Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Great international efforts have been put into the development of ...prophylactic vaccines and neutralizing antibodies. However, the knowledge about the B cell immune response induced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still limited. Here, we report a comprehensive characterization of the dynamics of immunoglobin heavy chain (IGH) repertoire in COVID-19 patients. By using next-generation sequencing technology, we examined the temporal changes in the landscape of the patient’s immunological status and found dramatic changes in the IGH within the patient’s immune system after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. Although different patients have distinct immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, by employing clonotype overlap, lineage expansion, and clonotype network analyses, we observed a higher clonotype overlap and substantial lineage expansion of B cell clones 2–3 weeks after the onset of illness, which is of great importance to B-cell immune responses. Meanwhile, for preferences of V gene usage during SARS-CoV-2 infection, IGHV3-74 and IGHV4-34, and IGHV4-39 in COVID-19 patients were more abundant than those of healthy controls. Overall, we present an immunological resource for SARS-CoV-2 that could promote both therapeutic development as well as mechanistic research.
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that occurs predominantly in infants and children, and the most crucial complication of KD is coronary artery aneurysm ...(CAA). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like protein 1A (TL1A) is a member of the TNF superfamily, which possesses the ability of maintaining vascular homeostasis and regulating immune responses. This study aimed to examine serum TL1A levels in KD patients, and to investigate the relationship between TL1A and CAAs in children with KD. Blood samples were recruited from 119 KD patients, 35 febrile controls (FCs), and 37 healthy controls (HCs). The KD group was further divided into KD with CAAs (KD-CAAs) and KD non-CAAs (KD-NCAAs) groups. Serum TL1A levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and clinical parameters were collected from KD patients. Serum TL1A levels of KD patients in the acute phase of KD were significantly higher than in the FC and HC groups. In particular, serum TL1A levels were substantially increased in the KD-CAA group compared with the KD-NCAA group. Furthermore, TL1A levels in the KD group were positively correlated with the duration of fever and the time point of IVIG and WBC levels, but negatively correlated with levels of RBC, Hb and albumin. TL1A might be involved in KD-associated vasculitis and in the development of CAAs.
The novel coronavirus (CoV) severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 outbreak began at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has spread to over 200 countries. In this multicenter retrospective ...study, we identified 2190 adult patients admitted for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in three participating centers. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted in patients with comorbid hypertension to examine the potential association between clinical outcomes, disease severity, and clinical characteristics with the use of ACEI, ARB, calcium-channel blockers (CCB), beta-blockers (BB), and thiazide diuretics. The clinical outcome, dyspnea, and fatigue were significantly improved in patients, especially elderly patients who were older than 65 years, who took ARB drugs prior to hospitalization compared to patients who took no drugs. The reduction of disease severity of elderly COVID-19 patients was associated with CCB and ACEI users. Clinical indices, including CRP, lymphocyte count, procalcitonin D dimer, and hemoglobin, were significantly improved in elderly ARB users. In addition, the clinical outcomes were statistically significantly improved in patients who took antihypertension drugs ARB, BB, and CCB after statistical adjustment by all ages, gender, baseline of blood pressures, and coexisting medical conditions. Our data indicate that hypertension drugs ARB, ACEI, CCB, and BB might be beneficial for COVID-19 patients.
The identification of carbonate reservoirs is a critical task in oil and gas exploration. Chaotic weak reflection is an important type of reflection characteristic in carbonate reservoirs. Widespread ...distribution of chaotic weak reflection has been observed in the Ordovician Yijianfang Formation in the Tahe area. However, there is still a lack of systematic research on the distribution, characteristics, reservoir space, and reservoir types of chaotic weak reflection in the Tahe area. To address this issue, this study conducted a comprehensive analysis of multiscale data and found that chaotic weak reflections are distributed within 100 ms below the top interface of the Middle Ordovician. Seismic profiles exhibit a “string of pearls” with a “tail” or “pearl-like” widening feature. On well logs, all three porosity curves exhibit localized peaks, with increases in acoustic (AC) and compensated neutron (CNL) and decreases in density (DEN), while the deep and shallow lateral resistivity (RD, RS) curves show positive amplitude differences. In the FMI, they are represented by dark sinusoidal curves and dark small patches. Based on these response characteristics, two types of reservoir spaces are identified for chaotic weak reflections: high-angle vertical fractures and caves with heights less than 7 m, which can form independent reservoirs or fracture–cavity complexes. Three types of reservoirs are distinguished: fracture, cavity, and cavity-fracture types.
Abstract
Aim of the study
We aimed to explore how weipiling (WPL) decoction WPL alleviates gastric precancerous lesions (GPLs) and uncover its anti-inflammatory roles in GPL treatment.
Materials and ...methods
The anti-GPL action mechanisms of WPL were analysed using a network pharmacological method. The WPL extract was prepared in a traditional way and evaluated for its major components using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). BALB/c mice were exposed to
N
-methyl-
N
-nitro-
N
-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) (150 μg/mL) for 6 weeks to induce GPLs. GPL mice were administered WPL (3.75 g/kg/day and 15 g/kg/day) for an additional 8 weeks
.
Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to investigate histological alterations in gastric tissues. Expression of the T helper 1 (Th1) cell markers CD4
+
and interferon-gamma (INF-γ) were tested using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Inflammatory protein and mRNA levels in the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway were detected using western blotting and a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), respectively.
