Using Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment in Audiology Research: The Participants' Perspective

Purpose The article's purpose was to examine participants' impressions and experiences with smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to inform future EMA study design. Method Adults with hearing impairment (HI, n = 9) and with normal hearing (NH, n = 10) participated in a study using a smartphone-based EMA system to measure their auditory lifestyles. A 14-item survey was scheduled to deliver every 45 min by an EMA app. After a 1-week trial, participants were interviewed regarding their study experiences. The app log files were analyzed to understand how the participants interacted with the app. Results Across the two groups, 1,295 surveys were completed (compliance rate 74.4%). On average, HI participants completed 10.0 and NH participants completed 9.1 surveys per day. The mean survey completion time for HI and NH groups were 72 s and 51 s, respectively. For both groups, about 90% of the participants reported the app as easy to use; about 60% of the participants reported that repetitive surveys interrupted or somewhat interrupted their activities. Participants reported surveys disrupting situations, for example, working, driving, and social events, and that they were more likely to skip surveys in these situations. Additionally, 50% of NH and 30% of HI participants indicated that the survey was not delivered too frequently and none indicated that the survey was too long. Conclusion Overall, the app and EMA design seem to be appropriate. Insights from this study can help researchers design their studies to adequately assess listeners' experience in the field with optimal compliance and data quality.

Carbon dots-based nanocarrier system with intrinsic tumor targeting ability for cancer treatment

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a traditional broad-spectrum antitumor drug, which has a wide range of clinical applications, but has no tumor non-specificity. Nanoparticles have been explored as drug delivery agents to enhance the therapeutic efficacy and reduce toxic and side effects. Carbon dots (CDs), a carbon-based nanomaterial, has many unique advantages such as easy synthesis, good biocompatibility, and low toxicity. In this study, folic acid was used as raw material to prepare new CDs, and DOX was loaded on the surface of CDs through electrostatic interaction. The prepared nano-drugs CDs/DOX could effectively release DOX under mild acidic pH stimulation. Cell imaging showed that CDs/DOX could transport doxorubicin (DOX) to cancer cells and make them accumulated in nucleus freely. Flow cytometry tests and cellular toxicity assay together confirmed that CDs/DOX could target tumor cells with high expression of folate receptor and increase anti-tumor activity. The therapeutic effect on 4T1 tumor-bearing mice model indicated that CDs/DOX could alleviate DOX-induced toxicity, effectively inhibit tumor growth, and prolong the survival time. Hence, such a targeting nanocarrier is likely to be a candidate for cancer treatment.

Catalytic Enantioselective [2+2] Cycloaddition of α-Halo Acroleins: Construction of Cyclobutanes Containing Two Tetrasubstituted Stereocenters

A catalytic enantioselective formal [2+2] cycloaddition between α-halo acroleins and electronically diverse arylalkenes is described. In the presence of (S)-oxazaborolidinium cation as the catalyst, densely functionalized cyclobutanes containing two vicinal tetrasubstituted stereocenters were produced in high yields and high diastereoselectivities with excellent enantioselectivities. Mechanistic studies revealed that the cis isomer could be transformed into the trans isomer via an enantiocontrolled process. A gram-scale reaction of this catalytic method was used to demonstrate its synthetic potential.

The prognostic value of peak arterial lactate levels within 72 h of lung transplantation in identifying patient outcome

Background

Lactic acidosis is often seen in lung transplantation (LTx). Postoperative lactate is frequently associated with poor outcome in postoperative and critically ill patients. Our aim was to evaluate the predictive value of postoperative peak lactate levels within 72 h of LTx for 30-day and late mortality.

Methods

We evaluated patients who underwent LTx from January 2015 to September 2017. All admitted patients were classified according to the peak lactate level (PL) within 72 h of surgery: PL <5 mmol/L (Group 1); PL =5–10 mmol/L (Group 2), and PL >10 mmol/L (Group 3). We performed logistic regression analysis and used Cox regression models to identify the peak lactate level as a predictive factor for 30-day and late mortality, respectively.

