Lycium barbarum L. Balanced intestinal flora with YAP1/FXR activation in drug-induced liver injury.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common and severe adverse drug reaction that can result in acute liver failure. Previously, we have shown that Lycium barbarum L. (wolfberry) ameliorated liver damage in acetaminophen (APAP)-induced DILI. Nevertheless, the mechanism needs further clarification. Herein, we utilized APAP-induced DILI mice to investigate how wolfberry impacts the gut-liver axis to mitigate liver damage. We showed that the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) was decreased, and intestinal microbiota was disrupted, while the expression levels of YAP1 and FXR-mediated CYP7A1 were reduced in the liver of DILI mice. Furthermore, wolfberry increased the abundance of A. muciniphila and the number of goblet cells in the intestines, while decreasing AST, ALT, and total bile acids (TBA) levels in the serum. Interestingly, A. muciniphila promoted YAP1 and FXR expression in hepatocytes, leading to the inhibition of CYP7A1 expression and a decrease in TBA content. Notably, wolfberry did not exert the beneficial effects mentioned above after the removal of intestinal bacteria by antibiotics (ATB)-containing water. Additionally, Yap1 knockout downregulated FXR expression and enhanced CYP7A1 expression in the liver of hepatocyte-specific Yap1 knockout mice. Therefore, wolfberry stimulated YAP1/FXR activation and reduced CYP7A1 expression by promoting the balance of intestinal microbiota, thereby suppressing the overproduction of bile acids.

A new S-scheme heterojunction of 1D ZnGa2O4/ZnO nanofiber for efficient photocatalytic degradation of TC-HCl.

One-dimensional shaped ZnGa2O4, ZnO and ZnGa2O4/ZnO nanofibers were successfully prepared by electrostatic spinning technique and the photocatalytic degradation performance of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) were studied. It was found that the S-scheme heterojunction formed in the ZnGa2O4/ZnO could greatly reduce the recombination of the photogenerated carriers and therefore improve the photocatalytic performance. By optimizing the ratio of the ZnGa2O4 and ZnO, the largest degradation rate could reach 0.0573 min-1, which was 20 times of the self-degradation rate of TC-HCl. It was verified that the h+ played the key role in the reactive groups for the high performance decomposition of TC-HCl by capture experiments. This work provides a new method for the highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of TC-HCl.

Palliative Gastrectomy vs. Gastrojejunostomy for Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Advanced gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer commonly develop a gastric outlet obstruction that considerably worsens their quality of life. Surgical interventions such as gastrojejunostomy and palliative gastrectomy are commonly administered to alleviate this obstruction. However, whether one intervention is better than another at improving morbidity- and mortality-related outcomes is unclear. Thus, in this meta-analysis, we compare outcomes of palliative gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy (overall hospital stay length, time to oral intake, survival, and complication rates) in patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer to identify the best procedure. Objective: To compare morbidity and mortality outcomes of palliative gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy in patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer. Methods: We followed the PRISMA guidelines to systematically search Web of Science, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Scopus, and MEDLINE for relevant studies. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis to find differential outcomes between palliative gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy among variables such as time to oral intake, overall hospital stay length, complication rates, and survival in patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer. Results: From 963 studies, we found 7 eligible studies with 642 patients (70.3 ± 4.7 years) who had undergone palliative gastrectomy or gastrojejunostomy. Our meta-analysis revealed an insignificant (p > 0.05) differences in terms of overall survival duration (Hedge's g, 1.22), complication risks (odds ratio, 1.35), and time to oral intake (g, 0.62) and hospital stay length (g, 0.12) between patients undergoing gastrojejunostomy and palliative gastrectomy. Conclusion: In this present study we observed no statistically significant differences in terms of morbidity and mortality outcomes after palliative gastrectomy and gastrojejunostomy in patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer. Therefore, no conclusions can be drawn for the variables evaluated. This study provides a preliminary overview of the risks associated with gastrojejunostomy and palliative gastrectomy to help gastroenterologists manage patients with metastatic advanced-stage gastric cancer.

Embedding of Ti3 C2 Tx Nanocrystals in MAPbI3 Microwires for Improved Responsivity and Detectivity of Photodetector.

