(C10N2H10)(HI2O6)(HIO3)(IO3): A Birefringent Material Featuring Large π-Conjugated Organic Cation and Two Types of Iodate Anions.

Birefringent crystals, which can modulate and polarize light, play a vital role in the development of optical sensors and optoelectronic devices. Herein, we synthesized a new birefringent crystal [(C10N2H10)(HI2O6)(HIO3)(IO3)] with large birefringence by integrating the large π-conjugated 4,4'-bipyridine group with two types of iodates anions ([IO3]- and [HI2O6]-) characterized by high polarizability anisotropy and strong stereochemically active lone pairs (SCALP). The crystal exhibits a large measured birefringence of 0.171 at 550 nm, surpassing most organic-inorganic hybrid iodate birefringent materials reported in the literature. Theoretical analyses reveal that the optical properties of the crystal arise primarily from the synergistic interactions between the π-conjugated 4,4'-bipyridine group and I-O groups. This research presents an effective method for the strategic integration of large π-conjugated organic cations into iodates, facilitating the design of novel birefringent materials and encouraging further exploration of superior birefringent substances.

Association of the PCSK6 rs1531817(C/A) polymorphism with the prognosis and coronary stenosis in premature myocardial infarction patients: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Proprotein convertase subtilisins/kexin 6 (PCSK6) polymorphisms have been shown to be associated with atherosclerosis progression. This research aimed to evaluate the relationship of PCSK6 rs1531817 polymorphisms with coronary stenosis and the prognosis in premature myocardial infarction (PMI) patients. METHODS: This prospective cohort analysis consecutively included 605 PMI patients who performed emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at Tianjin Chest Hospital sequentially between January 2017 and August 2022, with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) as the outcome. Analyses assessed the relationships among PCSK6 rs1531817 polymorphism, Gensini score (GS), triple vessel disease (TVD), and MACEs. RESULTS: 92 (16.8%) patients experienced MACEs with an average follow-up of 25.7 months. Logistic analysis revealed that the PCSK6 rs1531817 CA + AA genotype was an independent protective factor against high GS and TVD. Cox analysis revealed that the PCSK6 rs1531817 CA + AA genotype was an independent protective factor against MACEs. The mediation effect results showed that apolipoprotein A1/apolipoprotein B (ApoA1/ApoB) partially mediated the association between PCSK6 rs1531817 polymorphism and coronary stenosis and that total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (TC/HDL) and TVD partially and in parallel mediated the association between the PCSK6 rs1531817 polymorphism and MACEs. CONCLUSION: Patients with the PCSK6 CA + AA genotype have milder coronary stenosis and a better long-term prognosis; according to the mediation model, ApoA1/ApoB and TC/HDL partially mediate. These results may provide a new perspective on clinical therapeutic strategy for anti-atherosclerosis and improved prognosis in PMI patients.

Optically Anisotropic Mixed-Metal Fluoroiodate Ba2[GaF5(IO3F)] with a Wide Optical Transparent Window and a Moderate Birefringence.

An optically anisotropic alkali-earth-metal gallium fluoroiodate, Ba2[GaF5(IO3F)] (1), was ingeniously obtained by integrating fluoride and fluoroiodate functional units under moderate hydrothermal conditions. It features a three-dimensional (3D) structure constructed by the highly polarizable fluoroiodate unit [IO3F] and the fluoride groups [GaOF5] and [BaO3Fx] (x = 6, 7). The compound is stable at temperatures up to 500 °C. With the synergistic interaction between [IO3F] and the fluoride groups, the mixed-metal fluoroiodate induces a short ultraviolet cutoff edge at about 230 nm, a medium measured birefringence of 0.068 @ 550 nm, and a wide optical transparent window (0.34-11.9 µm), indicating that 1 has potential applications as a birefringent material from near-UV to mid-infrared. Theoretical calculations prove that the optical characteristics of the compound are mainly attributed to [IO3F] and the fluoride functional groups. This work demonstrates that the presence of various specific functional groups in compounds will help to develop promising inorganic functional materials possessing good optical performance.

