Programmed Cell Death in Asthma: Apoptosis, Autophagy, Pyroptosis, Ferroptosis, and Necroptosis.

Bronchial asthma is a complex heterogeneous airway disease, which has emerged as a global health issue. A comprehensive understanding of the different molecular mechanisms of bronchial asthma may be an efficient means to improve its clinical efficacy in the future. Increasing research evidence indicates that some types of programmed cell death (PCD), including apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and necroptosis, contributed to asthma pathogenesis, and may become new targets for future asthma treatment. This review briefly discusses the molecular mechanism and signaling pathway of these forms of PCD focuses on summarizing their roles in the pathogenesis and treatment strategies of asthma and offers some efficient means to improve clinical efficacy of therapeutics for asthma in the near future.

Repeat resection versus percutaneous ablation for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Both repeat resection (RR) and percutaneous ablation (PA) have been used for treating recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC). Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Aim: To compare the safety and effectiveness between RR and PA in patients with rHCC. Material and methods: Relevant articles published in the PubMed, Embase, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases published as of April 2022 were identified. Primary endpoints for this meta-analysis included patient overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), whereas secondary endpoints included rates of repeat recurrence, complications, and the duration of hospitalization. Results: This meta-analysis included a total of 6 relevant studies. Pooled repeat recurrence rates were comparable between the PA and RR groups (p = 0.09), although the pooled 5-year DFS rate (p = 0.01), DFS duration (p = 0.02), and 3-year OS rate (p = 0.04) in the RR group were considerably higher than in the PA group. Pooled rates of both Grade 1/2 (p = 0.04) and Grade 3/4 (p = 0.001) complications, however, were significantly lower for patients who underwent PA as compared to patients who underwent RR. PA was associated with a significantly shorter hospitalization duration relative to RR in this patient cohort (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: According to the obtained findings, RR may be associated with better long-term disease control in rHCC patients than PA, whereas PA is associated with a better safety profile and a shorter duration of hospitalization.

Comparative analysis of bacterial diversity in two hot springs in Hefei, China.

Hot springs are extreme ecological environments of microbes. The study is the first comparative analysis of bacterial diversity of Tangchi and Bantang hot spring water samples collected in Hefei, China, which is conducive to the further development and utilization of microbial resources in hot springs. Illumina MiSeq system was utilized to sequence and analyze the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from hot spring water samples by bioinformatics, to probe into the bacterial abundance and diversity of two hot springs in Hefei. Results revealed that prevalent bacterial phyla in Tangchi hot spring were Bacillota and Aquificota, and the prevalent bacterial genus was Hydrogenobacter; prevalent phyla in Bantang hot spring were Pseudomonadota followed by Actinobacteriota, and prevalent genera were CL500-29_marine_group and Polynucleobacter. More species and higher evenness in Bantang hot spring than those in Tangchi hot spring. In MetaCyc pathway analysis, the major pathways of metabolism existed in the bacteria from the two hot springs were 'pyruvate fermentation to isobutanol (engineered)', 'acetylene degradation', 'carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes', 'nitrate reduction I (denitrification)', 'methanogenesis from acetate', 'superpathway of glucose and xylose degradation', etc.

Stenting with high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation for distal biliary obstruction caused by pancreatic carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Between 42% and 77% of patients with distal malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) suffer from pancreatic carcinoma (PC). Aim: To analyse the clinical efficacy of stenting accompanied by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in patients with distal MBO from PC. Material and methods: Relevant articles published through March 2021 were identified in the Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI databases. RevMan v5.3 and Stata v12.0 were used for the meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-nine articles were initially identified, and 5 of these were eventually included. These articles described 142 patients who underwent biliary stenting alone and 132 patients who underwent biliary stenting with HIFU ablation. The pooled Δ total bilirubin (TBIL) values were comparable between the 2 treatment groups (p = 0.10). The pooled stent dysfunction rate was significantly greater in the group with stenting alone (p = 0.03), and the pooled HR for the stent patency duration indicated that the duration of stent patency was increased in the stenting with HIFU ablation group (p < 0.0001). Overall survival rates were significantly longer in the stenting with HIFU ablation group (p < 0.0001). HIFU ablation was associated with an 80% pooled clinical response rate. The pooled cholangitis (p = 0.47) and pancreatitis (p = 0.56) rates were comparable between the 2 groups. Funnel plots did not reveal any significant evidence of endpoint-associated publication bias. Conclusions: Stenting with HIFU ablation increased both stent patency and overall survival in patients with distal MBO caused by PC compared to stenting alone.

