Phototherapy Restores Deficient Type I IFN Production and Enhances Antitumor Responses in Mycosis Fungoides.

Transcriptional profiling demonstrated markedly reduced type I IFN gene expression in untreated mycosis fungoides (MF) skin lesions compared with that in healthy skin. Type I IFN expression in MF correlated with antigen-presenting cell-associated IRF5 before psoralen plus UVA therapy and epithelial ULBP2 after therapy, suggesting an enhancement of epithelial type I IFN. Immunostains confirmed reduced baseline type I IFN production in MF and increased levels after psoralen plus UVA treatment in responding patients. Effective tumor clearance was associated with increased type I IFN expression, enhanced recruitment of CD8+ T cells into skin lesions, and expression of genes associated with antigen-specific T-cell activation. IFNk, a keratinocyte-derived inducer of type I IFNs, was increased by psoralen plus UVA therapy and expression correlated with upregulation of other type I IFNs. In vitro, deletion of keratinocyte IFNk decreased baseline and UVA-induced expression of type I IFN and IFN response genes. In summary, we find a baseline deficit in type I IFN production in MF that is restored by psoralen plus UVA therapy and correlates with enhanced antitumor responses. This may explain why MF generally develops in sun-protected skin and suggests that drugs that increase epithelial type I IFNs, including topical MEK and EGFR inhibitors, may be effective therapies for MF.

Effect of respiratory rehabilitation training on elderly patients with COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) often see their respiratory, physical, and psychological functions impaired to varying degrees, especially for the elderly patients. Timely respiratory rehabilitation intervention for such patients may improve their prognoses. However, its relative effectiveness has not been proved. Therefore, this study is purposed to determine the effect of respiratory rehabilitation on elderly patients with COVID-19. METHODS: This study will search the following electronic databases: Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, China national knowledge infrastructure database, Wan Fang database, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, with the retrieval period running from their inception to August 2020. All randomized controlled trials of respiratory rehabilitation training on elderly patients with COVID-19 are collected, and the data are selected and extracted independently according to the pre-designed inclusion/exclusion criteria. Cochrane bias risk assessment tool is used to evaluate the method quality and bias risk. All data analyses will be implemented by using Revman5.3 and Stata14 software. RESULTS: This study will make a high-quality and comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of respiratory rehabilitation training on elderly patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The conclusions of this systematic review will deliver more convincing evidence. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The private information collected from individuals will not be published. And this systematic review will also not involve impairing the participants' rights. Ethical approval is not required. The results may be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences.

Literature analysis of Acanthopanax anaphylactic shock in China.

The aims of this study are to investigate the occurrence characteristics of Acanthopanax ( cì wǔ jia) anaphylactic shock and to provide objective evidence for the rational use of the medicine. Fifty-seven cases of Acanthopanax anaphylactic shock were collected from several professional databases in China. The statistical data of the patients were analyzed with Visual FoxPro 6.0 and Office Excel 2003 by Microsoft (Redmond, WA, USA). The male:female incidence ratio was 0.5:1. Fifty-six (98.25%) patients were older than 30 years. Thirty-nine (68.42%) patients had an unknown allergy history. Nine (15.79%) patients used Acanthopanax for unlabeled indications. In most (98.25 %) patients, Acanthopanax was used in the form of dosage injection. Anaphylactic shock occurred within 30 minutes after treatment in 52 (94.54%) patients, and all episodes occurred during the infusion process. In two (3.51%) patients, the episode occurred when they used Acanthopanax for the second time. In one (1.75%) patient, the episode occurred during the third time of use. The clinical symptoms of anaphylactic shock are diversified, but all patients presented with cardiovascular and respiratory system symptoms. Acanthopanax injections that led to anaphylactic shock were produced exclusively by four manufacturers. Four (7.02%) patients died and 49 (85.96%) patients were cured, but the status of four patients is unknown. Because an Acanthopanax injection may cause anaphylactic shock and can be fatal in severe cases, physicians and patients must pay close attention to using it rationally. Clinicians should carefully consult the allergic constitution of their patients, strictly follow the guidelines of the drug, use Acanthopanax in the oral dosage form as much as possible, and strengthen therapeutic monitoring.

Drug-eluting scaffold to deliver chemotherapeutic medication for management of pancreatic cancer after surgery.

Traditional post-surgical chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer is notorious for its devastating side effects due to the high dosage required. On the other hand, legitimate concerns have been raised about nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery because of its potential cytotoxicity. Therefore, we explored the local delivery of a reduced dosage of FOLFIRINOX, a four-drug regimen comprising oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, and fluorouracil, for pancreatic cancer using a biocompatible drug-eluting scaffold as a novel chemotherapy strategy after palliative surgery. In vitro assays showed that FOLFIRINOX in the scaffold caused massive apoptosis and thereby a decrease in the viability of pancreatic cancer cells, confirming the chemotherapeutic capability of the drug-eluting scaffold. In vivo studies in an orthotopic murine xenograft model demonstrated that the FOLFIRINOX in the scaffold had antitumorigenic and antimetastatic effects comparable with those achieved by intraperitoneal injection, despite the dose released by the scaffold being roughly two thirds lower. A mechanistic study attributed our results to the excellent ability of the FOLFIRINOX in the scaffold to destroy the CD133(+)CXCR4(+) cell population responsible for pancreatic tumorigenesis and metastasis. This clinically oriented study gives rise to a promising alternative strategy for postsurgical management of pancreatic cancer, featuring a local chemotherapeutic effect with considerable attenuation of side effects.

[Insecticidal activity and active components of alcohol extract from Juglans mandshurica Maxim leaves].

The insecticidal active components in Juglans mandshurica Maxim leaves were extracted by conventional method. The alcohol extract and its chloroform-extraction phase showed insecticidal activities in contact toxicity and stomach toxicity against Lymantria dispar L. and Mamestra brassicae L. larvae. When the concentration of the extract was above 10 g x L(-1), the corrected mortality was higher than 50% 5 days after applying the extract. Alcohol extract had higher insecticidal activities than its chloroform-extraction phase. The GC-MS analysis on the active components in the chloroform-extraction phase showed that the main component was juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione), and the others were 2,2'-methylenebis-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methyl-diphenol and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol.

Controlling self-assembled perovskite-spinel nanostructures.

We report a discovery that self-assembled perovskite-spinel nanostructures can be controlled simply by selecting single-crystal substrates with different orientations. In a model BiFeO(3)-CoFe(2)O(4) system, a (001) substrate results in rectangular-shaped CoFe(2)O(4) nanopillars in a BiFeO(3) matrix; in contrast, a (111) substrate leads to triangular-shaped BiFeO(3) nanopillars in a CoFe(2)O(4) matrix, irrespective of the volume fraction of the two phases. This dramatic reversal is attributed to the surface energy anisotropy as an intrinsic property of a crystal.