De novo design of a nanoregulator for the dynamic restoration of ovarian tissue in cryopreservation and transplantation.

The cryopreservation and transplantation of ovarian tissue underscore its paramount importance in safeguarding reproductive capacity and ameliorating reproductive disorders. However, challenges persist in ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation (OTC-T), including the risk of tissue damage and dysfunction. Consequently, there has been a compelling exploration into the realm of nanoregulators to refine and enhance these procedures. This review embarks on a meticulous examination of the intricate anatomical structure of the ovary and its microenvironment, thereby establishing a robust groundwork for the development of nanomodulators. It systematically categorizes nanoregulators and delves deeply into their functions and mechanisms, meticulously tailored for optimizing ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation. Furthermore, the review imparts valuable insights into the practical applications and obstacles encountered in clinical settings associated with OTC-T. Moreover, the review advocates for the utilization of microbially derived nanomodulators as a potent therapeutic intervention in ovarian tissue cryopreservation. The progression of these approaches holds the promise of seamlessly integrating nanoregulators into OTC-T practices, thereby heralding a new era of expansive applications and auspicious prospects in this pivotal domain.

A novel KRIT1/CCM1 mutation accompanied by a NOTCH3 mutation in a Chinese family with multiple cerebral cavernous malformations.

Family cerebral cavernous malformations (FCCMs) are mainly inherited through the mutation of classical CCM genes, including CCM1/KRIT1, CCM2/MGC4607, and CCM3/PDCD10. FCCMs can cause severe clinical symptoms, including epileptic seizures, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), or functional neurological deficits (FNDs). In this study, we reported a novel mutation in KRIT1 accompanied by a NOTCH3 mutation in a Chinese family. This family consists of 8 members, 4 of whom had been diagnosed with CCMs using cerebral MRI (T1WI, T2WI, SWI). The proband (II-2) and her daughter (III-4) had intracerebral hemorrhage and refractory epilepsy, respectively. Based on whole-exome sequencing (WES) data and bioinformatics analysis from 4 patients with multiple CCMs and 2 normal first-degree relatives, a novel KRIT1 mutation, NG_012964.1 (NM_194456.1): c.1255-1G > T (splice-3), in intron 13 was considered a pathogenic gene in this family. Furthermore, based on 2 severe and 2 mild CCM patients, we found an SNV missense mutation, NG_009819.1 (NM_000435.2): c.1630C > T (p.R544C), in NOTCH3. Finally, the KRIT1 and NOTCH3 mutations were validated in 8 members using Sanger sequencing. This study revealed a novel KRIT1 mutation, NG_012964.1 (NM_194456.1): c.1255-1G > T (splice-3), in a Chinese CCM family, which had not been reported previously. Moreover, the NOTCH3 mutation NG_009819.1 (NM_000435.2): c.1630C > T (p.R544C) might be a second hit and associated with the progression of CCM lesions and severe clinical symptoms.

The prevalence and clinical features of fibromyalgia in Chinese hospital patients with primary headache: The survey of fibromyalgia comorbid with headache.

OBJECTIVE: The aims were to explore the prevalence and clinical features of fibromyalgia in Chinese hospital patients with primary headache. BACKGROUND: Studies done in non-Chinese populations suggest that around one-third of patients with primary headache have fibromyalgia, but data from mainland China are limited. Investigations into the prevalence and clinical features of fibromyalgia in Chinese patients with primary headache would improve our understanding of these two complex disease areas and help guide future clinical practice. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included adults with primary headache treated at 23 Chinese hospitals from September 2020 to May 2021. Fibromyalgia was diagnosed using the modified 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria. Mood and insomnia were evaluated employing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Insomnia Severity Index. RESULTS: A total of 2782 participants were analyzed. The fibromyalgia prevalence was 6.0% (166/2782; 95% confidence interval: 5.1%, 6.8%). Compared to primary headache patients without combined fibromyalgia, patients with primary headache combined with fibromyalgia were more likely to be older (47.8 vs. 41.7 years), women (83.7% [139/166] vs. 72.8% [1904/2616]), less educated (65.1% [108/166] vs. 45.2% [1183/2616]), and with longer-duration headache (10.0 vs. 8.0 years). Such patients were more likely to exhibit comorbid depression (34.3% [57/166] vs. 9.9% [260/2616]), anxiety (16.3% [27/166] vs. 2.7% [70/2612]), and insomnia (58.4% [97/166] vs. 17.1% [447/2616]). Fibromyalgia was more prevalent in those with chronic (rather than episodic) migraine (11.1% [46/414] vs. 4.4% [72/1653], p < 0.001) and chronic (rather than episodic) tension-type headache (11.5% [27/235] vs. 4.6% [19/409], p = 0.001). Most fibromyalgia pain was in the shoulders, neck, and upper back. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of fibromyalgia in mainland Chinese patients with primary headache was 6.0%. Fibromyalgia was more common in those with chronic rather than episodic headache. The most common sites of fibromyalgia pain were the neck, shoulders, and back.

