Oxymatrine and Gut Microbiota Modulation: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Bone Cancer Pain Management.

Chronic pain often coincides with changes in gut microbiota composition. Yet, the role of gut microbiota in bone cancer pain(BCP) is still not fully understood. This study investigated the role of gut microbiota in BCP and the effect of oxymatrine(OMT) on gut microbiota in BCP. A BCP mice model was developed to assess gut microbiota composition, serum and brain tissue butyric acid levels, and blood-brain barrier(BBB) permeability. Microbiota transplantation was used to restore gut microbiota, and the effect of Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) or sodium butyrate(NaB) supplementation on pain-related behaviors and BBB integrity was evaluated. The potential benefits of OMT on gut microbiota composition, PPARγ/COX-2 signaling, BBB integrity, and pain-related behaviors were also explored. BCP significantly altered gut microbiota composition and reduced serum and brain tissue butyric acid levels. Additionally, BBB permeability increased considerably in the BCP group compared to sham and control mice. Microbiota transplantation, as well as C. butyricum or NaB supplementation, ameliorated pain-related behaviors and BBB integrity; the supplementation of C. butyricum or NaB boosted brain tight junction protein expression, potentially through modulating PPARγ/COX-2 signaling. OMT influenced gut microbiota composition and regulated PPARγ/COX-2 signaling in the BCP model, improving pain-related behaviors and BBB integrity. BCP affects gut microbiota composition and butyric acid levels. Modulating gut microbiota and butyric acid levels through transplantation or supplementation may alleviate BCP. OMT shows potential as a treatment by altering gut microbiota composition and regulating PPARγ/COX-2 signaling. These findings provide new insights into BCP pathophysiology and possible treatments. PERSPECTIVE: This study explores the impact of gut microbiota on bone cancer pain (BCP). Microbiota transplantation alleviates BCP and enhances BBB integrity. Also, Clostridium butyricum or sodium butyrate improves BBB via PPARγ/COX-2. Oxymatrine (OMT), a BCP treatment, modifies microbiota by regulating PPARγ/COX-2, in turn improving pain and BBB integrity. These findings suggest a therapeutic approach, emphasizing clinical relevance in targeting gut microbiota and restoring butyric acid levels.

Fe-Mn binary oxides improve the methanogenic performance and reduce the environmental health risks associated with antibiotic resistance genes during anaerobic digestion.

Increasing evidence indicates that metal oxides can improve the methanogenic performance during anaerobic digestion (AD) of piggery wastewater. However, the impacts of composite metal oxides on the methanogenic performance and risk of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) transmission during AD are not fully understood. In this study, different concentrations of Fe-Mn binary oxides (FMBO at 0, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/L) were added to AD to explore the effects of FMBO on the process. The methane yield was 7825.1 mL under FMBO at 250 mg/L, 35.2% higher than that with FMBO at 0 mg/L. PICRUSt2 functional predictions showed that FMBO promoted the oxidation of acetate and propionate, and the production of methane from the substrate, as well as increasing the abundances of most methanogens and genes encoding related enzymes. Furthermore, under FMBO at 250 mg/L, the relative abundances of 14 ARGs (excluding tetC and sul2) and four mobile gene elements (MGEs) decreased by 24.7% and 55.8%, respectively. Most of the changes in the abundances of ARGs were explained by microorganisms, especially Bacteroidetes (51.20%), followed by MGEs (11.98%). Thus, the methanogenic performance of AD improved and the risk of horizontal ARG transfer decreased with FMBO, especially at 250 mg/L.

Role of exosomes in metastasis and therapeutic resistance in esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer (EC) has a high incidence and mortality rate and is emerging as one of the most common health problems globally. Owing to the lack of sensitive detection methods, uncontrollable rapid metastasis, and pervasive treatment resistance, EC is often diagnosed in advanced stages and is susceptible to local recurrence. Exosomes are important components of intercellular communication and the exosome-mediated crosstalk between the cancer and surrounding cells within the tumor microenvironment plays a crucial role in the metastasis, progression, and therapeutic resistance of EC. Considering the critical role of exosomes in tumor pathogenesis, this review focused on elucidating the impact of exosomes on EC metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Here, we summarized the relevant signaling pathways involved in these processes. In addition, we discussed the potential clinical applications of exosomes for the early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of EC.

