Cobalt(II)-Based 3D Coordination Polymer with Unusual 4,4,4-Connected Topology as a Dual-Responsive Fluorescent Chemosensor for Acetylacetone and Cr2O72.

A cobalt(II) coordination polymer with an unusual 4,4,4-connected network was hydrothermally synthesized and observed with high thermal, solvent, and pH stabilities. This polymer can serve as the first dual-responsive fluorescent chemosensor for the selective detection of acetylacetone and Cr2O72- ion (pH 3.0) in aqueous systems.

Reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Mandarin (Simplified) Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-OH45 among cancer patients.

PURPOSE: The goal of our study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, responsiveness and acceptability of the Mandarin (simplified) Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-OH45. METHODS: From October 2017 to February 2018, 393 cancer patients were enrolled from three different hospitals in China. A forward and backward translation was made to develop the Mandarin (simplified) Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-OH15. The QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OH15 questionnaires (which we have assembled and named QLQ-OH45 in this paper) were self-administered. Results were statistically analysed using SPSS 21.0. The reliability and validity tests of the questionnaires were assessed by Cronbach's α coefficient, Pearson correlation test and Mann-Whitney U tests. Responsiveness to change was measured in an independent sample of patients with head and neck cancer undergoing surgery or radiotherapy or chemotherapy. RESULTS: An acceptable internal consistency reliability for most multiple-item scales was demonstrated, as Cronbach's α coefficients were greater than 0.7 for most multiple-item scales, excepting for cognitive functioning (0.36) and oral health-related QoL functioning (0.55). All domain's test-retest reliability coefficients (r) was higher than 0.8. Multi-trait scaling analysis showed good convergent and discriminant validity. A difference in the quality of life (QoL) between older (≥65 years) and younger (<65 years) groups of patients was showed by the known-group comparisons. Low correlations were found between the scales of the QLQ-OH15 and QLQ-C30 in all areas. CONCLUSION: The Mandarin (simplified) Chinese version of QLQ-OH45 demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties and can be used to measure the oral health-related QoL (OHRQoL) for Chinese cancer patients.

Atorvastatin ameliorates LPS-induced inflammatory response by autophagy via AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Macrophages play crucial roles in immune response and atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular disease. Recent evidence of macrophage autophagy has demonstrated a novel pathway through which contributes to vascular inflammation. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of autophagy in the inhibition of inflammatory response in macrophages by atorvastatin. We found that atorvastatin promoted autophagy flow determined by up-regulating the expression of autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein light chain (LC3B), inducing the formation of autophagosomes and down-regulating the expression of SQSTM1/P62, which is consumed during autophagy. Atorvastatin also inhibited the expression of inflammatory factors IL-1ß and TNFα induced by LPS in RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, pretreatment with an autophagy inhibitor 3MA or LY294002 attenuated the suppressive effect of atorvastatin on LPS-induced IL-1ß and TNFα expression. Additionally, knockdown autophagy-related gene 5(Atg5) with a special siRNA also prevented the role of atorvastatin in decreasing IL-1ß and TNFα release induced by LPS. Finally, we detected that AKT/mTOR/P70S6K signaling pathway was involved in atorvastatin-induced autophagy in macrophages. These data suggest that atorvastatin attenuates LPS-induced inflammatory factors secretion, at least in part, through enhancing autophagy by AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Our findings provide a novel evidence that statins exert anti-inflammatory effect in atherosclerosis by autophagy activation.

[Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with attenuated total reflection applied to reagent-free quantitative analysis of thalassemia screening indicators].