Acceptance of social assistant robots for the older adults living in the community in China.

BACKGROUND: Social assistant robots (SARs) are an important part of providing high quality health and social care for older people, and are an effective measure to promote the development of smart aging. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that influence the acceptance of assistive robots by older adults. PURPOSE: To investigate the acceptance of SARs for older adults living in the community and explore its influencing factors. METHODS: 207 elderly was invited to answer a questionnaire after watching a SAR video and discussing it. Participants' characteristics, physical health status, general self-efficacy, personality trait and acceptance toward SARs were recorded and analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: showed that the degree of acceptance among older adults living in the community was moderate(2.55±0.86), and the acceptance rate was 51.0%. Whether to use mobile devices(smartphones, computers, robots), the experience of using mobile service devices, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use and attitude were the main affecting factors (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The elderly Chinese in the community have a low acceptance of SARs. The higher the perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use, the more positive attitude to using. The elderly who has the experience of using mobile service devices have a higher acceptance of SARs.

Verification of a clinical decision support system for the diagnosis of headache disorders based on patient-computer interactions: a multi-center study.

BACKGROUND: Although headache disorders are common, the current diagnostic approach is unsatisfactory. Previously, we designed a guideline-based clinical decision support system (CDSS 1.0) for diagnosing headache disorders. However, the system requires doctors to enter electronic information, which may limit widespread use. METHODS: In this study, we developed the updated CDSS 2.0, which handles clinical information acquisition via human-computer conversations conducted on personal mobile devices in an outpatient setting. We tested CDSS 2.0 at headache clinics in 16 hospitals in 14 provinces of China. RESULTS: Of the 653 patients recruited, 18.68% (122/652) were suspected by specialists to have secondary headaches. According to "red-flag" responses, all these participants were warned of potential secondary risks by CDSS 2.0. For the remaining 531 patients, we compared the diagnostic accuracy of assessments made using only electronic data firstly. In Comparison A, the system correctly recognized 115/129 (89.15%) cases of migraine without aura (MO), 32/32 (100%) cases of migraine with aura (MA), 10/10 (100%) cases of chronic migraine (CM), 77/95 (81.05%) cases of probable migraine (PM), 11/11 (100%) cases of infrequent episodic tension-type headache (iETTH), 36/45 (80.00%) cases of frequent episodic tension-type headache (fETTH), 23/25 (92.00%) cases of chronic tension-type headache (CTTH), 53/60 (88.33%) cases of probable tension-type headache (PTTH), 8/9 (88.89%) cases of cluster headache (CH), 5/5 (100%) cases of new daily persistent headache (NDPH), and 28/29 (96.55%) cases of medication overuse headache (MOH). In Comparison B, after combining outpatient medical records, the correct recognition rates of MO (76.03%), MA (96.15%), CM (90%), PM (75.29%), iETTH (88.89%), fETTH (72.73%), CTTH (95.65%), PTTH (79.66%), CH (77.78%), NDPH (80%), and MOH (84.85%) were still satisfactory. A patient satisfaction survey indicated that the conversational questionnaire was very well accepted, with high levels of satisfaction reported by 852 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The CDSS 2.0 achieved high diagnostic accuracy for most primary and some secondary headaches. Human-computer conversation data were well integrated into the diagnostic process, and the system was well accepted by patients. The follow-up process and doctor-client interactions will be future areas of research for the development of CDSS for headaches.

