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Ming Zhong,1– 3 Yi-Ru Yang,4 Yong-Ze Zhang,1– 3 Sun-Jie Yan1– 3 1Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 2Fujian Diabetes Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 3Metabolic Diseases Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian, 362000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Sun-Jie YanDepartment of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 20 Tea Road, Taijiang District, Fuzhou, 350005, Fujian, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-0591-87983333Fax +86-0591-87981685Email fjyansunjie@163.comPurpose: This study aimed to assess association between change in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and the risk of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus.Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was performed, which included 185 individuals with type 2 diabetes. At baseline, and at two-year follow-up, we collected basic data, recorded symptoms and signs of DPN, measured biochemical indicators, composite motor nerve conduction velocity (composite MCV), and composite sensory nerve conduction velocity (composite SCV).Results: Changes of composite SCV, MCV and TCSS among different changes in UACR in patients without DPN and with DPN were not significantly different. An increase in UACR ≥ 30% (OR 3.059, 95%; CI: 1.012– 9.249) suggested a risk for new-onset DPN. Based on ROC curve analysis, the areas under the curve were 0.654 ± 0.066 for change of UACR levels in non-DPN patients.Conclusion: Change in UACR and NCV was not related in patients without DPN and with DPN; change in UACR ≥ 30% suggested a risk for new-onset DPN.Keywords: diabetic peripheral neuropathy, type 2 diabetes, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, nerve conduction velocity

You-Zhi Zhang,1 Yu-Lin Zhang,1 Qi Huang,1 Cong Huang,1 Zhi-Long Jiang,1 Fei Cai,1 Jian-Fen Shen2 1School of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei 437100, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang 314001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jian-Fen ShenDepartment of Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, 1882 Zhonghuan South Road, Jiaxing, Zhejiang 314001, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 573 8251 9007Email shenjf2008@163.comBackground: Hypoadiponectinemia is a high risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Although adiponectin is a protective molecule in cardiovascular diseases, it is hampered due to short plasma half-life and high cost of production. This study aimed to investigate whether AdipoRon, a small-molecule adiponectin receptor agonist, alleviated saturated free fatty acids such as palmitic acid (PA)-induced cardiomyocyte injury by suppressing Nlrp3 inflammasome activation.Methods: Cell viability was used with MTT assay. Cell apoptosis and mitochondria membrane potential were detected by flow cytometry. We also detected the ROS production and colocolization of inflammasome protein with fluorescence and immunofluorescence microscopic analysis, respectively. Then, IL-1β was detected by Elisa assay and other protein expression was analyzed by Western blot.Results: Our observations demonstrated PA dose-dependently promoted the cell injury, and such high lipotoxicity induced impairment of cardiomyocytes was significantly attenuated by AdipoRon treatment. Moreover, PA markedly activated the first phase of Nlrp3 inflammasome (NF-ƙb) signaling. Notably, the stimulation of PA enhanced ROS production as regulators of Nlrp3 inflammasome activation. In addition, treatment with PA increased the Nlrp3 inflammasome protein expression and complex formation, while AdipoRon abolished it. Lastly, the suppressive effect of AdipoRon to PA-induced cell injury and Nlrp3 inflammasome activation was significantly reversed by Nlrp3 siRNA and pan-caspase inhibitor (z-vad-fmk).Conclusion: Taken together, these data suggested that AdipoRon suppressed PA-induced myocardial cell injury by suppressing Nlrp3 inflammasome activation. Thus, AdipoRon might possess potent protective effect in lipotoxicity injury such as obesity leading to cardiac disease.Keywords: adiponectin, AdipoRon, PA, inflammasome, cardiomyocytes