Results

Of 255 eligible patients, mean age 55.61±12.16, mean lactate 4.99±2.93 and 80% male, and 40% had hyperlactatemia (PL >5 mmol/L) after LTx. The 30-day mortality rate was 17.9%, 28.9% and 68.8% in the three groups, respectively (P<0.05). Multivariate regression analyses revealed postoperative PL as a notable predictor of 30-day mortality [odds ratio =2.62 (1.42–4.84), P=0.002] as well as for late mortality [hazard ratio =2.70 (1.13–6.42), P=0.025].

Conclusions

The postoperative peak lactate level within 72 h of surgery was an independent predictor for 30-day and late mortality in LTx patients.

DeepPSP: A Global-Local Information-Based Deep Neural Network for the Prediction of Protein Phosphorylation Sites

Identification of phosphorylation sites is an important step in the function study and drug design of proteins. In recent years, there have been increasing applications of the computational method in the identification of phosphorylation sites because of its low cost and high speed. Most of the currently available methods focus on using local information around potential phosphorylation sites for prediction and do not take the global information of the protein sequence into consideration. Here, we demonstrated that the global information of protein sequences may be also critical for phosphorylation site prediction. In this paper, a new deep neural network model, called DeepPSP, was proposed for the prediction of protein phosphorylation sites. In the DeepPSP model, two parallel modules were introduced to extract both local and global features from protein sequences. Two squeeze-and-excitation blocks and one bidirectional long short-term memory block were introduced into each module to capture effective representations of the sequences. Comparative studies were carried out to evaluate the performance of DeepPSP, and four other prediction methods using public data sets The F1-score, area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC), and area under precision-recall curves (AUPRC) of DeepPSP were found to be 0.4819, 0.82, and 0.50, respectively, for S/T general site prediction and 0.4206, 0.73, and 0.39, respectively, for Y general site prediction. Compared with the MusiteDeep method, the F1-score, AUROC, and AUPRC of DeepPSP were found to increase by 8.6, 2.5, and 8.7%, respectively, for S/T general site prediction and by 20.6, 5.8, and 18.2%, respectively, for Y general site prediction. Among the tested methods, the developed DeepPSP method was also found to produce best results for different kinase-specific site predictions including CDK, mitogen-activated protein kinase, CAMK, AGC, and CMGC. Taken together, the developed DeepPSP method may offer a more accurate phosphorylation site prediction by including global information. It may serve as an alternative model with better performance and interpretability for protein phosphorylation site prediction.

Prediction of COVID-19 Patients at High Risk of Progression to Severe Disease

In order to develop a novel scoring model for the prediction of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients at high risk of severe disease, we retrospectively studied 419 patients from five hospitals in Shanghai, Hubei, and Jiangsu Provinces from January 22 to March 30, 2020. Multivariate Cox regression and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were both used to identify high-risk factors for disease severity in COVID-19 patients. The prediction model was developed based on four high-risk factors. Multivariate analysis showed that comorbidity [hazard ratio (HR) 3.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96–5.11], albumin (ALB) level (HR 3.67, 95% CI 1.91–7.02), C-reactive protein (CRP) level (HR 3.16, 95% CI 1.68–5.96), and age ≥60 years (HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.43–3.73) were independent risk factors for disease severity in COVID-19 patients. OPLS-DA identified that the top five influencing parameters for COVID-19 severity were CRP, ALB, age ≥60 years, comorbidity, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level. When incorporating the above four factors, the nomogram had a good concordance index of 0.86 (95% CI 0.83–0.89) and had an optimal agreement between the predictive nomogram and the actual observation with a slope of 0.95 (R² = 0.89) in the 7-day prediction and 0.96 (R² = 0.92) in the 14-day prediction after 1,000 bootstrap sampling. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the COVID-19-American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) model was 0.85 (95% CI 0.81–0.90). According to the probability of severity, the model divided the patients into three groups: low risk, intermediate risk, and high risk. The COVID-19-AACC model is an effective method for clinicians to screen patients at high risk of severe disease.