Status of diagnosis and preventative treatment for primary headache disorders: real-world data of unmet needs in China.

BACKGROUND: Headache disorders are widely prevalent and pose a considerable economic burden on individuals and society. Globally, misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of primary headache disorders remain significant challenges, impeding the effective management of such conditions. Despite advancements in headache management over the last decade, a need for comprehensive evaluations of the status of primary headache disorders in China regarding diagnosis and preventative treatments persists. METHODS: In the present study, we analyzed the established queries in the Survey of Fibromyalgia Comorbidity with Headache (SEARCH), focusing on previous diagnoses and preventative treatment regimens for primary headache disorders. This cross-sectional study encompassed adults diagnosed with primary headache disorders who sought treatment at 23 hospitals across China between September 2020 to May 2021. RESULTS: The study comprised 2,868 participants who were systematically examined. Migraine and tension-type headaches (TTH) constituted a majority of the primary headache disorders, accounting for 74.1% (2,124/2,868) and 23.3% (668/2,868) of the participants, respectively. Medication overuse headache (MOH) affected 8.1% (231/2,868) of individuals with primary headache disorders. Over half of the individuals with primary headache disorders (56.6%, 1,624/2,868) remained undiagnosed. The previously correct diagnosis rates for migraine, TTH, TACs, and MOH were 27.3% (580/2,124), 8.1% (54/668), 23.2% (13/56), and 3.5% (8/231), respectively. The misdiagnosis of "Nervous headache" was found to be the most prevalent among individuals with migraine (9.9%, 211/2,124), TTH (10.0%, 67/668), trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs) (17.9%, 10/56), and other primary headache disorders (10.0%, 2/20) respectively. Only a minor proportion of individuals with migraine (16.5%, 77/468) and TTH (4.7%, 2/43) had received preventive medication before participating in the study. CONCLUSIONS: While there has been progress made in the rate of correct diagnosis of primary headache disorders in China compared to a decade ago, the prevalence of misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of primary headaches remains a veritable issue. As such, focused efforts are essential to augment the diagnosis and preventive treatment measures related to primary headache disorders in the future.

NH4 + Deprotonation at Interfaces Induced Reversible H3 O+ /NH4 + Co-insertion/Extraction.

Ion insertions always involve electrode-electrolyte interface process, desolvation for instance, which determines the electrochemical kinetics. However, it's still a challenge to achieve fast ion insertion and investigate ion transformation at interface. Herein, the interface deprotonation of NH4 + and the introduced dissociation of H2 O molecules to provide sufficient H3 O+ to insert into materials' structure for fast energy storages are revealed. Lewis acidic ion-NH4 + can, on one hand provide H3 O+ itself via deprotonation, and on the other hand hydrolyze with H2 O molecules to produce H3 O+ . In situ attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared ray method probed the interface accumulation and deprotonation of NH4 + , and density functional theory calculations manifested that NH4 + tend to thermodynamically adsorb on the surface of monoclinic VO2 , and deprotonate to provide H3 O+ . In addition, the inserted NH4 + has a positive effect for stabilizing the VO2 (B) structure. Therefore, high specific capacity (>300 mAh g-1 ) and fast ionic insertion/extraction (<20 s) can be realized in VO2 (B) anode. This interface derivation proposes a new path for designing proton ion insertion/extraction in mild electrolyte.

Proton/Mg2+ Co-Insertion Chemistry in Aqueous Mg-Ion Batteries: From the Interface to the Inner.