Experimental Investigation on Combustion and NO x Formation Characteristics of Low-Ash-Melting-Point Coal in Cyclone Furnace.

Slag tapping cyclone furnace is suitable and promising for the utilization of low-ash-melting-point coals without worrying about the fouling and slagging problems, but its high NO x emission has limited its application. In this study, the temperature profiles, species concentration distributions, and slag tapping behavior of the cyclone barrel were explored on a self-built 100 kW cyclone furnace system. A reasonable slag capture ratio of 0.70 can be achieved for the cyclone barrel even under air-staged conditions. The coincidence of high temperature and high O2 concentration in the annular near-wall area of the cyclone barrel can lead to a large amount of NO x formation, while a NO x reduction area with high CO concentration is formed in the central and lower zones of the cyclone barrel due to strong swirling effect. The NO x emission of cyclone staged combustion is lower than that of laminar drop-tube staged combustion in either air-staged or nonstaged cases, which could be attributed to the swirling effect. The NO x reduction area can be expanded by decreasing the cyclone stoichiometric ratio (SR) or reducing the primary air rate (PAR). Compared with the limit effects on the reduction of NO x emission by overall-SR, NO x formation can be greatly dropped by 56% when the cyclone-SR decreases from 1.1 to 0.7. The swirling intensity in cyclone barrel increases from 1.23 to 12.81 as PAR reduces from 0.4 to 0.2, which results in a reduction of NO x formation at the outlet of the cyclone barrel by half. Besides, the O2 concentration in the annular near-wall region can be remarkably reduced by the decentralized secondary air supply, resulting in a 23% reduction in NO x formation in the cyclone barrel.

2,5-Diketopiperazines From a Sponge-Derived Fungus Aspergillus sclerotiorum.

Three new 2,5-diketopiperazines, speramide C (1), 3,21-epi-taichunamide F (2), and 2-epi-amoenamide C (3), along with four known analogs (4-7), were obtained from the sponge-derived fungus Aspergillus sclerotiorum GDST-2013-0501 collected from the South China Sea. The chemical structures of new compounds were elucidated by analyzing NMR and MS spectroscopy data, and their absolute configurations were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Compound 1 represents the first prenylated indole alkaloid with an ethylene oxide ring at the isopentenyl side chain. Compound 4 displayed DNA topoisomerase I inhibitory activity and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. The low cytotoxic or non-cytotoxic compound 4 displayed DNA topoisomerase I inhibitory activity, which could provide a starting point for the development of antitumor agents.

Engineering bacterial outer membrane vesicles as transdermal nanoplatforms for photo-TRAIL-programmed therapy against melanoma.

Melanoma is an aggressive cancer with rapid progression, relapse, and metastasis. Systemic therapies for melanoma exhibit limited anticancer potential and high toxicity. Here, we developed the outer membrane vesicles derived from transgenic Escherichia coli, modified with αvß3 integrin peptide targeting ligand and indocyanine green (named as I-P-OMVs), to induce the transdermal photo-TRAIL-programmed treatment in skin melanoma.-OMVs, which are outer membrane vesicles derived from transgenic Escherichia coli, modified with αvß3 integrin targeting ligand and indocyanine green (named as I-P-OMVs), to induce the transdermal photo-TRAIL-programmed treatment in skin melanoma. I-P-OMVs exhibited excellent stratum corneum penetration and specificity to melanoma. Upon near-infrared irritation, I-P-OMVs not only induced photothermal-photodynamic responses against primary melanoma spheroids but also activated TRAIL-induced apoptosis in disseminated tumor cells, resulting in a complete eradication of melanoma. I-P-OMVs are the first nanoplatforms to induce transdermal photo-TRAIL-programmed therapy in melanoma with enhanced antitumor performance and high safety, having great potential in cancer therapy.

