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Respiratory viral infections, such as coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza, cause significant morbidity and mortality and have become a worldwide public health concern with tremendous economic and societal burdens. Vaccination is a major strategy for preventing infections. However, some new vaccines have an unmet need for impairing responses in certain individuals, especially COVID-19 vaccines, despite ongoing vaccine and adjuvant research. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), a bioactive polysaccharide extracted from the traditional Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus as an immune adjuvant to regulate the efficacy of influenza split vaccine (ISV) and recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-Cov-2 vaccine in mice. Our data indicated that APS as an adjuvant can facilitate the induction of high levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titer and specific antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) and confer protection against the lethal challenge of influenza A viruses, including increased survival and amelioration of weight loss in mice immunized with the ISV. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed that the NF-κB and Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis signaling pathways are essential for the immune response of mice immunized with the recombinant SARS-Cov-2 vaccine (RSV). Another important finding was that bidirectional immunomodulation of APS on cellular and humoral immunity was observed, and APS-adjuvant-induced antibodies persisted at a high level for at least 20 weeks. These findings suggest that APS is a potent adjuvant for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, and has the advantages of bidirectional immunoregulation and persistent immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To verify and reveal the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) of Gouqi Juhua Fang (GJ Fang) on asthenopia, this experiment studied the nourishing effect of GJ Fang by establishing the yin deficiency of the liver and kidney pattern model. Methods According to body weight, 50 male Kunming mice were randomly divided into five groups (each n = 10): normal group, model group, Qiju Dihuang Pill (QD Pill) group (3.0 g/kg), low-dose GJ Fang group (65.7 mg/kg), and high-dose GJ Fang group (131.4 mg/kg). Each morning, the intervention groups were administered corresponding medicine by gavage, and the normal group and model group were administered the same amount of distilled water by gavage, for 14 days. Each afternoon, the model group and each intervention group were given levothyroxine sodium solution (150 μg/kg) by gavage, and then the tail was clipped about 3 cm from the tip for 5 minutes, for 14 days. The general state of the mice was observed every day, and all mice were weighed on the 1st, 7th, and 14th day. On the 14th day, the temperature tropism was detected. On the 15th day, all mice were sacrificed, and the samples were collected. The thymus index was calculated; the cyclic nucleotides, thyroid hormones, sex hormones, liver function, and immune factors in serum were detected; the energy metabolism enzyme activities and oxidation levels in the liver tissue were also determined. Results Compared with the normal group, the model group showed symptoms of deficiency and heat such as weight loss, dry and hard stools, yellow urine, increased voluntary activities, irritability, active reactions, and the desire to be close to the cold environment. The symptoms both improved to a certain extent in the QD Pill group and GJ Fang group. Compared with the model group, the low- and high-dose GJ Fang group showed the following: The bodyweight of the mice was increased (P<0.05); the contents of cAMP, cGMP, cAMP/cGMP, E2/T, T4, and ALT were decreased (P < 0.05); the thymus index was increased (P<0.05); and the levels of T3 and IL-2 increased (P<0.05). In addition, the contents of MDA and the activities of Na+-++-ATPase and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase decreased (P<0.05) in the liver. Conclusion GJ Fang and QD Pill both can improve internal heat and endocrine hormone disorders in yin deficiency, reduce the rate of energy metabolism, enhance the immunity and antioxidant factors level, and comprehensively relieve the state of yin deficiency in the liver and kidney, thus relieving asthenopia. Because of the safe formula and clear active ingredients, GJ Fang has the potential to be developed into a safe, stable, controllable, and pattern-differentiated product for asthenopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless network virtualization, which decouples the physical supply process and the service provisioning process, can abstract, isolate, and share the physical infrastructure network equipment. This paper studies the resource virtualization in virtual multiple-input multiple-output single-carrier frequency-division-multiple-access uplink systems, where resources are abstracted to hide the complex details of the fading channel and the link rates are virtualized using the statistical method. Furthermore, the virtual link rates are scheduled and instantiated to different slices with customized delay-bounded quality of service (QoS) provisioning. In this scheme, a physical mobile network operator (PMNO) is in charge of the network resource at the physical layer, while virtual mobile network operators (VMNOs) are responsible for the traffic admission and the slice management at the MAC layer. Furthermore, we build up the resource virtualization problem as a cross-layer Stackelberg game, which has the interactive dual processes based on the QoS exponent: top-to-down sub-game of leaders at the MAC layer and down-to-top sub-game of follower at the physical layer. Using the newly designed functions for PMNO and VMNOs, we develop an effective dynamic algorithm with an iterative dual update to meet the optimization targets of PMNO and VMNOs. Simulation results verify the superiority and stability of delay-bounded QoS guaranteed wireless resource virtualization algorithm developed in this paper in terms of convergence, access rate, and delay-outage probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent aphthous ulcers are the most common recurrent oral mucosal lesions characterized by recurrence and pain. The aim of this research is to evaluate the short-term curative effect of the traditional Chinese medicine “Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid” on mild recurrent aphthous ulcers. A total of 234 patients were divided into a treatment group and a control group. Both groups used vitamin B2 as the basis of treatment. The treatment group took a Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral solution for 8 days while the control group was given a liquid placebo. The ulcer size, pseudomembrane, peripheral congestion, and pain scores of the treatment group were lower than before treatment. The curative effect on the Pudilan group was statistically significant compared with the control group. The final therapeutic effect on the treatment group was better than that on the control group. The healing time of mild recurrent aphthous ulcers can be shortened by Pudilan anti-inflammatory oral liquid, and pain is relieved without adverse reactions. Pudilan provides a new reference drug for the treatment of mild recurrent oral ulcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]