The effect of metallic Fe(ii) and nonmetallic S codoping on the photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitride

The metallic Fe(ii) ion and nonmetallic S codoped g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst was synthesized through the polymerization of melamine, ferrous chloride and trithiocyanuric acid (TCA) at elevated temperature. The performance of Fe(ii)–S codoped g-C₃N₄ compounds in RhB photocatalytic degradation was found to increase 5 times. This significant enhancement in catalytic activity is probably related to the enhanced visible light adsorption and the mobility of photoinduced electron/hole pairs, attributable to bandgap narrowing and also lowering in the surface electrostatic potential compared to that of the pure g-C₃N₄ nanosheets. XRD and XPS results indicate that the Fe species binds with N-atoms to form Fe–N bonds in the state of Fe(ii) ions. Fe(ii) doping increases the specific surface area, and enhances the photoinduced electron/hole pairs illustrated by PL, EIS spectra and transient photocurrent response measurements. The theoretical results show that divalent Fe(ii) ions coordinating in the pore centre among three triazine units form discrete dopant bands and S dopants substituting the N in triazine skeletons excite much stronger delocalized HOMO and LUMO states, facilitating the migration of photogenerated charge carriers, thus enhancing the visible-light driven photocatalytic performance.

The photoinduced electrons jump more easily to the conduction band of g-C₃N₄ for the Fe impurity band locates above the valence band acting a bridge for electron transfer.     

Analysis of anomalous origin of coronary arteries by coronary angiography in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease

With the development of coronary angiography for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, its clinical significance in detecting coronary artery anomalies and evaluating the seriousness is attracting more attention. In the study we aimed to assess the prevalence of anomalous origin of coronary arteries in a Chinese population who underwent coronary angiography for coronary artery disease, and explore any patterns in the common variants and typical anomalies, especially the potentially serious ones. Patients who underwent coronary angiography from January 2013 to December 2016 in Fuwai Hospital were included. Baseline characteristics and angiographic data were collected, the incidence of anomalous origin of coronary arteries was calculated, and the typical patterns were analyzed. Comparisons between the present results and those of existing reports were also conducted. A total of 110,158 patients were included in the study, among which 0.76% (835 cases) had anomalous origin of coronary arteries. Among the anomalies, the incidences of anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (RCA), the left coronary artery (LCA), both the RCA and LCA, single coronary artery (SCA) and dextrocardia were 76.76% (641 cases), 14.61% (122 cases), 1.80% (15 cases), 4.67% (39 cases) and 2.16% (18 cases), respectively. Moreover, 47.54% (397 cases) of the anomalies were shown to be potentially serious, and an RCA arising from the left sinus of Valsalva (LSV) was the most common subtype (39.28%, 328 cases). Although anomalous origin of coronary arteries is not quite common, more clinical attention should be paid to this condition due to the potential risk of serious sequelae.     

皮鳞癌1号方对人皮肤鳞状癌A431细胞生长的抑制作用

目的:研究皮鳞癌1号方对人皮肤鳞状癌A431细胞生长的抑制作用。方法:以0、5、10、20、40、80μg(生药)/ml皮鳞癌1号方分别作用A431细胞24、48、72 h后,测定光密度并计算细胞增殖抑制率以评价其抑制作用;在显微镜下观察细胞形态学变化;光化学法测定乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)的活性;免疫细胞化学法测定B淋巴细胞瘤2(Bcl-2)蛋白、Bcl-2相关X蛋白(Bax)的表达。结果:5、10、20、40、80μg(生药)/ml皮鳞癌1号方对A431细胞均有抑制作用(P<0.01);5、40μg(生药)/ml皮鳞癌1号方可使A431细胞增殖变缓,细胞出现皱缩,与周围细胞黏附力减弱;5、10、20μg(生药)/ml可明显增强A431细胞LDH活性、Bax表达,减弱Bcl-2表达,降低Bcl-2/Bax的比值(P<0.01)。结论:皮鳞癌1号方对A431细胞的增殖具有一定的抑制作用;可能与促进Bax表达、抑制Bcl-2表达、降低Bcl-2/Bax的比值有关。     

Vascular-specific epicardial adipose tissue in predicting functional myocardial ischemia for patients with stable chest pain

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - The relationship between vascular-specific epicardial adipose tissue (vEAT) volume and myocardial ischemia measured by fractional flow reserve (FFR) was not...     

