Purpose To investigate the clinicopathologic significance of VISTA and Foxp3 expression in triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC).Methods The expression of VISTA mRNA,Foxp3 mRNA in TNBC,along with their correlations with patient prognosis,were analyzed using GEPIA2 based on TCGA bioinformatics database.Sam-ples of 160 TNBC tissues and 160 normal breast tissues were collected.Immunohistochemical detection was proformed using the MaxVision 3HRP method to detect the expression of VISTA in both tumor cells and immune cells,and Foxp3 in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs).Their differential expression,as well as the relationships with the clinico-pathological characteristics and prognosis in TNBC,were analyzed.Results Database analysis results showed that the expression level of VISTA mRNA in TNBC was lower than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.05),while the expres-sion level of Foxp3 mRNA in TNBC was higher than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.05).The expression of VISTA mRNA and Foxp3 mRNA in breast cancer tissues were positively correlated(rs=0.45,P＜0.001),and the expres-sion of VISTA mRNA was related to the overall survival.Immunohistochemical results showed that in TNBC,the posi-tive expression rate of VISTA in tumor cells was 15％(24/160),and 72.5％(116/160)in immune cells.The infil-tration density of Foxp3+TILs was higher than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.001).The expression of VISTA in immune cells was positively correlated with Foxp3+TILs(rs=0.244,P=0.002).Moreover,the expression of VIS-TA in immune cells was related to the TNM stage of patients,and the infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs was related to the histological grade.Cox univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that TNM stage was an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of TNBC patients.Conclusion In TNBC,VISTA is mainly expressed in immune cells and an increased infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs is observed.Both VISTA expression in immune cells and high infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs are correlated with clinicopathologic features indicative of poor prognosis,suggesting that they may act synergistically in the progression of TNBC.

Purpose To investigate the clinicopathologic significance of VISTA and Foxp3 expression in triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC).Methods The expression of VISTA mRNA,Foxp3 mRNA in TNBC,along with their correlations with patient prognosis,were analyzed using GEPIA2 based on TCGA bioinformatics database.Sam-ples of 160 TNBC tissues and 160 normal breast tissues were collected.Immunohistochemical detection was proformed using the MaxVision 3HRP method to detect the expression of VISTA in both tumor cells and immune cells,and Foxp3 in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs).Their differential expression,as well as the relationships with the clinico-pathological characteristics and prognosis in TNBC,were analyzed.Results Database analysis results showed that the expression level of VISTA mRNA in TNBC was lower than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.05),while the expres-sion level of Foxp3 mRNA in TNBC was higher than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.05).The expression of VISTA mRNA and Foxp3 mRNA in breast cancer tissues were positively correlated(rs=0.45,P＜0.001),and the expres-sion of VISTA mRNA was related to the overall survival.Immunohistochemical results showed that in TNBC,the posi-tive expression rate of VISTA in tumor cells was 15％(24/160),and 72.5％(116/160)in immune cells.The infil-tration density of Foxp3+TILs was higher than that in normal breast tissue(P＜0.001).The expression of VISTA in immune cells was positively correlated with Foxp3+TILs(rs=0.244,P=0.002).Moreover,the expression of VIS-TA in immune cells was related to the TNM stage of patients,and the infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs was related to the histological grade.Cox univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that TNM stage was an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of TNBC patients.Conclusion In TNBC,VISTA is mainly expressed in immune cells and an increased infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs is observed.Both VISTA expression in immune cells and high infiltration density of Foxp3+TILs are correlated with clinicopathologic features indicative of poor prognosis,suggesting that they may act synergistically in the progression of TNBC.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2024.04.021.].

Objective This study aimed to investigate the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants among patients with depression at different age stages.Methods One hundred thirty five patients with depression(including 63 elderly patients aged 60 years and older,and 72 young and middle-aged patients under 60 years old)and 98 healthy controls(including 46 elderly controls aged 60 years and older,and 52 young and middle-aged controls aged under 60 years old)were enrolled.Serum levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants(uric acid,total bilirubin,albumin)were assessed.Results Multiple analysis of variance showed the main effects of depression factors on uric acid and total bilirubin were significant(P<0.05).Uric acid[(314.30±85.18)μmol/L vs.(339.68±85.27)μmol/L],total bilirubin[(12.81±6.16)μmol/L vs.(15.09±5.97)μmol/L]levels were lower in patients with depression than in controls(P<0.05).There was an interactive effect between age and depression factors on the levels of albumin(P<0.001),and the levels of albumin[(41.05±3.97)g/L vs.(46.01±4.49)g/L]were lower in group of the elderly patients with depression than those in group of the young and middle-aged patients with depression(P<0.01).Conclusion Patients with depression have abnormalities in levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants which are more severe in elderly patients.

