Metal ion-promoted chemodynamic therapy(CDT) combined with photodynamic therapy(PDT) offers broad application prospects for enhancing anti-tumor effects. In this study, glycyrrhizic acid(GA), copper ions(Cu~(2+)), and norcantharidin(NCTD) were co-assembled to successfully prepare a natural small-molecule, carrier-free hydrogel(NCTD Gel) with excellent material properties. Under 808 nm laser irradiation, NCTD Gel responded to the tumor microenvironment(TME) and acted as an efficient Fenton reagent and photosensitizer, catalyzing the conversion of endogenous hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) within the tumor into oxygen(O_2), and hydroxyl radicals(·OH, type Ⅰ reactive oxygen species) and singlet oxygen(~1O_2, type Ⅱ reactive oxygen species), while depleting glutathione(GSH) to stabilize reactive oxygen species and alleviate tumor hypoxia. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that NCTD Gel exhibited significant CDT/PDT synergistic therapeutic effects. Further safety evaluation and metabolic testing confirmed its good biocompatibility and safety. This novel hydrogel is not only simple to prepare, safe, and cost-effective but also holds great potential for clinical transformation, providing insights and references for the research and development of metal ion-mediated hydrogel-based anti-tumor therapies.
Hydrogels/chemistry* ; Animals ; Photochemotherapy ; Humans ; Mice ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage* ; Photosensitizing Agents/chemistry* ; Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Female ; Copper/chemistry* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Tumor Microenvironment/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Male

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load in different lymphocyte subsets, as well as clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies experiencing EBV reactivation. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples from patients were collected. B, T, and NK cells were isolated sorting with magnetic beads by flow cytometry. The EBV load in each subset was quantitated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Clinical data were colleted from electronic medical records. Survival status was followed up through outpatient visits and telephone calls. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0. RESULTS: A total of 39 patients with hematologic malignancies were included, among whom 35 patients had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The median time to EBV reactivation was 4.8 months (range: 1.7-57.1 months) after allo-HSCT. EBV was detected in B, T, and NK cells in 20 patients, in B and T cells in 11 patients, and only in B cells in 4 patients. In the 35 patients, the median EBV load in B cells was 2.19×10⁴ copies/ml, significantly higher than that in T cells (4.00×10³ copies/ml, P <0.01) and NK cells (2.85×10² copies/ml, P <0.01). Rituximab (RTX) was administered for 32 patients, resulting in EBV negativity in 32 patients with a median time of 8 days (range: 2-39 days). Post-treatment analysis of 13 patients showed EBV were all negative in B, T, and NK cells. In the four non-transplant patients, the median time to EBV reactivation was 35 days (range: 1-328 days) after diagnosis of the primary disease. EBV was detected in one or two subsets of B, T, or NK cells, but not simultaneously in all three subsets. These patients received a combination chemotherapy targeting at the primary disease, with 3 patients achieving EBV negativity, and the median time to be negative was 40 days (range: 13-75 days). CONCLUSION In hematologic malignancy patients after allo-HSCT, EBV reactivation commonly involves B, T, and NK cells, with a significantly higher viral load in B cells compared to T and NK cells. Rituximab is effective for EBV clearance. In non-transplant patients, EBV reactivation is restricted to one or two lymphocyte subsets, and clearance is slower, highlighting the need for prompt anti-tumor therapy.
Humans ; Hematologic Neoplasms/virology* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/physiology* ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Virus Activation ; Lymphocyte Subsets/virology* ; Flow Cytometry ; Killer Cells, Natural/virology* ; Male ; Female ; B-Lymphocytes/virology* ; Viral Load ; Adult ; T-Lymphocytes/virology* ; Middle Aged

Local anesthetics (LAs), such as articaine (AT), exhibit limited efficacy in inflammatory environments, which constitutes a significant limitation in their clinical application within oral medicine. In our prior research, we developed AT-17, which demonstrated effective properties in chronic inflammatory conditions and appears to function as a novel oral LA that could address this challenge. In the present study, we further elucidated the beneficial effects of AT-17 in acute inflammation, particularly in oral acute inflammation, where mitochondrial-related apoptosis played a crucial role. Our findings indicated that AT-17 effectively inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nerve cell apoptosis by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro. This process involved the inhibition of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) production and the subsequent activation of the NRF2 pathway. Most notably, improvements in mitochondria-related apoptosis were key contributors to AT-17's inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channels. Additionally, AT-17 was shown to reduce mtROS production in nerve cells through the Na⁺/NCLX/ETC signaling axis. In conclusion, we have developed a novel local anesthetic that exhibits pronounced anesthetic functionality under inflammatory conditions by enhancing mitochondria-related apoptosis. This advancement holds considerable promise for future drug development and deepening our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of action.

