Effect of comprehensive nursing care for the liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: This review aims to assess the effect of comprehensive nursing care on liver cancer patients undergoing interventional therapy in China. METHODS: In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed randomized controlled trials and observational studies assessing the effect of comprehensive nursing care against standard care on liver cancer patients undergoing specific interventional therapies in China, including PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL and CINAHL till June 2023. Data synthesis was conducted using a random-effects model and reported as pooled odds ratio (OR) or mean difference (MD) or standardized mean differences (SMD). RESULTS: Ten Chinese studies with 1682 participants were evaluated. Comprehensive nursing care significantly enhanced patient outcomes in liver cancer treatment. Quality of life improved markedly (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.41). Notable reductions were observed in anxiety (MD: -8.96, 95% CI: -11.52 to -6.40) and depression (MD: -9.47, 95% CI: -11.79 to -7.14). Patients also experienced increased physical (SMD: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.15-2.25), social (SMD: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.14-2.16) and activity scores (SMD: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.49-2.39), alongside a decrease in post-treatment complications (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.21-0.37), demonstrating the multifaceted benefits of comprehensive care. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive nursing care may improve patient outcomes in liver cancer treatment, offering potential benefits in reducing the side effects of interventional therapy.

Oncogenic Role of the NFATC2/NEDD4/FBP1 Axis in Cholangiocarcinoma.

Nuclear factor of activated T cells 2 (NFATC2) is reported to contribute to the initiation and progression of various cancers; however, its expression and function in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) tissues remain elusive. Herein, we investigated the expression pattern, clinicopathologic characteristics, cell biological functions, and potential mechanisms of NFATC2 in CCA tissues. Real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry were performed to analyze the expression of NFATC2 in human CCA tissues. Cell counting kit 8, colony formation, flow cytometry, Western blotting, and Transwell assays, and in vivo xenograft and pulmonary metastasis models, were used to explore the effect of NFATC2 on the proliferation and metastasis of CCA. A dual-luciferase reporter system, oligonucleotide pull-down, chromatin immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, and coimmunoprecipitation were performed to reveal the potential mechanisms. We found that NFATC2 was upregulated in CCA tissues and cells, and its aberrantly high levels were associated with a poorer differentiation pattern. Functionally, NFATC2 overexpression promoted CCA cell proliferation and metastasis, whereas knockdown of NFATC2 led to opposite result. Mechanistically, NFATC2 could be enriched in the promoter region of neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally downregulated protein 4 (NEDD4) to facilitate its expression. Furthermore, NEDD4 targeted fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase 1 (FBP1) and inhibited FBP1 expression via ubiquitination. In addition, silencing NEDD4 rescued the effects of NFATC2 overexpression on CCA cells. NEDD4 was upregulated in human CCA tissues, and its expression levels were positively correlated with those of NFATC2. We thus conclude that NFATC2 promotes the progression of CCA via the NEDD4/FBP1 axis, emphasizing the oncogenic role of NFATC2 in CCA progression.

DNA methylation of HOX genes and its clinical implications in cancer.

Homeobox (HOX) genes encode highly conserved transcription factors that play vital roles in embryonic development. DNA methylation is a pivotal regulatory epigenetic signaling mark responsible for regulating gene expression. Abnormal DNA methylation is largely associated with the aberrant expression of HOX genes, which is implicated in a broad range of human diseases, including cancer. Numerous studies have clarified the mechanisms of DNA methylation in both physiological and pathological processes. In this review, we focus on how DNA methylation regulates HOX genes and briefly discuss drug development approaches targeting these mechanisms.

UPLC-Q-TOF/MS Based Plasma Metabolomics for Identification of Paeonol's Metabolic Target in Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological illness in women of reproductive age that significantly decreases life quality and fertility. Paeonol has been shown to play an important part in endometriosis treatments. Understanding the mechanism is critical for treating endometriosis. In this study, autologous transplantation combined with a 28 day ice water bath was used to create a rat model of endometriosis with cold clotting and blood stagnation. The levels of estradiol and progesterone in plasma were detected by ELISA, and the pathological changes of ectopic endometrial tissue were examined by H&E staining, which proved the efficacy of paeonol. For metabolomic analysis of plasma samples, UPLC-Q/TOF-MS was combined with multivariate statistical analysis to identify the influence of paeonol on small molecule metabolites relevant to endometriosis. Finally, the key targets were screened using a combination of network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches. The results showed that the pathological indexes of rats were improved and returned to normal levels after treatment with paeonol, which was the basis for confirming the efficacy of paeonol. Metabolomics results identified 13 potential biomarkers, and paeonol callbacks 7 of them, involving six metabolic pathways. Finally, four key genes were found for paeonol therapy of endometriosis, and the results of molecular docking revealed a significant interaction between paeonol and the four key genes. This study was successful in establishing a rat model of endometriosis with cold coagulation and blood stagnation. GCH1, RPL8, PKLR, and MAOA were the key targets of paeonol in the treatment of endometriosis. It is also demonstrated that metabolomic techniques give the potential and environment for comprehensively understanding drug onset processes.

