[Clinical study of ear keloids with surgical excision and intraoperative low-energy X-ray irradiation therapy].

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of surgical excision combined with low-energy X-ray irradiation in the treatment of ear keloids. Methods:Clinical data of 32 cases of ear keloid lesions that received surgical treatment alone or surgery combined with radiotherapy from March 2019 to November 2022 in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of the Tianjin First Central Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 10 cases received radiotherapy and 22 cases did not receive radiotherapy. The radiotherapy group received irradiation with a large divided dose of 50 kV low-energy X-rays. The mode of fractionation radiotherapy was as follows: the first was 10 Gy of intraoperative radiation therapy and the second was 8 Gy on the 3rd postoperative day for a total of 18 Gy. The local efficacy and skin radiation reaction were observed at a follow-up of 8-52 months. Results:The median follow-up was 26 months, and as of the date of the last follow-up, 9 cases were cured and 1 case was ineffective in the radiotherapy group, with an effective rate of 90.0%, while 9 cases were cured and 13 cases were ineffective in the no-radiotherapy group, with an effective rate of 40.9%. The recurrence of ear keloids was not related to the side, site, or etiology of the patient's onset（P>0.05）. Recurrence was related to whether or not the patients received radiotherapy（χ²=4.885, P<0.05）, and the recurrence rate in the radiotherapy group（10.0%） was significantly lower than that in the non-radiotherapy group（59.1%）. Conclusion:Surgical excision combined with low-energy X-ray irradiation therapy is an effective method of treating keloids in the ear, especially with intraoperative radiation therapy can achieve more satisfactory results.

Overexpression of VPS11 antagonizes the promoting effect of miR-542-3p on Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival in macrophages by regulating autophagy.

Impaired autophagy is an important cause of Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival in macrophages. VPS11 is an important regulator of autophagy; decreased VPS11 expression has been observed in macrophages after tuberculosis (TB) infection. Gene ontology data revealed that various miRNAs (for example, miR-542-3p) were upregulated in macrophages upon TB infection; thus, these miRNAs were likely to reduce VPS11 expression. In this study, both TB patients and healthy subjects were enrolled, and the levels of VPS11 and some miRNAs in their blood macrophages were measured. Moreover, various macrophages were cultured and infected with M. tuberculosis. Luciferase reporter, RNA pulldown, and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to determine the regulatory effect of miR-542-3p on VPS11 expression. Results showed that VPS11 expression was downregulated, whereas miR-542-3p expression was upregulated in blood macrophages after TB infection. TB infection reduced VPS11 levels in two human macrophages in vitro, but not in mouse macrophages. This might be because the seed sequence exists in the VPS11 3' untranslated region in humans, but is absent in mice and rats. miR-542-3p promoted M. tuberculosis survival in human macrophages, but VPS11 overexpression antagonized the promoting effect of miR-542-3p. Further, VPS11 was confirmed as a target of miR-542-3p. Overexpression of VPS11 or depletion of miR-542-3p promoted autophagy, which was suppressed upon TB infection. In summary, VPS11 overexpression antagonized the promoting effect of miR-542-3p on M. tuberculosis survival in macrophages by regulating autophagy.

Gene expression and metabolic changes of Momordica charantia L. seedlings in response to low temperature stress.