Organic-inorganic hybrid MAPbI3 microwires show unique optoelectronic properties for high performances of photodetectors (PDs). However, the defects-assisted nonradiative recombination is harmful for carrier transport, which limits the performances improvement of MAPbI3 microwires PDs. Traditional organic passivation agents effectively combine the surface defects of microwires and also reduce the mobility of overall film based on the perovskite microwires. Therefore, the improvement of internal carrier transport of microwires and the mobility of integrated film simultaneously is a particular challenge for fabrication of performances enhanced perovskite microwires PDs. Here, the Ti3 C2 Tx NCs are fabricated by nonfocus laser irradiation in liquid environment, and hybrids the high conductive NCs in the MAPbI3 microwires. The presence of Ti3 C2 Tx NCs renders defects passivation, enhancement of crystalline orientation, charge transport, and carrier extraction for MAPbI3 microwires, and boots the mobility of microwires based film, leading to about tenfolds enhancement of performances of PDs than that of the control. The maximum responsivity and the detectivity of the Ti3 C2 Tx NCs embedded MAPbI3 microwires PDs reach to 1.70 A W-1 and 7.0 × 1011 Jones in visible window, respectively. The findings suggest that the laser generated high conductive Ti3 C2 Tx NCs is an effective additive for perovskite microwires to fabricate performances enhanced optoelectronics.

Investigation on Atypical Pathogens related with Community Acquired Pneumonia and the Factors Associated with Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection in Jiangsu, China.

BACKGROUND: Community acquired pneumonia remains a leading infectious cause of hospitalization with substantial morbidity and mortality in China. At present, the role of atypical pathogens in CAP arouses peoples' concern. Previous studies indicated that MP was the dominant pathogen of CAP, but the associated factors of MP infection were rarely reported. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated the distribution of atypical pathogens related with CAP and compared their differences among various populations. Furthermore, we accessed the associated factors of MP infection in various population. RESULTS: A total of 3,675 patients were enrolled and divided into three groups. One thousand and eighty-nine subjects (29.6%) were infected with at least one atypical pathogen. MP was the most predominant pathogen in these CAP patients. Our study found that infection rates of the atypical pathogens were significantly different among three groups. Our results also revealed, in a pediatric group, as the temperature increased, so did the infection rate of MP, while it was the opposite in adult and elderly groups. Furthermore, in preschool and school-age children, high temperature, female, PIVs, ADV, and INFB infection were independent risk factors for MP infection, INFA infection was a protection factor for MP infection. However, in adult and elderly groups, the associated factors might be different. CONCLUSIONS: The infection of atypical pathogens related with CAP is quite serious, and MP infection plays a key role in CAP. Besides, the infection rates of the atypical pathogens are different in various populations, as are the associated factors for MP infection.

Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Transthoracic Echocardiography as Predictive and Prognostic Indicators of All-Cause Mortality in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to compare the predictive role of two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2D-TTE) and three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3D-TTE) on in-hospital all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) due to ischemic heart disease (IHD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients (N-224) with HFrEF due to IHD who had a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40% on admission when measured by 2D-TTE and 3D-TTE were studied and divided into survival and mortality groups. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were compared. RESULTS Compared with the survival group (n=142), patients who died during hospitalization (n=82) were more commonly older (67.3 vs. 62.6 years), female (48.8% vs. 38.7%), with diabetes mellitus (51.2% vs. 32.4%), chronic kidney disease (48.8% vs. 32.4%), intravenous inotropes (85.4% vs. 76.1%), and intravenous vasodilators (70.7% vs. 61.3%). Regression model analysis for all-cause mortality identified significant associations with age, diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction (MI), intravenous inotropes, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and LVEF following 2D-TTE. Age, diabetes mellitus, prior MI, the use of intravenous inotropes, NT-proBNP, LVEF, and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) index following 3D-TTE were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Modeling of 2D-TTE parameters showed that the concordance statistic (C-index) increased significantly after including the LVEF, from 0.72 to 0.77 and from 0.72 to 0.80, respectively. Modeling of 3D-TTE parameters showed that the C-index increased significantly after including the LVEDV index (from 0.80 to 0.76). CONCLUSIONS In patients with HFrEF due to IHD, 3D-TTE was a better predictor than 2D-TTE of in-hospital all-cause mortality.

Design of a Targeted Sequencing Assay to Detect Rare Mutations in Circulating Tumor DNA.

