Review of the potential value of serum interleukin levels as prognostic biomarkers of liver failure

Liver failure(LF)is prevalent in China and is characterized by complex path-ogenesis,challenging clinical management,poor prognosis,and rising incidence and mortality rates.The immune status is an important factor affecting LF prognosis.Interleukins(Ils)are a type of cytokine that act and interact with multiple cells,including immune cells.These signaling molecules play important roles in intercellular information transmission,including the regulation of immune cells;mediation of the activation,proliferation,and differentiation of T and B cells;and orchestration of the inflammatory response.To date,many studies have explored the correlation between IL expression and liver disease prognosis,but few studies have evaluated Ils as the prognostic biomarkers of LF.This article reviews the potential use of Ils as the prognostic biomarkers of LF.Particularly,it evaluates the predictive values of IL-21,IL-22,and IL-31,the three often overlooked yet promising prognostic biomarkers,in predicting suscept-ibility to LF.Harnessing biomarkers for early prognostic insights can facilitate tailored treatment strategies and enhance patient survival.Thus,this article focuses on the identification of IL-21,IL-22,and IL-33 as biomarkers in preclinical and clinical studies on LF and reviews their role as biomarkers in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of LF.

基于场地电动车柔性分配功率充电机的研究与应用

随着场地电动车的广泛应用,其充电需求日益增长,特别是对于内置电池多样性的充电解决方案。针对这一问题,研究并设计了一种非车载低压快速充电机,该充电机能够智能地分配功率,以适应不同电动车的充电需求。首先详细阐述了柔性功率分配的技术原理,以及优化功率分配算法。然后介绍了充电机硬件构成的几个核心模块,包括:主控制器、功率模块(分为前级AC/DC和后级DC/DC)和功率分配单元。最后介绍了充电机的软件业务实现逻辑,通过硬件和软件的综合设计,实现了充电过程的智能化和自动化。该研究的创新之处在于提出了一种新型的快速充电解决方案,通过柔性分配功率,达到减少充电时长,节能增效的目标。

Preoperative inflammation-based markers predict early and late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatectomy

BACKGROUND： Recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） after curative resection remains a major cause of treatment failure and tumor-related death. Patterns of HCC recur- rence can be categorized into early recurrence and late recurrence which have different underlying mechanisms. In this study, we investigated if simple inflammation-based clinical markers can distinguish patterns of recurrence after curative resection of HCC.

Sphingosine kinase 1 knockout alleviates hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury by attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress in mice

Background: Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) injury remains a significant problem in clinical practice. Sphingosine kinase 1(Sph K1) phosphorylates sphingosine to sphingosine-1-phosphate(S1 P) which participates in multiple bioactive processes. However, little is known about the role of Sph K1 in hepatic I/R injury. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Sph K1 knockout on liver I/R injury and to explore underlying mechanisms. Methods: Sph K1 knockout and wild type mice were subjected to 70% partial hepatic I/R. Serum alanine aminotransferase was determined to indicate the degree of liver damage. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and TUNEL assay were used to assess histological changes and hepatocellular apoptosis, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression and translocation of phosphorylated p65 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3). Western blotting was used to determine the expression of S1 P receptor 1(S1 PR1), phosphorylated p65 and STAT3. Real-time PCR was used to demonstrate the changes of proinflammatory cytokines. Oxidative stress markers were also determined through biochemical assays. Results: Sph K1 knockout significantly ameliorated I/R-induced liver damage, mitigated liver tissue necrosis and apoptosis compared with wild type control. I/R associated inflammation was alleviated in Sph K1 knockout mice as demonstrated by attenuated expression of S1 PR1 and reduced phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa B p65 and STAT3. The proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 β, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were also inhibited by Sph K1 genetic deletion. The oxidative stress markers were lower in Sph K1 knockout mice after I/R injury than wild type mice. Conclusions: Knockout of Sph K1 significantly alleviated damage after hepatic I/R injury, possibly through inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress. Sph K1 may be a novel and potent target in clinical practice in I/R-related liver injury.