Dynamical Behavior of SEIR-SVS Epidemic Models with Nonlinear Incidence and Vaccination.

For some infectious diseases such as mumps, HBV, there is evidence showing that vaccinated individuals always lose their immunity at different rates depending on the inoculation time. In this paper, we propose an age-structured epidemic model using a step function to describe the rate at which vaccinated individuals lose immunity and reduce the age-structured epidemic model to the delay differential model. For the age-structured model, we consider the positivity, boundedness, and compactness of the semiflow and study global stability of equilibria by constructing appropriate Lyapunov functionals. Moreover, for the reduced delay differential equation model, we study the existence of the endemic equilibrium and prove the global stability of equilibria. Finally, some numerical simulations are provided to support our theoretical results and a brief discussion is given.

Transarterial embolization with hepatectomy for ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To compare the clinical effectiveness between transarterial embolization (TAE) with staged hepatectomy (SH) and emergency hepatectomy (EH) for ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were screened for eligible publications from the inception of the databases till February 2021. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included seven studies comprising 162 patients who underwent TAE with SH and 266 patients who underwent EH. The pooled intraoperative blood loss was less in the TAE with SH cohort, as compared to the EH cohort without significant difference (p = .20). The pooled blood transfer rate (p<.00001), blood transfer volume (p = .002), and 30-day patient death (p = .04) were all markedly reduced in the TAE with SH cohort versus the EH cohort. No significant differences in surgery duration (p = .27), hospital stay period (p = .81), complication rate (p = 0.92), disease-free survival (DFS) (p = .79), and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.28) were found between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with EH for ruptured HCC, TAE with SH could effectively decrease intraoperative blood loss and 30-day mortality. However, the long-term DFS and OS might not be beneficial to preoperative TAE.

Stent Insertion With High Intensity-Focused Ultrasound Ablation for Biliary Obstruction Caused by Pancreatic Carcinoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the clinical efficacy of stent insertion with high intensity-focused ultrasound ablation (HIFUA) in patients with malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) as a consequence of pancreatic carcinoma (PC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a single-center, open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial. Consecutive patients with MBO caused by PC were randomly assigned to undergo stent insertion with or without HIFUA from June 2019 to February 2020. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03962478). RESULTS: In total, 92 patients were enrolled in this study and assigned to the stent-only (n=46) or combined (stent+HIFUA; n=46) treatment groups. Stent insertion was associated with a 100% technical success rate. For patients in the combination treatment group, 26, 18, and 2 patients underwent 2, 3, and 4 cycles of HIFUA, respectively. A positive clinical response to HIFUA treatment was noted in 38 patients (82.6%). Stent dysfunction was detected in 9 and 15 patients in the combination and stent-only groups, respectively (P=0.154), while median stent patency in these 2 groups was 188 and 120 days, respectively (P<0.001). All patients died over the course of the follow-up, with median survival periods of 218 and 140 days in the combination and stent-only treatment groups, respectively (P=0.001). The only detected predictor of prolonged survival was HIFUA treatment (P=0.004), and there were no significant differences in complication rates between these 2 treatment groups. CONCLUSION: A combination of stent insertion and HIFUA can improve stent patency and overall survival in patients suffering from MBO because of PC relative to stent insertion alone.

Phase-adjusted estimation of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea under multi-source data and adjustment measures: a modelling study.

Based on the reported data from February 16, 2020 to March 9, 2020 in South Korea including confirmed cases, death cases and recovery cases, the control reproduction number was estimated respectively at different control measure phases using Markov chain Monte Carlo method and presented using the resulting posterior mean and 95% credible interval (CrI). At the early phase from February 16 to February 24, we estimate the basic reproduction number R0 of COVID-19 to be 4.79(95% CrI 4.38 - 5.2). The estimated control reproduction number dropped rapidly to Rc ≈ 0.32(95% CrI 0.19 - 0.47) at the second phase from February 25 to March 2 because of the voluntary lockdown measures. At the third phase from March 3 to March 9, we estimate Rc to be 0.27 (95% CrI 0.14 - 0.42). We predict that the final size of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea is 9661 (95% CrI 8660 - 11100) and the whole epidemic will be over by late April. It is found that reducing contact rate and enhancing the testing speed will have the impact on the peak value and the peak time.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the medicinal plant Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Cruciferae).