BACKGROUND: Qualitative and quantitative detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a liquid biopsy technology used for early cancer diagnosis. However, the plasma ctDNA content is extremely low, so it is difficult to detect somatic mutations of tumors using conventional sequencing methods. Target region sequencing (TRS) technology, through enrichment of the target genomic region followed by next generation sequencing, overcomes this challenge and has been widely used in ctDNA sequencing. METHODS: We designed a ctDNA sequencing panel to capture 128 tumor genes, and tested the performance of the panel by running TRS for ctDNA of a clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patient and 12 breast cancer patients. RESULTS: TRS using the new ctDNA panel at more than 500 × coverage depth achieved almost the same accuracy as traditional whole-exome sequencing (WES). PBRM1 p.L641V was detected in the plasma sample of the ccRCC patient with an allele frequency of 0.2%. The ctDNA of 12 breast cancer patients was sequenced at a depth of 500-fold, achieving 99.89% coverage; 34 genes were detected with mutations, including the drug target genes BRCA2, PTEN, TP53, APC, KDR, and NOTCH2. CONCLUSIONS: This TRS new ctDNA panel can be used to detect mutations in cell-free DNA from multiple types of cancer.

Wet-Chemical Synthesis of Surface-Passivated Halide Perovskite Microwires for Improved Optoelectronic Performance and Stability.

One-dimensional (1D) halide perovskite materials with intrinsic high carrier mobility and long diffusion length hold great promises for high-performance optoelectronic devices, in which the passivation of the surface defects is of significance for further boosting its optoelectronic performance as well as its moisture stability. Herein, we demonstrate a simple room-temperature wet-chemical synthetic protocol for perovskite microwires with controlled morphologies and passivated surface states. This strategy allows for facile assembly of hydrophobic 1 H,1 H-perfluorooctylamine (PFA) molecules on the surface of the perovskite microwires owing to the coordination binding between the amino groups of PFA and Pb2+. Both steady and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements revealed that the passivation of PFA greatly benefit for the inhibition of the photogenerated carriers recombination. The constructed perovskite microwire-based photodetectors have shown increased detectivity of 4.99 × 1011 jones and responsivity of 1.27 A/W (light power density of 1 mW/cm2). Moreover, the hydrophobic fluorocarbon alkyl chains endow the perovskite microwires with higher resistance toward moisture. Such coating of a water-resisting layer resulted in greatly enhanced stability of perovskite microwires under the humidity of 55 ± 5% over 30 days. We thus believe that our work is of importance for the development of 1D halide perovskite photodetectors with highly improved performance and stability.

Correlation between plasma ferritin level and gestational diabetes mellitus and its impact on fetal macrosomia.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: To explore the relationship between plasma iron levels and gestational diabetes mellitus, as well as its impact on macrosomia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively compared ferritin level and other characteristics between pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pregnant women without GDM. The correlation between the levels of plasma ferritin, glucose and hemoglobin was explored. Meanwhile, we assessed the risk factors of macrosomia. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between ferritin level and the incidence of macrosomia. RESULTS: A total of 793 pregnant women were enrolled in the present study, of which 92 pregnant women had GDM and 701 pregnant women were healthy. Meanwhile, 51 pregnant women gave birth to infants with macrosomia and another 742 women had normal infants. Compared with non-GDM women, pregnant women with GDM were older, with higher pre-pregnancy body mass index, plasma ferritin, fasting plasma glucose, 1-h postprandial glucose, 2-h plasma glucose and hemoglobin. In addition, our results showed a significant positive correlation between the levels of ferritin and fasting plasma glucose when ferritin levels were >70 ng/mL. Our results also showed that pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity, a high concentration of ferritin, as well as abnormal levels of fasting plasma glucose, 1-h plasma glucose and 2 h plasma glucose were risk factors for macrosomia. Furthermore, as the level of ferritin increased, so did the incidence of macrosomia. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence that pregnant women with high levels of ferritin might be prone to GDM. In addition, a high level of ferritin might be an independent risk factor for macrosomia. Therefore, the negative effect of iron supplementation in non-anemic pregnant women might be noteworthy.

Identification of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 inhibitors with anti-osteosarcoma activity.

Overexpression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs), especially PDK1 has been observed in a variety of cancers. Thus, targeting PDK1 offers an attractive opportunity for the development of cancer therapies. In this letter, we reported the identification of two novel PDK1 inhibitors as anti-osteosarcoma agents. We found that TM-1 and TM-2 inhibited PDK1 with the IC50 values of 2.97 and 3.41 µM, respectively. Furthermore, TM-1 and TM-2 dose-dependently reduced phosphorylation of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. Finally, TM-1 and TM-2 were found to inhibit the proliferation of MG-63 cells with the EC50 values of 14.5, and 11.0 µM, respectively, meaning TM-1 and TM-2 could be promising leads for the discovery of potent PDK1 inhibitors.

Shear wave elastography imaging for detecting malignant lesions of the liver: a systematic review and pooled meta-analysis.

