Link between mutations in ACVRL1 and PLA2G4A genes and chronic intestinal ulcers:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Genetic factors of chronic intestinal ulcers are increasingly garnering attention.We present a case of chronic intestinal ulcers and bleeding associated with mu-tations of the activin A receptor type II-like 1(ACVRL1)and phospholipase A2 group IVA(PLA2G4A)genes and review the available relevant literature.CASE SUMMARY A 20-year-old man was admitted to our center with a 6-year history of recurrent abdominal pain,diarrhea,and dark stools.At the onset 6 years ago,the patient had received treatment at a local hospital for abdominal pain persisting for 7 d,under the diagnosis of diffuse peritonitis,acute gangrenous appendicitis with perforation,adhesive intestinal obstruction,and pelvic abscess.The surgical treat-ment included exploratory laparotomy,appendectomy,intestinal adhesiolysis,and pelvic abscess removal.The patient’s condition improved and he was dis-charged.However,the recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and passage of black stools started again one year after discharge.On the basis of these features and results of subsequent colonoscopy,the clinical diagnosis was established as in-flammatory bowel disease(IBD).Accordingly,aminosalicylic acid,immunotherapy,and related symptomatic treatment were administered,but the symptoms of the patient did not improve significantly.Further investigations revealed mutations in the ACVRL1 and PLA2G4A genes.ACVRL1 and PLA2G4A are involved in angiogenesis and coagulation,respectively.This suggests that the chronic intestinal ulcers and bleeding in this case may be linked to mutations in the ACVRL1 and PLA2G4A genes.Oral Kangfuxin liquid was administered to promote healing of the intestinal mucosa and effectively manage clinical symptoms.CONCLUSION Mutations in the ACVRL1 and PLA2G4A genes may be one of the causes of chronic intestinal ulcers and bleeding in IBD.Orally administered Kangfuxin liquid may have therapeutic potential.

儿童髓母细胞瘤的分子遗传学及临床研究进展

髓母细胞瘤(medulloblastoma,MB)是一种常见于儿童后颅窝的恶性胚胎性神经上皮肿瘤。WHO(2016)中枢神经系统肿瘤分类将MB分为4个主要的分子亚型:WNT、SHH、Group3和Group4,这些亚型具有显著异质性。深入了解MB各亚型的组织学及分子特征,对个体化诊治、预后评估具有重要意义。该文就MB的分子遗传学特点及临床研究进展作一综述。

Boxb mediate BALB/c mice corneal inflammation through a TLR4/MyD88-dependent signaling pathway in Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis

AIM： To investigate whether high-mobility group box 1（HMGB1） Boxb exacerbates BALB/c mice corneal immune responses and inflammatory through the Toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）/myeloid differentiation primary response 88（My D88）-dependent signaling pathway in Aspergillus fumigatus（A. fumigatus） keratitis.METHODS： The mice corneas were pretreated with phosphate buffer saline（PBS）, Boxb before A. fumigatus infection. The abdominal cavity extracted macrophages were pretreated with PBS, Boxb, TLR4 inhibitor（CLI-095）, Dimethyl sulfoxide（DMSO） separately before A. fumigatus hyphae stimulation. HMGB1 was detected in normal and infected mice corneas and macrophages by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction（RT-PCR）, the TLR4, My D88, interleukin-1β（IL-1β）, tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α） were detected by Western blot and PCR.RESULTS： In BALB/c mice corneas, the expressions of TLR4, HMGB1, IL-1β, TNF-α were increased after A. fumigatus infection. While pretreatment with Boxb significantly increased the expressions of TLR4, HMGB1, My D88, IL-1β, TNF-α compared with PBS control after infection. In BALB/c mice abdominal cavity extracted macrophages, pretreatment with Boxb increased the expressions of TLR4, HMGB1, My D88, IL-1β, TNF-α, while pretreatment with CLI-095 and Boxb significantly decreased the expressions of TLR4, HMGB1, My D88, IL-1β, TNF-α. CONCLUSION： In A. fumigatus keratitis, Boxb play a proinflammatory role in corneal anti-fungi immune response through the HMGB1-TLR4-My D88 signal pathway.