Results
We identified and selected 110 active compounds and 146 targets from public databases and references. Four representative components of WPL were established and quantified by HPLC–MS/MS analysis. WPL attenuated MNNG-induced GPLs, including epithelial shedding, cavity fusion, basement membranes with asymmetrical thickness, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, pro-inflammatory Th1-cell infiltration, and INF-γ production, indicating that WPL prevents inflammation in the gastric mucosa. Furthermore, WPL reversed MNNG-induced activation of the IκB/NF-κB signalling pathway and subsequently attenuated the upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NADPH oxidase (NOX)) family members NOX2 and NOX4.
Conclusion
WPL attenuated GPLs by controlling the generation of pro-inflammatory elements and inhibiting the NF-κB signalling pathway in vivo.
The discharge of large amounts of oily sludge heat treatment residues constitutes a severe threat to the environment. However, little is known about the toxicity of these heat-treated residues. ...Current research has mainly focused on the toxic effects of single heavy metals or single hydrocarbons on plants, whereas the phytotoxic effects of hydrocarbon–metal mixtures have remained largely unexplored. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of different proportions of heat treatment residues (pyrolysis, heat-washing, and high-temperature oxidation residues) from three kinds of oily sludge on the physiological and biochemical parameters of mung bean plants. Higher proportions of residues decreased the germination rates and enzyme activity of mung beans compared to uncontaminated soil. When pyrolysis residue, hot-washing residue, and high-temperature thermal oxidation residue are used in green planting soil, their content must be lower than 30%, 90%, and 70%, respectively. Additionally, our findings indicated that the accumulation level of pollutants in oily sludge heat treatment residues was not high. However, the three kinds of residues exhibited different degrees of plant toxicity. The pyrolysis residue still exhibited strong ecotoxicity, even at low concentrations. In contrast, the toxicity of the hot-washing residue was much lower than that of the pyrolysis residue and the high-temperature thermal oxidation residue. Our findings indicated that mung bean is highly tolerant of contaminated soil and is therefore well suited for phytoremediation applications.
We present a sum of squares (SOS) method for the synthesis of nonlinear polynomial control systems. As an emerging numerical solution method in recent years, SOS targets polynomials as the research ...object. It guarantees that the polynomial we solve for is always nonnegative. In this paper, we give a generalized S-procedure to solve the SOS problem. As an illustration of how the SOS method can be used, the region of attraction (ROA) in a nonlinear polynomial system is analyzed in detail. The method of determining decision variables is given in the SOS problem. We discuss the determination and solution of set-containment constraints and the conservatism problem in solving the SOS problem. SOS provides a convenient numerical method to solve nonlinear problems that are not easy to solve analytically.
•All the studies we included are RCTs.•We conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of n-3 fatty acids as nutritional supplements on postoperative inflammation, immunity, nutrition, incidence of ...infectious related complications and length of hospital stay in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Our results can provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of nutritional supplements in patients with gastrointestinal cancer;•The risk of bias of an individual study was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, built into the Review Manager software (version 5.3), using the following items:random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessment, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting, and other bias sources.
Surgical resection remains the primary treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been reported to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor surgery. This meta-analysis aims to explore the efficacy of n-3 PUFAs on GI cancer patients undergoing surgery.
A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library databases, EMBASE (until December 2021) was conducted. PRISMA checklist was followed. The data were analyzed by RevMan v5.3.0.
A total of ten RCTs articles including 663 patients were studied. The analysis demonstrated that the n-3 PUFAs group significantly reduced levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (P = 0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (P < 0.00001), tumor necrosis factor-ɑ (TNF-α) (P = 0.0003) compared with the control group. and higher levels of CD4+T cells (P = 0.03), CD8+T cells (P = 0.02) and CD4+/CD8+ratio (P = 0.03) compared with the control group. but there was no significant difference in infection complications rate (P = 0.50) and the level of prealbumin (P = 0.80), albumin (P = 0.21), retinol-binding protein(P = 0.80) between the two groups. In addition, the n-3 PUFAs group significantly reduced the length of hospital stay (P = 0.007).
Our meta-analysis shows that n-3 PUFAs can effectively improve the immune function of patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery, reduce inflammatory response and reduce the length of hospital stay, But it has no significant impact on the incidence of infectious-related complications and the level of nutrient protein.
A series of single-phased Bi3+, Eu3+, Tb3+ codoped Ca2Al2SiO7 phosphors have been prepared via high-temperature solid-state reaction. Energy transfer from Bi3+ to Eu3+ was observed and investigated ...in Ca2Al2SiO7 host matrix. By tuning the relative concentration ratio of Tb3+/Eu3+, Ca2Al2SiO7:Bi3+, Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor has shown its color tunable capability, and a white light has been achieved by integrating the emission bands centered at 415(Bi3+), 542(Tb3+), and 619nm(Eu3+), respectively. Our results indicated that Ca2Al2SiO7:Bi3+, Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor provides a potential candidate for phosphor converted light-emitting diodes.
► Energy transfer from Bi3+ to Eu3+ was investigated. ► Color tunable from Bi3+ to Eu3+ can be achieved by Bi3+, Eu3+-codoped Ca2Al2SiO7. ► White light can be realized in Ca2Al2SiO7:Bi3+, Eu3+, Tb3+ phosphor.
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