Exclusive and Switchable Superoxide Radical Generation by O2-Capture-Based Electron Transfer and Supramolecular Assembly.

Type-I photosensitizers (PSs) can generate free radical anions with a broad diffusion range and powerful damage effect, rendering them highly desirable in various areas. However, it still remains a recognized challenge to develop pure Type-I PSs due to the inefficiency in producing oxygen radical anions through the collision of PSs with nearby substrates. In addition, regulating the generation of oxygen radical anions is also of great importance toward the control of photosensitizer (PS) activities on demand. Herein, a piperazine-based cationic Type-I PS (PPE-DPI) that exhibits efficient intersystem crossing and subsequently captures oxygen molecules through binding O2 to the lone pair of nitrogen in piperazine is reported. The close spatial vicinity between O2 and PPE-DPI strongly promotes the electron transfer reaction, ensuring the exclusive superoxide radical (O2 •-) generation via Type-I process. Particularly, PPE-DPI with cationic pyridine groups is able to associate with cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) through host-guest interactions. Thus, supramolecular assembly and disassembly are easily utilized to realize switchable O2 •- generation. This switchable Type-I PS is successfully employed in photodynamic antibacterial control.

Chemical synthesis of a 28 kDa full-length PET degrading enzyme ICCG by the removable backbone modification strategy.

Chemical protein synthesis offers a powerful way to access otherwise-difficult-to-obtain proteins such as mirror-image proteins. Although a large number of proteins have been chemically synthesized to date, the acquisition to proteins containing hydrophobic peptide fragments has proven challenging. Here, we describe an approach that combines the removable backbone modification strategy and the peptide hydrazide-based native chemical ligation for the chemical synthesis of a 28 kDa full-length PET degrading enzyme IGGC (a higher depolymerization efficiency of variant leaf-branch compost cutinase (LCC)) containing hydrophobic peptide segments. The synthetic ICCG exhibits the enzymatic activity and will be useful in establishing the corresponding mirror-image version of ICCG.

Tumor-associated macrophages-derived exo-let-7a promotes osteosarcoma metastasis via targeting C15orf41 in osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) immune environment is complexed and the immune factors-related to OS progression need to be explored. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are regarded as immune suppressive and tumor-promoting cells. However, the underlying mechanisms through which TAMs function are still fragmentary. Here, we aim to explore the underlying mechanisms by which TAMs regulate OS progression. METHODS: TAMs from OS tissues were isolated by flow cytometry. Exosomes derived from TAMs were separated using ultracentrifugation and western blotting. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and flow cytometry were constructed to characterize TAMs-derived exosomes. Additionally, the differential MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and genes were detected through RNA sequencing, and further validated using real-time PCR (RT-PCR). OS cell metastasis ability was assessed using transwell invasion and scratch wound healing assays. MiRNAs mimic and lentiviral vectors were utilized to explore the effects on OS progression. RESULTS: Exosome secreted by TAMs accelerated the OS metastasis. Let-7a level was upregulated in TAMs derived exosomes, which downregulated C15orf41 by targeting 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Furthermore, overexpressing let-7a enhanced invasion and migration by blocking the transcription of C15orf41. In consistent, up-regulating let-7a promoted OS progression and made the prognosis to be worse, which can be reversed by C15orf41 overexpression. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the critical role of TAMs-derived exosomes in OS progression and explored the potential value of the let-7a/C15orf41 axis as an indicator or target for OS.

Data evaluation algorithm for compensation litigation for ecotope pollution damage in the Yellow River valley caused by industrial wastewater from the perspective of green development.

Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has achieved amazing growth. At the same time of industrialization transformation, the traditional high-energy consumption and external growth model has brought serious environmental problems, and the pollution control situation is facing many difficulties. The Yellow River Valley gives birth to the Chinese civilization. With the formulation of the national strategy for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin and the demand for green development, the control of industrial pollution has become the main task of environmental protection in the Yellow River Basin. However, the research on the ecotope pollution in the Yellow River Valley mainly stays in the theory and strategy. In response to the above problems, this paper would carry out scientific data analysis and high-dimensional research on the ecotope pollution in the Yellow River Valley from the perspective of green development and data analysis algorithms. The research results showed that the reconstruction probability of the Threshold-based Sparsity Adaptive Matching Pursuit (TSAMP) algorithm remained 100% when K was less than 50.

