Bilateral Production Shield Enabling Highly Efficient Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Enhancing the intrinsic stability of perovskite and through encapsulation to isolate water, oxygen, and UV-induced decomposition are currently common and most effective strategies in perovskite solar cells. Here, the atomic layer deposition process is employed to deposit a nanoscale (≈100 nm), uniform, and dense Al2O3 film on the front side of perovskite devices, effectively isolating them from the erosion caused by water and oxygen in the humid air. Simultaneously, nanoscale (≈100 nm) TiO2 films are also deposited on the glass surface to efficiently filter out the ultraviolet (UV) light in the light source, which induces degradation in perovskite. Ultimately, throughthe collaborative effects of both aspects, the stability of the devices is significantly improved under conditions of humid air and illumination. As a result, after storing the devices in ambient air for 1000 h, the efficiency only declines to 95%, and even after 662 h of UV exposure, the efficiency remains at 88%, far surpassing the performance of comparison devices. These results strongly indicate that the adopted Al2O3 and TiO2 thin films play a significant role in enhancing the stability of perovskite solar cells, demonstrating substantial potential for widespread industrial applications.

Eight-Electron Superatomic Cu31 Nanocluster with Chiral Kernel and NIR-II Emission.

Owing to the inherent instability caused by the low Cu(I)/Cu(0) half-cell reduction potential, Cu(0)-containing copper nanoclusters are quite uncommon in comparison to their Ag and Au congeners. Here, a novel eight-electron superatomic copper nanocluster [Cu31(4-MeO-PhC≡C)21(dppe)3](ClO4)2 (Cu31, dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) is presented with total structural characterization. The structural determination reveals that Cu31 features an inherent chiral metal core arising from the helical arrangement of two sets of three Cu2 units encircling the icosahedral Cu13 core, which is further shielded by 4-MeO-PhC≡C- and dppe ligands. Cu31 is the first copper nanocluster carrying eight free electrons, which is further corroborated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Interestingly, Cu31 demonstrates the first near-infrared (750-950 nm, NIR-I) window absorption and the second near-infrared (1000-1700 nm, NIR-II) window emission, which is exceptional in the copper nanocluster family and endows it with great potential in biological applications. Of note, the 4-methoxy groups providing close contacts with neighboring clusters are crucial for the cluster formation and crystallization, while 2-methoxyphenylacetylene leads only to copper hydride clusters, Cu6H or Cu32H14. This research not only showcases a new member of copper superatoms but also exemplifies that copper nanoclusters, which are nonluminous in the visible range may emit luminescence in the deep NIR region.

Organizing Pneumonia in A Patient Double-Positive for ANCA and Anti-GBM Antibodies: A Case Report.

Both anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease and the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) are common causes of pulmonary-renal syndrome. Organizing pneumonia (OP), a special pattern of interstitial lung disease, is extremely rare either in AAV or anti-GBM disease. We report an old woman presented with OP on a background of co-presentation with both ANCA and anti-GBM antibodies.

Elongation of a Trigonal-Prismatic Copper Cluster by Diphosphine Ligands with Longer Spacers.

A pair of alkynyl-diphosphine-coprotected copper(I) clusters, namely, [Cu6(4-MeO-PhC≡C)5(dppe)3](ClO4) [Cu6; dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane] and [Cu11(H)(4-MeO-PhC≡C)8(dpppe)3](ClO4)2 [Cu11; dpppe = 1,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)pentane], featuring trigonal-prismatic frameworks have been synthesized by a reduction method. Their molecular structures are determined by X-ray crystallography and characterized by multiple techniques. The length of the spacer of the diphosphine ligand can directly affect the aspect ratio of the clusters. Cu6 with dppe as ligands has a trigonal-prismatic core. The longer alkyl spacer of dpppe helps to elongate the trigonal-prismatic framework to form Cu11, with its trigonal-prismatic framework encapsulating a Cu5H unit. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, 2H NMR, and liberations of hydrogen further verify the presence of a hydride in the cluster. Density functional theory calculations help to locate the position of the hydride and understand the electronic structures of the clusters. Cu11 is the first alkynyl-phosphine-coprotected copper hydride cluster. These two clusters show distinct luminescence properties. The compact Cu6 is phosphorescent upon radiation, while the longer Cu11 with more flexibility is nonluminous. This work enriches the family of copper hydrides and demonstrates the ligand effects in the extension of the length and structural complexity of clusters.

