Microenvironment-responsive nano-bioconjugated vesicles for the multi-pronged treatment of liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis represents an inevitable stage of various chronic liver diseases. The activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) are the main drivers for promoting the development of liver fibrosis. Meanwhile, liver macrophages can secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines, thus accelerating the deterioration of the liver.

Studies on the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Xiaoyao Pills in The Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis in Mice.

Osteoporosis is a common metabolic disease of elderly and postmenopausal women, with no obvious symptoms during its early stages. In the latter stages of this condition, the patients are prone to fractures, and this can seriously affect their health and quality of life. The worldwide increase in life expectancy has made osteoporosis a global concern.

Targeted inhibition of autophagy in hepatic stellate cells by hydroxychloroquine: An effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of liver fibrosis.

Background And Purpose: Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing reaction which is the main cause of chronic liver diseases worldwide. The activated hepatic stellate cell (aHSC) is the main driving factor in the development of liver fibrosis. Inhibiting autophagy of aHSC can prevent the progression of liver fibrosis, but inhibiting autophagy of other liver cells has opposite effects.

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and immunogenicity profiles of Exendin-4-IgG4-Fc in healthy subjects: A phase 1, single-centre, randomized, double-blind, dose escalation study.

Aim: Novel long-acting drugs for type 2 diabetes mellitus may optimize patient compliance and glycaemic control. Exendin-4-IgG4-Fc (E4F4) is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. This first-in-human study investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and immunogenicity profiles of a single subcutaneous injection of E4F4 in healthy subjects.

Two-Membrane Hybrid Nanobiomimetic Delivery System for Targeted Autophagy Inhibition of Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells To Synergistically Treat Liver Fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is one of the most common and highly prevalent chronic liver diseases caused by multiple pathogenic factors, and there is still no effective therapeutic drugs up to now. The activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) are the main executor in liver fibrosis, and the autophagy plays a key role in the proliferation and differentiation of aHSCs, which promotes the development of liver fibrosis. However, autophagy has the opposite effect on the different kinds of liver cells in the development of liver fibrosis, and the clinical treatment has been limited by the poor selectivity and inefficient drug delivery to aHSCs.

Characteristics of Tongue Pressure Measured by Novel Multisite Flexible Sensors in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients With Dysphagia.

Objective: To explore characteristics of tongue pressure changes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients with dysphagia after radiotherapy using a novel system with multisite flexible sensors.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation centers and community dwellings.

Transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation improved motor cortex excitability in healthy adults: a randomized, single-blind, self-crossover design study.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) on motor cortex excitability in healthy adults.

Method: Twenty eight healthy subjects were assigned to receive real and sham tcVNS for 30 min. The interval between the real and sham conditions was more than 24 h, and the sequence was random.

Modeling the Operating Performance of a Drinking Water Biological Aerated Filter and the Formation of Organic Nitrogen.

In this study, simultaneous storage and growth mechanism, as well as the formation processes of organic nitrogen (ON), were both introduced into activated sludge model 3 (ASM3), and ASM3-ON was formed to predict the operation of biofilm treatment processes and the formation of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). ASM3-ON was applied to a lab-scale biological aerated filter (BAF) for water supply. During the simulation, the sensitivities of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO-N), and DON to the stoichiometric and kinetic coefficients in the model were analyzed first by the Sobol method.

Tumor targeted combination therapeutic system for the effective treatment of drug resistant triple negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer has become the malignant tumor with the largest incidence, especially the drug resistant triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The combination therapeutic system can play a better role in resisting drug resistant TNBC. In this study, dopamine and tumor targeted folic acid modified dopamine were synthesized as carrier materials to construct melanin-like tumor targeted combination therapeutic system.

An Efficient CRT Based Algorithm for Frequency Determination from Undersampled Real Waveform.

The Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) based frequency estimation has been widely studied during the past two decades. It enables one to estimate frequencies by sub-Nyquist sampling rates, which reduces the cost of hardware in a sensor network. Several studies have been done on the complex waveform; however, few works studied its applications in the real waveform case.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation improves swallowing initiation in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.

Objective: More than half of post-stroke patients develop dysphagia, which manifests as delayed swallowing and is associated with a high risk of aspiration. In this study, we aimed to investigate the immediate effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on swallowing initiation in post-stroke patients using videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) data.

Materials And Methods: This randomized, self-controlled crossover study included 35 patients with post-stroke dysphagia.

A Dendrite-Free Lithium-Metal Anode Enabled by Designed Ultrathin MgF Nanosheets Encapsulated Inside Nitrogen-Doped Graphene-Like Hollow Nanospheres.

Uncontrolled lithium dendrite growth and dramatic volume change during cycling have long been severely impeding the practical applications of Li metal as the ultimate anode. In this work, ultrathin MgF nanosheets encapsulated inside nitrogen-doped graphene-like hollow nanospheres (MgF NSs@NGHSs) are ingeniously fabricated to address these problems by a perfect combination of atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition. The uniform and continuous Li-Mg solid-solution inner layer formed by the MgF nanosheets can reduce the nucleation overpotential and induce selective deposition of Li into the cavities of the NGHSs.

