Rhizoma Paridis saponins attenuate Gram-negative bacteria-induced inflammatory acne by binding to KEAP1 and modulating Nrf2 and MAPK pathways.

Acne vulgaris represents a chronic inflammatory condition, the pathogenesis of which is closely associated with the altered skin microbiome. Recent studies have implicated a profound role of Gram-negative bacteria in acne development, but there is a lack of antiacne agents targeting these bacteria. Polyphyllins are major components of Rhizoma Paridis with great anti-inflammatory potential. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the antiacne effects and the underlying mechanisms of PPH and a PPH-enriched Rhizoma Paridis extract (RPE) in treating the Gram-negative bacteria-induced acne. PPH and RPE treatments significantly suppressed the mRNA and protein expressions of interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 and HaCaT cells, along with the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Furthermore, PPH and RPE inhibited the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) P65 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Based on molecular docking, PPH could bind to kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) protein. PPH and RPE treatments could activate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and upregulate haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Moreover, RPE suppressed the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Therefore, PPH-enriched RPE showed anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects in vitro, which is promising for alternative antiacne therapeutic.

Tailored Polypyrrole Nanofibers as Ion-to-Electron Transduction Membranes for Wearable K+ Sensors.

Conductive polymers are recognized as ideal candidates for the development of noninvasive and wearable sensors for real-time monitoring of potassium ions (K+) in sweat to ensure the health of life. However, the low ion-to-electron transduction efficiency and limited active surface area hamper the development of high-performance sensors for low-concentration K+ detection in the sweat. Herein, a wearable K+ sensor is developed by tailoring the nanostructure of polypyrrole (PPy), serving as an ion-to-electron transduction layer, for accurately and stably tracing the K+ fluctuation in human sweat. The PPy nanostructures can be tailored from nanospheres to nanofibers by controlling the supramolecular assembly process during PPy polymerization. Resultantly, the ion-to-electron transduction efficiency (17-fold increase in conductivity) and active surface area (1.3-fold enhancement) are significantly enhanced, accompanied by minimized water layer formation. The optimal PPy nanofibers-based K+ sensor achieved a high sensitivity of 62 mV decade-1, good selectivity, and solid stability. After being integrated with a temperature sensor, the manufactured wearable sensor realized accurate monitoring of K+ fluctuation in the human sweat.

Developmental validation of the STRSeqTyper122 kit for massively parallel sequencing of forensic STRs.

Massively parallel sequencing allows for integrated genotyping of different types of forensic markers, which reduces DNA consumption, simplifies experimental processes, and provides additional sequence-based genetic information. The STRseqTyper122 kit genotypes 63 autosomal STRs, 16 X-STRs, 42 Y-STRs, and the Amelogenin locus. Amplicon sizes of 117 loci were below 300 bp. In this study, MiSeq FGx sequencing metrics for STRseqTyper122 were presented. The genotyping accuracy of this kit was examined by comparing to certified genotypes of NIST standard reference materials and results from five capillary electrophoresis-based kits. The sensitivity of STRseqTyper122 reached 125 pg, and > 80% of the loci were correctly called with 62.5 pg and 31.25 pg input genomic DNA. Repeatability, species specificity, and tolerance for DNA degradation and PCR inhibitors of this kit were also evaluated. STRseqTyper122 demonstrated reliable performance with routine case-work samples and provided a powerful tool for forensic applications.

Saponins of Paris polyphylla for the Improvement of Acne: Anti-Inflammatory, Antibacterial, Antioxidant and Immunomodulatory Effects.

Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a recurring nature that seriously impacts patients' quality of life. Currently, antibiotic resistance has made it less effective in treating acne. However, Paris polyphylla (P. polyphylla) is a valuable medicinal plant with a wide range of chemical components. Of these, P. polyphylla saponins modulate the effects in vivo and in vitro through antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant effects. Acne is primarily associated with inflammatory reactions, abnormal sebum function, micro-ecological disorders, hair follicle hyperkeratosis, and, in some patients, immune function. Therefore, the role of P. polyphylla saponins and their values in treating acne is worthy of investigation. Overall, this review first describes the distribution and characteristics of P. polyphylla and the pathogenesis of acne. Then, the potential mechanisms of P. polyphylla saponins in treating acne are listed in detail (reduction in the inflammatory response, antibacterial action, modulation of immune response and antioxidant effects, etc.). In addition, a brief description of the chemical composition of P. polyphylla saponins and its available extraction methods are described. We hope this review can serve as a quick and detailed reference for future studies on their potential acne treatment.

