Acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a critical respiratory syndrome with limited effective interventions. Lung macrophages play a critical role in the pathogenesis of abnormal inflammatory response in the syndrome. Recently, impaired fatty acid oxidation (FAO), one of the key lipid metabolic signalings, was found to participate in the onset and development of various lung diseases, including ALI/ARDS. Lipid/fatty acid contents within mouse lungs were quantified using the Oil Red O staining. The protective effect of FAO activator L-carnitine (Lca, 50, 500, or 5 mg/mL) was evaluated by cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) assay, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), ELISA, immunoblotting, fluorescence imaging, and fluorescence plate reader detection in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/mL)-stimulated THP-1-derived macrophages. The in vivo efficacy of Lca (300 mg/kg) was determined in a 10 mg/kg LPS-induced ALI mouse model. We found for the first time that lipid accumulation in pulmonary macrophages was significantly increased in a classical ALI murine model, which indicated disrupted FAO induced by LPS. Lca showed potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects on THP-1 derived macrophages upon LPS stimulation. Mechanistically, Lca was able to maintain FAO, mitochondrial activity, and ameliorate mitochondrial dynamics. In the LPS-induced ALI mouse model, we further discovered that Lca inhibited neutrophilic inflammation and decreased diffuse damage, which might be due to the preservation of mitochondrial homeostasis. These results broadened our understanding of ALI/ARDS pathogenesis and provided a promising drug candidate for this syndrome.

Abstract Poor storage stability of Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim. oleoresin (Z. piasezkii. oleoresin), a viscous fluid extracted from Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim. has limited its utilization in downstream products. The formation of microemulsion (ME) was expected as an ideal protocol for enhanced storage stability of Z. piasezkii. oleoresin, which was developed using polyethylene glycol 400 dioleate (PEG400DO) as surfactant and 1,2-propylene glycol (1,2-PG) as cosurfactant. An improvement in ME area, viscosity, and surface tension was found in one system compared to other formulations, with 37.54% of microemulsion formation area, a viscosity value of 242.17 mPa.s, and surface tension of 29.75 mN/m. This ME consisted of 40 wt% essential oil, 1.59 wt% surfactant mixture (3:1 (m:m) of 1,2-PG and PEG400DO), and 58.41 wt% Z. piasezkii. oleoresin. Additionally, this system exhibits steady performance, demonstrating the potential of a blend of surfactants-based ME as stable system for the utilization of Z. piasezkii. oleoresin as savory flavor.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Although mechanical ventilation is an essential support for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), ventilation also leads to ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). This study aimed to estimate the effect and mechanism of Annexin A1 peptide (Ac2-26) on VILI in ARDS rats. Methods: Thirty-two rats were randomized into the sham (S), mechanical ventilation (V), mechanical ventilation/Ac2-26 (VA), and mechanical ventilation/Ac2-26/L-NIO (VAL) groups. The S group only received anesthesia, and the other three groups received endotoxin and then ventilation for 4 h. Rats in the V, VA and VAL groups received saline, Ac2-26, and A c2-26/N5-(1-iminoethyl)-l-ornithine (L-NIO), respectively. Results: All indexes deteriorated in the V, VA and VAL groups compared with the S group. Compared with V group, the PaO2/FiO2 ratio was increased, but the wet-to-dry weight ratio and protein levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were decreased in the VA group. The inflammatory cells and proinflammatory factors were reduced by Ac2-26. The oxidative stress response, lung injury and apoptosis were also decreased by Ac2-26 compared to V group. All improvements of Ac2-26 were partly reversed by L-NIO. Conclusions: Ac2-26 mitigates VILI in ARDS rats and partly depended on the endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway.