Recent Progresses in Solution-Processed Tandem Organic and Quantum Dots Light-Emitting Diodes.

Solution processes have promising advantages of low manufacturing cost and large-scale production, potentially applied for the fabrication of organic and quantum dot light-emitting diodes (OLEDs and QLEDs). To meet the expected lifespan of OLEDs/QLEDs in practical display and lighting applications, tandem architecture by connecting multiple light-emitting units (LEUs) through a feasible intermediate connection layer (ICL) is preferred. However, the combination of tandem architecture with solution processes is still limited by the choices of obtainable ICLs due to the unsettled challenges, such as orthogonal solubility, surface wettability, interfacial corrosion, and charge injection. This review focuses on the recent progresses of solution-processed tandem OLEDs and tandem QLEDs, covers the design and fabrication of various ICLs by solution process, and provides suggestions on the future challenges of corresponding materials and devices, which are anticipated to stimulate the exploitation of the emerging light technologies.

Robust Laminated Anode with an Ultrathin Titanium Nitride Layer for High-Efficiency Top-Emitting Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

The effective reflective anode remains a highly desirable component for the fabrication of reliable top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TE-OLEDs) which have the potential to be integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for microdisplays. This work demonstrates a novel laminated anode consisting of a Cr/Al/Cr multilayer stack. Furthermore, we implement an ultra-thin titanium nitride (TiN) layer as a protective layer on the top of the Cr/Al/Cr composite anode, which creates a considerably reflective surface in the visible range, and meanwhile improves the chemical stability of the electrode against the atmosphere or alkali environment. Based on [2-(2-pyridinyl-N)phenyl-C](acetylacetonate)iridium(III) as green emitter and Mg/Ag as transparent cathode, our TE-OLED using the TiN-coated anode achieves the maximum current efficiency of 71.2 cd/A and the maximum power efficiency of 66.7 lm/W, which are 81% and 90% higher than those of the reference device without TiN, respectively. The good device performance shows that the Cr/Al/Cr/TiN could function as a promising reflective anode for the high-resolution microdisplays on CMOS circuits.

Renal Amyloidosis Secondary to ANCA-Associated Vasculitis: A Case Report.

Renal amyloidosis secondary to anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis is extremely rare. Here, we reported a 77-year-old woman with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Renal biopsy with Masson trichrome staining showed pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis, and electron microscopy showed amyloid deposition in the mesangial area. Immunofluorescence revealed kappa light chain and lambda light chain negative. Bone marrow biopsy revealed no clonal plasma cell. Finally, she was diagnosed as ANCA-associated vasculitis with secondary renal amyloid A amyloidosis.

Severe Pulmonary Embolism, Thrombosis of Lower Extremity, Unexpected Mild Renal Disorder in MPO-ANCA Associated Vasculitis: A Case Report.

Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) associated vasculitis is an autoimmune disease usually with severe multiple dysfunction syndrome, especially prominent acute renal failure. A 65-year-old woman was admitted with progressive dyspnoea for six months and fever, sputum with blood, pain of the lower extremities and intermittent claudication for two days, indicating multiple organ involvement (respiratory system, blood vessels). The renal involvement was relatively mild, presenting with microscopic haematuria. The chest computed tomography demonstrated multiple pulmonary embolisms. Ultrasound and computed tomography angiography for the lower extremity vessels showed venous and arterial thrombosis. Exclusion of other diseases that can cause multiple organ damage and thrombosis, the positive perinuclear ANCA and MPO-ANCA strongly support the diagnosis of MPO-ANAC-associated vasculitis. The patient's physical condition has been greatly improved by treatment with corticosteroids and anticoagulation.

