Aromatic Rules of C22H122+/2•/2-: Flexibility in Electronic Structures of 2D Superatomic Molecules.

Triangulene (C22H122•), a nonclassic non-Kekulé polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, is identified to be aromatic by structural and magnetic criteria. However, its aromatic origin remains confusing. Herein, the aromatic rules of C22H122• and its two charged counterparts C22H122+/2- were investigated on the basis of a recently developed two-dimensional (2D) superatomic-molecule theory. [C22H12]2+/2•/2- exhibit obvious local aromatic characters and can be regarded as [◊N3◊O3]+, [◊N3◊O3]-, and ◊N3◊F3 superatomic molecules, respectively, where ◊N, ◊O, and ◊F denote 2D superatoms bearing 3π, 4π, and 5π electrons. [C22H12]2+/2- realize electronic shell closure via superatomic lone pairs and covalent bonds, mimicking simple molecules, whereas the α-π and ß-π electrons in C22H122• follow the superatomic bonding patterns of C22H122- and C22H122+, respectively. Furthermore, based on the local character in 2D superatomic molecules, a doped nanoporous graphene, namely, C9N12B monolayer, was predicted. The material possesses excellent dynamical and thermodynamical stability, as well as a wide band gap of 2.77 eV, positioning it as a promising 2D material for future electronic applications.

Effect of sunitinib against Echinococcus multilocularis through inhibition of VEGFA-induced angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a lethal zoonosis caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. The disease is difficult to treat, and an effective therapeutic drug is urgently needed. Echinococcus multilocularis-associated angiogenesis is required by the parasite for growth and metastasis; however, whether antiangiogenic therapy is effective for treating AE is unclear. METHODS: The in vivo efficacy of sunitinib malate (SU11248) was evaluated in mice by secondary infection with E. multilocularis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to evaluate treatment effects on serum IL-4 and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) levels after SU11248 treatment. Gross morphological observations and immunohistochemical staining were used to evaluate the impact of SU11248 on angiogenesis and the expression of pro-angiogenic factors VEGFA and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in the metacestode tissues. Furthermore, the anthelmintic effects of SU11248 were tested on E. multilocularis metacestodes in vitro. The effect of SU11248 on the expression of VEGFA, VEGFR2, and phosphorylated VEGFR2 (p-VEGFR2) in liver cells infected with protoscoleces in vitro was detected by western blotting, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The influence of SU11248 on endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) proliferation and migration was determined using CCK8 and transwell assays. RESULTS: In vivo, SU11248 treatment markedly reduced neovascular lesion formation and substantially inhibited E. multilocularis metacestode growth in mice. Further, it exhibited high anti-hydatid activity as efficiently as albendazole (ABZ), and the treatment resulted in reduced protoscolex development. In addition, VEGFA, VEGFR2, and p-VEGFR2 expression was significantly decreased in the metacestode tissues after SU11248 treatment. However, no effect of SU11248 on serum IL-4 levels was observed. In vitro, SU11248 exhibited some anthelmintic effects and damaged the cellular structure in the germinal layer of metacestodes at concentrations below those generally considered acceptable for treatment (0.12-0.5 µM). Western blotting, RT-qPCR, and ELISA showed that in co-cultured systems, only p-VEGFR2 levels tended to decrease with increasing SU11248 concentrations. Furthermore, SU11248 was less toxic to Reuber rat hepatoma (RH) cells and metacestodes than to EPCs, and 0.1 µM SU11248 completely inhibited EPC migration to the supernatants of liver cell and protoscolex co-cultures. CONCLUSIONS: SU11248 is a potential candidate drug for the treatment of AE, which predominantly inhibits parasite-induced angiogenesis. Host-targeted anti-angiogenesis treatment strategies constitute a new avenue for the treatment of AE.

Efficacy and safety of Xiao-ai-ping injection add-on therapy to chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Xiao-ai-ping injection (XAPI) combined with chemotherapy has potential efficacy and less side effects in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). At present, there are many clinical studies on XAPI combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC, but the results are different. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of XAPI combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC by meta-analysis system. METHODS: The databases to be searched include PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and so on. In addition, relevant journals and magazines will manually search in various fields as supplements. The search date is set from the establishment of the database until July 8, 2023. The 2 researchers will use Endnote X9 software for literature screening and data extraction and independently evaluate the quality. We then assessed the quality and risk of inclusion in the study and observed outcome indicators. RESULTS: A total of 28 trials were included in this study, 1947 patients with NSCLC (974 receiving XAPI combined chemotherapy and 973 receiving chemotherapy alone). The results of meta-analysis showed that: Objective tumor response rate of NSCLC (P < .00001). Improvement in Karnofsky performance score of NSCLC (P < .00001). Quality of life score of NSCLC (P < .00001). The result of CD3 + (P < .00001). The result of CD4 + (P < .00001). The result of CD8 + (P < .00001). The result of CD4+/CD8 + (P = .0001). Leukopenia (P < .00001). Thrombocytopenia (P < .00001). Hemoglobin decrease (P < .00001). Liver function (P = .04). Nausea and vomiting (P < .00001). CONCLUSION: Our meta-analyses demonstrated that XAPI adjunct with chemotherapy can improve the patient quality of life, reduce adverse reactions, and enhanced immune function, the treatment is effective and high safety. Which suggests that it might be used for NSCLC. However, a large sample of randomized controlled trials are needed to further study the long-term efficacy of XAPI.