Co-insertion of protons happens widely and enables divalent-ion aqueous batteries to achieve high performances. However, detailed investigations and comprehensive understandings of proton co-insertion are scarce. Herein, we demonstrate that proton co-insertion into tunnel materials is determined jointly by interface derivation and inner diffusion: at the interface, hdrated Mg2+ has poor insertion kinetics, and therefore accumulates and hydrolyzes to produce protons; in the tunnels, co-inserted/lattice H2 O molecules block the Mg2+ diffusion while facilitate the proton diffusion. When monoclinic vanadium dioxide (VO2 (B)) anode is tested in Mg(CH3 COO)2 aqueous solution, the formation of Mg-rich solid electrolyte interphase on the VO2 (B) electrode and co-insertion of derived protons are probed; in the tunnels, the diffusion energy barrier of Mg2+ +H2 O is 2.7 eV, while that of the protons is 0.37 eV. Thus, protons dominate the subsequent insertion and inner diffusion. As a consequence, the VO2 (B) achieves a high capacity of 257.0 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1 , a high rate retention of 59.1 % from 1 to 8 A g-1 , and stable cyclability of 3000 times with a capacity retention of 81.5 %. This work provides an in-depth understanding of the proton co-insertion and may promote the development of rechargeable aqueous batteries.

Whole genome sequencing identifies a deletion mutation in the unknown-functional KCNG2 from familial sick sinus syndrome.

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a term used for a variety of disorders defined by abnormal cardiac impulse formation and by abnormal propagation from the heart's sinoatrial node. In this study, we present a case from a Chinese family in which two closely related individuals had the symptoms and electrocardiographic evidence of SSS. We hypothesized that multiple individuals affected by the disease in the family was an indication of its genetic predisposition, and thus performed high-throughput sequencing for the participants from the family to detect potential disease-associated variants. One of the potential variants that was identified was a KCNG2 gene variant (NC_000018.9: g.77624068_77624079del). Further bioinformatic analysis showed that the observed variant may be a pathogenic mutation. The results of protein-protein docking and whole cell patch-clamp measurements implied that the deletion variant in KCNG2 could affect its binding the KV2.1 protein, and finally affect the function of Kv channel, which is an important determinant in regulation of heartbeat. Therefore, we inferred that the variable KCNG2 gene may affect the function of Kv channel by changing the binding conformation of KCNG2 and KV2.1 proteins and then adversely affect propagation from the sinoatrial node and cardiac impulse formation by changing the action potential repolarization of heart cells. In summary, our findings suggested that the dominant KCNG2 deletion variant in the examined Chinese family with SSS may be a potential disease-associated variant.

Characterization and Comparative Analysis of Chloroplast Genomes in Five Uncaria Species Endemic to China.

Uncaria, a perennial vine from the Rubiaceae family, is a typical Chinese traditional medicine. Currently, uncertainty exists over the Uncaria genus' evolutionary relationships and germplasm identification. The complete chloroplast genomes of four Uncaria species mentioned in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and Uncaria scandens (an easily confused counterfeit) were sequenced and annotated. The findings demonstrated that the whole chloroplast genome of Uncaria genus is 153,780-155,138 bp in full length, encoding a total of 128-131 genes, containing 83-86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs and 37 tRNAs. These regions, which include eleven highly variable loci and 31-49 SSRs, can be used to create significant molecular markers for the Uncaria genus. The phylogenetic tree was constructed according to protein-coding genes and the whole chloroplast genome sequences of five Uncaria species using four methods. The topology of the two phylogenetic trees showed no difference. The sequences of U. rhynchophylla and U. scandens are clustered in one group, while the U. hirsuta and U. macrophylla are clustered in another group. U. sessilifructus is clustered together with the above two small clades. New insights on the relationship were revealed via phylogenetic research in five Uncaria species. This study will provide a theoretical basis for identifying U. rhynchophylla and its counterfeits, as well as the species of the Uncaria genus. This research provides the initial chloroplast genome report of Uncaria, contributes to elucidating the chloroplast genome evolution of Uncaria in China.

Spinal Nrf2 translocation may inhibit neuronal NF-κB activation and alleviate allodynia in a rat model of bone cancer pain.

