Fructus Jujubae cooperated with water-expelling members in Shizao decoction alleviated intestinal injury and malignant ascites by modulating gut microbiota and metabolic homeostasis.

BACKGROUND: Shizao decoction (SZD) consisted of Euphorbia kansui (EK), Euphorbia pekinensis (EP), Daphne genkwa (DG), and Fructus Jujubae (FJ) is a classic Chinese herbal medicine formula for treating malignant ascites, which is closely related to the modulation of gut microbiota by our previous study. For water-expelling members (WEM) including EK, EP, and DG may have side effects on the intestine, FJ is employed for detoxification and effectivity enhancement of WEM. However, the underlying mechanism for the compatibility of WEM and FJ is still unknown. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of the compatibility of WEM with FJ in SZD on malignant ascites and elucidate the potential mechanism from the perspective of the modulation of gut microbiota and related metabolic function. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of main components was conducted for comprehensive characterization of SZD and WEM. The effect of WEM and SZD was compared on malignant ascites effusion (MAE) rats. The intestinal injury was evaluated by HE staining and oxidative damage. Ascites weight, urine amount, fecal water content, the expression of aquaporins, and cytokines in ascites (IL-6, VEGF, and TNF-α) were measured to estimate the water-expelling activity. The intestinal flora was detected by 16S rDNA sequencing and the content of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Pseudo-germ-free (PGF) and fecal bacteria transplantation animal experiments were subsequently employed to validate this finding. The fecal metabolomics and correlation analysis were finally conducted to explore the related metabolic changes. RESULTS: 51 and 33 components were identified in SZD and WEM, respectively. Compared to WEM alone, the compatibility with FJ remarkably reduced intestinal oxidative damage in MAE rats. Ascites was also relieved by downregulating the expression of AQP3 in the colon and decreasing the levels of IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF in ascites. The diversity of gut microbiota was reversed with an increase in Lactobacillus and Clostridia_UCG-014 while a decrease in Colidextribacter. Under the PGF condition, compatibility of WEM with FJ failed to reduce intestinal injury and alleviate MA significantly, but this effect was further enhanced after FMT. 23 potential fecal metabolites were finally identified. Correlation analysis further showed that Lactobacillus and Clostridia_UCG-014 were positively correlated with SCFAs and l-tryptophan. Colidextribacter was negatively correlated with thymidine but positively correlated with ursodeoxycholic acid and deoxycholic acid. CONCLUSION: FJ cooperated with WEM reduced intestinal injury and alleviated malignant ascites by modulating gut microbiota, short-chain fatty and tryptophan metabolism. These findings provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of FJ from SZD and the safe usage of SZD.

Geriatric nutritional risk index is associated with the occurrence of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with acute heart failure.

Background: During the acute heart failure (AHF), acute kidney injury (AKI) is highly prevalent in critically ill patients. The occurrence of the latter condition increases the risk of mortality in patients with acute heart failure. The current research on the relationship between nutritional risk and the occurrence of acute kidney injury in patients with acute heart failure is very limited. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV, version 2.1) database. We included adult patients with AHF who were admitted to the intensive care unit in the study. Results: A total of 1310 critically ill patients with acute heart failure were included. The AUC of geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) (0.694) is slightly superior to that of controlling nutritional status (CONUT) (0.656) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) (0.669). The Log-rank test revealed a higher risk of acute kidney injury in patients with high nutritional risk (p < 0.001). Multivariate COX regression analysis indicated that a high GNRI (adjusted HR 0.62, p < 0.001) was associated with a reduced risk of AKI during hospitalization in AHF patients. The final subgroup analysis demonstrated no significant interaction of GNRI in all subgroups except for diabetes subgroup and ventilation subgroup (P for interaction: 0.057-0.785). Conclusion: Our study findings suggest a correlation between GNRI and the occurrence of acute kidney injury in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure.

Full Spatial Characterization of Entangled Structured Photons.

