Surface coordination induced a quasi p-n junction for efficient visible light driven degradation of tetracycline over hydroxyapatite.

The removal of antibiotics from aquatic solutions remains a global environmental challenge. In this work, the photocatalytic removal of a typical antibiotic-tetracycline (TC) using hydroxyapatite (HAp) as a catalyst was investigated. It was impressive that TC could be efficiently degraded by HAp under visible light irradiation, even though both HAp and TC exhibited poor harvesting in visible light region. The experimental and theoretical explorations were undertaken to thoroughly investigate the underlying mechanism of visible light degradation of TC over HAp. The results indicated that the formed TC-HAp complexes via surface coordination played an important role as photosensitizers for the visible light response. Together with the formation of a quasi p-n junction via band alignment, the photogenerated electrons in the highest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of TC-HAp were excited to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and subsequently migrated to the conduction band of HAp to achieve the efficient charge separation. Superoxide radicals and holes were found to be the major active species for TC degradation. The toxicity evaluation showed that TC could be transferred to the lower toxic intermediates, and deep oxidation with prolonged reaction time was necessary to eliminate the toxicity of TC. This work demonstrates the surface coordination with subsequent quasi p-n junction mechanism of TC degradation over HAp under visible light, which will stimulate us to explore new efficient photocatalytic systems for the degradation of various contaminants.

Rational Design of CoOOH/α-Fe2O3/SnO2 for Boosted Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation: The Roles of Underneath SnO2 and Surface CoOOH.

Hematite (α-Fe2O3) photoanode is a promising candidate for efficient PEC solar energy conversion. However, the serious charge recombination together with the sluggish water oxidation kinetics of α-Fe2O3 still restricts its practical application in renewable energy systems. In this work, a CoOOH/α-Fe2O3/SnO2 photoanode was fabricated, in which the ultrathin SnO2 underlayer is deposited on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate, α-Fe2O3 nanorod array is the absorber layer, and CoOOH nanosheet is the surface modifier, respectively. The resulting CoOOH/α-Fe2O3/SnO2 exhibited excellent PEC water splitting with a high photocurrent density of 2.05 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs RHE in the alkaline electrolyte, which is ca. 3.25 times that of bare α-Fe2O3. PEC characterizations demonstrated that SnO2 not only could block hole transport from α-Fe2O3 to FTO substrate but also could efficiently enhance the light-harvesting property and reduce the surface states by controlling the growth process of α-Fe2O3, while the CoOOH overlayer as cocatalysts could rapidly extract the photogenerated holes and provide catalytic active sites for water oxidation. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of SnO2 and CoOOH, the efficiency of the charge recombination and the overpotential for water oxidation of α-Fe2O3 are obviously decreased, resulting in the boosted PEC efficiency for water oxidation. The rational design and simple fabrication strategy display great potentials to be used for other PEC systems with excellent efficiency.

Screening for Wilson's disease in acute liver failure: A new scoring system in children.

Background: Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare cause of acute liver failure (ALF) and has a high fatality rate. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is important for ALF because of WD (ALF-WD). Our objective was to establish a simple, rapid, and accurate diagnostic test to distinguish ALF-WD from non-WD ALF (NWDALF) in children. Materials and methods: The data from all cases with pediatric ALF were retrospectively collected and analyzed. We performed receiver operator characteristics curve (ROC) analysis and confirmed the optimum cut-off points. Results: Fifty-eight patients with pediatric ALF (12 with WD, 46 with other etiologies) were included. Older age was observed in ALF-WD compared to NWDALF (11.16 ± 2.51 years vs. 3.34 ± 3.81 years, p < 0.001). An analysis based on routine biochemical testings revealed that total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), AST:ALT ratio, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ALP:TBil ratio, serum albumin, gamma-glutamyl transferase, cholinesterase, hemoglobin, and platelet were statistically significant between the ALF-WD and NWDALF groups. The optimum cut-off points were obtained through ROC analysis. A scoring system was formed by assigning a score of 1 or 0 to patients who met the 13 cut-off points. Using ROC analysis, we determined a cut-off point of ≥ 6.5 for ALF-WD with 91.7% sensitivity and 97.8% specificity (p < 0.0001). In addition, a best cut-off point of ≥ 1.5 based on only five variables (ALT, AST, AST:ALT ratio, ALP, and ALP:TBil ratio), had 100% sensitivity and 91.3% specificity for ALF-WD (p < 0.0001). Based on this, when age was calculated as the sixth indicator, the best cut-off value of ≥ 2.5 had 100% sensitivity and 97.8% specificity (p < 00.0001). Conclusion: Our study developed a new scoring system that consists of simple laboratory tests with good sensitivity and specificity and can be used by clinicians to quickly distinguish ALF-WD from NWDALF in children.

