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A component of licorice polysaccharide (GPS-1) was extracted from licorice, its primary structure was identified and characterized for the first time, and its immunomodulatory activity was studied. Crude licorice polysaccharide was isolated and purified by DEAE sepharose FF ion-exchange column chromatography and Chromdex 200 PG gel filtration column chromatography to obtain a purified Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide named GPS-1. NMR and methylation analysis revealed that GPS-1 is composed of homogalacturonan (HG)-type pectin with 4)-D-GalpA-(1 as the backbone. This study of GPS-1 also examined its significant role in regulating immune activity in vitro and in vivo . As a result, GPS-1 promoted the secretion of IFN-γ and IL-4 in mice and increased the proportion of CD3 + CD4 + and CD3 + CD8 + T lymphocytes in their spleens. Dendritic cells (DCs) treated with GPS-1 showed promotion of DC maturation, antigen presentation, and phagocytic capacity. The results suggest that GPS-1 is a potential immunomodulator that stimulates the immune system by regulating multiple signaling pathways. Combined with our characterization of the primary structure of GPS-1, the present investigation provides the basis for future study of the form-function relationship of polysaccharides.

Discontinuities have huge impact on civil and mining engineering. To understand the spatial features of discontinuities, it is common to group them into different sets based on orientation. In this paper, a new algorithm is introduced for the identification of discontinuity sets. The new algorithm is developed by combined fuzzy C-means algorithm with variable length string genetic algorithm. In the new method, the number of discontinuity sets is not the necessary input parameter any more. This method is robust, global optimal and totally automatic. To verify its validity, the new method was firstly applied to an artificial data as well as a published data. For artificial data set, the assignment error rate is only 7.4%. For published data set, only 2 discontinuities are assigned to wrong sets. The results indicate that the new algorithm is better than fuzzy C-means algorithm and comparable with other common methods. Afterwards, the new method was utilized to analyze the orientation data sampled at an underground storage cavern site. The new method determines that the ideal number of sets is 3. The new method provided satisfactory results, which confirm its effectiveness and convenience.

Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide extract 1 (GPS-1) is a bioactive component isolated from Glycyrrhiza uralensis, also known as Chinese licorice. It appears to be pharmacologically active as an antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-tumor agent. GPS-1 has also been shown to buffer liver health and regulate the immune system. Moreover, GPS-1 is low cost and easy to extract. More study was needed to elucidate the biochemical pathways underlying the immunomodulatory and antioxidant benefits observed in Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide extract 1 (GPS-1). in vitro experiments on chicken lymphocytes and dendritic cells (DCs) show that GPS-1 significantly promotes the proliferation of immune cells and is linked to lymphocytes' secretion of IL-12, IFN-γ, and TNF-α by. DC secretion of NO, IL-2, IL-1β, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-12p70 was also increased significantly. Additionally, GPS-1 also displayed a significant antioxidant effect in vitro , able to scavenge DPPH, hydrogen peroxide, ABTS, and other free radicals like superoxide anions. Separately, GPS-1 was tested in vivo in combination with the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) – attenuated vaccine. 120 Lohmann Brown chickens were vaccinated, while another 30 became the unvaccinated blank control (BC) group. For three consecutive days 1 mL of GPS-1 was administered at doses of 19.53 μg/mL, 9.77 μg/mL, or 4.88 μg/mL to the ND-vaccinated birds, except for the vaccine control (VC), where n = 30 per group. In vivo results show that GPS-1 combined with Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine had the best efficacy at significantly increasing chickens' body weight and ND serum antibody titer, enhancing their secretion of IL-2 and IFN- γ, and promoting the development of immune organs. The results also indicate that GPS-1 was able increase the proliferation of in vitro immune cells and elevate their cytokine secretion, which enhances the body's immune response. GPS-1 also clearly has the potential to be used as an immune adjuvant alongside ND vaccination.

