Case observation of viral keratitis caused by SARS-CoV-2 / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To report three cases of viral keratitis caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).METHODS: Slit lamp, intraocular pressure, corneal fluorescence staining, anterior segment photography, in vivo confocal microscopy(IVCM), and routine fundus screening were performed in the three confirmed patients. Treatment involved Ganciclovir, artificial tears and glucocorticoid eye drops.RESULTS: Three patients with SARS-CoV-2 keratitis(SCK)recovered well after standard treatment.CONCLUSION: SARS-CoV-2 keratitis typically presents as corneal subepithelial infiltration and can result in a decrease in corneal subepithelial nerve fiber density and an increase in dendritic cells(DC). Antiviral therapy in combination with glucocorticoid has proven to be effective.

Research and Application of Drug Pair Extraction Method Integrating Co-occurrence and Semantic Information / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Objective To propose a drug pair extraction algorithm integrating co-occurrence and semantic information for prescription data.Methods The prescription data were transformed into matrix data,and the association information between drugs was calculated as the initial screening index.Then the word vector was constructed based on the prescription data,and the semantic similarity between drugs was calculated as the second screening index,so as to extract potential drug pairs.The algorithm of this paper and the classical Apriori algorithm were experimented on 1090 lung cancer outpatient prescriptions respectively,and the experimental extraction results were compared and analyzed,so as to verify the usability and effectiveness of this drug pair extraction algorithm.Results Compared with the Apriori algorithm,the present algorithm had better effect in extracting drug pairs,which could reasonably help to narrow down the range of options of potential drug pairs under the situation of large difference in drug frequencies,and successfully extracted 88 groups of drug pairs in medical cases under the range of recommended threshold settings.Conclusion The method of word frequency combined with semantic information for extracting potential drug pairs is feasible and effective,and can provide methodological reference for experience mining in clinical prescription medication.

Decoupling wing-shape effects of wing-swept angle and aspect ratio on a forward-flying butterfly.

The effect of wing shape on a forward-flying butterfly via decoupled factors of the wing-swept angle and the aspect ratio (AR) was investigated numerically. The wing-shape effect is a major concern in the design of a microaerial vehicle (MAV). In nature, the wing of a butterfly consists of partially overlapping forewing and hindwing; when the forewing sweeps forward or backward relative to the hindwing, the wing-swept angle and the AR of the entire wing simultaneously change. The effects of the wing-swept angle and AR on aerodynamics are coupled. To decouple their effects, we established wing-shape models with varied combinations of the wing-swept angle and AR based on the experimental measurement of two butterfly species (Papilio polytes and Kallima inachus) and developed a numerical simulation for analysis. In each model, the forewing and hindwing overlapped partially, constructing a single wing. Across the models, the wing-swept angle and AR of these single wings varied sequentially. The results show that, through our models, the effects of the wing-swept angle and AR were decoupled; both have distinct flow mechanisms and aerodynamic force trends and are consistent in the two butterfly species. For a fixed AR, a backward-swept wing increases lift and drag because of the enhanced attachment of the leading-edge vortex with increased strength of the wingtip vortex and the spanwise flow. For a fixed wing-swept angle, a small AR wing increases lift and decreases drag because of the large region of low pressure downstream and the wake-capture effect. Coupling these effects, the largest lift-to-drag ratio occurs for a forward-swept wing with the smallest AR. These results indicate that, in a flapping forward flight, sweeping a forewing forward relative to a hindwing is suitable for cruising. The flow mechanisms and decoupled and coupled effects of the wing-swept angle and the AR presented in this paper provide insight into the flight of a butterfly and the design of a MAV.

The Lift Effects of Chordwise Wing Deformation and Body Angle on Low-Speed Flying Butterflies.