Neferine inhibits LPS-ATP-induced endothelial cell pyroptosis via regulation of ROS/NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress-induced endothelial dysfunction and pyroptosis play an important role during chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. Neferine, which is an alkaloid ingredient from the lotus seed embryo, has many biological actions such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant. However, the role of neferine in endothelial cell pyroptosis and the involved mechanism remain obscure. The aim is to probe the protective effects of neferine on cell pyroptosis and the involved underlying mechanism. METHODS: After the HUVECs were primed with neferine treatment for 2 h prior to LPS and ATP exposure for 24 h, the cell proliferation was determined by BrdU; the cell LDH release was detected by LDH kits; the levels of intracellular ROS, MDA and SOD were tested by detection kits; Caspase-1 activity kit was used to determine caspase-1 activity; the contents of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1ß, IL-18 and GSDMD were tested by RT-PCR and western blot. RESULTS: We found that neferine could inhibit LPS-ATP-induced oxidative stress and the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling, and increased the endothelial cell viability and SOD production. siRNA which mediated the knockdown of NLRP3 promoted the neferine-induced inhibition effects of cell pyroptosis. Furthermore, these neferine-induced effects were reversed by the over-expression of NLRP3. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated neferine may reduce ROS by anti-oxidation and inhibit LPS-ATP-induced endothelial cell pyroptosis via blocking ROS/NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway, which provides the evidence for therapeutic effect in CKD.

N-Acetyl Cysteine improves the diabetic cardiac function: possible role of fibrosis inhibition.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is one of the leading causes of death in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic implication of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, an antioxidant and glutathione precursor) and the possible underlying mechanism. METHODS: Thirty five 12-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were included. Twenty-five diabetic mice were induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (STZ, 150 mg/kg, Sigma-Aldrich) dissolved in a mix of citrate buffer after overnight fast. Mice with a blood glucose level above 13.5 mmol/L were considered diabetic. As a non-DM (diabetic) control, mice were injected with equal volume of citrate buffer. The 25 diabetic mice were divided into 5 groups with 5 animals in each group: including DM (diabetes without NAC treatment), and 4 different NAC treatment groups, namely NAC1, NAC3, NAC5 and NAC7, with the number defining the start time point of NAC treatment. In the 10 non-DM mice, mice were either untreated (Ctrl) or treated with NAC for 5 weeks (NAC only). Echocardiography was performed 12 weeks after STZ injection. Heart tissue were collected after echocardiography for Hematoxylin Eosin (HE) and Trichrome staining and ROS staining. Cardiac fibroblast cells were isolated, cultured and treated with high glucose plus NAC or the vehicle. qPCR analysis and CCK-8 assay were performed to observe fibrotic gene expression and cell proliferation. RESULTS: We found that both cardiac systolic function and diastolic function were impaired, coupled with excessive reactive oxygen stress and cardiac fibrosis 12 weeks after STZ induction. NAC significantly reduced ROS generation and fibrosis, together with improved cardiac systolic function and diastolic function. Strikingly, NAC1 treatment, which had the earlier and longer treatment, produced significant improvement of cardiac function and less fibrosis. In the cardiac fibroblasts, NAC blocked cardiac fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis induced by hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that NAC treatment in diabetes effectively protects from diabetic cardiomyopathy, possibly through inhibiting the ROS production and fibrosis, which warrants further clarification.

Diagnostic Value of 3.0 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Active Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance enteroclysis (MRE) has been widely applied to diagnose Crohn's disease (CD). Magnetic resonance (MR) at 3.0 T improves signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), shortens image acquisition time, and shows more advantages. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the diagnostic value of 3.0 T MR imaging for active CD. METHODS: 48 CD patients hospitalized in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects. These 48 CD patients underwent both double-balloon enteroscopy and 3.0 T MRE. All patients' arterial phase signal, venous phase signal, bowel wall, and bowel lumen of MRE were observed to identify whether they suffered from active CD. Based on the results of enteroscopy, the number of true positives, true negatives, false negatives, and false positives diagnosed by MRE were screened; next, the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of MRE in assessing active CD were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 48 patients, 39 were diagnosed with small bowel CD by MRE, which was not significantly different from the results of enteroscopy (P>0.05). According to MRE diagnostic results, the arterial phase predominantly presented high signal intensity, and the venous phase mainly presented low signal intensity or isointensity. Small bowel CD lesions were primarily characterized by bowel wall thickening, rare pneumatosis enhancement of the bowel wall, bowel lumen pneumatosis or dilatation, and rare strictures. Besides, MRE presented an accuracy of 93.75%, sensitivity of 97.37%, and specificity of 80.00% in diagnosing CD. CONCLUSION: 3.0 T MR imaging has diagnostic value for active CD and shows certain clinical application value.

