Myopia control efficacy of peripheral defocus soft contact lenses in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of peripheral defocus soft contact lenses (PDSCLs) on controlling myopia progression in children and adolescents, and to compare it with orthokeratology (Ortho-K) and single vision lenses (SVLs).

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Medline, CNKI, CBM, VIP, and WanFang Data databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that investigated the effects of PDSCLs on myopia control in children and adolescents. The published languages were limited to English and Chinese.

Socioeconomic deprivation, medical services accessibility, and income-related health inequality among older Chinese adults: evidence from a national longitudinal survey from 2011 to 2018.

Background: Health inequality poses a challenge to improving the quality of life of older adults as well as the service system. The literature rarely explores the moderating role of medical services accessibility in the association between socioeconomic deprivation and health inequality.

Objective: This study examines the socioeconomic deprivation and medical services accessibility associated with health inequality among older Chinese adults, which will contribute to the medical policy reform.

Prevalence, biofilm formation, and mass spectrometric characterization of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus capitis isolated from a tertiary hospital in China.

Objectives: Linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus capitis (LRSC) has become a new challenge for clinical anti-infective therapy. The present study aimed to investigate the trends of LRSC prevalence in a tertiary hospital of China 2017-2020. The resistance mechanisms, virulence genes, biofilm formation, and mass spectrometric characteristics of LRSC isolates were also analysed.

Factors influencing treatment decisions in HIFU treatment of adenomyosis: A retrospective study.

Objective: To explore the influencing factors of decision-making in patients with adenomyosis, who are receiving high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment.

Methods: A total of 776 patients with adenomyosis were enrolled into HIFU group (241 cases) and hysterectomy group (535 cases) according to the treatment methods. The general data, clinical symptoms, marital and childbearing history, and economic status were compared between the two groups, and factors with < 0.

Membrane Bound CRT Fragment Accelerates Tumor Growth of Melanoma B16 Cell In Vivo through Promoting M2 Polarization via TLR4.

Calreticulin (CRT) is a major calcium-binding luminal resident protein on the endoplasmic reticulum that can also be released extracellular as well as anchored on surface of cells. Previously, we demonstrated that soluble recombinant CRT fragment 39-272 (CRT/39-272) exhibited potent immunostimulatory effects as well as immunoregulation effects on immune cells. Here, we constructed stable B16 melanoma cell lines expressing recombinant CRT/39-272 on the membrane (B16-tmCRT/39-272) to investigate the roles of cell surface CRT on tumor progression.

Ultrasound-guided HIFU for uterine fibroids of hyperintense on T2-weighted MR imaging with or without GnRH-analogue-pretreated: A propensity score matched cohort study.

Objective: To compare the therapeutic effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation and HIFU pretreated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-a) in the treatment of hyperintense uterine fibroids on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2WI) by using propensity score matching.

Materials And Methods: 339 women with 368 hyperintense uterine fibroids on T2WI who underwent single-session HIFU ablation were enrolled, including 283 patients with 303 fibroids in the single-session HIFU (sHIFU) group and 56 patients with 65 fibroids in the HIFU pretreated with GnRH-a (Gn-HIFU) group. The signal intensity (SI) value and standard deviation (SD) value were measured based on T2WI, and the fibroids were further subdivided into heterogeneous hyperintense fibroids, slightly homogeneous hyperintense fibroids and markedly homogeneous hyperintense fibroids as 3 subgroups (HHF, sHHF and mHHF group respectively).

Calreticulin as an Adjuvant to Promote Dendritic Cell Maturation and Enhance Antigen-Specific T Lymphocyte Responses against Melanoma.

An endoplasmic reticulum resident protein, calreticulin (CRT), participates in many cellular processes. CRT is a tumor-associated antigen with an important role in antitumor immunity. Previously, we reported that the recombinant CRT fragment 39-272 (CRT/39-272) exhibited superior immunobiological activity, activating macrophages to release cytokines and promoting dendritic cell (DC) maturation.

Reactivity of Viral Nucleic Acids with Chlorine and the Impact of Virus Encapsidation.

Free chlorine disinfection is widely applied to inactivate viruses by reacting with their biomolecules, which include nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Knowing the reactivities of viral genomes with free chlorine and the protection that encapsidation provides would ultimately help predict virus susceptibility to the disinfectant. The relative reactivities of different viral genome types and the impact of viral higher order structure with free chlorine are poorly characterized.

IgG Immunocomplexes Drive the Differentiation of a Novel Subset of Osteoclasts Independent of RANKL and Inflammatory Cytokines.

Potentiation of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis by IgG immunocomplexes (ICs) is generally considered an important pathway leading to cartilage and bone destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, whether IgG ICs possess pro-osteoclastogenic potential independent of RANKL and inflammatory cytokines is unclear. Here we demonstrate that by fully cross-linking human FcγRIIa (hFcγRIIa) or co-ligating hFcγRIIa and TLR4, IgG ICs alone could drive the differentiation of human blood monocytes into nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1-negative nonclassical osteoclasts (NOCs).

Disease-Specific Autoantibodies Induce Trained Immunity in RA Synovial Tissues and Its Gene Signature Correlates with the Response to Clinical Therapy.