Vector modes are fully polarized modes of light with spatially varying polarization distributions, and they have found widespread use in numerous applications such as microscopy, metrology, optical trapping, nanophotonics, and communications. The entanglement of such modes has attracted significant interest, and it has been shown to have tremendous potential in expanding existing applications and enabling new ones. However, due to the complex spatially varying polarization structure of entangled vector modes (EVMs), a complete entanglement characterization of these modes remains challenging and time consuming. Here, we have used a time-tagging event camera to demonstrate the ability to completely characterize the entanglement of EVMs. Leveraging the camera's capacity to provide independent measurements for each pixel, we simultaneously characterize the entanglement of approximately 2.6×10^{6} modes between a bipartite EVM through measuring only 16 observables in polarization. We reveal that EVMs can naturally generate various polarization-entangled Bell states. This achievement is an important milestone in high-dimensional entanglement characterization of structured light, and it could significantly impact the implementation of related quantum technologies. The potential applications of this technique are extensive, and it could pave the way for advancements in quantum communication, quantum imaging, and other areas where structured entangled photons play a crucial role.

Euphorbia factor L1 suppresses breast cancer liver metastasis via DDR1-mediated immune infiltration.

Euphorbia factor L1 (EFL1), a lathyrane-type diterpenoid from the medicinal herb Euphorbia lathyris L., has been documented to possess various pharmacologic actives. However, the function of EFL1 on breast cancer is not clear. In this study, we explored the effect and mechanism of EFL1 on breast cancer liver metastasis. Female BALB/c mice were subjected to breast cancer-surgical hepatic implantation (SHI) to establish breast cancer liver metastasis model in vivo. At 10 days post-surgery, mice were administrated with EFL1 once daily for a total of 2 weeks. Serum AST and ALT activities, abdominal circumference, peritoneal fluid, tumor weight and volume were determined to assess liver and mesenteric re-metastasis of breast cancer. H&E staining was used to observe morphology changes in tumor, liver and small intestine tissues. ELISA was applied to observe inflammatory levels. Tumor DDR1 expression and immune infiltration were determined using western blotting, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometer methods. Our results showed that EFL1 administration improved liver function (AST and ALT activities), ascites, liver metastasis and mesenteric re-metastasis in SHI mice. Also, SHI-induced inflammatory cell infiltration and IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α generation in ascites were decreased by EFL1 treatment. Mechanism study revealed that EFL1 intervention enhanced the ratios of CD4+ and CD8+ and CD49b+(NK) T lymphocytes and decreased Treg cells through downregulating DDR1 in the tumor of SHI mice. Furthermore, overexpression of DDR1 abolished the anti-liver metastasis effect and pro-immune infiltration action of EFL1 in SHI mice. Together, our findings suggested that EFL1 protects against breast cancer liver metastasis in vivo by targeting DDR1-mediated immune infiltration.

[Jujubae Fructus alleviates intestinal injury caused by toxic medicinals in Shizao Decoction based on correlation between intestinal flora and host metabolism].