Assisting Scalable Diagnosis Automatically via CT Images in the Combat against COVID-19

Introductory paragraphThe pandemic of coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused enormous loss of life globally. 1-3 Case identification is critical. The reference method is using real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) assays, with limitations that may curb its prompt large-scale application. COVID-19 manifests with chest computed tomography (CT) abnormalities, some even before the onset of symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that application of deep learning (DL) to the 3D CT images could help identify COVID-19 infections. Using the data from 920 COVID-19 and 1,073 non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, we developed a modified DenseNet-264 model, COVIDNet, to classify CT images to either class. When tested on an independent set of 233 COVID-19 and 289 non-COVID-19 patients. COVIDNet achieved an accuracy rate of 94.3% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98. Application of DL to CT images may improve both the efficiency and capacity of case detection and long-term surveillance.

Nitrate-promoted Selective C-H Fluorination of Benzamides and Benzeneacetamides.

A versatile and site-selective nitrate-promoted C-H bond fluorination using various weak coordinating amides as intrinsic directing groups was developed. Diverse tertiary and secondary amides underwent selective aromatic C-H bond fluorination, which features broad substrate scope, good regioselectivity, and mild conditions. Moreover, the late-stage C-H bond fluorination of the challenging benzeneacetamides via distal directing was reported for the first time.

Preparing rhamnogalacturonan II domains from seven plant pectins using Penicillium oxalicum degradation and their structural comparison.

Rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) is a complex pectin with diverse pharmaceutical activities. To assess how RG-II functions, the development of methods for its preparation is required. In this paper, pectin from Codonopsis pilosula was used to evaluate the ability of fungi and bacteria to degrade the pectin. We discovered that the fungus Penicillium oxalicum could efficiently lead to the recovery of RG-II domains by degrading the other pectic domains. Further, six pectin fractions from different medical plants were used as the sole carbon source for the growth of Penicillium oxalicum. The major polymeric products remaining after fungus degradation was RG-II domains. Depending of plant source, side chains A differed with respect to their proportion of L-Gal and L-Fuc and to their degree of methyletherification. Side chains B were made of 8-10 sugar residues and up to 2 acetyl groups. Overall, our method provides an effective way to prepare RG-II pectin domains for investigating their structure-function relationships.

Environment-friendly magnetic Fe-Ce-W catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction of NO x with NH3: influence of citric acid content on its activity-structure relationship.

The influence of the citric acid content on the structural and redox properties of a magnetic iron-cerium-tungsten mixed oxide catalyst prepared through a microwave-assisted citric acid sol-gel method is investigated via TG-DTG-DSC, XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, XPS, H2-TPR and NH3-TPD. Additionally, the NH3-SCR activity of the magnetic FeCeW-m (m = 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0) catalysts are also studied. The results indicate that an increase in citric acid content strengthens the sol-gel reaction between citric acid and metal ions and promotes the formation of the γ-Fe2O3 crystallite not α-Fe2O3. Meanwhile, it decreases the BET surface area and pore volume of the catalyst. Furthermore, the surface concentration of iron species on the catalyst is enhanced when the molar ratio of citric acid/(Fe + Ce + W) increases from 0.25 to 1.0, but its surface absorbed oxygen and total oxygen concentration decrease. The magnetic FeCeW-0.5 catalyst shows the best reducibility at temperatures below 790 °C. The increase in the citric acid content inhibits the formation of acid sites in the catalyst, thus the magnetic FeCeW-0.25 catalyst possesses the most Lewis acid sites and Brønsted acid sites among the catalysts. The enhancement in citric acid content is beneficial to improve the SCR reaction rates normalized by the surface area of the catalyst. This catalyst exhibits high anti-SO2 and H2O poisoning, and the molar ratio of citric acid/(Fe + Ce + W) affects the adsorption of NO x species on its surface.

