The aetiologies of unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy: a clinical analysis on 121 patients.

To strengthen the understanding, increase the early diagnostic rate, and improve the outcome of unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy through the analysis of the 121 patients suffering from this disease in our hospital. A retrospective study was performed on the 121 patients with unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy diagnosed at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from October 2014 to October 2015. The clinical data, such as gender, age, aetiology, clinical features, laboratory tests, and six months follow up reports were analyzed.

Relationship between psychological health and quality of life of people affected by leprosy in the community in Guangdong province, China: a cross-sectional study.

Background: This paper investigates the relationship between psychological health and quality of life (QOL) of people affected by leprosy (PAL) living in a community in Guangdong province, China.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from April to October 2016 in Guangdong province, China. The 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ12) and World Health Organization Quality of life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to evaluate the psychological health and QOL of the participants.

Engineered biosynthesis of cyclic lipopeptide locillomycins in surrogate host Bacillus velezensis FZB42 and derivative strains enhance antibacterial activity.

Locillomycins are cyclic lipononapeptides assembled by a nonlinear hexamodular NRPS and have strong antibacterial activity. In this study, we genetically engineered Bacillus velezensis FZB42 as a surrogate host for the heterologous expression of the loc gene cluster for locillomycins. The fosmid N13 containing whole loc gene cluster was screened from the B.

miR-193a/b-3p relieves hepatic fibrosis and restrains proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been confirmed to participate in liver fibrosis progression and activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). In this study, the role of miR-193a/b-3p in concanavalin A (ConA)-induced liver fibrosis in mice was evaluated. According to the results, the expression of miR-193a/b-3p was down-regulated in liver tissues after exposure to ConA.

microRNA-497 inhibition mitigates myocardial infarction via enhancing wingless/integrated signal pathway in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Objective: High association between microRNA-497 (miR-497) inhibition and the improvement of myocardial infarction (MI) has been proved. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) therapy is regarded as a highly promising approach to MI treatment. We studied the functional role of miR-497 inhibition in the transplantation of BMSCs for MI treatment.

Single-Molecule Imaging and Computational Microscopy Approaches Clarify the Mechanism of the Dimerization and Membrane Interactions of Green Fluorescent Protein.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is widely used as a biomarker in living systems; however, GFP and its variants are prone to forming low-affinity dimers under physiological conditions. This undesirable tendency is exacerbated when fluorescent proteins (FP) are confined to membranes, fused to naturally-oligomeric proteins, or expressed at high levels in cells. Oligomerization of FPs introduces artifacts into the measurement of subunit stoichiometry, as well as interactions between proteins fused to FPs.

Nucleophosmin/B23 contributes to hepatic insulin resistance through the modulation of NF-κB pathway.

Nucleophosmin (NPM)/B23 is an important nucleolar phosphoprotein involved in the regulation of assorted cellular signaling pathways. In the present study, we revealed a critical role of NPM in liver insulin resistance. NPM is markedly upregulated in insulin-resistant liver tissues and palmitic acid (PA)-exposed HepG2 cells both at mRNA and protein levels.

Epigoitrin, an Alkaloid From , Reduces H1N1 Infection in Stress-Induced Susceptible Model and .

Stress has been proven to modulate an individual's immune system through the release of pituitary and adrenal hormones such as the catecholamines, growth hormone, and glucocorticoids. These signal molecules can significantly alter the host immune system and make it susceptible to viral infection. In this study, we investigate whether epigoitrin, a natural alkaloid from , provides protection against influenza infection by reducing the host's susceptibility to influenza virus under stress and its underlying mechanism.

The self-perceptions of aging were an important factor associated with the quality of life in Chinese elderly with hypertension.

Background: In China, quality of life (QOL) of the elderly with hypertension was lower than that of normal elderly and lower self-perceptions of aging (SPA) in the elderly with chronic diseases have been shown. Previous studies showed that SPA played a key role in QOL of the elderly. We hypothesised that SPA were associated with QOL in Chinese elderly with hypertension, with more negative SPA predicting lower QOL.

Application of protein chip combined with SELDI-TOF-MS detection to investigate serum protein expression in patients with silicosis fibrosis.

The present study aimed to observe the identification of biomarkers of silicosis based on the differentially expressed serum proteins between normal healthy individuals and patients with silicosis fibrosis. A total number of 20 patients with clinically diagnosed silicosis were screened, which were designated as the foundation treatment group. In addition, 20 age-matched healthy patients attending a check-up at the physical examination department were selected.

Allogenic Vγ9Vδ2 T cell as new potential immunotherapy drug for solid tumor: a case study for cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly aggressive and fatal tumor. CCA occurs in the epithelial cells of bile ducts. Due to increasing incidences, CCA accounts for 3% of all gastrointestinal malignancies.

Removal of 17β-Estradiol from water by adsorption onto montmorillonite-carbon hybrids derived from pyrolysis carbonization of carboxymethyl cellulose.

In this work, we demonstrated the preparation of the carbonized montmorillonite/carboxymethyl cellulose (MMT/CMC) hybrids and their application as an adsorbent for efficient removal of 17β-Estradiol (βE2). X-ray diffractometer (XRD) results showed that CMC intercalation reached saturation at a CMC to MMT weight ratio of 1; transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements clearly revealed that carbonization caused graphenes distribute on the MMT surfaces; pyrolysis temperature at 600 °C yielded novel MMT/CMC sample of high surface areas as reflected by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area. The adsorbed amount of βE2 under various conditions decreased in the order MMT/CMC(600) > MMT/CMC(450) > MMT/CMC(300) ∼ MMT/CMC(600) ∼ MMT > MMT/CMC(600).