Remifentanil versus Dexmedetomidine in Cardiac Surgery Patients with Noninvasive Ventilation Intolerance: Protocol for the REDNIVI Trial.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory failure is one of the most common complications following cardiac surgery. Although noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been an effective treatment, it has a high rate of intolerance. Both remifentanil and dexmedetomidine are used as sedatives in cardiac surgery (CS) patients with NIV intolerance. However, no randomized controlled trials have compared the effects of these drugs in relieving the intolerance. METHODS: REDNIVI will be a multicenter, prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial carried out in six clinical sites in China. Subjects with NIV intolerance will be randomized to receive remifentanil or dexmedetomidine in a ratio of 1:1. Primary outcomes of intolerance remission rate at different timings (15 minutes, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 hours after initiation of treatment) and 72 h average remission rate will be determined. In addition, secondary outcomes such as mortality, duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), the need for endotracheal intubation, hemodynamic changes, and delirium incidence will also be determined. CONCLUSIONS: This trial will provide evidence to determine the effects of remifentanil and dexmedetomidine in patients with NIV intolerance after cardiac surgery. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04734418).

Highland adaptation of birds on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau via gut microbiota.

Highland birds evolve multiple adaptive abilities to cope with the harsh environments; however, how they adapt to the high-altitude habitats via the gut microbiota remains understudied. Here we integrated evidences from comparative analysis of gut microbiota to explore the adaptive mechanism of black-necked crane, a typical highland bird in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Firstly, the gut microbiota diversity and function was compared among seven crane species (one high-altitude species and six low-altitude species), and then among three populations of contrasting altitudes for the black-necked crane. Microbiota community diversity in black-necked crane was significantly lower than its low-altitude relatives, but higher microbiota functional diversity was observed in black-necked crane, suggesting that unique bacteria are developed and acquired due to the selection pressure of high-altitude environments. The functional microbial genes differed significantly between the low- and high-altitude black-necked cranes, indicating that altitude significantly impacted microbial communities' composition and structure. Adaptive changes in microbiota diversity and function are observed in response to high-altitude environments. These findings provide us a new insight into the adaptation mechanism to the high-altitude environment for birds via the gut microbiota. KEY POINTS: • The diversity and function of gut microbiota differed significantly between the low- and high-altitude crane species. • Black-necked crane adapts to the high-altitude environment via specific gut microbiota. • Altitude significantly impacted microbial communities' composition and structure.

[Discussion on Technical Evaluation Requirements of Allergen Detection Reagent Pre-marketing].

In the perspective of technical evaluation, the pre-marketing regulatory requirements of allergen detection reagents in China, America, European Union were compared, and the regulatory risks and performance requirements of this product were analyzed based on the monitoring of post-marketing adverse events, reference standards and domestic and foreign regulatory documents. In view of the "neck-stuck" problems such as the difficulty of clinical trials, the difficulty of finding comparable contrast reagents and the lack of clinical diagnostic gold standards, this paper discusses and gives regulatory suggestions, with a view to providing technical reference for product R&D, production, evaluation, approval and supervision in this field.

Upgrade of laser pump time-resolved X-ray probes in Beijing synchrotron.

The upgrade of the laser pump time-resolved X-ray probes, namely time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) and X-ray diffraction (TR-XRD), implemented at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, is described. The improvements include a superbunch fill, a high-efficiency fluorescence collection, an efficient spatial overlap protocol and a new data-acquisition scheme. After upgrade, the adequate TR-XAS signal is now obtained in a 0.3 mM solution, compared with a 6 mM solution in our previous report. Furthermore, to extend application in photophysics, the TR-XAS probe is applied on SrCoO2.5 thin film. And for the first time, TR-XAS is combined with TR-XRD to simultaneously detect the kinetic trace of structural changes in thin film.

Cancer-associated fibroblast exosome LINC00355 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer through the miR-34b-5p/CRKL axis.

