Sex Differences in Depressive Symptoms in 1308 Patients Post-Stroke at Entry to Cardiac Rehabilitation

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to determine whether a sex difference exists in the prevalence of post-stroke depressive symptoms (PSDS) at entry to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and to determine the correlates of PSDS in all patients, and in women and men separately.

METHODS

People post-stroke at entry to CR from database records (2006-2017) were included. Bivariate analyses identified PSDS correlates (≥16 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) in all patients and women and men separately.

RESULTS

Patients (n = 1308, 28.9% women), mean age of 63.9 ± 12.9 yr, were 24.2 ± 9.9 mo post-stroke at CR entry. Among all patients, 30.0% had PSDS. A greater proportion of women than men had PSDS (38.6 vs 26.6%; P < .001). Correlates of PSDS in all patients were sex (women) (OR = 1.6: 95% CI, 1.14-2.12), being unemployed, ≤60 yr old, prescribed antidepressant medication, having lower cardiorespiratory fitness (peak oxygen uptake [V̇ o2peak ]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), higher body mass index (BMI), no transient ischemic attack, and longer time from stroke to CR entry (>12 mo). Correlates in women were being obese (BMI ≥ 30), 51-70 yr old, prescribed antidepressant medication, and not married. Correlates in men were being ≤60 yr old, unemployed, prescribed antidepressant medication, having lower V̇ o2peak , sleep apnea, COPD, and no hypertension.

CONCLUSION

Women were disproportionately affected by PSDS at entry to CR in bivariate and multivariable analyses. Women and men had mostly unique correlates of PSDS, indicating tailored strategies to address PSDS are required. PSDS disproportionately affected patients with longer delay to CR entry, suggesting efforts should target timely referral to facilitate earlier and repeated assessments and management.

Review of the Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Artemisia Argyi, Artemisia Princeps, and Artemisia Montana

BACKGROUND

Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Van., Artemisia princeps Pamp., and Artemisia montana Pamp., which are the sources of mugwort, have been popular across East Asian countries for nearly 2000 years now. Essential oils are the major chemical component obtained from them, exhibiting a variety of biological activities.

OBJECTIVE

This review mainly focuses on the chemical composition and biological activities of A. argyi essential oil (AAEO), A. princeps essential oil (APEO), and A. montana essential oil (AMEO), with a special focus on their common and specific characteristics. The traditional use, distribution, and botany of A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana have also been summarized. In addition, the pharmacokinetics of AAEO was involved.

METHODS

We collected literature from online and offline databases by entering the following keywords: mugwort, wormwood, A. argyi, A. princeps, A. montana, essential oil, and volatile oil. No language limitation was present in our search.

RESULTS

A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana were used as traditional medicine, food, and health care products for a long time in Asia. They are widely distributed in most parts of China, Korea, and Japan. AAEO, APEO, and AMEO composed of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives, alkanes, olefins, etc. Most of the specific compounds of AAEO were monoterpenoids, nearly half of the specific compounds of APEO were aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the sesquiterpenes were the typical specific compounds of AMEO. The mugwort essential oil showed multiple biological activities, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, anticoagulation, sedative, and insecticide.

CONCLUSION

The present review provided insight into the chemical composition and biological activity of AAEO, APEO, and AMEO. The comprehensive literature showed that they possessed wide application prospects in various fields. However, they should be studied in more depth. The underlying bioactive mechanisms should be elucidated and their toxicity and quality control should be determined.

Immunoregulatory mechanism studies of ginseng leaves on lung cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Panax ginseng is one of the oldest and most generally prescribed herbs in Eastern traditional medicine to treat diseases. Several studies had documented that ginseng leaves have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties similar to those of ginseng root. The aim of this research was to forecast of the molecular mechanism of ginseng leaves on lung cancer by molecular docking and network pharmacology so as to decipher ginseng leaves' entire mechanism. The compounds associated with ginseng leaves were searched by TCMSP. TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction databases were used to sort out the potential targets of the main chemical components. Targets were collected from OMIM, PharmGKB, TTD, DrugBank and GeneCards which related to immunity and lung cancer. Ginseng leaves exert its lung cancer suppressive function by regulating the several signaling proteins, such as JUN, STAT3, AKT1, TNF, MAPK1, TP53. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the immunoreaction against lung cancer by ginseng leaves might be related to response to lipopolysaccharide, response to oxidative stress, PI3K-Akt, MAPK and TNF pathway. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that hydrogen bonding was interaction's core forms. The results of CCK8 test and qRT-PCR showed that ginseng leaves inhibit cell proliferation and regulates AKT1 and P53 expression in A549. The present study clarifies the mechanism of Ginseng leaves against lung cancer and provides evidence to support its clinical use.