Tie2-expressing monocytes as a novel angiogenesis-related cellular biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer

To investigate the clinical value of Tie2-expressing monocytes (TEMs) in the early diagnosis of lung cancer and assess its correlation with angiogenesis, a total of 184 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 101 patients with benign pulmonary disease (BPD), and 77 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. The distribution of TEMs in lung tissue was determined by immunofluorescence staining. Lung microvascular density was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of TEM frequency. Patients with NSCLC were followed up for 26 months. We found that the TEM frequency in peripheral blood monocytes of patients with NSCLC was significantly greater than that in patients with BPD and healthy controls. TEM frequency showed a correlation with NSCLC recurrence. The majority of TEMs in tumor tissues were localized around blood vessels; tumoral TEM frequency showed a positive correlation with microvascular density. High percentage of TEMs in the peripheral blood was associated with poor overall survival. ROC curve analysis revealed the potential diagnostic value of circulating TEM frequency in NSCLC. Thus, we believe that TEM frequency is related to angiogenesis in tumor tissues and may serve as a diagnostic marker for NSCLC.

Association Between Consecutive Ambient Air Pollution and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalization: Time Series Study During 2015-2017 in Chengdu China

This paper investigates the association between consecutive ambient air pollution and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) hospitalization in Chengdu China. The three-year (2015-2017) time series data for both ambient air pollutant concentrations and COPD hospitalizations in Chengdu are approved for the study. The big data statistic analysis shows that Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeded the lighted air polluted level in Chengdu region are mainly attributed to particulate matters (i.e., PM_2.5 and PM₁₀). The time series study for consecutive ambient air pollutant concentrations reveal that AQI, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ are significantly positive correlated, especially when the number of consecutive polluted days is greater than nine days. The daily COPD hospitalizations for every 10 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ indicate that consecutive ambient air pollution can lead to an appearance of an elevation of COPD admissions, and also present that dynamic responses before and after the peak admission are different. Support Vector Regression (SVR) is then used to describe the dynamics of COPD hospitalizations to consecutive ambient air pollution. These findings will be further developed for region specific, hospital early notifications of COPD in responses to consecutive ambient air pollution.

Preoperative Acute Pain Is Associated with Postoperative Delirium

Background

Studies have provided some evidence that pain is a risk factor for postoperative delirium (POD). Therefore, we investigated the relationship between preoperative pain and POD after noncardiac surgery.

Methods

POD was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and preoperative cognition was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination. Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before surgery. Preoperative pain was classified by its duration before surgery as chronic pain (lasting more than 1 month), acute pain (lasting less than 1 month), or no pain (no obvious pain). Multiple linear regression was used to adjust for confounding.

Results

From October 15, 2018, through August 12, 2019, a total of 67 patients were randomized; 7 were excluded because they were discharged before the seventh postoperative day. The prevalence of POD was significantly higher in the acute pain group (13 of 20; 65%) than in the chronic pain group (5 of 20; 25%) or the no pain group (6 of 20; 30%) (P = 0.019), indicating that delirium is associated with preoperative acute pain. The plasma level of preoperative CRP was also higher in the acute pain group than in the other two groups (mean [interquartile range]: 10.7 [3.3, 29.3] vs 1 [0.5, 3.8]mg/l; P &lt; 0.001), suggesting that elevated preoperative plasma levels of CRP were associated with delirium.

Conclusions

Preoperative acute pain was associated with POD, and increased plasma levels of CRP provide a marker. In addition, we found that illiteracy and advanced age were risk factors for POD.

