Background Retinal neovascularization disease is a group of threatening-vision eye diseases.Researches showed that cathepsin B is involved in angiogenesis.Exploring a drug which inhibit retinal blood vessels will provide the basis for the molecular mechanism of these diseases.Objective This study was to investigate the inhibitory role of cathepsin B-RNAi-lentivirus on retinal angiogenesis.Methods Sixty 7-day-old C57BL/6J mice were raised together with maternal mice in the closed box with the oxygen concentration of (75-2)％ for 5 days to establish the retinal angiogenesis mouse models.The mice were then taken into the normal air environment for continuous raise and were randomized into 3 groups.NC-GFP-LV of 1 μl and the equal volume of cathepsin B-RNAi-lentivirus was intravitreously injected respectively in 40 eyes in the control group and the gene treatment group,and no drug was administered in the 40 eyes of the model group.The mice were sacrificed and retinas were obtained.Expression of cathepsin B protein in the retina was detected by Western blot assay (cathepsin B/β-actin).Real-time PCR was used to detect and compare the expression level of cathepsin B mRNA (2△△Ct).FITC-dextran was used to perform heart infusion for the retinal stretched preparation 5 days after intravitreously injection.Retinal neovascularization was examined by fluorescent angiography.Results The expression level (2-△△Ct) of cathepsin B mRNA was 0.74 ±0.12 in the gene treatment group,showing a significant decline in comparison with 1.66±0.17 and 1.58±0.29 in the model group and control group (q--0.746,1.588,P＜ 0.01).The expression level of cathepsin B protein (cathepsin B/β-actin) in the retina was 0.64±0.06,0.93±0.09 and 0.96±0.09 respectively in the gene treatment group,model group and control group,indicating a significant reduce in the gene treatment group (q =0.637,0.894,P＜0.01).Distorted vessels were seen in the mice retinas of the model group with more branches and vascular anastomosis,and fluorescine leakage was exhibited under the fluorescence microscope.However,the vessels were regular with less branches and angiogenesis.Conclusions Cathepsin B-RNAi-lentivirus can effectively inhibit oxygen-induced retinal angiogenesis in mouse.

Animals ; Electrochemical Techniques ; methods ; Gene Silencing ; Genes, Reporter ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Microarray Analysis ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Influenza is a viral infection of the respiratory tract. Infection is normally confined to the upper respiratory tract but certain viral strains have evolved the ability to infect the lower respiratory tract, including the alveoli, leading to inflammation and a disease pattern of diffuse alveolar damage. Factors leading to this sequence of events are novel influenza strains, or strains that have viral proteins, in particular the NS1 protein that allow it to escape the innate immune system. There are three main barriers that prevent infection of pneumocytes - mucin, host defence lectins and cells such as macrophages. Viruses have developed strategies such as neuraminidase and glycosylation patterns that allow this evasion. Though there has been much investment in antiviral drugs, it is proposed that more attention should be directed towards developing or utilizing compounds that enhance the ability of the innate immune system to combat viral infection.
Antiviral Agents ; Glycosylation ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunity, Innate ; Inflammation ; Influenza, Human ; Investments ; Lectins ; Macrophages ; Mucins ; Neuraminidase ; Pneumocytes ; Respiratory System ; United Nations ; Viral Proteins

Humans ; Hong Kong/epidemiology* ; COVID-19

Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

In this paper, scientific theory was used to prove that the meridian was the resonant channel of information energy of life, and experiment and demonstration was performed to reveal meridians to explore the significance of revealing meridian. Based on the theory of physics, biochemistry, molecular biology and information theory, the essence of meridian was demonstrated in theory. According to TCM meridian theory, acupuncture was applied at selected acupoints; the infrared thermograms of stomach meridian of foot , large intestine meridian of hand , small intestine meridian of hand , pericardium meridian of hand , heart meridian of hand , triple energizer meridian of hand , liver meridian of foot , bladder meridian of foot were recorded before and after acupuncture. As a result, thermogram recorded and showed the visual image of the meridian. It is indicated that an energy transmission network which cannot be dissected existing in the body, which was believed to be meridian. It was the resonant channel of information energy of life, and could be shown by thermogram. These experiments and theory have significance in science.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Points ; Humans ; Meridians