AIM: To investigate the clinical utility of shear wave elastography (SWE) imaging in the identification of malignant and benign lesions of the liver lesions by conducting a meta-analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Cochrane library, Embase and Pubmed were searched for relevant studies with publication data through February 2016. Studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of SWE in the identification of malignant and benign lesions of the liver using SWE technology were selected. The cytology, histology or clinical imaging was used as the reference standard. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, likelihood ratio, and the area under hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve (HSROC) were used to examine the diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 9 cohort studies involving 1046 liver lesions (malignant 679) from 968 patients were identified. All of the 9 studies were prospective studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio of SWE in differentiating malignant and benign liver lesions were 82.2% (95% CI: 73.4-88.5), 80.2% (95% CI: 73.3-85.7), 4.159 (95% CI: 2.899-5.966), 0.222 (95% CI: 0.140-0.352), and 18.749 (95% CI: 8.746-40.195), respectively. The area under the HSROC curve was 87% (95% CI: 84-90). CONCLUSIONS:  This meta-analysis indicates that SWE is useful in evaluating the stiffness of liver lesions and in differentiating between malignant and benign lesions. Due to the high sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio, SWE can be considered as a useful complement to conventional ultrasonography.

Discovery of human lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) inhibitors as anticancer agents to inhibit the proliferation of MG-63 osteosarcoma cells.

Human lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in the area of cancer metabolism. Herein, we report the discovery of novel LDHA inhibitors through docking-based virtual screening and biological assays. The primary enzymatic assay suggested that compound 11 targeted LDHA with an IC50 value of 0.33 µM. The in vitro cytotoxic assay demonstrated that compound 11 reduced the growth of MG-63 cancer cells with an EC50 value of 3.35 µM. Finally, we found that compound 11 induced the apoptosis of MG-63 cancer cells in a dose dependent manner, upregulated the oxygen consumption rate (OCR), and decreased the lactate formation and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in MG-63 cancer cells. Collectively, our data suggested that compound 11 could be a promising lead for the development of potent LDHA inhibitors.

Modulating crystal grain size and optoelectronic properties of perovskite films for solar cells by reaction temperature.

Regulating the temperature during the direction contact and intercalation process (DCIP) for the transition from PbI2 to CH3NH3PbI3 modulated the crystallinity, crystal grain size and crystal grain orientation of the perovskite films. Higher temperatures produced perovskite films with better crystallinity, larger grain size, and better photovoltaic performance. The best cell, which had a PCE of 12.9%, was obtained on a film prepared at 200 °C. Further open circuit voltage decay and film resistance characterization revealed that the larger grain size contributed to longer carrier lifetime and smaller carrier transport resistance, both of which are beneficial for solar cell devices.

A Se-doped MoS2 nanosheet for improved hydrogen evolution reaction.

Thanks to the increase in the number of active sites and enhanced conductivity, the Se-doped MoS2 shows excellent catalytic activity with a lower overpotential of -140 mV and a smaller Tafel slope of 55 mV dec(-1), exhibiting enhanced catalytic performance compared with that of pristine MoS2. This work offers an attractive strategy to improve the HER activity of MoS2-based catalysts.

Two-Inch-Sized Perovskite CH3 NH3 PbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) Crystals: Growth and Characterization.

Two-inch-sized perovskite crystals, CH3 NH3 PbX3 (X=I, Br, Cl), with high crystalline quality are prepared by a solution-grown strategy. The availability of large perovskite crystals is expected to transform its broad applications in photovoltaics, optoelectronics, lasers, photodetectors, LEDs, etc., just as crystalline silicon has done in revolutionizing the modern electronics and photovoltaic industries.

Well-defined flowerlike NdOCl nanostructures: nonaqueous sol-gel synthesis, nanoscale characterization and their magnetic and photoluminescence properties.

A facile nonaqueous solution route for the fabrication of NdOCl nanostructures based on a ligand-exchange protocol and further thermal decomposition in organic medium, using only chloride salt as the neodymium source, is reported and the formation mechanism is proposed. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical compositions of the sample were characterized at the nanoscale. XRD results and selected-area electron diffraction patterns show that the sample is purely tetragonal NdOCl without any other impurity phases. TEM results show that the NdOCl nanostructures have a well-defined flowerlike shape, which looks like a chrysanthemum just about to bloom. Magnetization measurements reveal that the NdOCl nanoflowers show room-temperature ferromagnetism. The photoluminescence properties were also studied. These results are significant for fundamental research and promising applications of rare-earth-based nanostructures.

