Dynamically changing antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in granulomatosis with polyangiitis:A case report

BACKGROUND Granulomatosis with polyangiitis(GPA)is one of the most prevalent forms of the antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA)-associated vasculitis.GPA is characterized histologically by necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in addition to vasculitis.The diagnosis of GPA depends on clinical presentation,serological evidence of a positive ANCA,and/or histological evidence of necrotizing vasculitis or granulomatous destructive parenchymal inflammation.Cytoplasmic ANCA(c-ANCA)is positive in 65%-75% of GPA patients,accompanied by proteinase 3(PR3),the main target antigen of c-ANCA,another 5% of GPA patients had negative ANCA.CASE SUMMARY The patient,a 52-year-old male,presented with unexplained nasal congestion,tinnitus,and hearing loss.After a duration of 4 months experiencing these symptoms,the patient subsequently developed fever and headache.The imaging examination revealed the presence of bilateral auricular mastoiditis and partial paranasal sinusitis,and the ANCA results were negative.The anti-infective therapy proved to be ineffective,but the patient's symptoms and fever were quickly relieved after 1 wk of treatment with methylprednisolone 40 mg once a day.However,after continuous use of methylprednisolone tablets for 3 months,the patient experienced a recurrence of fever accompanied by right-sided migraine,positive c-ANCA and PR3,and increased total protein in cerebrospinal fluid.The and cyclophosphamide 0.8 g monthly,the patient experienced alleviation of fever and headache.Additionally,the ANCA levels became negative and there has been no recurrence.CONCLUSION For GPA patients with negative ANCA,there is a potential for early missed diagnosis.The integration of histopathological results and multidisciplinary communication plays a crucial role in facilitating ANCA-negative GPA.

2023年度化学科学部基金项目评审工作综述

本文总结了2023年度化学科学部基金项目评审工作,介绍了化学科学部的项目申请、评审与资助情况,对资助存在的共性问题进行了分析,并提出下一年工作设想。

高校化学实验室精细化管理探析

随着高校化学实验室的不断发展,实验室管理的重要性也体现得愈加明显。精细化管理是实验室管理的一种重要方式,它可以提高实验室的效率和安全性,保证实验室安全、高效地运转。结合化学实验教学的特点和我校教学实际,我们提出了强化实验教学的精细化与全过程管理的理念。本文将从实验室管理的现状、精细化管理的必要性、精细化管理的实施和精细化管理的效果等方面进行探讨。精细化管理重在解决怎样管、管什么和谁来管的问题,通过实施实验室精细化管理将有助于提升实验室管理的效益,进一步助推创新型人才的培养。

Multiphase Interfacial Regulation Based on Hierarchical Porous Molybdenum Selenide to Build Anticorrosive and Multiband Tailorable Absorbers

Electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorbing materials have an irreplaceable position in the field of military stealth as well as in the field of electromagnetic pollution control.And in order to cope with the complex electromagnetic environment,the design of multifunctional and multiband high efficiency EMW absorbers remains a tremendous challenge.In this work,we designed a three-dimensional porous structure via the salt melt synthesis strategy to optimize the impedance matching of the absorber.Also,through interfacial engineering,a molybdenum carbide transition layer was introduced between the molybdenum selenide nanoparticles and the three-dimensional porous carbon matrix to improve the absorption behavior of the absorber.The analysis indicates that the number and components of the heterogeneous interfaces have a significant impact on the EMW absorption performance of the absorber due to mechanisms such as interfacial polarization and conduction loss introduced by interfacial engineering.Wherein,the prepared MoSe_(2)/MoC/PNC composites showed excellent EMW absorption performance in C,X,and Ku bands,especially exhibiting a reflection loss of−59.09 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.96 GHz at 1.9 mm.The coordination between structure and components endows the absorber with strong absorption,broad bandwidth,thin thickness,and multi-frequency absorption characteristics.Remarkably,it can effectively reinforce the marine anticorrosion property of the epoxy resin coating on Q235 steel substrate.This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between interfacial engineering and the performance of EMW absorbers,and provides a reference for the design of multifunctional,multiband EMW absorption materials.