Comprehensive analysis of the cancer driver genes in breast cancer demonstrates their roles in cancer prognosis and tumor microenvironment

Background

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Cancer driver gene-mediated alterations in the tumor microenvironment are critical factors affecting the biological behavior of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to identify the expression characteristics and prognostic value of cancer driver genes in breast cancer.

Methods

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets are used as the training and test sets. Classified according to cancer and paracancerous tissues, we identified differentially expressed cancer driver genes. We further screened prognosis-associated genes, and candidate genes were submitted for the construction of a risk signature. Functional enrichment analysis and transcriptional regulatory networks were performed to search for possible mechanisms by which cancer driver genes affect breast cancer prognosis.

Results

We identified more than 200 differentially expressed driver genes and 27 prognosis-related genes. High-risk group patients had a lower survival rate compared to the low-risk group (P<0.05), and risk signature showed high specificity and sensitivity in predicting the patient prognosis (AUC 0.790). Multivariate regression analysis suggested that risk scores can independently predict patient prognosis. Further, we found differences in PD-1 expression, immune score, and stromal score among different risk groups.

Conclusion

Our study confirms the critical prognosis role of cancer driver genes in breast cancer. The cancer driver gene risk signature may provide a novel biomarker for clinical treatment strategy and survival prediction of breast cancer.

A compact electron beam ion trap in support of high-temperature plasma diagnostics based on conduction-cooled superconducting coils

Spectroscopic diagnostics of future fusion reactor plasmas require information on impurity line emissions, especially for relevant high-Z metal elements (e.g., tungsten). These materials will be widely used as plasma facing components for their high heat tolerance and low sputtering yield. Based on an electron beam ion trap, a compact impurity spectra platform is developed to mimic the high-temperature environment of a fusion reactor. The proposed platform can deliver a focused e-beam at energies over 30 keV using a confining magnetic field of ∼1.0 T generated by two superconducting coils (NbTi). Cooled by a closed-loop cryocooler, the coils can avoid the usage of a complicated cryogenic system involving the handling of liquid helium. For spectroscopic studies of highly charged ions, a spherically curved crystal spectrometer is proposed to measure a wavelength range around 2-4 Å covering the typical wavelength range expected to be emitted by metal ions in a fusion plasma. This paper reports the design and development progress of the platform.

Operationalization of intersectionality in physical activity and sport research: A systematic scoping review

Participation in and opportunities for physical activity (PA) and sports (PA inclusively hereafter) are known to vary across individuals with different social positions. Intersectionality theory may help us to better understand the complex processes of multiple interlocking systems of oppression and privilege shaped by intersections of individuals’ social categories. The objectives of this systematic scoping review were (1) to summarize the findings of articles examining PA claimed operationalization of intersectionality and (2) to identify the scope and gaps pertaining to the operationalization of intersectionality in PA research. A search was conducted in September 2019 in seven electronic databases (e.g., SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Web of Science) for relevant research articles written in English. Key search terms included “intersectionality” AND “physical activity” OR “sport”. Database searches, data screening and extraction, and narrative synthesis were conducted between September 2019 and May 2020. Of 16564 articles identified, 45 articles were included in this review. The majority of included articles used qualitative methods (n = 41), with two quantitative and two mixed-methods articles. The most frequently observed intersectional social position was sex/gender + race/ethnicity (n = 11), followed by sex/gender + race/ethnicity + sexuality (n = 6) and sex/gender + race/ethnicity + religion (n = 6). Most qualitative studies (n = 38) explicitly claimed operationalization of intersectionality as a key theoretical framework, and over half of these studies (n = 27) implicitly used intra-categorical intersectionality. Two quantitative studies were identified which examined a number of intersections simultaneously using inter-categorical intersectionality. Complex processes of individual and social-structural level factors that drive inequalities in PA opportunities and participation could be better elucidated with the operationalization of intersectionality theory. Intersectionality theory may serve as a useful framework in both qualitative and quantitative investigations. Advancement in quantitative intersectionality is critical in order to produce knowledge that could inform more inclusive PA promotion efforts.

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Intra-categorical intersectionality is commonly used in most qualitative investigations.

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Inter-categorical intersectionality is used in quantitative research.

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Utilizing multiplicative statistical models may advance quantitative intersectionality.

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Investigating varying axes of marginalization beyond sex/gender + race/ethnicity is important.

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Intersectionality is useful in better understanding disparities in physical activity.

