Characterization of cadmium biosorption by inactive biomass of two cadmium-tolerant endophytic bacteria Microbacterium sp. D2-2 and Bacillus sp. C9-3.

In this study, two cadmium-tolerant endophytic bacteria (Microbacterium sp. D2-2 and Bacillus sp. C9-3) were employed as biosorbents to remove Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. The influence of initial pH, initial Cd(II) concentration, adsorbent biomass, temperature and contact time on Cd(II) removal were investigated. Results showed that the Langmuir isotherms were found to best fit the equilibrium data, and the maximum biosorption capacities were found to be 222.22 and 163.93 mg/g at a solution pH of 5.0 for Microbacterium sp. D2-2 and Bacillus sp. C9-3, respectively. The biosorption kinetics followed well pseudo-second-order kinetics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis suggested that the hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl and amino groups on Microbacterium sp. D2-2 and Bacillus sp. C9-3 biomass were the main binding sites for Cd(II). The results presented in this study showed that Microbacterium sp. D2-2 and Bacillus sp. C9-3 are potential and promising adsorbents for the effective removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions.

Establishment of a universal and sensitive plasmonic biosensor platform based on the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) amplification induced by a triple-helix molecular switch.

Herein, we established a universal and sensitive plasmonic sensing strategy for biomolecule assays by coupling the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) strategy and a triple-helix molecular switch. Upon the recognition of the target, a single-stranded DNA as a universal trigger (UT) was released from the triple-helix molecular switch (THMS). Thus, the HCR process can be triggered between two hairpins M1 and M2, resulting in the aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via the hybridization between the tail sequence on M1 (or M2) and a DNA-AuNP probe with a dramatic change in the absorbance at 521 nm. More specifically, the strategy, which was conducted by the introduction of target-specific recognition of THMS and universalized by virtue of altering the aptamer or DNA sequence without changing the triple-helix structure, enables simple design for multiple target detection. By taking advantage of THMS, this strategy could enable stable and sensitive detection of a variety of targets including nucleic acids, small molecules and proteins, which may possess great potential for practical applications.

Electrospun degradable Zn-Mn oxide hierarchical nanofibers for specific capture and efficient release of circulating tumor cells.

Constructing biological affinity devices is considered as an effective strategy for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and electrospun nanofibers (ESNFs) have recently received attention. However, the current research focuses on polymer fibers, and fabricating stimuli-responsive inorganic nanofibers for cancer diagnosis and analysis is still challenging. In this work, Zn-Mn oxide nanofibers (ZnMnNFs) are used to capture and purify cancer cells after modification with specific antibodies. Then, the hierarchical nanofibers are degraded by reductive weak acid to release the captured cells efficiently without residues. Fusion of Zn and Mn, two transition metals, enhances the surface activity of oxides so that ZnMnNFs are easier to be degraded and modified. By using MCF-7 cancer cells, the cell capture efficiency of ZnMnNFs is up to 88.2%. Furthermore, by using citric acid, it is discovered that, by comparison with Mn oxide nanofibers, the cell release efficiency of ZnMnNFs is improved to 95.1% from 15.4%. In addition, the viability of released cells exceeds 90%. Lastly, the robustness of ZnMnNFs substrates is tested in peripheral blood from breast cancer patients (BCP) and colorectal cancer patients (CCP). Combined with fluorescence labeling, CTCs are confirmed to be isolated from all the clinical samples. This is the first trial of using ternary inorganic ESNFs for cancer cell capture. It is anticipated that the degradable ESNFs will provide biocompatible theranostic platforms and overcome the current limitations of cell release for high-precision gene analysis.

TiO2 nanopillar arrays coated with gelatin film for efficient capture and undamaged release of circulating tumor cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important for the detection and treatment of cancer. Nevertheless, a low density of circulating tumor cells makes the capture and release of CTCs an obstacle. In this work, TiO2 nanopillar arrays coated with gelatin film were synthesized for efficient capture and undamaged release of circulating tumor cells. The scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope images demonstrate that the substrate has a certain roughness. The interaction between the cell membrane and the nanostructure substrate contributes to the efficient capture of CTC (capture efficiency up to 94.98%). The gelatin layer has excellent biocompatibility and can be rapidly digested by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9), which realizes the non-destructive release of CTCs (0.1 mg ml-1, 5 min, nearly 100% release efficiency, activity 100%). Therefore, by our strategy, the CTCs can be efficiently captured and released undamaged, which is important for subsequent analysis.