Uncovering the Anti-Angiogenic Mechanisms of Centella asiatica via Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation.

BACKGROUND: Centella asiatica (CA) has been used to address cancer for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Previous studies demonstrated its anti-angiogenesis efficacy, but the underlying mechanism of its action remains to be further clarified. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of CA and its triterpenes in anti-angiogenesis for cancer therapeutics through network pharmacology and experimental validation. METHODS: Cytoscape was used to construct a network of compound-disease targets and protein-protein interactions (PPIs) from which core targets were identified. GO and KEGG analyses were performed using Metascape, and the AutoDock-Vina program was used to realize molecular docking for further verification. Then, VEGF165 was employed to establish an induced angiogenesis model. The anti-angiogenic effects of CA were evaluated through assays measuring cell proliferation, migration, and tubular structure formation. RESULTS: Twenty-five active ingredients in CA had potential targets for anti-angiogenesis including madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid, asiatic acid, and asiaticoside B. In total, 138 potential targets for CA were identified, with 19 core targets, including STAT3, SRC, MAPK1, and AKT1. A KEGG analysis showed that CA is implicated in cancer-related pathways, specifically PD-1 and AGE-RAGE. Molecular docking verified that the active components of CA have good binding energy with the first four important targets of angiogenesis. In experimental validation, the extracts and triterpenes of CA improved VEGF165-induced angiogenesis by reducing the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). CONCLUSIONS: Our results initially demonstrate the effective components and great anti-angiogenic activity of CA. Evidence of the satisfactory anti-angiogenic action of the extracts and triterpenes from CA was verified, suggesting CA's significant potential as a prospective agent for the therapy of cancer.

Fabrication of Coffee-Ring Nanostructured Membranes for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration.

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) plays important roles in pharmaceutical ingredients purification and solvent recovery. However, the low organic solvent permeance under cross-flow operation of OSN membrane hampers their industrial applications. Herein, we report the construction of coffee-ring structured membrane featuring high OSN permeance. A water-insoluble crystal monomer that dissolved in EtOH/H2O mixed solvent was designed to react with trimesoyl chloride via interfacial polymerization. Owing to the diffusion of EtOH to n-hexane, coffee-ring nanostructure on the support membrane appeared, which served as the template for construction of coffee-ring structured membrane. The optimal nanostructured membrane demonstrated 2.6-fold enhancement in the effective surface area with reduced membrane thickness. Resultantly, the membrane afforded a 2.7-fold enhancement in organic solvent permeance, e.g., ~13 LMH/bar for MeOH, without sacrificing the rejection ability. Moreover, due to the rigid monomer structure, the fabricated membrane shows distinctive running stability in active pharmaceutical ingredients purification and the ability for concentration of medicines.

Dormancy and double-activation strategy for construction of high-performance mixed-matrix membranes.

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) have the potential for energy-efficient gas separation by matching the superior mass transfer and anti-plasticization properties of the fillers with processability and scaling up features of the polymers. However, construction of high-performance MMMs has been prohibited due to low filler-loading and the existence of interfacial defects. Here, high MOF-loaded, i.e., 55 wt %, MMMs are developed by a 'dormancy and double-activation' (DDA) strategy. High MOF precursor concentration suppresses crystallization in the membrane casting solution, realizing molecular level mixing of all components. Then, the polymeric matrix was formed with uniform encapsulation of MOF nutrients. Subsequently, double-activation was employed to induce MOF crystallization: the alkali promotes MOFs nucleation to harvest small porous nanocrystals while excessive ligands activate the metal ions to enhance the MOFs conversion. As such, quasi-semi-continuous mass transfer channels can be formed in the MMMs by the connected MOFs nanocrystals to boost the gas permeability. The optimized MMM shows significantly ameliorated CO2 permeability, i.e., 2841 Barrer, five-fold enhancement compared with pristine polymer membrane, with a good CO2 /N2 selectivity of 36. Besides, the nanosized MOFs intensify their interaction with polymer chains, endowing the MMMs with good anti-plasticization behaviour and stability, which advances practical application of MMMs in carbon capture.

Developmental validation of a high-resolution panel genotyping 639 Y-chromosome SNP and InDel markers and its evolutionary features in Chinese populations.

