Early diagnosis and clinical application of systemic lupus erythematosus based on a nomogram model.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease involving multi-system and multi-organ dysfunction, and is easily misdiagnosed early in the disease course. We aimed to accurately predict early SLE nomogram to provide a reference basis for the early clinical diagnosis of SLE. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 167 patients who were first diagnosed with SLE at Fengxian District Central Hospital, Shanghai, between March 2017 and October 2022. Three groups of 129 physically healthy subjects, 67 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and 40 patients with rashes were selected as controls during the same period. Patients with SLE and control group were randomly divided into training (n = 217) and validation (n = 141) group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for early SLE diagnosis. The independent risk factors for diagnosis were used to construct a nomogram to predict early SLE. Results: Based on the training group, three variables were identified as independently influencing early SLE: platelets (odds ratio OR = 0.993, P = 0.047), albumin (OR = 0.833, P = 0.007), and complement component 1q (OR = 0.956, P = 0.000). The precision of the nomogram was assessed using C-index values and calibration plot diagrams. The C-index values were 0.929 for training group and 0.898 for validation group. Both the training group and validation group calibration curves showed good predicted outcomes. Conclusion: The construction of a nomogram can accurately predict the risk of early SLE. The model showed good discriminatory power and calibration for use in the diagnosis of SLE, providing a visual tool and reference basis for the early diagnosis of SLE.

Synthesis and Characterization of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives Based on a Naphthyl Curing Agent.

The incorporation of a naphthyl curing agent (NCA) can enhance the thermal stability of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). In this study, a PSA matrix was synthesized using a solution polymerization process and consisted of butyl acrylate, acrylic acid, and an ethyl acrylate within an acrylic copolymer. Benzoyl peroxide was used as an initiator during the synthesis. To facilitate the UV curing of the solvent-borne PSAs, glycidyl methacrylate was added to introduce unsaturated carbon double bonds. The resulting UV-curable acrylic PSA tapes exhibited longer holding times at high temperatures (150 °C) compared to uncross-linked PSA tapes, without leaving any residues on the substrate surface. The thermal stability of the PSA was further enhanced by adding more NCA and increasing the UV dosage. This may be attributed to the formation of cross-linking networks within the polymer matrix at higher doses. The researchers successfully balanced the adhesion performance and thermal stability by modifying the amount of NCA and UV radiation, despite the peel strength declining and the holding duration shortening. This research also investigated the effects of cross-linking density on gel content, molecular weight, glass transition temperature, and other properties of the PSAs.

Comparison of Immunomodulatory and Anticancer Activities in Different Strains of Tremella fuciformis Berk.

Tremella fuciformis Berk (TF) is a common edible and medicinal mushroom, and has long been used in food and in Chinese medicine. It possesses anticancer, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative, and neuroprotective abilities. Since their cultivation is a problem, TFs in Taiwan are primarily imported from China, which has a problem with pesticide residues. Thus, the question of whether the Taiwan cultivated TFs, T1, and T6 showed similar or even better results than TFs from China (CH) was assessed in the present study. The results of the physicochemical tests of these TFs showed that T1 extracted by hot water (T1H) has the highest concentration of polysaccharide; meanwhile, T6 extracted by cold water (T6C) showed the highest amount of protein. Regarding the immune modulatory effects of these TFs, hot water extracts of these TFs augmented significantly the inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-[Formula: see text] mRNA expression than those of cold water extracts. On the other hand, the cold water extracts of TFs, especially of T1C, obviously suppressed cancer cell survival better than those of hot water extracts. Interestingly, we found that hot water extracts of TFs may augment necrotic cell death, whereas, cold water extracts of TFs induce apoptosis. Furthermore, we also showed that these TFs activate caspase-3 cleavage, up regulate the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and decrease MMP-9 expressions in PC-3 cells. Taken together, our results indicated that T1 and T6 strains of TFs showed the similar immune modulatory and anticancer abilities were better than the CH strain of TFs.

[The protective effect of propofol pretreatment on glutamate injury of neonatal rat brain slices].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effect of propofol precondition against glutamate (Glu) neurotoxicity to neonatal rat cerebrocortical slices. METHODS: Brain slices of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were cultured in vitro and observed the morphologic changes. Brain slices were randomly divided into three groups: blank control group, Glu injury group (1 mmol/L Glu for 0.5 hour), propofol precondition group (20 mg/L propofol for 24 hours), each n=12. Changes in pathological and ultra-structure of cells were observed using microscope. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage rate was measured. Meanwhile, the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was detected by immunohistochemical technology, then the positive cell were counted. RESULTS: Cultured brain slices of cell were intact and survived well. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, electron microscopy and LDH test results showed that cerebral film neuron severely damage, gliosis, edema, LDH leakage rate in Glu injury group were significantly more severe compared with blank control group [(68.5±2.0)% vs. (16.0±2.5)%, P<0.01]. Reduce the brain slice of the propofol pretreatment group of neuronal cell jury, cell shape recovery significantly reduced LDH leakage rate compared with the Glu injury group [(38.5±2.4)% vs. (68.5±2.0)%, P<0.05]. Immunohistochemical detection of GFAP expression of Glu injury group glial cell body swelling, producing increase in the number of GFAP positive reaction strong, the number of positive cells compared with blank control group was significantly increased (50±5 cells/HP vs. 10±3 cells/HP, P<0.01). The recovery of propofol pretreatment group glial cell morphology, cell processes slender GFAP positive reaction decreased the number of positive cells compared with the Glu injury group was significantly decreased (30±4 cells/HP vs. 50±5 cells/HP, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Propofol pretreatment has protective effect against Glu injured rat cerebrocortical slices.

PaCDPK1, a gene encoding calcium-dependent protein kinase from orchid, Phalaenopsis amabilis, is induced by cold, wounding, and pathogen challenge.

Signaling pathways, specifically calcium and calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK), have been implicated in the regulation of stress and developmental signals in plants. Here, we reported the isolation and characterization of an orchid, Phalaenopsis amabilis, CDPK gene, PaCDPK1, by using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE)-PCR technique. The full length cDNA of 2,310 bp contained an open reading frame for PaCDPK1 consisting of 593 amino acid residues. Sequence alignment indicated that PaCDPK1 shared similarities with other plant CDPKs. PaCDPK1 transcripts were expressed strongly in labellum but not in leaves and roots. In addition, the PaCDPK1 gene was transcriptionally activated in response to low temperature, wounding, and pathogen infection. To identify the regulatory role of the PaCDPK1 promoter, a construct containing the PaCDPK1 promoter fused to a beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was transferred into Arabidopsis by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. GUS staining revealed that PaCDPK1/GUS expression was induced by cold, wounding, and pathogen challenge in leaves and stems of transgenic Arabidopsis. These results suggested that this PaCDPK1 gene promoter could be used as an endogenous promoter for biotechnological purposes in orchids.