Clinical Value of Presepsin in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Bacterial Infection in Cirrhosis / 现代检验医学杂志

Objective To observe and evaluate the clinical value of presepsin level in cirrhosis-associated bacterial infections. Methods 30 cirrhosis patients with bacterial infections were enrolled as study group.At admission,60 cirrhosis patients without bacterial infections were enrolled as control group.The difference of blood presepsin level between two groups were analyszed and compared the relationship between level of presepsin patients.The level of presepsin of survival and death group were compared and analyszed risk factors for the prognosis of bacterial infection by COX multi-factor analysis.The sensitivity and specificity were compared by PCT,CRP and presepsin detection.Results The blood presepsin level of study group was 1 002.3(575.1 2~149.5)pg/ml,the blood presepsin level of control group was 475.0(332.7~680.2)pg/ml. The presepsin of study group was significantly higher than control group,the difference was statistically significant(t=1.865,P<0.05).The presepsin level of death patients was significantly higher than survival patients(t=5.875,P<0.05). COX multi-factor analysis showed that presepsin levels were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of bacterial in-fection in patients with liver cirrhosis.There were statistically significant of sensitivity and specific degrees between presep-sin and CRP(P<0.05).Conclusion Presepsin level is a valuable new biomarker for defining severe infections in cirrhosis. The increase of Presepsin level can be used as a judgment is an important index indicator of liver cirrhosis bacterial infection. It was worthy of clinical attention.

A nanostructured hematite film prepared by a facile "top down" method for application in photoelectrochemistry.

To overcome tough conditions currently used for the preparation of nanostructured hematite films on a conducting substrate, a rational and easy method of chemical etching involving Fe3+ release and material growth in the presence of OH- has been developed. By carefully tuning the parameters influencing the morphologies of hematite, including the synthetic procedure, the concentration of etching solution, temperature, etching time and the morphology controlling surfactant, hematite films grown on iron foil with various morphologies (e.g. nanorod, nanowire, ultrathin nanoflake and cauliflower-like shape) have been achieved. In particular, it is found that F- is an effective surfactant to control the morphology as well as the crystallization process of hematite. Ultrathin nanoflakes having a minimized feature size exhibit the best photocurrent of 0.5 mA cm-2 (1.23 V vs. RHE, RHE is reversible hydrogen electrode) among the samples tested as a result of facilitated hole diffusion to the electrolyte and thus lowered carrier recombination. Compared with pristine hematite, a nearly tripled photocurrent is observed when H2O2 is added in the electrolyte as a hole scavenger, suggesting the presence of a charge injection barrier in the surface of samples. According to this, the strategy of Co2+ treatment is utilized and the improved photocurrent is seen, likely due to the improved water oxidation kinetics and surface state passivation. We believe that this convenient and economical method can be extended to the synthesis of other alkaline metal oxide nanomaterials as long as the redox potential of S2O82-/SO42- is higher than Mn+/M (M refers to metal).

[Effect of Chinese Herbal Extract HNA-1 on the Thymic Output Function in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Chronically Infected Chinese Rhesus Macaques].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Chinese herbal extract HuNan A-1 (HNA-1) on the thymic output function in Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) chronically infected rhesus macaques. METHODS: Eight Chinese rhesus macaques had been infected by SIVmac239 for 16 to 21 months, and then they were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group, 4 in each group. Monkeys in the treatment group were administered with HNA-1 by gastrogavage, once daily for 2 successive months, while those in the control group were administered with equal volume of normal saline by gastrogavage, once daily for 2 successive months. The general condition and body weight of monkeys were observed. Plasma viral loads were detected using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR assay. CD4 percentages and counts, as well as naive CD subsets were detected using flow cytometry. T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC) were detected using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR assay. The thymus tissue was pathologically observed using routine HE staining. The correlation between lesions of the thymus tissue, CD4 counts, naive CD counts, and TREC were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in body weight, viral loads, absolute CD ratios between the two groups after treatment (P > 0.05). The altered TREC multiple showed an obvious decreasing tendency in the control group, while it showed an increasing tendency in the treatment group (P < 0.05). In both groups, destroyed structures of the thymus tissue could be seen, filled with pink unstructured material. Increased connective tissues, lowered connective cell density, and confused arrangement could also be seen in the two groups, with no obvious difference. TREC contents were positively correlated with naive CD4 counts after removing extremum (r = 0.926, P = 0.001). Naive CD4 counts were positively correlated with CD4 counts (r = 0.961, P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: TREC content determination, as a marker of newly thymic emigrants, could be taken as a testing method for evaluating the thymic output function. Besides, HNA-1 treatment increased the thymic output significantly in SIV chronically infected monkeys. Correlation existed among TREC contents, naive CD4 counts, and pathologies of thymus tissues, especially in late infection stage.

