The Efficacy and Safety of Shashen-Maidong Decoction Combined with Western Medicine in the Treatment of Omicron Infected Individuals Over 85 Years Old: A Retrospective Study.

Background: During the Omicron variant outbreak of COVID-19 (2022-2023), Chinese healthcare institutions combined traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with Western medical practices to treat COVID-19 patients, especially the elderly. The efficacy and safety of this approach, especially for individuals aged over 85, need further investigation.

Methods: In this retrospective study, a cohort of 62 patients aged over 85 years, diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, was examined.

Preliminary study of finger temperature recovery in patients with diabetes mellitus following cold stimulation.

Objective: To explore the difference in temperature recovery following cold stimulation between participants with and without diabetes mellitus (DM).

Materials And Methods: The participants without (control group; n = 25) and with (DM group; n = 26) DM were subjected to local cold stimulation (10º C for 90 s). The thermal images of their hands were continuously captured using a thermal camera within 7 min following cold stimulation, and the highest temperature of each fingertip was calculated.

Thermographic evaluation of acupoints in lower limb region of individuals with osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional case-control study protocol.

Purpose: Acupuncture has been widely used in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), but the selection of acupoints is indeterminate and lacks biological basis. The skin temperature of acupoints can reflect the state of local tissue and may be a potential factor for guiding acupoint selection. This study aims to compare the skin temperature of acupoints between KOA patients and the healthy population.

CREB1 promotes proliferation and differentiation by mediating the transcription of CCNA2 and MYOG in bovine myoblasts.

The cAMP response element binding protein 1 (CREB1) is an important nuclear transcription factor in eukaryotes. To explore the potential role of CREB1 on Qinchuan bovine skeletal myoblasts, we investigated the function of CREB1 on proliferation and differentiation. In this study, we found that CREB1 promoted cell proliferation by promoting DNA synthesis in S phase and cell division in G2 phase and promoted myogenic differentiation process in bovine myoblasts.

A Preliminary Study on Infrared Thermograph of Metabolic Syndrome.

Objective: To explore the temperature distribution characteristics of the face, palms, feet and the trunk area of metabolic syndrome (MS) through infrared thermography (IRT) and provide evidence for the application of IRT in the assistant evaluation of MS population.

Methods: We collected thermographs of 184 participants (91 males, 93 females) and further divided participants of each gender into 4 groups according to the number of abnormal metabolic indexes. Mean temperatures of 6 Region of Interests (ROIs) (face, anterior trunk, bilateral palms and dorsum of feet) were calculated.

An exploration of new methods for metabolic syndrome examination by infrared thermography and knowledge mining.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clinical syndrome with multiple metabolic disorders. As the diagnostic criteria for MS still lacking of imaging laboratory method, this study aimed to explore the differences between healthy people and MS patients through infrared thermography (IRT). However, the observation region of the IRT image is uncertain, and the research tried to solve this problem with the help of knowledge mining technology.

Atomic-scale observation of non-classical nucleation-mediated phase transformation in a titanium alloy.

Two-phase titanium-based alloys are widely used in aerospace and biomedical applications, and they are obtained through phase transformations between a low-temperature hexagonal closed-packed α-phase and a high-temperature body-centred cubic β-phase. Understanding how a new phase evolves from its parent phase is critical to controlling the transforming microstructures and thus material properties. Here, we report time-resolved experimental evidence, at sub-ångström resolution, of a non-classically nucleated metastable phase that bridges the α-phase and the β-phase, in a technologically important titanium-molybdenum alloy.

A general and robust analytical method for interface normal determination in TEM.

This paper presents a new analytical method to determine interface normals from a series of bright/dark field images taken from arbitrary orientations. This approach, based on a general geometrical model of interface projection, provides a generalized formulation of existing methods. It can treat an excessive number of inputs, i.

Visible-light-mediated difunctionalization of vinylcyclopropanes for the synthesis of 1-sulfonylmethyl-3,4-dihydronaphthalenes.