Development and preliminary test of a space-resolved vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy in EAST

The impurity radiation from the divertor region of the EAST tokamak is dominantly in the wavelength range of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) due to the elevated edge electron temperature. A space-resolved VUV spectroscopy is developed to measure impurity radiation in the divertor region. An eagle-type VUV spectrometer with a focal length of 1 m is adopted in this system, equipped with a spherical grating and a charged-coupled device (CCD) detector. The performance of the VUV spectrometer is preliminarily tested on a synchrotron radiation facility. The wavelength calibration is conducted near 65 nm. It is found that the wavelength range observed by the CCD detector is about 11.07 nm around the central wavelength of about 65 nm. With a linear dispersion of 0.0053 nm/pixel, it is possible to measure the ion temperature lower than 20 eV at the edge region by analyzing the Doppler broadening of a carbon line. These test results show that the performance of the VUV spectrometer is capable of measuring divertor radiation and analyzing the ion temperature of edge impurity ions.

Large-scale transcriptome analysis identified RNA methylation regulators as novel prognostic signatures for lung adenocarcinoma

Background

The abnormal expression of genes is an essential factor affecting the prognosis of cancer. RNA modification is a way of regulating post-transcriptional levels, including m⁶A, m⁵C, m¹A RNA methylation. Studies have found that RNA methylation regulates tumorigenesis development and stem cell regeneration. However, there are few studies on lung adenocarcinoma. This study aims to explore the clinical value of RNA methylation for lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods

We summarized thirty-one RNA methylation regulators. The training set was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and the test set was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the expression of RNA methylation regulators. We constructed tumor subgroup models and risk models based on the expression of those regulators. Principal component analysis (PCA) and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) confirmed the accuracy of the models. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) validates the results in vitro.

Results

Most RNA methylation regulators had distinct expressions in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues (P<0.05). All the models showed high predictive performance (AUC: 0.65-0.82), and the five-year survival of patients in each group was statistically different (P<0.05). The patients in the high-risk group were more likely to have a higher stage, more lymph node metastases, and distant metastases, showing a poor clinical outcome. Patients with high expression of NOP2 or HNRNP were more likely to have a poorly differentiated in vitro experiment.

Conclusions

With our study, we found that the expressions of most RNA methylation regulators were significantly different in cancer and para-cancerous tissues. Different molecular phenotypes constructed by RNA methylation regulators can be independent risk factors for the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Our study demonstrates the critical role of RNA methylation in lung adenocarcinoma, and it is expected to supply a reference for the prognostic stratification and treatment strategy development of lung adenocarcinoma.

Symmetric Continuously Tunable Photonic Band Gaps in Blue-Phase Liquid Crystals Switched by an Alternating Current Field

Symmetric continuously tunable three-dimensional (3D) liquid photonic crystals have been investigated using self-organized blue-phase liquid crystal films. The photonic band gap in the overall visible spectrum can be tuned continuously, reversibly, and rapidly as the applied electric field changes. After driven by the applied field, four-time enhancement of the reflectivity results in more vivid reflection colors. A lasing emission of tuning working wavelength has been demonstrated by using the dye-doped blue-phase liquid crystal film. With the advantages of fast response speed, no alignment layer, large-scale electrically shift of the photonic band gap, and macro optical isotropy, this self-assembled soft material has many potential applications in high-performance reflective full-color display, 3D tunable lasers, and nonlinear optics.

Upgrade of X-ray crystal spectrometer for high temperature measurement using neon-like xenon lines on EAST

A two-crystal X-ray spectrometer system has been implemented in the EAST tokamak to simultaneously diagnose high- and low-temperature plasmas using He- and H-like argon spectra. But for future fusion devices like ITER and Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), argon ions become fully stripped in the core and the intensity of the H-like lines will be significantly at high temperatures (T_e > 5 keV). With increasing auxiliary heating power on EAST, the core plasma temperature could also reach 5 keV and higher. In such conditions, the use of a xenon puff becomes an appropriate choice for both ion-temperature and flow-velocity measurements. A new two-crystal system using a quartz 110 crystal (2d = 4.913 Å) to view He-like argon lines and a quartz 011 crystal (2d = 6.686 Å) to view Ne-like xenon spectra has been deployed on a poloidal X-ray crystal spectrometer. While the He-like argon spectra will be used to measure the plasma temperature in the edge plasma region, the Ne-like xenon spectra will be used for measurement in the hot core. The new crystal arrangement allows a wide temperature measurement ranging from 0.5 to 10 keV or even higher, being the first tests for burning plasmas like ITER and CFETR. The preliminary result of lab-tests, Ne-like xenon lines measurement will be presented.