Effects of RhoA on depression-like behavior in prenatally stressed offspring rats.

Depression is a common mental disease that can lead to suicide when severe. Exposure to prenatal stress (PS) can lead to depression-like behavior in offspring, but the mechanism is unclear. RhoA (Ras homology family member A) plays an important role in stress-induced changes in synaptic plasticity, participating in the development of depression by activating the downstream effector ROCK (Rho-associated protein kinase). This study explored the influence in the expression of RhoA and downstream molecules ROCK1/2 in prenatally stressed rats, and the effect of RhoA inhibitor simvastatin on depression-like behavior induced by PS. Depression-like behavior in offspring was detected by sucrose preference test, forced swimming test, and open-field test. The mRNA and protein expression of RhoA and ROCK1/2 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of offspring rats were detected by qRT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. Our results showed that PS causes depression-like behavior in offspring rats, associated with elevated expression of RhoA, ROCK1/2 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. After administration of simvastatin to PS rats, the expression of RhoA and ROCK2 was significantly reduced, alleviating depression-like behavior. Our study demonstrated that RhoA participates in the depression-like behavior in prenatally stressed offspring rats, which may be a potential target for antidepressant therapy.

Excessive activation of IL-33/ST2 in cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes invasion and metastasis in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is highly prevalent and has high mortality rates due to metastasis and relapse. The cross communication between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and cancer-associated macrophages (CAMs) in the ovarian tumor microenvironment leads to cancer cell invasion and metastasis. However, the role of overproduction of IL-33/ST2 in the CAFs of ovarian cancer is still unclear. The expression of IL-33, ST2, apoptosis-related proteins and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers was measured by western blotting. Primary normal fibroblasts and CAFs from ovarian cancerous tissue were isolated and cultured in vitro, and the medium was used to stimulate blood-derived monocytes. Flow cytometry analysis was used to detect the frequency of M2-like macrophages in blood-derived monocytes from patients with ovarian cancer. Cell invasion were evaluated using Transwell assays. A xenograft model was used to study tumor growth in ST2-knockout and wild-type NOD-SCID mice. The results demonstrated higher expression of IL-33 and ST2 in carcinoma tissues compared with in para-carcinoma tissues, and there was a survival improvement associated with elevated IL-33. IL-33 and culture supernatants from CAFs, rather than normal ovarian fibroblasts, led to a higher expression of M2 macrophage marker genes in human blood-derived monocytes. Invasion and migration were aggravated in COC1 cells co-cultured with CAF-induced CAMs, and the EMT marker genes were upregulated. It was reported that EMT marker genes were downregulated and tumor volumes were significantly reduced in ST2-deficient mice. Overall, the IL-33/ST2 axis in ovarian cancer might integrate IL-33-expressing CAFs with M2 type-like CAMs, which aggravated invasion and metastasis by promoting EMT.