Lactate Suppresses Macrophage Pro-Inflammatory Response to LPS Stimulation by Inhibition of YAP and NF-κB Activation via GPR81-Mediated Signaling

Recent evidence from cancer research indicates that lactate exerts a suppressive effect on innate immune responses in cancer. This study investigated the mechanisms by which lactate suppresses macrophage pro-inflammatory responses. Macrophages [Raw 264.7 and bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs)] were treated with LPS in the presence or absence of lactate. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, NF-κB and YAP activation and nuclear translocation were examined. Our results show that lactate significantly attenuates LPS stimulated macrophage TNF-α and IL-6 production. Lactate also suppresses LPS stimulated macrophage NF-κB and YAP activation and nuclear translocation in macrophages. Interestingly, YAP activation and nuclear translocation are required for LPS stimulated macrophage NF-κB activation and TNFα production. Importantly, lactate suppressed YAP activation and nuclear translocation is mediated by GPR81 dependent AMKP and LATS activation which phosphorylates YAP, resulting in YAP inactivation. Finally, we demonstrated that LPS stimulation induces an interaction between YAP and NF-κB subunit p65, while lactate decreases the interaction of YAP and NF-κB, thus suppressing LPS induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Our study demonstrates that lactate exerts a previously unknown role in the suppression of macrophage pro-inflammatory cytokine production via GPR81 mediated YAP inactivation, resulting in disruption of YAP and NF-κB interaction and nuclear translocation in macrophages.

Long-term outcomes of extending dual antiplatelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation for acute coronary syndrome: a large single-center study

To date, DAPT duration of 1 year is the standard treatment for ACS patients after DES implantation in China. However, less is known about the effect of prolonging DAPT duration of long-term outcome for this kind of patient in the real world of China. We carried out a large sample case in the biggest cardiovascular center in China to observe the effect of prolonging DAPT duration for more than 1 year on long-term outcome in ACS patients after PCI. We enrolled 5187 consecutive patients with ACS who underwent DES implantation from January 2013 to December 2013. We recorded when DAPT was discontinued, and analyzed patients' data comparing different DAPT durations (DAPT = 1 year or >1 year). Two-year clinical outcomes were compared between patients from the two groups. The baseline characteristics were almost the same between the two groups, except the number of stents per patient (DAPT = 1 year vs. >1 year, 1.80 ± 1.02 vs. 1.86 ± 1.05, p = .04). Patients with DAPT = 1 year had a higher incidence of all-cause death (1.8% vs. 0.1%, p < .01), cardiac death (0.8% vs. 0.1%, p < .01), and stent thrombosis (0.7% vs. 0.2%, p < .01) vs. DAPT > 1 year, respectively. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the number of stents per patient was an independent factor for prolonged DAPT (odds ratio: 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.14, p = .03). Cox regression analysis showed that the independent risk predictors of all-cause death were age and cardiac dysfunction, whereas the independent protective predictors were body mass index and DAPT > 1 year. In the subgroup analysis of high bleeding risk, the DAPT > 1-year group still experienced a lower incidence of all-cause death. For patients with ACS undergoing DES implantation, 1 year of DAPT may be not sufficient. Appropriate prolongation of DAPT may relate to the reduction of the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events and it does not increase the bleeding events, even for the patients with high bleeding risk.

Observation of the Doubly Cabibbo-Suppressed Decay D^{+}→K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} and Evidence for D^{+}→K^{+}ω

Using 2.93  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV with the BESIII detector, the first observation of the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed decay D^{+}→K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} is reported. After removing decays that contain narrow intermediate resonances, including D^{+}→K^{+}η, D^{+}→K^{+}ω, and D^{+}→K^{+}ϕ, the branching fraction of the decay D^{+}→K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} is measured to be (1.13±0.08_{stat}±0.03_{syst})×10^{-3}. The ratio of branching fractions of D^{+}→K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} over D^{+}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{+}π^{0} is found to be (1.81±0.15)%, which corresponds to (6.28±0.52)tan^{4}θ_{C}, where θ_{C} is the Cabibbo mixing angle. This ratio is significantly larger than the corresponding ratios for other doubly Cabibbo-suppressed decays. The asymmetry of the branching fractions of charge-conjugated decays D^{±}→K^{±}π^{±}π^{∓}π^{0} is also determined, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the first evidence for the D^{+}→K^{+}ω decay, with a statistical significance of 3.3σ, is presented and the branching fraction is measured to be B(D^{+}→K^{+}ω)=(5.7_{-2.1}^{+2.5}_{stat}±0.2_{syst})×10^{-5}.