An efficient method for visible-light-mediated sulfonylation/arylation of the C-C σ-bond in vinylcyclopropanes with sulfonyl chlorides to synthesize 1-sulfonylmethyl-substituted 3,4-dihydronaphalenes has been developed. A radical-type pathway has been proved in this transformation. This difunctionalization procedure shows a series of advantages, such as the use of commercially and easily available sulfonyl chlorides, mild conditions, and eco-friendly energy.

Genome-wide landscape of position effects on heterogeneous gene expression in .

Background: Integration of heterogeneous genes is widely applied in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. However, knowledge about the effect of integrative position on gene expression remains limited.

Results: We established a genome-wide landscape of position effect on gene expression in .

"Perfect" designer chromosome V and behavior of a ring derivative.

Perfect matching of an assembled physical sequence to a specified designed sequence is crucial to verify design principles in genome synthesis. We designed and de novo synthesized 536,024-base pair chromosome synV in the "Build-A-Genome China" course. We corrected an initial isolate of synV to perfectly match the designed sequence using integrative cotransformation and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9)-mediated editing in 22 steps; synV strains exhibit high fitness under a variety of culture conditions, compared with that of wild-type V strains.

[Ilizarov technique combined with flap instant expansion technique for the treatment of the tibia deformity with skin contracture at one stage].

Objective: To discusses the necessity and methods of replantation for complete amputation of finger composite lateral tissue.

Methods: From March 2012 to April 2015, 62 cases of complete amputated finger lateral tissue for various causes were retrospectively analyzed, including 34 males and 28 females with an average age of 29.1 years old ranging from 17 to 52 years old, involved 27 cases of thumb, index finger in 15 cases, 13 cases of middle finger, ring finger in 8 cases, 2 cases of the little finger, 2 fingers were injured in 3 cases, 14 cases involving the distal interphalangeal joint.

Arabidopsis CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE8 and CATALASE3 Function in Abscisic Acid-Mediated Signaling and H2O2 Homeostasis in Stomatal Guard Cells under Drought Stress.

Drought is a major threat to plant growth and crop productivity. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs, CPKs) are believed to play important roles in plant responses to drought stress. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana CPK8 functions in abscisic acid (ABA)- and Ca(2+)-mediated plant responses to drought stress.

Ca2+-dependent protein kinase11 and 24 modulate the activity of the inward rectifying K+ channels in Arabidopsis pollen tubes.

Potassium (K(+)) influx into pollen tubes via K(+) transporters is essential for pollen tube growth; however, the mechanism by which K(+) transporters are regulated in pollen tubes remains unknown. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinase11 (CPK11) and CPK24 are involved in Ca(2+)-dependent regulation of the inward K(+) (K(+)in) channels in pollen tubes. Using patch-clamp analysis, we demonstrated that K(+)in currents of pollen tube protoplasts were inhibited by elevated [Ca(2+)]cyt.

Arabidopsis Di19 functions as a transcription factor and modulates PR1, PR2, and PR5 expression in response to drought stress.

The Arabidopsis Di19 (Drought-induced) gene family encodes seven Cys2/His2-type zinc-finger proteins, most with unknown functions. Here, we report that Di19 functioned as a transcriptional regulator and was involved in Arabidopsis responses to drought stress through up-regulation of pathogenesis-related PR1, PR2, and PR5 gene expressions. The Di19 T-DNA insertion mutant di19 was much more sensitive to drought stress, whereas the Di19-overexpressing lines were much more tolerant to drought stress compared with wild-type plants.

Targeted expression of Cre recombinase provokes placental-specific DNA recombination in transgenic mice.

Background: Inadequate placental development is associated with a high incidence of early embryonic lethality and serious pregnancy disorders in both humans and mice. However, the lack of well-defined trophoblast-specific gene regulatory elements has hampered investigations regarding the role of specific genes in placental development and fetal growth.

Principal Findings: By random assembly of placental enhancers from two previously characterized genes, trophoblast specific protein α (Tpbpa) and adenosine deaminase (Ada), we identified a chimeric Tpbpa/Ada enhancer that when combined with the basal Ada promoter provided the highest luciferase activity in cultured human trophoblast cells, in comparison with non-trophoblast cell lines.

