Arsenic is a semi-metal,and lipid-soluble arsenic compounds are one of the widespread forms in the environment and food chain,but there is a lack of standards for lipid-soluble arsenic compounds,which is one of the bottlenecks in the current analytical detection and toxicological studies of organic arsenic.In this study,four saturated arsenic-containing hydrocarbons,AsHC 318,AsHC 332,AsHC 346,and AsHC 374(The number is relative molecular mass),were successfully synthesized in three steps by using dimethylarsinic acid,potassium iodide,sodium hydroxide,and four brominated alkanes(1-Bromotetradecane,1-bromopentadecane,1-bromohexadecane,and 1-bromooctadecane)as raw materials.The structures of these four saturated arsenic-containing hydrocarbons were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance(1H NMR)spectroscopy,13C nuclear magnetic resonance(13C NMR)spectroscopy,and high-resolution mass spectrometry(HR-MS).The yields of the method were 8%-10%,and the synthesized compounds could be used in subsequent toxicity evaluation experiments to assess the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of arsenic-containing hydrocarbons.This study provided an effective method for synthesis of arsenic-containing hydrocarbons,enriching the synthesis methods of arsenic-containing hydrocarbons,and provided raw materials for the subsequent toxicological studies of arsenic-containing hydrocarbons.

Objective To investigate the effects of light-at-night exposure on anxiety and depression behaviors in mice and to explore the underlying neural mechanisms.Methods Six-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to a control(Ctrl)group and a light-at-night exposure(LAN)group.Mice in the LAN group were exposed to 460 nm blue light for 1 h daily during the zeitgeber time(ZT)13-14 while the Ctrl group mice were maintained under a 12-h light/12-h dark cycle.Behavioral tests were conducted at different time points following LAN exposure to evaluate anxiety and depression behaviors in the mice.Immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the effect of LAN on c-fos expressions in the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC),basal ateral amygdala(BLA),paraventricular nucleus(PVN)and paraventricular thalamus(PVT).ELISA was performed to measure changes in serum corticosterone,adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)and corticotropin-releasing hormone(CRH)levels.Golgi staining was applied to measurethe dendritic spine density and morphology from mPFC and CA1.Western blotting analysis was conducted to detect expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factors(BDNFs),phosphorylated tropomyosin receptor kinase B(p-TrkB)/TrkB,postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD95)and synaptophysin(SYP)in the mPFC.Results Mice exhibited anxiety-like behaviors after 14 days of LAN exposure,with depression-like behaviors emerging after 28 days.LAN exposure of 28 days led to a significant increase in the number of c-fos-positive neurons in the mPFC,BLA,PVN and PVT(P＜0.05),resulted in elevated serum corticosterone levels(P＜0.01)and reduced protein expression levels of BDNF and SYP(P＜0.05).Furthermore,there was a marked decrease in synapse numbers and synaptic density in the mPFC(P＜0.01).Conclusion Prolonged exposure to blue light at night enhances neuronal activity in the mPFC and BLA and suppresses the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis(HPA),thus leading to synaptic structural and functional damage and inducing anxiety and depression behaviors in mice.

The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) continues to rise, and there are no effective drugs to treat it. The immune microenvironment plays an important role in the development of ICC and is currently a research hotspot. Icaritin (ICA) is an innovative traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. It is considered to have potential immunoregulatory and anti-tumor effects, which is potentially consistent with the understanding of "Fuzheng" in the treatment of tumor in traditional Chinese medicine. However, whether ICA can be used to treat ICC has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, sgp19/kRas, an in situ ICC mouse model with intact immune system, was selected to evaluate the efficacy of ICA in the treatment of ICC in vivo for the first time, and the effects of ICA on the tumor immune microenvironment of ICC mice were analyzed by flow cytometry. This experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Capital Medical University (approval number: AEEI-2023-138). In this study, sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model was treated with oral gavage of 100 mg·kg^-1 ICA. We found that ICA significantly inhibited tumor growth and tumor cell proliferation in the sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model after 3 weeks of treatment. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that ICA treatment markedly reduced the proportion of M2 macrophages and increased the number of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells. In vitro experiments demonstrated that ICA promoted macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype while inhibiting polarization towards the M2 phenotype. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis suggested that ICA enhanced Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression, influencing macrophage nitric oxide metabolism synthesis pathways and receptor-related activities, thereby regulating macrophage polarization. In summary, this study demonstrates that ICA treatment significantly delays tumor progression in sgp19/kRas ICC mouse models. Mechanistically, ICA may achieve its anti-ICC effects by upregulating TLR9 receptor expression levels, promoting macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype, and altering the tumor immune microenvironment.

Parkinson′s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, and the abnormal levels of its pathological marker ɑ-synuclein (ɑ-syn) are often accompanied by imbalanced heavy metal homeostasis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, with limited research. This review explores the interactions between iron, copper, zinc, and manganese with pathological ɑ-syn′s abnormal expression, aggregation, and degradation in development and progression of PD. It also discusses potential therapeutic directions for addressing heavy metal imbalances in PD patients.

Objective:To investigate the association of peripheral axial lengths and retinal curvatures with refractive status.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted out.Two hundred and eighty-seven eyes of 287 consecutive children aged 6-15 years old who recieved eye examinations at Beijing Tongren Hospital from July to October 2021 were enrolled, including 154 males and 133 females.Uncorrected and best corrected visual acuity were tested with a standard logarithmic visual acuity chart.Spherical equivalent (SE) was measured via an auto refractometer after cycloplegia with tropicamide.The hyperopic, emmetropic and myopic groups were defined with a SE >+ 0.5 D, SE >-0.5 D to ≤+ 0.5 D and SE≤-0.5 D, respectively.Central and 30° peripheral eye lengths (nasal, temporal, superior, inferior) were obtained using the Lenstar LS900.Retinal coordinates were derived from partial coherence interferometry modeling and converted to retinal curvatures.According to the median horizontal peripheral eye length differences (absolute difference between nasal and temporal), participants were assigned to H1 group (absolute difference <0.35 mm) or H2 group (absolute difference ≥0.35 mm). According to the median vertical peripheral eye length differences (absolute difference between superior and inferior), participants were assigned to V1 group (absolute difference <0.32 mm) or V2 group (absolute difference ≥0.32 mm). Four groups of V1H1, V1H2, V2H1 and V2H2 were constructed according to the grouping methods in both directions above.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University (No.TRECKY2021-162). Written informed consent was obtained from guardians of each subject prior to any medical examination.Results:The central axial length was 23.53(22.93, 24.10)mm.Peripheral eye lengths of temporal, nasal, superior and inferior were 22.75(22.11, 23.22)mm, 22.99(22.32, 23.45)mm, 23.24(22.58, 23.75)mm and 23.12(22.52, 23.56)mm, respectively.Temporal eye length was shorter than nasal, showing a statistically significant difference ( Z=-3.58, P<0.01). Compared with H2 group, H1 group had shorter central, nasal, superior and inferior eye lengths, showing statistically significant differences (all at P<0.05). Compared with V2 group, V1 group had shorter central, nasal and superior eye lengths, showing statistically significant differences (all at P<0.05). SE of H1 group was + 0.06 (-1.06, + 0.75) D, which was significantly greater than -0.32 (-1.64, + 0.56) D of H2 group ( Z=-2.10, P=0.04). SE of V1 group was + 0.13 (-0.81, + 0.80) D, which was significantly greater than -0.56 (-1.83, + 0.48) D of H2 group ( Z=-3.39, P<0.01). The myopia ratio of V1 group was 33.5% (58/173), which was significantly lower than 50.5% (53/105) of V2 group ( χ2=7.83, P<0.01). There was a significant overall difference in SE among VIH1, V1H2, V2H1 and V2H2 groups ( H=24.79, P<0.01). SE was greater in V1H1 group than V1H2, V2H1 and V2H2 groups (all at P<0.01). There was a significant difference in both horizontal and vertical retinal curvatures among different refractive groups ( H=22.34, 19.30; both at P<0.01). The retical curvature in both directions of hyperopic and emmetropic groups were significantly larger than those of myopic group (both at P<0.01). Conclusions:Peripheral eye lengths are asymmetric in school-aged children.Higher asymmetry is associated with myopic shifts.Myopic children have a steeper retina than the hyperopic and emmetropic children.

Objective:To assess the predictive efficacy of 18F-FDG PET/CT-based radiomics models for the mutation status of Kirsten rats sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods:From January 2016 to January 2021, the 18F-FDG PET/CT images and KRAS testing of 258 NSCLC patients (180 males, 78 females; age: 33-91 years) in the First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Military Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into training set ( n=180) and validation set ( n=78) in the ratio of 7∶3. Tumor lesions on PET and CT images were drawn respectively, and the radiomics features of PET and CT lesions were extracted. The radiomics features were screened by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). CT radiomics score (RS) model, PET/CT RS model and composite models of PET/CT RS combined with screened clinical information were eventually developed. ROC curves were used to assess the predictive efficacy of these models. Results:The CT RS model included 4 radiomics features and the PET/CT RS model included 4 CT radiomics features and 8 PET radiomics features. The CT RS model and the PET/CT RS model both had significant differences in RS between KRAS mutant and wild-type patients in the training set and validation set ( z values: from -8.30 to -4.10, all P<0.001). In predicting KRAS mutations, the composite model of PET/CT RS combined with age showed AUCs of 0.879 and 0.852 in the training and validation sets respectively, which were higher than those of the CT RS model (0.813 and 0.770) and the PET/CT RS model (0.858 and 0.834). The accuracy of the composite model of PET/CT RS combined with age were 81.67%(147/180) and 79.49%(62/78) in the training set and validation set respectively, which were also higher than those of the CT RS model (75.00%(135/180) and 74.36%(58/78)) and the PET/CT RS model (78.89%(142/180) and 78.21%(61/78)). Conclusion:Models based on radiomics features can predict KRAS gene mutation status, and the composite model combining PET/CT RS and age can improve the prediction performance.