Objective: To investigate the etiology, complications, and prognostic factors of stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD5) in children. Methods: A case series study was conducted to retrospectively analyze the general situation, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, genetic testing, and follow-up data (until October 2022) of 174 children with CKD5 who were diagnosed and hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from April 2012 to April 2021. The characteristics of complications in the children were compared based on age, gender, and etiology. Based on the presence or absence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), patients were divided into LVH group and non LVH group for analyzing the influencing factors of cardiovascular disease. Patients were also divided into death group and survival group, peritoneal dialysis group and hemodialysis group based on the follow-up data for analyzing the prognostic factors. The chi-square test, independent sample t-test, Fisher exact probability test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test were used to analyze data among different groups. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the prognostic factors. Results: A total of 174 children with CKD5 were enrolled in the study (96 boys and 78 girls), aged 11.2 (8.2, 13.0) years. Congenital kidney and urinary tract malformations (CAKUT) were the most common causes of the CKD5 (84 cases, 48.3%), followed by glomerular diseases (83 cases, 47.7%), and among which 28 cases (16.1%) were hereditary glomerular diseases. The common complications of CKD5 included anemia (98.2%, 165/168), mineral and bone disorder in chronic kidney disease (CKD-MBD) (97.7%, 170/174), lipid metabolism disorders (87.5%, 63/72), hypertension (81.4%, 127/156) and LVH (57.6%,57/99). The incidences of hypertension in primary glomerular disease were higher than that in CAKUT(93.8%(30/32) vs.73.7%(56/76),χ²=5.59,P<0.05). The incidences of hypertension in secondary glomerular disease were higher than that in CAKUT and that in hereditary kidney disease (100.0%(20/20) vs. 73.7%(56/76), 68.2%(15/22), both P<0.05). The incidence of hypocalcemia in CAKUT, primary glomerular disease, and hereditary kidney disease was higher than that in secondary glomerular disease (82.1%(69/84), 88.2%(30/34), 89.3%(25/28) vs. 47.6%(10/21), χ²=10.21, 10.75, 10.80, all P=0.001); the incidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism in women was higher than that in men (80.0%(64/80) vs. 95.0%(57/60), χ²=6.58, P=0.010). The incidence of LVH in children aged 6-<12 was higher than that in children aged 12-18 (73.5%(25/34) vs. 43.1%(22/51), χ²=7.62, P=0.006). Among 113 follow-up children, the mortality rate was 39.8% (45/113). Compared to the survival group, the children in the death group had lower hemoglobin, higher blood pressure, lower albumin, lower alkaline phosphatase and higher left ventricular mass index ((67±19) vs. (75±20) g/L, 142 (126, 154) vs. 128(113, 145) mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), (91±21) vs. (82±22) mmHg, 32 (26, 41) vs. 40 (31, 43) g/L, 151 (82, 214) vs. 215 (129, 37) U/L, 48 (38, 66) vs. 38(32, 50) g/m^2.7,t=2.03, Z=2.89, t=2.70, Z=2.49, 2.79, 2.29,all P<0.05), but no independent risk factors were identified (all P>0.05). The peritoneal dialysis group had better alleviation for anemia, low calcium, and high phosphorus than the hemodialysis group ((87±22) vs. (72±16) g/L, (1.9±0.5) vs. (1.7±0.4) mmol/L, (2.2±0.7) vs. (2.8±0.9) mmol/L, t=2.92, 2.29, 2.82, all P<0.05), and the survival rate of the peritoneal dialysis group was significantly higher than that of the hemodialysis group (77.8% (28/36) vs. 48.4% (30/62), χ²=8.14, P=0.004). Conclusions: CAKUT is the most common etiology in children with CKD 5, and anemia is the most common complication. The incidence of complications in children with CKD 5 varies with age, gender and etiology. Anemia, hypertension, hypoalbuminemia, reduced alkaline phosphatase and elevated LVMI may be the prognostic factors in children with CKD5. Peritoneal dialysis may be more beneficial for improving the long-term survival rate.
Male ; Humans ; Child ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/therapy* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/therapy* ; Hypertension ; Risk Factors ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular/etiology* ; Anemia/etiology*

Objective: To establish a method for the determination of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) in urine samples by headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Methods: Automatic headspace sampling technique was adopted to optimize the headspace conditions (headspace bottle heating temperature and equilibration time) and gas chromatographic conditions. A total of 5 ml samples were taken and added with 3.0 g ammonium sulfate into a 20 ml headspace bottle. After heated at 60 ℃ for 30 mins, gas from the upper part of headspace bottle was injected into gas chromatography with an injection volume of 100 μl. The target was separated by HP-5MS UI (30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 μm) capillary column and then detected by mass spectrometry detector. The retention time and external standard method were used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of MIBK in samples, respectively. Results: The standard curve of MIBK showed significant linearity between 20.0-1 000.0 μg/L. The standard curve was y=62.9x-652.5, and the correlation coefficient r=0.9998. The detection limit of MIBK was 5.0 μg/L and the quantification limit of MIBK was 16.0 μg/L. The average recovery rate was 95.3%~100.2% at three spiked concentrations of low (50.0 μg/L) , medium (200.0 μg/L) and high (500.0 μg/L) . The intra-day and inter-day precisions were 1.7%~3.8% (n=6) and 1.2%~4.0% (n=6) respectively. This method was stable for the determination of MIBK, and the urine could be kept 14 d at -20 ℃ without significantly loss. Conclusion: This method is proved to be simple, practical and highly sensitive. It can satisfy the request for the determination of urine samples of workers exposed to MIBK.
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; Methyl n-Butyl Ketone