Theory of mind deficits in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression

AIM:To characterize the two components of theory of mind(ToM) in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression.METHODS:Sixty-five patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression(depressed group) and 62 normal controls(control group) were assessed using reading the mind in the eyes test,faux pas task,verbal fluency test,digit span test and WAIS IQ test.The depressed group was divided into two subgroups including psychotic depressed(PD) group(32 cases) and nonpsychotic depressed(NPD) group(33 cases).The clinical symptoms of patients were assessed using Beck depression inventory version Ⅱ and brief psychiatric reacting scale(BPRS).RESULTS:There was a significant difference between the depressed group and the control group on tasks involving ToM social perceptual components(mind reading:t = 7.39,P < 0.01) and tests involving ToM social cognitive components(faux pas questions:t = 13.75,P < 0.01),respectively.A significant difference was also found among the PD group,the NPD group and the control group on mind reading(F = 32.98,P < 0.01) and faux pas questions(χ 2 = 78.15,P < 0.01),respectively.The PD group and NPD group performed worse than normal group controls both on mind reading and faux pas questions(P < 0.05).The PD group performed significantly worse than the NPD group on tasks involving ToM(mind reading:F = 18.99,P < 0.01;faux pas questions:F = 36.01,P < 0.01).In the depressed group,there was a negative correlation between ToM performances and BPRS total score(mind reading:r =-0.35,P < 0.01;faux pas questions:r =-0.51,P < 0.01),and between ToM performances and hostile suspiciousness factor score(mind reading:r =-0.75,P < 0.01;faux pas questions:r =-0.73,P < 0.01),respectively.CONCLUSION:The two components of ToM are both impaired in patients with esophageal cancer combined with depression.This indicates that there may be an association between ToM deficits and psychotic symptoms in clinical depression.

Preoperative serum liver enzyme markers for predicting early recurrence after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND：Early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）is associated with worse prognosis after liver resection This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of com mon liver enzyme markers in HCC early recurrence after cu rative hepatectomy and to establish a simple predictive model for HCC early recurrence.METHODS： A total of 200 patients who had undergone curative resection for HCC were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into early recurrence （within 2 years） and non-early recurrence groups. Demographical characteristics, preopera- tive liver function parameters, surgical factors and tumor related factors of the patients were assessed by univariate analysis to identify potential significant predictors for early recurrence after resection of HCC. Parameters with statisti- cal significance were entered into a Cox proportional hazard model to find independent risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was done to determine optimal cut-off values and the number of combined factors in multi-factor predictive model. RESULTS： Of 13 potential risk factors for early recurrence identified by univariate analysis, high lactate dehydrogenase （LDH〉206 U/L, HR=1.711, P=0.006）, high aspartate aminotransferase （AST）/alanine aminotransferase （ALT） ratio （AST/ ALT〉0.96, HR=1.769, P=0.006）, elevated alpha-fetoprotein （AFP〉8.6 ng/mL, HR=2.079, P=0.007）, small resection margin （〈1 cm, HR=2.354, P〈0.001） and advanced TNM stage （TNM III-IV, HR=2.164, P〈0.001） were independent risk factors for early recurrence of HCC shown by multivariate analysis. Patients with three or more concurrent independent risk factors had significantly higher risk for early recurrence than those with low risk factors. The sensitivity and specificity of this predictive model are 53.6% and 80.7%, respectively （area under curve=0.741, 95% CI 0.674-0.800, P〈0.0001）. CONCLUSIONS： Preoperative common fiver enzyme markers, LDH and AST/ALT ratio, were independently associated with early recurrence of HCC. The combination of serum liver enzyme markers with AFP, resection margin and TNM stage bet- ter predicted early recurrence of HCC after curative resection in a simple multi-factor model.

口腔扁平苔藓患者外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞组蛋白乙酰化的意义

目的研究口腔扁平苔藓(oral lichen planus,OLP)患者外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞组蛋白乙酰化水平及组蛋白去乙酰化酶(histone deacetylases,HDACs)活性,探讨其在OLP发病中的作用。方法收集2016年8月—2017年1月于南方医科大学口腔医院就诊,经临床及组织病理学诊断为OLP的23例患者(包括11例非糜烂型OLP及12例糜烂型OLP,OLP组)以及10例健康志愿者的外周血(对照组),采用免疫磁珠分离CD4+T淋巴细胞并提取组蛋白和核蛋白,采用ELISA方法检测组蛋白H3/H4乙酰化水平的变化及HDACs活性,并比较分析其在OLP组及对照组的表达差异。结果 OLP组外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞组蛋白H3乙酰化水平低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(u=-2.410,P=0.012),而OLP组与对照组的外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞组蛋白H4乙酰化水平差异无统计学意义(u=-1.412,P=0.158);OLP外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞HDACs活性较对照组高,差异有统计学意义(F=5.749,P=0.023),其中糜烂型OLP研究对象外周血HDACs活性水平高于非糜烂型OLP组(P=0.014)和对照组(P=0.001);OLP组的组蛋白H3乙酰化水平与HDACs酶活性存在负相关关系(rs=-0.771,P<0.001),但健康对照组的组蛋白H3乙酰化水平与HDACs酶活性无相关关系(rs=0.382,P=0.276);OLP组的组蛋白H4乙酰化水平与HDACs酶活性无相关关系(rs=0.149,P=0.498),对照组的组蛋白H4乙酰化水平与HDACs酶活性也无相关关系(rs=0.527,P=0.117)。结论 OLP患者外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞存在组蛋白乙酰化异常且与HDACs活性相关,提示组蛋白乙酰化的表观遗传修饰可能与OLP的发病密切相关。