Previous investigations showed that the chemical constituents of the genus Swertia included xanthones, flavonoids, secoiridiods, iridiods, triterpenoids, alkaloids, volatiles, and other secondary metabolites [1]. Previous phytochemical investigations on S. chirayita have reported the presence of xanthones [10], flavonoids [11], lignans [11], terpenoids [12], iridoids [13], and essential oil [14]; however, the investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of whole plants of S chirayita was limited. The whole plant of Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H. Karst. was collected in Tibet Autonomous Region, and authenticated by Prof. Qian Shihui of Jiangsu Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where the voucher specimen (No. 201411011) was deposited. Subsequently, the residue suspended in distilled water was partitioned three times by petroleum ether (PE), ethyl acetate, and normal butanol in turn (1:1).

In recent years, wetland ecological water requirements （EWRs） have been estimated by using hydrological and functional approaches, but those approaches have not yet been integrated for a whole ecosystem. This paper presents a new method for calculating wetland EWRs, which is based on the response of habitats to water level, and determines water level threshold through the functional integrity of habitats. Results show that in the Huanghe （Yellow） River Delta water levels between 5.0 m and 5.5 m are required to maintain the functional integrity of the wetland at a value higher than 0.7. One of the dominant plants in the delta, Phragmites australis, tolerates water level fluctuation of about ± 0.25 m without the change in wetland functional integrity. The minimum, optimum and maximum EWRs for the Huanghe River Delta are 9.42× 10^6 m^3, 15.56× 10^6 m^3 and 24.12×10^6 m^3 with water levels of 5.0 m, 5.2 m and 5.5 m, corresponding to functional integrity indices of 0.70, 0.84 and 0.72, respectively. A wetland restoration program has been performed, which aims to meet these EWRs in attempt to recover from losses of up to 98% in the delta＇s former wetland area.

Background Femoral neck fractures are common fractures in the elderly. Common treatment options include internal fixation (IF) and hemiarthroplasty (HA). However, the clinical application of these two options is always controversial due to the potential clinical trauma, postoperative function, early complications, and other factors. Materials and methods Randomized controlled trials and cohort studies comparing screw fixation and hemiarthroplasty in elderly patients with displaced femoral neck fractures were extracted from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane. The revised Jadad scale or NOS treatment evaluation form was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. After extracting the data, the standard deviation of continuous data and the relative risk of binary data were used. The operation time, blood loss during operation, EQ-5D (EuroQol-5 Dimension) score, mortality rate, reoperation rate, and postoperative common complications were reviewed using Review Manager software (RevMan 5.3) were compared. Results There were 7 randomized controlled trials and 5 cohort studies. The results showed that the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and short-term EQ-5D score of the internal fixation group were lower than those of the hemi-hip replacement group, but the reoperation rate was higher. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality and common complications such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, infection, and pressure sores during short-term follow-up. Conclusions In the treatment of elderly femoral neck fractures, the screw internal fixation group has shorter operation time and less intraoperative bleeding, and the perioperative advantage is more obvious. However, the hemi-hip replacement group had more advantages in postoperative functional scoring and reoperation.

Methylcyclohexane (MCH) serves as an ideal hydrogen carrier in hydrogen storage and transportation process. In the continuous production of hydrogen from MCH dehydrogenation, the rational design of energy-efficient catalytic way with good performance remains an enormous challenge. Herein, an internal electric heating (IEH) assisted mode was designed and proposed by the directly electrical-driven catalyst using the resistive heating effect. The Pt/Al 2 O 3 on Fe foam (Pt/Al 2 O 3 /FF) with unique three-dimensional network structure was constructed. The catalysts were studied in a comprehensive way including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-mapping, in situ extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and in situ CO-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. It was found that the hydrogen evolution rate in IEH mode can reach up to above 2060 mmol·g Pt −1 ·min −1 , which is 2–5 times higher than that of reported Pt based catalysts under similar reaction conditions in conventional heating (CH) mode. In combination with measurements from high-resolution infrared thermometer, the equations of heat transfer rate, and reaction heat analysis results, the Pt/Al 2 O 3 /FF not only has high mass and heat transfer ability to promote catalytic performance, but also behaves as the heating component with a low thermal resistance and heat capacity offering a fast temperature response in IEH mode. In addition, the chemical adsorption and activation of MCH molecules can be efficiently facilitated by IEH mode, proved by the operando MCH-FTIR results. Therefore, the as-developed IEH mode can efficiently reduce the heat and mass transfer limitations and prominently boost the dehydrogenation performance, which has a broad application potential in hydrogen storage and other catalytic reaction processes.