Molecular Characterization of Three Apple Geminivirus Isolates in Crabapples Detected in Inner Mongolia, China.

Apple geminivirus 1 (AGV) in the genus Maldovirus of the family Geminiviridae was first identified infecting apple trees in the year 2015 in China. In this work, we characterized three isolates of the AGV in the Chinese pearleaf crabapple (Malus asiatica) in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The viruses were detected by Illumina sequencing and its existence was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of an AGV fragment. Between the three AGV isolates and the initially characterized AGV isolate PL2015, the nucleotide sequence identities of the complete genome ranged from 91.2 to 91.7%, of the coat protein gene (V1) ranged from 95.4% to 97.3%, and of the replicase gene (C1) ranged from 87.3% to 88.0%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the three isolates formed a monophyletic group together with the AGV, separated from the current genera in the family Geminiviridae. This is the first description of the AGV infecting crabapples.

Identification of Mixtures of Two Types of Body Fluids Using the Multiplex Methylation System and Random Forest Models.

OBJECTIVE: Body fluid mixtures are complex biological samples that frequently occur in crime scenes, and can provide important clues for criminal case analysis. DNA methylation assay has been applied in the identification of human body fluids, and has exhibited excellent performance in predicting single-source body fluids. The present study aims to develop a methylation SNaPshot multiplex system for body fluid identification, and accurately predict the mixture samples. In addition, the value of DNA methylation in the prediction of body fluid mixtures was further explored. METHODS: In the present study, 420 samples of body fluid mixtures and 250 samples of single body fluids were tested using an optimized multiplex methylation system. Each kind of body fluid sample presented the specific methylation profiles of the 10 markers. RESULTS: Significant differences in methylation levels were observed between the mixtures and single body fluids. For all kinds of mixtures, the Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a significantly strong correlation between the methylation levels and component proportions (1:20, 1:10, 1:5, 1:1, 5:1, 10:1 and 20:1). Two random forest classification models were trained for the prediction of mixture types and the prediction of the mixture proportion of 2 components, based on the methylation levels of 10 markers. For the mixture prediction, Model-1 presented outstanding prediction accuracy, which reached up to 99.3% in 427 training samples, and had a remarkable accuracy of 100% in 243 independent test samples. For the mixture proportion prediction, Model-2 demonstrated an excellent accuracy of 98.8% in 252 training samples, and 98.2% in 168 independent test samples. The total prediction accuracy reached 99.3% for body fluid mixtures and 98.6% for the mixture proportions. CONCLUSION: These results indicate the excellent capability and powerful value of the multiplex methylation system in the identification of forensic body fluid mixtures.

The sensitivity of mechanical properties and pore structures of Beishan granite to large variation of temperature in nuclear waste storage sites.

Granite is the host rock of the Beishan Underground Research Laboratory (URL) for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste in China. The mechanical behavior of Beishan granite is the key in determining whether the repository can serve safely for a long time. The surrounding rock of the repository will be exposed to thermal environment induced by radionuclide decay, resulting in significant changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the Beishan granite. This study investigated the pore structure and mechanical properties of Beishan granite after thermal treatment. The T2 spectrum distribution, pore size distribution, porosity, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and acoustic emission (AE) signal characteristic of granite were investigated through uniaxial compression tests. The results showed that high temperature significantly affected the T2 spectrum distribution, pore size distribution, porosity, compressive strength, and elastic modulus of granite, and porosity gradually increases, whereas the strength and elastic modulus gradually decline with increasing temperature. The porosity of granite has a linear relationship with UCS and elastic modulus, indicating that the essential mechanism for the deterioration of macroscopic mechanical properties lies in changes of microstructure. In addition, the thermal damage mechanism of granite was revealed, and a damage variable was defined based on porosity and uniaxial compressive strength.

Label-free based quantitative proteomics analysis to explore the molecular mechanism of gynecological cold coagulation and blood stasis syndrome.