The synthesis of PROTAC molecule and new target KAT6A identification of CDK9 inhibitor i CDK9

Cyclin-dependent kinases(CDKs) have become potential targets for treating various diseases, especially cancer. Compound i CDK9 is an excellent and selective CDK9 inhibitor, but its major limitation is the potential toxicity and poor understanding of the underlying mechanism. The PROTAC(proteolysis targeting chimera) degraders of bioactive molecules can significantly induce in vitro and in vivo degradation of their target protein with high selectivity and effectively reduce the dose-limiting toxicity of small molecule drugs. Therefore, we designed and synthesized the bifunctional PROTAC molecules of i CDK9, being used for identifying its previously unknown target and revealing the underlying pharmacological mechanism.The PROTAC bifunctional molecule CD-5 could selectively and significantly degrade CDK9 with low cell toxicity. Therefore, we selected CD-5 as a chemical prober in the SILAC quantitative proteomic analysis, which disclosed that CD-5 could enormously lessen the lysine acetyltransferase KAT6A. Furthermore,KAT6A degradation induced by CD-5 repressed the levels of H3K14Ac and H3K23Ac. Lastly, the streptavidin immunoprecipitation(IP) assay confirmed a direct interaction between KAT6A and i CDK9. Collectively, our results uncover that KAT6A is a potential non-kinase target of i CDK9. Notably, this study also demonstrates that the PROTAC-SILAC strategy is an alternative approach for cellular target identification of bioactive molecules.

Correlation between Electroencephalogram Alterations and Frontal Cognitive Impairment in Esophageal Cancer Patients Complicated with Depression

Background：Some esophageal cancer patients complicated with depression exhibit cognitive impairments.Frontal electroencephalogram （EEG） may be used as a reliable biomarker for prefrontal-mediated cognitive functions.This study was to investigate alterations of EEG and frontal cognitive impairment in esophageal cancer patients complicated with depression and to assess their correlation.Methods：Sixty-five esophageal cancer patients with depression （study group） and 62 healthy controls （control group） were included in this study.The study group were assigned into psychotic depressed （PD,n =32） and nonpsychotic depressed （NPD,n =33） subgroups based on complication with psychotic symptoms （Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [BPRS] 〉35）.EEG examination,Beck self-rating depression scale,and BPRS were used to assess clinical symptoms.Chi-square test,two independent sample t-test,one-way analysis of variance,and Kruskal-Wallis test were utilized to compare the variables between two groups.EEG abnormalities and scores of frontal cognitive function test were analyzed by partial correlation analysis in the PD and NPD subgroups.Results：Compared with control group,the study group displayed greater scores either in the Stroop test （19.89 ± 2.05 vs.24.12 ± 2.19,P =0.006） or Color Trails Test （CTT;11.92 ± 1.01 vs.15.02 ± 1.63,P =0.008）,and reduced score （35.05 ± 2.01 vs.32.11 ± 2.38,P =0.007） in the verbal fluency test （VFT）.Compared to NPD subgroup,PD subgroup exhibited increased scores in Stroop test （22.89 ± 2.07 vs.25.38 ± 2.32,P =0.009） and CTT （13.16 ± 1.71 vs.15.82 ± 1.13,P =0.008）.Moreover,increased scores in Stroop test and CTT as well as scores in VFT were associated with the severity of depression.The study group had an abnormal frontal EEG,such as α forward,α asymmetry,α moderation,and increased 0 activity relative to control group.Similarly,compared with NPD subgroup,PD subgroup displayed α forward,α asymmetry,and α moderation.The correlation test revealed that α forward and α asymmetry were negatively associated with VFT score,but positively correlated with the scores of CTT and the Stroop test in PD subgroup.In addition,α asymmetry in NPD subgroup was positively related to CTT scores.Conclusion：This study indicated that frontal cognitive impairment in esophageal cancer patients complicated with depression is associated with EEG alterations.