RESUMEN Con base en los datos HJ-1A HSI y Landsat-8 OLI, los experimentos de fusión de imágenes RS se llevaron a cabo utilizando tres métodos de fusión: transformación de componente principal (PC), transformación de Gram Schimdt (GS) y algoritmo de difusión vecina más cercana (NND). Se seleccionaron cuatro índices de evaluación, desviación estándar, entropía de información y gradiente promedio, para evaluar los resultados de fusión de los aspectos de brillo de imagen, claridad y contenido de información. La vegetación de humedales se clasificó por mapeo de ángulo espectral (SAM) para encontrar un método de fusión adecuado para la extracción de información de vegetación de humedales. Los resultados muestran que la imagen de fusión de PC contiene la mayor cantidad de información, la imagen de fusión GS tiene ciertas ventajas en el mantenimiento del brillo y la claridad, y el método de fusión NND puede retener las características espectrales de la imagen al máximo. Entre los tres métodos de fusión, la transformación de PC es la más adecuada para la extracción de información de humedales. Puede retener más información espectral al tiempo que mejora la resolución espacial, con una precisión de clasificación del 89,24% y un coeficiente Kappa de 0,86.

ABSTRACT Based on HJ-1A HSI data and Landsat-8 OLI data, RS image fusion experiments were carried out using three fusion methods: principal component (PC) transform, Gram Schimdt (GS) transform and nearest neighbor diffusion (NND) algorithm. Four evaluation indexes, namely mean, standard deviation, information entropy and average gradient, were selected to evaluate the fusion results from the aspects of image brightness, clarity and information content. Wetland vegetation was classified by spectral angle mapping (SAM) to find a suitable fusion method for wetland vegetation information extraction. The results show that PC fusion image contains the largest amount of information, GS fusion image has certain advantages in brightness and clarity maintenance, and NND fusion method can retain the spectral characteristics of the image to the maximum extent; among the three fusion methods, PC transform is the most suitable for wetland information extraction. It can retain more spectral information while improving spatial resolution, with classification accuracy of 89.24% and Kappa coefficient of 0.86.

Abstract Parthenogenetically activated oocytes cannot develop to term in mammals owing to abnormal epigenetic modifications. Methylation of the N6 position of adenosine (m6A) is a post-transcriptional epigenetic modification of RNA. To investigate the role of m6A methylation in parthenogenetic (PA) embryonic development, we analyzed METTL3, METTL14, FTO, ALKBH5, YTHDF2, IGF2BP1, and IGF2BP2 expression by quantitative real-time PCR. These genes were found dynamically expressed during the 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, and blastocyst stages of the embryo. Compared to normally fertilized embryos, the expression of these genes was perturbed in PA embryos, especially at the 8-cell stage. Furthermore, immunofluorescence was used to detect m6A expression. The results demonstrated that m6A expression decreased in the 2-cell stage, whereas it increased in the 8-cell stage of PA embryos. Taken together, these results suggest that the expression of RNA methylation-related genes was perturbed, leading to abnormal m6A modification during early development in PA embryos.

Duplex Ni-P-TiO2/Ni-P coatings were electrodeposited onto brass substrates. High phosphorus Ni-P coatings were plated as the inner layer to improve the corrosion resistance, while low phosphorus sol-enhanced Ni-P-TiO2 coatings were deposited on the top to strengthen the mechanical property. The microstructure, morphology, mechanical property and corrosion resistance of coatings were investigated systematically. The results show that duplex coatings exhibit both excellent mechanical property and good corrosion resistance. The hardness was further improved from ~545 HV50 of duplex Ni-P/Ni-P coating to ~622 HV50 of duplex Ni-P-12.5mL/L TiO2/Ni-P coating, while the hardness of single Ni-P coating was only ~387 HV50. The corrosion resistance of duplex coatings improved significantly by adding a suitable amount of TiO2 sol. Duplex Ni-P-12.5mL/L TiO2/Ni-P coating presented the highest corrosion resistance. However, adding excessive quantities of sol (more than 12.5mL/L) caused nanoparticle agglomeration and created a porous structure in the outer layer, deteriorating the properties of coatings.