Diagnosis of Bacterial Plant Diseases via a Nitroreductase-Activated Fluorescent Sensor.

Plant diseases caused by bacteria have become one of the serious problems that threaten human food security, which led to the remarkable reduction of agricultural yields and economic loss. Nitroreductase (NTR), as an important biomarker, is highly expressed in bacteria, and the level of NTR is closely related to the progression of pathogen infection. Therefore, the design of small-molecule fluorescent sensors targeting NTR is of great significance for the detection and diagnosis of plant pathogenic bacteria. In this study, a new fluorescent sensor targeting NTR was discovered and then successfully applied to the imaging of zebrafish and pathogenic bacteria. Most importantly, the developed sensor achieved the real-time diagnosis of Brassica napus L. infected with bacteria, which provides a promising tool for examining the temporal and spatial infection of plant pathogens in precision agriculture.

Emergent Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation for Acute Gastric Variceal Bleeding in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

A total of 42 cirrhotic patients (mean age, 51.7 years ± 10.8; 38 men) with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent emergent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation for controlling acute gastric variceal bleeding (GVB) were included in this multicenter retrospective study. Of these, 37 (88.1%) patients underwent emergent TIPS creation as the first-line treatment to control acute GVB. Five (11.9%) patients underwent emergent TIPS creation as a rescue/salvage treatment to control acute GVB after emergent endoscopic therapy and pharmacotherapy. Emergent TIPS creation was technically successful in 40 (95.2%) patients. Two (4.8%) patients had severe and moderate procedural adverse events. The median follow-up duration was 16.9 months (range, 0.1-100.8 months). Failure to control acute bleeding and failure to prevent rebleeding occurred in 8 (19.0%) patients during follow-up. Eighteen (42.9%) patients died during follow-up. Three (7.1%) patients had shunt dysfunction during follow-up. Overt hepatic encephalopathy occurred in 6 (14.3%) patients during follow-up.

Development of Small-Molecule Fluorescent Probes Targeting Enzymes.

As biological catalysts, enzymes are vital in controlling numerous metabolic reactions. The regulation of enzymes in living cells and the amount present are indicators of the metabolic status of cell, whether in normal condition or disease. The small-molecule fluorescent probes are of interest because of their high sensitivity and selectivity, as well as their potential for automated detection. Fluorescent probes have been useful in targeting particular enzymes of interest such as proteases and caspases. However, it is difficult to develop an ideal fluorescent probe for versatile purposes. In the future, the design and synthesis of enzyme-targeting fluorescent probes will focus more on improving the selectivity, sensitivity, penetration ability and to couple the fluorescent probes with other available imaging molecules/technologies.

Pyroglutamate Aminopeptidase I Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma via IL-6/STAT3 Activation as Revealed by a Specific Biosensor.

As a global health challenge, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is strongly associated with chronic inflammation. Targeting inflammation, particularly inflammatory factors, is regarded as an important strategy for HCC diagnosis and treatment. Pyroglutamic aminopeptidase I (PGP-I), a common exopeptidase, was recently identified as a novel inflammatory cytokine in cells. However, whether PGP-I is involved in HCC development and can be regarded as a biomarker remains unclear. To address this issue, endogenous PGP-I was imaged in live cells and in vivo, and the related biochemical and pathological processes were analyzed accordingly with a newly developed fluorogenic PGP-I biosensor. Bioimaging with the specific biosensor demonstrated the aberrant expression of PGP-I in HCC cell lines and tumor-bearing nude mice. Moreover, overexpression of PGP-I in HCC cells promoted tumor progression, whereas knockdown of PGP-I significantly suppressed tumor cell growth and migration. The activity of PGP-I was further identified to be highly related to the phosphorylation of STAT3, which could be impeded by the natural product parthenolide. Collectively, these findings suggest that PGP-I, which can promote hepatocellular tumor progression through the classical inflammation-/tumor-related IL-6/STAT3 pathway, may serve as a potential HCC biomarker and therapeutic target.