Objective:To evaluate the role of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes in curcumin-induced reduction of sevoflurane-induced postoperative cognitive dysfunction in rats.Methods:Forty SPF healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 17-18 months, with body mass index of 580-600 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=10 each) by a random number table method: control group (C group), postoperative cognitive dysfunction group (P group), curcumin group (CU group), and curcumin+ NLRP3 inflammasome activator group (CN group). The rat model of postoperative cognitive dysfunction was prepared by inhaling 1.5% sevoflurane to explore the abdominal cavity. Curcumin suspension 300 mg/kg was given by intragastric administration in CU group and CN group, and the rats received intragastric administration of nidrisin sodium 5 mg/kg simultaneously in CN group, once a day for 6 consecutive days. Rats received the equal volume of normal saline instead in C group and P group. The frequency of crossing the original platform and time spent in the target quadrant were measured by the Morris water maze test. The histopathological changes of hippocampus were observed by HE staining, neuronal apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining, and the expression of NLRP3, Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with C group, the frequency of crossing the original platform was significantly reduced, the time spent in the target quadrant was shortened, the apoptosis rate of neurons was increased, and the expression of NLRP3 and Bax was up-regulated, and the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated in P group ( P<0.05). Compared with P group, the frequency of crossing the original platform was significantly increased, the time spent in the target quadrant was prolonged, the apoptosis rate of neurons was decreased, and the expression of NLRP3 and Bax was down-regulated, and the expression of Bcl-2 was up-regulated in CU group ( P<0.05). Compared with CU group, the frequency of crossing the original platform was significantly reduced, the time spent in the target quadrant was shortened, the apoptosis rate of neurons was increased, and the expression of NLRP3 and Bax was up-regulated, and the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated in CN group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in curcumin-induced reduction of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in sevoflurane-anesthetized rats.

Urosepsis caused by upper urinary tract stone obstruction is a common critically disease in urology.However, it rarely occurs in the patient who underwent a dialysis with uremia.We report a patient who underwent an implantation of ureteral stent to control the infection, and we saved the patient with perinephric hematoma following the surgery. We removed the stones in the left ureteral through a flexible ureteroscope two month later.The hematoma was completely absorbed 6 months after the implantation of ureteral stent.

Objective:To grasp the distribution of fine antigenic epitope profiles of nucleoprotein (NP) and glycoprotein (GP) fragments of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and to clarify the value of dominant antigenic epitopes in laboratory testing of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).Methods:In a minimal synthetic short peptide consisting of 8 amino acids was segmentally expressed by CCHFV YL04057 strain using a modified bio-peptide synthesis method from 2014 to 2021 in the laboratory of Xinjiang University, College of Life Sciences. Using CCHFV polyclonal antibody or monoclonal antibody 14B7 (IgM) or CCHFV-positive sheep serum as antibodies, the minimal antigenic epitopes (BCEs) with antigenic activity on NP and GP fragments were identified by immunoblotting, and the obtained BCEs with sequence polymorphism were spatially clustered with CCHFV from different regions using the neighbor-joining method to determine the combination mode of BCEs with geographical correlation of regional distribution, to explore its application in establishing serological diagnosis. A prokaryotic expression plasmid (pET-32a), an E. coli expression plasmid (pGEX-KG) and a prokaryotic expression plasmid with an incomplete glutathione (GST188) tag (pXXGST-ST-1) were used to construct and express six dominant antigenic epitopes of different peptide lengths on NP fragments, and an indirect Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was established. CCHF sheep serum identified by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used as a control, and the specificity, sensitivity and overall compliance of the recombinant proteins with different peptide lengths of antigenic epitopes with IFA assay results were statistically analyzed. Results:CCHFV, NP and GP fragments had a total of 30 antigenically active BCEs, among which the core intermediate fragment NP2 (aa 170 th-305 th), which had a concentration of antigenic epitopes in the NP fragment, has 6 BCEs, and the NP1 (aa 1 st-200 th) and NP3 (aa 286 th-482 nd) at both ends have 9 BCEs; the Gc (aa 1 st-558 th) and Gn (aa 533 th-708 th) fragments of the GP fragment have 14 BCEs and a long antigenic peptide (AP) containing 15 amino acids, and the amino acid sequence homology of the NP fragment BCEs was 97.1% and that of the GP fragment BCEs was 89.1%. There was a significant difference ( P=0.0281, P<0.05). Among the 9 BCEs with sequence polymorphism in the GP fragment, 6 combined BCEs from GnEc1, GnE2, GnE4, GcE3, GcE6 and GcAP-4 (Ap) could cluster 15 CCHFV strains from different regions of the world into 5 geographical taxa, AsiaⅠ, AsiaⅡ, AficaⅠ, AficaⅡ and Europe. The constructs expressing PET-32a-NP (full length), PGEX-KG-NP2 (aa 170 th-305 th), pGEX-KG-NP2-1 (aa 235 th-275 th), PGEX-KG-NP2-1-1 (aa 237 th-256 th), pXXGST-1-NP2-1-2 (aa 250 th-265 th) and PGEX KG-NP2-1-3 (aa 260 th-276 th), six recombinant proteins CCHFV NP rabbit polyclonal antiserum (pAb) Western Blotting reaction positive, 33 sheep sera tested by IFA XHF as a reference, the sensitivity of the assay established by indirect ELISA using the recombinant proteins constructed from two fragments of NP2 and NP2-1 as antigens. The sensitivity, specificity and overall compliance were the best, with 73.4% (11/15) and 66.7% (10/15) for sensitivity, 100% (18/18) and 94.4% (17/18) for specificity, and 87.9% (29/33) and 81.8% (27/33) for overall compliance. Conclusion:CCHFV NP and GP are distributed with a high number of BCEs with antigenic immunoreactivity, among which the dominant antigenic epitopes are of high value in the laboratory serological diagnosis of CCHF.