ADAM7 promotes the proliferation and invasion in trophoblast cells.

ADAMs are members of the metzincin family of zinc-dependent metalloproteinases, which play a key role in the proteolytic degradation of the extracellular matrix to invade cells. It is well known that ADAMs are involved in regulating the invasion of trophoblast cells. But the function and underlying mechanism of ADAM7 in trophoblast cells is still unknown. ADAM7 knockdown strongly inhibited HTR-8 and B6Tert-1 cells proliferation, migration and invasion, while ADAM7 overexpression reversed. The expression of protein pro-caspase 3 and pro-caspase 9 was not affected by either ADAM7 knockdown or overexpression in HTR-8 and B6Tert-1 cells, while the expression of active-caspase 3 and active-caspase 9 was strongly increased in ADAM7 silenced cells and significant decreased in ADAM7 overexpressed cells. We also found that the phosphorylation of p38MAPK was significantly inhibited in ADAM7 silenced cells while it was significantly induced in ADAM7 overexpressed cells. Metformin HCl could reverse the inhibitory effects of ADAM7 knockdown on the p38MAPK signaling pathway and the proliferation of HTR-8 and B6Tert-1 cells. ADAM7 plays a positive role in trophoblast cells, which may be attributed to regulation of the p38MAPK signaling pathway. SIGNIFICANCE: It is necessary to further study the molecular mechanism of trophoblast cells proliferation, migration and invasion, and develop a more effective treatment to preeclampsia. This research might provide a new target for further research in this area.

PADI4 stimulates esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tumor growth and up-regulates CA9 expression.

An increasing amount of evidence indicates that peptidylarginine deiminase isoform 4 (PADI4) plays an important role in tumorigenesis. However, the effects of PADI4 on tumor-bearing mice are unknown, and no studies have investigated this tumorigenic pathway in an animal model. In the present study, ECA109 cells originating from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) were transfected with PADI4-expressing lentivirus and were injected into BALB/c nude mice. Tumor size and weight were significantly increased in the mouse tumors established with PADI4-overexpressing ECA109 cells. PCR array analysis revealed increased CA9 expression in ECA109 cells transfected with a PADI4-expressing plasmid, while decreased CA9 expression levels were detected in cells transfected with anti-PADI4 siRNA. Furthermore, up-regulation of CA9 expression was detected in mouse tumors established with PADI4-overexpressing cells. Immunohistochemistry detected the increased expression and co-localization of PADI4 and CA9 in ESCC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues and normal tissue controls. These results were verified using Western blotting. Cell proliferation significantly increased or decreased in ECA109 and EC9706 (another ESCC-originating cell line) cells transfected with a PADI4-expressing plasmid or anti-PADI4 siRNA, respectively. The above findings suggest that increased PADI4 expression in ESCC stimulates tumor growth and up-regulates CA9 expression, which is known to promote metastatic properties in tumor cells.

Ammonia Formation over Pd/Rh Three-Way Catalysts during Lean-to-Rich Fluctuations: The Effect of the Catalyst Aging, Exhaust Temperature, Lambda, and Duration in Rich Conditions.

The formation of ammonia (NH3) as a byproduct during the operation of a three-way catalyst (TWC) in a simulated exhaust stream was investigated using a commercially available Pd/Rh TWC under steady-state and lean/rich cycling conditions. Ion molecular reaction-mass spectrometry was applied to determine NO, NO2, and NH3 concentrations at a time resolution of 0.6 s. Catalyst aging was shown to result in a significant increase in the amount of NH3 formed, which has received limited attention in the literature to date. The selectivity toward NH3 formation has been shown to increase with the decrease in the oxygen storage capacity (OSC) of a TWC induced by thermal aging. NH3 has been shown to mainly form within the exhaust temperature range of 250-550 °C. Typical lambda and rich operational condition duration periods found in vehicle test procedures were also employed to investigate their effects on NH3 formation. The results suggest that a decrease in the lambda and/or an increase in the duration of rich operating conditions will lead to an increase in the selectivity toward NH3 formation. Improving the OSC of TWCs and effectively controlling the lambda near to 1.0 with limited duration in rich operating conditions are therefore significant factors in the reduction of NH3 emissions.