Comparison of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Medical Therapy in Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients With 3-Vessel Disease

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to compare the long-term prognosis of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients with 3-vessel disease (3VD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or medical therapy (MT).Methods and Results:Overall, 3,928 NSTE-ACS patients with 3VD were consecutively enrolled from April 2004 to February 2011 at Fu Wai Hospital. Patients were followed up for a median of 7.5 years, and were divided into PCI, CABG or MT groups according to their treatment. Compared with patients undergoing PCI, CABG patients had lower rates of myocardial infarction (MI), unplanned revascularization, major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and a higher rate of stroke (all P<0.05). Compared with MT, PCI and CABG had lower incidences of all adverse outcomes (all P<0.05), except for a similar rate of stroke between PCI and MT. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed similar results. After adjusting for confounders, CABG was independently associated with a lower risk of cardiac death, revascularization and MACCE compared with PCI (all P<0.05). Compared with MT, PCI reduced long-term risk of death, whereas CABG reduced long-term risk of death, revascularization and MACCE events (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In NSTE-ACS patients with 3VD, CABG is independently associated with a lower risk of long-term cardiac death, revascularization and MACCE compared with PCI. Patients who received MT alone had the highest risk of long-term MACCE.

[Related factors and the long-term outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention of premature acute myocardial infarction]

Objective: To explore the related factors of premature acute myocardial infarction(AMI), and to compare the the long-term outcomes in patients with and without premature AMI after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This study was a prospective cohort study.From January 2013 to December 2013, 10 724 consecutive patients with coronary heart disease undergoing PCI in Fuwai Hospital were enrolled. Among them 1 920 patients with the diagnosis of AMI were divided into two groups: premature AMI (man≤50 years old, woman≤60 years old) and non-premature AMI. The baseline characteristics were collected, and multivariate logistic regression was uesed to analysis the related factors of premature AMI. The clinical outcomes, including the major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events(MACCE) which was the composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, revascularization, stroke and stent thrombosis, as well as bleeding events, during hospitalization, at 2 years and 5 years follow-up were analyzed. Results: A total of 1 920 AMI patiens were included(age was (56.5±11.3) years old)，with 1 612(84.0%) males. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in gender, body mass index, blood lipid, complications, inflammatory markers, etc (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed body mass index(OR=1.06, 95%CI 1.01-1.10, P<0.01), triglyceride(OR=1.47, 95%CI 1.14-1.90, P<0.01), serum uric acid level(OR=1.02, 95%CI 1.01-1.04, P<0.01), high density lipoprotein cholesterol level(OR=0.33, 95%CI 0.14-0.78, P=0.01) and history of hypertension(OR=0.72, 95%CI 0.56-0.93, P=0.01) were independent related factors of premature AMI. The incidence of all-cause death and cardiac death were lower during hospitalization, at 2 years and 5 years follow-up in the premature AMI group than in non-premature AMI group(all P<0.05). In the premature AMI group, the incidence of MACCE and stroke was lower, with more bleeding events in 5 years follow-up(all P<0.05). Conclusions: Metabolic abnormalities, including high BMI, high triglyceride level and high serum uric acid, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level are the related factor of premature AMI. The incidence of ischemic events in patients with premature AMI is lower, while the incidence of bleeding events is higher than non-premature AMI patients.