Advances in neuroimaging for HIV-1 associated neurological dysfunction: clues to the diagnosis, pathogenesis and therapeutic monitoring

Persons with advanced human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) infection seek medical advice for a wide range of neurological disorders including, but not limited to, peripheral neuropathy, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcal meningitis, cytomegalovirus retinitis progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, lymphoma and dementia. The diagnosis of HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD) induced as a direct consequence of HIV infection of the brain comes commonly by exclusion. Diagnostic decisions can often be clouded by concomitant depression, motor impairments, and lethargy that follow debilitating immune suppression and weight loss. Indeed, cognitive, motor and behavior abnormalities underlie a variety of neurological dysfunctions associated with advanced HIV-1 infection. Thus, even combinations of clinical, laboratory and neuroimaging tests [for example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET)] often fail to provide conclusive diagnostic information. Nonetheless, the recent development of quantitative MR spectroscopic imaging has improved diagnostic possibilities for HAD. We are pleased to discuss these developments as well as taking a forward look into what will soon be made available to improve neuroimaging diagnostic precision. New MR and SPECT testing are being developed in our laboratories and elsewhere both for animal model systems and in humans with HIV-1 disease. Such tests can facilitate dynamic measures of HIV-1 neuropathogenesis providing information for disease events that even 2 years ago were unattainable.     

DNA hypermethylation of SFRP2 influences the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis through the canonical Wnt signaling in model rats

Abstract

In this work, the expression of secreted frizzled related protein 2 (SFRP2) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model rats and the mechanisms of SFRP2 on the RA pathogenesis were investigated. Data suggested that SFRP2 was significantly down-regulated in RA model rats compared with normal control, and overexpression of SFRP2 suppressed the RA pathogenesis and the canonical Wnt signaling in fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS) from RA model rats, whereas knockdown of SFRP2 got an opposite observation. Interestingly, 5-azadC treatment up-regulated the SFRP2 expression, inhibited the FLS proliferation, suppressed the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 and the fibronectin production, suggesting that the decreased SFRP2 in RA model rats was due to the DNA methylation. Furthermore, DNMT1 knockdown up-regulated the SFRP2 expression, DNMT1 overexpression inhibited the SFRP2, and the quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) confirmed that the DNMT1 has direct methylation roles for the SFRP2 promoter, leading to a regulation of FLS proliferation and fibronectin expression in RA model rats. In addition, up-regulated MeCP2 was involved in the SFRP2 regulation and the pathogenesis of RA model rats, and MeCP2 and DNMT1 have synergistic inhibition roles in the SFRP2 expression. Combination of DNMT1 and DNA methylation may be a promising treatment strategy for individuals with RA in which SFRP2 is down-regulated.     

Sleep quality and risk of cancer: findings from the English longitudinal study of aging

Study ObjectiveTo prospectively examine the association between sleep quality and incident cancer risk in the elderly.MethodsA total of 10,036 participants aged ≥50 years free of cancer at baseline from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing at wave 4 (2008) were included, and followed up until 2016. The primary endpoint was new onset physician-diagnosed cancer. Sleep quality was assessed by four questions regarding the frequency of sleep problems and overall subjective feeling of sleep quality in the last month, with higher score denoting poorer sleep quality. The multivariable Cox regression model was used to calculate hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident cancer risk according to sleep quality.ResultsAt 8-year follow-up, a total of 745 (7.4%) participants developed cancer. Compared with good sleep quality at baseline, HR (95% CI) for incident cancer risk was 1.328 (1.061, 1.662) for intermediate quality, 1.586 (1.149, 2.189) for poor quality. Similarly, compared with maintaining good sleep quality in the first 4 years, HR (95% CI) for incident cancer risk was 1.615 (1.208, 2.160) for maintaining intermediate quality and 1.608 (1.043, 2.480) for maintaining poor quality. The exclusion of participants with family history of cancer or abnormal sleep duration yielded consistent results.ConclusionsPoor sleep quality is positively associated with the long-term risk of developing cancer in an elderly cohort. Both medical staffs and the general public should pay more attention to improving sleep hygiene.     

Di-functional luminescent sensors based on Y3+ doped Eu3+ and Tb3+ coordination polymers: fast response and visible detection of Cr3+, Fe3+ ions in aqueous solutions and acetone

With the careful modulation of the relative ratio of Y³⁺/Eu³⁺and Y³⁺/Tb³⁺, two series of bimetallic RE-CPs (Eu_xY_1−x and Tb_xY_1−x) were successfully obtained through the isomorphous substitution method. Interestingly, the introduction of Y³⁺ ions does not change the fluorescence characteristic peak of 1-Eu and 1-Tb, but enhances its fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield. Experimental and theoretical simulation results show the co-doping process changes the intramolecular energy transfer process and reduces the non-radiative transition resulting from concentration quenching. Eu_0.1Y_0.9 and Tb_0.1Y_0.9 with the largest luminescence lifetime were selected as the representative research objects, their potential application for the detection of toxic metal ions and organic molecules was further investigated. Interestingly, Eu_0.1Y_0.9 and Tb_0.1Y_0.9 demonstrate high sensitivity and good selectivity towards Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺ and acetone. Besides, fine fluorescence visibility provides the necessary conditions for the preparation of simple and fast response fluorescent test papers in order to achieve real-time and convenient detection of these toxic materials.

Two series of doped coordination polymers (Eu_xY_1−x and Tb_xY_1−x) through isomorphous substitution method utilizing Y³⁺ in place of partial Eu³⁺/Tb³⁺ were obtained. The doped materials could detect Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, and acetone selectively and sensitively.