Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Polarization of M2 Macrophages in Mice with Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure via Mertk/JAK1/STAT6 Signaling.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a severe disease with a high mortality. Macrophage-related inflammation plays a crucial role in ACLF development. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treatment was demonstrated to be beneficial in ACLF in our previous study; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs were used to treat an ACLF mouse model or cocultured with RAW264.7/J774A.1 macrophages that were stimulated with LPS. Histological and serological parameters and survival were analyzed to evaluate efficacy. We detected changes of Mer tyrosine kinase (Mertk), JAK1/STAT6, inflammatory cytokines, and markers of macrophage polarization in vitro and in vivo. In ACLF mice, MSCs improved liver function and 48-h survival of ACLF mice and alleviated inflammatory injury by promoting M2 macrophage polarization and elevated Mertk expression levels in macrophages. This is significant, as Mertk regulates M2 macrophage polarization via the JAK1/STAT6 signaling pathway.

Review of research progress on intestinal microbiota based on metabolism and inflammation for depression.

Depression is a prevalent mental illness, affecting a significant portion of the global population. Recent research has highlighted the crucial role of the gut microbiota in both metabolic and central nervous health. By reviewing literature from various databases, including Pubmed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Scopus, spanning the years 2005-2023, a comprehensive search was conducted using keywords such as "Depression" and "Gut Microbiota". The gut microbiota acts as a "second brain" in humans and can communicate bidirectionally with the brain through the Brain-gut-microbiota axis pathway. This communication involves the immune and nervous systems. However, there are challenges in detecting and treating depression effectively. To address these limitations, researchers have been exploring the relationship between gut microbiota and depression. Studies have shown that gut microbial metabolites, such as lipopolysaccharides and short-chain fatty acids, can induce pro-inflammatory cytokines that contribute to neuroinflammation and increase the risk of depression. The kynurenine pathway, triggered by gut microbial metabolites, has also been associated with neuroinflammation. Thus, investigating these microbial metabolites can provide insights into depression treatment. This review focuses on analyzing the connection between gut microbial metabolites, inflammation, and depression. It explores novel mechanisms contributing to depression, specifically focusing on the mediation of inflammation through the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The objective is to provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying depression and to propose potential treatments.

Survival benefit of radical prostatectomy in patients with advanced TURP-diagnosed prostate cancer: a population-based real-world study.

OBJECTIVES: A considerable number of patients are diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) by transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). We aimed to evaluate whether radical prostatectomy (RP) brings survival benefits for these patients, especially in the elderly with advanced PCa. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to obtain PCa cases diagnosed with TURP. After the propensity matching score (PSM) for case matching, univariate, multivariate, and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate whether RP impacts the survival benefit. RESULTS: 4,677 cases diagnosed with PCa by TURP from 2010 to 2019 were obtained, including 1,313 RP patients and 3,364 patients with no RP (nRP). 9.6% of RP patients had advanced PCa. With or without PSM, cancer-specific mortality (CSM) and overall mortality (OM) were significantly reduced in the RP patients compared to the nRP patients, even for older (> 75 ys.) patients with advanced stages (all p < 0.05). Except for RP, younger age (≤ 75 ys.), being married, and earlier stage (localized) contributed to a significant reduction of CSM risk (all p < 0.05). These survival benefits had no significant differences among patients of different ages, married or single, and at different stages (all p for interaction > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Based on this retrospective population-matched study, we first found that in patients diagnosed with PCa by TURP, RP treatment may lead to a survival benefit, especially a reduction in CSM, even in old aged patients (> 75 ys.) with advanced PCa.

Dapagliflozin Presented Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Through Metabolite Extraction and AMPK/NLRP3 Signaling Pathway.