UNLABELLED: A simultaneous quantitative analysis method for the thalassemia screening indicators mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and hemoglobin (Hb) was developed with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers and attenuated total reflection (ATR) combined with partial least squares (PLS). A total of 380 human peripheral blood samples were collected, which were composed of 180 positive samples and 200 negative samples according to the criteria of hematological indicator screening for thalassemia. One hundred fifty samples (64 negative, 86 positive) were randomly selected from all samples as the validation set, the remaining 230 samples (136 negative, 94 positive) were used as modeling samples; and then the modeling set was further subdivided into calibration set (68 negative, 47 positive, and 115 in total) and prediction set (68 negative, 47 positive, and 115 in total) for 200 times. Comparison of experimental results show that the prediction effect of PLS models in mid-infrared (MIR) fingerprint region (1,600-900 cm(-1)) was significantly better those of PLS models in the full scanning region (4,000-600 cm(-1)), and model complexity is significantly reduced. Based on PLS model in MIR fingerprint region, the optimal numbers of PLS factors for MCH, MCV and Hb were 10, 10 and 6, respectively, and the root mean square error (M_SEP(Ave)) and the correlation coefficient (M_Rp, Ave) of prediction in the modeling set were 2.19 pg, 0.902 for MCH, 5.13 fL, 0.898 for MCV and 8.0 g · L(-1), 0.922 for Hb, respectively. The root mean square error (V_SEP) and the correlation coefficient (V_Rp) of prediction in the validation set were 2.22 pg, 0.900 for MCH, 5.38 fL, 0.895 for MCV and 7.7 g · L(-1), 0.929 for Hb, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for thalassemia screening achieved 100.0% and 95.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: FTIR/ATR spectroscopy combined with PLS method could provide a new reagent-free and rapid technique for thalassemia screening for large populations.

[NIR spectroscopy combined with stability and equivalence MW-PLS method applied to analysis of hyperlipidemia indexes].

UNLABELLED: Moving window partial least square (MW-PLS) method was improved by considering the stability and equivalence, and was used for the wavelength optimization of reagent-free near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic analysis of total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) for hyperlipidemia. A random and stability-dependent framework of calibration, prediction, and validation was proposed. From all human serum samples (negative 145 and positive 158, a total of 303 sample), 103 samples (negative 44 and positive 59) were randomly selected for the validation set, the remaining samples (negative 101 and positive 99, a total of 200 sample) were used as modeling set; then the modeling set was randomly divided into calibration set (negative 51 and positive 49, a total of 100 sample) and prediction set (negative 50 and positive 50, a total of 100 sample) by 50 times. To produce modeling stability, the model parameters were optimized based on the average prediction effect for all divisions; the optimized models were validated by using the validation samples. The obtained optimal MW-PLS wavebands were 1,556~1,852 nm for TC and 1,542-1,866 nm for TG. In order to solve the problem that instrument design typically involves some limitations of position and number of wavelengths because of cost and material properties, the equivalent model sets were proposed, and a unique public waveband 1,542-1,852 nm of the equivalent model sets for TC, TG was found. The validation results show that: using the optimal MW-PLS wavebands, validation samples' root mean square error of prediction (V SEP) for TC, TG were 0.177, 0.100 mmol · L(-1), the correlation coefficient of prediction (V_Rp) for TC, TG were 0.988, 0.996, and the sensitivity and specificity for hyperlipidemia achieved 95.0%, 90.5%, respectively; using the public equivalent wavebands, the V_SEP for TC, TG were 0.177, 0.101 mmol · L(-1)), the V_Rp for TC, TG were 0.988, 0.996, and the sensitivity and specificity achieved 92.7%, 90.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: NIR spectroscopy combined with the stability and equivalenceimprovement MW-PLS method can provide a potential tool for detecting hyperlipidemia for large population.

Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among students aged 12 to 24 after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China: prevalence and associated factors.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescent and young adults in China from December 14, 2022 to February 28, 2023, when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Methods: Students in middle and high schools and colleges and universities in the province of Sichuan, China were asked to complete on-line cross-sectional surveys. Information was collected about sociodemographics, experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Participants also filled out the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Social Support Rate Scale surveys. Factors associated with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts were explored using logistic regression. Results: Of the 82,873 respondents (aged 12 to 24 years), 21,292 (25.7%) reported having thought of suicide at least once in their lifetime, 10,382 (12.5%) reported having thought about suicide within the previous 12 months, and 1,123 (1.4%) reported having attempted it within the previous 12 months. Risk of lifetime suicidal ideation was higher among middle school students than among older students. Risk of suicidal ideation and risk of suicide attempts correlated directly with severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety, and inversely with level of social support. Greater risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts was associated with: being female, living in an urban environment, attending a boarding school, currently being in love, having parents who divorced or remarried, having parents who exhibit non-authoritative parenting behavior, having higher family income, having been COVID-19 infected, having been quarantined for a long time, and being dissatisfied with one's education. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts remain prevalent among young people in China. The potential associated factors identified in our study may be useful for targeting appropriate psychosocial interventions and developing mental health policies.