Genkwa Fols, Kansui Radix, and Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix in Shizao Decoction(SZD) are toxic to intestinal tract. Jujubae Fructus in this prescription can alleviate the toxicity, but the mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the mechanism. To be specific, 40 normal Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were classified into the normal group, high-dose and low-dose SZD groups, and high-dose and low-dose SZD without Jujubae Fructus(SZD-JF) groups. The SZD groups were given(ig) SZD, while SZD-JF groups received the decoction without Jujubae Fructus. The variation of body weight and spleen index were recorded. The patho-logical changes of intestinal tissue were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining. The content of malondialdehyde(MDA) and glutathione(GSH) and activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) in intestinal tissue were measured to evaluate the intestinal injury. Fresh feces of rats were collected to detect intestinal flora structure by 16S ribosomal RNA gene(16S rDNA) sequencing technology. The content of fecal short chain fatty acids and fecal metabolites was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer(GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer ultra-fast liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer(UFLC-Q-TOF-MS), separately. Spearman's correlation analysis was employed to analyze the differential bacteria genera and differential metabolites. RESULTS:: showed that high-dose and low-dose SZD-JF groups had high content of MDA in intestinal tissue, low GSH content and SOD activity, short intestinal villi(P<0.05), low diversity and abundance of intestinal flora, variation in the intestinal flora structure, and low content of short chain fatty acids(P<0.05) compared with the normal group. Compared with high-dose and low-dose SZD-JF groups, high-dose and low-dose SZD groups displayed low content of MDA in intestinal tissue, high GSH content and SOD activity, recovery of the length of intestinal villi, increased abundance and diversity of intestinal flora, alleviation of dysbacteria, and recovery of the content of short chain fatty acids(P<0.05). According to the variation of intestinal flora and fecal metabolites after the addition of Jujubae Fructus, 6 differential bacterial genera(Lactobacillus, Butyricimonas, Clostridia＿UCG-014, Prevotella, Escherichia-Shigella, Alistipes),4 differential short chain fatty acids(such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid) and 18 differential metabolites(such as urolithin A, lithocholic acid, and creatinine) were screened out. Beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus were in positive correlation with butyric acid and urolithin A(P<0.05). The pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia-Shigella were in negative correlation with propionic acid and urolithin A(P<0.05). In summary, SZD-JF caused obvious intestinal injury to normal rats, which could lead to intestinal flora disorder. The addition of Jujubae Fructus can alleviate the disorder and relieve the injury by regulating intestinal flora and the metabolites. This study discusses the effect of Jujubae Fructus in relieving the intestinal injury caused by SZD and the mechanism from the perspective of intestinal flora-host metabolism, which is expected to serve as a reference for clinical application of this prescription.

Porcine cardiac blood - Salvia miltiorrhiza root alleviates cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by inhibiting oxidative stress induced apoptosis through PI3K/AKT/Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. mixed with porcine cardiac blood (PCB-DS) is mainly employed for the treatment of brain ischemia-induced mental disturbances, palpitations and phlegm confusion based on the traditional principle of Menghe medical sect. PCB is the guide to DS and enhances the effect of DS. However, the potential mechanism of PCB-DS preventing cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI) from the perspective of oxidative stress induced cell apoptosis remains unknown. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the pharmacological activity and molecular mechanism of PCB-DS against CIRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: DS samples processed with different methods were prepared and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was employed for qualitative analysis of the respective processing product. The middle cerebral artery occlusion reperfusion model was then established to investigate the pharmacological activities of PCB-DS. Pathological changes in the rat brain were observed by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC), hematoxylin-eosin, and TUNEL staining. The levels of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α were detected by ELISA to evaluate the inflammatory damage. Metabolomics of cerebrospinal fluid was further used to explore the potential mechanism of PCB-DS in preventing CIRI. Based on this, the levels of oxidative stress-related lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined. The protein levels of PI3K, AKT, Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, and cleaved-caspase-9 proteins of the cerebral infarct zone were finally measured by western blotting. RESULTS: Forty-seven components were identified in four processing products. Compared to DS, the content of total aqueous components in PCB-DS was significantly increased including salvianolic acid B isomer, salvianolic acid D, salvianolic acid F, and salvianolic acid H/I/J. Among the DS, DS processed with wine, DS processed with pig blood, and DS processed with porcine cardiac blood, PCB-DS best alleviated the CIRI through the neurological score, brain infarct volume, brain histopathology and the levels of inflammatory factors in the brain. Twenty-five significant metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid were screened out between the sham and I/R groups. They were mainly involved in the beta-alanine metabolism, histidine metabolism, and lysine degradation, which indicated that PCB-DS may inhibit oxidative stress-induced apoptosis to achieve treating ischemic stroke. The results of biomedical examination showed that PCB-DS could alleviate oxidative damage, significantly downregulate the expression of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9, and upregulate the expression of p-PI3K, p-AKT, and Bcl-2. CONCLUSION: In summary, this study demonstrated that PCB-DS alleviated CIRI and the molecular mechanism may be related to inhibiting the oxidative stress induced apoptosis through PI3K/AKT/Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathway.

