Conductive Metal-Organic Framework with Superior Redox Activity as a Stable High-Capacity Anode for High-Temperature K-Ion Batteries.

High-temperature rechargeable batteries are essential for energy storage in elevated-temperature situations. Due to the resource abundance of potassium, high-temperature K-ion batteries are drawing increasing research interest. However, raising the working temperature would aggravate the chemical and mechanical instability of the KIB anode, resulting in very fast capacity fading, especially when high capacity is pursued. Here, we demonstrated that a porous conductive metal-organic framework (MOF), which is constructed by N-rich aromatic molecules and CuO4 units via π-d conjugation, could provide multiple accessible redox-active sites and promised robust structure stability for efficient potassium storage at high temperatures. Even working at 60 °C, this MOF anode could deliver high initial capacity (455 mAh g-1), impressive rate, and extraordinary cyclability (96.7% capacity retention for 1600 cycles), which is much better than those of reported high-temperature KIB anodes. The mechanistic study revealed that C═N groups and CuO4 units contributed abundant redox-active sites; the synergistic effect of π-d conjugated character and reticular porous architecture facilitated the K+/e- transport and ensured an insoluble electrode with small volume deformation, thus achieving stable high-capacity potassium storage.

Effectiveness of smart health-based rehabilitation on patients with poststroke dysphagia: A brief research report.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of smart health-based rehabilitation on patients with poststroke dysphagia (PSD). Methods: We recruited 60 PSD patients and randomly allocated them to the intervention (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. The former received the smart health-based rehabilitation for 12 weeks, whereas the latter received routine rehabilitation. Water swallow test (WST), standardized swallowing assessment (SSA), swallow quality-of-life questionnaire (SWAL-QOL), stroke self-efficacy questionnaire (SSEQ), perceived social support scale (PSSS) and nutritional measurements including body weight, triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), total protein (TP), serum albumin (ALB) and serum prealbumin (PA) in both groups were measured. Results: When the baseline WST, SSA, SWAL-QOL, SSEQ, PSSS and nutritional measurements were examined, there was no significant difference between the intervention group and the control group (P > 0.05). After rehabilitation interventions, the WST and SSA scores in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.01). The SWAL-QOL, SSEQ and PSSS scores in the intervention group were significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed an increase in the serum levels of PA (P < 0.01). However, no statistically significant difference existed between the intervention group and the control group in terms of body weight, TSF, TP or ALB (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Overall, our data revealed that smart health-based rehabilitation is significantly beneficial to the swallowing function, quality of life, self-efficacy, and social support for PSD patients when compared with routine rehabilitation. However, nutritional measurements were not significantly improved in such patients under the smart health-based rehabilitation when compared the routine rehabilitation. In the future, it is necessary to extend the intervention time to further evaluate the long-term efficacy of smart health-based rehabilitation on nutritional measurements of PSD patients.

LncRNA MALAT1 promotes tumorigenesis and immune escape of diffuse large B cell lymphoma by sponging miR-195.

BACKGROUND: PD-L1 enhanced the tumorigenesis and immune escape abilities of cancers. The upstream mechanisms of PD-L1 in regulating tumorigenesis and immune escape of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remained unclear. METHODS: Human DLBCL cell line OCI-Ly10 and DLBCL patient samples were used in this study. MALAT1 was knocked down by shRNA. MiR-195 was inhibited by miR-195 inhibitor. Levels of MALAT1, PD-L1, miR-195 and CD8 were detected by RT-qPCR. Protein levels of PD-L1, Ras, p-ERK1/2, ERK1/2, Slug, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin were detected by western blotting. The interaction between MALAT1 and miR-195, miR-195 and PD-L1 were detected by luciferase assay. OCI-Ly10 cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by MTT and Annexin V/PI assays, respectively. Migration was detected by transwell assay. Cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells was detected by LDH cytotoxicity kit. Proliferation and apoptosis of CD8+ T cell co-cultured with OCI-Ly10 cells were analyzed by CFSE and Annexin V/PI staining. RESULTS: MALAT1, PD-L1 and CD8 were up-regulated in DLBCL tissues while miR-195 was down-regulated. MiR-195 was negatively correlated with MALAT1 and PD-L1. MALAT1 could sponge miR-195 to regulate the expression of PD-L1. shMALAT1 treatment increased miR-195 level and decreased PD-L1 level. It also inhibited cell proliferation, migration and immune escape ability while increased apoptosis ratio of OCI-Ly10 cells. shMALAT1 treatment in OCI-Ly10 cells also promoted proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of CD8+ T cells. Knocking down of MALAT1 also suppressed EMT-like process via Ras/ERK signaling pathway. These effects were all rescued by miR-195 inhibitor. CONCLUSION: Long non-coding RNA MALAT1 sponged miR-195 to regulate proliferation, apoptosis and migration and immune escape abilities of DLBCL by regulation of PD-L1.

Paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin combination chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

The aim of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin (TFL) as first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). One hundred and thirteen patients were enrolled in the study who were confirmed to have AGC by histopathology. These patients were treated with TFL: paclitaxel at a dose of 135 mg/m as a 3-h intravenous infusion on day 1, LV 400 mg/m as an intravenous infusion over 2 h on day 1, followed by 5-fluorouracil 2400 mg/m as an infusion over a 46-h period on 3 consecutive days. Cycles were repeated every 2 weeks. A total of 113 patients were assessed for their response to therapy. A total of three patients achieved complete responses and 46 patients achieved partial responses, yielding an overall objective response rate of 43.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 34.3-52.5%]. Fifty-four cases of stable disease and 10 cases of progressive disease were observed in the remaining patients. The median time to progression and overall survival were 5.2 months (95% CI: 4.7-5.8 months) and 14.1 months (95% CI: 12.5-15.8 months), respectively. Toxicities were tolerable and moderate. The most common grade 3-4 toxicities included leukopenia (16.8%), neutropenia (17.7%), anemia (8.0%), thrombocytopenia (5.3%), and fatigue (6.2%). Combination chemotherapy with TFL offers an active and safe therapeutic approach for patients with AGC.

Effect of BIX-01294 on H3K9me2 levels and the imprinted gene Snrpn in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells.

Histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) hypermethylation is thought to be a major influential factor in cellular reprogramming, such as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and induction of pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The diazepin-quinazolin-amine derivative (BIX-01294) specifically inhibits the activity of histone methyltransferase EHMT2 (euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2) and reduces H3K9me2 levels in cells. The imprinted gene small nuclear ribonucleoprotein N (Snrpn) is of particular interest because of its important biological functions. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of BIX-01294 on H3K9me2 levels and changes in Snrpn DNA methylation and histone H3K9me2 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Results showed that 1.3 µM BIX-01294 markedly reduced global levels of H3K9me2 with almost no cellular toxicity. There was a significant decrease in H3K9me2 in promoter regions of the Snrpn gene after BIX-01294 treatment. A significant increase in methylation of the Snrpn differentially methylated region 1 (DMR1) and slightly decreased transcript levels of Snrpn were found in BIX-01294-treated MEFs. These results suggest that BIX-01294 may reduce global levels of H3K9me2 and affect epigenetic modifications of Snrpn in MEFs.

[Hemodynamic variations during tracheal intubation with intubating laryngeal mask airway versus direct laryngoscope in hypertensive patients].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the variations of cardiovascular responses and vascular angiotensin II (AngII) in hypertensive patients during tracheal intubation with intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) versus direct laryngoscope (DLS). METHODS: A total of 120 hypertensive patients undergoing abdominal surgery were randomly divided into 2 groups, i.e.intubating laryngeal mask airway (Group I) and direct laryngoscope (Group D).Variations of invasive arterial blood pressure and angiotensin II were compared between two groups before and after intubation. RESULTS: The variations of cardiovascular responses and vascular angiotensin II (AngII) during tracheal intubation used of ILMA (T4) and DLS (T4) in an instant, tracheal intubation were immediately accomplished in two groups (T5). The variations of group I were significantly lower than those of group D (P < 0.05). And statistical significance existed between two groups. CONCLUSION: Tracheal intubation with intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) can significantly reduce violent cardiovascular reactions and avoid cardiovascular accidents.