Gender differences in clinical characteristics of patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in different age groups in northern China.

INTRODUCTION: Patient gender has clinical and prognostic implications in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, yet the potential effect of gender on clinical characteristics of patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis is still unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the gender differences in clinical characteristics of patients with bronchiectasis in different age groups in northern China. METHODS: A total of 777 patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis were retrospectively included in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital and divided into two groups by gender: the male group and the female group. Each group was then subdivided into two according to their age (≤65 and >65 years). Gender differences in clinical characteristics were compared in all patients with bronchiectasis in the two age groups, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 777 bronchiectasis patients were included. Of these patients, the prevalence of female non-smokers was substantially higher than that of male non-smokers (94.0% vs. 36.8%). There were gender differences in etiology of bronchiectasis, with more post-measles and connective tissue disease in females (p = 0.006 and 0.002 separately) and more chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in males (p < 0.001). The male group had a significantly higher C-reactive protein (CRP) on admission (p = 0.03). Female patients showed a higher forced expiratory volume in 1 s as percentage of predicted volume (FEV1%pred) and forced vital capacity rate of 1 s (FEV1/FVC) (p < 0.001), lower partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2 ) (p = 0.04) and hospital costs (p = 0.02) than males, and a higher prevalence of infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in >65-year-old group (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: There were many differences between male and female patients in smoking status, etiology, lung function, blood gas analysis, and hospital costs in all patients or different age groups.

Efficacy of glucocorticoids, chloroquine and vitamin A on cytokine release syndrome: a network pharmacology study.

OBJECTIVE: To verify the efficacy of glucocorticoids, chloroquine and vitamin A in the treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and to investigate the underlying mechanisms, based on network pharmacology. METHODS: We used network pharmacology analysis and found 20 co-targeted genes of glucocorticoids, chloroquine, vitamin A and CRS. The pharmacological functions and therapeutic pathways of the genes were analyzed by gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment. The candidate naturally bioactive compounds against the key genes were predicted by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. The anti-inflammatory activity of luteolin was assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Among the 20 co-targeted genes of glucocorticoids, chloroquine and vitamin A, interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 4 (IL-4) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were the key cytokines against CRS. The key pathway involved in the pharmacological mechanism could be cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, Janus Kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B signaling pathway. Luteolin targeted by IL-10, IL-4, IL-2 and TNF-α could be one candidate drug for the treatment of CRS. CONCLUSION: This study comprehensively elucidates the pharmacological mechanism for the treatment of CRS and provides a new method for the discovery of drugs for this disease.

Erratum: Glycyrrhizic acid inhibits leukemia cell growth and migration via blocking AKT/mTOR/STAT3 signaling.

[This corrects the article on p. 5175 in vol. 8, PMID: 26191214.].

[Effect of Zirconium-Modified Zeolite Addition on Migration and Transformation of Phosphorus in River Sediments Under Static and Hydrodynamic Disturbance Conditions].

In this study, the effect of the addition of zirconium-modified zeolite (ZrMZ) on the migration and transformation of phosphorus (P) in river sediments under static and hydrodynamic disturbance conditions was studied using sediment core incubation experiments. Results showed that, whether under static or hydrodynamic disturbance condition, the ZrMZ amendment suppressed the release of SRP from sediments into the overlying water. Furthermore, the addition of ZrMZ to the upper sediment (0-10 mm) not only resulted in the decrease of the dissoluble reactive P (SRP) concentration in the overlying water at a depth of 0-30 mm, but also led to the decrease of the diffusion flux of SRP from the pore water to the overlying water across the sediment-water interface (SWI). In addition, the ZrMZ amendment induced the transformation of the redox-sensitive P (BD-P) and HCl extractable P (HCl-P) into the metal oxide-bound P (NaOH-rP) and residual P (Res-P), thus resulting in the reduction of mobile P (sum of NH4Cl extractable P and BD-P) in the top 10 mm of sediment. In addition, the addition of ZrMZ into the top 10 mm of sediment resulted in reduction of the content of mobile P in 10-20 mm of sediment. Furthermore, the effect of ZrMZ addition on the migration and transformation of P in sediments under hydrodynamic disturbance condition had a certain difference from that under static condition. The presence of hydrodynamic disturbance enhanced the immobilization efficiency of SRP in the pore water at a depth of 0-20 mm by the ZrMZ amendment, and also increased the reduction efficiency of the SRP diffusion flux from the pore water to the overlying water across the SWI by the ZrMZ amendment. However, the efficiency of the control of SRP release from sediments to the overlying water by the ZrMZ amendment was slightly reduced by the hydrodynamic disturbance. The reductions of mobile P in the top sediment, SRP in the pore water as well as the diffusion flux of SRP from the pore water to the overlying water across the SWI played a key role in the control of SRP release from sediments to the overlying water by the ZrMZ amendment. Results of this work indicate that ZrMZ is a very promising amendment for the control of SRP release from river sediments under static and hydrodynamic disturbance conditions.