Bone cancer pain (BCP) is a clinical pathology that urgently needs to be solved, but research on the mechanism of BCP has so far achieved limited success. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NFE2)-related factor 2 (Nrf2) has been shown to be involved in pain, but its involvement in BCP and the specific mechanism have yet to be examined. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that BCP induces the transfer of Nrf2 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and further promotes nuclear transcription to activate heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and inhibit the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signalling, ultimately regulating the neuroinflammatory response. Von-Frey was used for behavioural analysis in rats with BCP, whereas western blotting, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect molecular expression changes, and immunofluorescence was used to detect cellular localization. We demonstrated that BCP induced increased Nrf2 nuclear protein expression with decreased cytoplasmic protein expression in the spinal cord. Further increases in Nrf2 nuclear protein expression can alleviate hyperalgesia and activate HO-1 to inhibit the expression of NF-κB nuclear protein and inflammatory factors. Strikingly, intrathecal administration of the corresponding siRNA reversed the above effects. In addition, the results of double immune labelling revealed that Nrf2 and NF-κB were coexpressed in spinal cord neurons of rats with BCP. In summary, these findings suggest that the entry of Nrf2 into the nucleus promotes the expression of HO-1, inhibiting activation of the NF-κB signalling pathway, reducing neuroinflammation and ultimately exerting an anti-nociceptive effect.

Synthesis of silicalite-1 zeolite membranes for vapor-permeation separation of dichlorobenzene Isomers.

Silicalite-1 zeolitic membranes have been successfully fabricated on the porousα-Al2O3support by templated and template-free protocol, respectively, for vapor permeation separation of dichlorobenzene (DCB) isomers. After proving the high quality of the membranes by single gas permeation (He and SF6) performance, the vapor-permeation of DCB isomers over two types of the silicalite-1 membrane was then investigated. The separation results clearly indicated that under the lower partial pressure and higher temperature, the effect of DCB isomer adsorption on the permeance could be kept at a sufficiently low level and sharp selectivity become more important. Thus, highp-DCB selectivity could be achieved. Comparatively, the template-free silicalite-1 zeolite has a much higher p-DCB selectivity due to the relatively fewer inter-crystalline gaps. Under certain separation conditions, the highest selectivity ofp-DCB forp-/m-DCB andp-/o-DCB binary systems could reach 165 and 113, respectively.

Prenatal diagnosis and postnatal management of congenital mesoblastic nephroma: Experience at a single center in China.

OBJECTIVE: To review the prenatal and postnatal clinical characteristics and pathological subtypes, as well as the surgical outcome for congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) cases. METHOD: A retrospective review was performed in 11 cases with CMN prenatally diagnosed at a single center between 2015 and 2019. The clinical characteristics, surgical outcome, histopathology, and follow-up were retrospectively obtained and reviewed. RESULTS: The median gestational age at which the sonographic diagnosis was made was 35 weeks. Polyhydramnios was found in four (36.4%) cases, and all resulted in a preterm birth. Nine infants had hypertension. Ten cases underwent radical nephrectomy, and one underwent radical nephrectomy and partial adrenalectomy. The pathological results showed that six tumors were classical variants, four mixed variants, and one was a cellular variant. Three cases presented as a stage I, eight as stage II, and no stage III or IV cases were diagnosed. All patients are alive so far. At a median follow-up of 14 months, no local recurrence, or remote metastases were found. CONCLUSION: The prognosis of prenatal CMN cases is excellent after early surgery.

Intravenous sodium valproate for acute migraine in the emergency department: A meta-analysis.

The role of intravenous sodium valproate (iVPA) in acute migraine attack has not been completely established. The aim of this updated review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of iVPA in patients with acute migraine in the emergency department. We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary outcome was improvement of headache intensity and headache relief. The need for rescue therapy, recurrence of headache, and number of adverse events was also assessed. Seven double-blinded RCTs involving 682 patients were analyzed. Overall, patients receiving iVPA had less improvement of headache intensity (SMD: -0.39, 95% CI: -0.73 to -0.06, P = .02) and lower rate of headache relief (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.33 to 0.77, P = .002) than those receiving other active comparators. In addition, iVPA increased the odds of rescue therapy compared with other active drugs (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 1.96 to 7.20, P < .0001). Subgroup analysis showed that iVPA was comparable to dexamethasone, with similar improvement of headache intensity, and recurrence of headache. For migraine without aura, we found no significant difference in headache intensity improvement when iVPA was compared with active comparators (SMD: -0.00, 95% CI: -0.54 to 0.54, P = 1.00). iVPA was inferior to the studied comparators and was comparable to dexamethasone for aborting migraine attack. Based on the available evidence, iVPA may be a reasonable alternative or salvage therapy. In particular, iVPA might be a promising agent for migraine with aura and migraine status.

