A mild, general, and efficient copper-catalyzed system for C–S bond formation with high chemoselectivity and wide functional group tolerance is developed. With CuBr as catalyst and ...1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-8-hydroxy-quinoline as ligand, the S-arylation of thiols with aryl halides performed well, the activated aryl iodides could take place even at room temperature, and the activated aryl bromides and chlorides give the corresponding products with good to excellent yields as well.
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The stable long-term performance of resin cement under oral environmental conditions is a crucial factor to obtain a satisfactory success of the allceramic dental restoration.
This study aimed at ...evaluating and comparing the surface morphology and mechanical property of conventional and self-adhesive resin cement after aqueous aging.
Disc-shaped specimens of 3 conventional (C1: Multilink N, C2: Duolink, C3: Nexus 3) and 3 self-adhesive (S1: Multilink Speed, S2: Biscem, S3: Maxcem) types of resin cements were subjected to irradiation. After 24 h, the Knoop microhardness of each resin cement was evaluated. The specimens were immersed separately in distilled water and maintained at 37°C. A total of 5 specimens of each resin cement were collected at the following time intervals of immersion: 1, 6, 12 and 18 months. The samples were used to evaluate the Knoop parameters of microhardness, sorption and solubility. The surface morphology of the specimens after 18 months of immersion was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The sorption and solubility data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA. The Knoop microhardness was tested by the ANOVA repeated measures (P<0.05).
The sorption and solubility parameters of C1 and S1 exhibited significant fluctuations during the aqueous aging. The hardness of the S1 and S2 specimens decreased significantly after an 18-month water immersion. The S1, S2 and S3 specimens indicated higher filler exposure and stripping and apparent pores and cracks compared to specimens C1, C2 and C3, respectively.
The surface of selfadhesive resin cements is more susceptible to aqueous damage than that of the conventional resin cements.
Biobattery, a kind of enzymatic fuel cells, can convert organic compounds (e.g., glucose, starch) to electricity in a closed system without moving parts. Inspired by natural starch metabolism ...catalyzed by starch phosphorylase, isoamylase is essential to debranch alpha-1,6-glycosidic bonds of starch, yielding linear amylodextrin - the best fuel for sugar-powered biobattery. However, there is no thermostable isoamylase stable enough for simultaneous starch gelatinization and enzymatic hydrolysis, different from the case of thermostable alpha-amylase. A putative isoamylase gene was mined from megagenomic database. The open reading frame ST0928 from a hyperthermophilic archaeron Sulfolobus tokodaii was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The recombinant protein was easily purified by heat precipitation at 80 (o)C for 30 min. This enzyme was characterized and required Mg(2+) as an activator. This enzyme was the most stable isoamylase reported with a half lifetime of 200 min at 90 (o)C in the presence of 0.5 mM MgCl2, suitable for simultaneous starch gelatinization and isoamylase hydrolysis. The cuvett-based air-breathing biobattery powered by isoamylase-treated starch exhibited nearly doubled power outputs than that powered by the same concentration starch solution, suggesting more glucose 1-phosphate generated.
To explore dynamic changes of cytokines and virological markers associated with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss during peginterferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFN α-2a) treatment in hepatitis B e ...antigen (HBeAg) positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.
It was a single-center prospective cohort study. HBeAg-positive CHB patients were prospectively and consecutively enrolled. Cytokines were detected at baseline, week 12 and 24 of PEG-IFN treatment. HBsAg disappearance rate was the primary evaluation index at 48 weeks of PEG-IFN treatment.