Measuring the quality of mental health services from the patient perspective in China: psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the World Health Organization responsiveness performance questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Despite the large population of patients with mental disorders and the rapid development of mental health services in China, there are few evaluations of Chinese mental health services from the patient perspective. Relevant instruments with robust psychometric properties are lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to translate, adapt and validate the WHO responsiveness performance questionnaire for measuring the quality of hospital mental health services among Chinese patients. METHODS: The adaption of the translated questionnaire incorporated experts' and patients' opinions. For psychometric testing, 193 outpatients and 168 inpatients completed outpatient and inpatient modules, respectively. RESULTS: The adapted questionnaire adhered to the WHO framework of responsiveness domains, and just four items had some wording changes. Item missing rates were below 6%. Both the outpatient and inpatient modules had acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.837 and 0.730) and most domains had desirable average inter-item correlation coefficients. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable model fit for the inpatient module, while some goodness-of-fit indices for the outpatient module were a little outside of the recommended ranges. Except for 'talking privately' from the domain of confidentiality (both outpatient and inpatient modules) and 'waiting time' from the domain of prompt attention (the inpatient module), factor loadings of all other items were above 0.5. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the responsiveness performance questionnaire has acceptable feasibility, reliability, and validity in general and it can be used to measure, assess and improve the quality of mental health services in China.

The structures of two polysaccharides from Angelica sinensis and their effects on hepatic insulin resistance through blocking RAGE.

This study found two novel homogeneous polysaccharides from Angelica sinensis, APS-1I and APS-2II, binding to RAGE with a dissociation constant of 2.02 ± 0.2 and 85.92 ± 0.2 µM, respectively. APS-1I is a 17.0 kDa heteropolysaccharide, whose backbone is composed of α-1,6-Glcp, α-1,3,6-Glcp, α-1,2-Glcp, α-1,4-Galp, and α-1,3-Rhap, and whose two branches contain α-1,3,5-Araf, α-1,3-Araf, α-1,4-Galp, ß-1,3-Galp, and ß-1,4-Glcp. APS-2II is a 10.0 kDa linear glucan, that contains α-1,6-Glcp, α-1,3-Glcp, α-1,2-Glcp, and α-T-Glcp. In vitro, APS-1I demonstrated better promotion on glucose absorption and stronger repression on p-IRS-1 (Ser307), p-IRS-2 (Ser731), p-JNK, and p-P38 than APS-2II in insulin resistance (IR)-HepG2 cells. Furthermore, APS-1I treatment couldn't further decrease the inhibition on the phosphorylation of JNK and P38 produced by RAGE siRNA in IR-HepG2 cells. In vivo, APS-1I markedly improved IR and reversed the livers RAGE-JNK/p38-IRS signaling in high-fat-diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, suggesting that APS-1I could be a potential agent for improving IR in type 2 diabetes.

Cross-fostering alleviates depression-like behavior mediated by EAAT2 and SNARE complex in prenatal stress offspring rat.

Previous studies have shown that prenatal stress (PS) can potentially contribute to depression-like behavior in offspring and that this effect may be moderated by cross-fostering. However, the underlying mechanism of this effect remains to be determined. This study aimed to determine the effect of cross-fostering on the expression of EAAT2 and the SNARE complex in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of PS offspring rats and to demonstrate functional effects on depression-like behavior. The impacts of cross-fostering were functionally assessed using the sucrose preference test (SPT), the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine changes in the expression of EAAT2 and SNAREs mRNA in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of offspring rats. PS offspring rats showed significantly decreased sucrose preference and prolonged immobility time, while cross-fostering effectively increased sucrose preference and shorten the time of immobility. The expression of EAAT2 mRNA in PS offspring rats was markedly reduced, whilst the core mRNA expression of the SNARE complex increased. Our results provide strong evidence demonstrating that cross-fostering can alleviate depression-like behavior and regulate the abnormal expression levels of EAAT2 mRNA and SNARE complex in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of PS offspring rats. Our findings contribute to further understanding of the pathogenesis of PS-induced depression and may help to inform the future development of novel treatment approaches.

Molecular mechanism of Epicedium treatment for depression based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.