OBJECTIVES: Minimally invasive paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy is a technique that should be learned by all surgical trainees and residents. This study aimed to develop a self-made training model for paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy and placement of the suprapubic catheter and then to evaluate its effectiveness in training fourth-year medical students. METHODS: Medical students were divided into an experimental group receiving comprehensive training involving literature, video, and model use and a control group receiving all the same training protocols as the experimental group except without hands-on practice using the model. Each student’s performance was video-recorded, followed by subjective and objective evaluations by urology experts and statistical analysis. RESULTS: All students completed the surgical procedures successfully. The experimental group’s performance scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (median final performance scores of 91.0 vs. 86.8, respectively). Excellent scores were achieved by more students in the experimental group than in the control group (55% vs. 20%), and fewer poor scores were observed in the experimental group than in the control group (5% vs. 30%). CONCLUSIONS: Based on its cost-effectiveness, reusability, and training effectiveness, this paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy training model is able to achieve goals in teaching practice quickly and easily. Use of the model should be encouraged for training senior medical students and resident physicians who may be expected to perform emergent suprapubic catheter insertion at some time.

ABSTRACT This study examined the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and clonal complex (CC) characteristics of serogroup 6 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates collected from children in Beijing, China, between 1997 and 2016. Serotypes were determined using the Quellung reaction, and the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the isolates were determined using the disc-diffusion method or by E-test. Sequence types (STs) were assigned based on multilocus sequence typing. A total of 250 isolates were examined, with 55.2%, 30.0%, 12.8%, and 2.0% of isolates identified as serotypes 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D, respectively. All of the isolates were susceptible to levofloxacin and vancomycin, and the non-suceptibitility rate to penicillin was 41.6%. Eighty-two distinct STs, assigned to 13 CCs and 28 singletons, were identified. CC982 was the most prevalent CC amongst serotype 6A isolates (34%), followed by CC9789 and CC3173. Amongst serotype 6B isolates, CC90 and CC4542 were the most common, accounting for 25.3% and 14.7% of isolates respectively. Over the study period, the prevalence of CC982, CC4542, and CC4536 isolates showing susceptibility to penicillin and cefuroxime decreased, and the proportion of CC3173, CC9789, CC855, and CC902 isolates showing non-susceptibility to these two antibiotics increased.

The topological index of a molecular structure correlate certain physicochemical properties such as boiling point and stability of that molecular structure. Recently several topological indices have been introduced and studies have shown their association with certain physical and chemical properties of other molecules. Specifically, Zagreb, Atom-bound connectivity (ABC) and Sanskruti indices have been correlated with extent of branching, enthalpy and entropy of some organic molecules. In this study we have calculated Zagreb, Atom-bound connectivity (ABC) and Sanskruti indices (S) for Copper (I) oxide and Copper (II) oxide CuO. Additionally, from the experimentally available data, we calculated entropy and enthalpy per unit cell for both the oxides and compared with Atom-bound connectivity and Sanskruti indices. It appears that these indices have very poor relation with these physical properties in both oxides of copper and they may need some modifications to show considerable compliance as reported in other organic molecules."

Nano CuO and alkane surfactant modified phenol Formaldehyde (PF) resins were applied to manufacture plywood, and physical and mechanical properties, such as shear strength, tensile property, modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), as well as termite resistance were evaluated. The result showed that the combination of nano CuO and alkane surfactantplayed different effect on tensile strength, and especially on shear strength as evaluated at different test conditions. But it was confirmed to improve the water resistance of treated plywood specimens. The introduction of nano CuO and surfactant did not influence the flexural properties significantly by statistically. The result of termite tests indicated that the weight loss decreases gradually from 31,12% to less than 10,37%, and the mortality increases from 32,61% to higher than 86,35%. And the AWPA rating also rises from 4 (very severe attack) to 7 (moderate attack).

The variation in mutations in exons 3, 6, 7, 11 and 12 of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene was investigated in 59 children with phenylketonuria (PKU) and 100 normal children. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected by sequence analysis. The mutational frequencies of cDNA 696, cDNA 735 and cDNA 1155 in patients were 96.2%, 76.1% and 7.6%, respectively, whereas in healthy children the corresponding frequencies were 97.0%, 77.3% and 8.3%. In addition, 81 mutations accounted for 61.0% of the mutant alleles. R111X, H64 > TfsX9 and S70 del accounted for 5.1%, 0.8% and 0.8% mutation of alleles in exon 3, whereas EX6-96A > G accounted for 10.2% mutation of alleles in exon 6. R243Q had the highest incidence in exon 7 (12.7%), followed by Ivs7 +2T>A (5.1%) and T278I (2.5%). G247V, R252Q, L255S, R261Q and E280K accounted for 0.8% while Y356X and V399V accounted for 5.9% and 5.1%, respectively, in exon 11. R413P and A434D accounted for 5.9% and 2.5%, respectively, in exon 12. Seventy-two variant alleles accounted for the 16 mutations observed here. The mutation characteristics and distributions demonstrated that EX6-96A > G and R243Q were the hot regions for mutations in the PAH gene in Shanxi patients with PKU.