This study was designed to investigate the role and mechanism of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)-derived exosomes (CAFs-exo) in metastatic and chemoresistant colorectal cancer (CRC). First, CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NFs) were isolated from CRC tissues and histologically normal adjacent tissues. Then, CAFs-exo and NFs-exo were separated with the help of ultracentrifugation. Next, the morphology, diameter and marker expression of exos were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and western blot, respectively. Besides, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression levels of LINC00355, miR-34b-5p, and CRKL in clinical tissue samples, CRC cells, fibroblasts and exos; MTT assay and cell colony formation assay to assess the chemoresistance and colony formation ability of CRC cells, respectively. Subsequently, the targeting relationship among LINC00355, miR-34b-5p, and CRKL (a target gene of miR-34b-5p) was verified by Luciferase reporter assay; and the binding relationship between LINC00355 and miR-34b-5p was assessed by a pull-down assay. Finally, the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, and CRKL in cells or exos were detected using western blot. After a series of treatments, CAFs and NFs, CAFs-exo and NFs-exo were successfully isolated and identified. It could be observed that CAFs-exo promoted EMT, colony formation and multidrug resistance in CRC cells by secreting LINC00355. Further studies demonstrated that CAFs-exo-secreted LINC00355 increased the expression of CRKL via inhibiting the expression of miR-34b-5p, thereby enhancing chemoresistance and promoting EMT progression in CRC cells. Collectively, CAFs-exo-derived LINC00355 promotes EMT and chemoresistance in CRC by regulating the miR-34b-5p/CRKL axis.

Discovery and Development of NLRP3 Inhibitors Targeting the LRR Domain to Disrupt NLRP3-NEK7 Interaction for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease. Targeting NLRP3 inflammasome, specifically its interaction with NEK7 via the LRR domain of NLRP3, is a promising therapeutic strategy. Our research aimed to disrupt this interaction by focusing on the LRR domain. Through virtual screening, we identified five compounds with potent anti-inflammatory effects and ideal LRR binding affinity. Lead compound C878-1943 underwent structural optimization, yielding pyridoimidazole derivatives with different anti-inflammatory activities. Compound I-19 from the initial series effectively inhibited caspase-1 and IL-1ß release in an adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rat model, significantly reducing joint swelling and spleen/thymus indices. To further enhance potency and extend in vivo half-life, a second series including II-8 was developed, demonstrating superior efficacy and longer half-life. Both I-19 and II-8 bind to the LRR domain, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation. These findings introduce novel small molecule inhibitors targeting the LRR domain of NLRP3 protein and disrupt NLRP3-NEK7 interaction, offering a novel approach for RA treatment.

Unveiling the crucial role of ferroptosis in host resistance to streptococcus agalactiae infection.

IL-1ß represents an important inflammatory factor involved in the host response against GBS infection. Prior research has suggested a potential involvement of IL-1ß in the process of ferroptosis. However, the relationship between IL-1ß and ferroptosis in the context of anti-GBS infection remains uncertain. This research demonstrates that the occurrence of ferroptosis is essential for the host's defense against GBS infection in a mouse model of abdominal infection, with peritoneal macrophages identified as the primary cells undergoing ferroptosis. Further research indicates that IL-1ß induces lipid oxidation in macrophages through the upregulation of pathways related to lipid oxidation. Concurrently, IL-1ß is not only involved in the initiation of ferroptosis in macrophages, but its production is intricately linked to the onset of ferroptosis. Ultimately, we posit that ferroptosis acts as a crucial initiating factor in the host response to GBS infection, with IL-1ß playing a significant role in the resistance to infection by serving as a key inducer of ferroptosis.

Predictive Value of 5-Methoxytryptophan on Long-Term Clinical Outcome after PCI in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction-a Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, 5-Methoxytryptophan (5-MTP) has been identified as an endothelial factor with vaso-protective and anti-inflammatory properties. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, a total of 407 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) successfully were enrolled. A 1-year follow-up Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used for evaluating the correlation between 5-MTP and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) while Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to identify predictive values of 5-MTP on MACE after AMI. RESULTS: Increased 5-MTP level led to a significant downtrend in the incidence of MACE (All Log-rank p < 0.05). Thus, a high baseline 5-MTP could reduce the 1-year incidence of MACE (HR = 0.33, 95%Cl 0.17-0.64, p = 0.001) and heart failure (HF) (HR = 0.28, 95% Cl 0.13-0.62, p = 0.002). Subgroup analysis indicated the predictive value of 5-MTP was more significant in patients aged ≤ 65 years and those with higher baseline NT-proBNP, T2DM, STEMI, and baseline HF with preserved LVEF (HFpEF) characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma 5-MTP is an independent and protective early biomarker for 1-year MACE and HF events in patients with AMI, especially in younger patients and those with T2DM, STEMI, and baseline HFpEF characteristics.