Synthesis of porous iron hydroxy phosphate from phosphate residue and its application as a Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation

Phosphate residue is a kind of hazardous solid waste and if not properly disposed of, could cause serious environmental contaminations. The abundant iron salt available in phosphate residue can be used to prepare photo-Fenton catalytic reagent for wastewater treatment. In this study, the phosphate residue was effectively purified by a hydrothermal recrystallization method, reaching an iron phosphate purity of 94.2%. The particles of iron phosphate were further processed with ball milling with their average size reduced from 19.4 to 1.6 μm. By hydrothermal crystallization of iron phosphate and thermal decomposition of oxalate precursor, porous iron hydroxy phosphate was prepared. The modified porous iron hydroxy phosphate(m-PIHP) of higher surface area with iron oxalate on its surface can degrade 98.87% of Rhodamine B in 15 min. Cyclic experiment showed that the catalyst still had a good catalytic activity after six cycles( > 40%). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the iron oxalate complex on the catalyst surface decomposed to produce ferrous ions and accelerated the rate of · OH production. The current work demonstrated that the m-PIHP synthesized from phosphate residue and modified with iron oxalate can be used as an effective dye wastewater treatment agent.

高频重复经颅磁刺激联合认知行为治疗对脑卒中后焦虑和抑郁共病状态患者的影响

目的观察高频重复经颅磁刺激(rTMS)联合认知行为治疗对脑卒中后焦虑(PSA)、脑卒中后抑郁(PSD)共病状态患者的影响。方法采用随机数字表法将160例脑卒中后焦虑抑郁状态患者分为对照组和观察组。两组患者均给予脑卒中常规治疗、抗抑郁药物治疗和认知行为治疗,对照组同时给予高频rTMS假刺激治疗,观察组则给予高频rTMS真刺激治疗。观察4周后2组患者抑郁症状、焦虑症状、睡眠质量、日常生活能力改善情况。结果两组患者汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)评分、汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)评分、匹兹堡睡眠指数量表(PSQI)、改良Barthel指数(MBI)在治疗前差异无统计学意义(P均>0.05)。治疗4周后,对照组和观察组的HAMD评分、HAMA评分、PSQI较治疗前下降,差异有统计学意义(P均<0.05),其中观察组下降更为明显,与对照组相比,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。对照组和观察组MBI与治疗前相比,均有明显提高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),而观察组和对照组相比,观察组分数提高更显著,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组治疗有效率为87.50%,高于对照组的71.25%。两组之间差异有统计学意义(Uc=-3.45,P<0.001)。结论高频rTMS治疗联合认知行为治疗和认知行为治疗均能有效改善PSA+PSD患者的焦虑抑郁症状、睡眠质量及日常生活能力,但高频rTMS治疗联合认知行为治疗的效果更加明显。

A Lone Islet or A Center of Communications？ Shanghai in the Indian National Army Movement

Students of modem Chinese history, and modern Shanghai history in particular, tend to view Shanghai as having been a lone islet during the Pacific War when it was cut off from other parts of the world. This article, however, argues that Shanghai was still well connected to areas under the control of the Japanese throughout the war. Using the Sikh community in Shanghai as a case, it demonstrates how the Indian National Army used both a Japanese-initiated military highway and the long-existing Indian diasporic network in Southeast and East Asia to facilitate a certain kind of mobilization. It further sheds light on how the Sikhs in Shanghai were influenced by and responded to the Indian National Army＇s endeavors.

A Depth Video Coding In-Loop Median Filter Based on Joint Weighted Sparse Representation

The existing depth video coding algorithms are generally based on in-loop depth filters, whose performance are unstable and easily affected by the outliers. In this paper, we design a joint weighted sparse representation-based median filter as the in-loop filter in depth video codec. It constructs depth candidate set which contains relevant neighboring depth pixel based on depth and intensity similarity weighted sparse coding, then the median operation is performed on this set to select a neighboring depth pixel as the result of the filtering. The experimental results indicate that the depth bitrate is reduced by about 9% compared with anchor method. It is confirmed that the proposed method is more effective in reducing the required depth bitrates for a given synthesis quality level.