PABPC1 silencing inhibits pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and EMT, and induces apoptosis via PI3K/AKT pathway.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to manage owing to the challenges involved in its treatment and nursing. This study aimed to clarify the roles and mechanisms of action of Poly (A)-binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1) on pancreatic cancer. The expression of PABPC1 in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines was detected using RT-qPCR and western blotting. The effects of PABPC1 on proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in pancreatic cancer cells were further investigated using MTT assays, flow cytometry, and western blotting. The expression of PABPC1 was significantly upregulated in pancreatic cancer tissues and cells, whereas PABPC1 downregulation inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, decreased the expression of EMT-associated proteins, and exerted a regulatory effect by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In addition, the findings indicated that PABPC1 over-expression significantly promoted pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, inhibited apoptosis, decreased the expression of E-cadherin, enhanced N-cadherin expression, and activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. PABPC1 silencing significantly inhibited proliferation and EMT and induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. These findings provide novel insights into the role of PABPC1 in the development of pancreatic cancer. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10616-024-00626-1.

The effect of student-perceived teacher support on math anxiety: chain mediation of teacher-student relationship and math self-efficacy.

Introduction: This study investigates the mechanisms linking students' perceived teacher support with math anxiety, focusing on the mediating roles of the teacher-student relationship and mathematics self-efficacy. Methods: The research was conducted with 401 fifth-grade students in China, utilizing scales for Students' Perceived Teacher Support, Teacher-Student Relationship, Math Self-Efficacy, and Math Anxiety. Results: Findings revealed that student-perceived math teacher support, teacher-student relationship, and math self-efficacy were all significantly negatively correlated with math anxiety. It was notably found that student-perceived math teacher support influenced math anxiety through the chain mediation of teacher-student relationship and math self-efficacy. Additionally, the effect of students' perceived emotional support from math teachers on math anxiety, mediated by teacher-student relationship intimacy, was significant only among male students. Discussion: These results underscore the importance of fostering positive teacher-student interactions and enhancing self-efficacy to reduce math anxiety among primary school students. The gender-specific findings regarding emotional support and relationship intimacy highlight the need for tailored strategies in addressing math anxiety.

Establishment of a two-hit mouse model of environmental factor induced autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of developmental diseases characterized by social dysfunction and repetitive stereotype behaviors. Besides genetic mutations, environmental factors play important roles in the development of ASD. Valproic acid (VPA) is widely used for modeling environmental factor induced ASD in rodents. However, traditional VPA modeling is low-in-efficiency and the phenotypes often vary among different batches of experiments. To optimize this ASD-modeling method, we tested "two-hit" hypothesis by single or double exposure of VPA and poly:IC at the critical time points of embryonic and postnatal stage. The autistic-like behaviors of mice treated with two-hit schemes (embryonic VPA plus postnatal poly:IC, embryonic poly:IC plus postnatal VPA, embryonic VPA plus poly: IC, or postnatal VPA plus poly:IC) were compared with mice treated with traditional VPA protocol. The results showed that all single-hit and two-hit schemes produced core ASD phenotypes as VPA single treatment did. Only one group, namely, mice double-hit by VPA and poly:IC simultaneously at E12.5 showed severe impairment of social preference, social interaction and ultrasonic communication, as well as significant increase of grooming activity and anxiety-like behaviors, in comparation with mice treated with the traditional VPA protocol. These data demonstrated that embryonic two-hit of VPA and poly:IC is more efficient in producing ASD phenotypes in mice than the single-hit of VPA, indicating this two-hit scheme could be utilized for modeling environmental factors induced ASD.

Enhancing the catalytic H2 production performance of magnetic Ni-Fe2O3-C catalyst in biomass steam gasification using electromagnetic induction heating.

In this study, a novel magnetic Ni-Fe2O3-C catalyst combined with electromagnetic induction heating in biomass steam gasification was proposed to enhance H2 production. Better catalytic performance for H2 production was observed with the Ni-Fe2O3-C catalyst under induction heating, resulting in an increase in H2 yield from 735.1 to 2271.2 mL/g-biomass (a 209.1 % enhancement). SEM, TGA and XRD analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in coking deposition, caking, and particle agglomeration of the Ni-Fe2O3-C catalyst under induction heating, while maintaining more active sites. Importantly, the benefits of induction heating were also applicable to different magnetic catalysts like Ni-Al2O3-C, Ni-ZrO2-C, and Ni-MgO-C. Experimental results revealed a logarithmic correlation between the increase in H2 yields due to induction heating and the magnetic saturation (Ms) of the catalysts. The Ni-Fe2O3-C catalyst, with a high Ms of 50.9 emu/g, showed the highest catalytic activity for H2 production under induction heating in this study.