Manipulating the symmetry of transverse momentum entangled biphoton states.

Bell states are a fundamental resource in photonic quantum information processing. These states have been generated successfully in many photonic degrees of freedom. Their manipulation, however, in the momentum space remains challenging. Here, we present a scheme for engineering the symmetry of two-photon states entangled in the transverse momentum degree of freedom through the use of a spatially variable phase object. We demonstrate how a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer must be constructed to verify the symmetry in momentum entanglement via photon "bunching/anti-bunching" observation. We also show how this approach allows generating states that acquire an arbitrary phase under the exchange operation.

High-speed imaging of spatiotemporal correlations in Hong-Ou-Mandel interference.

The Hong-Ou-Mandel interference effect lies at the heart of many emerging quantum technologies whose performance can be significantly enhanced with increasing numbers of entangled modes one could measure and thus utilize. Photon pairs generated through the process of spontaneous parametric down conversion are known to be entangled in a vast number of modes in the various degrees of freedom (DOF) the photons possess such as time, energy, and momentum, etc. Due to limitations in detection technology and techniques, often only one such DOFs can be effectively measured at a time, resulting in much lost potential. Here, we experimentally demonstrate, with the aid of a time tagging camera, high speed measurement and characterization of two-photon interference. With a data acquisition time of only a few seconds, we observe a bi-photon interference and coalescence visibility of ∼64% with potentially up to ∼2 × 103 spatial modes. These results open up a route for practical applications of using the high dimensionality of spatiotemporal DOF in two-photon interference, and in particular, for quantum sensing and communication.

Development of QM/MM (ABEEM polarizable force field) method to simulate the excision reaction mechanism of damaged cytosine.

DNA damages are regarded as having harmful effects on cell. The base excision repair mechanism combats these effects by removing damaged bases. The deglycosylation mechanism of excising damaged bases by DNA glycosylase and the state of the leaving base have been controversial. The enzymatic reaction of DNA glycosylase to remove the damaged bases involves not only the formation and breaking of chemical bonds, but also complex polarization effect and charge transfer, which cannot be accurately simulated by the QM/MM method combined with the fixed charge force field. This work has developed the ABEEM fluctuating polarizable force field combining with the QM method, that is (QM/MM[ABEEM]), to accurately simulate the proton transfer, charge transfer and the charge distribution. The piecewise function is used as the valence-state electronegativity in the QM/MM (ABEEM) to realize the accurate fitting of the charge distribution in reaction. And the charge transfer is accurately simulated by the local charge conservation conditions. Four deglycosylation mechanisms including the monofunctional and difunctional mechanisms of four neutral and protonated cytosine derivatives are explored. It is confirmed that the monofunctional mechanism of Asp-activated nucleophile water is a better deglycosylation mechanism and the base is protonated before the reaction occurs. Protonization of the base reduced the activation energy by 10.00-17.00 kcal/mol. Asp provides the necessary charge for the reaction, and DNA glycosylase preferentially cleaves ɛC. This work provides a theoretical basis for the research of excising damaged bases by DNA glycosylase.

Association between frailty and cognitive function in older Chinese people: A moderated mediation of social relationships and depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: To date, few studies have focused on examining either the direct or indirect effect of physical frailty on cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate the moderating effects of social relationships, including their individual components in the role of depressive symptoms as a mediator between frailty and cognitive impairment. METHODS: This study included a total of 7525 Chinese older adults from the 2017-2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Mediation analyses and moderated mediation effect analysis fully adjusted for all potential confounding factors were conducted. RESULTS: Significant correlations were found between frailty, depression, social relationships, and cognitive function. Depression partially mediated the association of frailty with cognitive function [B = -0.198; 95 % confidence interval (CI): (-0.258, -0.143)]. Social relationships moderated the effect of frailty on cognitive function through both path b (depression-cognitive function) [B = 0.137; 95 % CI: (0.045, 0.230)], and path c' (frailty-cognitive function) [B = 0.870; 95 % CI: (0.562, 1.178)]. In addition, social activities and social networks moderated both the direct and indirect effect of the moderated mediation model. Social support only moderated the direct effect. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design of this study precludes any conclusion from the results as to the causality of cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Social relationships moderated both the direct and indirect effects of depressive symptoms on the association between frailty and cognitive impairment. The findings suggest that interventions, such as paying attention to the mental health of old people and improving the quality of social relationships, may help break the link between frailty and cognitive impairment.