Multienzyme-Targeted Fluorescent Probe as a Biosensing Platform for Broad Detection of Pesticide Residues.

Pesticide residues, significantly hampering the overall environmental and human health, have become an increasingly severe issue. Thus, developing rapid, cost-effective, and sensitive tools for monitoring the pesticide residues in food and water is extremely important. Compared to the conventional and chromatographic techniques, enzyme inhibition-based biosensors conjugated with the fluorogenic probes provide effective alternative methods for detecting pesticide residues due to the inherent advantages including high selectivity and sensitivity, simple operation, and capability of providing in situ and real-time information. However, the detection efficiency of a single enzyme-targeted biosensor in practical samples is strongly impeded by the structural diversity of pesticides and their distinct targets. In this work, we developed a strategy of multienzyme-targeted fluorescent probe design and accordingly obtained a novel fluorescent probe (named as 3CP) for detecting the presence of wide variety of pesticides. The designed probe 3CP, targeting cholinesterases, carboxylesterases, and chymotrypsin simultaneously, yielded intense fluorescence in the solid state upon the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis. It showed excellent sensitivity against organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides, and the detection limit for dichlorvos achieved 1.14 pg/L. Moreover, it allowed for the diffusion-resistant in situ visualization of pesticides in live cells and zebrafish and the sensitive measurement of organophosphorus pesticides in fresh vegetables, demonstrating the promising potential for tracking the pesticide residues in environment and biological systems.

Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation for the Prevention of Gastric Variceal Rebleeding in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation for the prevention of gastric variceal rebleeding in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included 126 cirrhotic patients (mean age, 54.1 ± 10.2 years; 110 men) with HCC who underwent TIPS creation for the prevention of gastric variceal rebleeding. Of these, 110 (87.3%) patients had gastroesophageal varices and 16 (12.7%) patients had isolated gastric varices. Thirty-five (27.8%) patients had portal vein tumor thrombus. RESULTS: TIPS creation was technically successful in 124 (98.4%) patients. Rebleeding occurred in 26 (20.6%) patients during the follow-up period. The 6-week and 1-year actuarial probabilities of patients remaining free of rebleeding were 98.3% ± 1.2% and 81.2% ± 3.9%, respectively. Forty-nine (38.8%) patients died during the follow-up period. The 6-week and 1-year actuarial probabilities of survival were 98.4 ± 1.1% and 65.6 ± 4.4%, respectively. Two (1.6%) patients had major procedure-related complications, including acute liver failure (n = 1) and intra-abdominal bleeding (n = 1). Thirty-three (26.2%) patients had at least 1 episode of overt hepatic encephalopathy during the follow-up period. Shunt dysfunction occurred in 15 (11.9%) patients after a median follow-up time of 11.4 months (range, 1.4-41.3 months). Lung metastasis occurred in 3 (2.4%) patients, 3.9-32.9 months after TIPS creation. CONCLUSIONS: TIPS creation may be effective and safe for the prevention of gastric variceal rebleeding in patients with HCC.

Synthesis and Anti-Proliferation Activity Evaluation of Novel 2-Chloroquinazoline as Potential EGFR-TK Inhibitors.

A novel series of 2-chloroquinazoline derivatives had been synthesized and their anti-proliferation activities against the four EGFR high-expressing cells A549, NCI-H1975, AGS and HepG2 cell lines were evaluated. The preliminary SAR study of the scaffold of new compounds showed that the compounds with a chlorine substituent on R3 had a better anti-proliferation activity than those substituted by hydrogen atom or vinyl group. Among them, 2-chloro-N-[2-chloro-4-(3-chloro-4-fluoroanilino)quinazolin-6-yl]acetamide (10b) had the best activity, and the corresponding IC50 were 3.68, 10.06, 1.73 and 2.04 µM, respectively. And compound 10b had better or equivalent activity against four cell lines than Gefitinib. The activity of the compound 10b on the EGFR enzyme was subsequently tested. The Wound Healing of A549, AGS and HepG2 cells by this compound showed that the compound can inhibit the migration of cancer cells. Finally, the action channel of the compound 10b was supported by western blotting experiments. It provides useful information for the design of EGFR-TK inhibitors.