In recent years, the incidence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing year by year. The experiments conducted on rat elucidated the effect and underlying mechanism of dapagliflozin in NAFLD. Sprague Dawley rats were fed with HFD (Fat accounts for 52%, carbohydrate 34% and protein 14%) for 12 weeks as NAFLD model. Dapagliflozin presented NAFLD in rat model. Dapagliflozin reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat model of NAFLD. Dapagliflozin reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in vitro model of NAFLD. Dapagliflozin in a model of NAFLD metabolized into histamine H1 receptor, caffeine metabolism, mannose type O-glycan biosynthesis, choline metabolism in cancer, tryptophan metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Dapagliflozin induced AMPK/NLRP3 signaling pathway. The regulation of AMPK/NLRP3 signaling pathway affected the effects of dapagliflozin on nonalcoholic fatty liver. In summary, dapagliflozin plays a preventative role in NAFLD through metabolite extraction, the inhibition of oxidative stress, and inflammation by AMPK/NLRP3 signaling pathway. Dapagliflozin may be a potential therapeutic agent for oxidative stress and inflammation in model of NAFLD.

The impact of serum thyroid-stimulation hormone levels on the outcome of hepatitis B virus related acute-on-chronic liver failure: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction has been reported in severe liver diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of serum thyroid-stimulation hormone (TSH) levels on the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 1,862 patients with HBV-related ACLF. Risk factors associated with 30-day and 90-day survival, hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for TSH were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. The Area Under the ROC curve (AUROC) analysis was carried out, and the cut-off values were calculated. After grouping by the cut-off value, survival was compared between the groups using the log-rank test. This study data is from the "Survival Cohort Study (SCS)", which has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03992898). RESULTS: Multivariate analysis indicated that an elevated TSH level was a highly significant predictor for 30-day survival (HR = 0.743, 95% CI: 0.629-0.878, P < 0.001) and 90-day survival (HR = 0.807, 95% CI: 0.717-0.909, P < 0.001). The AUROC of TSH level for 30-day and 90-day mortality were 0.655 and 0.620, respectively, with the same best cut-off values of 0.261 µIU/mL. Log-rank test showed that the group with higher TSH level had higher 30-day (78.5%, 95% CI: 76.1%-80.9% vs. 56.9%, 95% CI: 53.4%-60.4%; P < 0.001) and 90-day survival rate (61.5%, 95% CI: 58.6%-64.4% vs. 42.8%, 95% CI: 39.3%-46.3%; P < 0.001). Similar findings were observed in subgroups analysis. After adjusting for age and other risk factors, the higher level of TSH remained associated with 30-day survival (HR = 0.602, 95% CI: 0.502-0.721, P < 0.001) and 90-day survival (HR = 0.704, 95% CI, 0.609-0.814, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum TSH level significantly correlate with HBV-related ACLF patients' survival and may be of value for predicting 30-day and 90-day survival of patients with HBV-related ACLF.

Sources of ambient non-methane hydrocarbon compounds and their impacts on O3 formation during autumn, Beijing.

The field observation of 54 non-methane hydrocarbon compounds (NMHCs) was conducted from September 1 to October 20 in 2020 during autumn in Haidian District, Beijing. The mean concentration of total NMHCs was 29.81 ± 11.39 ppbv during this period, and alkanes were the major components. There were typical festival effects of NMHCs with lower concentration during the National Day. Alkenes and aromatics were the dominant groups in ozone formation potential (OFP) and OH radical loss rate (LOH). The positive matrix factorization (PMF) running results revealed that vehicular exhaust became the biggest source in urban areas, followed by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) usage, solvent usage, and fuel evaporation. The box model coupled with master chemical mechanism (MCM) was applied to study the impacts of different NMHCs sources on ozone (O3) formation in an O3 episode. The simulation results indicated that reducing NMHCs concentration could effectively suppress O3 formation. Moreover, reducing traffic-related emissions of NMHCs was an effective way to control O3 pollution at an urban site in Beijing.

Formation mechanisms of nitrous acid (HONO) during the haze and non-haze periods in Beijing, China.