Discovery of a Series of 4-Amide-thiophene-2-carboxyl Derivatives as Highly Potent P2Y14 Receptor Antagonists for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment.

The P2Y14 receptor has been proven to be a potential target for IBD. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of 4-amide-thiophene-2-carboxyl derivatives as novel potent P2Y14 receptor antagonists based on the scaffold hopping strategy. The optimized compound 39 (5-((5-fluoropyridin-2-yl)oxy)-4-(4-methylbenzamido)thiophene-2-carboxylic acid) exhibited subnanomolar antagonistic activity (IC50: 0.40 nM). Moreover, compound 39 demonstrated notably improved solubility, liver microsomal stability, and oral bioavailability. Fluorescent ligand binding assay confirmed that 39 has the binding ability to the P2Y14 receptor, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed the formation of a unique intramolecular hydrogen bond (IMHB) in the binding conformation. In the experimental colitis mouse model, compound 39 showed a remarkable anti-IBD effect even at low doses. Compound 39, with a potent anti-IBD effect and favorable druggability, can be a promising candidate for further research. In addition, this work lays a strong foundation for the development of P2Y14 receptor antagonists and the therapeutic strategy for IBD.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the immune microenvironment and signaling networks in cystitis glandularis.

Introduction: Cystitis glandularis (CG) is a rare chronic bladder hyperplastic disease that mainly manifests by recurrent frequent urination, dysuria and gross hematuria. The current lack of unified diagnosis and treatment criteria makes it essential to comprehensively describe the inflammatory immune environment in CG research. Methods: Here, we performed scRNA-sequencing in CG patients for the first time, in which four inflamed tissues as well as three surrounding normal bladder mucosa tissues were included. Specifically, we isolated 18,869 cells to conduct bioinformatic analysis and performed immunofluorescence experiments. Results: Our genetic results demonstrate that CG does not have the classic chromosomal variation observed in bladder tumors, reveal the specific effects of TNF in KRT15 epithelial cells, and identify a new population of PIGR epithelial cells with high immunogenicity. In addition, we confirmed the activation difference of various kinds of T cells during chronic bladder inflammation and discovered a new group of CD27-Switch memory B cells expressing a variety of immunoglobulins. Discussion: CG was regarded as a rare disease and its basic study is still weak.Our study reveals, for the first time, the different kinds of cell subgroups in CG and provides the necessary basis for the clinical treatment of cystitis glandularis. Besides, our study significantly advances the research on cystitis glandularis at the cellular level and provides a theoretical basis for the future treatment of cystitis glandularis.

The level of serum total bile acid is related to atherosclerotic lesions, prognosis and gut Lactobacillus in acute coronary syndrome patients.