Abstract The semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (C-SWNT) has been synthesized by S-doping, and they have extensive potential application in electronic devices. We investigated the electronic structures of S-doped capped (5, 5) C-SWNT with different doping position using first principles calculations. It is found that the electronic structures influence strongly on the workfunction without and with external electric field. It is considered that the extended wave functions at the sidewall of the tube favor for the emission properties. With the S-doping into the C-SWNT, the HOMO and LUMO charges distribution is mainly more localized at the sidewall of the tube and the presence of the unsaturated dangling bond, which are believed to enhance workfunction. When external electric field is applied, the coupled states with mixture of localized and extended states are presented at the cap, which provide the lower workfunction. In addition, the wave functions close to the cap have flowed to the cap as coupled states and to the sidewall of the tube mainly as extended states, which results in the larger workfunction. It is concluded that the S-doped C-SWNT is not incentive to be applied in field emitter fabrication. The results are also helpful to understand and interpret the application in other electronic devices.

Hua-Bin Peng,1 Ying Liu,1 Fei Hou,1 Shuang Zhao,1 Yi-Zhi Zhang,1 Zhi-Ying He,1 Jing-Yi Liu,1 Hao-Feng Xiong,1 Li-Ying Sun1– 4 1Department of Critical Liver Diseases, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Laboratory for Clinical Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Liver Transplantation Center, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Center for Pediatric Liver Transplantation, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Li-Ying Sun; Hao-Feng Xiong, Department of Critical Liver Diseases, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Number 101, Luyuan East Road, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101100, People’s Republic of China, Email sunxlx@outlook.com; Xionghaofengmd@qq.comPurpose: To examine the clinical utility of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in individuals with early pulmonary infection following liver transplantation.Patients and Methods: mNGS and traditional detection results were retrospectively collected from 99 patients with pulmonary infection within one week following liver transplantation. These patients were admitted to the Department of Critical Liver Diseases at Beijing Friendship Hospital from February 2022 to February 2024, along with their general clinical data.Results: mNGS exhibited a significantly higher detection rate than traditional methods (92.93% vs 54.55%, P < 0.05) and was more effective in identifying mixed infections (67.68% vs 14.81%, P < 0.05). mNGS identified 303 pathogens in 92 patients, with Enterococcus faecium, Pneumocystis jirovecii, and human herpesvirus types 5 and 7 being the most prevalent bacteria, fungi, and viruses. A total of 26 positive cases were identified through traditional culture methods (sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid), with 18 cases consistent with mNGS detection results, representing 69.23% consistency. Among the three drug-resistant bacteria that showed positivity in mNGS and traditional culture, the presence of drug-resistance genes—mecA in Staphylococcus aureus; KPC-2, KPC-9, KPC-18, KPC-26, OXA27, OXA423 in Klebsiella pneumoniae; and OXA488 and NDM6 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa—reliably predicted drug-resistance phenotype. The treatment regimen for 76 of the 92 patients with positive mNGS relied on these results; 74 exhibited significant symptom improvement, yielding a 97.37% recovery rate. The overall prognosis was favorable.Conclusion: mNGS offers rapid detection, a high positivity rate, insensitivity to antibiotics, and a superior ability to detect mixed infections in patients with early post-transplant pulmonary infections. Additionally, mNGS shows good consistency with traditional culture and can predict drug-resistant phenotypes to guide targeted antibiotic therapy for early-stage post-transplant pulmonary infection after liver transplantation. Patients whose antibiotic therapy is based on mNGS results have experienced decreased mortality rates and overall improved prognosis.Keywords: Liver transplantation, Pulmonary infection, Metagenomic next-generation sequencing, Clinical value