Ion transporters involved in pollen germination and pollen tube tip-growth.

Pollen germination (PG) and pollen tube growth (PTG) play crucial roles in sexual reproduction of flowering plants by sending sperm cells to the ovule. These two processes are regarded as ideal model system for the study of cell signaling and cell polarized growth. It has been considered for a long time that ion transports across the pollen tube membranes are essential for pollen tube navigation and growth.

Effects on the expression of GABAA receptor subunits by jujuboside A treatment in rat hippocampal neurons.

Aim Of Study: To determine the effect of jujuboside A (JuA) in modulating the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA(A)) receptor subunits gene expression of hippocampal neurons at different terms in vitro.

Materials And Methods: Hippocampal neurons of rat were cultured in vitro, treated with JuA or diazepam (DZP). Then GABA(A) receptor mRNAs were evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.

Characterization of alpha-nitromethyl ketone as a new zinc-binding group based on structural analysis of its complex with carboxypeptidase A.

Zinc-binding groups (ZBGs) are exhaustively applied in the development of the new inhibitors against a wide variety of physiologically and pathologically important zinc proteases. Here the alpha-nitro ketone was presented as a new ZBG, which is a transition-state analog featured by the unique bifurcated hydrogen bonds at the active site of carboxypeptidase A based on the structural analysis. Introduction of a nitro group at the alpha-position of the ketone could provide more non-covalent interactions without loss of the abilities to form a tetrahedral transition-state analog.

[High tibial osteotomy for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee].

Objective: To summarize clinical application of the high tibial osteatomy (HTO) with lateral closing-wedge for the treatment of pain of unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee.

Methods: From February 2000 to February 2004,9 patients (3 males and 6 females, ranging in age from 52 to 58 years, with an average of 56 years) with unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee treated by HTO with lateral closing-wedge. The proximal tibiofibular joint was exposed, the anterior part of the capsule was incised, and to remove a laterally based wedge with saw cuts and osteotomes.

Transcriptome analyses show changes in gene expression to accompany pollen germination and tube growth in Arabidopsis.

Pollen germination, along with pollen tube growth, is an essential process for the reproduction of flowering plants. The germinating pollen with tip-growth characteristics provides an ideal model system for the study of cell growth and morphogenesis. As an essential step toward a detailed understanding of this important process, the objective of this study was to comprehensively analyze the transcriptome changes during pollen germination and pollen tube growth.

[Reconstruction of distal phalanx defect with microsurgical fascia latae flaps combined with rib and skin graft].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application of microsurgical fascia latae flaps combined with rib and skin graft for reconstruction of the distal phalanx defect.

Methods: The phalanx wounds were sutured together like syndactyly. The autologous rib was revised to repair the bone defect of distal phalanx.

[Repair of soft-tissue defect of amputation stumps of the forearm with free flap from the traumatic amputated extremity].

Objective: To report the clinical results of the repair of soft-tissue defect of amputation stumps of the forearm with free flap from the traumatic amputated extremity.

Methods: Five patients, 4 males and 1 female, aged 32 (22 - 43), with soft-tissue defect of the remaining stump of the traumatic amputation of the forearm, 3 cases in the right forearm and 2 cases in the left forearm, underwent repair of the defect by free flap from the traumatic amputated extremity with the size of the flaps ranging from 8 cm x 9 cm to 9 cm x 12 cm. The patients were followed up for 2.

Ca2+-permeable channels in the plasma membrane of Arabidopsis pollen are regulated by actin microfilaments.

Cytosolic free Ca2+ and actin microfilaments play crucial roles in regulation of pollen germination and tube growth. The focus of this study is to test the hypothesis that Ca2+ channels, as well as channel-mediated Ca2+ influxes across the plasma membrane (PM) of pollen and pollen tubes, are regulated by actin microfilaments and that cytoplasmic Ca2+ in pollen and pollen tubes is consequently regulated. In vitro Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) pollen germination and tube growth were significantly inhibited by Ca2+ channel blockers La3+ or Gd3+ and F-actin depolymerization regents.