New insights into the alkoxy effects on auxiliary adsorption and inhibiting charge recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells with high open circuit voltage: a theoretical investigation.

Although introducing an alkoxy group is one of the most popular methods to suppress the interfacial charge recombination process of dye-sensitized solar cells, understanding of its effects is still limited and a microscopic picture of the alkoxy effects is lacking. Two ullazine dyes with distinct alkoxy chains at the donor part are used to investigate the effects of the alkoxy group on the adsorption, dye aggregation and charge recombination process in our study. Different from the usual assumption, we find that alkoxy chains can not only play a shielding role, but can also assist dye adsorption and inhibit the charge recombination process more effectively by covering the TiO2 surface. We also find that the existence of alkyl chains can well inhibit the aggregation of dyes and reduce intermolecular electron transfer. Furthermore, an important structural feature at the interface, the Ti-O interaction between the oxygen atom of the alkoxy group and the Ti atom of the surface is also found to contribute substantially to the interface stability. New insights into the effects of the alkoxy group on auxiliary adsorption and inhibiting charge recombination through reducing the recombination sites pave the way for rational design of sensitizers with high performance.

Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia Following Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation and Resistance Training Among Individuals With Shoulder Myofascial Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Various exercises can attenuate pain perception in healthy individuals and may interact with the descending pain modulation in the central nervous system. However, the analgesic effects of exercise in patients with myofascial pain can be disrupted by the pathological changes during chronic pain conditions. Thus, the exercises targeted on the facilitation of the sensory-motor interaction may have a positive impact on the restoration of the descending pain modulation and the analgesia effects. OBJECTIVE: This paper estimates the effect of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and resistance training on exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) among patients with myofascial pain syndrome. METHODS: A total of 76 female patients with myofascial pain syndrome (aged 18-30 years), with the pain in the upper trapezius and a visual analog scale score of greater than 30/100 mm, were enrolled in the study. Participants were randomly assigned into 3 intervention groups, including isometric (n=18, 24%), isotonic (n=19, 25%), and PNF (n=20, 26%) exercises, as well as 1 control group (n=19, 25%) with no intervention. Pressure pain threshold and the CPM responses at the myofascial trigger point, arm, and leg sites were assessed before and after the exercise session. The effective EIH response was reflected in the improvement of pressure pain thresholds. RESULTS: There was an increase in pressure pain thresholds and CPM responses at trigger point (P<.001 and P<.001), arm (P<.001 and P<.001), and leg sites (P<.001 and P=.03) in participants who performed PNF and isotonic exercise, while the isometric exercise only increased pressure pain thresholds at leg sites (P=.03). Compared with the control group, both the isotonic (P=.02) and PNF (P<.001) groups showed greater EIH responses at the trigger points. In comparison to the control group, only the PNF exercise (P=.01) significantly improved pressure pain thresholds and CPM responses at arm and leg sites compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: PNF, isotonic, and isometric exercises could lead to local and global EIH effects. The improvement in CPM response following PNF and isotonic exercises suggested that the EIH mechanisms of different resistance exercises may be attributed to the enhancement of the endogenous pain modulation via the motor-sensory interaction from the additional eccentric and dynamic muscle contraction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCtr202111090819166165; https://tinyurl.com/2ab93p7n.

Analysis of pathogenic bacteria distribution and drug resistance characteristics of bloodstream infection in patients with neutrophilic deficiency after chemotherapy in acute leukemia / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective　To investigate the distribution and drug resistance characteristics of pathogenic bacteria in patients with neutropenic acute leukemia (AL) and bloodstream infections (BSI). Methods　The clinical data of 258 neutropenic acute leukemia patients with bloodstream infections, who admitted to Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2016 to December 2021, were collected and analyzed for pathogenic bacteria and drug resistance. Results A total of 268 strains of pathogenic bacteria were isolated from 258 patients, including 180 strains of gram-negative bacteria (67.16%), 61 strains of gram-positive bacteria (22.76%), and 27 strains of fungi (10.07%). Gram-negative bacteria were mainly Klebsiella pneumoniae (53/268, 19.78%), Escherichia coli (49/268, 18.28%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (41/268, 15.30%). Gram-positive bacteria were mainly coagulase negative Staphylococcus (31/268, 11.57%) and Staphylococcus aureus(17/268, 6.34%). The main fungi were Candida tropicalis (25/268, 9.33%). Escherichia coli (33/268, 12.31%) was the most common pathogen isolated from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (25/268, 9.33%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (18/268, 6.72%) and Candida tropicalis (18/268, 6.72%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (35/268, 13.06%) was the most common pathogen isolated from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL),followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15/268, 5.60%) and Escherichia coli (14/268, 5.22%). The resistance of Gram-negative bacteria to piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, imipenem, meropenem, ertapenem, amikacin, cefoxitin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid was low. Gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to linezolid and vancomycin. Candida was sensitive to flucytosine, amphotericin B and itraconazole. Conclusions　In patients with granulosa after AL chemotherapy combined with BSI, the pathogenic bacteria isolated from AML are diverse, and the pathogenic bacteria isolated from ALL are mainly gram-negative bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria have different degrees of drug resistance to commonly used antibacterial drugs, so it is important to strengthen the monitoring of the distribution of pathogenic bacteria and the change of drug resistance and rational use of antibacterial drugs to minimize the death of patients.