Sectional anatomical analysis of auricular and middle ear malformation in patients with microtia / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the sectional anatomical features of auricular and middle ear malformation in patients with microtia so as to improve the clinical classification and the instruction of surgery.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From Jun. to Dec. 2009, 36 cases with microtia were selected in the center of auricular reconstruction in Plastic Surgery Hospital, including 22 cases of unilateral microtia and 14 cases of bilateral microtia. 22 patients with unilateral microtia were studied with the contralateral healthy ears as controls. Spiral CT was performed for high-resolution scan of the temporal bone. The coronal, sagittal and 3D reconstruction images were created with Mimic software. Several distances and degrees were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patients were classified by Max classification. The anteroposterior diameter and the vertical diameter of tympanic cavity were (7.75 +/- 1.92) mm and (14.66 +/- 4.75) mm for type I; (6.17 +/- 2.56) mm and(14.35 +/- 5.12) mm for type II; (6.31 +/- 3.40) mm and (9.97 +/- 4.36) mm for type III (P = 0.001). The mastoid pneumatization degree for type I, II, III were 13.33%, 13.64%, 30.77% in sclerotic type, 13.33%, 18.18%, 7.69% in diploe type, 0, 9.09%, 38.46% in composite type, 73.33%, 59.09%, 23.08% in pneumatic type (chi2 = 24.11, P = 0.002). The cover of fenestra vestibuli by facial nerve was 21.43%, 47.62%, 54.55% (chi2 = 23.44, P = 0.002) for type I, II, III. There was a statistical difference between the microtia group and the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>According to the Max classification, the middle ear malformation changed along the auricular malformation. The anatomical variations was complicated in type II microtia, which should be sub-classified.</p>

Rationality of 16 or more multi-slice helical CT utilization for solitary pulmonary nodule / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To analyze the rationality of 16 or more multi-slice helical CT (MSCT) utilization for solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) (<3 cm). Methods One hundred and fifty consultant cases with SPN from 133 different hospitals, examined with 16 or more MSCT, were selected in this study. The reconstructed slice thickness of routine CT scan, thin slice reconstruction thickness, 2D or 3D reconstruction, window wide and level setting, contrast enhancement effect were recorded from consultant films. Thoracic CT scan criteria for SPN were proposed according to the scan guidelines at Stanford University and PubMed articles. The rationality of 16 or more MSCT utilization in other hospitals for SPN was analyzed by two radiologists compared with scan criteria. The diagnostic accuracy in other hospitals was evaluated according to the pathologic and treatment results in our hospital. Results Sixteen-MSCT was performed in 92 cases, 64-MSCT in 54 cases and 40-MSCT in 4 cases. In routine thoracic CT scan, 9--10 mm reconstructed slice thickness was selected in 59 cases, 7--8 mm thickness in 12 cases and 5 mmthickness in 79 cases. Consecutive thin slice thickness (<3 mm) was used for SPN only in 46 cases. OnlyMPR and VR were filmed in 9 cases without thin slice reconstructed axial images. :53 cases (35.3%) were rescanned in our hospital due to the unsatisfied image quality. Of 150 cases, 78 cases had pathologic or treatment results in our hospital and 22 cases (14.7%) were proved to be misdiagnosed in other hospitals, and only 2 cases were misdiagnosed in our hospital. Conclusion There are many irrationalities of 16 or more MSCT utilization in our country which influence the diagnostic accuracy of SPN, Unified thoracic CT scan criteria in our country are needed.