Prediabetes and long-term outcomes in patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease: A large single-center cohort study

Aims/Introduction

Whether detection of prediabetes by routinely testing hemoglobin A_1c and fasting plasma glucose in three‐vessel disease patients could identify individuals at high risk of future cardiovascular disease events remains unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between different glycemic status and clinical outcomes in this specific population.

Materials and Methods

This study included 8,891 Chinese patients with three‐vessel disease. Patients were categorized according to their glycemic status (normoglycemia [NG], n = 3,195; prediabetes, n = 1,978; diabetes mellitus, n = 3,718).

Results

The median follow‐up time was 7.5 years, during which 1,354 deaths and 2,340 major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events occurred. Compared with the NG group, patients in the prediabetes and diabetes mellitus groups had more comorbidities. After adjusting for confounders, the diabetes mellitus group had a higher risk of all‐cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20–1.53; P < 0.001), cardiac death (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.14–1.61; P = 0.001) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11–1.34; P < 0.001) compared with the NG group, whereas the prediabetes and NG groups had no significant difference. The diabetes mellitus group also had a higher risk of stroke compared with the NG group (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.02–1.46; P = 0.031).

Conclusions

In the context of three‐vessel disease, prediabetes patients have comparable long‐term outcomes in terms of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, cardiac death and all‐cause death to those with NG. Routine screening of glycemic metabolism based on hemoglobin A_1c and fasting plasma glucose might be valuable to identify individuals with diabetes mellitus who are at high risk of future cardiovascular disease events and individuals with prediabetes who are at high risk of progressing to diabetes mellitus.

Betulinic acid inhibits cell proliferation and migration in gastric cancer by targeting the NF-κB/VASP pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant neoplasms of the digestive system, with China leading in terms of morbidity and mortality rates. Betulinic acid (BA) is a widely-occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid that has been reported to exhibit potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activities. BA can combat tumors by inducing apoptosis, regulating cell cycle, and inhibiting autophagy, but its mechanism of action in the context of GC is unclear. A preliminary study found that higher expression of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) was correlated with migration in the GC cell line. In this study, BGC-823 cells and MNK45 cells were treated with BA for investigating its effect on the proliferation and migration of cells. Moreover, the expression of VASP and upstream signal molecules were also investigated in this background. The results showed BA could inhibit the proliferation and migration the GC cells. Furthermore, NF-κB acted as a transcription factor to upregulate VASP expression. Moreover, BA could downregulate the expression of VASP at the protein and mRNA level by inhibiting NF-κB activity. In conclusion, these results suggest that BA could inhibit the expression of VASP by negatively regulating NF-κB, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and migration of the GC cells. Our study provides a theoretical basis for exploring the molecular mechanism underlying BA-induced inhibition of proliferation and migration in GC cells.

Antibiotic eye drops prescription patterns by orthokeratology practitioners in China and the development of antibiotic usage guidelines

PURPOSE

To investigate antibiotic eye drops prescribing patterns of contact lens practitioners in Mainland China for orthokeratology (ortho-k) patients and to develop guidelines for their use.

METHODS

A questionnaire on their antibiotic prescribing habits was administered to eye care practitioners (ECP) involved in ortho-k lens fitting nationwide via an official online account. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships between prescribing habits and demographics.

RESULTS

A total of 555 ECP completed the survey, of whom 50.5 % were optometrists (non-medical degree). About 30 % of the respondents routinely prescribed antibiotic eye drops for prophylactic use before and/or after commencement of ortho-k treatment. Forty one percent of the respondents dispensed antibiotics to patients for emergency use without giving written instructions, 48.5 % used antibiotic eye drops to wet fluorescein strips during ortho-k lens fitting, and 44.9 % considered treating corneal infiltrate(s) with antibiotics to be appropriate. A set of guidelines, including when to use antibiotic eye drops during ortho-k lens treatment and their proper use, stratified by different corneal conditions, was developed.

CONCLUSIONS

Inappropriate use of antibiotic eye drops appeared to be common among ortho-k practitioners in Mainland China. Taking into account deficiencies and errors identified from the survey, a set of guidelines based on best practice was developed and can serve to provide advice for proper use of antibiotics in ortho-k practice.