The emerging role of furin in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases.

Furin is an important mammalian proprotein convertase that catalyzes the proteolytic maturation of a variety of prohormones and proproteins in the secretory pathway. In the brain, the substrates of furin include the proproteins of growth factors, receptors and enzymes. Emerging evidence, such as reduced FURIN mRNA expression in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients or schizophrenia patients, has implicated a crucial role of furin in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Currently, compared to cancer and infectious diseases, the aberrant expression of furin and its pharmaceutical potentials in neurological diseases remain poorly understood. In this article, we provide an overview on the physiological roles of furin and its substrates in the brain, summarize the deregulation of furin expression and its effects in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, and discuss the implications and current approaches that target furin for therapeutic interventions. This review may expedite future studies to clarify the molecular mechanisms of furin deregulation and involvement in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases, and to develop new diagnosis and treatment strategies for these diseases.

Identifying New Ligands for JNK3 by Fluorescence Thermal Shift Assays and Native Mass Spectrometry.

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are evolutionary highly conserved serine/threonine kinases. Numerous findings suggest that JNK3 is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, so the inhibition of JNK3 may be a potential therapeutic intervention. The identification of novel compounds with promising pharmacological properties still represents a challenge. Fluorescence thermal shift screening of a chemically diversified lead-like scaffold library of 2024 pure compounds led to the initial identification of seven JNK3 binding hits, which were classified into four scaffold groups according to their chemical structures. Native mass spectrometry validated the interaction of 4 out of the 7 hits with JNK3. Binding geometries and interactions of the top 2 hits were evaluated by docking into a JNK3 crystal structure. Hit 5 had a K d of 21 µM with JNK3 suggested scaffold 5-(phenylamino)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxamide as a novel and selective JNK3 binder.

Chiral fungicide penconazole: Absolute configuration, bioactivity, toxicity, and stereoselective degradation in apples.

Traditional evaluation of chiral pesticides can lead to inaccurate results, as their enantiomers may show different properties. Penconazole, a chiral triazole fungicide with two enantiomers, is widely applied to protect against phytopathogens. In this study, its absolute configuration, bioactivity, ecotoxicity, and stereoselective degradation were investigated at the enantiomeric level in detail. The absolute configuration of the two enantiomers (R-(+)-penconazole and S-(-)-penconazole) was first confirmed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and their enantioseparation method was developed and optimized using UPLC-MS/MS. S-(-)-penconazole showed high bioactivity, as its fungicidal activity against four target phytopathogens (Alternaria alternate f. sp. mali, Botryosphaeria berengeriana f. sp. piricola, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Fusarium oxysporum) was 1.8-4.4 times higher than that of R-(+)-penconazole. The results of an acute toxicity test showed that the LC50 values of S-(-)-penconazole against Daphnia magna were 32.5 times higher than those of R-(+)-penconazole at 24 h during the test period. Stereoselective degradation behaviors were found in nonbagging and bagging Fuji apples collected from three major apple-producing regions in China, with half-lives of 23.5-51.6 d (nonbagging treatment) and 23.0-57.5 d (bagging treatment) for R-(+)-penconazole and 41.1-60.9 d (nonbagging treatment) and 52.5-91.2 d (bagging treatment) for S-(+)-penconazole, respectively. This study provided new insights into the bioactivity, ecotoxicity, and stereoselective degradation of penconazole enantiomers. The above results also emphasized the importance of risk assessments of chiral pesticides at the enantiomeric level.

Multielement authentication of apples from the cold highlands in southwest China.