Uron resin, a kind of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin containing much more uron structure, were prepared. Several modified UF resins were obtained from mixing uron resins with normal UF resins as well as synthesizing UF resin with uron resin as raw material. This work demonstrated that the introducing of the uron structure reduced free formaldehyde content of UF resin and formaldehyde emission levels in bonded plywood panels significantly, the former were reduced by 76% and 84% in the latter. The synthesis time of uron resin can be shortened to 8 hours. The test result of free formaldehyde content, formaldehyde emission levels and bond strength indicated that specimen of 20 parts uron resin synthesized in 8 hours mixed with 100 parts UF resins (F/U molar ratio of 1.3) had a potential advantage to industrial application. The beneficial effect of uron resin on the performance of UF resin can be attributed to the opening of uron cycle structure and the following reaction with free formaldehyde and its oligomeric glycol forms.

Interplay between the host and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a pivotal role in the outcome of infection. A region (referred to as UL/b’) present in the Toledo strain of HCMV and low passage clinical isolates contains 19 additional genes, which are absent in the highly passaged laboratory strain AD169. Products of the UL/b’ genes may determine the manifestations of HCMV infection in vivo. However, little is known about the host factors, which interact with UL/b’ proteins. This study was conducted to investigate the function of the HCMV UL136 protein. By yeast two-hybrid screening, the β1 subunit of the host Na+/K+-ATPase (ATP1B1) was identified to be a candidate protein, which interacts with the HCMV UL136 protein. The interaction was further evaluated both in vitro by pull-down assay and in vivo by immunofluorescent co-localization. The results showed that the UL136 protein can interact with ATP1B1 in vitro. Co-localization of UL136-EGFP and ATP1B1-DsRed in cell membranes suggests that ATP1B1 was a partner of the UL136 protein. It can be proposed that the HCMV UL136 protein may have important roles in processes such as cell-to-cell spread, and in maintaining cell osmotic pressure and intracellular ion homeostasis during HCMV infection.

The effects of nanosize copper oxide and basic copper carbonate on the physical and mechanical properties of flakeboards were investigated according to ASTM Standard D-1037, and the curing process of phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin containing copper compounds was further investigated using dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that nanosize copper oxide had no or slightly beneficial effects on the mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the flakeboards. While basic copper carbonate increased thickness swelling and water absorption to some extent, the difference was not statistically significant. The DSC results indicated that the comparable activation energy and reaction enthalpy, obtained from nanosize copper oxide treated samples, contributed to the higher degree of conversion of PF resin and undiminished bonding strength of flakeboards, which is probably related to the acceleration of the addition reactions taking place among small molecules in PF resin and the enhancement of heat transfer of composite mat caused by nanosize copper oxide.

Nano-structured materials often possess special properties that materials with identical compositions but ordinary grain size do not have. This paper reports our work on the surface nano-crystallisation and nano-structured alloy and composite coatings. A number of processing methods including magnetron sputtering, thermal spray and pulse electro-spark deposition have been used to produce surface nano-crystalline structure. The compositions and microstructures can be well controlled by using different targets or electrodes, nano-structured composites and adjusting processing parameters. Surface nano-structured coatings can provide special chemical, mechanical and electronic properties such as high temperature corrosion and corrosive wear resistance. It has potential applications such as turbine blades, engine parts for petrochemical, aerospace and electronic device industries. This paper is focused on the study of the interrelations between processing, microstructure and properties. Physical models have been established to explain the effects of nano-crystalline structure on the properties.