The Diagnostic Value of Oligoclonal Band Detection in Viral Encephalitis

Objective: This study aims to explore the differences in cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal band (CSF-OCB) expression among different age groups in viral encephalitis and its reference value for diagnosis. Methods: Forty-two patients with viral encephalitis were divided into two groups: 25 adults and 17 children. The presence of oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was detected using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and CSF routine analysis was conducted for comparative analysis. Results: The CSF-OCB positivity rate was higher in the adult group (48%) compared with the pediatric group (11.76%), with a statistically significant difference (P Conclusion: 1) The expression of CSF-OCB positivity in patients with viral encephalitis is age-related, with higher positivity rates observed in adults compared to children. 2) Although CSF oligoclonal band detection is not a specific diagnostic marker for viral encephalitis in adults, it still holds certain reference value.

Long-chain alkanol-alkyl carboxylic acid-based low-viscosity hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents for one-pot extraction of anthraquinones from Rhei Radix et Rhizoma

Natural long-chain alkanol and alkyl carboxylic acid were used to prepare novel hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents(HDESs).These HDESs are liquid at room temperature and have low viscosity(<12.26 mPa·s),low polarity(lower than that of methanol,ChCl-based deep eutectic solvents and other reported HDESs),and low density(<0.928 g/mL).A simple one-pot method based on a novel HDES-water two-phase extraction system was constructed for the extraction of weak-polarity bioactive components,anthraquinones,from Rhei Radix et Rhizoma.This HDES-based new extraction method does not consume hazardous organic solvents and can obtain a total anthraquinone yield of 21.52 mg/g,which is close to that obtained by the Chinese pharmacopoeia method(21.22 mg/g)and considerably higher than those by other reported HDESs-based extraction methods(14.20-20.09 mg/g,p<0.01).The high extraction yield can be mainly attributed to the severe destruction of the RRR cell walls by the extraction system and the excellent dissolving ability of novel HDESs for anthraquinones.

Isoflavone Attenuates the Nuclear Transcription Factor Kappa B (NF-<i>κ</i>B) Activation on MPP⁺-Induced Apoptosis of PC12 Cells

Objective: To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of cellular response to the challenge by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells, an in vitro cell model for Parkinson’s disease, and the effect of NF-κB activation on the protection of Parkinson’s disease by Isoflavone (I). Methods: PC12 cells were used to establish the cell model of Parkinson’s disease, and are divided into five groups: control group;MPP+ group;I (Isoflavone) + MPP+ group;I group;SN-50 + MPP+ group. The content of NF-κB in PC12 cells was determined by immunocytochemistry;The viability of PC12 cells after treated with cell-permeable NF-κB inhibitor SN-50 and cell viability were measured by MTT assay;the expression levels of NF-κB p65 in cytoplasm and nuclear fractions were evaluated by western blot analysis;the mRNA expression of NF-κB p65 was analyzed by in situ hybridization (ISH). Results: Compared with the control group, the protein of NF-κB p65 both in cytoplasm and in nuclei was significantly higher than in I + MPP+ and MPP+ groups;similarly, the mRNA expression level of NF-κB p65 gene was also significantly higher;moreover, the protein expression of NF-κB p65 was much lower in I group (P + group, the protein of NF-κB p65 was significantly lower in I + MPP+ group, the mRNA expression level of NF-κB p65 gene was also significantly lower, and the protein expression level of NF-κB p65 was much lower in I + MPP+ group (P + group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: NF-κB activation is essential to MPP+-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells;but Isoflavone can inhibit the cell damage to some extent to execute its protective function, which may be involved in nigral neurodegeneration in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Boosting the dimensionality of frequency entanglement using a reconfigurable microring resonator

Integrated quantum frequency combs(QFCs)based on microring resonators supplies as an essential resource for expanding the Hilbert-space dimensionality for high-dimensional quantum computing and information processing.In this work,we propose and demonstrate a reconfigurable ring resonator with tunable quality factors to efficiently increase the dimensionality of frequency entanglement,simultaneously,ensuring a high on-chip pair generation rate(PGR)and coincidence-to-accidental ratio(CAR).Our method exploits the asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer instead of the traditional straight waveguide as the coupler of resonators which offer a tunable external coupling coefficient to modulate the quality factor to enlarge the QFCs’bandwidth and thus increase the dimensionality of frequency entanglement.We measured the QFCs’joint spectral intensity of 28 frequency pairs under various quality factors ranging from 16.6×10^(4) to 3.4×10^(4).Meanwhile,the measured Schmidt number increased from 11.01 to 24.77,denoting a huge expansion of the Hilbert-space dimensionality from 121 to a record number of 613 dimensions,which agrees well with our theoretical calculations.In addition,the PGR and CAR-another two key parameters for high-quality QFCs-were all measured under different quality factors to verify that our method can significantly increase the Schmidt number and CAR while maintaining a high PGR.In fact,bright QFCs with a total PGR of 4.3 MHz under a 0.48 mW pump power and a mean CAR of 1578 were simultaneously obtained at the highest Schmidt number.This method is widely applicable to other material-based ring resonators and can act as a general solution for high-dimensional QFCs.