This work investigates the effects of body angle and wing deformation on the lift of free-flying butterflies. The flight kinematics were recorded using three high-speed cameras, and particle-image velocimetry (PIV) was used to analyze the transient flow field around the butterfly. Parametric studies via numerical simulations were also conducted to examine the force generation of the wing by fixing different body angles and amplifying the chordwise deformation. The results show that appropriately amplifying chordwise deformation enhances wing performance due to an increase in the strength of the vortex and a more stabilized attached vortex. The wing undergoes a significant chordwise deformation, which can generate a larger lift coefficient than that with a higher body angle, resulting in a 14% increase compared to a lower chordwise deformation and body angle. This effect is due to the leading-edge vortex attached to the curved wing, which alters the force from horizontal to vertical. It, therefore, produces more efficient lift during flight. These findings reveal that the chordwise deformation of the wing and the body angle could increase the lift of the butterfly. This work was inspired by real butterfly flight, and the results could provide valuable knowledge about lift generation for designing microaerial vehicles.

FAM60A promotes osteosarcoma development and progression.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) is a highly malignant primary bone tumor. Family of homology 60A (FAM60A) reportedly contributes to the malignant growth of some tumors. METHODS: Herein we investigated the mRNA expression level of FAM60A by combining OS and non-cancer samples from public databases. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine protein expression levels of FAM60A in patients with OS. Further, RT-qPCR and western blotting were conducted to evaluate FAM60A expression in various OS cell lines. CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry were applied to determine the function of FAM60A. Finally, functional enrichment analysis was performed based on FAM60A co-expressed genes. RESULTS: FAM60A mRNA expression level was found to be significantly upregulated (standardized mean difference = 1.27, 95% CI [0.67-1.88]). Survival analyses suggested that higher expression of FAM60A was indicative of poor prognoses. Similarly, FAM60A protein expression level was also observed to be upregulated. Knocking down FAM60A expression inhibited OS cell proliferation, increased apoptosis, and blocked cells from entering the S phase. Besides, cell cycle was the most prominently enriched pathway, and BUB1, DTL, and EXO1 were identified as hub genes. CONCLUSIONS: FAM60A expression was found to be markedly upregulated in OS; furthermore, FAM60A was observed to promote OS cell proliferation, inhibit apoptosis, and participate in cell cycle regulation. Besides, FAM60A may interact with hub genes to participate in the progress of OS.

Trace determination of fifteen free amino acids in drinking source water via solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Amino acids (AAs) are important nitrogen-containing organics in water, and a large number of reports have proven that they were the precursors of many nitrogen-containing disinfection by-products, some of which have cytotoxicity and carcinogenicity. However, little has been done on their occurrence in drinking source water. Therefore, a trace determination method via solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for 15 free AAs (FAAs) was developed, which was successfully applied for drinking source water samples. For sample preparation, strong cation-exchange stationary solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge showed better extraction performance to that of reverse phase stationary oasis HLB SPE cartridge. The optimal water pH was determined to be 2.8 before extraction. Strong matrix effects for most FAAs were observed in this work; thus, sample extraction with SPE was recommended to eliminate the matrix effects. The developed method showed excellent linearity (R2 > 0.991), low limits of detection (LODs, 0.01-0.27 nmol/L), and good recoveries of 69.8-117.9% in drinking source water with low relative standard deviations (RSDs, 0.3-13.2%). The developed method was finally applied to eight drinking source water samples, and the top five FAAs were found to be serine, glycine, leucine, alanine, and isoleucine.

Clinical analysis of endoscopic esophageal dilation for the treatment of corrosive esophageal strictures in children / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the clinical application of endoscopic esophageal dilation in the treatment of corrosive esophageal strictures in children.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 15 children with corrosive esophageal strictures who underwent endoscopic esophageal dilation in Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The clinical features, treatment modality of endoscopic esophageal dilation, number of dilations, complications, and prognosis were reviewed.@*RESULTS@#A total of 96 esophageal dilations were performed in the 15 children with corrosive esophageal strictures, with a median of 6 dilations per child. Among them, 9 children (60%) underwent 6 or more dilations. The children with a stricture length of >3 cm had a significantly higher number of dilations than those with a stricture length of ≤3 cm (P<0.05). The children with strictures in a single segment had a significantly better treatment outcome than those with strictures in multiple segments (P=0.005). No complication was observed during all sessions of dilation. The overall effective rate (including significant improvement and improvement) of endoscopic esophageal dilation treatment was 87%, with 2 cases of failure.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Endoscopic esophageal dilation is an effective and relatively safe treatment method for corrosive esophageal strictures in children, and children with strictures in a single segment tend to have a better treatment outcome than those with strictures in multiple segments.

Establishment of leukemia cell model with inducible AML1-ETO expression and its effect on fatty acid metabolism in leukemia cells / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect of the AML1-ETO (AE) fusion gene on the biological function of U937 leukemia cells by establishing a leukemia cell model that induces AE fusion gene expression. Methods: The doxycycline (Dox) -dependent expression of the AE fusion gene in the U937 cell line (U937-AE) were established using a lentivirus vector system. The Cell Counting Kit 8 methods, including the PI and sidanilide induction, were used to detect cell proliferation, cell cycle-induced differentiation assays, respectively. The effect of the AE fusion gene on the biological function of U937-AE cells was preliminarily explored using transcriptome sequencing and metabonomic sequencing. Results: ①The Dox-dependent Tet-on regulatory system was successfully constructed to regulate the stable AE fusion gene expression in U937-AE cells. ②Cell proliferation slowed down and the cell proliferation rate with AE expression (3.47±0.07) was lower than AE non-expression (3.86 ± 0.05) after inducing the AE fusion gene expression for 24 h (P<0.05). The proportion of cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase in the cell cycle increased, with AE expression [ (63.45±3.10) %) ] was higher than AE non-expression [ (41.36± 9.56) %] (P<0.05). The proportion of cells expressing CD13 and CD14 decreased with the expression of AE. The AE negative group is significantly higher than the AE positive group (P<0.05). ③The enrichment analysis of the transcriptome sequencing gene set revealed significantly enriched quiescence, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, interferon-α/γ, and other inflammatory response and immune regulation signals after AE expression. ④Disorder of fatty acid metabolism of U937-AE cells occurred under the influence of AE. The concentration of the medium and short-chain fatty acid acylcarnitine metabolites decreased in cells with AE expressing, propionyl L-carnitine, wherein those with AE expression (0.46±0.13) were lower than those with AE non-expression (1.00±0.27) (P<0.05). The metabolite concentration of some long-chain fatty acid acylcarnitine increased in cells with AE expressing tetradecanoyl carnitine, wherein those with AE expression (1.26±0.01) were higher than those with AE non-expression (1.00±0.05) (P<0.05) . Conclusion: This study successfully established a leukemia cell model that can induce AE expression. The AE expression blocked the cell cycle and inhibited cell differentiation. The gene sets related to the inflammatory reactions was significantly enriched in U937-AE cells that express AE, and fatty acid metabolism was disordered.

Simulation calculation of relative biological effectiveness based on DNA double strand break clusters / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To obtain the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of DNA double strand breaks (DSB) clusters by tracing the mechanism of radiated DNA damage, and explore the relationship among the biological effectiveness of DNA damage, chromosomal aberrations and germ cell death.Methods:Taking low-energy electrons, protons, and α particles as the research objects, this study simulated the process that cell nuclei were exposed to particle radiation using a radiation-related physicochemical model. On the ground of the DSB density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm, the DSB cluster classification method was improved to weaken the connection between the DSBs and the random distribution assumptions of energy depositions during the simulation. In this manner, the DSB clusters can be much closer to a non-random distribution. Furthermore, this study obtained the yields of DSB clusters and proposed a method to calculate the RBE values of DSB clusters.Results:The calculated RBE value (12.29) of DSB clusters of 2 MeV α particles was similar to the experimental RBE values of chromosomal fragments (15.3±5.9) and cell survival (14.7±5.1).Conclusions:After high-LET ionizing radiation, unlike the single DSB, the RBE of DSB clusters was similar to that of chromosomal aberration and cell survival.

Research progress in transcriptional and immunological biomarkers associated with tuberculosis infection / 中华预防医学杂志

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that poses a serious threat to human health. About a quarter of the world's population were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 2020, and the majority of them were latently infected. Approximately 5%-10% of the population with latent tuberculosis infection may progress to active TB disease. Identifying latent TB infection from active TB by biomarkers and screening people with latent TB infection at high risk of progression for preventive treatment by biomarkers that can reliably predict the progression is one of the most effective strategies to control TB. This article reviews the progress of research on transcriptional and immunological biomarkers for identifying TB infection and predicting the progression from latent infection to active TB, with the aim of providing new ideas for tuberculosis control.

Effect of modified Xiaoke Prescription on the patients with Yin deficiency and heat excessive type 2 diabetes mellitus / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic effect of modified Xiaoke prescription on patients with Yin deficiency and heat excessive type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and its influence on TCM syndrome scores, pancreatic islet function and oxidative stress.Methods:Randomized controlled trial. Eighty patients with Yin deficiency and heat excessive T2DM treated in the hospital between January and July 2021 were selected, and divided into observation group (41 cases) and control group (39 cases) by random number table method. Patients in the control group were treated with conventional western medicine, and patients in the observation group were treated with modified Xiaoke Prescription on the basis of the control group. Both groups were treated for 1 month. TCM syndrome scores were performed before and after treatment. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2 hPG were measured by glucose oxidase method. Serum HbA1c, malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels and SOD activity were measured by ELISA. The levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC) were detected by colorimetry.Results:The total effective rate of the observation group was 92.68% (38/41), and that of the control group was 76.92% (30/39). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( χ2=3.89, P=0.048). After treatment, the scores of tiredness and fatigue, thirst and appetite, overeating and hunger, redness of tongue and lack of saliva and total scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t=4.46, 16.89, 13.37, 8.58, 8.38, P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of serum FPG [(7.31±0.90) mmol/L vs. (8.72±1.50) mmol/L, t=5.13], 2 hPG [(9.64±2.05) mmol/L vs. (12.85±1.20) mmol/L, t=8.49], HbA1c [(7.64±0.58)% vs. (8.11±1.35)%, t=2.04] in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05); MDA [(3.96±1.00) mmol/L vs. (5.04±0.73) mmol/L, t=5.49], 8-OHdG [(203.41±30.70) ng/L vs. (234.50±59.00) ng/L, t=2.98] levels were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05); The activity of serum SOD [(48.64±5.05) mU/L vs. (41.75±3.58) mU/L, t=7.01] was significantly higher than that of the control group ( P<0.01); The serum LDL-C [(2.01±0.11) mmol/L vs. (2.56±0.25) mmol/L, t=12.84], TC [(4.75±0.20) mmol/L vs. (5.12±0.07) mmol/L, t=10.93] levels were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01); The serum HDL-C [(1.62±0.18) mmol/L vs. (1.24±0.42) mmol/L, t=5.31] level was significantly higher than that of the control group ( P<0.01). Conclusion:The modified Xiaoke Prescription can improve clinical symptoms, curative effect and pancreatic function, and relieve oxidative stress on the patients with T2DM.

Oral squamous cell carcinomas: state of the field and emerging directions / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) develops on the mucosal epithelium of the oral cavity. It accounts for approximately 90% of oral malignancies and impairs appearance, pronunciation, swallowing, and flavor perception. In 2020, 377,713 OSCC cases were reported globally. According to the Global Cancer Observatory (GCO), the incidence of OSCC will rise by approximately 40% by 2040, accompanied by a growth in mortality. Persistent exposure to various risk factors, including tobacco, alcohol, betel quid (BQ), and human papillomavirus (HPV), will lead to the development of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), which are oral mucosal lesions with an increased risk of developing into OSCC. Complex and multifactorial, the oncogenesis process involves genetic alteration, epigenetic modification, and a dysregulated tumor microenvironment. Although various therapeutic interventions, such as chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and nanomedicine, have been proposed to prevent or treat OSCC and OPMDs, understanding the mechanism of malignancies will facilitate the identification of therapeutic and prognostic factors, thereby improving the efficacy of treatment for OSCC patients. This review summarizes the mechanisms involved in OSCC. Moreover, the current therapeutic interventions and prognostic methods for OSCC and OPMDs are discussed to facilitate comprehension and provide several prospective outlooks for the fields.