Short-Term Mindfulness Intervention on Adolescents’ Negative Emotion under Global Pandemic

Objective:In this research,we tried to explore how short-term mindfulness(STM)intervention affects adoles-cents’anxiety,depression,and negative and positive emotion during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design:10 classes were divided into experiment groups(5 classes;n=238)and control(5 classes;n=244)randomly.Hospital Anxi-ety and Depression Scale(HADS)and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule(PANAS)were used to measure par-ticipants’dependent variables.In the experiment group,we conducted STM practice interventions every morning in theirfirst class from March to November 2020.No interventions were conducted in the control group.Methods:Paired-sample t-tests were used to identify if a significant difference exists between every time point of the experimental and control groups.Repeated ANOVA and Growth Mixture Model(GMM)were used to analyze the tendency of positive and negative emotions,anxiety,and depression in the experimental group.Results and Conclusions:(1)With the intervention of STM,there was a significant decrease in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions in the experimental group,whereas there were non-significant differences in the control group.(2)To explore the heterogeneity trajectories of dependent variables,we built a GMM and found there were two latent growth classes in the trajectories.(3)The results of the models showed their trajec-tories were downward,which meant that the levels of anxiety,depression,and negative emotions of participants decreased during the STM training period.Nonetheless,the score of positive affect showed upward in three loops of intervention,which indicated that the level of the participants’positive affect increased through the STM inter-vention.(4)This research indicated that STM should be given increasing consideration to enhance mental health during the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19.

THE WREATH PRODUCT GROUP FOR NMR SPECTRA ANALYSES OF MOLECULA WITH S_4[S_2]SYMMETRY

This paper presents a character table of S_4 wr S_2 wreath product group.Using this character table,~1H or ^(13)C NMR spectra analysis of molecula with S_4[S_2]symmetry,especially simplification of the secular determinant equation will be easy to carry out. Molecules with S_4[S_2]symmetry,are exemplified by octaphenylcyclo- tetrasiloxane and 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine chromium (Ⅲ)chloride.

An improved installation of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl(iHmb)method for chemical protein synthesis

The 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl(Hmb)backbone modification can prevent amide bond-mediated sidereactions(e.g.,aspartimide formation,peptide aggregation)by installing the removable Hmb group into a peptide bond,thus improving the synthesis of long and challenging peptides and proteins.However,its use is largely precluded by the limited Hmb’s installation sites.In this report,an improved installation of Hmb(iHmb)method was developed to achieve the flexible installation and the convenient removal of Hmb.The iHmb method involves two critical steps:(1)oxidative diazotization of the readily installed 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5-amino-benzyl(Hmab)to give 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5-diazonium-benzyl(Hmdab)by combining soamyl nitrite(IAN)/HBF_(4),and(2)reductive elimination of Hmdab to give the desired Hmb by 1,2-ethanedithiol(EDT).The iHmb method enables the installation of Hmb at any primary amino acid including the highly sterically hindered amino acids(e.g.,valine and isoleucine).The practicality and utility of the iHmb method was demonstrated by one-shot solid-phase synthesis of a challenging aspartimide-prone peptide,the mirror-image version of a hydrophobic peptide and a long-chain peptide up to 76-residue.Furthermore,the iHmb method can be utilized to facilitate chemical protein ligation,as exemplified by the synthesis of the single-spanning membrane protein sarcolipin.The iHmb method expands the toolkit for peptide synthesis and ligation and facilitates the preparation of peptides/proteins.

Early use of dexamethasone increases Nr4a1 in Kupffer cells ameliorating acute liver failure in mice in a glucocorticoid receptor-dependent manner

Background and objective:Acute liver failure(ALF)is a type of disease with high mortality and rapid progression with no specific treatment methods currently available.Glucocorticoids exert beneficial clinical effects on therapy for ALF.However,the mechanism of this effect remains unclear and when to use glucocorticoids in patients with ALF is difficult to determine.The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific immunological mechanism of dexamethasone(Dex)on treatment of ALF induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)/D-galactosamine(D-Ga IN)in mice.Methods:Male C57 BL/6 mice were given LPS and D-Ga IN by intraperitoneal injection to establish an animal model of ALF.Dex was administrated to these mice and its therapeutic effect was observed.Hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining was used to determine liver pathology.Multicolor flow cytometry,cytometric bead array(CBA)method,and next-generation sequencing were performed to detect changes of messenger RNA(m RNA)in immune cells,cytokines,and Kupffer cells,respectively.Results:A mouse model of ALF can be constructed successfully using LPS/D-Ga IN,which causes a cytokine storm in early disease progression.Innate immune cells change markedly with progression of liver failure.Earlier use of Dex,at 0 h rather than 1 h,could significantly improve the progression of ALF induced by LPS/D-Ga IN in mice.Numbers of innate immune cells,especially Kupffer cells and neutrophils,increased significantly in the Dex-treated group.In vivo experiments indicated that the therapeutic effect of Dex is exerted mainly via the glucocorticoid receptor(Gr).Sequencing of Kupffer cells revealed that Dex could increase m RNA transcription level of nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1(Nr4 a1),and that this effect disappeared after Gr inhibition.Conclusions:In LPS/D-Ga IN-induced ALF mice,early administration of Dex improved ALF by increasing the numbers of innate immune cells,especially Kupffer cells and neutrophils.Gr-dependent Nr4 a1 upregulation in Kupffer cells may be an important ALF effect regulated by Dex in this process.