Among 100 patients who completed the 48-week PEG-IFN α-2a treatment, 38 patients achieved serum HBeAg disappearance, 25 patients achieved HBeAg seroconversion, 9 patients achieved functional cure, 37 patients had HBsAg decline of ≥1 log IU/ml, and 8 patients produced hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb). Albumin (ALB), fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3-L) and interferon-alpha2 (IFN-α2) in the clinical cure group were significantly lower than those in the non-clinical-cure group at baseline. After 12 weeks of treatment, HBsAg in the clinical cure group was significantly lower than that in the non-clinical-cure group (median 1.14 vs. 3.45 log10IU/ml, Z=-4.355,
< 0.001). The decrease of HBsAg and hepatitis B virus desoxyribose nucleic acid (HBV DNA) in the clinical cure group was significantly higher than that in non-clinical-cure group (median: HBsAg 1.96 vs. 0.33 log10IU/ml, Z=-4.703,
< 0.001; HBV DNA 4.49 vs.3.13 log
IU/ml, Z=-3.053,
=0.002). The increase of IFN-α2 in the cure group was significantly higher than that in the non-clinical-cure group (497.89 vs. 344.74, Z=-2.126,
=0.034). After 24 weeks of treatment, HBsAg, HBeAg, Flt3-L, and IL-10 in the clinical cure group were significantly lower than those in the non-clinical-cure group (median: HBsAg 0.70 vs. 3.15 log
IU/ml, Z=-4.535, P< 0.001; HBeAg 1.48 vs. 13.72 S/CO, Z = 2.512,
= 0.012; Flt3-l 0.00 vs 2.24 pg/ml, Z = 3.137,
=0.002; IL-10 0.70 vs. 2.71 pg/ml, Z=-4.067,
< 0.001). HBsAg decreased significantly in the clinical cure group compared with non-clinical-cure group (median 3.27 vs. 0.45, Z=-4.463,
< 0.001).
Dynamic changes of cytokines and virology markers during early PEG IFN α-2a treatment were associated with HBsAg loss in HBeAg-positive CHB patients.
The aim of this study was to investigate anti-synthetase syndrome (ASyS) patients who presented with recurrent episodes of fever and systemic inflammation.
A retrospective cohort of Chinese ASyS ...patients (n=126) in our center (between January 2013 and January 2020) was included. Patients presenting with concomitant autoimmune rheumatic diseases or malignancies were subsequently excluded. The number of non-infectious fever attacks and attack frequency were recorded and calculated. Patients with two or more attacks and within the upper three quartiles of attack frequency were defined as high-inflammation group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to characterize the high-inflammation subtype.
Out of 113 eligible patients with an average of 5 years follow up, 25 patients were defined as the high-inflammation group (16 for anti-Jo1, 9 for anti-PL7), with an average of 1.12 attack/patient-year. Compared to low-inflammation group (0-1 attack only and a frequency lower than 0.5 attack/patient-year), the high-inflammation group had higher occurrence of fever and rapid progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD) as the first presentation (84%
21% and 40%
9%, respectively, both p<0.01). Anti-PL-7 was related to the more inflammatory phenotype (p=0.014). Cumulative disease-modifying agent exposures (>=3) were much higher in the high-inflammation group (60%
26%), while biological agents, i.e., rituximab and tocilizumab, showed better "drug survival" for Jo-1+ and PL-7+ ASyS patients with high inflammation, respectively, in our cohort.
ASyS with recurrent systemic inflammatory episodes reflects a subtype of more aggressive and refractory disease in the spectrum of ASyS. Increased awareness of this subtype might lead to more appropriate management.
Music has become a common adjunctive treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in recent years. Because Alzheimer’s disease can be classified into different degrees of dementia according to its severity ...(mild, moderate, severe), this study is to investigate whether there are differences in brain response to music stimulation in AD patients with different degrees of dementia. Seventeen patients with mild-to-moderate dementia, sixteen patients with severe dementia, and sixteen healthy elderly participants were selected as experimental subjects. The nonlinear characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were extracted from 64-channel EEG signals acquired before, during, and after music stimulation. The results showed the following. (1) At the temporal level, both at the whole brain area and sub-brain area levels, the EEG responses of the mild-to-moderate patients showed statistical differences from those of the severe patients (p < 0.05). The nonlinear characteristics during music stimulus, including permutation entropy (PmEn), sample entropy (SampEn), and Lempel−Ziv complexity (LZC), were significantly higher in both mild-to-moderate patients and healthy controls compared to pre-stimulation, while it was significantly lower in severe patients. (2) At the spatial level, the EEG responses of the mild-to-moderate patients and the severe patients showed statistical differences (p < 0.05), showing that as the degree of dementia progressed, fewer pairs of EEG characteristic showed significant differences among brain regions under music stimulation. In this paper, we found that AD patients with different degrees of dementia had different EEG responses to music stimulation. Our study provides a possible explanation for this discrepancy in terms of the pathological progression of AD and music cognitive hierarchy theory. Our study has adjunctive implications for clinical music therapy in AD., potentially allowing for more targeted treatment. Meanwhile, the variations in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients in response to music stimulation might be a model for investigating the neural mechanism of music perception.
