Two-dimensional (2D) material with thickness down to the atomic state is regarded as able to expose more active sites and achieve much higher catalytic efficiency than its bulk counterpart. Recent ...investigated semi-metallic antimony (Sb) demonstrates high charge carrier density and environmental stability toward prospective electrocatalytic performance. In this work, we adopt a favorable liquid exfoliation approach to produce few-layer antimonene and implement it as a metal-free electrocatalyst for water splitting. Few-layer antimonene nanosheets have been realized with preferable bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in association with structural robustness; meanwhile, the catalytic performance and charge transfer behavior of an integrated three-electrode system have also been uncovered. In addition to bifunctional catalytic ability, few-layer antimonene shows a low catalytic threshold because of the inherent characteristics derived from semi-metallic layered materials. It is further anticipated that the present work contributes to extendable investigations about the catalytic performance of antimonene nanosheets and related electrocatalytic devices.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
This study aimed to explore the spatial distribution of brain metastases (BMs) from breast cancer (BC) and to identify the high-risk sub-structures in BMs that are involved at first diagnosis.
...Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were retrospectively reviewed at our centre. The brain was divided into eight regions according to its anatomy and function, and the volume of each region was calculated. The identification and volume calculation of metastatic brain lesions were accomplished using an automatically segmented 3D BUC-Net model. The observed and expected rates of BMs were compared using 2-tailed proportional hypothesis testing.
A total of 250 patients with BC who presented with 1694 BMs were retrospectively identified. The overall observed incidences of the substructures were as follows: cerebellum, 42.1 %; frontal lobe, 20.1 %; occipital lobe, 9.7 %; temporal lobe, 8.0 %; parietal lobe, 13.1 %; thalamus, 4.7 %; brainstem, 0.9 %; and hippocampus, 1.3 %. Compared with the expected rate based on the volume of different brain regions, the cerebellum, occipital lobe, and thalamus were identified as higher risk regions for BMs (P value ≤ 5.6*10−3). Sub-group analysis according to the type of BC indicated that patients with triple-negative BC had a high risk of involvement of the hippocampus and brainstem.
Among patients with BC, the cerebellum, occipital lobe and thalamus were identified as higher-risk regions than expected for BMs. The brainstem and hippocampus were high-risk areas of the BMs in triple negative breast cancer. However, further validation of this conclusion requires a larger sample size.
•∙ AI deep learning mapped brain tumours in 250 patients.•∙ Offered new insights into breast cancer brain metastasis treatment.•Study bridged medicine and engineering, boosting clinical efficacy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women is strongly associated with childbirth which injures the pudendal nerve (PN) and the external urethral sphincter (EUS) during delivery. Electrical ...stimulation (ES) can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in injured neurons, activate Schwann cells and promote neuroregeneration after nerve injury. The aim of this study was to determine if more frequent ES would increase recovery from SUI in a rat model. Forty female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent either sham injury or pudendal nerve crush (PNC) and vaginal distention (VD) to establish SUI. Immediately after injury, electrodes were implanted at the pudendal nerve bilaterally. Each injured animal underwent sham ES, twice per week ES (2/week), or daily ES of 1 h duration for two weeks. Urethral and nerve function were assessed with leak point pressure (LPP), EUS electromyography and pudendal nerve sensory branch potential (PNSBP) recordings two weeks after injury. LPP was significantly increased after daily ES compared to 2/week ES. EUS neuromuscular junction innervation was decreased after injury with sham ES, but improved after 2/week or daily ES. This study demonstrates that daily bilateral ES to the pudendal nerve can accelerate recovery from SUI. Daily ES improved urethral function more than 2/week ES.
Background
Ameloblastoma is a frequent odontogenic neoplasm characterized by local invasiveness and high risk of recurrence. Reversion‐inducing cysteine‐rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) is a ...tumor suppressor that inhibits metastasis and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of RECK overexpression on invasive potential in ameloblastoma cells.
Methods
Lentiviral vectors containing human RECK gene were created and subsequently stably transfected into immortalized ameloblastoma cell line hTERT+‐AM. Functional characteristics of hTERT+‐AM cells with stable RECK overexpression included proliferation, migration, invasion, and regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)‐2, MMP‐9 measured by zymography or commercially available assays.
Results
The stable and higher expression of RECK mRNA and protein (P < 0.01) was detected in RECK‐transfected hTERT+‐AM cells. RECK overexpression caused a decrease in migration and invasion (P < 0.01) for hTERT+‐AM cells and a decrease in activity of MMP‐2, MMP‐9 (P < 0.01). Proliferation was not affected by RECK overexpression (P > 0.05).
Conclusions
Overexpression of RECK gene significantly inhibited cell invasive ability of hTERT+‐AM cells, suggesting RECK may be a new target for ameloblastoma treatment.