Uniparental-inherited haploid genetic marker of Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNP) have the power to provide a deep understanding of the human evolutionary past, forensic pedigree, and bio-geographical ancestry information. Several international cross-continental or regional Y-panels instead of Y-whole sequencing have recently been developed to promote Y-tools in forensic practice. However, panels based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) explicitly developed for Chinese populations are insufficient to represent the Chinese Y-chromosome genetic diversity and complex population structures, especially for Chinese-predominant haplogroup O. We developed and validated a 639-plex panel including 633 Y-SNPs and 6 Y-Insertion/deletions, which covered 573 Y haplogroups on the Y-DNA haplogroup tree. In this panel, subgroups from haplogroup O accounted for 64.4% of total inferable haplogroups. We reported the sequencing metrics of 354 libraries sequenced with this panel, with the average sequencing depth among 226 individuals being 3,741×. We illuminated the high level of concordance, accuracy, reproducibility, and specificity of the 639-plex panel and found that 610 loci were genotyped with as little as 0.03 ng of genomic DNA in the sensitivity test. 94.05% of the 639 loci were detectable in male-female mixed DNA samples with a mix ratio of 1:500. Nearly all of the loci were genotyped correctly when no more than 25 ng/µL tannic acid, 20 ng/µL humic acid, or 37.5 µM hematin was added to the amplification mixture. More than 80% of genotypes were obtained from degraded DNA samples with a degradation index of 11.76. Individuals from the same pedigree shared identical genotypes in 11 male pedigrees. Finally, we presented the complex evolutionary history of 183 northern Chinese Hans and six other Chinese populations, and found multiple founding lineages that contributed to the northern Han Chinese gene pool. The 639-plex panel proved an efficient tool for Chinese paternal studies and forensic applications.

Rapid Fabrication of High-Permeability Mixed Matrix Membranes at Mild Condition for CO2 Capture.

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), conjugating the advantages of flexible processing-ability of polymers and high-speed mass transfer of porous fillers, are recognized as the next-generation high-performance CO2 capture membranes for solving the current global climate challenge. However, controlling the crystallization of porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and thus the close stacking of MOF nanocrystals in the confined polymer matrix is still undoable, which thus cannot fully utilize the superior transport attribute of MOF channels. In this study, the "confined swelling coupled solvent-controlled crystallization" strategy is employed for well-tailoring the in-situ crystallization of MOF nanocrystals, realizing rapid (<5 min) construction of defect-free freeway channels for CO2 transportation in MMMs due to the close stacking of MOF nanocrystals. Consequently, the fabricated MMMs exhibit approximately fourfold enhancement in CO2 permeability, i.e., 2490 Barrer with a CO2 /N2 selectivity of 37, distinctive antiplasticization merit, as well as long-term running stability, which is at top-tier level, enabling the large-scale manufacture of high-performance MMMs for gas separation.

Micro/Nano-Fabrication of Flexible Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene)-Based Conductive Films for High-Performance Microdevices.

With the increasing demands for novel flexible organic electronic devices, conductive polymers are now becoming the rising star for reaching such targets, which has witnessed significant breakthroughs in the fields of thermoelectric devices, solar cells, sensors, and hydrogels during the past decade due to their outstanding conductivity, solution-processing ability, as well as tailorability. However, the commercialization of those devices still lags markedly behind the corresponding research advances, arising from the not high enough performance and limited manufacturing techniques. The conductivity and micro/nano-structure of conductive polymer films are two critical factors for achieving high-performance microdevices. In this review, the state-of-the-art technologies for developing organic devices by using conductive polymers are comprehensively summarized, which will begin with a description of the commonly used synthesis methods and mechanisms for conductive polymers. Next, the current techniques for the fabrication of conductive polymer films will be proffered and discussed. Subsequently, approaches for tailoring the nanostructures and microstructures of conductive polymer films are summarized and discussed. Then, the applications of micro/nano-fabricated conductive films-based devices in various fields are given and the role of the micro/nano-structures on the device performances is highlighted. Finally, the perspectives on future directions in this exciting field are presented.

Efficacy of epi-1 modified epirubicin and curcumin encapsulated liposomes targeting-EpCAM in the inhibition of epithelial ovarian cancer cells.

Treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a challenge because it still leads to unsatisfactory clinical prognosis. This is due to the toxicity and poor targeting of chemotherapeutic agents, as well as metastasis of the tumor. In this study, we designed a targeted liposome with nanostructures to overcome these problems. In the liposomes, epirubicin and curcumin were encapsulated to achieve their synergistic antitumor efficacy, while Epi-1 was modified on the liposomal surface to target epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). Epi-1, a macrocyclic peptide, exhibits active targeting for enhanced cellular uptake and potent cytotoxicity against tumor cells. The encapsulation of epirubicin and curcumin synergistically inhibited the formation of neovascularization and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) channels, thereby suppressing tumor metastasis on SKOV3 cells. The dual drug loaded Epi-1-liposomes also induced apoptosis and downregulated metastasis-related proteins for effective antitumor in vitro. In vivo studies showed that dual drug loaded Epi-1-liposomes prolonged circulation time in the blood and increased the selective accumulation of drug at the tumor site. H&E staining and immunohistochemistry with Ki-67 also showed that targeted liposomes elevated antitumor activity. Also, targeted liposomes downregulated angiogenesis-related proteins to inhibit angiogenesis and thus tumor metastasis. In conclusion, the production of dual drug loaded Epi-1-liposomes is an effective strategy for the treatment of EOC.

Detection of Carbamazepine and Its Metabolites in Blood Samples by LC-MS/MS.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a method for the detection of carbamazepine and its metabolites 10,11-dihydro-10,11-epoxycarbamazepine and 10,11-dihydro-10-hydroxycarbamazepine in blood samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). METHODS: The blood samples were treated with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as an extraction solvent. The samples were extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction and separated by ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18, 95Å column. The mobile phase A aqueous solution containing 0.1% formic acid and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate, and mobile phase B mixed organic solvent containing acetonitrile/methanol (Vacetonitrile∶Vmethanol=2∶3) were used for gradient elution at the flow rate of 1.00 mL/min. An electrospray ion source in positive mode was used for detection in the multiple reaction monitoring. RESULTS: The linearities of carbamazepine and its metabolites 10,11-dihydro-10,11-epoxycarbamazepine and 10,11-dihydro-10-hydroxycarbamazepine in blood samples were good within the corresponding range, with correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.995 6. The limits of detection were 3.00, 0.40 and 1.30 ng/mL, respectively. The limit of quantitation were 8.00, 1.00 and 5.00 ng/mL, respectively. The extraction recoveries ranged from 76.00% to 106.44%. The relative standard deviations of the intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 16%. Carbamazepine and its main metabolite 10,11-dihydro-10,11-epoxycarbamazepine were detected in blood samples of death cases with a mass concentration of 2.71 µg/mL and 252.14 ng/mL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This method has high sensitivity and good selectivity, which is suitable for the detection of carbamazepine and its metabolites in blood samples, and can be used for carbamazepine-related forensic identifications.

Facile Fabrication of a Continuous ZIF-67 Membrane for Efficient Azeotropic Organic Solvent Mixture Separation.

Azeotropic organic solvent mixture separation is common in the chemical industry but extremely difficult. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) shows great potential in organic solvent mixture separation due to its rigid micropores and excellent stability. However, due to the fast nucleation rate, it is a great challenge to prepare continuous ZIF-67 membrane layers with ultrathin thickness. In this study, a hydroxy salt layer with high inducible activity was synthesized as a precursor on different porous substrates to prepare ZIF-67 membranes at room temperature. The precursor layer enables an intact ZIF-67 membrane with an ultrathin thickness of 176±12 nm. The experimental and simulation results confirmed that the size sieving through the pore windows and the preferential adsorption of polar solvent molecules provide the ZIF-67 membrane an unprecedented separation performance such as high separation factors and fluxes, for four types of azeotropic organic solvent mixtures.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Opuntia Milpa Alta Polysaccharides Fermented by Lactic Acid Bacteria in Human Keratinocyte HaCaT Cells.