The Relationship between Meniere's Disease and Acute Low-Tone Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objective: To analyse the vestibular function characteristics of patients with Meniere's disease and acute hypophonic sensorineural hearing loss in order to find more reliable and objective ancillary tests that will reduce misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses. Methods: From January 2021 to December 2021, 60 healthy adults who underwent physical examination in our hospital were included in the control group, 60 patients with Meniere's disease were included in Study Group A, and 60 patients with acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss were recruited in Study Group B. All participants underwent the caloric test (CT), video-head impulse test (vHIT), headshaking test (HST), and vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing, which includes ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP). Results: Statistical analyses of unilateral weakness and directional preponderance (DP) in the two groups of patients found no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the abnormal rate of vHIT and HST results between the two study groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the wave latencies, interwave intervals, and amplitudes of cVEMP and oVEMP, among the three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study found that factors affecting CT, vHIT, HST, and VEMP results included age, head posture and position during testing, stimulus type, manipulation method, and control of muscle tone, and also those that are related to the testing instrument, statistical software, and manipulation procedures, resulting in different excitation rates and testing parameters. The small sample size prevented a comprehensive assessment of the differences in vestibular function between patients with Meniere's disease and acute hypotonic sensorineural hearing loss, and a larger sample size will be investigated in the future to provide useful insight into the diagnosis, treatment and differentiation of Meniere's disease, and acute hypotonic sensorineural hearing loss.

SDF-1 secreted by mesenchymal stem cells promotes the migration of endothelial progenitor cells via CXCR4/PI3K/AKT pathway.

Cell-based therapeutics bring great hope in areas of unmet medical needs. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been suggested to facilitate neovascularization mainly by paracrine action. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) can migrate to ischemic sites and participate in angiogenesis. The combination cell therapy that includes MSCs and EPCs has a favorable effect on ischemic limbs. However, the mechanism of combination cell therapy remains unclear. Herein, we investigate whether stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 secreted by MSCs contributes to EPC migration to ischemic sites via CXCR4/Phosphoinositide 3-Kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (termed as AKT) signaling pathway. First, by a "dual-administration" approach, intramuscular MSC injections were supplemented with intravenous Qdot® 525 labeled-EPC injections in the mouse model of hind limb ischemia. Then, the mechanism of MSC effect on EPC migration was detected by the transwell system, tube-like structure formation assays, western blot assays in vitro. Results showed that the combination delivery of MSCs and EPCs enhanced the incorporation of EPCs into the vasculature and increased the capillary density in mouse ischemic hind limb. The numbers of CXCR4-positive EPCs increased after incubation with MSC-conditioned medium (CM). MSCs contributed to EPC migration and tube-like structure formation, both of which were suppressed by AMD3100 and wortmannin. Phospho-AKT induced by MSC-CM was attenuated when EPCs were pretreated with AMD3100 and wortmannin. In conclusion, we confirmed that MSCs contributes to EPC migration, which is mediated via CXCR4/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

IR-Driven Ultrafast Transfer of Plasmonic Hot Electrons in Nonmetallic Branched Heterostructures for Enhanced H2 Generation.

The ultrafast transfer of plasmon-induced hot electrons is considered an effective kinetics process to enhance the photoconversion efficiencies of semiconductors through strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of plasmonic nanostructures. Although this classical sensitization approach is widely used in noble-metal-semiconductor systems, it remains unclear in nonmetallic plasmonic heterostructures. Here, by combining ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy with theoretical simulations, IR-driven transfer of plasmon-induced hot electron in a nonmetallic branched heterostructure is demonstrated, which is fabricated through solvothermal growth of plasmonic W18 O49 nanowires (as branches) onto TiO2 electrospun nanofibers (as backbones). The ultrafast transfer of hot electron from the W18 O49 branches to the TiO2 backbones occurs within a timeframe on the order of 200 fs with very large rate constants ranging from 3.8 × 1012 to 5.5 × 1012 s-1 . Upon LSPR excitation by low-energy IR photons, the W18 O49 /TiO2 branched heterostructure exhibits obviously enhanced catalytic H2 generation from ammonia borane compared with that of W18 O49 nanowires. Further investigations by finely controlling experimental conditions unambiguously confirm that this plasmon-enhanced catalytic activity arises from the transfer of hot electron rather than from the photothermal effect.

Multichannel-improved charge-carrier dynamics in well-designed hetero-nanostructural plasmonic photocatalysts toward highly efficient solar-to-fuels conversion.

The charge-carrier dynamics process in well-designed hetero-nanostructural plasmonic photocatalysts is greatly improved through a multichannel sensitization effect, which therefore results in a significant enhancement of the efficiencies of solar-to-fuels conversion.