ADReCS-Target: target profiles for aiding drug safety research and application.

Delivering safe and effective therapeutic treatment to patients is one of the grand challenges in modern medicine. However, drug safety research has been progressing slowly in recent years, compared to other fields such as biotechnologies and precision medicine, due to the mechanistic complexity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). To fill up this gap, we develop a new database, the Adverse Drug Reaction Classification System-Target Profile (ADReCS-Target, http://bioinf.xmu.edu.cn/ADReCS-Target), which provides comprehensive information about ADRs caused by drug interaction with protein, gene and genetic variation. In total, ADReCS-Target includes 66,573 pairwise relations, among which 1710 are protein-ADR associations, 2613 are genetic variation-ADR associations, and 63,298 are gene-ADR associations. In a case study of exploring the mechanism of rash, we find that HLAs, C1QA and APOA1 are the key gene players and thus can be potential targets (or biomarkers) in monitoring or countermining rashes. In summary, ADReCS-Target can be a useful resource for the biomedical scientific community by serving researchers in the fields of drug development, clinical pharmacology, precision medicine, and from web lab to high-throughput computational platform. Particularly, it helps to identify drug with better ADR profile and design safer drug therapy regimen.

Impact of right-to-left shunt and transcatheter closure on the clinical features of migraine.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to explore the influence of right-to-left shunt (RLS) presence on the clinical features of migraine and to follow-up on the post-operative curative effect of transcatheter patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure on migraine features.Methods: A total of 103 migraine patients were divided into a mild volume RLS group, moderate volume RLS group, large volume RLS group and non-RLS group in accordance with contrast enhancement transcranial Doppler (c-TCD) findings. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, migraine frequency, migraine duration, migraine disability assessment (MIDAS) and headache impact test-6 (HIT-6) scores were compared amongst the different groups. A total of 39 patients with moderate or large RLS received transcatheter PFO closure and those patients were followed up by the same criteria.Results: The attack frequency, HIT-6 and MIDAS scores amongst the migraine patients with moderate or large RLS were significantly higher than those in patients from the mild RLS group and non-RLS group (p < .05). The transcatheter closure was successful in all patients (n = 39), and no post-operative complications were observed during the hospitalisation and follow-up period. The differences in VAS, HIT-6 and MIDAS scores as well as the headache duration were statistically significant amongst patients before and after PFO closure (p < .05).Conclusions: Moderate to large RLS significantly influenced the clinical features of migraine, and transcatheter PFO closure could significantly relieve headache symptoms in migraine patients with PFO.

Exploring Diverse-Ring Analogues on Combretastatin A4 (CA-4) Olefin as Microtubule-Targeting Agents.

Combretastatin-4 (CA-4) as a tubulin polymerization inhibitor draws extensive attentions. However, due to its weak stability of cis-olefin and poor metabolic stability, structure modifications on cis-configuration are being performed. In this work, we constructed a series of novel CA-4 analogues with linkers on olefin containing diphenylethanone, cis-locked dihydrofuran, α-substituted diphenylethanone, cyclobutane and cyclohexane on its cis-olefin. Cytotoxic activity of all analogues was measured by an SRB assay. Among them, compound 6b, a by-product in the preparation of diphenylethanone analogues, was found to be the most potent cytotoxic agents against HepG2 cells with IC50 values of less than 0.5 µM. The two isomers of 6b induced cellular apoptosis tested by Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) double staining, arrested cells in the G2/M phase by PI staining analysis, and disrupted microtubule network by immunohistochemistry study in HepG2 cells. Moreover, 6b-(E) displayed a dose-dependent inhibition effect for tubulin assembly in in vitro tubulin polymerization assay. In addition, molecular docking studies showed that two isomers of 6b could bind efficiently at colchicine binding site of tubulin similar to CA-4.

[Evaluation of the Acute Toxicity and Genotoxicity of the Rice Biofortified with ß-Glucan].