Clonotypic analysis of immunoglobulin heavy chain sequences among 44 patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the correlation between the mutational status of immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) gene with the prognosis of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM).@*METHODS@#Immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH) clonotypic sequence analysis was carried out to assess the mutational status of IGHV in the blood and/or bone marrow samples from 44 WM patients. The usage characteristics of IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ gene was explored.@*RESULTS@#The most common IGHV subgroup was IGHV3, which was similar to the data from the Institute of Hematology of Chinese Academy of Medical Science. IGHV3-23 (20.45% vs. 15.44%) and IGHV3-74 (11.36% vs. 7.35%) were the main fragments used, which was followed by IGHV4 gene family (15.91% vs. 24.26%). However, no significant correlation was found between the IGHV4 usage and the prognosis of the patients. Should 98% be taken as the cut-off value for the IGHV mutation status, only 5 patients had no IGHV variant, and there was no correlation with the prognosis. Based on the X-tile analysis, 92.6% was re-selected as the cut-off value for the IGHV variant status in such patients. LDH was increased in 26 patients (59.1%) without IGHV variant (P < 0.05), whilst progression-free survival (P < 0.05) and overall survival (P < 0.05) were significantly shorter compared with those with IGHV variants.@*CONCLUSION@#The usage characteristics of IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ in our patients was similar to reported by the Institute of Hematology of Chinese Academy of Medical Science, albeit that no correlation was found between the IGHV4 usage and the prognosis of the patients. Furthermore, 98% may not be appropriate for distinguishing the IGHV variant status in WM patients.

Practice and reflection on continuing education and training of clinical pharmacists in the neurology department / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To provide a reference for continuing education and training of clinical pharmacists. METHODS The revision of the syllabus and the improvement of training methods of practical skills training class for clinical pharmacists in the neurology department held by Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University from 2007 to 2022 was sorted to summarize its advantages and characteristics. RESULTS Training programs were developed to benefit clinical pharmacists at different levels， and the training contents were adjusted according to the training programs and the needs of trainees. Teachers with teaching experience were selected to participate in the teaching. Theory teaching was combined with practice teaching in the teaching process， and case teaching and question-based teaching methods were adopted to benefit both senior clinical pharmacists and new clinical pharmacists. In addition， the influence of the training class was expanded through online teaching， so that doctors and pharmacists could communicate and learn together on the platform of the training class. For example， when designing the training program， we replaced one common neurological disease every two years， and carried rollover study on its new progress and new ideas； clinical pharmacist skill course was reduced， drug history writing， information retrieval and test index interpretation were compressed into clinical pharmacy skill course. CONCLUSIONS The continuing education platform is established for clinical pharmacists； new knowledge and concepts that clinical pharmacists of this specialty need to be familiar with are compiled into the teaching syllabus， and the experts who are familiar with the training of clinical pharmacists are selected to explain to the students so that the students could follow the platform to constantly update their knowledge and improve the ability of clinical pharmacists to participate in the clinic work.

Effects of Sp5 silencing on Wnt signaling pathway related factors and proliferative ability in mEPMCs / 天津医药

Objective To investigate the effect of transcription factor specific protein5(Sp5)silencing on Wnt signaling pathway correlated factors and cell proliferation ability in mouse embryo palatal mesenchymal cells(mEPMCs).Methods mEPMCs of 14.5 d pregnant C57BL/6J mice were isolated and cultured in vitro.Cell source was identified by immunofluorescence staining.Lentivirus transfection technique was used to silence the expression of Sp5 gene in mEPMCs,and the transfection efficiency was verified by Western blot assay.Follow-up experiments were set up with the blank control group,the no-load virus group and the slience group(the Sp5-shRNA group).The protein and mRNA expression levels of β-catenin,GSK-3β,Wnt3a and CyclinD1 were detected by Western blot assay and RT-qPCR after transfection for 72 h in each group.Cell proliferation capacity was detected by CCK-8.The proliferation rate of 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)positive cells was detected by immunofluorescence assay.Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry.Results mEPMCs were successfully isolated,and Sp5 expression was silenced.Western blot and RT-qPCR results showed that the protein and mRNA expressions of β-catenin,GSK-3β,Wnt3a and CyclinD1 were significantly higher in the Sp5-shRNA group than those in the blank control group and the no-loaded virus group(P<0.05).The proliferative ability and the proliferative rate of EdU positive cells were higher in the Sp5-shRNA group than those in the blank control group and the no-loaded virus group(P<0.05).The proportion of mEPMCs in S phase was higher in the Sp5-shRNA group than that in the blank control group and the no-loaded virus group(P<0.05).Conclusion Sp5 in silenced mEPMCs can participate in palate development and promote the proliferation of mEPMCs by regulating Wnt signaling pathway.