Metal-organic framework-based single-atom electro-/ photocatalysts: Synthesis, energy applications, and opportunities

Single-atom catalysts(SACs)have gained substantial attention because of their exceptional catalytic properties.However,the high surface energy limits their synthesis,thus creating significant challenges for further development.In the last few years,metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)have received significant consideration as ideal candidates for synthesizing SACs due to their tailorable chemistry,tunable morphologies,high porosity,and chemical/thermal stability.From this perspective,this review thoroughly summarizes the previously reported methods and possible future approaches for constructing MOF-based(MOF-derived-supported and MOF-supported)SACs.Then,MOF-based SAC's identification techniques are briefly assessed to understand their coordination environments,local electronic structures,spatial distributions,and catalytic/electrochemical reaction mechanisms.This review systematically highlights several photocatalytic and electrocatalytic applications of MOF-based SACs for energy conversion and storage,including hydrogen evolution reactions,oxygen evolution reactions,O_(2)/CO_(2)/N_(2) reduction reactions,fuel cells,and rechargeable batteries.Some light is also shed on the future development of this highly exciting field by highlighting the advantages and limitations of MOF-based SACs.

Conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells treats spinal cord injury by inhibiting microglial pyroptosis

Human dental pulp stem cell transplantation has been shown to be an effective therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury.However,whether the human dental pulp stem cell secretome can contribute to functional recovery after spinal cord injury remains unclear.In the present study,we established a rat model of spinal cord injury based on impact injury from a dropped weight and then intraperitoneally injected the rats with conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells.We found that the conditioned medium effectively promoted the recovery of sensory and motor functions in rats with spinal cord injury,decreased expression of the microglial pyroptosis markers NLRP3,GSDMD,caspase-1,and interleukin-1β,promoted axonal and myelin regeneration,and inhibited the formation of glial scars.In addition,in a lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 microglia model,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells protected cells from pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway.These results indicate that conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells can reduce microglial pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway,thereby promoting the recovery of neurological function after spinal cord injury.Therefore,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells may become an alternative therapy for spinal cord injury.

双极膜/疏水透气膜-电化学体系高效去除废水中氨氮的研究

氨氮作为地表水和地下水中的主要污染物之一,其形态受水体pH影响。针对废水中氨氮处理过程的pH依赖性问题,利用双极膜在电化学反应过程中H~+/OH~-稳定生成的特性,构建了双极膜/疏水透气膜-电化学(BPM/GPM-EC)体系。该体系通过电化学分离(回收)和氧化(降解)两种工艺的结合,实现了高效的氨氮去除效率。当初始氨氮浓度为4 000 mg·L^(-1)时,在电流密度10 mA·cm^(-2)条件下,BPM/GPM-EC间歇式(以回收为目的)运行5 h后,废水中氨氮去除率达到99.3%,回收率为92.3%,比能耗为18.2 kW·h·kg^(-1) N。而BPM/GPM-EC采用连续式(氨氮回收/氧化协同进行)运行处理含4 000 mg·L^(-1)氨氮的模拟废水,在0.28 mL·min^(-1)流速条件下,可实现76.2%的氨氮回收率及废水中氨氮的全部去除,比能耗仅为14.9 kW·h·kg^(-1) N。研究结果表明,BPM/GPM-EC体系通过集成氨氮的分离与氧化,实现了废水中氨氮的低耗高效处理,为含氨废水的治理探索出了一条新途径。

青贮玉米新品种临青1号配套栽培技术

临青1号是由临沧市种子管理站和四川农业大学以自育系XL8242为母本、自育系XL1449为父本杂交选育的青贮玉米单交种。2021-2022年在云南省开展多点区域试验和生产试验,2年区域试验每667m2平均产量(干重)1520.5kg,生产试验平均产量(干重)1493.3kg,高抗灰斑病、大斑病、小斑病、纹枯病,抗茎腐病,中抗南方锈病、普通锈病。2023年通过云南省农作物品种审定委员会审定,审定编号:滇审玉米2023162号。阐述了临青1号的特征特性、产量表现及配套栽培技术措施,为青贮玉米的选育和推广种植提供参考。

硼酸锌/三氧化二锑/可膨胀石墨协同体系阻燃氯丁橡胶及作用机理

为了提高氯丁橡胶(CR)的阻燃及抑烟性能,以硼酸锌(ZnB)、三氧化二锑(Sb_(2)O_(3))和膨胀石墨(EG)为复合阻燃体系,制备了阻燃CR复合材料。通过极限氧指数测定仪、垂直燃烧测定仪、热失重分析、锥形量热测试仪等进行性能表征。结果表明,当引入17 phr ZnB、3 phr Sb_(2)O_(3)与7 phr EG到阻燃CR体系,CR/ZnB/Sb_(2)O_(3)-7EG氧指数可达到39.7%,并通过UL94 V0级,热释放峰值及总热释放量降低了约84.0%和44.3%,CO和CO_(2)产量也分别降低了52.0%和80.3%,明显抑制毒性气体的释放。此外,对残炭和气相产物的分析表明,该复合体系以气-固相机理为主,在CR复合材料中表现出良好的协同阻燃效应。