BACKGROUND: Increasing attention has been paid to the effect of Epimedium on the nervous system, particularly anti-depression function. In the present study, we applied network pharmacology to introduce a testable hypothesis on the multi-target mechanisms of Epicedium against depression. METHODS: By reconstructing the network of protein-protein interaction and drug-component-target, we predicted the key protein targets of Epicedium for the treatment of depression. Then, through molecular docking, the interaction of the main active components of Epicedium and predicted candidate targets were verified. RESULTS: Nineteen active compounds were selected from Epicedium. There were 200 targets associated with Epicedium and 537 targets related to depression. The key targets of Epicedium for treating depression were IL6, VEGFA, AKT1, and EGF. According to gene ontology functional enrichment analysis, 22 items of biological process (BP), 13 items of cell composition (CC) and 9 items of molecular function (MF) were obtained. A total of 56 signaling pathways (P < 0.05) were identified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, mainly involving depression-related pathways such as dopaminergic synapse, TNF signaling pathway, and prolactin signaling pathway. The results of molecular docking showed that the most important activity components, including luteoklin, quercetin and kaempferol, were well combined with the key targets. CONCLUSIONS: Luteoklin, quercetin, kaempferol and other active compounds in Epicedium can regulate multiple signaling pathways and targets such as IL6, AKT1, and EGF, therefore playing therapeutic roles in depression.

Structures and anti-melanoma activities of two polysaccharides from Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels.

Polysaccharide is one of the necessary macromolecules in life activities, and it is also a very promising natural product for tumor prevention and treatment. In this study, two homogeneous polysaccharides (APS-4I and APS-4II) were isolated from Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels. APS-4I was a linear glucan with molecular weight of 16.1 kDa, which was composed of 88.4% α-1,6-Glcp, 4.1% α-1,2-Glcp, 3.9% α-1,3-Glcp, and 2.8% α-T-Glcp. APS-4II was a novel polysaccharide with molecular weight of 11.1 kDa, which consisted of 55.4% α-1,6-Glcp, 10.4% α-1,3,5-Araf, 8.7% α-T-Araf, 9.2% α-1,5-Araf, 4.0% α-1,3-Araf, 3.6% α-1,4-Galp, and 9.1% ß-1,3-Galp. NMR results demonstrated that APS-4II has a backbone composed of →6)-α-Glcp-(1 → 6)-α-Glcp-(1 → 5)-α-Araf-. (1 → 5)-α-Araf-(1 → 3,5)-α-Araf-(1 → 3)-ß-Galp-(1 → 3)-ß-Galp-(1 → 4)-α-Galp-(1 → 3)-α-Araf-(1 → 3,5)-α-Araf-(1→. Both APS-4I and APS-4II inhibited the tumor growth of B16-bearing mice, and the suppressive effect of APS-4II reached 64.7 ± 7.3%. Meanwhile, there were higher lymphocyte numbers and the levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in peripheral blood of APS-4II-treated mice than those in APS-4I-treated mice. Furthermore, APS-4II showed a higher inhibitory effect on the proliferation of B16 cells and stronger promoting effects on the proliferation of splenocytes, the phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophages, and the cytotoxicity of NK cells. These results demonstrated that APS-4II could be a promising therapeutic agent for melanoma.

The antitumor role of a newly discovered α-d-glucan from Holotrichia diomphalia Bates as a selective blocker of aldolase A.

Aldolase A (ALDOA) facilitated aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells is a potential target in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, only few effective inhibitors of ALDOA have been reported until now. In this research, we found a polysaccharide called HDPS-4II from Holotrichia diomphalia Bates, which can specifically bind to ALDOA with a dissociation constant of 2.86 µM. HDPS-4II with a molecular weight of 19 kDa was a linear triple-helix glucan composed of ɑ-d-1,4-Glcp and ɑ-d-1,6-Glcp in a ratio of 1.0:10.0. HDPS-4II significantly inhibited aldolase enzyme activity, glycolysis, and further inhibited the expression of phosphorylated AMPKα in HCC cells. Through analyzing ALDOA-overexpressing and -knockdown cells, it was confirmed that ALDOA mediated the viability and glycolysis inhibition of HDPS-4II. Moreover, HDPS-4II administration markedly inhibited tumor growth in mice xenografted with HCCs. These findings suggest that HDPS-4II, as an ALDOA antagonist, is a promising remedy in the treatment and prevention of HCC.

