Design, synthesis, and anti-liver fibrosis activity of novel non-steroidal vitamin D receptor agonists based on open-ring steroid scaffold.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) has emerged as a crucial target for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis, a condition characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components leading to impaired liver function. Activation of VDR has been shown to inhibit the transformation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which play a key role in the development of liver fibrosis, thus reducing ECM production. In this study, a series of 37 non-steroidal VDR agonists with novel scaffold were designed and synthesized utilizing the scaffold hopping strategy.

Reinforcement learning-based pinning control for synchronization suppression in complex networks.

Synchronization in complex networks is a ubiquitous and important phenomenon with implications in various fields. Excessive synchronization may lead to undesired consequences, making desynchronization techniques essential. Exploiting the Proximal Policy Optimization algorithm, this work studies reinforcement learning-based pinning control strategies for synchronization suppression in global coupling networks and two types of irregular coupling networks: the Watts-Strogatz small-world networks and the Barabási-Albert scale-free networks.

[Effect of early pulmonary rehabilitation training on the prognosis of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome after weaning of invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit].

Objective: To investigate the effect of early pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) training on the improvement of respiratory function in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after weaning of invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: The retrospective cohort research method was used. The clinical information of adult patients with ARDS receiving invasive mechanical ventilation admitted to the ICU of Qingdao Municipal Hospital from January 2019 to March 2023 was collected.

[Development and validation of a prognostic model for patients with sepsis in intensive care unit].

Objective: To analyze the risk factors related to the prognosis of patients with sepsis in intensive care unit (ICU), construct a nomogram model, and verify its predictive efficacy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV 0.4 [MIMIC-IV (version 2.

T2-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast‑enhanced imaging in predicting the prognosis in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a syndrome with high 28- and 90-day mortality rates. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used to diagnose and evaluate liver disease. Our purpose is to determine the value of the imaging features derived from Gd-DTPA-enhanced MRI for predicting the poor outcome of patients with ACLF and develop a clinically practical radiological score.

Design, synthesis and anti-hepatic fibrosis activity of novel diphenyl vitamin D receptor agonists.

Hepatic fibrosis poses a significant threat to human health due to excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition leading to liver function damage. Ligand-activated vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been identified as an effective target for hepatic fibrosis, reducing ECM by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. Here, a series of novel diphenyl VDR agonists have been rationally designed and synthesized.

[Effects of interleukin-17A on liver and kidney injury and prognosis in septic mice].

Objective: To explore the effect of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) on liver and kidney injury and prognosis in septic mice.

Methods: A total of 84 SPF male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham group), cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) induced sepsis model group (CLP group), and IL-17A intervention group. IL-17A intervention group were then divided into five subgroups according to the dose of IL-17A (0.

Reviving the Dynamics of Attacked Reservoir Computers.

Physically implemented neural networks are subject to external perturbations and internal variations. Existing works focus on the adversarial attacks but seldom consider attack on the network structure and the corresponding recovery method. Inspired by the biological neural compensation mechanism and the neuromodulation technique in clinical practice, we propose a novel framework of reviving attacked reservoir computers, consisting of several strategies direct at different types of attacks on structure by adjusting only a minor fraction of edges in the reservoir.

Mutation of the BAG-1 domain decreases its protective effect against hypoxia/reoxygenation by regulating HSP70 and the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway in SY-SH5Y cells.

BCL-2-associated athanogene-1 (BAG-1) is a multifunctional protein that was first identified as a binding partner of BCL-2. Our previous results indicated that BAG-1 large (BAG-1L) overexpression significantly increases cell viability and decreases apoptosis by upregulating HSP70 and p-AKT in response to hypoxia/reoxygenation in SY-SH5Y cells. However, the functional domain of BAG-1L that exerts these protective effects against hypoxic damage has not been identified.

Terahertz metamaterial with broadband and low-dispersion high refractive index.

A broadband and low-dispersion high refractive index (HRI) metamaterial formed by symmetrically etching two identical metasurfaces on both sides of a dielectric slab has been numerically and experimentally demonstrated in the terahertz region. The unit cell of the metasurface is a Jerusalem cross surrounded by a square metal ring, in which there are two magnetic resonances and one electric resonance. The proposed metamaterial simultaneously possesses high effective permittivity and permeability in broadband frequencies, since the multiple resonances result in a significant bandwidth expansion of a HRI.

Imaging Features of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Evaluation on Thin-Section CT.

Rationale And Objectives: To retrospectively analyze the chest imaging findings in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on thin-section CT.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-three patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection underwent thin-section CT examination. Two chest radiologists independently evaluated the imaging in terms of distribution, ground-glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, air bronchogram, stripe, enlarged mediastinal lymph node, and pleural effusion.

[Comparative study on nutritional status of patients in intensive care unit with different assessment tools].

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of patients in intensive care unit (ICU) by using nutritional risk screening 2002 scale (NRS2002), subjective general assessment (SGA) and critical illness nutritional risk score (NUTRIC), and to compare the characteristics and applicability of three scoring tools.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. 315 patients admitted to the comprehensive ICU of Affiliated Qingdao Municipal Hospital of Qingdao University from April 2018 to July 2019 were enrolled.