Cold coagulation and blood stasis (CCBS) syndrome is one of the common traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of gynecological diseases. However, the molecular mechanism of CCBS syndrome is still unclear. Thus, there is a need to reveal the occurrence and regulation mechanism of CCBS syndrome, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of CCBS syndrome in gynecological diseases. The plasma proteins in primary dysmenorrhea (PD) patients with CCBS syndrome, endometriosis (EMS) patients with CCBS syndrome, and healthy women were screened using Label-free quantitative proteomics. Based on the TCM theory of "same TCM syndrome in different diseases," the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) identified in each group were subjected to intersection mapping to obtain common DEPs in CCBS syndrome. The DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome in the intersection part were again cross-mapped with the DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome obtained by the research group according to the TCM theory of "different TCM syndromes in same disease" theory in the early stage, so as to obtain the DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome that were shared by the two parts. The common DEPs were subjected to bioinformatics analysis, and were verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 67 common DEPs were identified in CCBS syndrome, of which 33 DEPs were upregulated and 34 DEPs were downregulated. The functional classification of DEPs involved in metabolic process, energy production and conversion, immune system process, antioxidant activity, response to stimulus, and biological adhesion. The subcellular location mainly located in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and extracellular. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the upregulated DEPs mainly concentrated in lipid transport, cell migration, and inflammatory reaction, and the downregulated DEPs mostly related to cell junction, metabolism, and energy response. Protein domain enrichment analysis and clustering analysis revealed that the DEPs mainly related to cell proliferation and differentiation, cell morphology, metabolism, and immunity. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis clustering analysis showed that the upregulated DEPs were involved in inflammation and oxidative damage, while the downregulated DEPs were involved in inflammation, cell adhesion, cell apoptosis, and metabolism. The results of ELISA showed significantly increased levels of Cell surface glycoprotein MUC18 (MCAM) and Apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1), and significantly decreased levels of Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), Fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5), and Vinculin (VCL) in patients with CCBS syndrome compared with healthy women. We speculated that cold evil may affect the immune process, inflammatory response, metabolic process, energy production and conversion, oxidative damage, endothelial cell dysfunction, and other differential proteins expression to cause CCBS syndrome in gynecological diseases.

H3K4 Methylation Promotes Expression of Mitochondrial Dynamics Regulators to Ensure Oocyte Quality in Mice.

Significantly decreased H3K4 methylation in oocytes from aged mice indicates the important roles of H3K4 methylation in female reproduction. However, how H3K4 methylation regulates oocyte development remains largely unexplored. In this study, it is demonstrated that oocyte-specific expression of dominant negative mutant H3.3-K4M led to a decrease of the level of H3K4 methylation in mouse oocytes, resulting in reduced transcriptional activity and increased DNA methylation in oocytes, disturbed oocyte developmental potency, and fertility of female mice. The impaired expression of genes regulating mitochondrial functions in H3.3-K4M oocytes, accompanied by mitochondrial abnormalities, is further noticed. Moreover, early embryos from H3.3-K4M oocytes show developmental arrest and reduced zygotic genome activation. Collectively, these results show that H3K4 methylation in oocytes is critical to orchestrating gene expression profile, driving the oocyte developmental program, and ensuring oocyte quality. This study also improves understanding of how histone modifications regulate organelle dynamics in oocytes.

Pathogenicity of a natural reassortant hantavirus CGRn9415 in newborn rats and newborn mice.

To better understand the pathogenicity and infectivity of a natural reassortant CGRn9415 generated from Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Seoul virus (SEOV), CGRn9415, HTNV 76-118 and SEOV L99 were used to infect newborn Kunming (KM) mice and newborn Wistar rats. In KM mice, there was no statistical difference between the death rate with CGRn9415 and that of L99, while 76-118 killed all mice even at low dosage; CGRn9415 killed all infected rats similar to L99 at the dosage of 10(5) f.f.u., while no death occurred in rats infected with 76-118 even as high as 2 × 10(5) f.f.u., suggesting that the reassortant CGRn9415 possesses similar pathogenicity as L99. Furthermore, the reassortant CGRn9415 could establish a persistent infection in both KM mice and Wistar rats more easily than 76-118 or L99. These data suggest that the reassorted hantavirus behaves more like SEOV as far as the pathogenicity is concerned.

