecting its oral bioavailability. In the present study, we utilize UGT inhibitory excipient containing self-microemulsion (SME) delivery system to reduce the production of glucuronide metabolites and increase its oral bioavailability. The present results showed that although similar properties in physiochemical, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, absorption and transport across rat everted gut sacs between SME-1 (inhibitory excipient containing SME) and SME-2 (control SME, without inhibitory excipient), an improved absolute bioavailability of 57.3 % was conferred by SME-1, significantly higher than the value of 35.4 % by SME-2 and 34.0 % by free CSA. Noticeably, the significantly lower AUC value of CSA glucuronide was determined in rats treated with SME-1 than those either treated with SME-2 or free CSA. Thus, the ability of SME-1 to enhance oral bioavailability of CSA is mainly attributed to the inhibition of phase II metabolism in the GI tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced endothelial oxidative damage promotes the development of atherosclerosis. Caveolae play an essential role in maintaining the survival and function of vascular endothelial cell (VEC). It is reported that the long coiled-coil protein NECC2 is localized in caveolae and is associated with neural cell differentiation and adipocyte formation, but its role in VECs needs to be clarified. Our results showed NECC2 expression increased in the endothelium of plaque-loaded aortas and oxLDL-treated HUVECs. Down-regulation of NECC2 by NECC2 siRNA or compound YF-307 significantly inhibited oxLDL-induced VEC apoptosis and the adhesion factors expression. Remarkably, inhibition of NECC2 expression in the endothelium of apoE−/− mice by adeno-associated virus (AAV)-carrying NECC2 shRNA or compound YF-307 alleviated endothelium injury and restricted atherosclerosis development. The immunoprecipitation results confirmed that NECC2 interacted with Tyk2 and caveolin-1(Cav-1) in VECs, and NECC2 further promoted the phosphorylation of Cav-1 at Tyr14 b y activating Tyk2 phosphorylation. On the other hand, inhibiting NECC2 levels suppressed oxLDL-induced phosphorylation of Cav-1, uptake of oxLDL by VECs, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and activation of NF-κB. Our findings suggest that NECC2 may contribute to oxLDL-induced VEC injury and atherosclerosis via modulating Cav-1 phosphorylation through Tyk2. This work provides a new concept and drug target for treating atherosclerosis. [Display omitted] • Endothelial NECC2 promotes the development of atherosclerosis. • NECC2 contributes to oxLDL-induced endothelial oxidative damage. • NECC2-induced Cav-1 phosphorylation via Tyk2 promotes oxLDL accumulation in VECs. • Compound YF-307 inhibits endothelial oxidative damage and atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Requirements of blood transfusions rise rapidly in China. Improving the efficiency of blood donation could help maintaining sufficient blood supplement. We conducted a pilot research to investigate the reliability and safety of collecting more units of red blood cell by apheresis. Methods: Thirty‐two healthy male volunteers were randomized into two groups: red blood cell apheresis (RA) (n = 16) and whole blood (WB) donation (n = 16). RA group donated individualized RBC volumes by apheresis according to the volunteers' basal total blood volumes and haematocrit levels, WB group donated 400 mL whole blood. All volunteers were scheduled seven visit times in 8 weeks' study period. The cardiovascular functions were assessed by laboratory examinations, echocardiography and cardiopulmonary functional tests. All results were compared between groups at the same visit time and compared between visit 1(before donation) and other visit times within the same group. Results: The average donated RBC volume in RA group and in WB group was 627.25 ± 109.74 mL and 175.28 ± 8.85 mL, respectively(p < 0.05); the RBC, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels changed significantly between times and between groups (p < 0.05). Cardiac biomarker levels such as NT‐proBNP, hs‐TnT and CK‐MB did not change significantly between times or between groups (p > 0.05). The echocardiographic and cardiopulmonary results did not change significantly between times or between groups during the whole study period(p > 0.05). Conclusions: We provided an efficient and secure method for RBC apheresis. By harvesting more RBC volumes at one single‐time, the cardiovascular functions did not change significantly compared with traditional whole blood donation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract The pulmonary fate of inhaled poorly water-soluble drugs is not entirely clear. In this study, the main objective was to investigate the in vivo inhalation biopharmaceutics in the aspects of dissolution, mucociliary clearance, absorption and tissue binding using intratracheally administered budesonide and ciclesonide suspensions as model drugs. In doing so, this study first developed a method to differentiate