The cell transformation from green motile cells to non-motile cells and astaxanthin accumulation can be induced in the green alga
cultured outdoors. In the initial 3 d of incubation (cell ...transformation phase), light absorption and photosynthetic electron transport became more efficient. After five days of incubation (astaxanthin accumulation phase), the light absorption per active reaction center (ABS/RC) increased, but the efficiency of electron transport (
) and the quantum yield of electron transport (
) decreased with increased time, indicating that the capacity of photosynthetic energy utilization decreased significantly during astaxanthin accumulation, leading to an imbalance between photosynthetic light absorption and energy utilization. It would inevitably aggravate photoinhibition under high light, e.g., at midday. However, the level of photoinhibition in
decreased as the incubation time increased, which is reflected by the fact that
/
determined at midday decreased significantly in the initial 3 d of incubation, but was affected very little after seven days of incubation, compared with that determined at predawn. This might be because the non-photochemical quenching, plastid terminal oxidase, photosystem I cyclic electron transport, defensive enzymes and the accumulated astaxanthin can protect cells against photoinhibition.
DnaJ proteins, which are molecular chaperones that are widely present in plants, can respond to various environmental stresses. At present, the function of DnaJ proteins was studied in many plant ...species, but only a few studies were conducted in tomato. Here, we examined the functions of a novel tomato (
) DnaJ protein (SlDnaJ20) in heat tolerance using sense and antisense transgenic tomatoes. Transient conversion assays of
protoplasts showed that SlDnaJ20 was targeted to chloroplasts. Expression analysis showed that
expression was induced by chilling, NaCl, polyethylene glycol, and H₂O₂, especially via heat stress. Under heat stress, sense plants showed higher fresh weights, chlorophyll content, fluorescence (Fv/Fm), and D1 protein levels, and a lower accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than antisense plants. These results suggest that
overexpression can reduce the photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII) by relieving ROS accumulation. Moreover, higher expression levels of
and
were observed under heat stress in sense plants, indicating that
overexpression contributes to
expression. The yeast two-hybrid system proved that SlDnaJ20 can interact with the chloroplast heat-shock protein 70. Our results indicate that
overexpression enhances the thermotolerance of transgenic tomatoes, whereas suppression of
increases the heat sensitivity of transgenic tomatoes.
Psoriasis usually accompanies comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. It has been proposed that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists used in the ...treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes may also improve psoriasis. However, the number of patients in every single study is relatively small.
We carried out a meta-analysis to evaluate whether GLP-1R is effective for the treatment of plaque psoriasis with type 2 diabetes.
A search of PubMed, Ovid Embase, the Cochrane Library for controlled trials was done from inception to June 20th, 2020. Published trials that included psoriasis patients with type 2 diabetes, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) of treated by GLP-1R before and after. All statistical analyses were conducted using the Stata 15.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA).
There were 4 trials involving 32 patients. Patients treated by GLP-1R after showed significantly lower PASI (SMD: −4.332, 95% CI: −7.611 to −1.053, p = .01), lower fasting plasma glucose than treated before (SMD: −0.341, 95% CI: −0.679 to −0.004, p = .048). There was no significant difference in Body Mass Index (BMI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between treated by GLP-1R after and before.
GLP-1rA, liraglutide, therapy can reduce psoriasis who had concomitant type 2 diabetes severity, but may independently of changes in weight and glycaemic control.
•Corrosion fatigue crack growth rate increases with increasing temperature.•Stress corrosion crack growth rate increases with increasing temperature.•Stress corrosion crack is activated by periodic ...unloading and reloading.
The crack growth rates (CGRs) of a forged nuclear grade 316L SS piping material were measured at various temperatures and loading modes in oxygenated high-temperature water. A direct current potential drop technique was used to monitor the CGRs throughout the tests. The fracture surface of crack advance under stress corrosion conditions exhibited typical intergranular stress corrosion cracking characteristics. CGRs increased monotonically with increasing temperature. CGRs under trapezoidal waveform loading were moderately higher than those under constant K loading.