Low temperature is one of the abiotic factors limiting germination, growth and distribution of the plant in current plant-products industry, especially for the tropical vegetables in non-tropical area or other fields under cold temperature. Screening the plant with ability against cold temperature captured worldwide attention and exerted great importance. In our previous work, the anti-cold specie of Momordica Charantia L. seedlings was screened out. Yet, the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying this adaptive process still remain unknown. This study was aimed to investigate adaption mechanism of anti-cold species of Momordica Charantia L. seedlings in genetical and metabolomics levels. Two species, cold-susceptible group (Y17) and cold-resistant group (Y54), were evaluated containing the indexes of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline content, activities of antioxidant enzymes, metabolites changes and genes differentiation in plant tissues after cold treatment. It found that low temperature stress resulted in increased accumulation of MDA, H2O2 and proline content in two species, but less expressions in cold-resistant species Y54. As compared to Y17, cold-resistant species Y54 presented significantly enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities of POD (peroxidase), CAT (cataalase) and SOD (superoxide dismutase). Meanwhile, higher expressed genes encoded antioxidant enzymes and transcription factors when exposure to the low temperature were found in cold-resistant species Y54, and core genes were explored by Q-PCR validation, including McSOD1, McPDC1 and McCHS1. Moreover, plant metabolites containing amino acid, sugar, fatty acid and organic acid in Y54 were higher than Y17, indicating their important roles in cold acclimation. Meanwhile, initial metabolites, including amimo acids, polypeptides, sugars, organic acids and nucleobases, were apparently increased in cold resistant species Y54 than cold susceptible species Y17. Our results demonstrated that the Momordica Charantia L. seedlings achieved cold tolerance might be went through mobilization of antioxidant systems, adjustment of the transcription factors and accumulation of osmoregulation substance. This work presented meaning information for revealing the anti-cold mechanism of the Momordica Charantia L. seedlings and newsight for further screening of anti-cold species in other plant.

Nanostructure Nickel-Based Selenides as Cathode Materials for Hybrid Battery-Supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors (SCs) have attracted many attentions and already became part of some high-power derived devices such as Tesla's electric cars because of their higher power density. Among all types of electrical energy storage devices, battery-supercapacitors are the most promising for superior performance characteristics, including short charging time, high power density, safety, easy fabrication procedures, and long operational life. An SC usually consists of two foremost components, namely electrode materials, and electrolyte. The selection of appropriate electrode materials with rational nanostructured designs have resulted in improved electrochemical properties for high performance and has reduced the cost of SCs. In this review, we mainly spotlight the nickel-based selenides nanostructured which applied as high-performance cathode materials for SCs. Different nickel-based selenides materials are highlighted in various categories, such as nickel-cobalt-based bimetallic chalcogenides and nickel-M based selenides. Also, we mentioned material modification for this material type. Finally, the designing strategy and future improvements on nickel-based selenides materials for the application of SCs are also discussed.

[Study on changes of plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers and its relation with cognition function in patients with parkinson's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with parkinson's disease (PD), and to explore its association with cognition function. METHODS: Seventy-two PD patients from June 2013 to May 2012 were enrolled. All of them were outpatients or inpatients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. And forty-five age- and gender- matched healthy subjects were used as controls. The information including gender, age, illness duration, years of education and Hoehn & Yahr (H-Y) stage were recorded. Cognition function of all the patients with PD and the controls were measured by using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale. Plasma levels of catalase (CAT), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total glutathione (T-GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured by ELISA . Then we compared and analyzed the results. RESULTS: Plasma levels of CAT, T-SOD and T-GSH in PD group were significantly lower than the control group [(159 ± 9) kU/L vs (170 ± 5) kU/L, P< 0.01; (97 ± 24) kU/L vs (124 ± 25) kU/L, P<0.01; (17 ± 10) µmol/L vs (60 ± 51) µmol/L, P< 0.01]. Plasma levels of CAT, T-GSH, GSH-Px and MDA were no differences between early PD group (H-Y stage I-II) and middle-late PD group (H-Y stage III or higher) of patients (P>0.05). Plasma levels of T-GSH in PD group with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were obviously lower than PD group without MCI [(14 ± 7) µmol/L vs (19 ± 11) µmol/L, P< 0.05]. In PD patients, MoCA scores were positively correlated with years of education (ß=0.634, P= 0.000) and plasma levels of T-GSH (ß= 0.204, P= 0.014), and were negatively correlated with H-Y stage (ß=-0.194, P=0.020). CONCLUSIONS: The damage of plasma antioxidant mechanism may be involved in the pathogenesis of patients with PD. Decrease in plasma levels of T-GSH may be associated with MCI in PD patients . Plasma levels of T-GSH may be a potential early predictive index in PD patients with cognitive dysfunction.