Unveiling the traits of dry and wet pre-magnetized zero-valent iron-activated peroxymonosulfate: Degradation of oxytetracycline.

It has been previously reported that pre-magnetization could enhance the efficacy of zero-valent iron (ZVI) in removing contaminants. However, little is known about the effects and persistence of different magnetization methods on pre-magnetized ZVI (Pre-ZVI) when used in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the durability of various pre-magnetization methods in enhancing the removal efficiency of different pollutants will significantly impact the widespread utilization of Pre-ZVI in practical engineering. Herein, we investigated the efficiency of dry and wet Pre-ZVI-activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in eliminating oxytetracycline (OTC) and evaluated the durability of Pre-ZVI. Additionally, we examined several factors that influence the degradation process's efficiency. Our results found that the reaction constant k values corresponding to the dry Pre-ZVI/PMS system at the pH values of 3, 7, and 9 varied from approximately 0.0384, 0.0331, and 0.0349 (day 1) to roughly 0.0297, 0.0278, and 0.0314 (day 30), respectively. Meanwhile, the wet Pre-ZVI/PMS system exhibited k values ranging from approximately 0.0392, 0.0349, and 0.0374 (day 1) to roughly 0.0380, 0.0291, and 0.0322 (day 30), respectively. Moreover, we proposed four OTC degradation pathways using LC-MS/MS and density functional theory calculations. The toxicity of the degradation products was assessed using the ecological structure activity relationship and the toxicity estimation software tool. Overall, this study provides insights into the application of Pre-ZVI/PMS that can be selectively used to eliminate tetracycline antibiotics from water.

Comparative study on the removal of organic pollutants by magnetic composite and pre-magnetized zero-valent iron activated persulfate.

The rapid development of global logistics has led to the overuse of packaging cartons, causing problems for municipal solid waste disposal. Diverse methods of exploiting the potential value of waste cartons are needed. Herein, we fabricated a magnetic composite (MC) from waste cartons via a one-step hydrothermal treatment and characterized. Using methylene blue (MB) as a model organic pollutant, tests of the activation of persulfate (PS) via the MC for the removal of MB were performed. Meanwhile, a comparison with activation with pre-magnetized zero-valent iron (Pre-ZVI/PS) was made. The comparative results show that the removal of MB was successfully accomplished with both Pre-ZVI/PS and MC/PS. Specifically, MC/PS could remove almost 100 % of MB, with the COD removal efficiency reaching over 70 % when the MB concentration was 50 mg/L at 80 min under different pH conditions. Even when reused twice, the MC still displayed robust activation performance. Additionally, we evaluated the lifetime of magnetic memory for Pre-ZVI, and first found its consecutive loss of pre-magnetization over 30 days, corresponding to the incremental attenuation of reaction rate constants in the Pre-ZVI-activated PS process. Overall, activating PS using the MC is a promising advanced oxidation technology and also provides a valuable reference on the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass.

[Seasonal Variation, Source Identification, and Health Risk of PM2.5-bound Metals in Xinxiang].