[Study on establishing a methodology of comprehensive clinical evaluation for Chinese patent medicine based on health technology assessment].

At present, most of Chinese patent medicines have problems, such as weak scientific basis, unclear clinical value evaluation, etc., which lead to the lack of sufficient evidence for the entry into the essential medicine list, medical insurance catalog and other important health resource allocation tools. This has a negative impact on the development of traditional Chinese medicine. It is urgent to establish a comprehensive evaluation methodology system of Chinese patent medicine in China. There are at least three reasons including producing evidence for clinical rational use scientifically, developing an objective and transparent selecting strategy, eventuating and highlighting its clinical value. The process and method of health technology assessment(HTA) can provide reference for the establishment of comprehensive evaluation method of Chinese patent medicine. However, HTA is rarely carried out in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. The latest domestic and international research showed that HTA combined with multi-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) can increase the transparency of decision-making and improve the quality of decision-making. The combined two formed the EVIDEM framework, which is conducive to drug selection and its clinical use. In this paper, the EVIDEM framework was introduced to establish the methodology framework of the comprehensive clinical evaluation system of Chinese patent medicine. A preliminary research idea has been put forward. In the future, we can establish a set of comprehensive clinical evaluation methods for Chinese patent medicine in cooperation with relevant national drug decision-making departments and management departments. It is believed that such cooperation could promote the full implementation of the re-evaluation for Chinese patent medicine.

Narrow Band Imaging for Surveillance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The role of narrow band imaging (NBI) for surveillance colonoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is debatable. We aim to compare NBI versus other endoscopic techniques in surveillance of IBD basing on current evidences. METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases was conducted for relevant studies. To assess the detection efficacy, we estimated risk ratios (RRs) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences (MDs) for continuous outcomes. To assess the differentiation efficacy, we estimated sensitivity and specificity of NBI with reference to histology. All outcome variables were pooled using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was tested by the Q statistic and I statistic. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies involving 938 participants were included. Statistically significant differences were not found in the likelihood of detecting patients with dysplastic lesions [RR, 1.11; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.83-1.48] nor in the likelihood of detecting dysplastic lesions by targeted biopsies (RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.51-1.12) between NBI and other techniques, and there was also no difference in the likelihood of detecting dysplastic subtypes. NBI required shorter procedural time compared with other techniques (MD, -10.23; 95% CI, -11.53 to -8.92). The sensitivity and specificity of NBI to differentiate neoplastic lesions from non-neoplastic lesions were 0.64 (95% CI, 0.50-0.77) and 0.74 (95% CI, 0.69-0.79), respectively, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.7626. CONCLUSIONS: Although a shorter procedural time is needed, the clinical application of NBI for both dysplasia detection and neoplasia differentiation in IBD is not superior to other endoscopic techniques.

Comparative analysis of human sperm glycocalyx from different freezability ejaculates by lectin microarray and identification of ABA as sperm freezability biomarker.

BACKGROUND: Semen cryopreservation has been widely applied in assisted reproductive technologies and sperm bank, but it causes considerable impairments on sperm quality. It is necessary to find an evaluation indicator for determining the sperm-freezing tolerance. METHODS: The glycocalyx of good freezability ejaculates was compared with poor freezability ejaculates by lectin microarray. The significant different lectins were validated by flow cytometry (FACS). To analyze the relationship between the potential biomarker and the tolerance of sperm to cryopreservation, 60 samples with different recovery rates were collected and detected the lectin-binding intensity by FACS. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was analyzed to test the capability of the lectin as a potential biomarker for detecting the sperm freezablility. RESULTS: ABA and DSL were found to develop significant differences between them. Further validation showed that ABA was significantly negative correlated with the sperm recovery rates (r = - 0.618, P < 0.000) and could be a potential biomarker for predicting sperm freezability (AUC = 0.733 ± 0.067, 95% CI 0.601 - 0.865, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: ABA could be a potential biomarker for predicting sperm freezability. It will help to reduce sperm-freezing recovery tests and improve the efficiency of cryopreservation in human sperm bank.