Kai-Cai Liu,1 Wei-Fu lv,2 Dong Lu,2 Chang-Long Hou,2 Jun Xie,3 Yu-He Lu,4 Qi-Sheng Cao,5 Yu-Lin Tan,6 Ying-Zhan Zhang,7 Jie Liu8 1Infection Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Interventional Radiology, Fuyang People’s Hospital, Fuyang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Interventional Radiology, Chuzhou First People’s Hospital, Chuzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Interventional Radiology, Ma’anshan People’s Hospital, Ma’anshan, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Interventional Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Interventional Radiology, Yingshang People’s Hospital, Fuyang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wei-Fu lv; Dong LuDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail weifulv@ustc.edu.cn; ahslludong@163.comPurpose: To investigate the potential safety and efficacy of drug-eluting bead-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) in treating TACE-refractory hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the treatment outcomes of DEB-TACE for 41 HCC nodules in 30 patients who were refractory to conventional TACE (c-TACE) according to tumor response. The antitumor response was evaluated according to mRECIST criteria, and changes in alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin-bilirubin score, the incidence of adverse events, and the time to disease progression were observed.Results: The objective response rate and disease control rates were 60.98% and 95.12% at 4 weeks after DEB-TACE, 63.41% and 92.68% at 8 weeks, respectively. The median time of disease progression was 4.60 ± 0.23 months. The AFP of patients decreased continuously at 2– 6 weeks after operation, and the AFP at 4 weeks was significantly lower than that at 2 weeks (P = 0.038). Adverse reactions were well tolerated, and no grade 4 adverse reactions were reported. The albumin-bilirubin score did not deteriorate within 6 weeks.Conclusion: DEB-TACE has potential efficacy and safety after failure of c-TACE in patients with advanced liver cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of DEB-TACE treatment after failure of c-TACE.Keywords: transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, refractory disease, drug-eluting bead, hepatocellular carcinoma, efficacy

Hua Yuan,* Yu-Zhao Zhang,* Hong Jie, Shi-Lian Li Department of Ophthalmology, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, 430016, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shi-Lian LiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, No. 100 Hongkong Road, Wuhan, 430016, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13971212408Fax +8627-82433375Email lisldrli@163.comObjective: To discuss a rapid and effective treatment used for children with eyelid lacerations during the COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan to limit the risk of cross-infection.Methods: A comparative study was conducted of forty-five patients with eyelid lacerations who attended the Ophthalmology Department of Wuhan Children’s Hospital between January 23, 2020 and March 6, 2020. The tissue glue Histoacryl was used to bond the wounds in 24 cases, while the traditional suture method was used for 21 cases. The wound healing time, complications, treatment satisfaction, and number of visits of the two groups were compared.Results: The two groups had similar baseline characteristics. The wound healing time (from wound disinfection to wound dressing) was shorter in the tissue glue group (4.35 ± 0.47min versus 11.71 ± 1.85 min, P< 0.01). There was 1 case of wound dehiscence in the tissue glue group. Twenty-two cases in the tissue glue group were satisfied, 2 cases were basically satisfied, and 0 were dissatisfied. Eleven cases in the traditional suture group were satisfied, 9 cases were basically satisfied, and 1 case was dissatisfied. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In terms of the number of visits, the tissue glue group visited (1.54 ± 0.88) times, while the traditional suture group visited (2.38 ± 0.59) times. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 of all medical staff in the ophthalmology emergency room were negative.Conclusion: Compared with the traditional suture method, tissue glue used in eyelid laceration in children has the advantages of painlessness, shorter operation duration, higher safety and satisfaction, greater ease of care, and fewer hospital visits. Tissue glue can be widely used to reduce the risk of cross-infection.Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19, tissue glue, acrylate cyanide, children, eyelid, laceration

Taohua Liu,1 Yuezhong Zhang,1 Qiquan Wan2 1Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; 2Department of Transplant Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia remains as a life-threatening complication after liver transplantation (LT) and is intractable because of the high rate of drug resistance to commonly used antibiotics. To better understand the characteristics of this postoperative complication, PubMed and Embase searches as well as reference mining was done for relevant literature from the start of the databases through August 2018. Among LT recipients, the incidence of P. aeruginosa bacteremia ranged from 0.5% to 14.4% and mortality rates were up to 40%. Approximately 35% of all episodes of bloodstream infections (BSIs) were P. aeruginosa bacteremia, of which 47% were multidrug resistant and 63% were extensively drug resistant. Several factors are known to affect the mortality of LT recipients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia, including hypotension, mechanical ventilation, and increasing severity of illness. In LT recipients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia, alteration in DNA gyrase A genes and overexpression of proteins involved in efflux systems, namely the expression of KPC-2-type carbapenemase, NDM-1, and VIM-2-type MBL, contribute to the high resistance of P. aeruginosa to a wide variety of antibiotics. Because of complicated mechanisms of drug resistance, P. aeruginosa causes high morbidity and mortality in bacteremic LT patients. Consequently, early detection and treatment with adequate early targeted coverage for P. aeruginosa BSI are of paramount importance in the early posttransplantation period to obtain a better prognosis for LT patients. Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, morbidity and mortality, risk factor, solid organ transplantation, liver transplantation