As an important precursor of hydroxyl radical (OH), nitrous acid (HONO) plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. Here, an observation of HONO and relevant air pollutants in an urban site of Beijing from 14 to 28 April, 2017 was performed. Two distinct peaks of HONO concentrations occurred during the observation. In contrast, the concentration of particulate matter in the first period (period Ⅰ) was significantly higher than that in the second period (period Ⅱ). Comparing to HONO sources in the two periods, we found that the direct vehicle emission was an essential source of the ambient HONO during both periods at night, especially in period Ⅱ. The heterogeneous reaction of NO2 was the dominant source in period Ⅰ, while the homogeneous reaction of NO with OH was more critical source at night in period Ⅱ. In the daytime, the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 was a significant source and was confirmed by the good correlation coefficients (R2) between the unknown sources (Punknown) with NO2, PM2.5, NO2 × PM2.5 in period Ⅰ. Moreover, when solar radiation and OH radicals were considered to explore unknown sources in the daytime, the enhanced correlation of Punknown with photolysis rate of NO2 and OH ( [Formula: see text]  × OH) were 0.93 in period Ⅰ, 0.95 in period Ⅱ. These excellent correlation coefficients suggested that the unknown sources released HONO highly related to the solar radiation and the variation of OH radicals.

[Brief discussion about role and measures of scientific fertilization in ecological cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials].

The ecological planting of Chinese medicinal materials is a cultivation technology that takes into account both ecological and economic benefits, and takes scientific planting technology as a guide to achieve the goal of high quality, high yield and efficiency of Chinese medicinal materials and the sustainable and healthy development of Chinese medicinal materials planting. Among them, scientific fertilization is an important measure to realize the ecological planting of Chinese medicinal materials. In recent years, the social economy has developed rapidly. In the production of Chinese herbal medicines, a large amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been gradually used to increase short-term economic benefits. The unreasonable use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has neglected the output, quality, safety, environmental pollution and environmental protection of medicinal materials. The impact of continuous development. Therefore, from the perspective of research on cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials, this article briefly describes the role and measures of scientific fertilization in ecological planting of Chinese medicinal materials. The roles of scientific fertilization in solving soil pollution and soil quality deterioration of Chinese herbal medicine cultivation, sustainable deve-lopment of Chinese herbal medicine production, unstable production quality of Chinese herbal medicine products, and quality safety are summarized separately. It is proposed measures based on the characteristics of soil fertilization, the growth and development characteristics of Chinese medicinal materials as the core, and the industrial planting model as the carrier to promote scientific fertilization in the cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials. Finally, the development direction of scientific fertilization and ecological plan-ting of traditional Chinese medicine is prospected, in order to provide support and reference for the development of ecological planting of traditional Chinese medicine.

A retrospective study on the clinical efficacy of the intense pulsed light source for photodamage and skin rejuvenation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this retrospective review is to investigate the long-term effect of skin rejuvenation by the intense pulsed light (IPL) source for the treatment of photoaging. METHODS: From 5300 clinical cases that our department has treated with the IPL, the first 2534 were chosen for this study. Each patient received a minimum of 3 IPL treatments during this time-many were yearly treatments. Clinical photographs were taken on a yearly basis for up to 12 years and sent to a blinded independent panel to study the effects of continuous IPL treatments. RESULTS: Results showed that the effective rate for the IPL was between 88.24% and 96.45%. CONCLUSIONS: IPL therapy is an effective treatment for photoaging and can truly have an effect on reversing the signs of photodamage on skin.

Gold atomic clusters extracting the valence electrons to shield the carbon monoxide passivation on near-monolayer core-shell nanocatalysts in methanol oxidation reactions.

Atomic-scale gold clusters were intercalated at the inter-facet corner sites of Pt-shell Ru-core nanocatalysts with near-monolayer shell thickness. We demonstrated that these unique clusters could serve as a drain of valence electrons in the kink region of the core-shell heterojunction. As jointly revealed by density functional theory calculations and valence band spectra, these Au clusters extract core-level electrons to the valence band. They prevent corrosion due to protonation and enhance the tolerance of CO by increasing the electronegativity at the outermost surface of the NCs during the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). In these circumstances, the retained current density of Pt-shell Ru-core NCs is doubled in a long-term (2 hours) MOR at a fixed voltage (0.5 V vs. SCE) by intercalating these sub-nanometer gold clusters. Such novel structural confinement provides a possible strategy for developing direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) modules with high power and stability.