CRTC1 signaling involvement in depression-like behavior of prenatally stressed offspring rat.

A large body of literature has demonstrated that prenatal stress (PS) can induce depression-like behavior in the offspring. However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. CREB-regulated transcriptional coactivator 1(CRTC1) has recently been shown to involve in mood regulation. This research aims to investigate whether CRTC1 signaling was involved in the depression-like behavior of prenatally stressed offspring rats. Sucrose preference test (SPT), forced swimming test (FST) and open field test (OFT) were adopted to test the depression-like behavior in the male offspring rats, and CRTC1 signaling was measured. The results showed that there were significantly reduced sucrose intake in SPT and prolonged immobility time in FST in PS-exposure offspring rats. It was also found decreased levels of total CRTC1, nuclear CRTC1, calcineurin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and c-fos, but increased cytoplasmic p-CRTC1 in the hippocampus (HIP) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the offspring rats. Furthermore, the mRNA level of CRTC1, calcineurin, BDNF, c-fos were down-regulated. Abnormal expression of CRTC1 signaling could be alleviated by fluoxetine treatment. In conclusion, our research indicated that the aberration of CRTC1 expression and/or phosphorylation activity might play a vital role in PS-induced depression-like behavior of offspring rats.

Differentially expressed gene profile and relevant pathways of the traditional Chinese medicine cinobufotalin on MCF­7 breast cancer cells.

Cinobufotalin is a chemical compound extracted from the skin of dried bufo toads that may have curative potential for certain malignancies through different mechanisms; however, these mechanisms remain unexplored in breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antitumor mechanism of cinobufotalin in breast cancer by using microarray data and in silico analysis. The microarray data set GSE85871, in which cinobufotalin exerted influences on the MCF­7 breast cancer cells, was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed. Subsequently, protein interaction analysis was conducted, which clarified the clinical significance of core genes, and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used to analyze cinobufotalin­related pathways. The Connectivity Map (CMAP) database was used to select existing compounds that exhibited curative properties similar to those of cinobufotalin. A total of 1,237 DEGs were identified from breast cancer cells that were treated with cinobufotalin. Two core genes, SRC proto­oncogene non­receptor tyrosine kinase and cyclin­dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, were identified as serving a vital role in the onset and development of breast cancer, and their expression levels were markedly reduced following cinobufotalin treatment as detected by the microarray of GSE85871. It also was revealed that the 'neuroactive ligand­receptor interaction' and 'calcium signaling' pathways may be crucial for cinobufotalin to perform its functions in breast cancer. Conducting a matching search in CMAP, miconazole and cinobufotalin were indicated to possessed similar molecular mechanisms. In conclusion, cinobufotalin may serve as an effective compound for the treatment of a subtype of breast cancer that is triple positive for the presence of estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor­2 receptors, and its mechanism may be related to different pathways. In addition, cinobufotalin is likely to exert its antitumor influences in a similar way as miconazole in MCF­7 cells.

Upregulated miR­203a­3p and its potential molecular mechanism in breast cancer: A study based on bioinformatics analyses and a comprehensive meta­analysis.