BACKGROUND: Half of all apple production worldwide comes from China. However, the geographic authentication of Chinese apples has not been well studied. We highlight the multi-element-based geographical discrimination of apples from the southwest cold highlands (SCH) of China. 565 samples from the SCH (138) and others (427) were obtained, and the content of fifteen elements were applied to construct models for discrimination. RESULTS: The SCH apples from 2017 to 2019 had higher concentrations of Mn, Zn, Cr, Cd, Se, Pb, and Fe, but lower concentrations of Na, B, Ni, and P. With sufficient training, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) discriminated the SCH, and the testing accuracy averaged 92.5% and 92.2%. Nonlinear discrimination models were more suitable than the linear models. Optimized random forest analysis was the model with the best fit, and with averaged training and testing it obtained a level of accuracy of 98.2% and 98.5%. CONCLUSION: The multielement-based discrimination of SCH apples could aid further studies of geographical origins. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Optimized Detection of High-Dimensional Entanglement.

Entanglement detection is one of the most conventional tasks in quantum information processing. While most experimental demonstrations of high-dimensional entanglement rely on fidelity-based witnesses, these are powerless to detect entanglement within a large class of entangled quantum states, the so-called unfaithful states. In this Letter, we introduce a highly flexible automated method to construct optimal tests for entanglement detection given a bipartite target state of arbitrary dimension, faithful or unfaithful, and a set of local measurement operators. By restricting the number or complexity of the considered measurement settings, our method outputs the most convenient protocol which can be implemented using a wide range of experimental techniques such as photons, superconducting qudits, cold atoms, or trapped ions. With an experimental quantum optics setup that can prepare and measure arbitrary high-dimensional mixed states, we implement some three-setting protocols generated by our method. These protocols allow us to experimentally certify two- and three-unfaithful entanglement in four-dimensional photonic states, some of which contain well above 50% of noise.

Improving the efficiency of CRISPR-Cas12a-based genome editing with site-specific covalent Cas12a-crRNA conjugates.

The CRISPR-Cas12a system shows unique features compared with widely used Cas9, making it an attractive and potentially more precise alternative. However, the adoption of this system has been hindered by its relatively low editing efficiency. Guided by physical chemical principles, we covalently conjugated 5' terminal modified CRISPR RNA (crRNA) to a site-specifically modified Cas12a through biorthogonal chemical reaction. The genome editing efficiency of the resulting conjugated Cas12a complex (cCas12a) was substantially higher than that of the wild-type complex. We also demonstrated that cCas12a could be used for precise gene knockin and multiplex gene editing in a chimeric antigen receptor T cell preparation with efficiency much higher than that of the wild-type system. Overall, our findings indicate that covalently linking Cas nuclease and crRNA is an effective approach to improve the Cas12a-based genome editing system and could potentially provide an insight into engineering other Cas family members with low efficiency as well.

Pathways for Entanglement-Based Quantum Communication in the Face of High Noise.

Entanglement-based quantum communication offers an increased level of security in practical secret shared key distribution. One of the fundamental principles enabling this security-the fact that interfering with one photon will destroy entanglement and thus be detectable-is also the greatest obstacle. Random encounters of traveling photons, losses, and technical imperfections make noise an inevitable part of any quantum communication scheme, severely limiting distance, key rate, and environmental conditions in which quantum key distribution can be employed. Using photons entangled in their spatial degree of freedom, we show that the increased noise resistance of high-dimensional entanglement can indeed be harnessed for practical key distribution schemes. We perform quantum key distribution in eight entangled paths at various levels of environmental noise and show key rates that, even after error correction and privacy amplification, still exceed 1 bit per photon pair and furthermore certify a secure key at noise levels that would prohibit comparable qubit based schemes from working.