Synthesis and properties of core-shell SiO2@Y2O3:Eu3+ wavelength conversion materials.

In this paper, with spherical SiO2 particles fabricated via Stöber method, monodispersed and uniform SiO2 @Y2O3:Eu3+ core-shell submicrospheres were prepared through a simply homogeneous precipitation method. SEM, TEM and XRD analysis indicated that the as-prepared samples were uniform and well monodispersed spheres. The SiO2 core was perfectly coated by the shell composed of cubic crystalline Y2O3:Eu3+ and the thickness of the shell was about 26 nm. Photoluminescence spectra showed that the luminescence efficiency was improved remarkably after being coated on the SiO2 core. The 3D PL spectra showed that almost all UV photons in the range from 200 nm to 400 nm can be converted to visible photons by the as-prepared samples. Results showed that when the SiO2 core was synthesized in the TEOS single feeding model with the amount of core being 0.4 g, doping concentration being 4% and annealing at 800 degrees C, the sample has the best performance on luminescence. By dispersing the as-prepared sample in the anti-reflection sol to prepared the wavelength conversion and anti-reflection film and apply it to the silicon solar cell, the photoelectric conversion efficiency can be increased by 7.41% in maximum.

The basis of mechanical instability in degenerative disc disease: a cadaveric study of abnormal motion versus load distribution.

STUDY DESIGN: A biomechanical study in cadaveric lumbar spine. OBJECTIVE: To establish the basis of mechanical stability in degenerative disc disease from the relationship between range of motion (ROM), neutral zone motion (NZ), intradiscal pressure profile, and instantaneous axis or rotation (IAR) in advancing grades of disc degeneration. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The basis of mechanical instability in lumbar disc degeneration remains poorly understood. Controversy exists between abnormal motion and abnormal loading theories. METHODS: Thirty-nine lumbar motion segments were graded for staging of disc degeneration with magnetic resonance scan. These specimens were tested for ROM and NZ in a 6 df spine simulator, with 7.5 N·m unconstrained, cyclical loading. Continuous tracking of IAR was derived from ROM data. Intradiscal pressure profiles were determined using needle-mounted pressure transducer, drawn across the disc space under constant loading. RESULTS: The ROM showed insignificant change, but a trend of increase from grade I through III and a decrease with advanced degeneration. NZ increased significantly with advancing disc degeneration. Intradiscal pressure profile showed an even distribution of the load in normal discs but a depressurized nucleus and irregular spikes of excessive loading, with advancing degeneration. The IAR showed a smooth excursion in normal versus irregular jerky excursion in degenerated discs, without significant change in excursion. The center of rotation, derived from IAR, showed significantly increased vertical translation with advancing degeneration, indicating an abnormal quality of motion. CONCLUSION: The study established a basis of mechanical instability in the lumbar spine with advancing disc degeneration as an abnormal quality of motion represented by variation in IAR and center of rotation, increased NZ motion without any increase in quantity of motion, and abnormal load distribution across the disc space with spikes of high load amidst depressurized nucleus. The study cannot identify clinical instability but finds an association between the abnormal motions and the abnormal load distribution in mechanical instability. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.

Enhanced adsorptive removal of methyl orange and methylene blue from aqueous solution by alkali-activated multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

An alkali-acitvated method was explored to synthesize activated carbon nanotubes (CNTs-A) with a high specific surface area (SSA), and a large number of mesopores. The resulting CNTs-A were used as an adsorbent material for removal of anionic and cationic dyes in aqueous solutions. Experimental results indicated that CNTs-A have excellent adsorption capacity for methyl orange (149 mg/g) and methylene blue (399 mg/g). Alkali-activation treatment of CNTs increased the SSA and pore volume (PV), and introduced oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of CNTs-A, which would be beneficial to improving the adsorption affinity of CNTs-A for removal of dyes. Kinetic regression results shown that the adsorption kinetic was more accurately represented by a pseudo second-order model. The overall adsorption process was jointly controlled by external mass transfer and intra-particle diffusion, and intra-particle diffusion played a dominant role. Freundlich isotherm model showed a better fit with adsorption data than Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption interactions of dyes onto CNTs-A from aqueous solutions were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The remarkable adsorption capacity of dye onto CNTs-A can be attributed to the multiple adsorption interaction mechanisms (hydrogen bonding, π-π electron-donor-acceptor interactions, electrostatic interactions, mesopore filling) on the CNTs-A. Results of this work are of great significance for environmental applications of activated CNTs as a promising adsorbent nanomaterial for organic pollutants from aqueous solutions.