Opuntia milpa alta polysaccharides (ODP) are bioactive compounds extracted from Opuntia milpa alta and widely used in the treatment of diseases, but the therapeutic mechanism of ODP on inflammatory injury remains unclear. Therefore, this study explores the effects and mechanisms of ODP in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation of human keratinocytes (HaCaT). In this experiment, ODP was extracted via the water extraction and fermentation methods, respectively. LPS was then used to induce inflammatory damage in HaCaT cells, and the stimulated cells were treated with different concentrations of ODP. Cell viability was detected by MTT assay, and the concentrations of COX-2, iNOS, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Changes in inflammatory cytokines and related mRNA expression were observed to assess LPS-induced cell damage. In the experiment, it was found that the LPS stimulation of HaCaT cells can induce cellular inflammatory response, reduce cell viability, increase cell apoptosis and increase the expression of COX-2, iNOS, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α. However, the experimental data shows that ODP can reverse the above results by increasing cell viability, inhibiting cell apoptosis, reducing the expression of the above genes and inactivating antioxidant pathways, which revealed the specific mechanism of ODP repairing LPS-induced inflammatory damage to Hacat cell. In addition, The experimental results showed that fermentation could improve the anti-inflammatory effect of ODP. In conclusion, our experimental results indicate that ODP fermented by lactic acid bacteria can be used as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Portulaca oleracea extract relieves skin barrier damage induced by increased photosensitivity after GA peeling.

PURPOSE: We aimed to find active substances to help relieve the symptoms caused by increased photosensitivity after alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) peeling. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was provided to 66 patients who received AHA peeling therapy to understand if increased photosensitivity existed and its specific symptoms. We verified increased photosensitivity after AHA peeling by monitoring cell viability to detect the combined toxicity of glycolic acid (GA) and UVB in HaCaT cells. The ELISA method was used to determine the expression of KLK7, FLG, IL-1ß, and IL-8 to correlate damage to the skin barrier and inflammation induced by GA and UVB and the relieving effects of Portulaca oleracea extract. RESULTS: Our survey results showed that 6.06% of people were more sensitive to sunlight after AHA peeling than before. Experiments at the cellular level showed that UVB induced cytotoxicity on HaCaT cells pre-treated with GA. Combined exposure of GA and UVB induced up-regulation of KLK7 and down-regulation of FLG and increased inflammatory cytokines of IL-1ß and IL-8. P. oleracea extract inhibited the reduction of FLG and increased KLK7, IL-1ß, and IL-8 expression caused by combined exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that combined exposure to GA and UV disrupted the skin barrier and induced significant inflammation. These results provided a theoretical basis for increased photosensitivity after chemical peeling. P. oleracea extract ameliorated GA and UVB-induced impaired skin barrier function and inflammation in HaCaT cells and may have the potential to relieve photosensitivity after AHA peeling.

Application of Duplex Droplet Digital PCR Detection of miR-888 and miR-891a in Semen Identification.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a system for simultaneous detection of miR-888 and miR-891a by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and to evaluate its application value in semen identification. METHODS: The hydrolysis probes with different fluorescence modified reporter groups were designed to realize the detection of miR-888 and miR-891a by duplex ddPCR. A total of 75 samples of 5 body fluids (including peripheral blood, menstrual blood, semen, saliva and vaginal secretion) were detected. The difference analysis was conducted by Mann-Whitney U test. The semen differentiation ability of miR-888 and miR-891a was evaluated by ROC curve analysis and the optimal cut-off value was obtained. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the dual-plex assay and the single assay in this system. The detection sensitivity was up to 0.1 ng total RNA, and the intra- and inter-batch coefficients of variation were less than 15%. The expression levels of miR-888 and miR-891a detected by duplex ddPCR in semen were both higher than those in other body fluids. ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of miR-888 was 0.976, the optimal cut-off value was 2.250 copies/µL, and the discrimination accuracy was 97.33%; the AUC of miR-891a was 1.000, the optimal cut-off value was 1.100 copies/µL, and the discrimination accuracy was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a method for detection of miR-888 and miR-891a by duplex ddPCR was successfully established. The system has good stability and repeatability and can be used for semen identification. Both miR-888 and miR-891a have high ability to identify semen, and the discrimination accuracy of miR-891a is higher.

Fiber-spinning Asymmetric Assembly for Janus-structured Bifunctional Nanofiber Films towards All-Weather Smart Textile.

Given health threat by global warming and increased energy consumption in regulating body temperature, it is an urgent need to construct smart temperature-regulating materials. Herein, a novel fiber-spinning asymmetric chemical assembly (FACA) method is proposed to construct nanofiber materials with asymmetric photothermal properties. The silver nanowires (AgNWs) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) with opposite thermal radiation are assembled on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) film, imparting AgNW/rGO/PVDF-HFP film with Janus structure that can realize the AgNWs side consistently keeps temperature of ca. 11 °C lower than the side of PVDF-HFP nanofiber regardless of the irradiation directions under 1 sun, suggesting the adjustable photothermal regulation. Such photothermally selective hybrid nanofiber film provides great potential as fabrics to achieve all-weather smart clothes, promoting controllable and comprehensive utilization of solar energy.