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CMK, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Plumbagin, a naphthoquinone constituent of Plumbago zeylanica L. (Plumbaginaceae) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine as an antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. Plumbagin ...is known to exhibit proapoptotic, antiangiogenic and antimetastatic effects in cancer cells. The transcriptional co-factor four and a half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) is a multifunctional adaptor protein that is involved in the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction and cell proliferation and differentiation, and also acts as a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein depending on the tissue microenvironment. The present study investigated the effect of plumbagin on FHL2 expression, Wnt/β-catenin signalling and its anti-proliferative activity in various human osteosarcoma cell lines, including SaOS2, MG63, HOS and U2OS. The cells were exposed to plumbagin and the expression of FHL2 was evaluated using western blot analysis. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative effect of plumbagin was evaluated using a 3-(4,5 dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. In addition, since FHL2 is involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling, the effect of plumbagin on β-catenin and its primary target genes, including v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (c-Myc) and WNT1 inducible signaling pathway protein-1 (WISP-1), was evaluated using western blot analysis. It was observed that plumbagin suppressed the expression of FHL2 and exhibited significant anti-proliferative activity in osteosarcoma cells. It also attenuated Wnt/β-catenin signalling by downregulating β-catenin and its target genes, including c-Myc and WISP-1. In conclusion, plumbagin demonstrated anti-proliferative activity in osteosarcoma cells by downregulating FHL2 and interfering with Wnt/β-catenin signalling.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Introduction
Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl (FS), the fruit of Oleaceae plants, as a large part of traditional Chinese medicine, is classified as “Qingqiao (Q)” and “Laoqiao (L)” based on the ...harvest time. Because the maturation of FS is a gradual process, its accurate identification based on different maturity levels is an important issue.
Objectives
We suggest colorimetric, electronic tongue, and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) characteristic fingerprints to discriminate FS in different harvest periods.
Material and methods
First, FS fruits from different harvest times were collected, and then, their colour parameters, E‐tongue sensory properties, HPLC characteristic fingerprints, and contents of nominal ingredients were determined. Finally, multivariate statistical analyses, including three‐dimensional scatter plots, hierarchical cluster, principal component, linear discriminant, similarity, and partial least squares discriminant analyses were performed.
Results
The results demonstrated that the three experimental techniques could effectively discriminate FS based on different harvest times with 100% accuracy. Under the qualitative conditions, nine common peaks were identified in the HPLC fingerprints of 60 samples, among which, six peaks variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1 could be used as index peaks for qualitative identification. In fact, the contents of quality marker components, including forsythin, phillygenin, rutin and forsythoside A, were significant different (P < 0.001) at different harvest times. Interestingly, the quality markers not only accurately reflected the maturity of FS but also showed close correlations with the colour parameters and sensory E‐tongue responses.
Conclusion
In our present investigation, bionic technologies, including a colorimeter, E‐tongue analysis, and HPLC characteristic fingerprints, combined with chemometrics, were employed to develop a novel and accurate method for discriminating FS based on different harvest times.
Intelligent sensory technology was used to quickly identify Forsythia suspensa at different harvest times from external characters (color and taste). HPLC fingerprint technology can accurately identify Forsythia suspensa in different harvest periods from its internal chemical components. The combined application of the two techniques can quickly and accurately identify Forsythia suspensa in different harvest periods, and show the correlation of internal and external changes of Forsythia suspensa.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Breviscapine is a flavonoid extracted from a Chinese herb Erigeron breviscapus, previously it was shown that treatment with breviscapine attenuated renal injury in the diabetic rats. The purpose of ...this study was to investigate whether breviscapine combined with enalapril (an ACE inhibitor) have superior renoprotective effects against diabetic nephropathy. Rats were randomly separated into five groups: control, diabetes, diabetes treated with enalapril, diabetes treated with breviscapine, or diabetes treated with combined enalapril with breviscapine. Twenty-four hours urinary AER and the levels of 3-NT in renal tissue and MDA in renal tissue and urine as well as activities and expression of PKC in renal tissue were determined, and renal tissue morphology were observed by light microscopy after 8 weeks. Expression of TGFβ1 protein was performed by immunohistochemistry method. Increased AER and kidney pathologic injury were attenuated by treatment with either enalapril or breviscapine and further reduced by the combination of the two. Elevated 3-NT in renal tissue and MDA levels in renal tissue and urine were reduced by enalapril or breviscapine and, more effectively, by combined enalapril with breviscapine. PKC activities and expression were higher in renal tissue in diabetic rats than those of the control group, which were reduced by both monotherapies, and further abrogated by combination therapy in both cases. Overexpression of TGFβ1 protein observed in the glomeruli and tubulointerstitium of diabetic rats was attenuated by enalapril or breviscapine to a similar lever and further reduced by the combination of the two. The combination of enalapril and breviscapine confers superiority over monotherapies on renoprotection, which mechanism may be at least partly correlated with synergetic suppression on increased oxidative stress and PKC activities as well as overexpression of TGFβ1 in renal tissue.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is associated with strong infectiousness and has no effective therapy. We aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of
nebulization in the ...treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we included 31 adult patients with moderate COVID-19 who were admitted to the Fourth People's Hospital of Nanning (Nanning, China) between January 22, 2020 and February 17, 2020. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: group A (standard care group) and group B (
in combination with standard care group). The primary outcome was the time interval from admission to viral RNA negative conversion (oropharyngeal swabs were used in this study). Secondary outcomes included chest computed tomography (CT), mortality, length of hospital stay, complications during treatment, and so on. Patients were followed up to 4 weeks after discharge (reexamination of viral RNA, chest CT, etc.).
Nucleic acid test negative conversion time in group B was shorter than that in group A (2.9 days 2.7-8.7 vs. 6.8 days 3.3-13.8;
= 0.045). No death and no conversion to severe or critical cases were observed in both groups. Two weeks after discharge, neither "relapse" nor "return to positive" cases were found. Four weeks after discharge, it was found that there was no case of " relapse " or "return to positive" in group B, and 1 patient in group A showed "return to positive", but there was no clinical manifestation and imaging progression. No adverse reactions related to
were found during observation period.
treatment might shorten the time interval from admission to viral RNA negative conversion, which might be beneficial to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
ChiCTR2000030016.
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