Development and validation of RNA binding protein-applied prediction model for gastric cancer.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have been reported to be associated with the occurrence and progression of multiple cancers, but the role in gastric adenocarcinoma remains poorly understood. The present study aims to uncover potential RBPs associated with the survival of gastric adenocarcinoma, as well as corresponding biologic properties and signaling pathways of these RBPs. RNA sequencing and clinical data of GC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (n=373) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE84437, n=433) database. Tumor samples in TCGA were randomly divided into the training and internal testing group by R software. A total of 238 DERBPs were selected for univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Five pivotal RBP genes (RNASE2, METTL1, ANG, YBX2 and LARP6) were screened out and were used to construct a new prognostic model. Survival relevance and prediction accuracy of model were tested via Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in internal and external testing groups. Further analysis has also showed that this model could serve as an independent prognosis-related parameter. A prognostic nomogram has been eventually developed, and presents a good performance of prediction.

[The Effect of Morusin on Stemness Phenotype of Laryngeal Cancer Stem Cell].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulation effect of Morusin on stemness phenotype of laryngeal cancer stem cells. METHODS: Separation and detection the proportion of CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells through flow cytometry; evaluation the self-renewal ability of CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells by tumor sphere formation assay; exploring the migration ability of CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells by Transwell assay; analyzing the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs on CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells by modified MTT assay; detection of the expression levels of stemness associated markers by immunofluorescence staining, RT-qPCR and Western blot. After treatment with different concentrations of Morusin, cells were performed the above experiments for detection the self-renewal ability, migration ability, cytotoxicity resistance and expression of stemness associated markers. RESULTS: Flow cytometry analysis showed that the proportion of CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells was (3.50±0.34)%, while after enrichment, the proportion increased to (93.20±5.23)%. CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells exhibited better self-renewal ability (P<0.001) and migratory ability (P<0.05); they were resistant to the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy drug (P<0.05), and highly expressed of stemness associated markers. After being treated with Morusin, the self-renewal and migratory abilities of CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells were reduced (P<0.05). In addition, after treated with Morusin, CD133 +laryngeal cancer stem cells were more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs; moreover, the expression levels of stemness associated markers were decreased. CONCLUSION: CD133 + laryngeal cancer stem cells possessed stemness phenotypic characteristics. Morusin attenuated stemness phenotype of laryngeal cancer stem cells, which may be related to its down-regulation effect on stemness associated markers.

[Effects of shading on photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of four Corydalis species]. / 遮阴对4ç§ç´«å ‡å±žæ¤ç‰©å ‰åˆç‰¹æ€§å’Œå¶ç»¿ç´ è§å ‰å‚æ•°çš„å½±å“.

We examined the effects of five shading treatments (0, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% shading) on chlorophyll content, photosynthetic characteristics, and chlorophyll fluorescence chara-cteristics of four Corydalis species (C. incisa, C. decumbens, C. edulis and C. pallida) in a pot experiment. The results showed that the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll (a+b) increased with the increment of shading, with that of C. incisa reaching the maximum under 80% shading treatment and that of C. decumbens, C. edulis and C. pallida reaching a maximum under 60% shading treatment. In contrast, chlorophyll a/b, light saturation point, light compensation point and dark respiration rate decreased with increasing shading. Among the four Corydalis species, C. incisa reached up to the maximum chlorophyll fluorescence parameters under 80% shading treatment, and C. decumbens, C. edulis and C. pallida reached the maximum at 60% shading treatment. The shade tolerance of four species was as follows: C. incisa ＞ C. decumbens ＞ C. edulis ＞ C. pallida. C. incisa under 80% shading treatment and C. decumbens, C. edulis, C. pallida at 60% shading treatment had the highest light energy utilization and photosynthetic capacity, which would facilitate their growth.