Effect of Intensive Oropharyngeal Training on Radiotherapy-Related Dysphagia in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intensive oropharyngeal functional training on swallowing in patients with dysphagia after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: Fourteen patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas and dysphagia after radiotherapy received intensive oropharyngeal training for two weeks. The Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) were used to evaluate swallowing function before and after intensive oropharyngeal training.

The regulatory role and mechanism of autophagy in energy metabolism-related hepatic fibrosis.

Hepatic fibrosis is a key pathological process of chronic liver diseases, caused by alcohol, toxic and aberrant energy metabolism. It progresses to cirrhosis or even hepatic carcinoma without effective treatment. Studies have shown that autophagy has important regulatory effects on hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) energy metabolism, and then affect the activation state of HSCs.

First report of leaf spot caused by Colletotrichum siamense on Michelia alba in China.

Michelia alba (common name: white champaca), native to Indonesia, is a preciously ornamental and medicinal plant in the west and southeast of China and widely distributed in Nanning, Guangxi, China (Hou et al. 2018). In May 2020, a foliar disease of M.

Genome-wide analysis of ethylene-response factor family in adzuki bean and functional determination of VaERF3 under saline-alkaline stress.

Ethylene-response factor (ERF) proteins are members of a transcription factor family involved in plant growth and environmental stress responses, but the biological functions of ERF members in adzuki bean (Vigna angularis var. angularis) remain unknown. In addition, it is unclear whether these proteins have a role in regulating responses to abiotic stressors.

Association between polymorphisms in the genes, and smoking, alcohol and upper digestive tract carcinomas in a high-incidence area of northern China.

Metabolic gene variants, smoking, and alcohol consumption are important upper digestive tract cancer (UDTC) risk factors. However, the gene-gene and gene-environment interactions remain unclear. A case-control study in a high incidence area for upper digestive tract cancer was conducted in China.

Decreased expression of SPINT1-AS1 and SPINT1 mRNA might be independent unfavorable prognostic indicators in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The serine peptidase inhibitor, Kunitz type 1 antisense RNA1 (), a long non-coding RNA , has been linked to cancer progression. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression in matched esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and normal tissues, and analyze the potential correlations of expression with clinicopathological characteristics, in order to evaluate its prognosis and therapeutic value. SPINT1-AS1 expression was detected in 99 cases of matched ESCC and normal tissues samples using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method.

[Spatiotemporal Succession Characteristics of Algal Functional Groups and Its Impact Factors for a Typical Channel-Type Reservoir in a Southwest Mountainous Area].

In order to explore the spatial and temporal variations of algal functional groups in the Zipingpu reservoir, a typical channel-type reservoir in the southwest mountainous area of China, water samples were collected from eight sections of the Zipingpu reservoir from April 2016 to March 2017.A total of 21 algal functional groups were identified as B, C, D, F, G, H, J, L, L, M, N, P, S, T, W, W, X, X, X, Y, and Z. Based on the analysis of the dominant degree ( > 0.

[Effects of protease inhibitors on the activities of midgut proteases in Callosobruchus chinensis (Linnaeus) larvae.].

To clarify the effects of protease inhibitors on the activities of midgut proteases in Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) larvae, the inhibitory effects of four kinds of protease inhibitors on the activities of midgut proteases of C. chinensis larvae were examined in vitro and in feeding conditions with indoor artificial insect inoculation.

Mechanism of the influence of hydrodynamics on Microcystis aeruginosa, a dominant bloom species in reservoirs.

Hydrodynamic conditions play a key role in algal blooms, which have become an increasing threat to aquatic environments, especially reservoirs. Microcystis aeruginosa is a dominant species in algal blooms in reservoirs and releases large amounts of algal toxins during algal bloom events. The algal growth characteristics and the corresponding mechanism of the influence of hydrodynamic conditions were explored using custom hydraulic rotating devices.

Association of genotypes of rs671 within with risk for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma in the Chinese Han population in high- and low-incidence areas.

Objective: : This study aimed to determine if gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) risk was associated with the lys (A or *2) allele at the rs671 (glu504lys) polymorphism within the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 () gene in a Chinese Han population. We also aimed to investigate genotypic distributions between subjects from high- and low-incidence areas for both GCA and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: : We designed a case-control study including 2,686 patients with GCA and 3,675 control subjects from high- and low-incidence areas for both GCA and ESCC in China.

Simultaneous determination of four active components in (Sam.) Juz. by HPLC-DAD using a single reference standard.

A rapid, simple and practical high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was developed to evaluate the quality of (Sam.) Juz. through a simultaneous determination of four major active triterpenes using a single standard to determine the multi-components (SSDMCs).