Effect of Notch1 gene on remyelination in multiple sclerosis in mouse models of acute demyelination

This study aims to explore the effects of Notch1 gene on remyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS). A mouse model of acute demyelination was successfully established and the model mice were grouped as cuprizone (CPZ) group, CPZ + small interfering RNA (siRNA)-Notch1 (siNotch1) group, and CPZ + siRNA negative control (NC) group. Meanwhile, another 3 groups (control, control + siNotch1, and control + siRNA NC) were established in normal mice. The changes of weight and maintenance time in rotating drum of mice were observed. Western blot analysis for the protein expressions related to Notch signaling pathway and oligodendrocyte (OL) differentiation in the corpus callosum of the mice. After model establishment, the weight of CPZ-induced demyelinated mice was decreased. During the repair period, the balance ability and movement of the mice was recovered, especially for those injected with siNotch1 plasmid. After model establishment, the number of myelinated axons was decreased. In comparison with the CPZ and CPZ siRNA NC groups, the CPZ + siNotch1 group had a decrease in the number of premature OLs, but increase in mature OLs, and a decrease in oligodendrocyte precursor cells and astrocytes. The expressions of proteins related to Notch signaling pathway, such as HES, Jagged-1 were decreased in the CPZ + siNotch1 group in contrast to the CPZ and CPZ + siRNA groups, but the OL-related transcription factor Sox10 was increased in the CPZ + siNotch1 group than in the CPZ + siRNA NC and CPZ groups, and Id2 was decreased. Our study provided evidence that the inhibition of Notch1 gene could accelerate remyelination in MS.

Electro-optical performance of polymer-stabilized sphere phase liquid crystal displays

Electro-optical properties of polymer-stabilized sphere phase liquid crystal (PS-SPLC) switching devices are analyzed and validated experimentally. The experimental results show the voltage-dependent transmittance curves of PS-SPLC devices. A diffraction approach, called extended anomalous diffraction approach, is proposed to fit the experimental data. Good agreement between experiment and model is obtained. The scattering model provides practical guidance for the improvement of PS-SPLC displays performance and optimization.

The icephobic performance of alkyl-grafted aluminum surfaces

This work analyzes the anti-icing performance of flat aluminum surfaces coated with widely used alkyl-group based layers of octadecyltrimethoxysilane, fluorinated alkylsilane and stearic acid as they are subjected to repeated icing/deicing cycles. The wetting properties of the samples upon long-term immersion in water are also evaluated. The results demonstrate that smooth aluminum surfaces grafted with alkyl groups are prone to gradual degradation of their hydrophobic and icephobic properties, which is caused by interactions and reactions with both ice and liquid water. This implies that alkyl-group based monolayers on aluminum surfaces are not likely to be durable icephobic coatings unless their durability in contact with ice and/or water is significantly improved.

Laser-activated gold catalysts for liquid-phase growth of cadmium selenide nanowires

A laser-activated-catalyst (LAC) technique was developed to grow CdSe nanowires in liquid medium at room temperature. The gold catalysts dispersed in the precursor solution were activated by a pulsed laser so as to decompose the precursor and catalyse the nanowire growth simultaneously. The LAC technique can achieve accurate positioning of nanowires, which is beneficial for device fabrication.

Development of the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy and the beam emission spectroscopy on the EAST tokamak

Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS) and Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) diagnostics based on a heating neutral beam have recently been installed on EAST to provide local measurements of ion temperature, velocity, and density. The system design features common light collection optics for CXRS and BES, background channels for the toroidal views, multi-chord viewing sightlines, and high throughput lens-based spectrometers with good signal to noise ratio for high time resolution measurements. Additionally, two spectrometers each has a tunable grating to observe any wavelength of interest are used for the CXRS and one utilizes a fixed-wavelength grating to achieve higher diffraction efficiency for the BES system. A real-time wavelength correction is implemented to achieve a high-accuracy wavelength calibration. Alignment and calibration are performed. Initial performance test results are presented.