[The impact of metabolic syndrome and its individual components on long-term prognosis of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention]

Objective: To investigate the impact of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its individual components on long-term prognosis of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI). Methods: Patients who underwent PCI in Fuwai Hospital in 2013 were enrolled and divided to two groups: with MS and without MS. The primary endpoint of 2-year follow-up was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including death, myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization. Results: Of the 10 422 PCI patients, there were 5 656 (54.27%) without MS and 4 766 (45.73%) with MS. Patients in the MS group were younger, tended to be male and had more comorbidities. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the proportion of drug-coated stents and the success rate of interventional therapy. The 2-year follow-up showed that the incidence of MACE in the MS group was significantly higher than that in the MS-free group (12.0% vs 10.0%, P<0.001), which was mainly due to the significantly higher revascularization rate in the MS group than in the non-MS group (9.5% vs 7.9%, P=0.003). Cox's regression analysis showed that MS was an independent risk factor for MACE. In MS component analysis, abnormal glucose metabolism was an independent risk factor for MACE events. Conclusions: Among the patients undergoing PCI, the incidence of MACE in patients with MS is significantly higher than that in patients without MS, and MS was an independent risk factor for MACE. In addition, hyperglycemia is an independent predictor for MACE.

Σ^{+} and Σ[over ¯]^{-} Polarization in the J/ψ and ψ(3686) Decays

From 1310.6×10^{6}  J/ψ and 448.1×10^{6}  ψ(3686) events collected with the BESIII experiment, we report the first observation of Σ^{+} and Σ[over ¯]^{-} spin polarization in e^{+}e^{-}→J/ψ[ψ(3686)]→Σ^{+}Σ[over ¯]^{-} decays. The relative phases of the form factors ΔΦ have been measured to be (-15.5±0.7±0.5)° and (21.7±4.0±0.8)° with J/ψ and ψ(3686) data, respectively. The nonzero value of ΔΦ allows for a direct and simultaneous measurement of the decay asymmetry parameters of Σ^{+}→pπ^{0}(α_{0}=-0.998±0.037±0.009) and Σ[over ¯]^{-}→p[over ¯]π^{0}(α[over ¯]_{0}=0.990±0.037±0.011), the latter value being determined for the first time. The average decay asymmetry, (α_{0}-α[over ¯]_{0})/2, is calculated to be -0.994±0.004±0.002. The CP asymmetry A_{CP,Σ}=(α_{0}+α[over ¯]_{0})/(α_{0}-α[over ¯]_{0})=-0.004±0.037±0.010 is extracted for the first time, and is found to be consistent with CP conservation.

EZH2 is involved in vulnerability to neuroinflammation and depression-like behaviors induced by chronic stress in different aged mice

BACKGROUND

Microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression is closely related to pathogenesis of depression. Aging is a known risk factor for neuroinflammation in the central nervous system and subsequent behavioral impairment. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a methyltransferase of histone H3 lysine 27 which regulates microglial activation, plays a crucial role in proinflammatory cytokines expression. However, whether the EZH2 is involved in susceptibility to depression in different ages remains elusive.

METHODS

Young and aged C57BL/6 mice were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress for three weeks. Depression- and anxiety-like behaviors, spatial memory impairment, and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, P-p65, EZH2, H3K27me3 and SOCS3 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were measured using an established behavioral battery, ELISA, immunohistochemistry and western blotting techniques. Moreover, EPZ-6438, an inhibitor of EZH2, was utilized to detect the role of EZH2 in neuroinflammation and behavioral abnormalities.

RESULTS

CUMS induced depression-like behaviors and spatial memory impairment, elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and P-p65, enhanced M1 microglia activation, and increased levels of EZH2, H3K27me3 and SOCS3 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in young and aged mice. Both unstressed and stressed aged mice displayed attention-deficit behavioral outcomes, alteration of protein levels compared with young mice. However, inhibition of EZH2 could relieve most of behavioral and molecular alterations.