Breast cancer (BC) has been identified as the leading malignancy in women worldwide. However, the potential molecular mechanism of microRNA (miR)­203a­3p in BC remains to be elucidated. The present study evaluated the expression of miR­203a­3p in BC and adjacent normal tissue in several publically available datasets. The distinguishability of precursor miR­203a and miR­203a­3p in BC tissue and adjacent breast tissue was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and summarized ROC (sROC) approaches. In addition, gene ontology (GO) enrichment, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis and protein­protein interaction analysis were performed to determine the potential molecular mechanism of miR­203a­3p in BC. It was identified that the expression of precursor miR­203a was markedly upregulated in 1,077 BC tissue samples compared to 104 adjacent breast tissue samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Additionally, an increasing trend in miR­203a­3p expression was observed in 756 BC tissue samples compared with 76 adjacent breast tissue samples from the University of California Santa Cruz Xena project. In addition, a comprehensive meta­analysis suggested that the expression of miR­203a­3p was markedly increased in 2,444 BC tissue samples compared with 559 adjacent breast tissue samples. The area under the curve of the ROC and sROC revealed that miR­203a­3p expression was able to distinguish between BC tissue and adjacent breast tissue. However, miR­203a­3p exhibited no prognostic value in BC. The results of GO enrichment demonstrated that the miR­203a target genes were associated with 'plasma membrane integrity', 'cell surface receptor linked signal and transduction' and '3',5'­cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity'. 'Purine metabolism' was identified as the pathway with the most enrichment of miR­203a­3p target genes in BC. The present study also identified insulin­like growth factor receptor (IGF1) as a hub gene associated with miR­203a in BC. In summary, miR­203a­3p may enhance the development and oncogenesis of BC, and IGF1 was defined as a hub gene of miR­203a­3p in BC.

CdS/ZnS Heterostructured Porous Composite with Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalysis.

Fabrication of semiconductor composites consisting of multicomponent or multiphase heterojunctions is a very effective strategy to design highly active photocatalyst systems. Here we present a facile design to fabricate novel CdS/ZnS heterostructured porous sheet-like nanocomposite based on a cation-exchanged hydrothermal procedure. Micro-structural analyses reveal that the product is a kind of heterostructured composite with porous structure and high crystallinity. The composite nanosheets exhibited enhanced visible-light photoactivity compared with pure ZnS or CdS. Among them, sample of Cd0.45Zn0.55S gave the highest degradation rate of about 99% under visible-light irradiation within 60 min when 10 mg of the sample was added into 50 mL of methyl orange in aqueous solution (10 mg/L). The enhanced photocatalytic activity was presumed to result from the direct photoinduced interfacial charge transfer (IFCT) from the valence band (VB) of ZnS to CdS.

[Efficacy of auricular point sticking therapy for abnormal blink in children and impact on the breakup time of tear film].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy of auricular point sticking therapy for abnormal blink in children and the impact on the breakup time of tear film. METHODS: A total of 123 cases (246 eyes) with abnormal blink were randomly assigned into two groups, 62 cases (124 eyes) to an observation group, 61 cases (122 eyes) to a control group. The observation group received auricular point sticking therapy with western medicine; the treatment was given 6 d per week; the next day received no treatment and changed dressing. The auricular points were yan (LO5), pingjianqian (TG2i), pingjianhou (AT1 i), gan (CO12), pi (CO13), wei (CO4). The western medicine pateints took 1 oral multivitamins tablets per day, and received sodium hyaluronate eye drops and tobramycin eye drops in turn, 3 times per day, 7 day as a course; treatment was lasting 3 courses. Patients in the control group only received western medicine. The blink frequency score and breakup time of tear film of children were observed, the curative effect of the two groups was compared. RESULTS: After treatment, the blink frequency score was lower significantly (P<0.01), and lower significantly in subjects in the observation group compared to those in the control group (P<0.01). After treatment, less than 10 s were 51 eyes (41.8%) and greater than 10 s (including 10 s) were 71 eyes (58.2%) in the 122 eyes from the control group; in the observation group, less than 10 s were 13 eyes (10.5%) and greater than 10 s (including 10 s) were 111 eyes (89.5%); there was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). The effective rate of the observation group was 91.9% (114/124), which was higher than the control group 65.6% (80/122); the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of auricular point sticking therapy combine western medicine is better in treating children with abnormal blink compared to western medicine by reducing the breakup time of tear film. This suggests that reduction of tear film stability is one of the main reasons which causes frequent eye blink, and breakup time of tear film can be used as the testing standard.

Biosorbents based on agricultural wastes for ionic liquid removal: An approach to agricultural wastes management.

