A Scoping Review of Factors Influencing Smoking Cessation in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

To provide a scoping review of studies on factors affecting smoking cessation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), so as to provide a basis for healthcare professionals to intervene early in the process of cessation of smoking in patients with COPD, and to formulate personalized interventions for smoking cessation. Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review methodology as a framework, searched databases including CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, China Biomedical Database, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, ProQuest, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library to collect literature on factors influencing smoking cessation among COPD patients. The literature was screened, data extracted, and summarized accordingly.

Puerarin inhibits macrophage M1 polarization by combining STAT1 to reduce myocardial damage in EAM model mice.

Myocarditis is an inflammatory lesion of the myocardium that is caused by a variety of factors. At present, treatment of symptoms remains the main clinical intervention, but it cannot reduce the myocarditis damage caused by inflammation. M1 macrophages are thought to contribute significantly to the occurrence and development of inflammation by secreting a large number of proinflammatory factors.

Fine-tuning of IPA1 transactivation activity by E3 ligase IPI7-mediated non-proteolytic K29-ubiquitination during Magnaporthe oryzae infection.

The Ideal Plant Architecture 1 (IPA1) transcription factor promotes rice yield and immunity through phosphorylation at its amino acid residue Ser163 as a switch. Although phosphorylated IPA1 mimic, IPA1(S163D), directly targets the promoter of immune response gene WRKY45, it cannot activate its expression. Here, we identified a co-activator of IPA1(S163D), a RING-finger E3 ligase IPA1 interactor 7 (IPI7), which fine-tunes the transcriptional activity of IPA1 to timely promote plant immunity and simultaneously maintain growth for yield.

Nonionic Water-Soluble Oligo(ethylene glycol)-Modified Polypeptides with a β-Sheet Conformation.

The secondary structures of polypeptides, such as an α-helix and a β-sheet, often impart specific properties and functions, making the regulation of their secondary structures of great significance. Particularly, water-soluble polypeptides bearing a β-sheet conformation are rare and challenging to achieve. Here, a series of oligo(ethylene glycol)-modified lysine -carboxylic anhydrides (K-NCA, where = 1-3) and the corresponding polymers K are synthesized, with urethane bonds as the linker between the side-chain EG and lysine.

Baicalein alleviates cardiomyocyte death in EAM mice by inhibiting the JAK-STAT1/4 signalling pathway.

Background: The experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) model is valuable for investigating myocarditis pathogenesis. M1-type macrophages and CD4T cells exert key pathogenic effects on EAM initiation and progression. Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone, CHO, BAI), which is derived from the Scutellaria baicalensis root, is a primary bioactive compound with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Effects of postoperative antioxidants on the salivary glands in patients with thyroid cancer undergoing radioactive iodine-131 treatment.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of three antioxidants, selenium yeast capsule, vitamin E and vitamin C, alone or in combination, on the salivary glands of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) treated with iodine-131 ( 131 I).

Methods: A total of 69 postoperative DTC patients were randomly divided into three groups: vitamin E combined with vitamin C group (21 cases); selenium yeast group (23 cases); and selenium yeast combined with vitamin C group (25 cases). Salivary gland functional changes were assessed by salivary gland dynamic imaging functional parameters in the enrolled patients before and 1 month after 131 I treatment.

Cascade N Reduction Process with DBD Plasma Oxidation and Electrocatalytic Reduction for Continuous Ammonia Synthesis.

Due to the extremely high bond energy of N≡N (∼941 kJ/mol), the traditional Haber-Bosch process of ammonia synthesis is known as an energy-intensive and high CO-emission industry. In this paper, a cascade N reduction process with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma oxidation and electrocatalytic reduction as an alternative route is first proposed. N is oxidized to be reactive nitrogen species (RNS) by nonthermal plasma, which would then be absorbed by KOH solution and electroreduced to NH.

High throughput virtual screening strategy to develop a potential treatment for bronchial asthma by targeting interleukin 13 cytokine signaling.

Chronic inflammation in the airway passage leads to the clinical syndrome of pediatric asthma. Allergic reactions caused by bacterial, viral, and fungal infection lead to the immune dis-balance which primes T helper cells (Th2), a specific cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) T cell differentiation. This favors the Th2-specific response by activating the inter-leukin 4/interleukin 13 (IL-4/IL-13) cytokine signaling and further activates the secretion of immunoglobulin E (IgE).

Digital micelles of encoded polymeric amphiphiles for direct sequence reading and ex vivo label-free quantification.

Identification and quantification of synthetic polymers in complex biological milieu are crucial for delivery, sensing and scaffolding functions, but conventional techniques based on imaging probe labellings only afford qualitative results. Here we report modular construction of precise sequence-defined amphiphilic polymers that self-assemble into digital micelles with contour lengths strictly regulated by oligourethane sequences. Direct sequence reading is accomplished with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) tandem mass spectrometry, facilitated by high-affinity binding of alkali metal ions with poly(ethylene glycol) dendrons and selective cleavage of benzyl-carbamate linkages.