Rapid subcutaneous desensitization for the management of delayed hypersensitivity reactions to omalizumab：A case report.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Omalizumab is effective as an add-on drug to treat severe persistent allergic asthma. However, delayed hypersensitivity reactions to omalizumab may deprive patients of its use. Rapid subcutaneous desensitization could be a solution. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 61-year-old man developed a delayed allergy to omalizumab after the first injection. A 14-step desensitization procedure was applied to the patient and was successful. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Delayed hypersensitivity reactions to omalizumab are rare, but they may cause the interruption of drug usage. Desensitization to omalizumab could be a possible solution.

Predictive value of long noncoding RNA ZFAS1 in patients with ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: LncRNAs play an essential role in a variety of diseases. Zinc finger antisense 1 (ZFAS1), a newly identified lncRNA, is a transcript antisense to the 5' end of the gene Znfx1. The purpose of this study was to aim to compare the levels of ZFAS1 between ischemic stroke (IS) and healthy control subjects and explore its potential role as a noninvasive biomarker in the diagnosis of IS. METHODS:  A total of 176 patients and 111 healthy controls were included in the study. RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression of ZFAS1. RESULTS: The results showed that level of ZFAS1 in IS patients was significantly lower than controls (P = 0.0002). Furthermore, we found that the ZFAS1 levels in large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) strokes were significantly downregulated than those in non-LAA strokes and controls. Meanwhile, ZFAS1 levels in the small vessel occlusion (SVO) group were lower than those in cardioembolism (CE) (P = 0.0197) and controls (P = 0.0041). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that the expression of ZFAS1 was not associated with the CE (P = 0.185) and SVO (P = 0.268) stroke groups, while lower ZFAS1 levels (P < 0.003, adjusted OR = 0.218, 95% CI: 0.079-0.597) showed significant associations with increased probability of having LAA strokes, compared to control subjects. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that the sensitive of ZFAS1 was 89.39% in differentiating LAA strokes from controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that ZFAS1 might be used as a potential noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis of LAA stroke.

Differential expression of plasma microRNA-125b in hepatitis B virus-related liver diseases and diagnostic potential for hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: Acting as a tumor suppressor, microRNA (miR)-125b shows aberrant low expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and researchers have found that its dysregulation has a close relationship with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Here, we investigated the expression profile of this miRNA in the plasma of healthy subjects and patients with chronic HBV-related liver diseases in order to confirm the feasibility of this circulating miRNA as a differential diagnostic biomarker for HBV-induced HCC (HBV-HCC). METHODS: A total of 242 individuals were enrolled in this study. The expression levels of plasma miR-125b were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction technology. RESULTS: The levels of plasma miR-125b were remarkably decreased in HBV-HCC patients compared to healthy controls and HBV subjects without HCC (all P < 0.001), and the low plasma miR-125b levels in HBV-HCC patients were associated with higher prevalence of metastasis (P = 0.021). The receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that plasma miR-125b presented a high accuracy (area under the curve = 0.891, 0.958, 0.958) for diagnosing HBV-HCC cases from healthy controls and patients with chronic hepatitis B and HBV-related liver cirrhosis, respectively. In addition, our study found that the expression levels of plasma miR-125b in HBV patients without HCC were higher than those in healthy subjects (P < 0.001); it yielded an area under the curve of 0.691 in discriminating patients with chronic HBV infection who were negative for HCC from healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The measurement of plasma-based miR-125b holds promise as a diagnostic marker for HBV-HCC differential diagnosis and for chronic HBV viral infection. Those HBV-infected individuals with increased risk of HCC would be detected early through monitoring the changes in this circulating miRNA.

Diagnostic Potential of Differentially Expressed Homer1 and Homer2 in Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke (IS) is an extremely heterogeneous disease with variable pathogenesis. Due to the lack of early diagnostic marker, the mortality rate of IS remains high worldwide. The family of Homer plays an important role in the pathology of atherosclerotic plaque. In this study, we have investigated its expression pattern and clinical significance in IS. METHODS: RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression of Homer1, Homer2, and Homer3. RESULTS: We found that the mRNA levels of Homer1 (p<0.001) and Homer2 (p<0.001), but not Homer3, in large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) strokes were significantly upregulated than those in non-LAA strokes and controls. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that, although none of the Homer was associated with non-LAA strokes, higher Homer1 (adjusted OR=1.337, 95% CI: 1.227-1.458) and Homer2 (adjusted OR=1.099, 95% CI: 1.062-1.138) levels showed significant associations with increased odds of having LAA stroke, compared with the controls. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that the combination of Homer1 and Homer2 had a better diagnostic accuracy to differentiate LAA strokes from non-LAA strokes and controls, and the sensitivity and specificity ratios were 80.5%/90.4% and 98.0%/70.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that Homer1 and Homer2 might be considered as novel diagnostic biomarkers for LAA stroke.