Modified biochars produced from different agricultural wastes were used as low-cost biosorbents to remove hydrophilic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]). Herein, the biosorbents based on peanut shell, corn stalk and wheat straw (denoted as PB-K-N, CB-K-N and WB-K-N) all exhibited higher [BMIM][Cl] removal than many other carbonaceous adsorbents and the adsorption capacities were as the following: PB-K-N > CB-K-N > WB-K-N. The characterizations of biosorbents indicated that they had great deal of similarity in morphological, textural and surface chemical properties such as possessing simultaneously accessible microporous structure and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. Additionally, adsorption of [BMIM][Cl] onto PB-K-N, CB-K-N and WB-K-N prepared from the modified process, which was better described by pseudo-second order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models. Therefore, the viable approach could also be applied in other biomass materials treatment for the efficient removal of ILs from aqueous solutions, as well as recycling agricultural wastes to ease their disposal pressure.

Automatic emotion regulation in response inhibition: The temporal dynamics of emotion counter-regulation during a go/no-go task.

Recent behavioral studies indicate that emotion counter-regulation automatically allocates attention to events that are opposite in the valence to the experienced emotional state. The present study explored the effect of emotion counter-regulation on response inhibition by using ERPs in a go/no-go paradigm. We recruited 58 subjects and randomly assigned them to either the angry priming group (watching Nanjing Massacre movie clips) or the neutral priming group (watching "mending a computer" movie clips). The behavioral results revealed that participants in the angry priming group responded significantly more accurately to go happy and no-go angry faces than go angry and no-go happy faces. The analyses of ERPs revealed that the amplitudes of the no-go N2 and no-go P3 were significantly larger for the happy faces than for the angry faces in the angry priming group. However, no such effects were found in the neutral priming group. These results suggest that highly aroused angry emotion could prompt a priority response to happy emotion stimuli and restrict the responses to angry emotion stimuli through emotion counter-regulation.

Ultraviolet-assisted synthesis of hourglass-like ZnO microstructure through an ultrasonic and microwave combined technology.

Well-defined hexagonal hourglass-like ZnO microstructures have been synthesized by using simultaneous ultrasound and microwave irradiation methods with the assistance of ultraviolet as well as double sonication (at 25 and 40 kHz). The structure and morphology of as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectrum. The results show the synergistic effect of ultrasound and microwave on the formation of ZnO microstructures. Meanwhile, the possible growth mechanism was proposed to elucidate the formation of hexagonal hourglass-like ZnO microstructures.

In vitro-activated tumor-bearing host T cells and the effectiveness of tumor vaccine immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Vaccination during periods of lymphopenia may facilitate immune responses to weak self-antigens and enhance antitumor immunity. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of tumor vaccine immunotherapy combined with immune reconstruction using tumor-bearing host immune cells in lymphopenia, and to investigate the role of tumor-bearing host T cells activated in vitro during immunotherapy. DESIGN AND SETTING: Animal study conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2009 to January 2010. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Lymphopenia was induced by cyclophosphamide. A reconstituted immune system with different syngeneic lymphocytes was employed, including lymphocytes from naïve rats (unsensitized group), tumor-bearing rats (tumor-bearing group), and tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro (activated group). All rats were immunized with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-modified NuTu-19 ovarian cancer (GM-CSF/NuTu-19) cells. Tumor vaccine-draining lymph nodes (TVDLNs) were harvested, and then stimulated to induce effector T cells (T(E)). T(E) were then adoptively transferred to rats bearing a 3-day pre-established abdominal tumor (NuTu-19), and the survival rate was calculated. RESULTS: Compared with the unsensitized group, the levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) were significantly lower in the tumor-bearing group, whereas that of IL-4 were significantly higher (P<.05). The number of CD4+ T cells secreting interferon-γ and the specific cytotoxicity of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were significantly lower (P<.05). The survival was significantly higher in the activated group compared with the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphocytes from tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro can effectively reverse the immunosuppressive effects of tumor-bearing hosts.