Objective: To analyze the phenotypic-genotypic characteristics of hereditary deafness caused by OTOA gene variations. Methods: Family histories, clinical phenotypes and gene variations of six pedigrees were analyzed, which were diagnosed with hearing loss caused by OTOA gene variations at the PLA General Hospital from September 2015 to January 2022. The sequence variations were verified by Sanger sequencing and the copy number variations were validated by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in the family members. Results: The hearing loss phenotype caused by OTOA variations ranged from mild to moderate in the low frequencies, and from moderate to severe in the high frequencies in the probands, which came from six sporadic pedigrees, among which a proband was diagnosed as congenital deafness and five were diagnosed as postlingual deafness. One proband carried homozygous variations and five probands carried compound heterozygous variations in OTOA gene. Nine pathogenic variations (six copy number variations, two deletion variations and one missense variation) and two variations with uncertain significance in OTOA were identified in total, including six copy number variations and five single nucleotide variants, and three of the five single nucleotide variants were firstly reported [c.1265G>T(p.Gly422Val),c.1534delG(p.Ala513Leufs*11) and c.3292C>T(p.Gln1098fs*)]. Conclusions: OTOA gene variations can lead to autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss. In this study, the hearing loss caused by OTOA defects mostly presents as bilateral, symmetrical, and postlingual, and that of a few presents as congenital. The pathogenic variations of OTOA gene are mainly copy number variations followed by deletion variations and missense variations.
Humans ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/genetics* ; Deafness/genetics* ; Hearing Loss/genetics* ; Phenotype ; Genotype ; Nucleotides ; Pedigree ; Mutation ; GPI-Linked Proteins/genetics*

Humans ; Mpox (monkeypox) ; China

The quality of moxa is a key factor affecting the efficacy of moxibustion. Traditional moxa grades are evaluated by the leaf-to-moxa ratio, but there is a lack of support from scientific data. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Image Pro Plus, Van Soest method, and stimultaneous thermal analysis(TGA/DSC) were used to characterize the scientific implication of the combustion differences between moxa with different leaf-to-moxa ratios(processed by crusher). The results showed that the median lengths from non-secretory trichomes(NSTs) of natural NSTs and moxa with leaf-to-moxa ratios of 3∶1, 5∶1, 10∶1, and 15∶1 were 542.46, 303.24, 291.18, 220.69, and 170.61 μm, respectively. The cellulose content of moxa increased significantly(P<0.05) with the increase in leaf-to-moxa ratio and the combustion parameters(T_i, t_i, D_i, C,-R_p,-R_v, S, D_b, and J_(total)) all showed an increasing trend. The correlation results showed that the burning properties of moxa(T_i,-R_v, t_i, and J_2) were significantly and positively correlated with cellulose content. NSTs with a length of 1-200 μm were significantly and positively correlated with J_2. NSTs with a length of 200-600 μm were significantly and positively correlated with J_1, T_(peak2), T_(peak1), and-R_v, and negatively correlated with J_(total), T_b, and t_b. As the leaf-to-moxa ratio increases, the NSTs in the moxa become shorter and the cellulose content increases, which is more conducive to ignition performance, heat release, and a milder, longer-lasting burn. The "NSTs-cellulose-TGA/DSC" quantitative evaluation method scientifically reveals the scientific connotation of the combustion of moxa with different leaf-to-moxa ratios and provides a scientific basis for the establishment of quality evaluation methods for moxa with different leaf-to-moxa ratios.
Trichomes ; Moxibustion ; Hot Temperature ; Plant Leaves

Cancer cell membrane (CCM) derived nanotechnology functionalizes nanoparticles (NPs) to recognize homologous cells, exhibiting translational potential in accurate tumor therapy. However, these nanoplatforms are majorly generated from fixed cell lines and are typically evaluated in cell line-derived subcutaneous-xenografts (CDX), ignoring the tumor heterogeneity and differentiation from inter- and intra- individuals and microenvironments between heterotopic- and orthotopic-tumors, limiting the therapeutic efficiency of such nanoplatforms. Herein, various biomimetic nanoplatforms (CCM-modified gold@Carbon, i.e., Au@C-CCM) were fabricated by coating CCMs of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and patient-derived cells on the surface of Au@C NP. The generated Au@C-CCMs were evaluated on corresponding CDX, tongue orthotopic xenograft (TOX), immune-competent primary and distant tumor models, and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The Au@C-CCM generates a photothermal conversion efficiency up to 44.2% for primary HNSCC therapy and induced immunotherapy to inhibit metastasis via photothermal therapy-induced immunogenic cell death. The homologous CCM endowed the nanoplatforms with optimal targeting properties for the highest therapeutic efficiency, far above those with mismatched CCMs, resulting in distinct tumor ablation and tumor growth inhibition in all four models. This work reinforces the feasibility of biomimetic NPs combining modular designed CMs and functional cores for customized treatment of HNSCC, can be further extended to other malignant tumors therapy.
Animals ; Humans ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/therapy* ; Heterografts ; Photothermal Therapy ; Biomimetics ; Disease Models, Animal ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Tumor Microenvironment