MiR-212-5p Suppresses the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Targeting Prrx2.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype. Our study investigated the functional role of miR-212-5p in TNBC. METHODS: Realtime PCR was used to quantify miR-212-5p expression levels in 30 paired TNBC samples and adjacent normal tissues. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to evaluate the effects of miR-212-5p expression on the invasiveness of TNBC cells. Luciferase reporter and Western blot assays were used to verify whether the mRNA encoding Prrx2 is a major target of miR-212-5p. RESULTS: MiR-212-5p was downregulated in TNBC, and its expression levels were related to tumor size, lymph node status and vascular invasion in breast cancer. We also observed that the miR-212-5p expression level was significantly correlated with a better prognosis in TNBC. Ectopic expression of miR-212-5p induced upregulation of E-cadherin expression and downregulation of vimentin expression. The expression of miR212-5p also suppressed the migration and invasion capacity of mesenchymal-like cancer cells accompanied by a morphological shift towards the epithelial phenotype. Moreover, our study observed that miR-212-5p overexpression significantly suppressed Prrx2 by targeting its 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) region, and Prrx2 overexpression partially abrogated miR-212-5p-mediated suppression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that miR-212-5p inhibits TNBC from acquiring the EMT phenotype by downregulating Prrx2, thereby inhibiting cell migration and invasion during cancer progression.

SB-431542, a specific inhibitor of the TGF-ß type I receptor inhibits hypoxia-induced proliferation of pulmonary artery adventitial fibroblasts.

The vascular remodeling process plays an important role in the pathology of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, and it includes cell proliferation, cell motility, cell synthesis and collagen coagulation. Due to their proliferation and synthesis ability, the adventitial fibroblasts are thought to be critical in the vascular remodeling process initiated in response to hypoxia. However, the factors driving hypoxia-induced fibroblast proliferation and synthesis have yet to be elucidated, and the treatment regimens to treat hypoxia remain ineffective. As forthis study, its purpose was to examine the effects exerted by SB-431542, a small-molecule antagonist of transforming growth factor-ß-receptor, on the proliferation, synthesis and collagen coagulation in cultured adventitial fibroblasts. Another aim of this study was to assess the inhibitory ability of SB-431542 on pulmonary vascular remodeling in chronic hypoxia in vivo.The cell morphology and proliferation of cultured adventitial fibroblasts was assessed by laser confocal microscopy and the MTT assay, respectively. Additionally, collagen synthesis was determined by hydroxyproline chromatography, while the expression of cytokines in adventitial fibroblasts and lung tissues was evaluated by immunohistochemical and reverse transcription PCR analyses. The results indicated that the exposure of cultured fibroblasts to 1% oxygen led to the up regulation of cell proliferation, cell synthesis. In addition, increased expression of cytokines and collagen was detected in vivo in the pulmonary artery adventitia of rats exposed to chronic hypoxia. Conversely, SB-431542 inhibited fibroblast proliferation and synthesis in the process of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (P < 0.01). Thus, the results suggested that by reducing cell proliferation, cell synthesis of vascular adventitia, small molecule inhibitors of the TGF-ß1 receptors may offer a novel therapy for pulmonary hypertension.

Mechanical Behavior of 3D-Printed Thickness Gradient Honeycomb Structures.

In order to obtain a lightweight, high-strength, and customizable cellular structure to meet the needs of modern production and life, the mechanical properties of four thickness gradient honeycomb structures were studied. In this paper, four types of honeycomb structure specimens with the same porosity and different Poisson's ratios were designed and manufactured by using SLA 3D-printing technology, including the honeycomb, square honeycomb, quasi-square honeycomb, and re-entrant honeycomb structures. Based on the plane compression mechanical properties and failure mode analysis of these specimens, the thickness gradient is applied to the honeycomb structure, and four structural forms of the thickness gradient honeycomb structure are formed. The experimental results show that the thickness gradient honeycomb structure exhibits better mechanical properties than the honeycomb structure with a uniform cellular wall thickness. In the studied thickness gradient honeycomb structure, the mechanical properties of the whole structure can be significantly improved by increasing the thickness of cell walls at the upper and lower ends of the structure. The wall thickness, arrangement order, shape, and Poisson's ratio of the cell all have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the specimens. These results provide an effective basis for the design and application of cellular structures in the future.