between dissolved and undissolved ciclesonide in the lungs for evaluating in vivo dissolution. Following deposited in rat airways, the drug particles underwent rapid dissolution and mucociliary clearance, leading to the complete removal of drugs from the airways within 2 h and a limited absorption time less than 2 h. Upon dissolution, budesonide and ciclesonide were taken up and retained in the lung tissues for up to 12 h and 24 h, respectively. The in vivo dissolution profiles in the airways exhibited the sameness as the in vitro counterparts in a 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate solution as indicated by the similarity factor f2. The efficacy results in a lipopolysaccharide induced lung injury model showed that the duration of local anti-inflammatory was dependent on the drug levels in the lung tissues, but not on the in vitro/in vivo dissolution and plasma pharmacokinetics. The present results demonstrated that ciclesonide suspension has the potential to achieve once-daily dosing for nebulization therapy and the in vitro dissolution profile has limited usefulness in predicting in vitro–in vivo correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A specific functional electric component is connected to any branch of the neural circuit, which can enhance the corresponding biological function as a smart sensor, whereas the temperature has a significant effect on the firing rhythm of neurons by regulating channel conductance and excitability. So for this paper, a controllable thermosensitive neuron model is established by paralleling two thermistors in the FitzHugh–Nagumo neural circuit. Especially, the thermistors are controlled by two switches, where three working modes can be selected, for which bifurcation diagrams, time response diagrams and spectral entropy (SE) complexity are used to analyze the dynamic behaviors in different operating modes. It is found that any modulation of thermistor can regulate the branch current and output voltage completely under the three working modes. More importantly, the neuronal activities show different mode transitions from periodic to bursts or chaos. The superior dynamic characteristics and rich firing behavior make the new model more suitable for images encryption. For this purpose, we consider switching the three thermosensitive neuron models continuously to obtain more complex chaotic sequences. Next, based on the feature of high pixel correlation among color image components, a 3D projection scrambling algorithm is designed, and then employed in combination with the universal gravitational diffusion method to propose a color image encryption scheme. In addition, the designed algorithm is executed by encrypting and decrypting some color images. The experimental results show that the algorithm cannot only encrypt the color image effectively, but also has no limitation on the size of the test image. It is worth mentioning that the designed encrypted algorithm has satisfactory security performance and considerable robustness against noise attacks and shearing attacks. The exploration of this paper about the thermosensitive neuron model and its application may provide some theoretical guidance and experimental basis in the field of secure communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of polysaccharides in quality control of ginseng is underestimated. Large-scale comparison on the polysaccharides of Panax ginseng (PG), P. quinquefolius (PQ), P. notoginseng (PN), Red ginseng (RG), P. japonicus (ZJS), and P. japonicus var. major (ZZS), was performed by both chemical and biological approaches. Holistic fingerprinting at polysaccharide and the hydrolyzed oligosaccharide and monosaccharide levels utilized various chromatography methods, while OGD and OGD/R models on H9c2 cells were introduced to evaluate the protective effects on cell viability and mitochondrial function. Polysaccharides from six ginseng species exhibited remarkable content difference (RG > PG/ZZS/ZJS/PQ > PN), but weak differentiations in molecular weight distribution and oligosaccharide profiles, while Glc and GalA were richer for monosaccharide compositions of PG and RG polysaccharides, respectively. RG polysaccharides (25/50/100 μg/mL) showed significant cardiomyocyte protection by regulating mitochondrial functions. These new evidences may provide support for the supplementary role of polysaccharides in quality control of ginseng. [Display omitted] • A large-scale comparison study on six ginseng polysaccharides was performed. • Polysaccharides fingerprinting and cardiomyocyte protection were investigated. • Six ginseng polysaccharides showed differentiations in contents and compositions. • Red ginseng polysaccharides could protect against OGD and OGD/R-induced • injury. • Polysaccharides exhibit potentials in quality control of ginseng aside from saponins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study is aimed at investigating brain structural changes and structural network properties in complete spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, as