Lepidium meyenii Walp. is a frequently used medicinal plant (namely, 'maca') in Yunnan Province of China. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of L. meyenii to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the family Cruciferae. The chloroplast genome of L. meyenii was 154,839 bp in length with 36.39% overall GC content, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 83,943 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,978 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 52,918 bp. The cp genome contained 103 genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated L. meyenii was closely related to the genus Capsella.

Influence of polymorphisms in the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway genes on hepatocellular carcinoma risk in a Chinese Han population.

The Wnt/ß-catenin pathway plays a vital role in initiating and sustaining hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, few studies have investigated polymorphisms in the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway genes in the Chinese Han population. The aim of the present retrospective study was to investigate the correlations between polymorphisms of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway genes (CTNNB1 and WNT2) and HCC susceptibility, development, and progression.Twenty tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms were chosen from HapMap data and genotyped in 320 patients with HCC, 320 chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients without HCC (N-HCC, including 95 liver cirrhosis, 164 chronic hepatitis B, and 61 asymptomatic HBV carriers), and 320 healthy controls. Associations between polymorphisms in the 2 Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway genes (CTNNB1 and WNT2) and HCC susceptibility, development, and progression were investigated.Genotype AA (P = 0.002, odds ratio [OR] = 2.524) and allele A (P = 0.0003, OR = 1.613) of the WNT2 rs4730775 polymorphism were associated with HCC susceptibility compared with healthy controls. Genotype GA (P = 0.001, OR = 0.567) and allele A (P = 0.002, OR = 0.652) of rs3864004, and genotype AG (P = 0.0004, OR = 0.495) and allele G (P = 0.001, OR = 0.596) of rs11564475 in the CTNNB1 gene were correlated with HCC compared with N-HCC patients. These findings were consistent in dominant and recessive models. Multidimensionality reduction analysis revealed that interactions among rs3864004, rs11564475, and rs4730775 were significantly associated with HCC compared with N-HCC patients. The polymorphism rs4135385 of CTNNB1 genotype GA was associated with a higher risk for Stage III + IV HCC (modified Union for International Cancer Control) (P = 0.001, OR = 2.238).Genetic polymorphisms in the WNT2 and CTNNB1 genes were closely associated with HCC risk and progression in a Chinese Han population.

Lgr5 regulates the regeneration of lesioned nasal respiratory epithelium.

Nasal respiratory epithelium is a ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium. The cellular components of nasal respiratory epithelium include ciliated cells, goblet cells, and basal cells. Until now, our knowledge in the development of nasal respiratory epithelium is still limited and the cellular mechanism of regeneration is still elusive. In this study, we found that adult stem cell marker leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) is expressed in the mice nasal respiratory epithelium. Both immunostaining and lineage tracing analysis indicated Lgr5 positive cells in the nasal respiratory epithelium are proliferative stem/progenitor cells. Using the Rosa-Tdtomato and Rosa26-DTR mice, we elucidated that Lgr5+ cells participate in the regeneration of lesioned nasal respiratory epithelium, and this group of cells is necessary in the process of epithelium recovery. Using the in vitro culture system, we observed the formation of spheres from Lgr5+ cells and these spheres have the capacity to generate other types of cells. Above all, this study reported a group of previously unidentified progenitor/stem cells in nasal respiratory epithelium, unveiling the potential cellular mechanism in nasal respiratory epithelium regeneration.

[The Effects of Complex of Benzoquinone on Fermi Resonance].

Fermi resonance phenomenon exists in simple compounds and it also widely exists in vibration spectra of complex. The complex can be formed by adding up simple compounds. As a result, the characteristic parameters of some parts of molecule will make changes, and the molecular spectra have a significant change along with it. Benzoquinone and proline in the solution form charge-transfer complex under certain conditions, but the spectra intensity is weak, our research uses Teflon liquid-core optical fiber technology to gain high quality resonance Raman spectra. We acquire Raman spectra of Benzoquinone and its complex in experiments, and analyze the characteristic parameters of Fermi resonance according to J. F. Bertran quantum theory. The results shows that, because of the formation of complex, Fermi resonance peak of C==0 bond shifts to high wavelength, the spectra intensity decreases, the frequency space increases, the coupling coefficient increases. The explanation is that, in the solution of complex, proline is donor, while benzoquinone is acceptor, the non-bonding electron of N atom which is belong to proline transfers to the pi anti-bonding orbital of benzoquinone, then n-pi* charge transfer complex is produced. That causes the change of molecular energy level, changes the Raman spectra. All these researches provide new idea and clue for spectral line certification and attribution of complex molecules, complexes and polymer.