[Effect of Magnetic Zirconium/Iron-Modified Bentonite Addition on Phosphorus Mobilization and Species Transformation in River Sediments].

A magnetic zirconium/iron-modified bentonite (ZrFeBT) was prepared, and the effect of ZrFeBT addition on the mobilization and species transformation of P in river sediments was investigated using incubation sediment core experiments. The results showed that, under anoxic conditions, P could be released from river sediments into the pore water, and then P in the pore water could be released into the overlying water. The addition of ZrFeBT into river sediments could greatly suppress the release of P from river sediments into the pore water under anoxic conditions. Therefore, the release of P from the pore water into the overlying water could be significantly suppressed by the addition of ZrFeBT. After the addition of ZrFeBT into river sediments, the transformation of loosely sorbed P (Labile-P) and BD extractable P (BD-P) to NaOH extractable P (NaOH-rP) and residual P (Res-P) in the sediments was observed. The decrease of bioavailable P (BAP) including water soluble P (WSP), readily desorbable P (RDP), NaHCO3 extractable P (Olsen-P), algal available P (AAP), and Fe oxide-paper extractable P (FeO-P) in the sediments was also observed. A certain amount of P in the ZrFeBT after the incubation experiment was present in the form of mobile P (Labile-P and BD-P), Olsen-P, and FeO-P, which could be re-released into the pore water and overlying water when the environmental conditions change in the future. The control of P release from river sediment into the overlying water by the addition of ZrFeBT could be mainly attributed to the reduction of P in the pore water as well as the reduction of mobile P and BAP in the sediments after ZrFeBT amendment. The results of this study inidcated that ZrFeBT is a promising amendment for the regulation of P release from river sediments into the overlying water.

[Influence of Calcium Ion Pre-treatment on Phosphate Adsorption onto Magnetic Zirconium/Iron-modified Bentonite].

Two kinds of magnetic zirconium/iron-modified bentonites (ZrFeBTs), including magnetic zirconium/iron modified raw bentonite (ZrFeRBT) and magnetic zirconium/iron-modified Ca2+-pretreated bentonite, (ZrFeCaBT) were prepared and characterized. Their phosphate adsorption characteristics were compared to determine the effect of the Ca2+ pre-treatment on the adsorption of phosphate onto ZrFeBTs. The results showed that the as-prepared ZrFeBTs contained Fe3O4 and Zr, and the content of exchangeable Ca2+ in ZrFeCaBT was much higher than that in ZrFeRBT. The adsorption isotherm data exhibited good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model, with maximum monolayer phosphate adsorption capacities of 8.70 mg·g-1 and 11.5 mg·g-1 for ZrFeRBT and ZrFeCaBT, respectively. The isotherm and kinetics studies showed that the adsorption of phosphate on ZrFeBTs was a chemisorption process. The phosphate adsorption capacities for ZrFeBTs decreased with increasing solution pH. The ZrFeBTs exhibited a high selective adsorption for phosphate in the presence of anions and cations, including Cl-, HCO3-, SO42-, NO3-, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. Furthermore, coexisting Ca2+ greatly enhanced the adsorption of phosphate onto ZrFeBTs. The pre-treatment of raw bentonite with Ca2+ significantly improved the adsorption of phosphate onto ZrFeBTs.

[Adsorption Behavior of Phosphate from Water on Zirconium-loaded Granular Zeolite-amended Sediment].

In this study, a zirconium-loaded granular zeolite (ZrGZ) was prepared, characterized and used as a sediment amendment to control internal phosphorus (P) loading in water samples from a heavily polluted river. The adsorption characteristics of phosphate on ZrGZ-amended sediment were investigated using batch experiments, and the stability of P in phosphate-adsorbed ZrGZ was evaluated using a sequential chemical extraction method. Results showed that the Langmuir isotherm model was more suitable for describing the equilibrium adsorption data of phosphate on ZrGZ-amended sediment than the Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. The adsorption process of phosphate on ZrGZ-amended sediment could be well described by the pseudo-second-order and Elovich kinetic models, and both film and intra-particle diffusion controlled the adsorption rate during the gradual adsorption stage. The coexistence of SO42- and HCO3- inhibited the adsorption of phosphate on ZrGZ-amended sediment, while coexisting Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ enhanced the phosphate adsorption, and this promoting effect decreased in the order of Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+/K+. The ZrGZ-amended sediment exhibited a higher phosphate adsorption capacity than the unamended sediment, and the maximum phosphate adsorption capacity derived from the Langmuir isotherm model was found to be 336 mg·kg-1, which was higher than that for the unamended sediment (215 mg·kg-1). Sequential tests showed that P in phosphate-adsorbed ZrGZ mainly existed in the form of NaOH-rP and Res-P, which was relatively unreactive. These results indicated that ZrGZ addition enhanced the phosphate adsorption capacity of river sediment, and that ZrGZ was a promising amendment for controlling the release of P from river sediment.

[Effect of Zirconium-modified Zeolite Addition on Phosphorus Release and Immobilization in Heavily Polluted River Sediment].