OBJEC TIVE To optimize the simultaneous extraction technology of dietary fiber （DF）and flavonoids from the peel of Prunus armeniaca . METHODS The content of DF was calculated with enzyme-gravimetric method ，and the content of flavonoids was determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The orthogonal design and single factor test were used to optimize the extraction technology ，with the factors of liquid-solid ratio ，pH，papain concentration ，α-amylase concentration ，temperature of enzymatic hydrolysis and time of enzymatic hydrolysis as factors ，using the contents of DF and flavonoids as indexes. RESULTS The optimal extraction technology included the solid-liquid ratio of 1 ∶ 10（g/mL），pH5，0.5％ papain and 0.5％ α-amylase， enzymatic hydrolysis at 50 ℃ for 1 h. After three times of validation ，the average content of DF was 0.801 g/g（RSD＝1.95％）， and the average content of flavonoids was 2.135 mg/g（RSD＝2.44％）. The average comprehensive score was 0.988（RSD＝ 0.81％）. CONCLUSIONS The optimal extraction technology is stable and feasible.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on pyroptosis during lung ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-320 g, were used in this study.The model of isolated lung perfusion was established using an IL-2 Isolated Perfused Rat or Guinea Pig Lung System after the rats were anesthetized.Thirty lungs in which an ex vivo lung perfusion model was successfully established were divided into 3 groups (n=10 each) by a random number table method: control group (C group), I/R group and dexmedetomidine group (DEX group). The lungs were continuously perfused with K-H solution for 150 min in C group.After 15 min of perfusion, lungs were subjected to 60-min suspension of ventilation and perfusion, followed by 75 min of reperfusion and ventilation to establish the model of lung I/R injury in I/R and DEX groups.In DEX group, dexmedetomidine 10 nmol/L was added to K-H solution at the beginning of reperfusion.Lung tissues were obtained for determination of wet/dry weight ratio (W/D ratio) and for examination of pathological changes (with a light microscope) and ultrastructure (using an electron microscope), and the alveolar damage rate (IAR) was calculated.The expression of pyroptosis-related factors including NOD-like receptor family protein 3 (NLRP3), caspase-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-18 and gasdermin D (GSDMD) protein and mRNA was detected by Western blot or by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Compared with C group, the W/D ratio and IAR in lung tissues were significantly increased, and the expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18 and GSDMD protein and mRNA was up-regulated in I/R and DEX groups (P<0.05). Compared with I/R group, the W/D ratio and IAR in lung tissues were significantly decreased, the expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18 and GSDMD protein and mRNA was down-regulated (P<0.05), and the pathological changes were significantly attenuated in DEX group. Conclusion The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine reduces isolated rat lung I/R injury may be related to inhibiting pyroptosis.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of swallowing training supplemented with neuromuscular electrical stimulation to provide a reference for clinical treatment and further study.Methods Reports of randomized and controlled trials of surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation in treating post-stroke dysphagia were sought in the Cochrane library,the PubMed and Embase databases,the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL),and also in the ProQuest,PsycARTICLES,CBMdisc,China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI),CQVIP database and Wanfang databases.All of the literature found was evaluated by 2 researchers according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and the data were extracted and combined.Then meta-analysis was performed using version 5.3 of the RevMan software package.Results Eleven randomized and controlled trials involving 576 patients were included in the meta-analysis.Together,the data showed that swallowing training supplemented by neuromuscular electrical stimulation is significantly more effective than swallowing training alone in improving swallowing function.It reduces the risk of aspiration and improves quality of life.It does not,however,generally shorten the pharyngeal transmit time.Conclusions Swallowing training supplemented with neuromuscular electrical stimulation is a promising approach for treatment of post-stroke dysphagia and warrants further study.