Cladistics is a biological philosophy that uses genealogical relationship among species and an inferred sequence of divergence as the basis of classification. This review critically surveys the chronological development of biological classification from Aristotle through our postgenomic era with a central focus on cladistics. In 1957, Julian Huxley coined cladogenesis to denote splitting from subspeciation. In 1960, the English translation of Willi Hennig's 1950 work, Systematic Phylogenetics, was published, which received strong opposition from pheneticists, such as numerical taxonomists Peter Sneath and Robert Sokal, and evolutionary taxonomist, Ernst Mayr, and sparked acrimonious debates in 1960-1980. In 1977-1990, Carl Woese pioneered in using small subunit rRNA gene sequences to delimitate the three domains of cellular life and established major prokaryotic phyla. Cladistics has since dominated taxonomy. Despite being compatible with modern microbiological observations, i.e. organisms with unusual phenotypes, restricted expression of characteristics and occasionally being uncultivable, increasing recognition of pervasiveness and abundance of horizontal gene transfer has challenged relevance and validity of cladistics. The mosaic nature of eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes was also gradually discovered. In the mid-2000s, high-throughput and whole-genome sequencing became routine and complex geneologies of organisms have led to the proposal of a reticulated web of life. While genomics only indirectly leads to understanding of functional adaptations to ecological niches, computational modeling of entire organisms is underway and the gap between genomics and phenetics may soon be bridged. Controversies are not expected to settle as taxonomic classifications shall remain subjective to serve the human scientist, not the classified.
Animals ; Biological Evolution ; Classification ; methods ; Humans ; Pedigree ; Phylogeny

OBJECTIVE: Independent from noise exposure, noise sensitivity plays a pivotal role in people's noise annoyance perception and concomitant health deteriorations. The present study empirically investigated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale-Short Form (CNSS-SF), the widely used inventory measuring individual differences in noise perception. METHODS: In total, 373 Chinese participants (age = 21.41 ± 3.36) completed the online, anonymous questionnaire package. Examination of the CNSS-SF's reliability (internal consistency), factorial validity through validation and cross-validation, nomological validity and measurement invariance across gender groups were undertaken. RESULTS: The Cronbach alpha coefficients and composite reliabilities indicated sufficient reliability of the CNSS-SF. Two confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), in two randomly partitioned groups of participants, substantiated the factorial validity of the scale. The nomological validity of the scale was also corroborated by the significant positive association of its score with the trait anxiety score. Measurement invariance of the CNSS-SF was also found across genders via multi-group CFA. CONCLUSION Though not without limitations, findings from the present research provide promising evidence for the utility of the scale in measuring noise sensitivity among the Chinese population. The availability of the CNSS-SF can promote research related to environmental noise and health in China, as well as facilitate cross-cultural comparisons.
Adult ; Auditory Perception ; China ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Noise ; Psychometrics ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sex Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

Immunotherapy emerged as a paradigm shift in cancer treatments, which can effectively inhibit cancer progression by activating the immune system. Remarkable clinical outcomes have been achieved through recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, including checkpoint blockades, adoptive cellular therapy, cancer vaccine, and tumor microenvironment modulation. However, extending the application of immunotherapy in cancer patients has been limited by the low response rate and side effects such as autoimmune toxicities. With great progress being made in nanotechnology, nanomedicine has been exploited to overcome biological barriers for drug delivery. Given the spatiotemporal control, light-responsive nanomedicine is of great interest in designing precise modality for cancer immunotherapy. Herein, we summarized current research utilizing light-responsive nanoplatforms to enhance checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, facilitate targeted delivery of cancer vaccines, activate immune cell functions, and modulate tumor microenvironment. The clinical translation potential of those designs is highlighted and challenges for the next breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy are discussed.