Jianfen Shen,1 Youzhi Zhang,2 Hui Shen,1 Hua Pan,1 Longsheng Xu,1 Linna Yuan,1 Zhiying Ding1 1Department of Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314000, China; 2School of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437100, China Objective: Breast cancer has been reported to be a serious disease and a threat to women’s health. 2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (THSG) is a bioactive natural compound originating from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb., which has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. Adriamycin (ADM) is a chemotherapy agent used in tumor therapy that is limited by its side effects. However, little is known about the synergistic effect of THSG combined with ADM on breast cancer. This study seeks to investigate the effects of the combination of THSG plus ADM on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and to test the mechanisms involved.Materials and methods: MTT assay was detected to determine cell viability. Furthermore, cell apoptosis was tested by flow cytometry and TUNEL assay. In addition, protein expression was measured by Western blot analysis.Results: The individual treatment of THSG and ADM induced cell injury. Moreover, cotreatment further increased it, which the effect may be associated with the elevation of the apoptotic-related protein expression such as Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3. Lastly, our results also show the reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt protein expression in the individual or synergistic treatment.Conclusion: Taken together, cotreatment of THSG and ADM may exert a synergistic reduction of cell injury via the inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway. Thus, THSG might possess potent anti-breast cancer effect with ADM. Keywords: THSG, ADM, synergistic effect, apoptosis, VEGF/PI3K/Akt, breast cancer

Bi-Lian Chen,1,* Yin-Zhuang Zhang,1,* Jian-Quan Luo,2,3 Wei Zhang2,3 1Department of Geriatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Hypertension is the most common chronic disease and the calcium channel antagonist is the most popularly used antihypertensive drug in Chinese patients. Azelnidipine is a third generation and long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist. A series of research has demonstrated that azelnidipine produced an effective antihypertensive effect in patients with essential hypertension. Now it is need to summarize clinical use of azelnidipine in the treatment of hypertension in Chinese patients. Methods: Relevant literature was identified by performing searches in PubMed and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), covering the period from January 2003 (the year azelnidipine was launched) to July 2014. We included studies that described pharmacology of azelnidipine, especially the pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, and safety and tolerability of azelnidipine in a Chinese population. The full text of each article was strictly reviewed, and data interpretation was performed. Results: In Chinese healthy volunteers, a single-dose oral administration of azelnidipine 8–16 mg had a peak plasma concentration of 1.66–23.06 ng/mL and time to peak plasma concentration was 2.6–4.0 hours and the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve from time 0 hour to 96 hours was 17.9–429 ng/mL·h and elimination half-life was 16.0–28.0 hours. A number of clinical trials have demonstrated that azelnidipine produced a significant reduction in blood pressure in Chinese patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension, which was similar to that of other effective antihypertensive drugs such as amlodipine, zofenopril, and nifedipine. In addition to its antihypertensive effect, azelnidipine had other cardiovascular protective effects as well, like anti-oxidative action, decreasing heart rate, and improving systolic and diastolic function. Azelnidipine was generally well tolerated in Chinese patients and no severe adverse events were observed. Conclusion: Azelnidipine is effective and safe in the treatment of hypertension in Chinese patients. Keywords: azelnidipine, hypertension, Chinese, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy

In 2018, the family Arenaviridae was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 5 novel species. At the same time, the recently established order Bunyavirales was expanded by 3 species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the family Arenaviridae and the order Bunyavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.

In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.