OBJECTIVE: To provide a scientific evaluation of the food safety of the rice biofortified with ß-glucan. METHODS: The acute toxicity and genotoxicity of the rice were evaluated by 14-day feeding experiment, Ames experiment, erythrocyte micronucleus test and mouse lymphoma thymidine kinase gene ( TK) mutation assay respectively. RESULTS: In the acute toxicity test, there was no obvious toxicity of rice biofortified with ß-glucan, and no abnormality was found in anatomical observation. The median lethal dose (LD 50) to rats and mice wereall greater than 15 mg/kg, which belonged to the actual non-toxic level. Whether with S 9 activation or not, no genotoxicity was found to the tested strains TA97a, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA1535. No induction of polychromatic erythrocytes and inhibition of bone marrow were found in erythrocyte micronucleus test. The results of TK gene mutation assay did not show the mutagenicity of ß-glucan bioaugmentation rice. All results of the three genotoxicity tests were negative. CONCLUSION: Under the current experimental conditions, ß-glucan biofortified rice showed no obvious acute toxicity and genotoxicity.

Partial Stapled Hemorrhoidopexy Versus Circumferential Stapled Hemorrhoidopexy for Grade III to IV Prolapsing Hemorrhoids: A Randomized, Noninferiority Trial.

BACKGROUND: Long-term outcomes and efficacy of partial stapled hemorrhoidopexy are not known. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term clinical efficacy and safety of partial stapled hemorrhoidopexy with circumferential stapled hemorrhoidopexy. DESIGN: This was a parallel group, randomized, noninferiority clinical trial. SETTINGS: The study was conducted at a single academic center. PATIENTS: Patients with grade III/IV hemorrhoids between August 2011 and November 2013 were included. INTERVENTIONS: Three hundred patients were randomly assigned to undergo either partial stapled hemorrhoidopexy (group 1, n = 150) or circumferential stapled hemorrhoidopexy (group 2, n = 150). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the rate of recurrent prolapse at a median follow-up period of 5 years with a predefined noninferiority margin of 3.75%. Secondary outcomes included incidence and severity of postoperative pain, fecal urgency, anal continence, and the frequency of specific complications, including anorectal stenosis and rectovaginal fistula. RESULTS: The visual analog scores in group 1 were less than those in group 2 (p < 0.001). Fewer patients in group 1 experienced postoperative urgency compared with those in group 2 (p = 0.001). Anal continence significantly worsened after both procedures, but the difference between preoperative and postoperative continence scores was higher for group 2 than for group 1. Postoperative rectal stenosis did not develop in patients in group 1, although it occurred in 8 patients (5%) in group 2 (p = 0.004). The 5-year cumulative recurrence rate between group 1 (9% (95% CI, 4%-13%)) and group 2 (12% (95% CI, 7%-17%)) did not differ significantly (p = 0.137), and the difference was within the noninferiority margin (absolute difference, -3.33% (95% CI, -10.00% to 3.55%)). LIMITATIONS: The study was limited because it was a single-center trial. CONCLUSIONS: Partial stapled hemorrhoidopexy is noninferior to circumferential stapled hemorrhoidopexy for patients with grade III to IV hemorrhoids at a median follow-up period of 5 years. However, partial stapled hemorrhoidopexy was associated with reduced postoperative pain and urgency, better postoperative anal continence, and minimal risk of rectal stenosis. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A790.Trial registration (chictr.org) identifier is chiCTR-trc-11001506.

Fabrication of Cu(I)-Functionalized MIL-101(Cr) for Adsorptive Desulfurization: Low-Temperature Controllable Conversion of Cu(II) via Vapor-Induced Reduction.

Because of their nontoxicity, economic applicability, and excellent performance on adsorptive desulfurization, the fabrication of Cu(I) sites onto porous supports has drawn much attention. However, high temperatures (usually ≥700 °C) are required for the formation of Cu(I) sites from Cu(II) species through the traditional autoreduction method, which is unworkable for thermolabile metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Here, we report a strategy named vapor-induced reduction (VIR) to convert Cu(II) species to Cu(I) in MIL-101(Cr), in which ethanol is used as an environmentally benign reductant. The entire formation of Cu(I) from Cu(II) with more than 96% selectivity is allowed, at a relatively low temperature of 200 °C, and well-maintains the structure of the MOF. Moreover, the generated Cu(I) sites exhibit good performances in adsorption desulfurization with regard to both activity and reusability.