Thoracic CT findings of Behcet disease / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To illustrate the thoracic CT findings of Behcet disease and to assess the CT diagnostic role in patients with Behcet disease. Methods Thoracic CT images and medical records were retrospectively reviewed in 13 patients with thoracic Behcet disease. The diagnosis was based on the criteria set by the international study group for Behcet disease. Results Of 13 patients, subpleural patchy consolidations were showed in 3, bilateral diffuse ground glass opacities in 3, left low lobe collapse with a right small nodule in 1, subpleural solitary pulmonary nodule in 1, bilateral pleural effusion in 2 ,mediastinal lymphoadenopathy in 2, diffuse bilateral miliary lung nodules in 1 during treatment. Thoracic vascular involvement was presented in 8 patients, two with superior vena cava thrombosis, one with left subclavicle artery aneurysm, one with left low pulmonary artery aneurysm and mural thrombosis, one with bilateral low pulmonary arteries and left basilar artery aneurysm, three with right pulmonary artery thrombosis in which there were two with left pulmonary artery occlusion and one with left basilar artery branch aneurysm. Conclusions Thoracic CT findings of Behcet disease are variable and nonspecific. Contrast-enhanced CT scan can be helpful by showing thrombosis of the superior vena cava and pulmonary artery as well aneurysm of the pulmonary artery.

[A design of a portable acquistion system for autonomic nervous function data].

In this paper, a design of the portable acquisition system for autonomic nervous function data based on the microcontroller is introduced. The system contains an electrocardiogram amplifier and an AD convertor, using SD memory card as its storage device and thus it can record data for a longer time and exchange data with PC easily. The system with a simple structure realizes its miniaturization and low energy consumption.

Application of CT perfusionimaging in assessing the physiological state of solitary pulmonary nodules / 中国组织工程研究

0.05); mean transit time was significantly lower but permeability surface area product higher than benign nodules (P 0.05). ③If the mean transit time ≤ 7 s was selected as cut-off value for malignant lesion, the sensitivity was 68.97%, specificity was 66.67%, accuracy was 68.49%, positive predict value was 88.89%, and negative predict value was 35.71%. When permeability surface area product ≥ 0.20 was selected as the cut-off value for malignant lesion, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predict value, and negative predict value were 86.21%, 53.33%, 79.45%, 87.72%, and 50.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: CT perfusion imaging is a valuable method for assessing the physiological state of solitary pulmonary nodules.

Multi-slice spiral CT and airway reconstruction in 33 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome / 中国组织工程研究

This study was designed to investigate the application of multi-slice spiral CT(MSCT)and airway reconstruction in the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS).Using GE Lightspeed16 scanner,MSCT and airway three-dimensional reconstruction were performed on 33 patients with OSAS,who were admitted in the Chinese PLA General Hospital between 2004 and 2005.The sagittal diameter,coronal diameter and the section area of upper airway were measured.The results showed that the narrowest place of the airway in OSAS patients was the posterior soft palate region,in which the sagittal diameter,coronal diameter and the section area were 8.96 mm,16.64 mm and 164.62 mm2 respectively,and then was palatine uvula region.With MSCT scanning and post-processing,a precise measurement of airway can be gotten,and stenosis locus and scope are easy to be localized,which will provide reliable evidences for treatment scheme and surgical mode.

Synthesis of novel spiro[2.3]hexane carbocyclic nucleosides via enzymatic resolution.

[reaction: see text] Novel R- and S-spiro[2.3]hexane nucleosides have been synthesized. The key step involved the Pseudomonas cepacia lipase catalyzed resolution of racemic compound 2, synthesized in seven steps starting from diethoxyketene and diethyl fumarate, to give (+)-acetate 3 and (-)-alcohol 13. (+)-Acetate 3 and (-)-acetate 14 were converted to R- and S-9-(6-hydroxymethylspiro[2.3]hexane)-4-adenine, respectively.