Associations Between the Knowledge of Different Food Categories and Glycemia in Chinese Adult Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

This study aims to evaluate the levels of knowledge of different food categories and analyze the association between the levels of dietary knowledge and glycemia in Chinese adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A cross-sectional study design was adopted. A total of 334 patients with T2DM were recruited from six hospitals from July to October 2014 in China.

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Correlate with Tumor-Associated Macrophages Infiltration and Lymphatic Metastasis in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been shown to be among the most prominent cells in tumor microenvironment and play a significant role in accelerating tumor metastasis by interacting with other type of cells. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), the predominant tumor-infiltrating immune cells, also play important roles in cancer progression. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of CAFs on infiltration of TAMs and lymphatic metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Bearing-Only Obstacle Avoidance Based on Unknown Input Observer and Angle-Dependent Artificial Potential Field.

This paper presents the problem of obstacle avoidance with bearing-only measurements in the case that the obstacle motion is model-free, i.e., its acceleration is absolutely unknown, which cannot be dealt with by the mainstream Kalman-like schemes based on the known motion model.

Role of Lung Ultrasound in Adjusting Ultrafiltration Volume in Hemodialysis Patients.

Chronic fluid over-hydration is common in dialysis patients. It is associated with mortality and cardiovascular events. Optimal methods for adjusting fluid volume status and ideal dry weight remain uncertain.

Phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin from ameliorates immune-inflammatory response in ovalbumin-induced asthma: role of IgE, Nrf2, iNOs, TNF-α, and IL's.

Asthma is a chronic airway immunoinflammatory disorder characterized by airway remodeling. has been reported to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. To evaluate the possible mechanism of action of isolated phytoconstituents from (PA) against ovalbumin (OVA)-induced experimental airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR).

The Effects of Substance Abuse on Blood Glucose Parameters in Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

: People who abuse substances are at increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes resulting partly from increased cell damage and due to the effects of opioids on glucose homeostasis. Therefore, people with diabetes who abuse substances may carry greater health risks than the general population resulting from their effect on glucose metabolism. These substances may be in the form of cannabis, hallucinogens, opioids, and stimulants.

Iodine-125 seed implantation and allogenic natural killer cell immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation: a case report.

For advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, liver transplantation (LT) is an optimal treatment with limitation of high risk of tumor recurrence related to the immunosuppressive chemotherapy as usually recommended. In this study, a 29-year-old man suffered from HCC recurrence after LT. He underwent radiotherapy (total dose: 45 Gy) but had no significant response.

Expression, purification, and evaluation of in vivo anti-fibrotic activity for soluble truncated TGF-β receptor II as a cleavable His-SUMO fusion protein.

Excessive production of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and its binding to transforming growth factor-β receptor type II (TGF-βRII) promotes fibrosis by activation of the TGF-β1-mediated signaling pathway. Thus, the truncated extracellular domain of TGF-βRII (tTβRII) is a promising anti-fibrotic candidate, as it lacks the signal transduction domain. In this work, the native N-terminal tTβRII was prepared as a His-SUMO fusion protein (termed His-SUMO-tTβRII) in Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3).

Effect of Syringic acid on antioxidant biomarkers and associated inflammatory markers in mice model of asthma.

Asthma is termed as the induction of chronic inflammation in the airway lumen of lungs due to accumulation of inflammatory cells which affects normal breathing process. Prolonged accumulation of inflammatory cells leads to oxidative stress and suppression of antioxidant activities. Therefore, in our present investigation, a potential phenolic compound, Syringic acid was tested for the suppression of inflammatory markers toward an antiasthmatic activity in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice model.

4-Octyl Itaconate Activates Nrf2 Signaling to Inhibit Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Production in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients.

Background/aims: Increased production of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, plays an essential pathogenic role in the progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recent studies have characterized itaconate as a novel and potent nuclear-factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activator that activates Nrf2 signaling by alkylating cysteine residues on Keap1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1).

Methods: THP-1 human macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of SLE patients were treated with 4-octyl itaconate (OI).

Tunable broadband, wide-angle, and polarization-dependent perfect infrared absorber based on planar structure containing phase-change material.

A multilayer absorber composed of SiO, Fe, GeSbTe (GST), and Al is designed, and the absorptive properties are theoretically investigated based on the Fresnel coefficients method in the wavelength range of 300-2500 nm by changing the thickness and crystallization rate of GST, the incident angle, and the polarization. The results show that the thin Fe layer plays a key role in obtaining an ultra-broadband perfect absorption. The absorption properties are polarization-dependent, and the perfect absorption can be nearly realized for a p-polarized wave at the incident angle smaller than 75° with the bandwidth larger than 316 nm at 90% of max absorption value.

Effect of Post Thermal Annealing on the Optical Properties of InP/ZnS Quantum Dot Films.

The enhancement of optical properties via thermal annealing on InP/ZnS core/shell quantum dot (QD) film was investigated in this work. The increase of emission intensities of the QD films was observed after thermal annealing at 180 °C for 5 min. Through temperature dependence photoluminescence (TDPL) and power dependence photoluminescence (PL) measurement, the peak located at the low-energy shoulder was confirmed to be localized state emission and the high energy one comes from free-carrier emission.

WNT6 is an effective marker for osteosarcoma diagnosis and prognosis.

Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 6 (WNT6) is a member of the Wnt family and its expression is abnormal in different human cancer cell lines. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of WNT6 in osteosarcoma.The levels of WNT6 mRNA and protein in tissue and serum were detected through quantitative real-time polymorperase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Enzyme Lined Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), respectively.