The emerging role of circular RNAs in breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BCa) is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and leading cause of cancer deaths among females worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new class of endogenous regulatory RNAs characterized by circular shape resulting from covalently closed continuous loops that are capable of regulating gene expression at transcription or post-transcription levels. With the unique structures, circRNAs are resistant to exonuclease RNase R and maintain stability more easily than linear RNAs. Recently, an increasing number of circRNAs are discovered and reported to show different expression in BCa and these dysregulated circRNAs were correlated with patients' clinical characteristics and grade in the progression of BCa. CircRNAs participate in the bioprocesses of carcinogenesis of BCa, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, tumorigenesis, vascularization, cell invasion, migration as well as metastasis. Here we concentrated on biogenesis and function of circRNAs, summarized their implications in BCa and discussed their potential as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for BCa.

Case report: primary resistance to osimertinib in erlotinib-pretreated lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR T790 M mutation.

BACKGROUND: Among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with acquired T790 M mutation resistance to first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), 71% are likely to benefit from osimertinib. There have been several reports about the secondary resistance to osimertinib treatment in T790 M-positive patients, while primary resistance to osimertinib has been rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old Asian male never smoker who presented with stage IV EGFR L858R-positive adenocarcinoma developed EGFR T790 M mutation after 14 months of treatment with erlotinib combined with thoracic radiotherapy as first-line therapy. The patient was initiated on osimertinib treatment with T790 M mutation detected (14.4%), but disease progressed 2 months later. CONCLUSION: The mechanism of primary resistance to osimertinib remains unclear. There may be an association between T790 M mutation disappearance, TP53 mutation and radiotherapy, but further researches are needed to confirm this.

[Removal of calcium and high-strength ammonia nitrogen from the wastewater of rare-earth elements hydrometallurgical process by chemical precipitation].

A lot of high-strength ammonia nitrogen wastewater is generated in the ion-type rare-earth elements hydrometallurgical process. Magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation was chosen to remove the ammonia nitrogen from the wastewater after Ca2+ was eliminated using Na2CO3 to generate CaCO3 precipitate, because the wastewater contained a lot of Ca2+, and Ca2+ was an important impact factor for MAP precipitation. Central composite design (CCD) is a principal response surface methodology (RSM) used in experimental design. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the factors in MAP precipitation, achieving the optimal conditions and the precipitates under such conditions. Two kinds of precipitates were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that when n (Ca2+): n (CO3(2-) = 1:1.05, mix rate and reaction time were 1500 r x min(-1) and 30 min, respectively, the removal ratio of Ca2+ reached 100%; the optimal condition of MAP precipitation was pH = 9.03, n (Mg): n (N) = 1.20, n (P) : n (N) = 1.1, with a reaction time of 30 min and a mix rate of 1000 r x min(-1), the removal ratio of ammonia nitrogen reached 95.40% and the residual total phosphorus concentration was 5.65 mg x L(-1). SEM and XRD analysis showed that the two kinds of precipitates were pure CaCO3 and MgNH4PO4 x 6H2O, respectively.

[Experimental study of the effect of deferasirox on the micro-angiogenesis in narrow pedicle flap through epithelial-mesenchymal transition].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Deferasirox on the micro-angiogenesis in narrow pedicle flap through Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition. METHODS: 32 male rats were randomly divided into group I and II which were subdivided into Ia and Ib, IIa and IIb, 8 rats in each group. The rats were administrated intragastrically for 7 days with Deferasirox 100 mg/kg in group Ia and IIa, with the same dose of N. S. in group Ib and IIb. After that, narrow pedicle flaps were formed on the rats back. In group I, the subcutaneous vascular network was observed intraoperatively. The flap survival rate was recorded. In group II , specimens were collected at the distal end of flaps 3 days after operation. IHC and Western Blot were done to examine the expression of CD34, E-cadherin, Vimentin. The microvessel density was also calculated. RESULTS: The subcutaneous micro-angiogenesis in group Ia was more exuberant than that in group Ib. The narrow pedicle flaps in group Ia survived completely, while the survival rate was 62.5% in group Ib (P < 0.05). The percentage of flap survival area for Ia and Ib was (100 +/- 0.00) % and (84.06 +/- 4.42)% (P < 0.05). The expression of E-cadherin in IIa was lower than that in IIb, while the expression of Vimentin and CD34 were higher in IIa, showing statistically difference (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Deferasirox can improve the flap micro-angiogenesis through inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition, so as to improve the survival rate of narrow pedicle flap.