ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical characteristics of children with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 25 children diagnosed with AAV at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2010 to June 2022. RESULTS: Among the AAV children, there were 5 males and 20 females, with a median age of onset of 11.0 years. Involvement of the urinary system was seen in 18 cases (72%); respiratory system involvement in 10 cases (40%); skin involvement in 6 cases (24%); eye, ear, and nose involvement in 5 cases (20%); joint involvement in 4 cases (16%); digestive system involvement in 2 cases (8%). Eleven cases underwent kidney biopsy, with 5 cases (46%) showing focal type, 2 cases (18%) showing crescentic type, 2 cases (18%) showing mixed type, and 2 cases (18%) showing sclerotic type. Immune complex deposits were present in 5 cases (45%). Seven cases reached chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage V, with 2 cases resulting in death. Two cases underwent kidney transplantation. At the end of the follow-up period, 2 cases were at CKD stage II, and 1 case was at CKD stage III. Of the 16 cases of microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) group, 13 (81%) involved the urinary system. Of the 9 cases of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), 6 cases (66%) had sinusitis. Serum creatinine and uric acid levels were higher in the MPA group than in the GPA group (P<0.05), while red blood cell count and glomerular filtration rate were lower in the MPA group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AAV is more common in school-age female children, with MPA being the most common clinical subtype. The onset of AAV in children is mainly characterized by renal involvement, followed by respiratory system involvement. The renal pathology often presents as focal type with possible immune complex deposits. Children with MPA often have renal involvement, while those with GPA commonly have sinusitis. The prognosis of children with AAV is poor, often accompanied by renal insufficiency.
Subject(s)
Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis , Humans , Female , Male , Child , Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis/complications , Retrospective Studies , Adolescent , Child, Preschool , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/etiologyABSTRACT
Neurological disorders are closely linked to the alterations in cell membrane permeability (CMP) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Changes in CMP and MMP may lead to damage and death of nerve cells, thus triggering the onset and progression of neurological diseases. Therefore, monitoring the changes of these two physiological parameters not only benefits the accurate assessment of nerve cell health status, but also enables providing key information for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. However, the simultaneous monitoring of these two cellular physiological parameters is still challenging. Herein, we design and synthesize two quinolinium-carbazole-derivated fluorescent probes (OQ and PQ). As isomers, the only difference in their chemical structures is the linking position of the carbazole unit in quinoline rings. Strikingly, such a subtle difference endows OQ and PQ with significantly different organelle-staining behaviors. PQ mainly targets at the nucleus, OQ can simultaneously stain cell membranes and mitochondria in normal cells, and performs CMP and MMP-dependent translocation from the cell membrane to mitochondria then to the nucleus, thus holding great promise as an intracellular translocation probe to image the changes of CMP and MMP. After unraveling the intrinsic mechanism of their different translocation abilities by combining experiments with molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations, we successfully used OQ to monitor the continuous changes of CMP and MMP in three neurological disease-related cell models, including oxidative stress-damaged, Parkinson's disease, and virus-infected ones. Besides providing a validated imaging tool for monitoring cellular physiological parameters, this work paves a promising route for designing intracellular translocation probes to analyze cellular physiological parameters associated with various diseases.