Bioinformatics-based study to identify immune infiltration and inflammatory-related hub genes as biomarkers for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease whose principal pathological change is aggressive chronic synovial inflammation; however, the specific etiology and pathogenesis have not been fully elucidated. We downloaded the synovial tissue gene expression profiles of four human knees from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, analyzed the differentially expressed genes in the normal and RA groups, and assessed their enrichment in functions and pathways using bioinformatics methods and the STRING online database to establish protein-protein interaction networks. Cytoscape software was used to obtain 10 hub genes; receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for each hub gene and differential expression analysis of the two groups of hub genes. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to impute immune infiltration. We identified the signaling pathways that play important roles in RA and 10 hub genes: Ccr1, Ccr2, Ccr5, Ccr7, Cxcl5, Cxcl6, Cxcl13, Ccl13, Adcy2, and Pnoc. The diagnostic value of these 10 hub genes for RA was confirmed using ROC curves and expression analysis. Adcy2, Cxcl13, and Ccr5 are strongly associated with RA development. The study also revealed that the differential infiltration profile of different inflammatory immune cells in the synovial tissue of RA is an extremely critical factor in RA progression. This study may contribute to the understanding of signaling pathways and biological processes associated with RA and the role of inflammatory immune infiltration in the pathogenesis of RA. In addition, this study shows that Adcy2, Cxcl13, and Ccr5 have the potential to be biomarkers for RA treatment.

Ferroelectric domain wall memory with embedded selector realized in LiNbO3 single crystals integrated on Si wafers.

Interfacial 'dead' layers between metals and ferroelectric thin films generally induce detrimental effects in nanocapacitors, yet their peculiar properties can prove advantageous in other electronic devices. Here, we show that dead layers with low Li concentration located at the surface of LiNbO3 ferroelectric materials can function as unipolar selectors. LiNbO3 mesa cells were etched from a single-crystal LiNbO3 substrate, and Pt metal contacts were deposited on their sides. Poling induced non-volatile switching of ferroelectric domains in the cell, and volatile switching in the domains in the interfacial (dead) layers, with the domain walls created within the substrate being electrically conductive. These features were also confirmed using single-crystal LiNbO3 thin films bonded to SiO2/Si wafers. The fabricated nanoscale mesa-structured memory cell with an embedded interfacial-layer selector shows a high on-to-off ratio (>106) and high switching endurance (~1010 cycles), showing potential for the fabrication of crossbar arrays of ferroelectric domain wall memories.

POSTERIOR SCLERAL CONTRACTION TO TREAT MYOPIC FOVEOSCHISIS IN HIGHLY MYOPIC EYES.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of posterior scleral contraction to treat myopic foveoschisis (MF). METHODS: The records of MF patients treated with posterior scleral contraction were reviewed. During posterior scleral contraction, a cross-linked fusiform strip from allogeneic sclera was used and designed axial length (AL) shortening amount was around 2.0∼3.0 mm based on preoperative AL. The middle part of the strip was placed at the posterior pole of the eye. After few aqueous humors were released, the strip was tightened to contract posterior sclera and shorten AL. Clinical data were collected at pre-operation (op) and post-op follow-ups for 12 months. RESULTS: Twenty-four eyes were collected. The AL at pre-op, post-op 1-week, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month were 29.84 ± 1.24, 27.39 ± 1.32, 27.73 ± 1.23, 27.86 ± 1.26, and 27.91 ± 1.29 mm. There was no AL difference between post-op 6-month and 12-month (P = 0.242). The accumulated MF reattachment rate at post-op 1-week, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month were 8.3%, 16.7%, 50.5%, and 95.8%. The best-corrected visual acuity at post-op 6-month and 12-month were 0.71 ± 0.39 (Snellen acuity 20/80) and 0.64 ± 0.37 (Snellen acuity 20/63), improving significantly compared with pre-op (P = 0.006 and <0.001). CONCLUSION: The posterior scleral contraction was effective to treat MF. The AL stabilized after post-op 6-month and MF reattached gradually with improved visual acuity up to post-op 12-month.