Transformation of adrenal medullary chromaffin cells increases asthmatic susceptibility in pups from allergen-sensitized rats.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that epinephrine release is impaired in patients with asthma. The pregnancy of female rats (dams) with asthma promotes in their pups the differentiation of adrenal medulla chromaffin cells (AMCCs) into sympathetic neurons, mediated by nerve growth factor, which leads to a reduction in epinephrine secretion. However, the relatedness between the alteration of AMCCs and increased asthma susceptibility in such offspring has not been established. METHODS: In this study, we observed the effects of allergization via ovalbumin on rat pups born of asthmatic dams. RESULTS: Compared to the offspring of untreated controls, bronchial hyperreactivity and airway inflammation were more severe in the pups from sensitized (asthmatic) dams. In pups exposed to nerve growth factor (NGF) in utero these effects were aggravated further, but the effects were blocked in pups whose dams had been treated with anti-NGF. Furthermore, alterations in AMCC phenotype corresponded to the degree of bronchial hyperreactivity and lung lesions of the different treatment groups. Such AMCC alterations included degranulation of chromaffin granules, reduction of epinephrine and phenylethanolamine-n-methyl transferase, and elevation of NGF and peripherin levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our results present evidence that asthma during the pregnancy of rat dams promotes asthma susceptibility in their offspring, and that the transformation of AMCCs to neurons induced by NGF plays an important role in this process.

Kidney-tonifying recipe can repair alterations in adrenal medullary chromaffin cells in asthmatic rats.

Traditional Chinese medicine suggests that renal deficiency is a causative factor of asthma, and tonifying kidney drugs are believed to be an appropriate and beneficial treatment. The adrenal medullary chromaffin cells (AMCC) transition to the neuronal phenotype is known to occur in asthma, as evidenced by degranulation of chromaffin granules, decline of epinephrine (EPI) and phenylethanolamine-n-methyl transferase (PNMT), and obvious alterations in cellular architecture. In this study, rats were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin, then treated with Kidney-Tonifying Recipe (KTR) to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Tissues were evaluated for changes in pathology and EPI, PNMT, and peripherin expression. Degranulation of chromaffin granules and appearance of neurite-like process were found in AMCC from asthmatic rats, and these changes were corrected by KTR treatment. EPI and PNMT expressions were decreased in asthmatic rats and increased by KTR treatment. Peripherin expression was increased in asthmatic rats and decreased in the KTR-treated group. Morphological changes and decreases in EPI were observed when cultured AMCC were exposed to sera from asthmatic rats in vitro, and these changes were attenuated with the addition of sera from KRT-treated rats. These results suggest that the Kidney-Tonifying Recipe is capable of repairing asthma-associated alterations in endocrine function and the ultrastructure of AMCC.

Transcriptome and DNA methylome analysis of peripheral blood samples reveals incomplete restoration and transposable element activation after 3-months recovery of COVID-19.

Comprehensive analyses showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection caused COVID-19 and induced strong immune responses and sometimes severe illnesses. However, cellular features of recovered patients and long-term health consequences remain largely unexplored. In this study, we collected peripheral blood samples from nine recovered COVID-19 patients (median age of 36 years old) from Hubei province, China, 3 months after discharge as well as 5 age- and gender-matched healthy controls; and carried out RNA-seq and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to identify hallmarks of recovered COVID-19 patients. Our analyses showed significant changes both in transcript abundance and DNA methylation of genes and transposable elements (TEs) in recovered COVID-19 patients. We identified 425 upregulated genes, 214 downregulated genes, and 18,516 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in total. Aberrantly expressed genes and DMRs were found to be associated with immune responses and other related biological processes, implicating prolonged overreaction of the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Notably, a significant amount of TEs was aberrantly activated and their activation was positively correlated with COVID-19 severity. Moreover, differentially methylated TEs may regulate adjacent gene expression as regulatory elements. Those identified transcriptomic and epigenomic signatures define and drive the features of recovered COVID-19 patients, helping determine the risks of long COVID-19, and guiding clinical intervention.