Diagnostic potential of differentially expressed Homer1, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in coronary artery disease.

Increasing evidences suggest that inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Numerous inflammatory cytokines and related genes mediate adverse cardiovascular events in patients with CAD, such as interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and Homer in the present study. The study was carried out on 163 CAD patients at different stages and 68 controls. The gene expression of Homer1, Homer2, Homer3, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in the peripheral blood leukocytes were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The mRNA levels of Homer1, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in CAD patients were significantly higher than those in the control group, but not Homer2 and Homer3. However, there was no considerable difference in the mRNA levels of Homer1, IL-1ß, and TNF-α among AMI, UAP, and SAP three subgroups of CAD. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that Homer1 had a better diagnostic value for UAP patients compared with IL-1ß and TNF-α. Like IL-1ß and TNF-α, Homer1 may also be an important participant of atherosclerotic plaque development and eventually rupture. The results of the present study may provide an important basis for diagnosing CAD patients, and provide new therapeutic targets for CAD.

Structure-decoupled functional connectome-based brain age prediction provides higher association to cognition.

Brain age prediction as well as the prediction difference has been well examined to be a potential biomarker for brain disease or abnormal aging process. However, less knowledge was reported for the cognitive association within normal population. In this study, we proposed a novel approach to brain age prediction by structure-decoupled functional connectome. The original functional connectome was decomposed and decoupled into a structure-decoupled functional connectome using structural connectome harmonics. Our method was applied to a large dataset of normal aging individuals and achieved a high correlation between predicted and chronological age (r = 0.77). Both the original FC and structure-decoupled FC could be well-trained in a brain age prediction model. Significant remarkable relationships between the brain age prediction difference (predicted age minus chronological age) and cognitive scores were discovered. However, the brain age-predicted difference driven by structure-decoupled FC showed a stronger correction to the two cognitive scores (MMSE: r = -0.27, P -value = 0.002; MoCA: r = -0.32, P -value = 0.0003). Our findings suggest that our structure-decoupled functional connectivity approach could provide a more individual-specific functional network, leading to improved brain age prediction performance and a better understanding of cognitive decline in aging.

Predictive value of serum CEA, CA19-9 and CA125 in diagnosis of colorectal liver metastasis in Chinese population.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Liver metastases are associated with poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of this study is to determine the possible indicators in identifying the predictive value of serum CEA, CA19-9 and CA-125 in diagnosis of liver metastases from CRC in the Chinese population. METHODOLOGY: We randomly selected 101 CRC patients with liver metastases and 81 patients without liver metastases. Several clinical pathological factors were analyzed for the correlation with liver metastases. The predictive value of CEA, CA19-9 and CA-125 for liver metastases from CRC was evaluated. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in gender, age, hepatitis B history, serum AFP level or lesion location. Patients with liver metastases had a tendency to have higher serum CEA, CA19-9 and CA-125 level. Multivariate analysis revealed that serum CEA level (p<0.001), CA19-9 level (p<0.001) and CA-125 level (p=0.001) were independent prognostic predictors for liver metastases. Combination of CEA, CA19-9 and CA-125 can enhance their sensitivity in diagnosis of synchronous and metachronous liver metastases. Serum CA19-9 level, combined test of CA19-9 and CA-125, combined test of triple markers have higher sensitivities in synchronous metastasis than those in metachronous metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Combination test would enhance the sensitivities of serum CEA, CA19-9 and CA-125 levels, which are important in predicting liver metastases from CRC in the Chinese population, either synchronous or metachronous.

Meta-analysis: serious adverse events in Crohn's disease patients treated with TNF-alpha inhibitors.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It remains a question whether anti-TNF-a treatment is associated with an increase of serious adverse events (SAE) in Crohn's Disease (CD) patients. This study aims to assess the risk of SAE of anti-TNF-a treatment in CD patients. METHODOLOGY: Literature search of EMBASE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov until June 2012 was conducted. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ofTNF-a inhibitors treated for at least 24 weeks in CD patients. RESULTS: Thirteen RCTs, involving 4,257 patients with CD were included in analysis. SAE were reported in 364 patients (14.26%) in treatment groups and 263 patients (15.43%) in control groups. The proportion of patients with SAE was lower with TNF-a inhibitors than with placebo (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67-0.96; p=0.01). Compared with controls, the risks of malignancy and serious infection treated with TNF-a inhibitors showed no significant difference (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In CD patients, anti-TNF-a treatment, especially for adalimumab, could decrease the incidence of SAE, without an increased risk of malignancy or serious infection. TNF-a inhibitors are safe in treatment of CD patients. To assess the risk of SAE, larger samples of randomized control trials with long term follow-up are needed.