[Study of Fermi resonance characteristic of CS2 in THF].

In the present paper, an innovative experiment was done. The authors measured the Raman spectra of CS2 mixed with THF at different volume fractions. According to the J. F. Bertran theory, we analyzed the changing regularity of v1-2v2 Fermi resonance along with the different concentration. It was shown that the characteristic parameters of Fermi resonance in solution, such as spectra intensity, frequency space, coupling coefficient and anharmonic constant, will make changes along with solution concentration variation. Because of the existing of solvent effects, the spectra intensity decreases gradually, and the coupling coefficient increases gradually. The explanation of such changes is that the vibration spectra are affected not only by scattering coefficient, but also by more weak hydrogen bond's formation. In addition, the asymmetric frequency shift of the Raman spectra was also found in the paper. The fundamental frequency v1 basically has no shifts, but the overtone frequency 2v2 moves towards the high wave number gradually, which is inconsistent with the theory of symmetrical movement. According to the study of molecular microcosmic action, the formation and mechanism of the weak hydrogen bond can preferably explain the above phenomenon. The research has a major influence on the further study of solvent effects in Fermi resonance. And the paper will also provide certain reference value for the study of molecule vibration spectra in solution.

Forensic discrimination of three common brands of kitchen knives in China by ICP-AES and infrared absorption.

A block of an injury instrument will be left in wounds sometimes, and the suspect instrument can be discriminated by comparison with the block that was left through elemental analysis. In this study, three brands (Shibazi, Zhangxiaoquan, Qiaoxifu) of kitchen knives with forged, chop, and slice application series were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Infrared Absorption to investigate the type, number of elements and the reference range used for comparing. The results show that when regarding one or more element as the discriminative threshold, together with 5% relative standard deviation (RSD) as the reference range, all the samples could be distinguished among different series. Furthermore, within the same series, the discriminative capability could reach up to 88.57% for all samples. In addition, elements with high content, such as Cr, Mn, and C, were useful to discriminate among different series, and trace elements, such as Ni, Si, and Cu, were useful within the same series. However, in practice, it is necessary to evaluate the accuracy of the method by Standard Reference Material (SRM) before an examination is performed.

[Medical negligence in surgery: 112 cases retrospective analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the general characteristics of medical negligence in surgery in order to provide the reference for forensic practices. METHODS: One hundred and twelve cases of medical negligence in surgical department were retrospectively analyzed in Fada Institute of Forensic Medicine and Science from 2008 to 2010. RESULTS: The common types of medical negligence cases in the surgery were improper operation procedure (28.57%), failure of consent (26.79%), and inadequate monitoring (22.32%). The results of complications included disability or functional impairment (61.61%), death (31.25%) and transient impairment with no obvious adverse reactions (7.14%). The most common roles played by the medical negligence cases were minor role (26.79%), equal role (19.64%), and slight role (14.29%). CONCLUSION: Significant attention should be paid to the operation procedure, consent, and monitoring. It should be cautious to not make assessment on involvement degree of medical negligence.

[Dynamic model of seasonal breeding rodent pest population controlled with short-acting sterilant].

Rodent pests bring great damage to human beings, while rodenticide and sterilant can be used to control the pests. After ingesting sterilant, rodent pests lose their fertility, but in some cases, the sterile individuals may gain their fertility again, produce offspring, and enlarge population size. In this paper, the dynamic models of rodent pest population under lethal control and shortacting contraception control were formulated, and, with the prerequisite of the seasonal breeding of rodent pest population, the models were used to regularly analyze their behaviors and the effects of the contraception rate, lethal rate, control interval, and sterilant valid period on the dynamics of the pest population. The results showed that larger contraception rate and lethal rate and shorter control interval could have better control effect, making the controlled population become smaller and even died out. Short-acting sterilant limited the control effect. At the later period of breeding season, the rodent pest population controlled with short-acting sterilant would have a weak recovery.

A novel metallothionein gene from a mangrove plant Kandelia candel.