Detachable string magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy for detecting high-risk varices in compensated advanced chronic liver disease (CHESS1801): A prospective multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal varices is a serious complication of compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD). Primary prophylaxis to reduce the risk of variceal hemorrhage is recommended if high-risk varices (HRV) are detected. We performed this study to compare the accuracy, patients' satisfaction and safety of detection of HRV by detachable string magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (DS-MCCE) with esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) as the reference. METHODS: We prospectively recruited participants with cACLD from 12 university hospitals (11 in China and one in the United Kingdom) between November 2018 and December 2019 (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03749954). All participants underwent DS-MCCE, followed by EGD within a week in a blinded fashion. Following endoscopy, and on the same day, participants were asked to fill in a satisfaction questionnaire regarding their experience. FINDINGS: A total of 105 eligible participants were enrolled. With EGD as the reference standard, the concordance index, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of DS-MCCE in diagnosis of HRV were 0•90 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0•83-0•95), 92% (95% CI: 78-98%), 88% (95% CI: 78-95%), 80% (95% CI: 70-92%), 95% (95% CI: 90-100%), 7•91 (95% CI: 4•10-15•30), and 0•09 (95% CI: 0•03-0•30), respectively. The kappa score of 0•78 (95% CI: 0•65-0•90) suggested substantial agreement between DS-MCCE and EGD. Moreover, in participants undergoing EGD without sedation, the satisfaction of DS-MCCE was significantly better than that of EGD (p < 0•0001, d = 1•15 [95%CI: 0•88-1•42]). All participants confirmed the excretion of the capsule, and no adverse events occurred. INTERPRETATION: DS-MCCE is an accurate alternative to EGD for detecting HRV in cACLD, which is safe and associated with better satisfaction. FUNDING: A full list of funding can be found in the Funding Support section.

Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 regulates the Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier by promoting the expression of tight junction proteins.

Sertoli cells (SCs) are an important component of spermatogenic tubules. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) is composed of SCs and is necessary for the development and maturity of spermatogenic cells. When the tight connection between SCs is destroyed, the BTB loses its integrity, leading to impaired spermatogenesis. Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 (PTBP1) is a key protein involved in precursor mRNA splicing and selective splicing events, which directly affects tumor cell proliferation and influences the formation of the blood-tumor barrier by regulating the expression levels of tight junction-associated proteins. The present study revealed that the expression of PTBP1 was downregulated following a decrease in spermatogenic activity at the phase of senescence. TM4 cells were transfected with lentivirus-short hairpinRNA-PTBP1 to evaluate the effect of silencing PTBP1 on the expression levels of tight junction proteins and the integrity of tight junctions between adjacent SCs. Western blot analysis indicated that the expression levels of Zonula occludens 1, occludin and claudin-5 decreased significantly due to silencing of PTBP1 in SCs. Through detecting trans-epithelial electrical resistance, it was revealed that silencing of PTBP1 broke the integrity of tight junctions between adjacent SCs. The results suggested that PTBP1 maintained the integrity of the BTB by promoting the expression levels of tight junction-associated proteins and revealed the possible mechanism of PTBP1 in regulating spermatogenesis.

Effects of silencing epididymal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression on hyaluronidase (HYD) activity in arsenic poisoning rats through downregulating VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2).

RNA interference (RNAi) was used to investigate the role of epididymal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression on sperm hyaluronidase (HYD) in a rat model of arsenic poisoning and to identify a new gene therapy target for male infertility caused by arsenic poisoning. The Rat model of chronic arsenic poisoning was established. And we found that positive expression of VEGF and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) was observed by Immunohistochemical staining in the epididymal tissues of arsenic-exposed rats. Subsequently, VEGF-shRNA-1, VEGF-shRNA-2 and VEGF shRNA-3 expression vectors containing epididymal VEGF-shRNA lentivirus were constructed and injected into the bilateral epididymis of each group of rats (Control group, NC-shRNA negative infection group, VEGF-shRNA-1 group, VEGF-shRNA-2 group, VEGF-shRNA-3 group) (n = 10 per group). Compared with the negative infection group and the normal control group, the expression of VEGF and VEGFR2 mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased following epididymal infection. In addition, the HYD activity was all significantly lower than that in the normal control group and the negative infection group. Taken together, epididymal VEGF gene silencing may inhibit the activity of sperm HYD through downregulating VEGFR2.