Adsorption of Au(Ⅲ) by amino-modified monodispersed PGMA microspheres and deposition of gold nanoparticles

Monodispersed poly（glycidyl methacrylate）（PGMA） microspheres with various amounts of amino groups（PGMA-NH2） were used to adsorb Au（Ⅲ） from simulated wastewaters. Gold nanoparticle-coated PGMA functional microspheres can be directly obtained via the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics follows pseudo-second model, and 10 min is enough for reaching at equilibrium. The adsorption isotherm follows Langmuir model, and the adsorption amounts for Au（Ⅲ） are 8.25 and 21.75 mol·kg^-1 at 298 and 328 K, respectively. The relative separation coefficients between Au（Ⅲ）, Pt（Ⅵ）, Pd（Ⅱ）and Co（Ⅱ）, Cu（Ⅱ）; Ni（Ⅱ）, Fe（Ⅲ） are all higher than 100 when 1 〈 pH 〈 3. Furthermore, the characterization analysis of X-ray diffraction（XRD）, thermogravimetrydifferential scanning calorimetry（TG-DSC）, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy（SEM-EDS）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR） confirms that AuCl4^-has been reduced to Au^0 nanoparticles and deposited onto the surface of PGMA-NH2. The current work shows a good prospect for PGMA-NH2 to be a valid adsorbent for the recovery of gold and the possible fabrication of gold nanoparticles by reduction-deposition process without any reductant.

Ethylene Polymerization with Novel Phenoxy-imine Catalysts Bearing 4-Vinylphenyl Group

This contribution reports ethylene polymerization behavior of titanium complexes incorporating bis（phenoxyimine） ligands. Six phenoxy-imine Ti（IV） complexes {6-R^1-2-[CH=N（2,6-difluoro-3,5-diR^2-4-R^3Ph）]C6H30}2TiCl2 （1： R^1 = H, R^2 = H, R^3 = H; 2： R^1 = H, R^2 = H, R%3 = 4-vinylphenyl; 3： R^1 = CH3, R^2 = H, R^3 = H; 4： R^1 = CH3, R^2 = H, R^3 = 4-vinylphenyl; 5： R^1 = CH3, R^2 = F, R^3 = H; 6： R^1 = CH3, R^2 = F, R^3 = 4-vinylphenyl） have been synthesized and evaluated for ethylene polymerization using dried MAO （simplified as DMAO） as cocatalyst. An obvious catalytic heterogeneity of Cat 2 （Complex 2/DMAO） towards ethylene polymerization was observed, which was illustrated by decreased activity, multi- modal molecular weight distribution and partially improved particle morphology comparing with Cat 1. Moreover, Cat 3 exhibits ＂living＂ characteristics in the process under certain conditions （25 ~C, less than 20 min）. Otherwise, the moderate to high ethylene polymerization activity of ca. 105-106 g PE/（mol Ti＇h） and high molecular weight （Mw = 105-106） of polyethylene can be obtained by changing the skeleton structure of these complexes.

Application of Lie algebraic method to the calculation of rotational spectra for linear triatomic molecules

The Hamiltonian describing rotational spectra of linear triatomic molecules has been derived by using the dynamical Lie algebra of symmetry group U1(4)?U24. After rovibrational interactions being considered, the eigenvalue expression of the Hamiltonian has the form of term value equation commonly used in spectrum analysis. The molecular rotational constants can be obtained by using the expression and fitting it to the observed lines. As an example, the rotational levels ofv 2 band for transition (0200–0110) of molecules N2O and HCN have been fitted and the fitting root-mean-square errors (RMS) are 0.00001 and 0.0014 cm?1, respectively.

