Band gap tuning of g-CN via decoration with AgCl to expedite the photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of oxalic acid.

A series of functional organic-metal AgCl-decorated graphitic carbon nitride (AgCl-CN) composites were synthesized and applied for the degradation of oxalic acid (OA) under visible light. The highest photocatalytic activity was achieved with AgCl decoration ratio of 1.0 (denoted as AgCl-CN).

Microbiome-metabolomics reveals gut microbiota associated with glycine-conjugated metabolites and polyamine metabolism in chronic kidney disease.

Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome and related metabolites in chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been intimately associated with the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, thus far, there is a paucity of sufficient knowledge of gut microbiome and related metabolites on CKD progression partly due to the severely limited investigations. Using a 5/6 nephrectomized (NX) rat model, we carried out 16S rRNA sequence and untargeted metabolomic analyses to explore the relationship between colon's microbiota and serum metabolites.

[Heterogeneous Oxidation of Secondary Organic Tracers of Isoprene and Toluene by Ozone].

For this paper, chamber experiments were carried out to investigate the oxidation of secondary organic tracers of toluene and isoprene by ozone under different conditions (relative humidity, mixing state, etc.) using a relative rate constants approach. The uncertainty of the tracer-based method due to the ozone oxidation of secondary organic tracers was also addressed.

Application of Three-Dimensional Printing Technology in the Orbital Blowout Fracture Reconstruction.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of orbital blowout fracture repair by using the three-dimensional (3D) printing-assisted fabrication of individual titanium mesh. Clinical and radiologic data were analyzed for 12 patients with orbital floor and/or medial wall fractures. Lower eyelid incision was used to expose the fractures.

Long noncoding RNA MALAT1 mediates stem cell-like properties in human colorectal cancer cells by regulating miR-20b-5p/Oct4 axis.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are crucial components of the tumor microenvironment that take part in tumor initiation, progression, recurrence, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy. This study explores the mechanisms through which CSCs maintain their stemness, especially in tumors of colorectal cancer (CRC), which thus far remain uncertain. Our findings indicated that the expression of miR-20b-5p is negatively correlated with that of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1, r = -0.

Upregulation of LASP2 inhibits pancreatic cancer cell migration and invasion through suppressing TGF-β-induced EMT.

LASP2 (LIM and SH3 protein 2), a member of the LIM-protein subfamily of the nebulin group, was first identified as a splice variant of the nebulin gene. In the past, investigators mainly focused on the impact of LASP2 on cardiac diseases because of its identification in the myocardium. Recently, several studies have reported that LASP2 is associated with the progression of various cancers.

Identification of serum metabolites associating with chronic kidney disease progression and anti-fibrotic effect of 5-methoxytryptophan.

Early detection and accurate monitoring of chronic kidney disease (CKD) could improve care and retard progression to end-stage renal disease. Here, using untargeted metabolomics in 2155 participants including patients with stage 1-5 CKD and healthy controls, we identify five metabolites, including 5-methoxytryptophan (5-MTP), whose levels strongly correlate with clinical markers of kidney disease. 5-MTP levels decrease with progression of CKD, and in mouse kidneys after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

The Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 Inhibitor Poricoic Acid ZI Ameliorates Renal Fibrosis by Mitigating Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

Scope: Fibrosis plays a key role in the progression of various diseases. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are important for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which contributes to organ fibrosis. Four new poricoic acids are identified, poricoic acid ZI, ZJ, ZK, and ZL, as novel MMP inhibitors from edible mushroom Poria cocos.

Author Correction: Strong indirect coupling between graphene-based mechanical resonators via a phonon cavity.

The original version of this Article contained a number of errors. As a result of this, changes have been made to both the PDF and the HTML versions of the Article. A full list of these changes is available online.

Investigation on Spectrum-Effect Correlation between Constituents Absorbed into Blood and Bioactivities of Baizhu Shaoyao San before and after Processing on Ulcerative Colitis Rats by UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS Coupled with Gray Correlation Analysis.

Baizhu Shaoyao San (BSS) is a crucial traditional Chinese medicinal formula widely applied for the treatment of painful diarrhea, diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and some other gastrointestinal diseases. Corresponding to the clinical medication, the three medicinal herbs (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Paeoniae Radix Alba, and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium) included in BSS should be processed using some specific methods of stir-frying. To find the underlying correlations between serum chemical profiles and curative effects of crude and processed BSS on ulcerative colitis rats, and further explore for the effective material basis of processing, an UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS technique coupled with gray correlation analysis (GCA) was developed.

Integration of Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Reveals the Therapeutic Mechanism Underlying Paeoniflorin for the Treatment of Allergic Asthma.

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease, which is characterized by airway remodeling, hyperreactivity and shortness of breath. Paeoniflorin is one of the major active ingredients in Chinese peony, which exerts anti-inflammatory and immune-regulatory effects in multiple diseases. However, it remains unclear whether paeoniflorin treatment can suppress allergic asthma.

Differences in neurotropism and neurotoxicity among retrograde viral tracers.

Background: Neurotropic virus-based tracers have been extensively applied in mapping and manipulation of neural circuits. However, their neurotropic and neurotoxic properties remain to be fully characterized.