The effect of zirconium-modified zeolite (ZrMZ) addition on the release and immobilization of phosphorus in heavily polluted river sediment was investigated using microcosm incubation experiments. Results showed that addition of ZrMZ to sediment greatly reduced concentrations of P in pore water and overlying water, also reducing the release flux of P across the interface between overlying water and sediment. The addition of ZrMZ to sediment resulted in the transformation of NH4Cl extractable P (NH4Cl-P), Na2S2O4/NaHCO3 extractable P (BD-P), and HCl extractable P (HCl-P) into NaOH extractable P (NaOH-rP) and residual P (Res-P) in sediment, thereby leading to the reduction of mobile P (sum of NH4Cl-P and BD-P) in sediment. Content of bioavailable P (BAP) including water soluble P (WSP), readily desorbable P (RDP), iron oxide paper strip extractable P (FeO-P), and anion resin extractable P (Resin-P) in sediment also declined following addition of ZrMZ. Control of P release from sediment by ZrMZ could be due to reduction of P in pore water and immobilization of P in sediment. Results of this work indicate that ZrMZ is very promising for controlling P release from sediments in heavily polluted rivers.

[Adsorption of Phosphate from Aqueous Solutions on Sediments Amended with Magnetite-Modified Zeolite].

Understanding the characteristics of phosphate adsorption onto magnetite-modified zeolite (MZ)-amended sediment is helpful for knowing the exchange behavior and process of phosphorus at the interface between the overlying water and MZ-amended sediment. Furthermore, it is helpful for the application of MZ as an amendment to control phosphorus release from sediment. To achieve this goal, the adsorption of phosphate on unamended and MZ-amended sediments was comparatively investigated using a series of batch experiments, and the fractionation of phosphorus in the phosphate-adsorbed MZ was studied using a sequential extraction process. The kinetic data of phosphate adsorption onto unamended and MZ-amended sediments were more suitably fitted to the Elovich model than to the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The equilibrium adsorption data of phosphate adsorption onto the unamended and MZ-amended sediments were well described by the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevic isotherm model. The phosphate adsorption performance of the unamended and MZ-amended sediments decreased with increasing solution pH from 4 to 11. The presence of cations, such as K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, enhanced the adsorption of phosphate on the unamended and MZ-amended sediments, and the promoting effect decreased in the order of Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+, whereas the presence of HCO3- inhibited the adsorption of phosphate. The mechanisms for phosphate adsorption onto the unamended and MZ-amended sediments involved electrostatic attraction and ligand exchange, while the mechanism for the adsorption of phosphate on MZ in the amended sediment involved ligand exchange. The sequential extraction analysis of phosphate-adsorbed MZ showed that 49.4% of phosphorus in MZ existed in the mobile form (NH4Cl-P, BD-P, and NaOH-nrP), which could be easily released from MZ. Therefore, the used MZ should be recovered from sediment using external magnetic fields after its application. The results of this study indicated that MZ is a promising sediment amendment for the control of internal loading in rivers.

Glycyrrhizic acid inhibits leukemia cell growth and migration via blocking AKT/mTOR/STAT3 signaling.

Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is the bioactive compound of licorice and has been used as an herbal medicine because of its anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was designed to investigate the effects of GA on leukemia cells growth, migration, and the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer activities of GA. MTT test was used to detect the effect of GA on TF-1 leukemia cell growth. Wound closure assay and Transwell were adopted to assess the effect of GA on TF-1 migration and invasion. Migration and invasion related proteins including AKT and mTOR were detected by western blot assay. We further used western blot and immunofluorescence assay to evaluate the effect of GA on STAT3 phosphorylation in vitro. We also evaluated the anti-tumor effect of GA in TF-1 tumor bearing BALB/c mice model. The present study showed GA significant inhibit of TF-1 proliferation in a dose and time-dependent manner. GA could remarkably inhibit TF-1 cell migration and invasion; meanwhile effectively suppress AKT, mTOR, and STAT3 phosphorylation in TF-1 cells. GA in 100 mg/kg/ could inhibit the tumor growth in vivo and down-regulated AKT, mTOR, and STAT3 phosphorylation in TF-1 tumor tissues. Our findings suggest that GA is a promising therapeutic agent for leukemia that targets the AKT/mTOR/STAT3 pathway.

Research Advances in the Treatment of Melanoma by Treat Melanoma.

Melanoma is a highly malignant tumor. Prognoses of melanoma patients are often unsatisfactory due to poor operational and chemoradiational efficacy. Recently, researches for melanoma treatment have found multipeptide vaccines a favorite and possible breakthrough as they are stable in chemical property and easy to be synthesized, have no carcinogenecity and dispense with virus vector. Studies have shown that the immunogenicity of multipeptide vaccines could be enhanced by use of immunoadjuvants, joining dendritic cells (DCs), full-length or epitope-superposited antigen peptides, costimulatory molecules and cellpenetrating peptides fusion, thereby improving anti-tumor effect. Certain achievements have been obtained in clinical treatment of melanoma by multipeptide vaccines, but problems including poor immunogenicity and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) phenotype restriction may require further study.