The clinical significance of HER-2 and NF-KB expression in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the expression of human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER-2) and Nuclear factor-Kb (NF-KB) in gastric cancer, and the relation of these two parameters with stage, grade and metastasis of gastric cancer. METHODOLOGY: The serum level of HER-2 in 75 gastric cancer patients and control participants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Expression of HER-2 and NF-KB protein were detected by immunohistochemical staining (SP method) of paraffin-embedded tissues in 75 tumors (observed group) and 22 normal gastric specimens. The clinical pathological data was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Serum HER-2 level were significantly increased in study group compared with those in the control group (p<0.001). The HER-2 level of 8.2 ng/mL as the cutoff value has a 79% sensitivity and an 82% specificity for predicting gastric cancer. The positive rate of HER-2 and NF-KB in the observed group was 24.00% (18/75) and 62.67% (47/75) respectively. The expression of HER-2 and NF-KB were not correlated with age and gender, but with stage, grade and metastasis (p<0.05). The expression of NF-KB was correlated with tumor size (p<0.05), while HER-2 was not (p<0.05). When HER-2 was positive, N F-KB had a positive rate of 94.44% (17/18), but a positive rate of 52.63% (30/57) when HER-2 was negative. Expression of NF-KB in gastric cancer tissue was correlated with HER-2 expression (X2 = 8.514, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the expression of NF-KB in gastric cancer tissue is correlated with HER-2 expression, and they may play a very important role in the progress of gastric cancer.

Pseudomonas composti isolate from oyster digestive tissue specifically binds with norovirus GII.6 via Psl extracellular polysaccharide.

Oysters are recognized as important vectors for human norovirus transmission in the environment. Whether norovirus binds to bacteria in oyster digestive tissues (ODTs) remains unknown. To shed light on this concern, ODT-54 and ODT-32, positive for histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) -like substances, were isolated from ODTs and identified as Pseudomonas composti and Enterobacter cloacae, respectively. The binding of noroviruses (GII.4 and GII.6 P domains) to bacterial cells (ODT-32 and ODT-54; in situ assay) as well as extracted extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs; in vitro assay) was analyzed by flow cytometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy, ELISA, and gene knock-out mutants. ODT-32 bound to neither GII.4 nor GII.6 P domains, while ODT-54 specifically binds with GII.6 P domain through Psl, an exopolysaccharide encoded by the polysaccharide synthesis locus (psl), identified based on gene annotation, gene transcription, Psl specific staining, and ELISAs. These findings attest that ODT bacteria specifically bind with certain norovirus genotypes in a strain-dependent manner, contributing to a better understanding of the transmission and enrichment of noroviruses in the environment.

Cellular uptake, intracellular behavior, and acute/sub-acute cytotoxicity of a PEG-modified quantum dot with promising in-vivo biomedical applications.

Quantum Dots (QDs) modified with branched Polyethylene Glycol-amine (6- or 8-arm PEG-amine) coupled with methoxy PEG (mPEG) hold great promise for in vivo biomedical applications due to a long half-life in blood and negligible toxicity. However, the potential risks regarding their concomitant prolonged co-incubation with cardiovascular and blood cells remains inconclusive. In the present study, the feasible, effective and convenient proliferating-restricted cell line models representing the circulatory system were established to investigate the cellular internalization followed by intracellular outcomes and resulting acute/sub-acute cytotoxicity of the 6-arm PEG-amine/mPEG QDs. We found a dose-, time- and cell type-dependent cellular uptake of the 6-arm PEG-amine/mPEG QDs, which was ten-fold lower compared to the traditional linear PEG-modified counterpart. The QDs entered cells via multiple endocytic pathways and were mostly preserved in Golgi apparatus for at least one week instead of degradation in lysosomes, resulting in a minimal acute cytotoxicity, which is much lower than other types of PEG-modified QDs previously reported. However, a sub-acute cytotoxicity of QDs were observed several days post exposure using the concentrations eliciting no-significant acute cytotoxic effects, which was associated with elevated ROS generation caused by QDs remained inside cells. Finally, a non-cytotoxic concentration of the QDs was identified at the sub-acute cytotoxic level. Our study provided important information for clinical translation of branched PEG-amine/mPEG QDs by elucidating the QDs-cell interactions and toxicity mechanism using the proliferation-restricted cell models representing circulatory system. What's more, we emphasized the indispensability of sub-acute cytotoxic effects in the whole biosafety evaluation process of nanomaterials like QDs.