This study analyzed the seasonal variation, sources, and source-specific health risks of PM2.5-bound metals in Xinxiang city, Henan province. A total of 112 daily PM2.5 samples were collected over four consecutive seasons during 2019-2020. In total, 19 elements were identified using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The annual concentrations of PM2.5 and 11 heavy metals were calculated to be (66.25±35.73) µg·m-3 and (1.32±0.84) µg·m-3, respectively. Strong seasonal variations were observed in PM2.5 concentrations and the concentrations of associated metal elements, with the lowest concentrations all occurring in summer. The highest concentrations of dust-related elements (e.g., Al, Ca, Fe, Mg,and Ti) were recorded in spring, differing significantly from other elements, which all exhibited the highest mass concentrations in winter. The results apportioned from positive matrix factorization (PMF) and potential source contribution function (PSCF) models showed that the major sources of PM2.5-bound elements were Ni-and Co-related emissions (5.8%), motor vehicles (13.7%), Cd-related emissions(5.1%), combustion emissions (18.2%), and dust (57.3%). Health risk models showed that there were no obvious non-carcinogenic risks associated with these metals, because their hazard quotient (HQ) values were all below 1. Lifetime carcinogenic risks of the five apportioned sources were all higher than the acceptable level (1×10-6). Of these five sources, combustion emissions were the largest contributors to cancer risk (8.74×10-6, 36.9%) and non-cancer risk (0.60, 25.6%). This study suggests that control strategies to mitigate exposure risk in Xinxiang should emphasize reducing the sources of combustion emissions.

Atorvastatin Inhibits Inflammatory Response, Attenuates Lipid Deposition, and Improves the Stability of Vulnerable Atherosclerotic Plaques by Modulating Autophagy.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease comprising intima malfunction and arterial inflammation. Recent studies have demonstrated that autophagy could inhibit inflammatory response in atherosclerosis and exert subsequent atheroprotective effects. Our previous study also demonstrated the role of autophagy in the inhibition of inflammation by atorvastatin in vitro. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to determine whether atorvastatin could upregulate autophagy to inhibit inflammatory cytokines secretion, lipid accumulation, and improve vulnerable plaque stability, both in vitro and in vivo. First, we established a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque mouse model through partial ligation of left common carotid artery and left renal artery to explore the effect of atorvastatin on vulnerable plaques. The results showed that atorvastatin could enhance the stability of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and reduce the lesion area in the aorta. Atorvastatin could also inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation and inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1ß, TNF-α, and IL-18 secretion in vivo. Atorvastatin treatment upregulated the expression of autophagy-related protein microtubule-associated protein light chain (LC3B) and downregulated the expression of SQSTM1/p62, which suggested that autophagy was activated in vulnerable plaques. Transmission electron microscopy further demonstrated the atorvastatin-induced increase in autophagy activity in vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. We employed oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to stimulate RAW264.7 cells with atorvastatin, which showed that atorvastatin could attenuate lipid deposition, ameliorate inflammation, inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and enhance autophagy in vitro. All these beneficial effects were abolished by 3-methyladenine treatment, an autophagy inhibitor. Atorvastatin also significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of mTOR, which strongly suggested the involvement of the mTOR pathway. Our study proposed a new role for atorvastatin as an autophagy inducer to exert anti-inflammatory and atheroprotective effects, to stabilize vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques.

Development and Validation of a Sensitive LC-MS-MS Method for the Determination of Adefovir in Human Serum and Urine: Application to a Clinical Pharmacokinetic Study.

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of adefovir (PMEA,9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl) adenine) concentration in human serum and urine. The analysis was performed on a negative ionization electrospray mass spectrometer via multiple reaction monitoring. The monitored transitions were set at m/z 272.0 → 134.0 and m/z 276.0 → 149.8 for PMEA and internal standard, respectively. After protein precipitation, samples were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase Dikma Diamonsil C18 (250 × 4.6 mm; 5 µm) column with a mobile phase of 0.1 mM ammonium formate buffer-methanol. The calibration curves were linear over the serum concentration range 0.5-1,000 ng/mL and urine concentration range 2.0-1,000 ng/mL. The intra- and interday precision values of PMEA in both serum and urine were lower than 18.16% for low quality control and 13.70% for medium and high quality control. The accuracy, recovery, matrix factor and stability were also within the acceptable limits. The developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of following oral administration of single dose of pradefovir mesylate (10, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg) and adefovir dipivoxil (10 mg) to healthy Chinese volunteers.