Choline, not folate, can attenuate the teratogenic effects ofdibutyl phthalate (DBP) during early chick embryo development.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a persistent environmental pollutant, can induce neural tube abnormal development in animals. The possible effects of DBP exposure on human neural tube defects (NTDs) remain elusive. In this study, the distribution of DBP in the body fluid of human NTDs was detected by GC-MS.

Impact of lower and higher alcohol additions to diesel on the combustion and emissions of a direct-injection diesel engine.

The present investigation evaluated the combustion, performance, and emissions of four alcohol diesel blends with the same oxygen content, i.e., 13% ethanol (E13), 20% n-butanol (NB20), 20% iso-butanol (IB20), and 25% n-pentanol (P25) by volume on a 4-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine under three different engine loads, respectively.

[Effects of aerosol inhalation on respiratory mechanical parameters under different ventilation patterns and ventilator parameters].

Objective: To investigate the effects of aerosol inhalation on respiratory mechanical parameters under different ventilation patterns and ventilator parameters in patients on mechanical ventilation and simulated model of aqualung in vitro.

Methods: (1) Clinical research: the patients needed sedative undergoing mechanical ventilation admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Qingdao Municipal Hospital from January 2016 to January 2018 were enrolled. They were randomly divided into volume controlled ventilation (VCV) group and pressure controlled ventilation (PCV) group according to random number table.

Effect of biodiesel on PAH, OPAH, and NPAH emissions from a direct injection diesel engine.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), oxy- and nitro-derivate PAH (OPAH and NPAH) emissions from a direct injection diesel engine fueled with conventional fossil diesel (D), waste cooking oil biodiesel (B100), and their two blends (B20 and B50) were compared. The results show that B100 can reduce low molecular weight PAHs such as naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and fluorene as much as 90% compared with diesel. However, the emissions of high molecular weight PAHs including benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene decrease slightly when using B100.

Identification of Nitration Products during Heterogeneous Reaction of NO on Soot in the Dark and under Simulated Sunlight.

Author: The present work, involving the formation of NO and nitrous acid (HONO) and the nitration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) to nitro-PAHs as well as the uptake coefficients of NO, has been performed on a normal-pressure flow reactor to identify the nitration products during the heterogeneous reaction of soot toward NO in the dark and under simulated sunlight. Two types of soot particles, namely the commercial black carbon (BC) and the diesel engine soot (ES), were selected as the studied soot to compare the impacts of soot properties on heterogeneous nitration. During the whole reaction on either of the two studied soots in the dark, a fast reversible physical adsorption is observed at the very beginning, followed by a slow irreversible chemical conversion from NO to HONO and NO, in good agreement with the "reduction-oxidation" mechanism.

[Effects of nitrogen application on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of rapeseed (Brassica napus)].

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of nitrogen application on the yield and nitrogen use efficiency of rapeseed under post anthesis waterlogging condition. Two high nitrogen use efficiency rapeseed genotypes 'Monty' and 'Xiangyou 15' and two low nitrogen use efficiency rapeseed genotypes 'R210' and 'Bin270' were treated with 3 nitrogen levels (0.05, 0.

[Effects of lentivirus-mediated heat shock protein 70 gene on endoplasmic reticulum calcium homeostasis and calcium channels of PC12 cells induced by ischemia and hypoxia].

Objective: To investigate the effects of lentivirus-mediated heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) gene on calcium homeostasis and calcium channels of PC12 cells induced by ischemic and hypoxia and its mechanisms.

Methods: PC12 cells at logarithmic phase were collected, and they were divided into recombined lentiviral infection group [infected by lentivirus containing HSP70 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescin gene], lentivirus control group (infected by lentivirus containing GFP without HSP70 gene) and non-infection group. PC12 cells were subjected ischemia/hypoxia for 4, 8, 12, 24 hours, and the cell activity was determined by methylthiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay test in order to determine the best time for ischemia/hypoxia.

Volumetric thin-section CT: evaluation of pulmonaryinterlobar fissures.

Purpose: We aimed to perform an imaging analysis of interlobar fissures and their variations using thin-section computed tomography (CT).

Methods: Volumetric thin-section CT scanning was performed in 208 subjects. Interlobar fissures were observed on axial images, and reconstructed coronal and sagittal images were observed by multiplanar reformatting (MPR).

Dengue virus envelope domain III protein based on a tetravalent antigen secreted from insect cells: Potential use for serological diagnosis.

In the present study, we developed a tetravalent protein by connecting the receptor-binding envelope domain III (EDIII) of the four dengue virus serotypes in the order of D1-D3-D4-D2. Using a baculovirus expression system, the protein was secreted into the supernatant of infected sf9 cells in a stable form with preserved native conformation. Using immobilized affinity chromatography, the recombinant EDIII (rEDIII) protein was purified with a yield of 300μg per 10(6) cells.

Heterogeneous reaction of NO2 on α-Al2O3 in the dark and simulated sunlight.

Although there have been a number of publications focused on heterogeneous of NO2 on mineral particles, most of these studies were focused on β-Al2O3 and performed in the dark. Less was known about the reaction process of NO2 on α-Al2O3, especially the effect of sunlight factor. The heterogeneous reaction between NO2 and α-Al2O3 was investigated by using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometry.