Effects of the short-term exposure to ambient air pollution on atrial fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important arrhythmia associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study is focused on exploring the potential relationship between short-term air pollution exposure and occurrence of AF.

Methods: A case-crossover design was used to investigate the effect of pollutants on AF occurrence among 100 patients from 2013 to 2014.

Core-Shell Biphasic Microspheres with Tunable Density of Shell Micropores Providing Tailorable Bone Regeneration.

We have developed the new core-shell bioceramic CSi-Sr4@CaP-px microspheres with tuning porous shell layer so that the biodegradation of both CSi-Sr4 core and CaP shell is readily adjusted synergistically. This is for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that the bioceramic scaffolds concerning gradient distribution and microstructure-tailoring design is available for tailoring biodegradation and ion release (bioactivity) to optimizing osteogenesis. Furthermore, it is possibly helpful to develop new bioactive scaffold system for time-dependent tailoring bioactivity and microporous structure to significantly enhance bone regeneration and repair applications, especially in some non-load-bearing arbitrary 3D anatomical bone and teeth defects.

PRAF2 expression indicates unfavorable clinical outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Prenylated Rab acceptor 1 domain family member 2 (), a novel oncogene, has been shown to be essential for the development of several human cancers; however, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: PRAF2 mRNA and protein expressions were examined in fresh tissues by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively, and in 518 paraffin-embedded HCC samples by immunohistochemistry. The correlation of PRAF2 expression and clinical outcomes was determined by the Student's -test, Kaplan-Meier test, and multivariate Cox regression analysis.

SPAG5 interacts with CEP55 and exerts oncogenic activities via PI3K/AKT pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Deregulation of microtubules and centrosome integrity is response for the initiation and progression of human cancers. Sperm-associated antigen 5 (SPAG5) is essential for the spindle apparatus organization and chromosome segregation, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains undefined.

Methods: The expression of SPAG5 in HCC were examined in a large cohort of patients by RT-PCR, western blot and IHC.

A high expression Mas-related G protein coupled receptor X2 cell membrane chromatography coupled with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry method for screening potential anaphylactoid components in kudiezi injection.

Kudiezi injection is a traditional Chinese medicine injection used widely in China to alleviate blood stasis and to stimulate blood circulation. Its use has been associated with a high rate of adverse effects including anaphylactoid reactions. In the present study, a two-dimensional system comprised of high expression Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 cell membrane chromatography coupled online with HPLC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS was established, and used to screen and identify anaphylactoid components in kudiezi injection.

Bowman's capsule provides a protective niche for podocytes from cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

T cells play a key role in immune-mediated glomerulonephritis, but how cytotoxic T cells interact with podocytes remains unclear. To address this, we injected EGFP-specific CD8+ T cells from just EGFP death inducing (Jedi) mice into transgenic mice with podocyte-specific expression of EGFP. In healthy mice, Jedi T cells could not access EGFP+ podocytes.

Capillary leak syndrome and aseptic meningitis in a patient with Kawasaki disease: A case report.

Rationale: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of childhood, coronary complications are the most serious and classic complications of this disease. However, simultaneous complications such as systemic capillary leak syndrome (CLS) and aseptic meningitis are rarely reported.

Patient Concerns: A 19-month-old boy had continuous fever for 6 days, rash for 3 days, and somnolence for 1 day.

Gene expression profiles of glomerular endothelial cells support their role in the glomerulopathy of diabetic mice.

Endothelial dysfunction promotes the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN), which is considered to be an early event in disease progression. However, the molecular changes associated with glomerular endothelial cell (GEC) injury in early DN are not well defined. Most gene expression studies have relied on the indirect assessment of GEC injury from isolated glomeruli or renal cortices.

An analytical formula for predicting R-branch high-lying transition lines of BiLi molecule.

A concise and convenient analytical formula without any spectral constant is derived from the conventional expression of R-branch transitional energies for calculating the R-branch high-lying rovibrational emission spectral lines of diatomic molecule. This is based on the thought of Sun's difference converging method (DCM) in 2011. This formula can correctly predict the high-lying transitional emission spectral lines only using 11 known experimental transition lines and a set of physical criteria when any spectral constants of the system are not available.

Impaired orienting in youth with Internet Addiction: Evidence from the Attention Network Task (ANT).

Background And Aims: An important theory of attention suggests that there are three separate networks that execute discrete cognitive functions: alerting, orienting and conflict networks. Recent studies showed that there was a dysfunction of attention in Internet Addiction. In order to investigate the underlying mechanism of attention dysfunction in Internet Addiction, we recorded performance related to the Attentional Network Test (ANT) in youth.

Screening of bioactive components from traditional Chinese medicines using cell membrane chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Introduction: Cell membrane chromatography (CMC), as a highly selective type of affinity chromatography, has been demonstrated as an effective method to screen bioactive components acting on specific receptor from a complicated biological system.

Objective: To review the recent research progress and the technical applications of these analytical methods using CMC combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS).

Methodology: In this review, we briefly introduce the CMC offline GC/MS, CMC online GC/MS, CMC offline LC/MS, and CMC online LC/MS system.

Association between increased serum interleukin-6 levels and sustained attention deficits in patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: The pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in patients with the major depressive disorder (MDD) may involve neuroinflammation mediated by cytokines.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, sustained attention, and their association in patients with MDD.

Methods: Thirty patients with MDD and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study.

Butadiene as a ligand in open sandwich compounds.

Theoretical methods show that the lowest energy bis(butadiene)metal structures (CH)M (M = Ti to Ni) have a perpendicular relative orientation of the two butadiene ligands corresponding to a tetrahedral coordination of the central metal atom to the four C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bonds of the butadiene ligands. Distribution of the metal d electrons in the resulting tetrahedral ligand field rationalizes the predicted spin states increasing monotonically from singlet to quartet from nickel to manganese and back from quartet to singlet from manganese to titanium.

Simultaneous identification of the anaphylactoid components from traditional Chinese medicine injections using rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 and laboratory of allergic disease 2 dual-mixed/cell membrane chromatography model.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for prevention and treatment of various diseases for many decades. TCM injection is a new dosage form, with incidence of anaphylactoid reactions increasing every year. In this study, the rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 (RBL-2H3) and laboratory of allergic disease 2 (LAD2) dual-mixed/CMC was established and was coupled with an HPLC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS system to identify the potential allergenic components in Haqing injection.

Initiation mechanisms and kinetic analysis of the isothermal decomposition of poly(α-methylstyrene): a ReaxFF molecular dynamics study.

This study investigates the thermal decomposition initiation mechanisms and kinetics of poly(α-methylstyrene) (PαMS) under isothermal conditions, using molecular dynamics simulations with the ReaxFF reactive force field. The unimolecular pyrolysis simulations show that the thermal decomposition of the PαMS molecule is initiated mainly by carbon-carbon backbone cleavage in two types at random points along the main chain that leads to different intermediates, and is accompanied by depolymerization reactions that lead to the formation of the final products. The time evolution of typical species in the process of PαMS thermal decomposition at various temperatures presents specific evolution profiles and shows a temperature-dependence effect.

Epiregulin Promotes Lung Metastasis of Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma.

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is a peculiar malignant tumor, characterized by its slow but inexorable growth, with a high incidence of lung metastasis and poor prognosis. Here, we show the upregulated expression of EGFR ligand epiregulin in a subset of SACC cells correlates with lung metastasis and unfavorable outcome in patients with SACC. We found that upregulation of epiregulin in SACC cells induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition by regulating GLI1/E-cadherin.

Transcriptomic analysis uncovers novel synergistic mechanisms in combination therapy for lupus nephritis.