Air pollution on daily outpatient visits for diabetes based on time series model / 公共卫生与预防医学

Objective To analyze the effect of air pollution on daily outpatient visits for diabetes, and to provide reference for the management of outpatients with diabetes. Methods Data on outpatient visits for diabetes in a hospital between July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2022 were collected. The correlation between air quality and daily outpatient visits due to diabetes was analyzed using distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM). Results The results showed that the increase in the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in the air was related to the increase in the daily outpatient visits for diabetes, with a lagging effect. The accumulative effect in high PM2.5 concentration was statistically significant for both males and females, and the number of outpatients reached the maximum value at lag5 for males and at lag6 for females. The accumulative effect was not statistically significant either at low or high concentrations of PM2.5 in the young and middle-aged population. However，it was statistically significant in the elderly population, especially when exposed to high concentration of PM2.5, the daily outpatient visits increased significantly. Conclusion PM2.5, PM10 and other harmful pollutants in the air have an impact on the daily diabetic outpatients and increase their visits.

Quantifying the rebound of influenza epidemics after relaxing nonpharmaceutical interventions during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in China

The co-existence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza epidemics has become a potential threat to human health, particularly in China in the oncoming season. However, with the relaxation of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the rebound extent of the influenza activities is still poorly understood. In this study, we constructed a susceptible-vaccinated-infectious-recovered-susceptible (SVIRS) model to simulate influenza transmission and calibrated it using influenza surveillance data from 2018 to 2022. We projected the influenza transmission over the next 3 years using the SVIRS model. We observed that, in epidemiological year 2021-2022, the reproduction numbers of influenza in southern and northern China were reduced by 38.6% and 30.2%, respectively, compared with those before the pandemic. The percentage of people susceptible to influenza virus increased by 138.6% and 57.3% in southern and northern China by October 1, 2022, respectively. After relaxing NPIs, the potential accumulation of susceptibility to influenza infection may lead to a large-scale and early influenza outbreak in the year 2022-2023, the scale of which may be affected by the intensity of the NPIs. And later relaxation of NPIs in the year 2023 would not lead to much larger rebound of influenza activities in the year 2023-2024. To control the influenza epidemic to the pre-pandemic level after relaxing NPIs, the influenza vaccination rates in southern and northern China should increase to 56.2% and 47.3%, respectively. Vaccination for influenza should be advocated to reduce the potential reemergence of the influenza epidemic in the next few years.

Enhanced Thermal Stability of Mesoporous Carbon Microbeads-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries by Propargyl Methacrylate as Electrolyte Additive.

In this current work, propargyl methacrylate (PMA) was successfully adopted to be an efficient electrolyte additive to stabilize the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on mesoporous carbon microbeads (MCMB) in Li-ion batteries, especially at elevated temperatures. According to a series of material and electrochemical characterizations, the optimized concentration of PMA additive in the electrolyte was found to be 0.5 wt.%. The MCMB electrode cycled with the optimized 0.5 wt.% PMA-containing electrolyte exhibited impressive capacity retention of 90.3% after 50 cycles at 0.1C at elevated temperature, which was remarkably higher than that using the PMA-free electrolyte (83.5%). The improved electrochemical stability at elevated temperature could be ascribed to the rapid formation of stable and thin SEI layer on MCMB surface, which were investigated and suggested to be formed via PMA copolymerization reactions.