To solve the problem of the low secret space and security of some image schemes, a novel 4D chaotic system is derived in this paper. Compared with other similar chaotic systems, the new system only ...has one equilibrium point and can exhibit hyperchaotic characteristics, under some parameter space. The system has better dynamic characters represented by calculation of the Lyapunov exponents, phase planes, and visual 0–1 test diagram. In this study, a novel image encryption algorithm is employed based on the new dynamic system, Zigzag transform, and DNA operation. Based on the improved Zigzag transformation, the plain image is block-scrambled, and DNA encoded with the treated chaotic sequences. The transformation efficiency is improved by combining multiple images at the same time. Numerical analysis has been carried out; the results show that our algorithm achieves much better performance in security, i.e., with enhanced pseudo-randomness, higher key sensitivity, weak correlation, fairly large key space, higher security, and a stronger ability to resist various attacks. Through visual analysis, the algorithm is deemed safe and effective for digital images.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects approximately 10% of adults worldwide. CM310 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-4 receptor alpha that blocks interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 ...signaling. This trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CM310 in Chinese adults with moderate-to-severe AD.
This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial was conducted in 21 medical institutions in China from February to November 2021. Totally 120 eligible patients were enrolled and randomized (1:1:1) to receive subcutaneous injections of 300 mg CM310, 150 mg CM310, or placebo every 2 weeks for 16 weeks, followed by an 8-week follow-up period. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving ≥75% improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI-75) score from baseline at week 16. Safety and pharmacodynamics were also studied.
At week 16, the proportion of EASI-75 responders from baseline was significantly higher in the CM310 groups (70% 28/40 for high-dose and 65% 26/40 for low-dose) than that in the placebo group (20%8/40). The differences in EASI-75 response rate were 50% (high vs . placebo, 95% CI 31%-69%) and 45% (low vs . placebo, 95% CI 26%-64%), with both P values <0.0001. CM310 at both doses also significantly improved the EASI score, Investigator's Global Assessment score, daily peak pruritus Numerical Rating Scale, AD-affected body surface area, and Dermatology Life Quality Index compared with placebo. CM310 treatment reduced levels of thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, total immunoglobulin E, lactate dehydrogenase, and blood eosinophils. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was similar among all three groups, with the most common TEAEs reported being upper respiratory tract infection, atopic dermatitis, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia. No severe adverse events were deemed to be attributed to CM310.
CM310 at 150 mg and 300 mg every 2 weeks demonstrated significant efficacy and was well-tolerated in adults with moderate-to-severe AD.
Brivudine has been used in herpes zoster (HZ) treatment for years, but the safety and efficacy of brivudine are inconclusive. Here we perform a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy, safety, incidence ...of postherpetic neuralgia of brivudine.
Data of randomized controlled Trials (RCTS) were obtained from the databases of both English (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) and Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science Journal Database, and WanFang Database) literatures from inception to 12 September 2022. Meta-analyses of efficacy and safety of Brivudine for the treatment of herpes zoster for RCTS were conducted.
The analyses included seven RCTS (2095 patients in experimental group and 2076 patients in control group) in the treatment of HZ with brivudine. It suggested that the brivudine group was superior to the control group in terms of efficacy (
= .0002) and incidence of postherpetic neuralgia (
= .04). But the incidence of adverse reactions has no significant difference between the brivudine and the control groups (
= .22). In addition, subgroup analysis of adverse events also showed that brivudine was about the same safety as other modalities in the treatment of HZ (
> .05).
Brivudine is effective for HZ. However, the evidence on the safety of brivudine is insufficient.