BACKGROUND: Bile acids play crucial roles in various metabolisms, as well as Lactobacillus in the intestine. But studies on their roles in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are still insufficient. The aim of this study was to investigate their role and potential association with the severity of coronary lesions and the prognosis of ACS. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty ACS patients were selected. Detection of gut Lactobacillus levels was done through 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Evaluation of the extent of lesions was done using the SYNTAX (SS) score. Mediation analysis was used to assess the relationship between serum total bile acid (TBA), Lactobacillus, atherosclerotic lesions and prognosis of ACS. RESULTS: Logistic regressive analysis disclosed that serum TBA and Lactobacillus were independent predictors of coronary lesions (high vs. low SS: serum TBA adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6-0.9, p < .01; Lactobacillus: aOR = 0.9, 95% CI: 0.9-1.0, p = .03). According to multivariate Cox regression analysis, they were negatively correlated with the overall risk of all-cause death (serum TBA: adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.1, 95% CI: 0.0-0.6, p = .02; Lactobacillus: aHR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.9, p = .01), especially in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) but not in unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Ulteriorly, mediation analysis showed that serum TBA played an important role as a mediation effect in the following aspects: Lactobacillus (17.0%, p < .05) â†’ SS association (per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase), Lactobacillus (43.0%, p < .05) â†’ all-cause death (per 1 SD increase) and Lactobacillus (45.4%, p < .05) â†’ cardiac death (per 1 SD increase). CONCLUSIONS: The lower serum TBA and Lactobacillus level in ACS patients, especially in AMI, was independently linked to the risk of coronary lesions, all-cause death and cardiac death. In addition, according to our mediation model, serum TBA served as a partial intermediate in predicting coronary lesions and the risk of death by Lactobacillus, which is paramount to further exploring the mechanism of Lactobacillus and bile acids in ACS.KEY MESSAGESLower level of serum total bile acid (TBA) was highly associated with the severity of coronary lesions, myocardial damage, inflammation and gut Lactobacillus in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, especially in acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Lower level of serum TBA was highly associated with mortality (including all-cause death and cardiac death) in patients with ACS, especially with AMI.Serum TBA had a partial mediating effect rather than regulating effect between gut Lactobacillus and coronary lesions and prognosis of ACS.

Computed tomography texture analysis combined with preoperative clinical factors serve as a predictor of early efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate a pre-therapeutic radiomics nomogram to accurately predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesion responses to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS: This retrospective study from January 2012 to 2022 included 92 TACE-treated patients who underwent liver contrast-enhanced CT scan 7 days before treatment, having complete clinical information. We extracted quantitative texture parameters and clinical factors for the largest tumors on the baseline arterial and portal venous phase CT images. An adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-penalized logistic regression identified independent predictors of tumor activity after TACE. RESULTS: We fitted an adaptive LASSO regression model to narrow down the texture features and clinical risk factors of the tumor activity status. The selected texture features were used to construct radiomic scores (RadScore), which demonstrated superior performance in predicting tumor activity on both the training (area under the curve (AUC): 0.881, 95% CI: 0.799-0.963) and testing sets (AUC: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.726-1). A logistic regression-based nomogram was developed using RadScore and four selected clinical features. In the testing set, nomogram total points were significant predictors (P = 0.034), and the training set showed no departure from perfect fit (P = 0.833). Internal validation of the nomogram was obtained for the training (AUC: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.837-0.984) and testing (AUC: 0.889, 95% CI: 0.746-1) sets. CONCLUSION: We propose a nomogram to predict the early response of HCC lesions to TACE treatment with high accuracy, which may serve as an additional criterion in multidisciplinary decision-making treatment.

Moxibustion attenuates liver metastasis of colorectal cancer by regulating gut microbial dysbiosis.

The liver metastasis is the primary factor attributing to the poor prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Moxibustion has been used clinically against multiple malignancies. In this study, we explored the safety, efficacy, and the potential functional mechanisms of moxibustion in modulating the liver metastasis of CRC by using GFP-HCT116 cells-derived CRC liver metastasis model in Balb/c nude mice. The tumor bearing mice were randomly divided into model control and treatment groups. Moxibustion was applied to the BL18 and ST36 acupoints. CRC liver metastasis was measured by fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, feces from all mice were collected, and 16S rRNA analysis was used to assess their microbial diversity, which was analyzed for its correlation with liver metastasis. Our results indicated that the liver metastasis rate was decreased significantly by moxibustion treatment. Moxibustion treatment also caused statistically significant changes in the gut microbe population, suggesting that moxibustion reshaped the imbalanced gut microbiota in the CRC liver metastasis mice. Therefore, our findings provide new insights into the host-microbe crosstalk during CRC liver metastasis and suggest moxibustion could inhibit CRC liver metastasis by remolding the structure of destructed gut microbiota community. Moxibustion may serve as a complementary and alternative therapy for the treatment of patients with CRC liver metastasis.