Immune Signatures in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris of Blood-Heat Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective. To determine whether immunological serum markers IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-17, IL-23, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10 are elevated or decreased in patients compared with healthy controls. Methods. A complete search of the literature on this topic within the past 30 years was conducted across seven databases. Seventeen studies including 768 individuals were identified. Differences in serum marker levels between subjects and controls were pooled as MDs using the random-effects model. Results. The pooled MDs were higher in patients than in healthy controls for IFN-γ (MD 24.9, 95% CI 12.36-37.43), IL-17 (MD 28.92, 95% CI 17.44-40.40), IL-23 (MD 310.60, 95% CI 4.96-616.24), and TNF-α (MD 19.84, 95% CI 13.80-25.87). Pooled IL-4 (MD -13.5, 95% CI -17.74--9.26) and IL-10 (MD -10.33, 95% CI -12.03--8.63) levels were lower in patients. Conclusion. The pooled analyses suggest that levels of IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-23, and TNF-α are significantly elevated and that levels of IL-4 and IL-10 are significantly decreased in sera of patients with psoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome. Measuring progression of blood-heat syndrome of psoriasis vulgaris will require additional high-quality data, with a low risk of bias and adequate sample sizes, before and after antipsoriatic therapy.

External Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Venous Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of external application of traditional Chinese medicine (EA-TCM) on venous ulcers. Methods. Seven databases were searched until April 2015 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of EA-TCM for venous ulcers. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane Handbook guidelines. Study outcomes were presented as risk ratios (RRs) for dichotomous data or mean differences (MDs) for continuous data. Results. Sixteen of 193 potentially relevant trials met the inclusion criteria; however, their methodological qualities were low. Comparison of the same intervention strategies revealed significant differences in total effectiveness rates between EA-TCM and conventional therapy groups (RR = 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-1.29, and P < 0.00001). Compared to conventional therapy, EA-TCM combined with conventional therapy had a superior total effectiveness rate (RR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.04-1.19, and P = 0.003). There were no significant differences in recurrence rates during followup and final pain measurements between the experimental and those in the control groups (RR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.31-2.39, and P = 0.85; MD -0.75, 95% CI = -2.15-0.65, and P = 0.29). Conclusion. The evidence that EA-TCM is an effective treatment for venous ulcers is encouraging, but not conclusive due to the low methodological quality of the RCTs. Therefore, more high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes are required.

Controllable growth of CNTs on graphene as high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors.

Design and synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) structured carbon materials are crucial for achieving high-performance supercapacitors (SC) for energy storage. Here, we report the preparation of 3D architectured GN-CNT hybrid as SC electrodes. Controllable growth of carbon nanotubes on graphene sheets was realized through a facile one-pot pyrolysis strategy. The length of the carbon nanotubes could be rationally tuned by adjusting the amount of precursors. Correspondingly, the resulted GN-CNT hybrid showed adjustable electrochemical performance as an SC electrode. Importantly, the GN-CNT exhibited a high specific surface area of 903 m(2) g(-1) and maximum specific capacitance of 413 F g(-1) as SC electrodes at a scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. This work paves a feasible pathway to prepare carbon electrode materials with favorable 3D architecture and high performance, for use in energy storage and conversion.

Effects of chinese formula jueyin granules on psoriasis in an animal model.

Although Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is known to be effective for psoriasis patients, the responsible mechanisms still remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of one formula, named Jueyin granules (JYG) in the mouse model of the vaginal epithelium and tail epidermis. Additionally, we also determined the anti-inflammatory effects of JYG in an imiquimod- (IMQ-) induced psoriasis-like skin mouse model. Our results show that JYG can attenuate the IMQ-induced psoriasis-like inflammation, accompanied with increased epidermal hyperplasia. We also measured estrogenic stage mitosis of vaginal epithelial cells and the formation of granular cell layers in male mouse tails per 100 scales, as well as the tissue nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels using the ELISA method. The results suggest that JYG significantly inhibited mitosis in mouse vaginal epithelial cells, promoted the formation of the squamous epidermal granular layer in mice tails, and reduced the levels of NO and MDA in an imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin mouse model after 14 d (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that JYG might be an effective clinical treatment for psoriasis and the effects may be related to inhibited keratinocytes proliferation, improved parakeratotic epidermal cells, and reduced expression of NO and MDA.