铋牺牲法制备石墨烯负载Fe-N单原子位点增效氧还原催化和锌-空气电池性能

催化氧反应(ORR)是锌空电池和氢燃料电池能量转化的关键过程,然而其反应速率往往较低,因此开发高活性且耐久的催化材料至关重要.当前,研发低成本、高效率且稳定的氧还原催化剂已成为国内外的研究热点.其中,富含金属-氮-碳活性位点的低成本ORR催化材料,因其具有替代贵金属的潜力,成为重要的候选材料.然而,在制备这类催化剂时,所用分子前驱体在热解过程中易团聚形成金属基硬颗粒,如何减少热解过程中金属成分的自发聚集和不良副产物的生成,提高活性单原子的利用率,特别是在使用廉价分子前驱体(如三聚氰胺和铁盐)时,仍面临挑战.本研究旨在探索有效的制备策略,以优化催化剂性能,推动其在能源转换领域的应用.本文报道了一种以硝酸铋为牺牲剂,石墨烯为导电载体,通过热解廉价的三聚氰胺和铁盐,合成石墨烯负载丰富Fe-N-C活性位点催化剂的新方法.该方法中硝酸铋前驱体高温热解生成的铋铁合金或氧化铋因表面没有碳层,而容易被热酸除去,形成更多的可接近的FeNx活性位点,从而有效地抑制铁基颗粒和管状碳结构的形成,实现了催化剂的高效合成.双球差矫正电镜、X-射线光电子能谱和X-射线吸收结构光谱等表征证明,铋化合物去除后留下空位被铁原子取代,增加了Fe-N-C位点密度,并且铁以单原子活性位形式存在.实验结果表明,所制备的催化剂表现出高氧还原性能,在碱性和酸性条件下的半波电位分别为0.916和0.784 V.石墨烯基催化剂的动力学电流密度(0.9 V vs.RHE)达到10.41 mA cm^(-2),是不加铋化合物样品的6倍,贵金属Pt/C催化剂的4倍.此外,催化剂的塔菲尔斜率为59 mV dec^(-1),低于不加铋化合物样品(80 mV dec^(-1))、不加石墨烯样品(93 mV dec^(-1))、无金属样品(88 mV dec^(-1))和Pt/C(80 mV dec^(-1)).在0.1 mol L^(-1) KOH条件下,催化剂循环10000圈后,半波电位仅衰减15 mV,低于Pt/C(36 mV)和无铋对照样(20 mV),表明催化剂具有较好的稳定性.由于电化学法制备的石墨烯比热解法制备的非晶碳具有更好的耐腐蚀性,从而可以提高阴极氧还原的稳定性.另外,所制备的催化剂应用在锌-空气电池中时,最大功率密度可达201.4 mW cm-2,且循环1000次后电池电压几乎没有衰减.综上,本研究通过引入铋化合物,显著提升了廉价前驱物铁-三聚氰胺的金属单原子化效率.利用电化学法合成了石墨烯负载的Fe-N-C催化活性位,制备出高活性、高稳定的催化剂.将该低成本催化剂应用于锌-空气电池的阴极,其表现出良好的长循环性能.本研究为制备低成本、高性能的金属-氮-碳基电催化剂提供了新思路.

D-Psicose intake exacerbates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice through alteration in the gut microbiota and dysfunction of mucosal barrier

D-Psicose,as a low-calorie rare sugar,has attracted a lot of attention in recent years for alternating to sucrose.The anti-obesity effect of D-psicose has been extensively confirmed in previous studies,however,the impact of D-psicose on colitis remains vague.Here,we firstly evaluated the effect of the D-psicose prophylactic intervention on dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in C57BL/6 mice.The pathological symptoms,inflammatory cytokines levels,gut microbiota composition,short chain fatty acids(SCFAs)production and colonic barrier integrity were comprehensively evaluated.The results confirmed that D-psicose intervention aggravated colitis,characterized by the exacerbation of colon shortening,increase of colonic inflammatory infiltration,and marked exaltation of disease activity indices and IL-6,IL-1βand TNF-αlevels.Further,the dysfunction of gut microbiota was identified in the psicose group.The abundance of pro-inflammatory bacteria Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group was significantly up-regulated while the abundance of probiotics Akkermansia and Lactobacillus were significantly down-regulated in the psicose group compared to the model group.Moreover,the production of SCFAs was suppressed in the psicose group,accompanied by a decrease in the level of mucin 2(Muc-2).Collectively,the underlying mechanism of the exacerbation of colitis by D-psicose intervention might be attributed to microbiota dysfunction accompanied by the reduction of SCFAs,which leads to the damage of the mucosal barrier and the intensifi cation of inflammatory invasion.