Much evidence suggests that trained immunity is inappropriately activated in the synovial tissue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we describe how RA-specific autoantibody deposits can train human monocytes to exert the hyperactive inflammatory response, particularly via the exacerbated release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Comparative transcriptomic analysis by plate-bound human IgG (cIgG) or -glucan indicated that metabolic shift towards glycolysis is a crucial mechanism for trained immunity.

Metabolic network and recovery mechanism of Escherichia coli associated with triclocarban stress.

Although the toxicity of triclocarban at molecular level has been investigated, the metabolic networks involved in regulating the stress processes are not clear. Whether the cells would maintain specific phenotypic characteristics after triclocarban stress is also needed to be clarified. In this study, Escherichia coli was selected as a model to elucidate the cellular metabolism response associated with triclocarban stress and the recovery metabolic network of the triclocarban-treated cells using the proteomics and metabolomics approaches.

Molecular response mechanism in Escherichia coli under hexabromocyclododecane stress.

The effects of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) on the relationship between physiological responses and metabolic networks remains unclear. To this end, cellular growth, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species, exometabolites and the proteome of Escherichia coli were investigated following exposure to 0.1 and 1 μM HBCD.

Author Correction: Extraordinarily potent proinflammatory properties of lactoferrin-containing immunocomplexes against human monocytes and macrophages.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Nucleic Acid Photolysis by UV and the Impact of Virus Encapsidation.

Determining the influence of higher order structure on UVC photolysis will help inform predictions of nucleic acid fate and microorganism inactivation. We measured the direct UV photolysis kinetics of four model viral genomes composed of single-stranded and double-stranded RNA (ssRNA and dsRNA, respectively), as well as single-stranded and double-stranded DNA (ssDNA and dsDNA, respectively), in ultrapure water, in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and encapsidated in their native virus particles. The photolysis rate constants of naked nucleic acids measured by qPCR (RT-qPCR for RNA) and normalized by the number of bases measured in a particular sequence exhibited the following trend: ssDNA > ssRNA ≈ dsDNA > dsRNA.

IgG Immunocomplexes Sensitize Human Monocytes for Inflammatory Hyperactivity via Transcriptomic and Epigenetic Reprogramming in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Prevalence of circulating immunocomplexes (ICs) strongly correlates with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in humans. Deposits of IgG-ICs are abundant in affected joints of patients, yet molecular mechanisms for the pathogenic roles of such ICs are not fully understood. In this study, we present evidence that IgG-ICs precipitated from RA sera sensitized human monocytes for a long-lasting inflammatory functional state, characterized by a strong TNF-α response to cellular proteins representing damage-associated molecular patterns and microbe-derived pathogen-associated molecular patterns.

Extraordinarily potent proinflammatory properties of lactoferrin-containing immunocomplexes against human monocytes and macrophages.

Lactoferrin (LTF), an important first line defense molecule against infection, is a common target for humoral autoimmune reactions in humans. Since LTF is a multifunctional protein capable of activating innate immune cells via various surface receptors, we hypothesized that LTF-containing immune complexes (ICs) (LTF-ICs), likely formed in patients with high titer anti-LTF autoantibodies, could possess unique monocyte/macrophage-activating properties compared with other ICs. ELISA analysis on serum samples from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (n = 80) and healthy controls (n = 35) for anti-LTF autoantibodies confirmed a positive correlation between circulating LTF-specific IgG and RA.

Direct and Indirect Photochemical Reactions in Viral RNA Measured with RT-qPCR and Mass Spectrometry.

RNA carries the genetic instructions for many viruses to replicate in their host cells. The photochemical reactions that take place in RNA and affect viral infectivity in natural and engineered environments, however, remain poorly understood. We exposed RNA oligomer segments from the genome of bacteriophage MS2 to UV, simulated sunlight, and singlet oxygen (O) and analyzed the oligomer reaction kinetics with reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and quantitative matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS).

Isolation of endothelial colony-forming cells from blood samples collected from the jugular and cephalic veins of healthy adult horses.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate optimal isolation of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) from peripheral blood of horses. SAMPLE Jugular and cephalic venous blood samples from 17 adult horses. PROCEDURES Each blood sample was divided; isolation was performed with whole blood adherence (WBA) and density gradient centrifugation (DGC).

Expression, purification, and breast cancer cell inhibiting effect of recombinant human lactoferrin C-lobe.

Lactoferrin (LTF), a multifunctional glycoprotein of the transferrin family mainly found in exotic secretions in mammals, is an important defense molecule against not only microbial invasion but also tumors. It folds into two globular domains (N- and C-lobes) each containing an iron-binding site. The cationic antimicrobial peptide in N-lobe is known to exert anti-tumor effect via a non-receptor-mediated pathway.

The diversity and host interactions of Propionibacterium acnes bacteriophages on human skin.

The viral population, including bacteriophages, is an important component of the human microbiota, yet is poorly understood. We aim to determine whether bacteriophages modulate the composition of the bacterial populations, thus potentially playing a role in health or disease. We investigated the diversity and host interactions of the bacteriophages of Propionibacterium acnes, a major human skin commensal implicated in acne pathogenesis.