Subject(s)
Fluorescent Dyes , Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial , Fluorescent Dyes/chemistry , Fluorescent Dyes/chemical synthesis , Humans , Nervous System Diseases , Density Functional Theory , Cell Membrane Permeability , Carbazoles/chemistry , Molecular Structure , Animals , Optical ImagingABSTRACT
Rapid and highly effective removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(â ¥)) is extremely vital to water resources restoration and environmental protection. To overcome the pH limitation faced by most ionic absorbents, an always positive covalent organic nanosheet (CON) material was prepared and its Cr(VI) adsorption and removal capability was investigated in detail. As-prepared EB-TFB CON (TFB = 1,3,5-benzaldehyde, EB = ethidium bromide) shows strong electropositivity in the tested pH range of 1 â¼ 10, display a pH-independent Cr(VI) removal ability, and work well for Cr(VI) pollution treatment with good anti-interference capability and reusability in a wide pH range covering almost all Cr(VI)-contaminated real water samples, thus eliminating the requirement for pH adjustment. Moreover, the nanosheet structure, which is obtained by a facile ultrasonic-assisted self-exfoliation, endows EB-TFB CON with fully exposed active sites and shortened mass transfer channels, and the Cr(VI) adsorption equilibrium can be reached within 15 min with a high adsorption capacity of 280.57 mg·g-1. The proposed Cr(VI) removal mechanism, which is attributed to the synergetic contributions of electrostatic adsorption, ion exchange and chemical reduction, is demonstrated by experiments and theoretical calculations. This work not only provides a general Cr(VI) absorbent without pH limitation, but also presents a paradigm to prepare ionic CONs with relatively constant surface charges.
ABSTRACT
A heteropore covalent organic framework incorporated silicone tube (S-tube@PDA@COF) was used as adsorbent to purify the matrices in vegetable extracts. The S-tube@PDA@COF was fabricated by a facile in-situ growth method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and N2 adsorption-desorption. The as-prepared composite exhibited high removal efficiency of phytochromes and recovery (81.13-116.62%) of 15 chemical hazards from 5 representative vegetable samples. This study opens a promising avenue toward the facile synthesis of covalent organic frameworks (COFs)-derived silicone tubes for streamline operation in food sample pretreatment.
ABSTRACT
The planting effect and the planting potential of 12 cover crops (Leguminous: alfalfa, smooth vetch, hairy vetch, red clover, white clover, common vetch; non-leguminous: sudangrass, green radish, Nitro radish, rape, kale, endive) in the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China were comprehensively evaluated by soil penetration resistance, pre-winter biomass, root characteristics, and plant nitrogen accumulation. The results showed that all the 12 cover crops grew normally during the experimental sowing period. Compared with the control, all the cover crops successfully reduced soil compactness. The planting of green radish, nitro radish, and sudangrass decreased soil penetration resistance by 47.1%, 43.4% and 33.4%, respectively. The pre-winter total fresh biomass of cover crop populations was between 3.38 and 13.98 kg·m-2, and the total dry matter mass was between 0.78 and 2.43 kg·m-2. The biomass of non-leguminous cover crops was significantly higher than that of the leguminous cover crops. The group roots of radish, rape and endive had large volumes. In particular, the nitro radish roots had a vo-lume of 4018.5 cm3·m-2, and the root system of sudangrass extended over the widest horizontal range. The ash content of leguminous cover crops was significantly lower than that of non-leguminous species, which could provide more organic matter with high decomposability. The total nitrogen accumulation of cover crops varied from 18.72 to 53.09 g·m-2. Kale and endive accumulated the highest amount of nitrogen and large biomass, which could facilitate nitrogen fixation and accumulation. According to the type of main crops in Sanjiang Plain and canopy structure, planting leguminous (clover, vetch, and alfalfa) and non-leguminous (radish, kale and sudangrass) cover crops to plant inter-row or in a line mixed cropping pattern could regulate soil structure and promote nutrient cycing, with positive effects on the fertility of black soil in the Sanjiang Plain.