Changes of histone modification status at critical lineage-specifying gene loci in multipotent precursors can influence cell fate commitment. The contribution of these epigenetic mechanisms to ...natural killer (NK) cell lineage determination from common lymphoid precursors is not understood. Here we investigate the impact of histone methylation repressive marks (H3 Lys27 trimethylation; H3K27me3) on early NK cell differentiation. We demonstrate that selective loss of the histone-lysineN-methyltransferase Ezh2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2) or inhibition of its enzymatic activity with smallmolecules unexpectedly increased generation of the IL-15 receptor (IL-15R) CD122⁺ NK precursors and mature NK progeny from both mouse and human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that enhanced NK cell expansion and cytotoxicity against tumor cells were associated with up-regulation of CD122 and the C-type lectin receptor NKG2D. Moreover, NKG2D deficiency diminished the positive effects of Ezh2 inhibitors on NK cell commitment. Identification of the contribution of Ezh2 to NK lineage specification and function reveals an epigenetic-based mechanism that regulates NK cell development and provides insight into the clinical application of Ezh2 inhibitors in NK-based cancer immunotherapies.
Chronic cholecystitis, characterized by persistent inflammation of the gallbladder, predominantly stems from the prolonged presence of gallstones. Calculous cholecystitis has demonstrated a ...consistent escalation in its incidence over time.Gallbladder stones have been recognized as a predisposing factor for the development of biliary tract infections.Concomitantly, there have been substantial shifts in the distribution and resistance profiles of pathogenic microorganisms responsible for biliary tract infections. The timely acquisition of bile samples for pathogen analysis is of paramount importance, given its critical role in guiding judicious clinical pharmacotherapy and enhancing patient prognosis. In this study, we present the inaugural isolation and identification of Vagococcus fluvialis from bile specimens of patients afflicted with calculous cholecystitis. This novel finding lays a substantial experimental groundwork for guiding clinically rational antimicrobial therapy and advancing the exploration of relevant pathogenic mechanisms pertaining to Vagococcus fluvialis infections.
Background: A growing number of studies have shown that thiazolidinediones (TZD) can be antipsoriatic. Pioglitazone is a representative of the class of antidiabetic drugs known as TZD. TZD can ...activate nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR)-c. PPARs are expressed on epidermal keratinocytes and exert their effects by promoting the terminal differentiation of keratinocytes, inhibiting epidermal growth, and reducing inflammatory responses. These observations suggest that TZD have potential benefits in the treatment of cutaneous and metabolic pathologies associated with psoriasis.
Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of combined pioglitazone treatment. We point out three controversial side effects from administration of pioglitazone in psoriasis: elevated liver enzymes, weight gain, and nausea.
Study selection: Randomized, single blind, or double blind, published studies of pioglitazone compared with placebo given to patients with plaque psoriasis for 10 weeks or 12 weeks were considered for inclusion in this review. The primary outcomes were 75% or greater improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score from baseline (PASI 75) with pioglitazone.
Data collection and analysis: The systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases from inception up to December 20 2018. Data analysis was done using Revman 5.3 Haymarket, London, United Kingdom.
Main results: We included six studies (three publications of pioglitazone only; three publications of pioglitazone combination therapy) comprising a total of 294 patients (n = 149 with pioglitazone only and n = 145 with pioglitazone combination therapy) in the analysis. There was a significant PASI 75 response, in the pioglitazone only subgroup as compared to placebo (OR = 8.74, 95% CI 3.76-20.31, p < .00001), and the pioglitazone combination subgroup as compared to placebo (OR = 4.64, 95% CI 2.03-10.60, p < .00001), others, the total of pioglitazone as compared to placebo (OR = 6.37, 95% CI 3.55-11.43, p < .00001), and tests of subgroup differences show: p = .29, I2 = 9.5%. The incidence rate of elevated liver enzymes (OR = 3.70, 95% CI 0.56-24.31, p = .99), weight gain (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 0.60-3.47, p = .41), and nausea (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.23-2.49, p = .65) were not significantly different compared with the control group.
Conclusion: Pioglitazone has efficacy for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. There is no significant difference between patients treated with pioglitazone only or in combination with other therapies. The incidence rate of side effects associated with pioglitazone treatment such as elevated liver enzymes, weight gain, and nausea were not significantly different compared with the control group.
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