Functional investigation of chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting LMP1 antigen / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: This study aimed to create a type of CAR-T cells that targets LMP1 antigen and study its immunotherapeutic effect on LMP1-positive hematological malignancies. Methods: To generate LMP1 CAR-T cells, a plasmid expressing LMP1 CAR was created using molecular cloning technology, and T cells were infected with LMP1 CAR lentivirus. The effects of LMP1 CAR-T cells on specific cytotoxicity against LMP1-positive tumor cell lines infected with the EB virus had been confirmed. Results: ① LMP1 protein expressing on EB virus-positive lymphoma cells surface was verified. ② The LMP1 CAR-expressing plasmid was created, and LMP1 CAR-T cells were obtained by infecting T cells with a lentivirus packaging system, with an infection efficiency of more than 80% . ③LMP1 CAR-T cells have a 4∶1 effect-to-target ratio in killing LMP1-positive lymphoma cells. The killing effect of LMP1 CAR-T cells on Raji cells was enhanced after 48 h of coculture, but there was no significant killing effect on Ramos, which are LMP1-negative lymphoma cells. ④After coculture with LMP1-positive lymphoma cells at a ratio of 1∶1 for 5 h, the degranulation effect was enhanced. The proportion of CD107a(+) T cells in the LMP1 CAR-T cell treatment group was significantly higher than that in the vector-T cell group [ (13.25±2.94) % vs (1.55±0.05) % , t=3.972, P=0.017]. ⑤After coculture with LMP1-positive lymphoma cells, the proportion of CD69(+) and CD25(+) T cells in the LMP1 CAR-T cell group was significantly higher than that in vector-T cell group [ (7.40±0.41) % vs (3.48±0.47) % , t=6.268, P=0.003; (73.00±4.73) % vs (57.67±2.60) % , t=2.842, P=0.047]. ⑥After coculture with LMP1-positive lymphoma cells, cytokine secretion in the LMP1 CAR-T cell group was higher than that in the vector-T cell group [interferon-gamma: (703±73) ng/L vs (422±87) ng/L, t=2.478, P=0.068; tumor necrosis factor-alpha: (215±35) ng/L vs (125±2) ng/L, t=2.536, P=0.064]. Conclusion: In this study, we found that the LMP1 protein is only found on the surface of the EBV-positive tumor cell. Simultaneously, we created an LMP1 CAR-expressing plasmid and obtained LMP1 CAR-T cells by infecting T cells with a lentivirus packaging system. Furthermore, we demonstrated that LMP1 CAR-T cells could specifically kill LMP1-positive tumor cells in vitro. The degranulation and activation effects of LMP1 CAR-T cells were enhanced after coculture with LMP1-positive tumor cells, indicating a potential clinical application.

Effects of interferon regulatory factor 9 on the biological phenotypes in PML-RARα-induced promyelocytic leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the prognostic significance of interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) expression and identify its role as a potential therapeutic target in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) . Methods: The gene expression profile and survival data applied in the bioinformatic analysis were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Beat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cohorts. A dox-induced lentiviral system was used to induce the expression of PML-RARα (PR) in U937 cells, and the expression level of IRF9 in U937 cells treated with or without ATRA was examined. We then induced the expression of IRF9 in NB4, a promyelocytic leukemia cell line. In vitro studies focused on leukemic phenotypes triggered by IRF9 expression. Results: ①Bioinformatic analysis of the public database demonstrated the lowest expression of IRF9 in APL among all subtypes of AML, with lower expression associated with worse prognosis. ②We successfully established a PR-expression-inducible U937 cell line and found that IRF9 was downregulated by the PR fusion gene in APL, with undetectable expression in NB4 promyelocytic cells. ③An IRF9-inducible NB4 cell line was successfully established. The inducible expression of IRF9 promoted the differentiation of NB4 cells and had a synergistic effect with lower doses of ATRA. In addition, the inducible expression of IRF9 significantly reduced the colony formation capacity of NB4 cells. Conclusion: In this study, we found that the inducible expression of PR downregulates IRF9 and can be reversed by ATRA, suggesting a specific regulatory relationship between IRF9 and the PR fusion gene. The induction of IRF9 expression in NB4 cells can promote cell differentiation as well as reduce the colony forming ability of leukemia cells, implying an anti-leukemia effect for IRF9, which lays a biological foundation for IRF9 as a potential target for the treatment of APL.