LIMITATIONS

A relative small sample size is a limitation.

CONCLUSIONS

EZH2 might be involved in susceptibility to neuroinflammation and depression-like behaviors in different aged mice.

PPARγ-mediated microglial activation phenotype is involved in depressive-like behaviors and neuroinflammation in stressed C57BL/6J and ob/ob mice

BACKGROUND

There is an increased risk for obese patients with chronic low-grade inflammation to develop depression. Stress induces microglial activation and neuroinflammation that play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of depression. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), a nuclear transcription factor, regulates microglial polarization and neuroinflammation. Our study aimed to investigate the role of PPARγ in the development of depressive symptoms and neuroinflammation induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) in wild-type/C57BL/6J (wt) and leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice.

METHODS

CUMS was used to build a depression model with wt and ob/ob mice. Depressive-like behaviors were evaluated by sucrose preference test, open field test, tail suspension test, and Morris water maze test. Cytokines, the activated microglial state, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and PPARγ expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, and western blotting. Additionally, pioglitazone, an agonist of PPARγ, was used as a treatment intervention.

RESULTS

After CUMS, ob/ob mice exhibited severe behavioral disorders and spatial memory impairment, and higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, M1/M2 ratios, and NF-κB activation, as well as lower levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and PPARγ expression in the PFC and HIP compared to wt mice. Administration of pioglitazone relieved these alterations in wt and ob/ob mice.

CONCLUSIONS

CUMS was able to induce severe depressive-like behaviors, neuroinflammation, and reduced expression of PPARγ in ob/ob mice as compared to wt mice. This suggests that PPARγ mediates the microglial activation phenotype, which might be related to the susceptibility of stressed ob/ob mice to develop depressive disorder.

Molecularly Imprinted Synthetic Antibodies: From Chemical Design to Biomedical Applications

Billions of dollars are invested into the monoclonal antibody market every year to meet the increasing demand in clinical diagnosis and therapy. However, natural antibodies still suffer from poor stability and high cost, as well as ethical issues in animal experiments. Thus, developing antibody substitutes or mimics is a long-term goal for scientists. The molecular imprinting technique presents one of the most promising strategies for antibody mimicking. The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are also called "molecularly imprinted synthetic antibodies" (MISAs). The breakthroughs of key technologies and innovations in chemistry and material science in the last decades have led to the rapid development of MISAs, and their molecular affinity has become comparable to that of natural antibodies. Currently, MISAs are undergoing a revolutionary transformation of their applications, from initial adsorption and separation to the rising fields of biomedicine. Herein, the fundamental chemical design of MISAs is examined, and then current progress in biomedical applications is the focus. Meanwhile, the potential of MISAs as qualified substitutes or even to transcend the performance of natural antibodies is discussed from the perspective of frontier needs in biomedicines, to facilitate the rapid development of synthetic artificial antibodies.

Extraction of Low Methoxyl Pectin from Fresh Sunflower Heads by Subcritical Water Extraction

Subcritical water extraction (SWE) of pectin from fresh sunflower heads was optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions for the maximum yield of pectin (6.57 ± 0.6%) were found to be a pressure of 8 bar, temperature of 120 °C, time of 20 min, and liquid-solid ratio (LSR) of 7 mL/g. The degree of esterification (DE) of pectin was analyzed by titrimetry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) methods, which was low methoxyl pectin. The molecular weight (M _w), galacturonic acid (GalA) content, and surface tension of pectin were 11.50 kDa, 82%, and 45.38 mN/m (1.5% w/v), respectively. Moreover, thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis confirmed that pectin had excellent thermal stability. FTIR and ¹H NMR spectra confirmed its structure. This study demonstrated that SWE could be used as a productive and environmentally friendly method for extracting pectin from fresh sunflower heads.