A new metallothionein (MT) gene was cloned from Kandelia candel, a mangrove plant with constitutional tolerance to heavy metals, by rapid amplification of cDNA ends and named KMT, which is composed of two exons and one intron. The full length of KMT cDNA was 728 bp including 121 bp 5' noncoding domain, 240 bp open reading frame and 384 bp 3' termination. The coding region of KMT represented a putative 79 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 7.75 kDa. At each of the amino- and carboxy-terminal of the putative protein, cysteine residues were arranged in Cys-Cys, Cys-X-Cys and Cys-X-X-Cys, indicating that the putative protein was a novel type 2 MT. Sequence and homology analysis showed the KMT protein sequence shared more than 60 % homology with other plant type 2 MT-like protein genes. At amino acid level, the KMT was shown homology with the MT of Quercus suber (83 %), of Ricinus communis (81 %) and of Arabidopsis thaliana (64 %). Function studies using protease-deficient Escherichia coli strain BL21 Star ™(DE3) confirmed the functional nature of this KMT gene in sequestering both essential (Zn) and non-essential metals (Cd and Hg) and the E. coli BL21 with KMT can live in 1,000 µmol/L Zn, 120 µmol/L Hg, and 2,000 µmol/L Cd. The information could provide more details of the causative molecular and biochemical mechanisms (including heavy metal sequestration) of the KMT in K. candel or a scientific basis for marine heavy-metal environment remediation with K. candel. This study also provides a great significance of protecting mangrove species and mangrove ecosystem.

[Analysis of autopsy and clinical findings on medical malpractice cases after heart operation].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to use autopsy to explore cause of death and to identify medical errors after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Clinical and autopsy findings in 6 cases were analyzed with respect to the clinical diagnosis, operation types, death time and features, and autopsy findings, medico-legal disputes and related medical errors. RESULTS: There were total 6 patients. The procedures involve cardiac valve replacement (4), coronary artery bypass (1), and congenital aortic transposition repair (1). Three patients had sudden death one week after surgery and 3 from congestive heart failure. The findings include myocardial infarction (2), massive myocardial injury (1), endocarditis (2), and multi-organ failure (1). The families in all six cases suspected malpractice. The major concerns were operation indication and timing, selection of operation equipment, operative mishandling, inadequate post-operative care and timely therapeutic invention, inadequate informed consent regarding the severity of the disease itself, the risks of heart surgery, and its prognosis after the procedures. CONCLUSION: Autopsy can be used to determine the cause of death, to assess the quality of the operation and post operation management, and to help to resolve malpractice disputes

Effect of heavy metal stress on antioxidative enzymes and lipid peroxidation in leaves and roots of two mangrove plant seedlings (Kandelia candel and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza).

The effects of multiple heavy metal stress on the activity of antioxidative enzymes and lipid peroxidation were studied in leaves and roots of two mangrove plants, Kandelia candel and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, grown under control (10 per thousand NaCl nutrient solution) or five levels of multiple heavy metal stress (10 per thousand NaCl nutrient solution containing different concentration of Pb2+, Cd2+, and Hg2+). Leaves and roots of control and heavy metal-stressed plants were harvested after two months. In leaves of heavy metal-stressed plants superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities fluctuated in different stress levels compared to the control, while catalase (CAT) activity increased with stress levels in K. candel, but remained unchanged in leaves of B. gymnorrhiza. In comparison with the control, the dynamic tendency of SOD, CAT, and POD activities in roots of heavy metal-stressed plants all ascended, and then declined. The increase in enzyme activities demonstrated that K. candel is more tolerant to heavy metals than B. gymnorrhiza. Lipid peroxidation was enhanced only in leaves of heavy metal-stressed B. gymnorrhiza. These results indicate that in heavy-metal stress antioxidative activities may play an important role in K. candel and B. gymnorrhiza and that cell membrane in leaves and roots of K. candel have greater stability than those of B. gymnorrhiza. For pollution monitoring purposes, POD activity in roots and leaves maybe serve as a biomarker of heavy metal stress in K. candel, while lipid peroxidation maybe serve as biomarker in B. gymnorrhiza.

Up-regulation of microtubule-associated protein 4 and drebrin A mRNA expression by antidepressants in rat hippocampus following chronic stress.

We used the differential display-polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) protocol to identify genes related to antidepressant effects. Rats were subjected to different kinds of stress for 20 days, and then the antidepressants desipramine and fluoxetine were administered (10 mg/kg per day, i.p.) for 20 days. DD-PCR was performed and differentially expressed cDNAs were further confirmed by dot-blot hybridization. cDNA homology analysis revealed that desipramine up-regulated the expression of microtubule-associated protein 4 (MAP-4) mRNA and fluoxetine up-regulated the expression of drebrin A mRNA in the rat hippocampus compared with the chronically stressed group. This result suggests that MAP-4 and drebrin may be involved in the antidepressant like effects of desipramine and fluoxetine.