Acupuncture-Neuroimaging Research Trends over Past Two Decades: A Bibliometric Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify topics attracting growing research attention as well as frontier trends of acupuncture-neuroimaging research over the past two decades. METHODS: This paper reviewed data in the published literature on acupuncture neuroimaging from 2000 to 2020, which was retrieved from the Web of Science database. CiteSpace was used to analyze the publication years, countries, institutions, authors, keywords, co-citation of authors, journals, and references. RESULTS: A total of 981 publications were included in the final review. The number of publications has increased in the recent 20 years accompanied by some fluctuations. Notably, the most productive country was China, while Harvard University ranked first among institutions in this field. The most productive author was Tian J with the highest number of articles (50), whereas the most co-cited author was Hui KKS (325). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (92) was the most prolific journal, while Neuroimage was the most co-cited journal (538). An article written by Hui KKS (2005) exhibited the highest co-citation number (112). The keywords "acupuncture" (475) and "electroacupuncture" (0.10) had the highest frequency and centrality, respectively. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) ranked first with the highest citation burst (6.76). CONCLUSION: The most active research topics in the field of acupuncture-neuroimaging over the past two decades included research type, acupoint specificity, neuroimaging methods, brain regions, acupuncture modality, acupoint specificity, diseases and symptoms treated, and research type. Whilst research frontier topics were "nerve regeneration", "functional connectivity", "neural regeneration", "brain network", "fMRI" and "manual acupuncture".

Current pulse signature of native kanamycin aptamer and its implication for molecular interactions on a single protein nanopore sensing interface.

Due to the pore size limitation of single α-hemolysin (α-HL) nanopore sensing interface, ssDNA with secondary conformations can only pass through the nanopore after unzipping as linear ssDNA. For hairpin DNA, a tail with 15-50 bases was usually added to the stem terminal (5' or 3') to facilitate the capture rate and unzipping process, and the typical translocation signal behaves as a square wave with a short dip at the end of the pulse. In this work, the pulse signal of native kanamycin aptamer, a hairpin DNA without the added long tail, was investigated with the single nanopore sensing interface, and different current pulse pattern was observed. The pulse signal exhibited two precise current levels with significantly extended duration of the second, and both duration of the two levels correlate to the interaction of the aptamer to kanamycin. Moreover, the pulse signal not only reveals the selectivity of the aptamer to its target, but also sensitive to the loop sequence change of the aptamer. This work shows that a single nanopore sensing interface could be used as a unique alternative means for interaction investigation of hairpin DNA aptamer without labeling or adding the extra-long tail.

Simultaneous enrichment and separation based on ion concentration polarization effect on a paper based analytical device.

In this paper, simultaneous enrichment and separation of ions and amphoteric components were successfully demonstrated by using electric field (E) and pH gradient (double gradient) in the ion depletion zone of anion concentration polarization interface established on a paper fluid channel. Experimental results were visualized with colored ions (bright blue and amaranth) and protein probes (phycocyanin and cytochrome C). With optimization, colored phycocyanin and bovine hemoglobin with similar pI as that of albumin and immunoglobulin respectively were well separated in 900 s with 10-fold enrichment effect. Based on the separation and enrichment function of this paper-based analytical device (PAD) and rapid selective staining of human serum albumin (HSA) with bromophenol blue, a rapid colorimetric detection of HSA was implemented with smartphone camera. A limit of detection (LOD) of 5.2 mg·L-1 was achieved in the clinically significant range of 10-300 mg·L-1 (R2 = 0.99). This method was applied to real human urine samples with good agreement (ɑ = 0.01) to clinical detection method (immunoturbidimetry). With the separation and enrichment functions of PAD, both the specificity and sensitivity were enhanced, which provides a solid basis for point-of-care test of microalbuminuria. Therefore, this PAD device is potential for sample pretreatment and detection of target components from complex physiological samples.

[Application of Tiaoshen Jianpi acupuncture and moxibustion in hospice care for terminal cancer patients].

To analyze the application feasibility of Tiaoshen Jianpi acupuncture and moxibustion in hospice care for terminal cancer patients. Tiaoshen Jianpi acupuncture and moxibustion adjusts the spirit to regulate emotions and fortifies the spleen to supplement and boost foundation of acquired (postnatal) constitution. And it could relieve adverse reactions after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, alleviate pain and regulate emotions in hospice care for terminal cancer patients, so as to promote the progress of hospice care for terminal cancer patients.