Effectiveness of physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises on three-dimensional spinal deformities in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises (PSSE) on coronal, horizontal, and sagittal deformities of the spine in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) as well as how curve severity, intervention duration, and intervention type could modify these effects. DATA SOURCES: Data sources included the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases, searched from their inception to September 5, 2023. STUDY SELECTION: Clinical controlled trials reporting the effects of PSSE on the Cobb angle, angle of trunk rotation (ATR), thoracic kyphosis (TK), or lumbar lordosis (LL) in AIS patients aged 10 to 18 years. The experimental groups received PSSE; the control groups received standard care (observation or bracing) or conventional exercise such as core stabilization exercise, pilates, PNF, and other non-specific exercise. DATA EXTRACTION: Two researchers independently extracted key information from eligible studies. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0 risk of bias assessment and the JBI Center for Evidence-Based Health Care (2016) of quasi-experimental research authenticity assessment tool. The level and certainty of evidence was rated according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The protocol for this study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023404996). DATA SYNTHESIS: Twelve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and five non-RCTs (NRCTs) were meta-analyzed separately. The results indicated that compared with other non-surgical management, PSSE significantly improved the Cobb angle, ATR, and TK, whereas the LL improvement was not statistically significant. Additionally, the efficacy of PSSE on Cobb angle was not significant in patients with curve severity ≥30° compared with controls. Nevertheless, the pooled effect of PSSE on Cobb angle was not significantly modified by intervention duration and intervention type, and on ATR was not significantly modified by intervention duration. The overall quality of evidence according to GRADE was moderate to low for RCT and very low for NRCT. CONCLUSIONS: PSSE exhibited positive benefits on the Cobb angle, ATR, and TK in patients with AIS compared to other non-surgical therapies. In addition, the effectiveness of PSSE may be independent of intervention duration and intervention type, but may be influenced by the initial Cobb angle. However, more RCTs are needed in the future to validate the efficacy of PSSE in moderate AIS with a mean Cobb ≥30°. Current evidence is limited by inconsistent control group interventions and small sample size of the studies.

Metabolic engineering of Aspergillus niger for accelerated malic acid biosynthesis by improving NADPH availability.

Microbial production of L-malic acid from renewable carbon sources has attracted extensive attention. The reduced cofactor NADPH plays a key role in biotransformation because it participates in both biosynthetic reactions and cellular stress responses. In this study, NADPH or its precursors nicotinamide and nicotinic acid were added to the fermentation medium of Aspergillus niger RG0095, which significantly increased the yield of malic acid by 11%. To further improve the titer and productivity of L-malic acid, we increased the cytoplasmic NADPH levels of A. niger by upregulating the NAD kinases Utr1p and Yef1p. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that overexpression of Utr1p and Yef1p reduced oxidative stress, while also providing more NADPH to catalyze the conversion of glucose into malic acid. Notably, the strain overexpressing Utr1p reached a malate titer of 110.72 ± 1.91 g L-1 after 108 h, corresponding to a productivity of 1.03 ± 0.02 g L-1 h-1. Thus, the titer and productivity of malate were increased by 24.5% and 44.7%, respectively. The strategies developed in this study may also be useful for the metabolic engineering of fungi to produce other industrially relevant bulk chemicals.

Pretreatment Absolute Immature Platelet Count is a Promising Predictor of Response to Short-Term Dexamethasone Monotherapy or Combination Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Adult Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia.

Reliable indicators that can predict drug responsiveness in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients are urgent. We aimed to establish a reference interval of percentage of immature platelet fraction (IPF%) and absolute immature platelet count (A-IPC), and assess their efficacy in discriminating ITP patients from controls, especially their predictive value for responsiveness to drug treatment. We retrospectively studied 72 treatment-naive adult patients with ITP who received Dexamethasone monotherapy or combination therapy. Baseline (pretreatment) information was collected from medical records. Reference intervals for A-IPC and IPF% were established based on controls and their effectiveness in discriminating ITP patients from controls was assessed. Predictive value of pretreatment IPF% and A-IPC at four co-primary endpoints of treatment response in patients were investigated. The 95% reference intervals for A-IPC and IPF% were (2.7-15.6) × 109/L and 1.2%-7.3%, respectively. Both A-IPC and IPF% had excellent discrimination ability for ITP patients from controls. It showed highly statistically significant differences in pretreatment A-IPC for predicting treatment response at day 7 between responders and non-responders, but not at days 14, 21 and 28. Pretreatment A-IPC had the higher area under the ROC curve with a cut-off of 0.86 than that of IPF% with a cut-off of 14.5% in predicting the treatment response in ITP patients at day 7. Pretreatment A-IPC exhibited acceptable predictive power and could be a promising predictor of response to short-term Dexamethasone monotherapy or combination therapy at day 7 in ITP patients.