The occurrence of a shear band is often thought as the precursor of failure. To study the initiation of shear banding in gas hydrate-bearing sediments, two groups of triaxial compression tests ...combined with a CT (computer tomography) scan were conducted by triaxial CT-integrated equipment under two confining pressures and seven hydrate saturations. The macro stress–strain curves and the corresponding CT scanning images of the micro-structure and the distribution of the components were obtained. The geometric parameters of the shear bands were measured based on the CT images at four typical axial strains, respectively. The distribution characteristics of soil particles, water, hydrate and gas were also analyzed. It is shown that the existence of methane hydrate changes the mechanical property of hydrate-bearing sediment from plastic failure to brittle failure when the hydrate saturation is over 13%, which occurs in the range of the tests in this paper. The peak of the deviatoric stress increases with the hydrate saturation. The shear band is in either a single oblique line or inter-cross lines depending on the hydrate saturation, the effective confining pressure and the initial distribution of the gas hydrate. Most of the shear band surfaces are not straight, and the widths of the shear bands are almost non-uniformly distributed.
ObjectiveSodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors have been identified profound renal/cardiac protective effects in different diseases. Here, we assessed the safety and efficacy of dapagliflozin ...among adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).MethodsWe conducted a single-arm, open-label, investigator-initiated phase I/II trial of dapagliflozin in Chinese patients with SLE with/without lupus nephritis (LN). Patients received oral dapagliflozin at a daily dose of 10 mg added to the standard of care for 6 months. The primary end point was the safety profile. The secondary efficacy end points were composite assessments of disease activity.ResultsA total of 38 eligible patients were enrolled. Overall, 19 (50%) adverse events (AEs) were recorded, including 8 (21%) AEs leading to drug discontinuation, of which 4 (10.5%) were attributed to dapagliflozin. Two serious AEs (one of major lupus flare and one of fungal pneumonia) were recorded. Lower urinary tract infection was observed in one (2.63%) patient. The secondary end points revealed no improvement of SLE Disease Activity Index scores or proteinuria (among 17 patients with LN); the cumulative lupus flare rate was 18%, and a reduction of ~30% in the prednisone dose was captured. Net changes in body mass index (−0.50 kg/m2), systolic blood pressure (−3.94 mm Hg) and haemoglobin levels (+8.26 g/L) were detected. The overall estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was stable, and there was an improvement in the eGFR slope among patients with LN with a baseline eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m2.ConclusionDapagliflozin had an acceptable safety profile in adult patients with SLE. Its possible renal/cardiac protective effects and long-term safety issues in patients with SLE, patients with LN in particular, call for further exploration.Trial registration numberChiCTR1800015030.
To study the effect of antiviral therapy during pregnancy on the frequency of natural killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood of women with HBV DNA positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB).
In total 124 ...female subjects were divided into four groups: 11 healthy non-pregnant women (Normal group), 26 non-pregnant women in immune tolerance period of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB group), 41 pregnant CHB women without antiviral treatment during pregnancy (Untreated group), and 46 pregnant CHB women receiving antiviral treatment during pregnancy (Treated group). The frequency of NK cells in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry.
The frequency of NK cells in healthy women 15.30 (12.80, 18.40) was higher than that in women with HBV infection, but there was no significant statistical difference (
=0.436). The frequency of NK cells in CHB group 10.60 (6.00, 18.30) was higher than those in pregnant CHB women Untreated: 6.90 (4.89, 10.04),
=0.001; Treated: 9.42 (6.55, 14.10),
=0.047. The frequency of NK cells in treated group was significantly higher than that in untreated group (
= 0.019). The frequencies of NK cells, CD56
NK cells and NKp46
NK cells at 12 and 24 weeks postpartum in the untreated group were increased significantly than those before delivery. In treated group, the frequencies of NK cells, CD56
NK cells, NKp46
NK cells and NKp46
NK cells were significantly increased at 6 and 12 weeks than those before delivery. The frequencies of NK cells and CD56
NK cells postpartum were increased significantly in treated group than those in untreated group. The frequencies of CD56
NK cells decreased significantly after delivery in treated than those in untreated patients. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) significantly increased after delivery than those before delivery. The results showed that the postpartum ALT level was weak positive correlated with NKp46
frequency (
=0.199) and was weak negative correlated with NKp46
frequency (
= -0.199).
Antiviral treatment during pregnancy could significantly increase the frequency of NK cells postpartum. Postpartum hepatitis may be related to the immune injury caused by change of NK cell frequency and HBV infection.
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