Subject(s)
Fabaceae , Sorghum , Trifolium , Vicia , Agriculture/methods , Soil/chemistry , Crops, Agricultural , Nitrogen , Biomass , VegetablesABSTRACT
The effects of different straw returning technology and farming system on soil physical properties is not clear in Heilongjiang Province, which is located in middle temperature zone with large amount of straw. Here, the effects of straw mulching on soil physical properties in meadow soil under no tillage conditions were studied in field experiments for eight consecutive years (2010-2017). The no straw covering (0%), 30% coverage (30%), 60% coverage (60%) and 100% coverage (100%) were disposed in the experiment. The results showed that straw mulching under no tillage significantly increased soil bulk density by 0.10-0.20 g·cm-3, which increased with the increases of coverage amount. Straw mulching increased soil solid fraction by 2.5%-7.8%. Soil temperature decreased with the increases of coverage amount, and this trend was more apparent on the surface of soil. The temperature reduction in 0-5 cm soil layer was 1.87-2.90 â. Soil water content significantly increased with the increases of straw mulching, with an enhancement of 6.4%-10.2%. Straw mulch decreased the total porosity and diameter of >0.05 mm aeration pores, increased the effective pore size of 0.05-0.002 mm, with the magnitude of such effects being positively dependent on coverage amount. There was no significant effect of straw mulching on inactive porosity of soil. Long-term straw mulching increased soil compaction and soil moisture, reduced soil temperature and total soil porosity, and increased soil available porosity in 0-5 cm soil layer.
Subject(s)
Agriculture/methods , Grassland , Soil/chemistry , Cold Temperature , WaterABSTRACT
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress activates the adaptive unfolded protein response (UPR) and represents a critical mechanism that underlies metabolic dysfunctions. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a hormone that is predominantly secreted by the liver, exerts a broad range of effects upon the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Although increased circulating levels of FGF21 have been documented in animal models and human subjects with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the functional interconnections between metabolic ER stress and FGF21 are incompletely understood. Here, we report that increased ER stress along with the simultaneous elevation of FGF21 expression were associated with the occurrence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease both in diet-induced obese mice and human patients. Intraperitoneal administration of the ER stressor tunicamycin in mice resulted in hepatic steatosis, accompanied by activation of the three canonical UPR branches and increased the expression of FGF21. Furthermore, the IRE1α-XBP1 pathway of the UPR could directly activate the transcriptional expression of Fgf21. Administration of recombinant FGF21 in mice alleviated tunicamycin-induced liver steatosis, in parallel with reduced eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP signaling. Taken together, these results suggest that FGF21 is an integral physiological component of the cellular UPR program, which exerts beneficial feedback effects upon lipid metabolism through counteracting ER stress.
Subject(s)
DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress/genetics , Endoribonucleases/metabolism , Fatty Liver/genetics , Fibroblast Growth Factors/genetics , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Unfolded Protein Response/genetics , Animals , Base Sequence , Diet , Enzyme Activation/drug effects , Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors , Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/metabolism , Fatty Liver/pathology , Fibroblast Growth Factors/metabolism , Hep G2 Cells , Hepatocytes/drug effects , Hepatocytes/metabolism , Hepatocytes/pathology , Humans , Male , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Obese , Molecular Sequence Data , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/pathology , Organ Specificity/drug effects , Organ Specificity/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/pharmacology , Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors , Signal Transduction/drug effects , Signal Transduction/genetics , Transcription, Genetic/drug effects , Transcriptional Activation/drug effects , Transcriptional Activation/genetics , Unfolded Protein Response/drug effects , X-Box Binding Protein 1ABSTRACT
The experiments were made in laboratory to analyze the characteristics and principle of benzene's biodegradation using the microorganism (G-, Flavobacterium) taken from Daqing oil fields. Results show that the maximal concentration of benzene, which microorganisms could endure is between 8.8 mg x L(-1) and 17.6 mg x L(-1); microorganisms were inhibited as benzene's concentration was beyond 17.6 mg x L(-1). Trends of benzene's concentration in and out of microorganism's cell are almost same; the biodegradation could be achieved efficiently as the pH range of 6.5 - 7.0 and benzene initial concentration range of 7.04 - 13.2 mg x L(-1). Change of - lgP (P is the distributive ratio of benzene in membrane and water) could be illustrated the trends of toxicity and degradation of benzene in and out of microorganism's cell; the biodegradation rate varied simultaneously with the change of P as initial concentration of benzene was beyond 8.8 mg x L(-1).