Distinguishing Black Hole Microstates using Holevo Information.

We use Holevo information in the two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) with a large central charge c to distinguish microstates from the underlying thermal state. Holographically, the CFT microstates of a thermal state are dual to black hole microstate geometries in anti-de Sitter space. It was found recently that holographic Holevo information shows plateau behaviors at both short and long interval regions. This indicates that the black hole microstates are indistinguishable from the thermal state by measuring over a small region, and perfectly distinguishable over a region with its size comparable to the whole system. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the plateaus are lifted by including the 1/c corrections from both the vacuum and nonvacuum conformal families of CFT in either the canonical ensemble or microcanonical ensemble thermal state. Our results imply that the aforementioned indistinguishability and distinguishability of black hole microstate geometries from the underlying black hole are spoiled by higher order Newton constant G_{N} corrections of quantum gravity.

Exercise training modalities in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Current international guidelines recommend aerobic, resistance, and combined exercises for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In our study, we conducted a network meta-analysis to assess the comparative impact of different exercise training modalities on glycemic control, cardiovascular risk factors, and weight loss in patients with T2DM. METHODS: We searched five electronic databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the differences between different exercise training modalities for patients with T2DM. The risk of bias in the included RCTs was evaluated according to the Cochrane tool. Network meta-analysis was performed to calculate mean difference the ratio of the mean and absolute risk differences. Data were analyzed using R-3.4.0. RESULTS: A total of 37 studies with 2208 patients with T2DM were included in our study. Both supervised aerobic and supervised resistance exercises showed a significant reduction in HbA1c compared to no exercise (0.30% lower, 0.30% lower, respectively), however, there was a less reduction when compared to combined exercise (0.17% higher, 0.23% higher). Supervised aerobic also presented more significant improvement than no exercise in fasting plasma glucose (9.38 mg/dl lower), total cholesterol (20.24 mg/dl lower), triacylglycerol (19.34 mg/dl lower), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (11.88 mg/dl lower). Supervised resistance showed more benefit than no exercise in improving systolic blood pressure (3.90 mmHg lower]) and total cholesterol (22.08 mg/dl lower]. In addition, supervised aerobic exercise was more powerful in improving HbA1c and weight loss than unsupervised aerobic (HbA1c: 0.60% lower; weight loss: 5.02 kg lower) and unsupervised resistance (HbA1c: 0.53% lower) exercises. CONCLUSION: Compared with either supervised aerobic or supervised resistance exercise alone, combined exercise showed more pronounced improvement in HbA1c levels; however, there was a less marked improvement in some cardiovascular risk factors. In terms of weight loss, there were no significant differences among the combined, supervised aerobic, and supervised resistance exercises. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Our study protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO); registration number: CRD42017067518 .

Interaction between Saikosaponin D, Paeoniflorin, and Human Serum Albumin.

Saikosaponin D (SSD) and paeoniflorin (PF) are the major active constituents of Bupleuri Radix and Paeonia lactiflora Pall, respectively, and have been widely used in China to treat liver and other diseases for many centuries. We explored the binding of SSD/PF to human serum albumin (HSA) by using fluorospectrophotometry, circular dichroism (CD) and molecular docking. Both SSD and PF produced a conformational change in HSA. Fluorescence quenching was accompanied by a blue shift in the fluorescence spectra. Co-binding of PF and SSD also induced quenching and a conformational change in HSA. The Stern-Volmer equation showed that quenching was dominated by static quenching. The binding constant for ternary interaction was below that for binary interaction. Site-competitive experiments demonstrated that SSD/PF bound to site I (subdomain IIA) and site II (subdomain IIIA) in HSA. Analysis of thermodynamic parameters indicated that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces were mostly responsible for the binary association. Also, there was energy transfer upon binary interaction. Molecular docking supported the experimental findings in conformation, binding sites and binding forces.