Construction and validation of a transcription factors-based prognostic signature for ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common and lethal malignant tumors worldwide and the prognosis of OC remains unsatisfactory. Transcription factors (TFs) are demonstrated to be associated with the clinical outcome of many types of cancers, yet their roles in the prognostic prediction and gene regulatory network in patients with OC need to be further investigated. METHODS: TFs from GEO datasets were collected and analyzed. Differential expression analysis, WGCNA and Cox-LASSO regression model were used to identify the hub-TFs and a prognostic signature based on these TFs was constructed and validated. Moreover, tumor-infiltrating immune cells were analyzed, and a nomogram containing age, histology, FIGO_stage and TFs-based signature were established. Potential biological functions, pathways and the gene regulatory network of TFs in signature was also explored. RESULTS: In this study, 6 TFs significantly associated with the prognosis of OC were identified. These TFs were used to build up a TFs-based signature for predicting the survival of patients with OC. Patients with OC in training and testing datasets were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, according to the median value of risk scores determined by the signature. The two groups were further used to validate the performance of the signature, and the results showed the TFs-based signature had effective prediction ability. Immune infiltrating analysis was conducted and abundance of B cells naïve, T cells CD4 memory resting, Macrophages M2 and Mast cells activated were significantly higher in high-risk group. A nomogram based on the signature was established and illustrated good predictive efficiencies for 1, 2, and 3-year overall survival. Furthermore, the construction of the TFs-target gene regulatory network revealed the potential mechanisms of TFs in OC. CONCLUSIONS: To our best knowledge, it is for the first time to develop a prognostic signature based on TFs in OC. The TFs-based signature is proven to be effective in predicting the survival of patients with OC. Our study may facilitate the clinical decision-making for patients with OC and help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of TFs in OC.

Multifunctional Gelatin-Nanoparticle-Modified Chip for Enhanced Capture and Non-Destructive Release of Circulating Tumor Cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients' peripheral blood have been demonstrated to be a significant biomarker for metastasis detection, disease prognosis, and therapy response. Due to their extremely low concentrations, efficient enrichment and non-destructive release are needed. Herein, an FTO chip modified with multifunctional gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) was designed for the specific capture and non-destructive release of CTCs. These nanoparticles share a similar dimension with the microvilli and pseudopodium of the cellular surface; thus, they can enhance adhesion to CTCs, and then GNPs can be degraded by the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9), gently releasing the captured cells. In addition, the transparency of the chip makes it possible for fluorescence immunoassay identification in situ under a microscope. Our chip attained a high capture efficiency of 89.27%, a release efficiency of 91.98%, and an excellent cellular viability of 96.91% when the concentration of MMP-9 was 0.2 mg/mL. Moreover, we successfully identified CTCs from cancer patients' blood samples. This simple-to-operate, low-cost chip exhibits great potential for clinical application.

Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine injections for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), acutely or slowly progressing into irreversible pulmonary disease, causes severe damage to patients' lung functions, as well as death. In China, Chinese medicine injections (CMIs) have been generally combined with Western medicine (WM) to treat IPF, which are safe and effective. This study aimed to systematically compare the efficacy of 14 CMIs combined with WM in the treatment of IPF based on a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA). MATERIAL AND METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Chinese databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Scientific Journal Database, and China Biology Medicine Database were searched from inception to October 31, 2021. The inclusion criterion was randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on CMIs with WM for treating IPF. Reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the included studies. RevMan 5.4 software and Stata software (version 16.0) were used for the data analysis. NMA were carried out for calculating the odd ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), the surface under cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) and the probabilities of being the best. RESULTS: A total of 63 eligible RCTs involving 14 CMIs were included in this NMA. More CMIs can significantly improve the clinical effectiveness rate (CER); Shuxuening injection (SXN)+WM (OR 8.91, 95% CI 3.81-20.83), Shuxuetong injection (SXT)+WM (OR 7.36, 95% CI 3.30-16.00), Shenxiong injection (SX)+WM (OR 5.42, 95% CI 2.90-10.13), Danhong injection (DH)+WM (OR 4.06, 95% CI 2.62-6.29), and Huangqi injection (HQ)+WM (OR 3.47, 95% CI 1.55-7.77) were the top five treatment strategies. Furthermore, DH +WM ranked relatively high in the SUCRA value of the nine outcome indicators, oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) (OR -13.39; 95% CI -14.90,-11.89; SUCRA 83.7%), carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2) (OR -4.77; 95% CI -5.55,-3.99; SUCRA 83.3), orced vital capacity (FVC) (OR -1.42; 95% CI -2.47,-0.36; SUCRA 73.5%), total lung capacity (TLC) (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.51,1.36; SUCRA 89.0%), forced expiratory volume 1/ forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC%) (OR -10.30; 95% CI -12.98,-7.62; SUCRA 72.7%), type III collagen (IIIC) (OR 13.08; 95% CI 5.11,21.05; SUCRA 54.9%), and transforming growth factor (TGF) (OR -4.22; 95% CI -6.06,-2.37; SUCRA 85.7%) respectively, which seems to indicate that DH+WM had the highest likelihood of being the best treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This review specified several CMIs combined with WM in the treatment of IPF in China. In contrast to glucocorticoids or antioxidants, CMIs combined with WM delayed the decline in lung function, maintained oxygenation and quality of life in patients with IPF. The combined use of DH, SXN, SX, and safflower yellow sodium chloride injection (HHS) with WM exerted a more positive effect in treating IPF than WM alone. However, there were limitations to the conclusions of this study due to quality control differences in the included trials.

Effective suppression of triple negative breast cancer by paclitaxel nanoparticles conjugated with transmembrane TNF-α monoclonal antibody.

Transmembrane TNF-α (tmTNF), a transmembrane form of TNF-α, was reported overexpressed in approximately 84% of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients and has emerged as a valid candidate biomarker for targeting TNBC. Paclitaxel is a first-line chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, but suffers from low water solubility, resulting in its low bioavailability. To achieve site-specific delivery of the anticancer chemotherapeutic drug (paclitaxel) on TNBC, we developed tmTNF-α monoclonal antibody (mAb)-conjugated paclitaxel (PTX) nanoparticles (NPs) (tmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs) as potential nanocarriers. This targeted delivery-therapy nanocarriers was conducted by using an emulsification-evaporation method. tmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs displayed favorable physicochemical properties. Compared with the control groups, tumor growth in human MDA-MB-231 xenograft mice was suppressed significantly by tmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs. TmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs exerts anti-tumor effects via promoting apoptosis and regulating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) / protein kinase B (AKT)/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) cascade, as well as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and nuclear factor Kappa-B (NF-κB) pathways. Moreover, tmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs can inhibit the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in TNBC to suppress tumor progression and metastasis. Together, the novel tmTNF-α mAb-PTX NPs based targeted drug delivery system is a potentially highly effective approach for treating TNBC.

Multi-step purification of electrolytic manganese residue leachate using hydroxide sedimentation, struvite precipitation, chlorination and coagulation: Advanced removal of manganese, ammonium, and phosphate.

Water pollution caused by the release of manganese (Mn2+) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) from electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) generated from industrial activities poses a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. In this study, an integrated process consisting sequentially of hydroxide sedimentation, struvite precipitation, breakpoint chlorination, and ferric chloride coagulation was optimized to remove Mn2+ and NH4+-N from EMR leachate, and to address the issue of residual orthophosphate caused by struvite precipitation. The precipitates were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses. Results show that Mn2+ ions and the resulting chemical oxygen demand (COD) were mainly removed using hydroxide precipitation at a sedimentation pH of 10.2, with poor-crystalline manganese hydroxide as the main precipitate. NH4+-N was primarily removed and recovered using struvite precipitation with well crystalline struvite as the main product, and then further eliminated using breakpoint chlorination. The residual orthophosphate introduced by struvite precipitation is successfully removed with ferric coagulation, and the effluent pH (7.5) is also lowered to discharge limits by means of hydrolysis of ferric coagulant. The concentration of COD, Mn2+, NH4+-N, and orthophosphate concentrations in the final effluent were 30.52 ± 9.38, 0.026 ± 0.013, 0.87 ± 0.01, and 0.06 ± 0.002 mg/L, respectively, meeting all local discharge standards. This combined process has robust pollutant removal efficiency, high resource recovery potential and few environmental constraints; thus, it is recommended as a potential solution for the treatment of Mn2+- and NH4+-N-rich acid mine drainage.