Nomogram based on liver stiffness and spleen area with ultrasound for posthepatectomy liver failure:A multicenter study

BACKGROUND Liver stiffness(LS)measurement with two-dimensional shear wave elastography(2D-SWE)correlates with the degree of liver fibrosis and thus indirectly reflects liver function reserve.The size of the spleen increases due to tissue proliferation,fibrosis,and portal vein congestion,which can indirectly reflect the situation of liver fibrosis/cirrhosis.It was reported that the size of the spleen was related to posthepatectomy liver failure(PHLF).So far,there has been no study combining 2D-SWE measurements of LS with spleen size to predict PHLF.This prospective study aimed to investigate the utility of 2D-SWE assessing LS and spleen area(SPA)for the prediction of PHLF in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)patients and to develop a risk prediction model.AIM To investigate the utility of 2D-SWE assessing LS and SPA for the prediction of PHLF in HCC patients and to develop a risk prediction model.METHODS This was a multicenter observational study prospectively analyzing patients who underwent hepatectomy from October 2020 to March 2022.Within 1 wk before partial hepatectomy,ultrasound examination was performed to measure LS and SPA,and blood was drawn to evaluate the patient’s liver function and other conditions.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify independent predictors of PHLF and develop a nomogram.Nomogram performance was validated further.The diagnostic performance of the nomogram was evaluated with receiver operating charac-teristic curve compared with the conventional models,including the model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)score and the albumin-bilirubin(ALBI)score.RESULTS A total of 562 HCC patients undergoing hepatectomy(500 in the training cohort and 62 in the validation cohort)were enrolled in this study.The independent predictors of PHLF were LS,SPA,range of resection,blood loss,international normalized ratio,and total bilirubin.Better diagnostic performance of the nomogram was obtained in the training[area under receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC):0.833;95%confidence interval(95%CI):0.792-0.873;sensitivity:83.1%;specificity:73.5%]and validation(AUC:0.802;95%CI:0.684-0.920;sensitivity:95.5%;specificity:52.5%)cohorts compared with the MELD score and the ALBI score.CONCLUSION This PHLF nomogram,mainly based on LS by 2D-SWE and SPA,was useful in predicting PHLF in HCC patients and presented better than MELD score and ALBI score.

Gastric cancer secreted miR 214-3p inhibits the anti-angiogenesis effect of apatinib by suppressing ferroptosis in vascular endothelial cells

Diferent from necrosis,apoptosis,autophagy and other forms of cell death,ferroptosis is a mechanism that catalyzes lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated ftty acids under the action of iron divalent or lipoxygenase,leading to cell death.Apatinib is currently used in the third line standard treatment of advanced gastric cancer,targeting the anti-angiogenesis pathway.However,Apatinib mediated ferroptosis in vascular endothelial cells has not been reported yet.Tumor.secreted exosomes can be taken up into target cells to regulate tumor development,but the mechanism related to vascular endothelial cell ferroptosis has not yet been discovered.Here,we show that exosomes secreted by gastric cancer cells carry miR-214.3p into vascular endothelial cells and directdy target zinc finger protein A20 to negatively regulate ACSL4,a key enzyme of lipid peroxidation during frroptosis thereby inhibiting ferroptosis in vascular endothelial cells and reducing the eficiency of Apatinib.In conclusion,inhibition of miR-214-3p can increase the sensitivity of vascular endothelial cells to Apatinib,thereby promoting the antiangiogenic efect of Apatinib,suggesting a potential combination therapy for advanced gastric cancer.

Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2) Josephson junction fabricated with a focused helium ion beam

Josephson junction plays a key role not only in studying the basic physics of unconventional iron-based superconductors but also in realizing practical application of thin-film based devices,therefore the preparation of high-quality iron pnictide Josephson junctions is of great importance.In this work,we have successfully fabricated Josephson junctions from Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2)thin films using a direct junction fabrication technique which utilizes high energy focused helium ion beam(FHIB).The electrical transport properties were investigated for junctions fabricated with various He^(+)irradiation doses.The junctions show sharp superconducting transition around 24 K with a narrow transition width of 2.5 K,and a dose correlated foot-structure resistance which corresponds to the effective tuning of junction properties by He^(+)irradiation.Significant J_c suppression by more than two orders of magnitude can be achieved by increasing the He^(+)irradiation dose,which is advantageous for the realization of low noise ion pnictide thin film devices.Clear Shapiro steps are observed under 10 GHz microwave irradiation.The above results demonstrate the successful fabrication of high quality and controllable Co-doped BaFe_(2)As_(2)Josephson junction with high reproducibility using the FHIB technique,laying the foundation for future investigating the mechanism of iron-based superconductors,and also the further implementation in various superconducting electronic devices.

Generation of structured light beams with polarization variation along arbitrary spatial trajectories using tri-layer metasurfaces

Conventionally,the spatially structured light beams produced by metasurfaces primarily highlight the polarization modulation of the beams propagating along the optical axis or the beams'spatial transmission trajectory.In particular,along the optical axis,the polarization state is either constant or varies continuously in each output plane.Here,we develop innovative spatially structured light beams with continually changing polarization along any arbitrary spatial transmission trajectories.With tri-layer metallic metasurfaces,the geometric characteristics of each layer structure can be adjusted to modulate the phase and polarization state of the incident terahertz(THz)wave.The beam will converge to the predefined trajectory along several paths to generate a Bessel-like beam with longitudinal polarization changes.We demonstrate the versatility of the approach by designing two THz-band structured light beams with varying polarization states along the spatial helical transmission trajectory.Continuous linear polarization changes and linear polarization to right circular polarization(RCP)and back to linear polarization changes are realized respectively.The experimental results are basically consistent with the simulated results.Our proposal for arbitrary trajectory structured light beams with longitudinally varying polarization offers a practical method for continuously regulating the characteristics of spatial structured light beams with non-axial transmission.This technique has potential uses in optical encryption,particle manipulation,and biomedical imaging.

Lymphatic plastic bronchitis and primary chylothorax: A study based on computed tomography lymphangiography

BACKGROUND This study presents an evaluation of the computed tomography lymphangio-graphy(CTL)features of lymphatic plastic bronchitis(PB)and primary chylotho-rax to improve the diagnostic accuracy for these two diseases.AIM To improve the diagnosis of lymphatic PB or primary chylothorax,a retrospective analysis of the clinical features and CTL characteristics of 71 patients diagnosed with lymphatic PB or primary chylothorax was performed.METHODS The clinical and CTL data of 71 patients(20 with lymphatic PB,41 with primary chylothorax,and 10 with lymphatic PB with primary chylothorax)were collected retrospectively.CTL was performed in all patients.The clinical manifestations,CTL findings,and conventional chest CT findings of the three groups of patients were compared.The chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare the differences among the three groups.A difference was considered to be statistically significant when P<0.05.RESULTS(1)The percentages of abnormal contrast medium deposits on CTL in the three groups were as follows:Thoracic duct outlet in 14(70.0%),33(80.5%)and 8(80.0%)patients;peritracheal region in 18(90.0%),15(36.6%)and 8(80.0%)patients;pleura in 6(30.0%),33(80.5%)and 9(90.0%)patients;pericardium in 6(30.0%),6(14.6%)and 4(40.0%)patients;and hilum in 16(80.0%),11(26.8%)and 7(70.0%)patients;and(2)the abnormalities on conven-tional chest CT in the three groups were as follows:Ground-glass opacity in 19(95.0%),18(43.9%)and 8(80.0%)patients;atelectasis in 4(20.0%),26(63.4%)and 7(70.0%)patients;interlobular septal thickening in 12(60.0%),11(26.8%)and 3(30.0%)patients;bronchovascular bundle thickening in 14(70.0%),6(14.6%)and 4(40.0%)patients;localized mediastinal changes in 14(70.0%),14(34.1%),and 7(70.0%)patients;diffuse mediastinal changes in 6(30.0%),5(12.2%),and 3(30.0%)patients;cystic lesions in the axilla in 2(10.0%),6(14.6%),and 2(20.0%)patients;and cystic lesions in the chest wall in 0(0%),2(4.9%),and 2(4.9%)patients.CONCLUSION CTL is well suited to clarify the characteristics of lymphatic PB and primary chylothorax.This method is an excellent tool for diagnosing these two diseases.