Objective: To quantitatively evaluate the content differences of trace elements in workers with occupational exposure to lead. Methods: In January 2021, relevant literatures on the contents of trace elements in workers with occupational exposure to lead published from 1990 to 2020 were searched through CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, web of science and Embase. Screened and extracted the literatures, and evaluated the quality of the included literatures with Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Meta analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.3 software, and standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval were used as effect indicators. Results: A total of 20 literatures were included, and the quality scores were 5-7. The results of Meta-analysis showed that compared with the control group, the contents of blood zinc (SMD=-1.01, 95%CI: -1.53, -0.49) , hair zinc (SMD=-0.17, 95%CI: -0.33, -0.01) , hair copper (SMD=-0.50, 95%CI: -1.01, 0) , hair iron (SMD=-3.91, 95%CI: -5.80, -2.03) and hair manganese (SMD=-1.09, 95%CI: -2.02, -0.15) in occupational lead exposure group were significantly lower (P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the content of cobalt in hair of occupational lead exposure group (SMD=1.41, 95%CI: 0.72, 2.10) was higher, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference in the contents of blood chromium, blood copper, blood iron, blood manganese, blood selenium and hair nickel between the two groups (P>0.05) . Conclusion: Workers with occupational exposure to lead have abnormal trace elements.
Copper ; Humans ; Iron ; Lead ; Manganese ; Occupational Exposure ; Trace Elements ; Zinc

Objective:To explore the characteristics of local brain neural activity in post stroke aphasia (PSA) patients in different frequency bands and the relationship between Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) scores and specific frequency bands. Methods:From March, 2015 to May, 2018, 15 PSA patients, and 15 healthy adults as controls matched for age, gender and education were recruited. They were assessed with WAB and scaned with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) on the frequency bands of 0.01-0.08 Hz, 0.027-0.073 Hz, and 0.01-0.027 Hz were calculated. The ALFF and fALFF in different frequency bands were extracted and the correlation with the WAB scores in the patients were analyzed. Results:On 0.01-0.08 Hz, ALFF increased in the right precentral gyrus in the patients. On 0.027-0.073 Hz, ALFF increased values in the right precentral gyrus, and fALFF decreased in the right cerebellar Crus2 region; fALFF in the right cerebellar Crus2 region negatively correlated with the scores of information content (r = -0.576, P = 0.025), auditory comprehension (r = -0.658, P = 0.008), repetition (r = -0.616, P = 0.014) and aphasia quotient (r = -0.611, P = 0.016) of WAB. On 0.01-0.027 Hz, the fALFF decreased in the left inferior parietal limbic gyrus, and positively correlated with the scores of information content (r = 0.538, P = 0.039) and aphasia quotient (r = 0.526, P = 0.044). Conclusion:Resting-state fALFF abnormalities in PSA patients are frequency-dependent, which associate with some frequency-specific neurofunctional alterations.

Since the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia(NCP), hospitals have taken the fight against the virus as its own responsibility, and keep standing in the front line of epidemic prevention and control. The continuous input of anti-epidemic forces in hospitals also brings challenges to the medical supplies support, including the management of protective supplies and the maintenance of medical equipment. In the face of increasing security pressure, the medical materials support team broke the game on multiple fronts. Firstly, the team implements active material procurement strategy, sets material distribution priority according to risk level, releases materials uniformly based on stock and use, and implements traceability management of donated materials to ensure material supply. Secondly, centralized allocation management of equipment, emergency installation, advanced maintenance and emergency maintenance work is effectively completed. Thirdly, disinfection strategies for items and equipment are developed safely and effectively with the aid of disinfection equipment functions. At last, personnel management and training have been strengthened. These measures have provided strong support for the orderly prevention and control of the epidemic.

Three new prenylated stilbenes, named as cajanusins A-C (1-3), and one new natural product cajanusin D (4), along with six known derivatives (5-10) were isolated from the leaves of Cajanus cajan. Their structures were fully elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic methods and comparison with data in the reported literatures. The new compounds of 1 and 2 were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activities against a panel of human cancer cell lines.

Flower medicinal materials usually refer to Chinese medicinal materials with a complete flower,inflorescence,or part of a flower as the different medicinal parts,they have an important share in the Chinese herbal medicine market and appeared frequently in Chinese medicine prescriptions. Firstly,the species and regional distribution of the flower medicinal materials resources in China were briefly summarized. Secondly,the characteristics,yield,producing area and origin distribution of the main flower medicinal materials in Henan province were discussed. Finally,the present situation and the main problems of the flower medicinal materials industry in Henan province were comprehensively analyzed,and the corresponding industrial development countermeasures were put forward.This research was intended to provide decision-making demonstration and scientific basis for the rational exploitation and utilization of resources,breeding of new varieties,planting division,production layout and the healthy and sustainable development of the flower medicinal materials industry in Henan province.
China ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Industry ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; Research