Correlation analysis between left ventricular global longitudinal strain and major adverse cardiovascular event occurrence in patients with end-stage renal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) occurrence in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: From January 2019 to December 2023, ESRD patients undergoing maintenance dialysis and LVGLS measurement admitted to the First People's Hospital of Lanzhou City were selected as subjects. They were followed up for 12 months to record the occurrence of MACEs, and divided into MACE group and non-MACE group according to MACE presence or absence. RESULTS: A total of 158 ESRD patients were included, with 32 patients in the MACE group and 126 patients in the non-MACE group. In the MACE group, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, peak troponin T (TNT) and the ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic septal mitral annulus velocity (E/e') were higher, while hemoglobin, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and absolute LVGLS were lower compared with the non-MACE group (P < 0.05). Multivariate COX regression analysis revealed that LVGLS (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.10) and hs-CRP (HR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.23-1.31) were independent predictors of MACE occurrence in ESRD patients (P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for MACE occurrence within 12 months was 0.83 (95% CI 0.74-0.95), with a sensitivity of 89.9% and a specificity of 76.8%. The MACE-free survival rate in the high LVGLS group was higher compared to the low LVGLS group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Reduced LVGLS is an independent risk factor for MACE occurrence in ESRD patients within 12 months and a good prognostic indicator.

Predictors of urinary heavy metal concentrations among pregnant women in Jinan, China.

BACKGROUND: Toxic heavy metal exposure and insufficiency or excess of essential heavy metals may have negative effects on pregnant women's health and fetal growth. To date, the predictors of pregnant women's heavy metal exposure levels remain unclear and vary with different regions. The study intended to explore potential predictors of exposure to heavy metals individually and high co-exposure to heavy metal mixtures. METHODS: We recruited 298 pregnant women in first trimester from prenatal clinics in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, and collected spot urine samples and questionnaire data on their demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, consumption of food and dietary supplement, and residential environment. All urine samples were analyzed for seven heavy metals: cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), strontium (Sr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). RESULTS: Factors associated with single heavy metal concentration were as follows: a) urinary As, Sr and Cd increased with women's age respectively; b) pregnant women with higher monthly household income per capita had lower Sr and Mo levels; c) pregnant women with intermittent folic acid supplementation and those not taking tap water as domestic drinking water had lower Sr concentrations; d) Cd was positively linked with consumption frequency of rice; e) Hg was adversely related to consumption frequency of egg and the women who took purified water as domestic drinking water had lower Hg exposure. In addition, pregnant women's age was positively associated with odds of high co-exposure to Co, As, Sr, Mo, Cd and Pb; while those with an educational level of college had lower odds of high exposure to such a metal mixture compared with those whose educational levels were lower than high school. CONCLUSION: Predictors of single urinary heavy metal concentration included pregnant women's age (As, Sr and Cd), monthly household income per capita (Sr and Mo), folic acid supplementation (Sr), rice consumption frequency (Cd), egg consumption frequency (Hg) and the type of domestic drinking water (Sr and Hg). Pregnant women with older age, lower educational level tended to have high co-exposure to Co, As, Sr, Mo, Cd and Pb.

Multiomics Analysis of Interleukin-21 as a Potential Immunologic and Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) is an important antitumor cytokine that contributes to the proliferation and differentiation of CD8+ T cells. It has been proven to enhance the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in various solid tumors. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not yet been clarified. In this research, we aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of IL-21 in HCC and its effect on ICI treatment. Through transcriptome sequencing analysis and immunohistochemistry validation, we found that patients with high IL-21 expression had a better prognosis. HCCs with high expression of IL-21 had higher infiltration of CD8+ T cells, increased expression of immune checkpoints, and an improved response to ICI treatment. In conclusion, IL-21 can enhance the efficacy of ICI treatment and improve the prognosis of patients by promoting the infiltration of CD8+ T cells and the expression of immune checkpoint-related genes.

Bibliometric analysis of global endometriosis research, 2002 to 2021: A review.

Endometriosis is a common disease of reproductive-age women and an important cause of dysmenorrhea and infertility. Information on endometriosis is complex and there is a lack of summarization of available results. The study aims to evaluate the overall distribution of publications related to endometriosis to provide a foundation for further research. The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for articles published in the field of endometriosis. Our survey revealed the structure, hotspots, and development trends of endometriosis-related research and publications.

RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a-Based Detection of Haemophilus parasuis.

Haemophilus parasuis (H. parasuis, HPS) is a prominent pathogenic bacterium in pig production. Its infection leads to widespread fibrinous inflammation in various pig tissues and organs, often in conjunction with various respiratory virus infections, and leads to substantial economic losses in the pig industry. Therefore, the rapid diagnosis of this pathogen is of utmost importance. In this study, we used recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology to establish a convenient detection and analysis system for H. parasuis that is fast to detect, easy to implement, and accurate to analyze, known as RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a analysis. The process from sample to results can be completed within 1 h with high sensitivity (0.163 pg/µL of DNA template, p < 0.05), which is 104 -fold higher than the common PCR method. The specificity test results show that the RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a analysis of H. parasuis did not react with other common pig pathogens, including Streptococcus suis type II and IX, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Streptococcus suis, and Staphylococcus aureus (p < 0.0001). The RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a assay was applied to 15 serotypes of H. parasuis clinical samples through crude extraction of nucleic acid by boiling method, and all of the samples were successfully identified. It greatly reduces the time and cost of nucleic acid extraction. Moreover, the method allows results to be visualized with blue light. The accurate and convenient detection method could be incorporated into a portable format as point-of-care (POC) diagnostics detection for H. parasuis at the field level.

Development of a multiplex qRT-PCR assay for the detection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus and porcine Deltacoronavirus.

Currently, porcine coronaviruses are prevalent in pigs, and due to the outbreak of COVID-19, porcine coronaviruses have become a research hotspot. porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV), and Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) mentioned in this study mainly cause diarrhea in pigs. These viruses cause significant economic losses and pose a potential public health threat. In this study, specific primers and probes were designed according to the M gene of PEDV, the S gene of TGEV, and the M gene of PDCoV, respectively, and TaqMan probe-based multiplex real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was developed for the simultaneous detection of PEDV, TGEV, and PDCoV. This method has high sensitivity and specificity, and the detection limit of each virus can reach 2.95 × 100 copies/µl. An assay of 160 clinical samples from pigs with diarrhea showed that the positive rates of PEDV, TGEV, and PDCoV were 38.13, 1.88, and 5.00%; the coinfection rates of PEDV+TGEV, PEDV+PDCoV, TGEV+PDCoV, PEDV+TGEV+PDCoV were 1.25, 1.25, 0, 0.63%, respectively. The positive coincidence rates of the multiplex qRT-PCR and single-reaction qRT-PCR were 100%. This method is of great significance for clinical monitoring of the porcine enteric diarrhea virus and helps reduce the loss of the breeding industry and control the spread of the disease.

[Serum interleukin 18 and 33 levels and its clinical significance in asthma patients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the levels of serum interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-33 in asthmatic patients pre-and post-treatment with glucocorticoids during the acute exacerbation period and therefore to investigate the role of IL-18 and IL-33 in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. METHODS: Thirty cases of moderate to severe asthma admitted in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from June, 2009 to October, 2010 were chosen as the asthma group, and 23 healthy people who underwent routine physical examination were chosen as the control group. The subjects in the 2 groups were all nonsmokers. All the patients were treated with a glucocorticoid (methylprednisolone 40 - 80 mg/d) for 3 to 5 days and combined with aerosol inhalation of budesonide for 1 to 2 weeks as adjuvant therapy. The serum levels of IL-18 and IL-33 were detected for the asthma group before and after the treatment and for the control group. Other data including immunoglobulin E (IgE), the number of eosinophil cells (EOS) and the pulmonary function (FEV(1)%pre) were measured as well. The differences of IL-18 and IL-33 levels between the asthma group before and after treatment and the control group were analyzed, and the correlation between IL-18, IL-33 and IgE, EOS and FEV(1)%pre were analyzed as well by SPSS software. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy control group [(158 ± 45) ng/L and (143 ± 32) ng/L], the levels of IL-18 and IL-33 in the asthma pre-treatment group were significantly increased [(300 ± 181) ng/L and (208 ± 95) ng/L, t = 3.67 and 3.51, all P < 0.05)]; and the IgE level and EOS count showed a similar change (t = 5.76 and 5.24, all P < 0.05). After systemic glucocorticoid treatment and local aerosol inhalation, the levels of IL-18 and IL-33 [(183 ± 83) ng/L and (148 ± 77) ng/L] were decreased significantly in the asthma patients [t = 5.42 and 12.09, all P < 0.05], and the IgE level and EOS count also showed a same trend as well (t = 11.87 and 4.56, all P < 0.05), whereas FEV(1)%pred [(54 ± 14)%] increased significantly [(81 ± 16)%, t = -7.81, P < 0.05]. The Pearson correlative analysis showed that there were positive correlations between the levels of IL-18, IL-33 and IgE and EOS, respectively (all P < 0.05), and there were negative correlations between IL-18, IL-33 levels and FEV(1)%pre, respectively (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that IL-18 and IL-33 participate in the pathogenesis of asthma, and may play stimulation role in the process of the disease.