well as their relationship with clinical variables. Materials and Methods. Structural MRI of brain was acquired in 24 complete thoracic SCI patients (38.50 ± 11.19 years, 22 males) within the first postinjury year, while 26 age- and gender-matched healthy participants (38.38 ± 10.63 years, 24 males) were enrolled as control. The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approach and graph theoretical network analysis based on cross-subject grey matter volume- (GMV-) based structural covariance networks (SCNs) were conducted to investigate the impact of SCI on brain structure. Partial correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationship between the GMV of structurally changed brain regions and SCI patients' clinical variables, including injury duration, injury level, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS), International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) scale, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), after removing the effects of age and gender. Results. Compared with healthy controls, SCI patients showed higher SDS score (t = 4.392 and p < 0.001). In the VBM analysis, significant GMV reduction was found in the left middle frontal cortex, right superior orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and left inferior OFC. No significant difference was found in global network properties between SCI patients and healthy controls. In the regional network properties, significantly higher betweenness centrality (BC) was noted in the right anterior cingulum cortex (ACC) and left inferior OFC and higher nodal degree and efficiency in bilateral middle OFCs, while decreased BC was noted in the right putamen in SCI patients. Only negative correlation was found between GMV of right middle OFC and SDS score in SCI patients (r = − 0.503 and p = 0.017), while no significant correlation between other abnormal brain regions and any of the clinical variables (all p > 0.05). Conclusions. SCI patients would experience depressive and/or anxious feelings at the early stage. Their GMV reduction mainly involved psychology-cognition related rather than sensorimotor brain regions. The efficiency of regional information transmission in psychology-cognition regions increased. Greater GMV reduction in psychology region was related with more severe depressive feelings. Therefore, early neuropsychological intervention is suggested to prevent psychological and cognitive dysfunction as well as irreversible brain structure damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inexpensive and simple non-invasive indexes for predicting liver inflammation are urgently required, but have been poorly studied in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN). A total of 356 CHB patients with ALT ≤2 ULN who presented at Huashan Hospital (n=181) and the First Hospital of Quanzhou (n=175) were enrolled and randomly divided into an experimental assessment cohort (n=238) and validation cohort (n=118) at a ratio of 2:1. Histological analysis of liver tissue was performed to determine the pathological stage according to the Scheuer scoring system. For the experimental assessment cohort, univariate and multivariate analysis identified aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and albumin (ALB) as independent predictors of liver necroinflammation [liver necroinflammation grade (G)≥2] in patients with ALT ≤2 ULN. Therefore, a novel index, the AST-to-ALB ratio (ATAR), was proposed, which had a better diagnostic performance [area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.721] than that of ALB (AUC=0.632; P=0.039 vs. ATAR) and AST (AUC=0.682; P=0.082 vs. ATAR). In the validation cohort, the AUC of ATAR (0.728) to identify patients with a G≥2 was slightly greater than that of AST (0.660; P=0.149 vs. ATAR) and ALB (0.672; P=0.282 vs. ATAR). Furthermore, a similar diagnostic superiority was also demonstrated in patients with ALT ≤1 ULN. Thus, ATAR may be a promising non-invasive surrogate marker for liver necroinflammation CHB patients with ALT ≤2 ULN and thereby determine whether anti-viral treatment should be initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are not free from significant hepatic lesions. Recently, there has been an improved understanding of the clinical significance of quantitative hepatitis B core antibody levels (qAnti‐HBc) during CHB management. In this cross‐sectional study, we evaluated the utility of qAnti‐HBc in identifying significant liver inflammation in CHB patients. Methods: A total of 469 patients (training set, n = 363; validation set, n = 106) who underwent liver biopsy (LB) were included. The qAnti‐HBc levels were quantified and the relationship between histology and serum markers was systematically analyzed. Results: In the training set, qAnti‐HBc levels were found to have significant diagnostic value for moderate to severe liver inflammation (≥G2) in all patients (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] = 0.768; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.721–0.810; P < 0.001) and in patients with normal or near‐normal ALT levels (AUROC = 0.767; 95% CI, 0.697–0.828; P < 0.001). Our novel index (AC index) for the identification of ≥G2 inflammation, which combined the qAnti‐HBc and ALT levels, significantly improved diagnostic performance (AUROC = 0.813; 95% CI, 0.768–0.852) compared to the use of ALT alone (AUROC = 0.779; 95% CI, 0.732–0.821) in all patients. In the validation set, the AC index showed an improved AUROC of 0.890 (95% CI, 0.814–0.942) and 0.867 (95% CI, 0.749–0.943) in all patients and patients with normal ALT levels, respectively. Conclusions: The qAnti‐HBc level predicts significant liver inflammation well, even in patients with normal or near‐normal ALT levels. Compared with the conventional ALT level, the AC index is a more reliable non‐invasive biomarker for significant liver inflammation in CHB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnS/few layer boron nitride nanosheets composites were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electrical microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence emission spectra and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. Rhodamine B was adopted to evaluate the degradation efficiency of the as-prepared samples under visible light irradiation. Experimental results showed that, compared to pure SnS, the few layer boron nitride nanosheets could improve photocatalytic activities of the samples for the degradation of Rhodamine B. With increasing the usage amount of the few layer boron nitride nanosheets, the degradation efficiency was first increased and then decreased. When the usage amount of the few layer boron nitride nanosheets was 10 wt%, it exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of 93.7% in 210 min, which was higher than 50% of pure SnS. After it was recycled for four times, it still possessed 88.7% of degradation efficiency. This was increased by 1008.7% than pure SnS. Moreover, it had band gap energy of 1.78 eV, obviously smaller than 2.06 eV of pure SnS. In addition, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five novel pregnenolone/2-cyanoacryloyl conjugates ( 6 – 30 ) were designed and prepared, with the aim of developing novel anticancer drugs with dual NF-κB inhibitory and anti-proliferative activities. Compounds 22 and 27 – 30 showed inhibition against TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation in luciferase assay, which was confirmed by Western blotting. Among them, compound 30 showed potent NF-κB inhibitory activity (IC 50 = 2.5 μM) and anti-proliferative against MCF-7, A549, H157, and HL-60 cell lines (IC 50 = 6.5–36.2 μM). The present study indicated that pregnenolone/2-cyanoacryloyl conjugate I can server as a novel scaffold for developing NF-κB inhibitors and anti-proliferative agents in cancer chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An efficient and rapid procedure for ring opening reaction of various epoxides with phenol and thiophenol derivatives was developed. The procedure can be obtained at room temperature under solvent-free condition in presence of (C4H12N2)2[BiCl6]Cl·H2O (1 mol %). This catalyst can be reused several times without significant loss of activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An efficient and rapid procedure for ring opening of various epoxides with aromatic, aliphatic and heterocyclic amines is developed at room temperature under solvent-free conditions in the presence of (C4H12N2)2[BiCl6]Cl·H2O (1mol%). This catalyst can be reused several times without losing of its activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel somatostatin (SS) DNA vaccine (pGM-CSF/SS), delivered orally by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium (CSO22), was used to immunize female mice at 5, 7, and 11 wk of age; the objective was to investigate the humoral immune response and effects of this vaccine on growth, reproduction and lactation. The pGM-CSF/SS induced SS-specific antibodies, which peaked (3.69 ± 0.89; mean ± S.D) 4 wk after the first booster immunization. Compared with a saline-treated control group, body weight gain of a pGM-CSF/SS immunized group increased 30.3% (23.88 vs. 18.32 g, P < 0.05) during the growth period (from 2 wk after primary immunization to 4 wk after the first booster immunization). Immunized mice had higher plasma estradiol concentrations (84.10 ± 2.16 vs. 81.45 ± 2.12 pg/ml, P < 0.05) and a shorter estrous cycle (4.06 ± 0.75 vs. 5.33 ± 0.49 d, P < 0.05), but serum progesterone concentrations were not significantly affected. Since offspring produced by immunized mice gained weight faster (P < 0.05) in the first 2 wk of life (4.27 ± 0.62 and 7.81 ± 1.30 g in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively vs. 3.70 ± 0.23 and 7.14 ± 0.48 g), we inferred that pGM-CSF/SS could have a direct or indirect role in regulating lactation in mice. In conclusion, GM-CSF and CSO22 served as adjuvant and attenuated live vector, respectively, with efficient oral delivery of an SS DNA vaccine which successfully induced a humoral