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and disease progression in preterm infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), providing a basis for risk-stratified monitoring. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 237 preterm neonates diagnosed with Bell stage II NEC at a tertiary level teaching hospital in China between January 2015 and January 2025. Statistical analyses included univariate analysis, multivariate logistic regression, smooth curve fitting, and threshold effect analysis. Results Among the 237 mothers included, 54 (22.78%) presented HDP. Disease progression (to Bell stage III or death) occurred in 71 NEC patients (29.96% of the cohort). Infants in the HDP group presented a significantly lower progression rate compared to the non-HDP group (16.67% vs. 33.88%; OR, 0.36 [95% CI 0.14–0.92]). Furthermore, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was negatively correlated with NEC progression when the mean SBP was less than 171.20 mmHg, with each 1 mmHg increase associated with a 2% reduction in progression risk (95% CI, 0.96–0.99). Conclusions Maternal HDP and a SBP < 171.2 mmHg were associated with a decreased risk of NEC progression in preterm infants with Bell stage II NEC. These findings suggest that maternal blood pressure monitoring and hypertensive status may inform clinical decision-making in NEC management.

BackgroundGastric cancer (GC) remains one of the most prevalent malignant tumors worldwide. At present, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are essential in the progression, metastasis, and drug resistance of tumors. Therefore, TAMs can be a crucial target for tumor treatment.AimsWe intended to investigate the TAM characteristics in GC and develop a risk signature based on TAM to predict the prognosis of GC patients.MethodsThe single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA-seq data were acquired from a publicly available database. We utilized the Seurat pipeline to process the scRNA-seq data and determine TAM cell types using marker genes. Univariate Cox regression analysis was utilized to examine TAM-related prognostic genes, and then we employed Lasso-Cox regression analysis, and Multivariate Cox regression analysis established a novel risk profile to forecast the clinical value of the model with a new nomogram combining risk profiles and clinicopathological characteristics.ResultsThe current study employed scRNA-seq data to identify five TAM clusters in GC, among which four were significantly associated with GC prognosis. Accordingly, we further developed a TAM-related risk signature utilizing nine genes. After evaluation, our model accurately predicted the prognosis of gastric cancer. Generally, GC patients with low TAMS scores exhibited a more favorable prognosis, greater benefits from immunotherapy, and higher levels of immune cell infiltration.ConclusionsThe prognosis of GC can be effectively predicted by TAM-based risk signatures, and the signature may provide a new perspective for comprehensively guiding clinical diagnosis, prediction, and immunotherapy for gastric cancer.

To elucidate the relationship between cancer-associated fibroblast (CAFs) biomarkers and the prognosis of breast cancer patients for individualized CAFs-targeting treatment. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched for CAFs-related studies of breast cancer patients from their inception to September, 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using R 4.2.2 software. Sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Funnel plot and Egger's test were used to assess the publication bias. Twenty-seven studies including 6,830 patients were selected. Univariate analysis showed that high expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor- (PDGFR- ) (  = 0.0055), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) (  < 0.0001), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 (  < 0.0001), MMP 11 (  < 0.0001) and MMP 13 (  = 0.0009) in CAFs were correlated with reduced recurrence-free survival (RFS)/disease-free survival (DFS)/metastasis-free survival (MFS)/event-free survival (EFS) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that high expression of -smooth muscle actin ( -SMA) (  = 0.0002), podoplanin (PDPN) (  = 0.0008), and PDGFR- (  = 0.0470) in CAFs was associated with reduced RFS/DFS/MFS/EFS respectively. Furthermore, PDPN and PDGFR- expression in CAFs of poorly differentiated breast cancer patients were higher than that of patients with relatively better differentiated breast cancer. In addition, there is a positive correlation between the expression of PDPN and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2). The high expression of -SMA, PDPN, PDGFR- in CAFs leads to worse clinical outcomes in breast cancer, indicating their roles as prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.