A recent clinical study showed that combination therapy consisting of mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus and steroids was shown to be more effective in achieving complete remission in patients with severe forms of lupus nephritis than conventional therapy consisting of intravenous cyclophosphamide and steroids. To explore the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of increased efficacy of the combination therapy regimen, we employed a mouse model of lupus nephritis, MRL/lpr mice, and treated them with monotherapies of prednisone, mycophenolate mofetil, or tacrolimus, or with their combination. Consistent with previous clinical findings, combination therapy markedly improved renal outcome compared to the monotherapies in mice with lupus nephritis.

Use of the relative release index for histamine in LAD2 cells to evaluate the potential anaphylactoid effects of drugs.

Anaphylactoid reactions are common clinical acute adverse drug reactions that can exacerbate a patient's condition and produce effects that may become life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to establish a novel method to evaluate drugs for anaphylactoid reactions. In this study, we developed a sensitive and rapid method to detect histamine release from LAD2 cells using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and constructed a relative release index based on various release curve parameters, including allergen release time and sudden change rate, to evaluate the potential and strength of allergen-induced anaphylactoid reactions.

High-Throughput Screening of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Pathogenic Genes via Pathway Enrichment and Operon Analysis.

Background: About thirty thousand people globally die every day from infectious diarrhea, mostly caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7.

Methods: In order to search for clinical diagnostic biomarkers and novel drug targets for infectious diarrhea, we used a bibliometric method to collect pathogenic genes of E.

Higher Adiposity Is Associated With Slower Cognitive Decline in Hypertensive Patients: Secondary Analysis of the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial.

Background: Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases. However, the potential association between adiposity and cognitive decline in hypertensive patients is inconclusive. We performed a secondary data analysis of the CSPPT (China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial) to examine whether adiposity is correlated with longitudinal cognitive performance in hypertensive adults.

MRGPRX2 is essential for sinomenine hydrochloride induced anaphylactoid reactions.

Mast cells are unique immunocytes that function as sentinel cells in host defense reactions such as immediate hypersensitivity responses and anaphylactic responses. The mast cell specific receptor MRGPRX2 (Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2) triggers mast cell degranulation-a key process in anaphylactic reactions. We sought to better understand anaphylactic reaction induced by sinomenine hydrochloride (SH).

Fibulin-5 promotes airway smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration via modulating Hippo-YAP/TAZ pathway.

Asthma is a common chronic disease mainly occurs from childhood. Increased airway smooth muscle mass is involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. Fibulin-5 was upregulated in the lung tissues of patients with COPD and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Comparison of Chemical Profiles, Anti-Inflammatory Activity, and UPLC-Q-TOF/MS-Based Metabolomics in Endotoxic Fever Rats between Synthetic Borneol and Natural Borneol.

Natural borneol (NB, called "Bingpian") is an important traditional Chinese medicine to restore consciousness, remove heat and relieve pain, all of which are inflammation-related diseases. Recently, due to the limited source of NB, synthetic borneol (SB) is widely used as a substitute for NB in clinics. However, little is known about the effects of SB instead of NB.

Enhancing the Osteogenic Capability of Core-Shell Bilayered Bioceramic Microspheres with Adjustable Biodegradation.

This study describes the fabrication and biological evaluation of core-shell bilayered bioceramic microspheres with adjustable compositional distribution via a coaxial bilayer capillary system. Beyond the homogeneous hybrid composites, varying the diameter of capillary nozzles and the composition of the bioceramic slurries makes it easy to create bilayered β-tricalcium phosphate (CaP)/β-calcium silicate (CaSi) microspheres with controllable compositional distribution in the core or shell layer. Primary investigations in vitro revealed that biodegradation could be adjusted by compositional distribution or shell thickness and that poorly soluble CaP located on the shell layer of CaP or CaSi@CaP microspheres was particularly beneficial for mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and growth in the early stage, but the ion release from the CaP@CaSi exhibited a potent stimulating effect on alkaline phosphatase expression of the cells at longer times.