Tuning vibration-induced emission through macrocyclization and catenation.

In order to investigate the effect of macrocyclization and catenation on the regulation of vibration-induced emission (VIE), the typical VIE luminogen 9,14-diphenyl-9,14-dihydrodibenzo[a, c]phenazine (DPAC) was introduced into the skeleton of a macrocycle and corresponding [2]catenane to evaluate their dynamic relaxation processes. As investigated in detail by femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectra, the resultant VIE systems revealed precisely tunable emissions upon changing the solvent viscosity, highlighting the key effect of the formation of [2]catenane. Notably, the introduction of an additional pillar[5]arene macrocycle featuring unique planar chirality endows the resultant chiral VIE-active [2]catenane with attractive circularly polarized luminescence in different states. This work not only develops a new strategy for the design of new luminescent systems with tunable vibration induced emission, but also provides a promising platform for the construction of smart chiral luminescent materials for practical applications.

Extracellular volume fraction derived from dual-energy CT: a potential predictor for acute pancreatitis after pancreatoduodenectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the value of extracellular volume (ECV) fraction and fat fraction (FF) derived from dual- energy CT (DECT) for predicting postpancreatectomy acute pancreatitis (PPAP) after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). METHODS: This retrospective study included patients who underwent DECT and PD between April 2022 and September 2022. PPAP was determined according to the International Study Group for Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) definition. Iodine concentration (IC) and FF of the pancreatic parenchyma were measured on preoperative DECT. The ECV fraction was calculated from iodine map images of the equilibrium phase. The independent predictors for PPAP were assessed by univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients were retrospectively enrolled (median age, 60 years; interquartile range, 55-70 years; 47 men). Of these, nine patients (13.0%) developed PPAP. These patients had lower portal venous phase IC, equilibrium phase IC, FF, and ECV fraction, and higher pancreatic parenchymal-to-portal venous phase IC ratio and pancreatic parenchymal-to-equilibrium phase IC ratio, compared with patients without PPAP. After multivariable analysis, ECV fraction was independently associated with PPAP (odd ratio [OR], 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79, 0.96; p < 0.001), with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.839 (sensitivity 100.0%, specificity 58.3%). CONCLUSIONS: A lower ECV fraction is independently associated with the occurrence of PPAP after PD. ECV fraction may serve as a potential predictor for PPAP after PD. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: DECT-derived ECV fraction of pancreatic parenchyma is a promising biomarker for surgeons to preoperatively identify patients with higher risk for postpancreatectomy acute pancreatitis after PD and offer selective perioperative management. KEY POINTS: PPAP is a complication of pancreatic surgery, early identification of higher-risk patients allows for risk mitigation. Lower DECT-derived ECV fraction was independently associated with the occurrence of PPAP after PD. DECT aids in preoperative PAPP risk stratification, allowing for appropriate treatment to minimize complications.

A Synergistic Chemoimmunotherapy System Leveraging PD-L1 Blocking and Bioorthogonal Prodrug Activation.

Novel strategies to facilitate tumor-specific drug delivery and restore immune attacks remain challenging in overcoming the current limitations of chemoimmunotherapy. An antitumor chemoimmunotherapy system comprising bioorthogonal reaction-ready group tetrazine (TZ) modified with an anti-PD-L1 antibody (αPD-L1TZ) and TZ-activatable prodrug vinyl ether-doxorubicin (DOX-VE) for self-reinforced anti-tumor chemoimmunotherapy is proposed. The αPD-L1TZ effectively disrupts the PD-L1/PD-1 interaction and activates the DOX prodrug in situ through the bioorthogonal click reaction of TZ and VE. Conversely, the activated DOX upregulates PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells, facilitating tumor accumulation of αPD-L1TZ and enhancing DOX-VE activation. Furthermore, the activated DOX-induced immunogenic cell death of tumor cells, substantially improving the response efficiency of αPD-L1 in an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. Thus, PD-L1 blocking and bioorthogonal in situ prodrug activation synergistically enhance the antitumor efficacy of the chemoimmunotherapy system. Therefore, the system significantly enhances αPD-L1 tumor accumulation and prodrug activation and induces a robust immunological memory effect to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis. Thus, a feasible chemoimmunotherapy combination regimen is presented.

A study on the treatment effects of Crataegus pinnatifida polysaccharide on non-alcoholic fatty liver in mice by modulating gut microbiota.

The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effect of Crataegus pinnatifida polysaccharide (CPP) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in mice. The findings demonstrated that CPP improved free fatty acid (FFA)-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells and effectively reduced liver steatosis and epididymal fat weight in NAFLD mice, as well as decreased serum levels of TG, TC, AST, ALT, and LDL-C. Furthermore, CPP exhibited inhibitory effects on the expression of fatty acid synthesis genes FASN and ACC while activating the expression of fatty acid oxidation genes CPT1A and PPARα. Additionally, CPP reversed disturbances in intestinal microbiota composition caused by HFD consumption. CPP decreased the firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, increased Akkermansia abundance, and elevated levels of total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) content specifically butyric acid and acetic acid. Our results concluded that CPP may intervene in the development of NAFLD by regulating of intes-tinal microbiota imbalance and SCFAs production. Our study highlights that CPP has a potential to modulate lipid-related pathways via alterations to gut microbiome composition thereby ex-erting inhibitory effects on obesity and NAFLD development.

Identification of a circulating three-miRNA panel for the diagnosis of primary open angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE: Conventional diagnosis of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) needs a combination of ophthalmic examinations. An efficient assay is urgently needed for a timely POAG diagnosis. We aim to explore differential expressions of circulating microRNAs (miRNA) and provide novel miRNA biomarkers for POAG diagnosis. METHODS: A total of 180 POAG patients and 210 age-related cataract (ARC) patients were enrolled. We collected aqueous humor (AH) and plasma samples from the recruited patients. The expressions of candidate miRNAs were measured using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The diagnostic ability of candidate miRNAs was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: The expressions of miR-21-5p and miR-29b-3p were downregulated significantly in AH and plasma of POAG and miR-24-3p expression was significantly increased in AH and plasma of POAG, comparing with those of ARC. A three-miRNA panel was constructed by a binary logistic regression. And the panel could differentiate between POAG and ARC with an area under the curve of 0.8867 (sensitivity = 78.0%, specificity = 83.3%) in aqueous humor and 0.7547 (sensitivity = 73.8%, specificity = 81.2%) in plasma. Next, we verified the three-miRNA panel working as a potential diagnostic biomarker stable and reliable. At last, we identified related function and regulation pathways in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, we built and identified a circulating three-miRNA panel as a potential diagnostic biomarker for POAG. It may be developed into an efficient assay and help improve the POAG diagnosis in the future.

A Novel Rat Model of Venous Hypertensive Myelopathy Produced by Arteriovenous Bypass Plus Venous Stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Venous hypertensive myelopathy (VHM), mainly induced by the spinal dural arteriovenous fistula, is a congestive spinal cord injury that currently has no appropriate animal model available in preclinical research. METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats (280-320 g) were used. The rats were divided into 3 groups: (1) Group 1, which underwent renal artery-dorsal spinal venous bypass (AVB group); (2) Group 2, which underwent renal artery-dorsal spinal venous bypass and drainage vein stenosis (AVB/VS group); and (3) Control group, with T13 dorsal vein ligation. The success of the model was assessed using Doppler ultrasound and 7.0-T magnetic resonance imaging. Transmission electron microscopy, histochemistry, proteomics, and western blot analysis were used to evaluate ultrastructural, pathological, and molecular features in the spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). RESULTS: The success rate of the arteriovenous bypass was 100% at 5 days and 83% at 2 weeks. The locomotor assessment showed decreased lower extremity strength in the AVB/VS group (P = .0067), whereas unremarkable changes were found in the AVB and Control groups. Histochemical staining suggested a 2-fold expansion of the dorsal spinal vein in the AVB/VS group, which was lower than that in the AVB group (P < .05); however, the former displayed greater myelin and neuronal damage (P < .05) and slight dilatation of the central canal (P > .05). Proteomics analysis revealed that the complement and coagulation cascade pathways were upregulated in the CSF of AVB/VS rats, whereas the C3 level was elevated both in the CSF and bilateral spinal cord. Furthermore, overexpression of C3, ITGB2, and CD9 in the spinal cord was confirmed by immunoblotting. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the AVB/VS model can effectively mimic the clinical and molecular characteristics of VHM. Furthermore, they suggest that impaired deep intramedullary venous drainage is the key reason for the VHM.