Understanding ammonia and nitrous oxide formation in typical three-way catalysis during the catalyst warm-up period.

Ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been regarded as the typical secondary pollutants emitted from vehicles equipped with a three-way catalyst (TWC). MultiGas FT-IR Analyzer was applied to determine the outlet gas concentrations in the light-off experiments, in order to understand how different reaction conditions and catalyst aging affect the production of these two pollutants. It was found that N2O formation is favored by the existence of excess oxygen during NO reduction, whereas NH3 is readily formed within the lack of reactive oxygen species. Interestingly, the reduction of NO by H2 in presence of excess oxygen can also lead to NH3 formation when the active metal particles are large enough, which provides the rational explanation why the increased NH3 was emitted from older gasoline vehicles. The loss of the catalytically active sites and reducibility caused by thermal aging requires longer time to warm-up thereby favors the N2O and NH3 formation, which is the major reason for the higher CO, NOx, HC, N2O and NH3 emissions from the old gasoline vehicles than that of low-mileage gasoline vehicles.

Combination of 4-1BB and DAP10 promotes proliferation and persistence of NKG2D(bbz) CAR-T cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has been shown to have considerable therapeutic effects in hematological malignancies, and NKG2D(z) CAR-T cell therapy has been verified to be safe based on clinical trials. However, due to the poor persistence of NKG2D(z) CAR-T cells, their therapeutic effect is not obvious. Here, we constructed NKG2D(bbz) CAR-T cells that can simultaneously activate 4-1BB and DAP10 costimulatory signaling. They were found to be cytotoxic to the target cells in vitro and in vivo. They exhibited low differentiation, low exhaustion, and good proliferation. Importantly, the proportions of central memory T (Tcm) and stem cell-like memory T (Tscm) cell subsets were strikingly increased. After long-term incubation with the target cells, they displayed reduced exhaustion compared to NKG2D(z) CAR-T cells. Further, in the presence of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002, they exhibited reduced exhaustion and apoptosis, upregulated Bcl2 expression, and an increased proportion of Tcm cell subsets. Finally, NKG2D(bbz) CAR-T cells had better antitumor effects in vivo. In summary, the results showed that NKG2D(bbz) CAR-T cells may be valuable for cellular immunotherapy of cancer.

Accelerated loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for the rapid detection of Streptococcus suis serotypes 2 and 14 based on single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Streptococcus suis serotypes 2 and 14 are the most prevalent zoonotic strains. The establishment of a sensitive and extremely accurate method for point-of-care testing for Streptococcus suis serotype 2 and 14 strains is highly desirable. In this study, a loop primer probe-introduced loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay was developed to differentiate Streptococcus suis serotypes 2 and 14 based on SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism). The specific fluorescent probes were designed for the SNP site specific for serotype 2 and 14 Streptococcus suis cpsK genes, and the loop primer probe-introduced loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed using the specific cleavage properties of the RNase H2 enzyme. Rapid and efficient LAMP assays were realized through the use of loop forward primers and stem forward primers. The results showed that the amplification reaction can be performed efficiently at 59°C. The results can be real-time detected or judged using a smartphone and a 3D-printed visualization cassette. The sensitivity of the LAMP assay can reach 18.4 CFU within 40 minutes. The detection rate of the assay system was evaluated using 19 clinical samples with suspected Streptococcus suis infection, and the detection rate was consistent with the sequencing method, suggesting that the test is highly practical. The LAMP assay for Streptococcus suis serotypes 2 and 14 established in this study has strong specificity, high sensitivity, and simple operation, while the reaction can be performed at an isothermal temperature and is not dependent on complex instruments or professional operators, making it suitable for field testing.