Effect of vitamin E and supragingival scaling on salivary gland function in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer treated with 131I.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin E and supragingival scaling with vitamin C on the salivary glands of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma after 131I treatment.

Methods: A total of 89 prospective patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma were enrolled and randomly divided into the following groups: vitamin E group (n = 30, group A), vitamin C group (n = 30, group B) and supragingival scaling with vitamin C group (n = 29, group C). Using functional indices (e.

Facile fabrication of 2D hetero core-satellites patterned Ag nanoparticle arrays with tunable plasmonic bands for SERS detection.

A core-satellites metal nanostructure with high local electromagnetic (EM) intensity and density has shown great potential in ultrasensitive detection technologies, but complexity and uncontrollability of fabrication is a major obstacle for further application. Here, only by controlling the deposited Ag thickness, we facilely achieved 2D hetero core-satellites patterned Ag nanoparticle (NP) arrays for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection. The Ag nanoparticles were assembled by electron beam evaporation of Ag onto the anodized patterned aluminum template (APAlT) at a temperature above 0.

Three-dimensional structural dynamics and fluctuations of DNA-nanogold conjugates by individual-particle electron tomography.

DNA base pairing has been used for many years to direct the arrangement of inorganic nanocrystals into small groupings and arrays with tailored optical and electrical properties. The control of DNA-mediated assembly depends crucially on a better understanding of three-dimensional structure of DNA-nanocrystal-hybridized building blocks. Existing techniques do not allow for structural determination of these flexible and heterogeneous samples.

3D Structural Fluctuation of IgG1 Antibody Revealed by Individual Particle Electron Tomography.

Commonly used methods for determining protein structure, including X-ray crystallography and single-particle reconstruction, often provide a single and unique three-dimensional (3D) structure. However, in these methods, the protein dynamics and flexibility/fluctuation remain mostly unknown. Here, we utilized advances in electron tomography (ET) to study the antibody flexibility and fluctuation through structural determination of individual antibody particles rather than averaging multiple antibody particles together.

HDL surface lipids mediate CETP binding as revealed by electron microscopy and molecular dynamics simulation.

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) mediates the transfer of cholesterol esters (CE) from atheroprotective high-density lipoproteins (HDL) to atherogenic low-density lipoproteins (LDL). CETP inhibition has been regarded as a promising strategy for increasing HDL levels and subsequently reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Although the crystal structure of CETP is known, little is known regarding how CETP binds to HDL.

Calsyntenin-3 molecular architecture and interaction with neurexin 1α.

Calsyntenin 3 (Cstn3 or Clstn3), a recently identified synaptic organizer, promotes the development of synapses. Cstn3 localizes to the postsynaptic membrane and triggers presynaptic differentiation. Calsyntenin members play an evolutionarily conserved role in memory and learning.

Peptide-conjugation induced conformational changes in human IgG1 observed by optimized negative-staining and individual-particle electron tomography.

Peptides show much promise as potent and selective drug candidates. Fusing peptides to a scaffold monoclonal antibody produces a conjugated antibody which has the advantages of peptide activity yet also has the pharmacokinetics determined by the scaffold antibody. However, the conjugated antibody often has poor binding affinity to antigens that may be related to unknown structural changes.

Optimized negative-staining electron microscopy for lipoprotein studies.

Background: Negative-staining (NS), a rapid, simple and conventional technique of electron microscopy (EM), has been commonly used to initially study the morphology and structure of proteins for half a century. Certain NS protocols however can cause artifacts, especially for structurally flexible or lipid-related proteins, such as lipoproteins. Lipoproteins were often observed in the form of rouleau as lipoprotein particles appeared to be stacked together by conventional NS protocols.

[Fabrication of silver ordered nanoarrays SERS-active substrates and their applications in bladder cancer cells detection].

Highly ordered silver nanopore and nanocap arrays, which were used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering active (SERS-active) substrates, were fabricated by electron-beam evaporating silver on the surface of porous layer and barrier layer of porous anodic alumina (PAA) membranes, respectively. The SERS characteristics of the SERS-active substrates were tested with bladder cancer cells as molecular probe. The results indicated that both the SERS-active substrates displayed a strong SERS enhancement effect.

Spontaneously periodic wave generation in coupled excitable media.

We studied a modified reaction-diffusion model theoretically by coupling two ideal excitable media systems. In the simulated homogeneous system, we observed the propagation of reaction-diffusion wave trains that required no external force after the initial stimulation. We investigated the dependence of the system's oscillation patterns on model parameters, and we discussed the influence of the different dynamic constants of the individual coupled systems on the dynamics of the coupled systems.