Characteristics of soil nitrogen and phosphorus fractions and microbial traits with increasing stand age in two-layered Cunninghumia lanceolata + Phoebe bournei plantations.

Soil nitrogen and phosphorus are two key elements limiting tree growth in subtropical areas. Understanding the regulation of soil microorganisms on nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition is beneficial to reveal maintenance mechanism of soil fertility in plantations. We analyzed the characteristics of soil nitrogen and phosphorus fractions, soil microbial community composition and function, and their relationship across three stands of two-layered Cunninghumia lanceolata + Phoebe bournei with different ages (4, 7 and 11 a) and the pure C. lanceolata plantation. The results showed that the contents of most soil phosphorus fractions increased with increasing two-layered stand age. The increase in active phosphorus fractions with increasing stand age was dominated by the inorganic phosphorus (9.9%-159.0%), while the stable phosphorus was dominated by the organic phosphorus (7.1%-328.4%). The content of soil inorganic and organic nitrogen also increased with increasing two-layered stand age, with NH4+-N and acid hydrolyzed ammonium N contents showing the strongest enhancement, by 152.9% and 80.2%, respectively. With the increase of stand age, the composition and functional groups of bacterial and fungal communities were significantly different, and the relative abundance of some dominant microbial genera (such as Acidothermus, Saitozyma and Mortierella) increased. The relative abundance of phosphorus solubilization and mineralization function genes, nitrogen nitrification function and aerobic ammonia oxidation function genes tended to increase. The functional taxa of fungi explained 48.9% variation of different phosphorus fractions. The conversion of pure plantations to two-layered mixed plantation affected soil phosphorus fractions transformation via changing the functional groups of saprophytes (litter saprophytes and soil saprophytes). Changes in fungal community composition explained 45.0% variation of different nitrogen fractions. Some key genera (e.g., Saitozyma and Mortierella) play a key role in promoting soil nitrogen transformation and accumulation. Therefore, the conversion of pure C. lanceolata plantation to two-layered C. lanceolata + P. bournei plantation was conducive to improving soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Bacteria and fungi played important roles in the transformation process of soil nitrogen and phosphorus forms, with greater contribution of soil fungi.

Disinfection and hand hygiene knowledge, attitude, and practices among childcare facilities staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Anhui, China: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding disinfection and hand hygiene, along with associated influencing factors among childcare facilities staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Anhui, and to provide information for developing disinfection and hand hygiene strategies for childcare facilities. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among Anhui Province residents in China in September 2020. In this study, 60 childcare facilities in two cities of Anhui Province were selected using the convenient sampling method for questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed through a web-based platform. The disinfection and hand hygiene KAP scores among childcare facilities staff were calculated, and their influencing factors were analyzed. The accuracy rates of knowledge, attitude, and practice of behavior were calculated and analyzed. Results: A total of 1,029 participants were included in the study. The disinfection and hand hygiene knowledge, attitude and practice ranged from approximately 5 to 23, 1 to 5, 3 to 13, respectively. The score of urban areas was higher than that of rural areas. Higher education levels and more years of working were associated with higher scores. Additionally, staff who received training or supervision had higher scores than those without. The categories with the lowest knowledge accuracy rate (46.3%), lowest attitude accuracy rate (4.2%), and "always" practice rate (5.3%) among childcare facility staff were all related to the question categories concerning the appropriate range of disinfectants for use. The accuracy rates of hand hygiene knowledge and attitude among the childcare facility staff were high (83.7%-99.6%), but the "always" practice rate was in the middle range (63.0%). Conclusion: The disinfection and hand hygiene knowledge among childcare facilities staff was inadequate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Anhui. Continuous implementation of education and training, particularly in rural areas, is essential. Establishing a monitoring system to assess usage effectiveness and adverse reactions in China is critical. Interventions should focus on increasing compliance with hand hygiene practices. Further research should explore the training and intervention of disinfection and hand hygiene, the safety of disinfection measures, and more operational hand hygiene methods in childcare facilities.