Low-temperature characteristicsof rubbers and performance testsof type 120 emergencyvalve diaphragms

Purpose–The type 120 emergency valve is an essential braking component of railway freight trains,butcorresponding diaphragms consisting of natural rubber(NR)and chloroprene rubber(CR)exhibit insufficientaging resistance and low-temperature resistance,respectively.In order to develop type 120 emergency valverubber diaphragms with long-life and high-performance,low-temperatureresistant CR and NR were processed.Design/methodology/approach–The physical properties of the low-temperature-resistant CR and NRwere tested by low-temperature stretching,dynamic mechanical analysis,differential scanning calorimetryand thermogravimetric analysis.Single-valve and single-vehicle tests of type 120 emergency valves werecarried out for emergency diaphragms consisting of NR and CR.Findings–The low-temperature-resistant CR and NR exhibited excellent physical properties.The elasticityand low-temperature resistance of NR were superior to those of CR,whereas the mechanical properties of thetwo rubbers were similar in the temperature range of 0℃–150℃.The NR and CR emergency diaphragms metthe requirements of the single-valve test.In the low-temperature single-vehicle test,only the low-temperaturesensitivity test of the NR emergency diaphragm met the requirements.Originality/value–The innovation of this study is that it provides valuable data and experience for futuredevelopment of type 120 valve rubber diaphragms.

分析化学课程思政建设的举措

为全面推进课程思政建设,实施教学改革势在必行。本文基于分析化学学科特点以及课程培养目标,从提高教师思政教育能力、构建课程思政体系、深挖分析化学课程思政元素、优化教学评价四个方面出发,提出了全面推进分析化学课程思政建设的一些举措,以促进课程思政有效融入课堂。将思政教育与专业知识进行融合,有利于学生在掌握分析化学理论知识和操作技能的同时,培养以爱国主义为核心的民族精神和以改革创新为核心的时代精神,树立唯物主义的辩证思维、严谨认真和求真务实的科学态度、科学发展观等,形成广泛的课程思政理念共识并深入人心,从而实现教书与育人、立德与树人的有机统一。

Upregulation of circ0000381 atienuates microglial/macrophage pyroptosis after spinal cord injury

Neuroinflammation exacerbates secondary damage after spinal cord injury,while microglia/macrophage pyroptosis is important to neuroinflammation.Circular RNAs(circRNAs)play a role in the central nervous system.However,the functional role and mechanism of circRNAs in regulating microglia/macrophage pyroptosis after spinal cord injury are still poorly studied.In the present study,we detected microglia/macrophage pyroptosis in a female rat model of spinal cord injury,along with upregulated levels of circ0000381 in the spinal cord.Our further experimental results suggest that circ0000381 may function as a sponge to sequester endogenous microRNA423-3p(miR-423-3p),which can increase the expression of NOD-like receptor 3(NLRP3),a pyroptosis marker.Therefore,upregulation of circ0000381 may be a compensatory change after spinal cord injury to attenuate microglia/macrophage pyroptosis.Indeed,knockdown of circ0000381 expression exacerbated microglia/macrophage pyroptosis.Collectively,our findings provide novel evidence for the upregulation of circ0000381,which may serve as a neuroprotective mechanism to attenuate microglia/macrophage pyroptosis after spinal cord injury.Accordingly,circ0000381 may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

Model informed precision medicine of Chinese herbal medicines formulas-A multi-scale mechanistic intelligent model

Recent trends suggest that Chinese herbal medicine formulas(CHM formulas)are promising treatments for complex diseases.To characterize the precise syndromes,precise diseases and precise targets of the precise targets between complex diseases and CHM formulas,we developed an artificial intelligence-based quantitative predictive algorithm(DeepTCM).DeepTCM has gone through multilevel model calibration and validation against a comprehensive set of herb and disease data so that it accurately captures the complex cellular signaling,molecular and theoretical levels of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).As an example,our model simulated the optimal CHM formulas for the treatment of coronary heart disease(CHD)with depression,and through model sensitivity analysis,we calculated the balanced scoring of the formulas.Furthermore,we constructed a biological knowledge graph representing interactions by associating herb-target and gene-disease interactions.Finally,we experimentally confirmed the therapeutic effect and pharmacological mechanism of a novel model-predicted intervention in humans and mice.This novel multiscale model opened up a new avenue to combine“disease syndrome”and“macro micro”system modeling to facilitate translational research in CHM formulas.