Metabolomic profiling for identification of potential biomarkers in the protective effects of modified Sinisan against liver injury in dimethylnitrosamine treated rats

Metabolomics is a new platform based on the comprehensive analysis of low molecular weight metabolites and provides a powerful approach to discover biomarkers in biological systems. Modified Sinisan (MSNS), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, displayed bright prospects in the prevention and therapy of liver injury. However, its molecular mechanism of hepatoprotective effects remains unclear. This paper was designed to explore the effects and potential mechanisms of MSNS against dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver injury. Global metabolic profiling was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS) in conjunction with multivariate data analysis and pathway analysis. Eleven serum biomarkers were identified and pathway analysis results showed that phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, retinol metabolism, tyrosine metabolism were perturbed by liver injury. More importantly, MSNS has showed satisfactory pharmacological effect on liver injury through partially regulating the perturbed pathways, correlates well to the biochemical and histopathological detection results. The present study proved that the robust metabolomics approach is promising for unraveling hepatoprotective effects of MSNS and these findings provide new insights into mechanisms of the liver injury, and its pathophysiologic processes.

Screening for differentially expressed genes in endophytic fungus strain 39 during co-culture with herbal extract of its host Dioscorea nipponica Makino

Strain 39 is an endophytic fungus which was isolated from Dioscorea nipponica Makino (DNM). After Strain 39 co-cultured with ethanol extract of DNM rhizomes for several days, the content of saponins in this culture mixture would be obviously increased. To analyze the mechanism of this microbial transformation, we used the differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) method to compare the transcriptomes between Strain 39 cultured in normal PD medium and in PD medium which added ethanol extract of DNM rhizomes. We amplified 29 DDRT-PCR bands using 12 primer combinations of three anchored primers and five random primers, and six bands were re-amplified. Analysis of real-time PCR and sequence alignment showed that three clones were up-regulated in sample group: squalene epoxidase, squalene synthase, and catalase, one clone was expressed only in sample group. The possible roles and origins of the above genes were discussed, and the molecular mechanism of Strain 39 biotransformation was speculated. This study is the first report of the molecular biotransformation mechanism of saponins production by endophytic fungus of DNM.

Protective effect of Zhuyeqing liquor, a Chinese traditional health liquor, on acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice

The study first evaluated the hepatoprotective effect of Zhuyeqing Liquor (ZYQL) against acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. Animals were administered orally with 50% alcohol 12 ml/kg at 4 h after the doses of ZYQL everyday for fourteen consecutive days except mice in normal group. The protective effect was evaluated by biochemical parameters including serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), total-bilirubin (TBIL) and reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver tissue. The result were confirmed histopathologically and the expression of TNF-α in mice liver was determined by immunohistochemistry analysis. HPLC-PDA was used for phytochemical analysis of ZYQL, and the plant source of each compound was claritied by UPLC-TOF-MS. The result showed that pretreatment with ZYQL exhibited a significant protective effect by reversing the biochemical parameters and histopathological changes in a dose depended manner. HPLC analysis indicated that ZYQL contained flavonoids, iridoids, terpenoids and phenolic acids, which might be the active chemicals. This study demonstrated the hepatoprotective activity of ZYQL, thus scientifically supported the function of its health care.

Superhydrophobic surfaces: are they really ice-repellent?

This work investigates the anti-ice performance of various superhydrophobic surfaces under different conditions. The adhesion strength of glaze ice (similar to that deposited during "freezing rain") is used as a measure of ice-releasing properties. The results show that the ice-repellent properties of the materials deteriorate during icing/deicing cycles, as surface asperities appear to be gradually damaged. It is also shown that the anti-icing efficiency of superhydrophobic surfaces is significantly lower in a humid atmosphere, as water condensation both on top of and between surface asperities takes place, leading to significantly larger values of ice adhesion strength. This work thus shows that superhydrophobic surfaces are not always ice-repellent and their use as anti-ice materials may therefore be limited.

Hollow nanoparticles of metal oxides and sulfides: fast preparation via laser ablation in liquid

In this work, diverse hollow nanoparticles of metal oxides and sulfides were prepared by simply laser ablating metal targets in properly chosen liquids. The Kirkendall voiding and the selective heating with an infrared laser were shown to work as two independent mechanisms for the formation of such hollow nanoparticles in only one- or two-step synthesis approaches. One of the prepared materials, ZnS hollow nanoparticles, showed high performance in gas sensing. The simple, fast, inexpensive technique that is proposed demonstrates very promising perspectives.

[Study of quality standards on Qianshan Huoxue plaster]

OBJECTIVE

To establish the methods of identification and assay in Qianshan Huoxue Gao.

METHOD

Using TLC to identify Sanchi, Dragon's Blood and using HPLC to determine the content of ginsenoside Rg1.

RESULT

The linear range of ginsenoside Rg1 was from 0.153 9 to 1.026 microg. The average recovery was 97.4%, RSD was 2.1%.

CONCLUSION

The methods are simple and have good reproducibility.