Endothelial RSPO3 mediates pulmonary endothelial regeneration by LGR4-dependent activation of ß-catenin and ILK signaling pathways after inflammatory vascular injury.

Endothelial repair is essential for restoring tissue fluid homeostasis following lung injury. R-spondin3 (RSPO3), a secreted protein mainly produced by endothelial cells (ECs), has shown its protective effect on endothelium. However, the specific mechanisms remain unknown. To explore whether and how RSPO3 regulates endothelial regeneration after inflammatory vascular injury, the role of RSPO3 in sepsis-induced pulmonary endothelial injury was investigated in EC-specific RSPO3 knockdown, inducible EC-specific RSPO3 deletion mice, EC-specific RSPO3 overexpression mice, systemic RSPO3-administration mice, in isolated mouse lung vascular endothelial cells (MLVECs), and in plasma from septic patients. Here we show that plasma RSPO3 levels are decreased in septic patients and correlated with endothelial injury markers and PaO2/FiO2 index. Both pulmonary EC-specific knockdown of RSPO3 and inducible EC-specific RSPO3 deletion inhibit pulmonary ECs proliferation and exacerbate ECs injury, whereas intra-pulmonary EC-specific RSPO3 overexpression promotes endothelial recovery and attenuates ECs injury during endotoxemia. We show that RSPO3 mediates pulmonary endothelial regeneration by a LGR4-dependent manner. Except for ß-catenin, integrin-linked kinase (ILK)/Akt is also identified as a novel downstream effector of RSPO3/LGR4 signaling. These results conclude that EC-derived RSPO3 mediates pulmonary endothelial regeneration by LGR4-dependent activation of ß-catenin and ILK signaling pathways after inflammatory vascular injury.

Regulating the Topology of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Boosting Overall H2O2 Photogeneration.

Photocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions and water oxidation reactions are extremely promising green approaches for massive H2O2 production. Nonetheless, constructing effective photocatalysts for H2O2 generation is critical and still challenging. Since the network topology has significant impacts on the electronic properties of two dimensional (2D) polymers, herein, for the first time, we regulated the H2O2 photosynthetic activity of 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) by topology. Through designing the linking sites of the monomers, we synthesized a pair of novel COFs with similar chemical components on the backbones but distinct topologies. Without sacrificial agents, TBD-COF with cpt topology exhibited superior H2O2 photoproduction performance (6085 and 5448 µmol g-1 h-1 in O2 and air) than TBC-COF with hcb topology through the O2-O2⋅--H2O2, O2-O2⋅--O2 1-H2O2, and H2O-H2O2 three paths. Further experimental and theoretical investigations confirmed that during the H2O2 photosynthetic process, the charge carrier separation efficiency, O2⋅- generation and conversion, and the energy barrier of the rate determination steps in the three channels, related to the formation of *OOH, *O2 1, and *OH, can be well tuned by the topology of COFs. The current study enlightens the fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts for H2O2 production by topological structure modulation.

Ionic Covalent Organic Frameworks in Adsorption and Catalysis.

The ion extraction and electro/photo catalysis are promising methods to address environmental and energy issues. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of promising template to construct absorbents and catalysts because of their stable frameworks, high surface areas, controllable pore environments, and well-defined catalytic sites. Among them, ionic COFs as unique class of crystalline porous materials, with charges in the frameworks or along the pore walls, have shown different properties and resulting performance in these applications with those from charge-neutral COFs. In this review, current research progress based on the ionic COFs for ion extraction and energy conversion, including cationic/anionic materials and electro/photo catalysis is reviewed in terms of the synthesis strategy, modification methods, mechanisms of adsorption and catalysis, as well as applications. Finally, we demonstrated the current challenges and future development of ionic COFs in design strategies and applications.

Triterpene esters of cirsium setosum and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Two new triterpene fatty acid esters, 3ß-palmityloxy-12,27-cyclofriedoolean-14-en-11α-ol (1) and 3ß-palmityloxy-19α-hydroxyursane (2), together with 3ß-hydroxy-11-oxo-olean-12-enyl palmitate (3) were isolated from the potent anti-inflammatory active fraction of the petroleum ether-soluble part of Cirsium setosum ethanol extract. Compound 1 was found to be a rare 12,27-cyclopropane triterpenoid. Their structures were determined through spectral data analysis combined with literature reports. Furthermore, in vitro experiment, compounds 1-3 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages.