High-Voltage Na0.76Ni0.25-x/2Mgx/2Mn0.75O2-xFx Cathode Improved by One-Step In Situ MgF2 Doping with Superior Low-Temperature Performance and Extra-Stable Air Stability.

P2-NaxMnO2 has garnered significant attention due to its favorable Na+ conductivity and structural stability for large-scale energy storage fields. However, achieving a balance between high energy density and extended cycling stability remains a challenge due to the Jahn-Teller distortion of Mn3+ and anionic activity above 4.1 V. Herein, we propose a one-step in situ MgF2 strategy to synthesize a P2-Na0.76Ni0.225Mg0.025Mn0.75O1.95F0.05 cathode with improved Na-storage performance and decent water/air stability. By partially substituting cost-effective Mg for Ni and incorporating extra F for O, the optimized material demonstrates both enhanced capacity and structure stability via promoting Ni2+/Ni4+ and oxygen redox activity. It delivers a high capacity of 132.9 mA h g-1 with an elevated working potential of ≈3.48 V and maintains ≈83.0% capacity retention after 150 cycles at 100 mA g-1 within 2-4.3 V, compared to the 114.9 mA h g-1 capacity and 3.32 V discharging potential of the undoped Na0.76Ni0.25Mn0.75O2. While increasing the charging voltage to 4.5 V, 133.1 mA h g-1 capacity and 3.55 V discharging potential (vs Na/Na+) were achieved with 72.8% capacity retention after 100 cycles, far beyond that of the pristine sample (123.7 mA h g-1, 3.45 V, and 43.8%@100 cycles). Moreover, exceptional low-temperature cycling stability is achieved, with 95.0% after 150 cycles. Finally, the Na-storage mechanism of samples employing various doping strategies was investigated using in situ EIS, in situ XRD, and ex situ XPS techniques.

Accelerated aging of lithium-ion batteries: bridging battery aging analysis and operational lifetime prediction.

The exponential growth of stationary energy storage systems (ESSs) and electric vehicles (EVs) necessitates a more profound understanding of the degradation behavior of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), with specific emphasis on their lifetime. Accurately forecasting the lifetime of batteries under various working stresses aids in optimizing their operating conditions, prolonging their longevity, and ultimately minimizing the overall cost of the battery life cycle. Accelerated aging, as an efficient and economical method, can output sufficient cycling information in short time, which enables a rapid prediction of the lifetime of LIBs under various working stresses. Nevertheless, the prerequisite for accelerated aging-based battery lifetime prediction is the consistency of aging mechanisms. This review, by comprehensively summarizing the aging mechanisms of various components within LIBs and the battery degradation mechanisms under stress-accelerated conditions, provides a reference for evaluating the consistency of battery aging mechanisms. Furthermore, this paper introduces accelerated aging-based lifetime prediction models and offers constructive suggestions for future research on accelerated lifetime prediction of LIBs.

Pregnancy complicated with adrenal adenoma causing ACTH-independent Cushing's syndrome, accompanied by obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome and severe pre-eclampsia: case report and literature review.

This case report shares the management experience of a patient with pregnancy combined with adrenal adenoma causing ACTH-independent Cushing's syndrome (CS), accompanied by obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (OAPS) and severe pre-eclampsia. The case was a 26-year-old that presented with typical clinical symptoms and signs of CS. The patient had a history of 4 spontaneous abortions in the last 4 years. The 24-hour urinary free cortisol was significantly increased, an abnormal cortisol circadian rhythm was demonstrated by a high late-night salivary cortisol, blood ACTH was suppressed (< 1ng/dL), anticardiolipin antibody was positive, and imaging examination showed an adrenal tumor. The patient underwent laparoscopic adrenal tumor resection under general anesthesia at 23 weeks of gestation. The tumor was pathologically confirmed to be an adrenocortical adenoma. The patient underwent a cesarean section at 39 weeks of gestation to give birth to a healthy baby girl with an Apgar score of 10. Pregnancy complicated by CS is clinically rare, easily masked by normal physiological changes of pregnancy, and is difficult to diagnose. The determination of 24-hour urinary free cortisol, the circadian rhythm of serum cortisol, ultrasound, and MRI can be helpful in the diagnosis of CS during pregnancy. Surgery is the first choice for the treatment of CS during pregnancy. As a subtype of antiphospholipid syndrome, patients with OAPS are prone to thrombotic events and recurrent miscarriages if not treated accordingly. To our knowledge no cases of CS with OAPS and severe pre-eclampsia have been reported. We summarize the experience of the treatment of this patient and review the literature to improve clinicians' awareness of this disease.

Potential role of gut microbiota in prostate cancer: immunity, metabolites, pathways of action?

The gut microbiota helps to reveal the relationship between diseases, but the role of gut microbiota in prostate cancer (PCa) is still unclear. Recent studies have found that the composition and abundance of specific gut microbiota are significantly different between PCa and non-PCa, and the gut microbiota may have common and unique characteristics between different diseases. Intestinal microorganisms are affected by various factors and interact with the host in a variety of ways. In the complex interaction model, the regulation of intestinal microbial metabolites and the host immune system is particularly important, and they play a key role in maintaining the ecological balance of intestinal microorganisms and metabolites. However, specific changes in the composition of intestinal microflora may promote intestinal mucosal immune imbalance, leading to the formation of tumors. Therefore, this review analyzes the immune regulation of intestinal flora and the production of metabolites, as well as their effects and mechanisms on tumors, and briefly summarizes that specific intestinal flora can play an indirect role in PCa through their metabolites, genes, immunity, and pharmacology, and directly participate in the occurrence, development, and treatment of tumors through bacterial and toxin translocation. We also discussed markers of high risk PCa for intestinal microbiota screening and the possibility of probiotic ingestion and fecal microbiota transplantation, in order to provide better treatment options for clinic patients. Finally, after summarizing a number of studies, we found that changes in immunity, metabolites.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide-related genes are involved in the invasion and recurrence of prostate cancer and are related to immune escape based on bioinformatics analysis.

Background: The composition of the tumor microbial microenvironment participates in the whole process of tumor disease. However, due to the limitations of the current technical level, the depth and breadth of the impact of microorganisms on tumors have not been fully recognized, especially in prostate cancer (PCa). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the role and mechanism of the prostate microbiome in PCa based on bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-related genes by means of bioinformatics. Methods: The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) was used to find bacterial LPS- related genes. PCa expression profile data and clinical data were acquired from TCGA, GTEx, and GEO. The differentially expressed LPS-related hub genes (LRHG) were obtained by Venn diagram, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to investigate the putative molecular mechanism of LRHG. The immune infiltration score of malignancies was investigated using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, a prognostic risk score model and nomogram were developed. Results: 6 LRHG were screened. LRHG were involved in functional phenotypes such as tumor invasion, fat metabolism, sex hormone response, DNA repair, apoptosis, and immunoregulation. And it can regulate the immune microenvironment in the tumor by influencing the antigen presentation of immune cells in the tumor. And a prognostic risk score and the nomogram, which were based on LRHG, showed that the low-risk score has a protective effect on patients. Conclusion: Microorganisms in the PCa microenvironment may use complex mechanism and networks to regulate the occurrence and development of PCa. Bacterial lipopolysaccharide-related genes can help build a reliable prognostic model and predict progression-free survival in patients with prostate cancer.

Action Recognition Using Action Sequences Optimization and Two-Stream 3D Dilated Neural Network.

Effective extraction and representation of action information are critical in action recognition. The majority of existing methods fail to recognize actions accurately because of interference of background changes when the proportion of high-activity action areas is not reinforced and by using RGB flow alone or combined with optical flow. A novel recognition method using action sequences optimization and two-stream fusion network with different modalities is proposed to solve these problems. The method is based on shot segmentation and dynamic weighted sampling, and it reconstructs the video by reinforcing the proportion of high-activity action areas, eliminating redundant intervals, and extracting long-range temporal information. A two-stream 3D dilated neural network that integrates features of RGB and human skeleton information is also proposed. The human skeleton information strengthens the deep representation of humans for robust processing, alleviating the interference of background changes, and the dilated CNN enlarges the receptive field of feature extraction. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed method achieves superior or comparable classification accuracies on benchmark datasets UCF101 and HMDB51.

VX-765 reduces neuroinflammation after spinal cord injury in mice.

Inflammation is a major cause of neuronal injury after spinal cord injury. We hypothesized that inhibiting caspase-1 activation may reduce neuroinflammation after spinal cord injury, thus producing a protective effect in the injured spinal cord. A mouse model of T9 contusive spinal cord injury was established using an Infinite Horizon Impactor, and VX-765, a selective inhibitor of caspase-1, was administered for 7 successive days after spinal cord injury. The results showed that: (1) VX-765 inhibited spinal cord injury-induced caspase-1 activation and interleukin-1ß and interleukin-18 secretion. (2) After spinal cord injury, an increase in M1 cells mainly came from local microglia rather than infiltrating macrophages. (3) Pro-inflammatory Th1Th17 cells were predominant in the Th subsets. VX-765 suppressed total macrophage infiltration, M1 macrophages/microglia, Th1 and Th1Th17 subset differentiation, and cytotoxic T cells activation; increased M2 microglia; and promoted Th2 and Treg differentiation. (4) VX-765 reduced the fibrotic area, promoted white matter myelination, alleviated motor neuron injury, and improved functional recovery. These findings suggest that VX-765 can reduce neuroinflammation and improve nerve function recovery after spinal cord injury by inhibiting caspase-1/interleukin-1ß/interleukin-18. This may be a potential strategy for treating spinal cord injury. This study was approved by the Animal Care Ethics Committee of Bengbu Medical College (approval No. 2017-037) on February 23, 2017.

[Butyrophilin 3A1 (BTN3A1) enhances activation and proliferation of human peripheral blood Vγ9Vδ2 T cells induced by MTB-HAg].

Objective To investigate the role of butyrophilin 3A1 (BTN3A1) in the activation and proliferation of human peripheral blood Vγ9Vδ2 T cells induced by M. tuberculosis heat resistant antigen (MTB-HAg). Methods Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were treated with BTN3A1 blocking antibody for 3 hours and then stimulated with MTB-HAg or phosphoantigen (PAg). At 24 hours of stimulation, the cells were collected to detect the expression of CD69 in Vγ9Vδ2 T cells by flow cytometry. At 20 hours of stimulation, the cells were collected to detect the proportions of cells producing helper T cell type I (Th1) cytokines IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in the Vγ9Vδ2 T cells. The PBMCs were also stimulated and cultured in IL-2-containing medium for 10 days, and the expansion and proliferation activity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells were detected. Results After stimulated with MTB-HAg, the average fluorescence intensity of CD69 and the proportion of CD69 positive cells in Vγ9Vδ2 T cells decreased significantly in BTN3A1 blocked group, being 13.84% and 43.00% of those in the stimulated group, respectively. However, the average fluorescence intensity of CD69 molecules and the proportion of positive cells in PAg blocked group were significantly inhibited (3.10%, 4.47% and 9.53%, 10.91% of those in the stimulated group). The proportions of IFN-γ and TNF-α producing Vγ9Vδ2 T cells stimulated with MTB-HAg decreased significantly in the BTN3A1 blocked group, and the expansion number and cell proliferation activity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells were also reduced significantly in the BTN3A1 blocked group. The results were similar to those of the PAg blocked group. Conclusion BTN3A1 promotes activation and proliferation of peripheral blood Vγ9Vδ2 T cells induced by MTB-HAg.

Visible-Light-Enhanced Suzuki-Miyaura Reactions of Aryl Chlorides in Water with Pd NPs Supported on a Conjugated Nanoporous Polycarbazole.

The visible-light-enhanced catalytic activation of aryl chlorides for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling (SMC) reactions is highly challenging because of the strength of the C-Cl bond. In this work, palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were grown on a conjugated nanoporous polycarbazole (CNP), named Pd/CNP. The hybrid material Pd/CNP could catalyze the SMC reactions of aryl chlorides with arylboronic acids in water under blue LED irradiation at room temperature with high efficiency. This protocol exhibited good functional group tolerance and the catalyst could be recycled without significant loss of its catalytic activity. CNP not only provided photogenerated electrons to enrich the electron density of the Pd NPs but also generated holes for the activation of the arylboronic acids.

[Peripheral blood T cell TNF-α and IFN-γ production stimulated by low molecular peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat-resistant antigen for differential diagnosis between pulmonary tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of low molecular peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat-resistant antigen (Mtb-HAg-10k) on the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in peripheral blood T cells and test the feasibility of differential diagnosis between pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) by assessing the number of Mtb-HAg-10k-stimulated IFN-γ-producing T cells. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated from the peripheral blood of 10 healthy adults, 6 individuals with LTBI and 13 patients with PTB. The PBMCs were cultured in the presence of Mtb-HAg-10k obtained by ultrafiltration centrifugation, with Mtb-HAg and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) as the controls. The proportions of TNF-α- and IFN-γ-producing cells in the T cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry (FCM), and the number of IFN-γ-producing cells from patients with PTB and LTBI was detected with ELISPOT. RESULTS: Flow cytometry showed that Mtb-HAg-10k exposure resulted in a significantly higher proportion of TNF-α-producing γδT cells than that of IFN-γ-producing γδT cells in the PBMCs (P<0.01). Compared with the PBMCs exposed to PHA, the PBMCs exposed to Mtb-HAg-10k exhibited a significantly greater proportion of γδT cells that produced both TNF-α and IFN-γ (P<0.01) but a significantly lower proportion of αßT cells producing both TNF-α and IFN-γ (P<0.01). Mtb-HAg-10k exposure of the PBMCs caused a significant reduction in the number of IFN-γ-producing cells as compared with Mtb-HAg and PHA treatments (P<0.01), and this reduction was more obvious in PBMCs from patients with PTB than in those from individuals with LTBI (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Mtb-HAg-10k can markedly induce γδT cells in the PBMCs to produce TNF-α and IFN-γ, and detection of the number of IFN-γ-producing cells in the PBMCs following Mtb-HAg-10k stimulation helps in the differential diagnosis between pulmonary tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection.

[Effects of dexamethasone on MRL/lpr mice with systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with cognitive dysfunction].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of dexamethasone on systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with cognitive dysfunction.
 Methods: Ten wild type mice and 20 MRL/lpr mice were applied for the research. MRL/lpr mice were randomly assigned to a MRL/lpr group and a MRL/lpr + dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) group. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in serum and hippocampus were detected. The protein phosphorylation levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (P-PI3K), protein kinase B (P-Akt), NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (P-IκBa) and nuclear transcription factor kappa-B p65 (P-NF-κB p65) were detected by Western blot, the level of P-NF-κB p65 also was detected by immunohistochemistry. 
 Results: Treatment with dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) alleviated the cognitive dysfunction and decreased the levels of IL-6, IL-1ß and TNF-α in serum and hippocampus, and reduced the levels of P-PI3K, P-Akt, P-IκBa and P-NF-κB p65 in hippocampus in MRL/lpr mice.
 Conclusion: Dexamethasone may play a protective role in the cognitive function by decreasing the levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß in the hippocampus of MRL/lpr lupus mice.

[Analysis of the numbers and subsets of MTB-HAg specific TNF-α+ γδ T cells in peripheral blood of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis].

Objective To investigate the differences of proportions of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-producing cells in peripheral blood γδ T cells stimulated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat resistant antigen (MTB-HAg) among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and healthy subjects (HC). Methods The peripheral blood specimens were collected from 15 normal adults, which were divided into HC group (n=9) and LTBI group (n=6), by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) kit for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, and 12 patients with active PTB. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated by density gradient centrifugation and simulated with MTB-HAg for 20 hours. Then the cells were collected, and the proportions of TNF-α-producing cells in TCRαß+ T cells, TCRγδ+ T cells, CD4+αß T cells, CD8+αß T cells, and TCR-Vδ2+ T cells were measured with flow cytometry. Results The proportion of TNF-α-producing cells in γδ T cells in patients with PTB was obviously lower than that in LTBI group and HC group; the proportion of TNF-α-producing cells in Vδ2 T cells in PTB patients was apparently lower than that in LTBI and HC; the proportion of Vδ2 T cells in TNF-α+γδ T cells in the peripheral blood of PTB patients was remarkably lower than that in LTBI and HC groups. The proportions of TNF-α-producing cells in peripheral αß T cells, CD4+ and CD8+αß T cells were dramatically lower than those in γδ T cells of the three according groups. Moreover, there were no statistical differences in regard with the proportions of TNF-α-producing cells in αß T cells, and CD4+ and CD8+αß T cells among the three groups. Conclusion The TNF-α production capacity of MTB-HAg specific γδ T cells and Vδ2 T cell subsets in patients with tuberculosis is obviously lower than that of LTBI and HC.

Simultaneous determination of 3-chlorotyrosine and 3-nitrotyrosine in human plasma by direct analysis in real time-tandem mass spectrometry.

A novel method for the simultaneous determination of 3-nitrotyrosine (NT) and 3-chlorotyrosine (CT) in human plasma has been developed based on direct analysis in real time-tandem mass spectrometry (DART-MS/MS). Analysis was performed in the positive ionization mode using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the ion transitions at m/z 216.2/170.1 for CT, m/z 227.2/181.1 for NT and m/z 230.2/184.2 for the internal standard, d (3)-NT. The assay was linear in the ranges 0.5-100 µg/mL for CT and 4-100 µg/mL for NT with corresponding limits of detection of 0.2 and 2 µg/mL. Intra- and inter-day precisions and accuracies were respectively <15% and ±15%. Matrix effects were also evaluated. The method is potentially useful for high throughput analysis although sensitivity needs to be improved before it can be applied in clinical research.

Spironolactone Regulates HCN Protein Expression Through Micro-RNA-1 in Rats With Myocardial Infarction.

Emerging evidence has shown that aldosterone blockers reduced the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with myocardial infarction (MI). However, the mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which spironolactone, a classic aldosterone blocker, regulates hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (HCN) protein expression in ischemic rat myocardium after MI. Eighteen rats surviving 24 hours after MI were randomly assigned into 3 groups: MI, spironolactone, and spironolactone + antagomir-1. Six sham-operated rats had a suture loosely tied around the left coronary artery, without ligation. The border zone of the myocardial infarct was collected from each rat at 1 week after MI. HCN2 and HCN4 protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) level were measured in addition to miRNA-1 levels. Spironolactone significantly increased miRNA-1 levels and downregulated HCN2 and HCN4 protein and mRNA levels. miRNA-1 suppression with antagomir-1 increased HCN2 and HCN4 protein levels; however, HCN2 and HCN4 mRNA levels were not affected. These results suggested that spironolactone could increase miRNA-1 expression in ischemic rat myocardium after MI and that the upregulation of miRNA-1 expression partially contributed to the posttranscriptional repression of HCN protein expression, which may contribute to the effect of spironolactone to reduce the incidence of MI-associated ventricular arrhythmias.

Optimization of process variables for the manganese peroxidase of the white-rot fungus Schizophyllum sp. F17 by full factorial central composite design.

White-rot fungus manganese peroxidase (MnP) that has great potential in degrading azo dyes is one of the extracellular glycolsylated heme proteins. MnP from Schizophyllum sp. F17 was isolated and purified by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration chromatography followed by DEAE-cellulose anion exchange chromatography. The molecular weight of the puried enzyme was 49.2 kDa, while the half-life of the MnP in the presence of 0.1 mmol/L H2O2 was 5-6 min. The efficiency of MnP-catalyzed reactions were determined by three key factors: the concentrations of Mn2+, H2O2, and the amount of MnP. Using single factor analysis, an optimized concentration of Mn2+, H2O2 and enzyme were optimized to be 1.2 mmol/L, 0.1 mmol/L, and 0.4 mL, respectively. A response surface methodology (RSM) employing two-level-three-factor full factorial central composite design was used to optimize the catalytic conditions. The result showed that the concentration of H2O2 and the interaction between H2O2 and MnP mostly affect the MnP catalytic efficiency. Finally, we show that the azo dyes could be efficiently decolorized by the purified MnP under optimized conditions.