Electroacupuncture Improves Blood-Brain Barrier and Hippocampal Neuroinflammation in SAMP8 Mice by Inhibiting HMGB1/TLR4 and RAGE/NADPH Signaling Pathways

Objective: To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of electroacupuncture(EA) in experimental models of Alzheimer’s disease(AD) in vivo. Methods: Senescenceaccelerated mouse prone 8(SAMP8) mice were used as AD models and received EA at Yingxiang(LI 20, bilateral) and Yintang(GV 29) points for 20 days. For certain experiments, SAMP8 mice were injected intravenously with human fibrin(2 mg). The Morris water maze test was used to assess cognitive and memory abilities. The changes of tight junctions of blood-brain barrier(BBB) in mice were observed by transmission electron microscope. The expressions of fibrin, amyloid-β(Aβ), and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1(IBa-1) in mouse hippocampus(CA1/CA3) were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR), Western blot or immunohistochemical staining. The expression of fibrin in mouse plasma was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 and claudin-5 in hippocampus were detected by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining.Apoptosis of hippocampal neurons was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL) staining. Results: Fibrin was time-dependently deposited in the hippocampus of SAMP8mice and this was inhibited by EA treatment(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, EA treatment suppressed the accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice(P<0.01), which was reversed by fibrin injection(P<0.05 or P<0.01). EA improved SAMP8 mice cognitive impairment and BBB permeability(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Moreover, EA decreased reactive oxygen species levels and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of SAMP8mice, which was reversed by fibrin injection(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Mechanistically, EA inhibited the promoting effect of fibrin on the high mobility group box protein 1(HMGB1)/toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) and receptor for advanced glycation end products(RAGE)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH) signaling pathways(P<0.01). Conclusion: EA may potentially improve cognitive impairment in AD via inhibition of fibrin/Aβdeposition and deactivation of the HMGB1/TLR4 and RAGE/NADPH signaling pathways.

Adaptive Delayed Acknowledgement Algorithm for MPEG-4 Traffic in UWB Networks

Although ultra-wideband transmission rates are very high in the physical layer, the bandwidth utilization efficiency is very low in the medium access control （MAC） layer. The bandwidth utilization efficiency can be improved and the quality of service for delay-sensitive variable bit rate traffic such as high rate motion picture experts group （MPEG）-4 traffic can be guaranteed by a simple and efficient algorithm that dynamically sets the burst size of the delayed-acknowledgement （Dly-ACK） based on the I EEE 802.15.3 standard. The burst size was adjusted in response to the wireless channel quality. Furthermore, the burst size was bounded by a maximum acknowledgement burst size setting and the remaining number of un-received blocks of a current supra-block. Simulation results show that the method achieves significant performance enhancement in the job failure rate and throughput compared to immediate-acknowledgement （Imm-ACK） and other fixed burst size Dly-ACK schemes. This algorithm can also be applied in generalized time division multiple access （TDMA） systems by using the block acknowledgement mechanism for delay sensitive traffic.

Electrosynthesis and Characterization of Aminomethyl Functionalized PEDOT with Electrochromic Property

We herein report the electrosynthesis of an aminomethyl functionalized poly（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene）（PEDOT） derivative, poly（2＇-aminomethyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene）（PEDOT-Me NH2）, in CH2Cl2-Bu4NPF6（0.1 mol·L^-1） system containing 2% boron trifluoride diethyl etherate（BFEE）. The electrochemical behavior, structure characterization, thermal properties and surface morphology of this novel polymer were systematically investigated by cyclic voltammetry（CV）, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR）, thermogravimetry（TG） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. Electrochemistry results demonstrated that PEDOT-Me NH2 film displayed good redox properties and high electrochemical stability. Besides, PEDOT-Me NH2 films exhibited the electrochromic nature with obvious color changing from purple in the reduced form to blue upon oxidation. By further investigation, kinetic studies revealed that PEDOT-Me NH2 film had decent contrast ratio（41.8%）, favorable coloration efficiency（152.1 cm^2·C^-1）, low switching voltages and moderate response time（2.4 s）. Satisfactory results implied that the obtained PEDOT-Me NH2 film is a promising optoelectronic material and holds promise for electrochromic devices and display applications.