immune response and enhanced rate of weight gain. Furthermore, the DNA vaccine pGM-CSF/SS affected plasma estradiol concentrations and the estrous cycle, and seemed to enhance lactation performance of female mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To discover novel anticancer agents with potent and low toxicity, we designed and synthesized a range of new thiosemicarbazone-indole analogues based on lead compound 4 we reported previously. Most compounds displayed moderate to high anticancer activities against five tested tumor cells (PC3, EC109, DU-145, MGC803, MCF-7). Specifically, the represented compound 16f possessed strong antiproliferative potency and high selectivity toward PC3 cells with the IC 50 value of 0.054 μM, compared with normal WPMY-1 cells with the IC 50 value of 19.470 μM. Preliminary mechanism research indicated that compound 16f could significantly suppress prostate cancer cells (PC3, DU-145) growth and colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, derivative 16f induced G1/S cycle arrest and apoptosis, which may be related to ROS accumulation due to the activation of MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, molecule 16f could effectively inhibit tumor growth through a xenograft model bearing PC3 cells and had no evident toxicity in vivo. Overall, based on the biological activity evaluation, analogue 16f can be viewed as a potential lead compound for further development of novel anti-prostate cancer drug. Image 1 • New thiosemicarbazone-indole derivatives were designed and synthesized based on previous work. • Most compounds were more sensitive to prostate cancer PC3 cells in comparison to other cancer cells. • 16f exhibited stronger activity and better safety profile than 3-AP, DPC and lead 4. • 16f induced G1/S cycle arrest and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells (PC3, DU-145) via ROS accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intended to investigate the in vivo pulmonary fate of intratracheally dosed nanosuspensions of fluticasone propionate (FP). Three FP suspensions, including a microsuspension and two nanosuspensions with different dissolution profiles, were prepared and they exhibited comparable aerodynamic performances after nebulization via a jet nebulizer. Following intratracheal administration to rats, the microsuspension underwent extensive mucociliary clearance, leading to a limited absorption time whereas the nanosuspensions decreased the mucociliary clearance and allowed dissolution rate-limiting and extended pulmonary absorption, resulting in prolonged pulmonary retention and long-acting anti-inflammatory efficacy in a lipopolysaccharide induced lung injury model. Delaying the FP dissolution of a nanosuspension by phospholipid coating increased AUC value in lung tissues to 1.72-fold of a conventional nanosuspension, but led to a decreased pharmacological efficacy. This study demonstrated that inhalable nanosuspensions were a feasible means for the sustained pulmonary delivery of FP and the local anti-inflammatory efficacy was highly dependent on the dissolution profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary pulmonary amoeba is very rare and here we report a case of a 68-year-old man presenting with primary pulmonary amoeba after undergoing chemotherapy for lung adenocarcinoma. Case presentation: In October 2016, the man aged 68 was admitted to our hospital because of repeated cough for 8 months and hemoptysis for 1 month. He was diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma and underwent surgery in 2012 without receiving chemotherapy. In March 2016, the patients suffered recurrence of cancer and was treated with chemotherapy. After 2 months of chemotherapy, the patient had consistent cough with white sputum, and chest CT showed a local lung nodule. The physicians suspected that the patient had pulmonary infectious diseases, and he was treated with empirical antibacterial treatment. However, his symptom wasn't relieved and later the percutaneous lung biopsy found trophozites of Entamoeba histolytica. After administration of metronidazole, the symptoms of the patient were markedly relieved and the lesions were absorbed. Conclusions: In such cases where patients with pulmonary nodules were in immunodeficiency state and had adequate but ineffective anti-bacterial treatment, Entamoeba histolytica infection could be one of the rare causes. Percutaneous lung biopsy should be recommended and specific dying for parasites should be done when necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notable advantages of the title process are solvent-free conditions, short reaction times, simple operation, high yields, and reusability of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solvent dependence of this domino cyclization is discussed and a reaction mechanism is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is demonstrated that BCA is an efficient catalyst for the ring-opening of epoxides with various amines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]