Methods: Through neural circuit tracing, we systematically compared the neurotropism discrepancy among different multi-trans-synaptic and mono-synaptic retrograde viral tracers including pseudorabies virus (PRV), rabies virus (RV), and the newly engineered retro adeno-associated virus (rAAV2-retro) tracers.

Inhibition of MALAT1 reduces tumor growth and metastasis and promotes drug sensitivity in colorectal cancer.

Human metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a long non-coding RNA known to be highly expressed in several tumors. In colorectal cancer (CRC), MALAT1 promotes cell proliferation, metastasis, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. This study aimed to investigate the effect of MALAT1 on the proliferation, migration, and drug sensitivity of CRC cells in vitro and in vivo and the mechanisms involved therein.

Metabolomics study of the therapeutic mechanism of a Chinese herbal formula on collagen-induced arthritis mice.

Wenjinghuoluo (WJHL) prescription, the typical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment compound in traditional Chinese medicine, shows favorable efficacy. The precise mechanism of WJHL on RA therapy is yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to determine the metabolic biomarkers in the early onset of RA and evaluate the regulation effect of WJHL on metabolite levels.

Memantine can relieve the neuronal impairment caused by neurotropic virus infection.

Neurotropic viruses, such as the rabies virus (RABV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), induce neuronal dysfunction and complication, causing neuronal damage. Currently, there are still no effective clinical treatments for neuronal injury caused by neurotropic viruses. Memantine, a drug capable of passing through the blood-brain barrier, noncompetitively and reversibly binds to n-methyl- d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors.

Total Glycosides of Peony Protects Against Inflammatory Bowel Disease by Regulating IL-23/IL-17 Axis and Th17/Treg Balance.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of autoimmune diseases, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, characterized by nonspecific inflammation in the gut. Total glycoside of peony (TGP) has been widely used for treatment of autoimmune diseases because of its pharmacological effects. However, it is lack of depth in whether TGP regulate T helper 17 cell (Th17) / T regulatory cell (Treg) immune balance or interleukin 23 (IL-23) / IL-17 axis to achieve the goal of treating IBD.

Semiconductor quantum computation.

Semiconductors, a significant type of material in the information era, are becoming more and more powerful in the field of quantum information. In recent decades, semiconductor quantum computation was investigated thoroughly across the world and developed with a dramatically fast speed. The research varied from initialization, control and readout of qubits, to the architecture of fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Natural products for the prevention and treatment of kidney disease.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the common causes resulting in a high morbidity and mortality. Renal fibrosis is the main pathological features of CKD. Natural products have begun to gain widely popularity worldwide for promoting healthcare and preventing CKD, and have been used as a conventional or complementary therapy for CKD treatment.

Histone deacetylase 2 regulates the doxorubicin (Dox) resistance of hepatocarcinoma cells and transcription of ABCB1.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) can regulate cell-cycle, differentiation, and apoptosis of hepatocarcinoma (HCC) cells, while their roles in drug sensitivity remain unclear. Our results showed that the expression of HDAC2 was significantly increased in HCC doxorubicin (Dox) resistant cells as compared with their corresponding control cells. Over expression of HDAC2 can increase the cell viability and decrease the Dox sensitivity.

[Problems and solutions in modern research of traditional Chinese herbal pieces processing technology].

Chinese medicine processing is the main feature that distinguishes traditional Chinese medicine from natural medicine and plant medicine, and is the main feature in clinical medication of traditional Chinese medicine. The research of Chinese medicine processing technology is an important link to realize standardization and standardization of Chinese herbal pieces, with urgent need to attract high attention. At present, there are still many problems in the research of processing technology of Chinese herbal pieces, mainly including inconsistent processing technology, large differences in process technology parameters, and unstable production technology of Chinese herbal pieces, resulting in uncontrollable quality of Chinese herbal pieces and affecting the clinical efficacy of Chinese medicine.

Natural Products as a Source for Antifibrosis Therapy.

Although fibrosis is a final pathological feature of many chronic diseases, few interventions are available that specifically target the pathogenesis of fibrosis. Natural products are becoming increasingly recognized as effective therapies for fibrosis. The highlights of common cellular and molecular mechanisms of fibrosis facilitate the discovery of effective antifibrotic drugs.

[Effects of balanced fertilization on growth and fruit quality of 'Huang-guan' pear on desert area.].

A field experiment was carried out to study the effects of balanced fertilization on growth and development, yield, fruit quality and mineral content in 'Huang-guan' pear to provide a theoretical basis for the reasonable level of fertilization in pear orchards. Four treatments were arranged with 12-year old 'Huang-guan' pear trees from the same orchard: conventional fertilization (CK), low levels of N, PO and high level of S (T), medium levels of N, PO and S (T), high levels of N, PO and low level of S (T). The results showed that different treatments had little effect on the growth and development of current-year branch and leaves in the first year.

Study on spectrum-effect correlation for screening the effective components in Fangji Huangqi Tang basing on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Backgroud: Fangji Huangqi Tang (FHT) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula. Our previous work found that FHT could improve glomerular filtration function. The research on the effective materials basis of FHT was rarely reported.