No abstract

Because dendritic cells (DCs) play critical roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis, modulation of their functions could serve as a novel therapy. In this study, we demonstrated that FTY720 treatment significantly suppressed the incidence and severity of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in DBA/1J mice via the modulation of DC functions. In FTY720-treated CIA mice, a decrease in the number of DCs in local draining lymph nodes (LNs) was observed. In vitro, FTY720 inhibited the trafficking of LPS-stimulated bone marrow–derived DCs (BMDCs). Decreased secretion of CCL19 and downregulation of CCR7 on DCs may explain the mechanisms underlying the impairment of DC migration induced by FTY720. In a DC-induced mouse arthritis model, FTY720 treatment also suppressed the incidence and severity of arthritis, which was correlated with a decrease in the migration of injected BMDCs to draining LNs. Although lower levels of costimulatory molecules (CD40, CD80, and CD86) and I-Aq expressed on LN DCs were observed in FTY720-treated mice, in vitro analysis showed no effect of FTY720 on LPS-stimulated BMDC maturation. Furthermore, LN cells from FTY720-treated CIA mice displayed diminished production of proinflammatory cytokines in response to collagen II and Con A stimulation. In addition, the ratio of Th1/Th2 in the draining LNs of mice with DC-induced arthritis was decreased upon FTY720 treatment. This finding was consistent with the fact that FTY720 suppressed IL-12p70 production in cultured BMDCs. Taken together, these results indicate that inhibition of DC migration by FTY720 may provide a novel approach in treating autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

By using the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) third-generation normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI3g) data, this paper explores the spatiotemporal variations in vegetation and their relationship with temperature and precipitation between 1982 and 2015 in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Based on yearly scale data, the vegetation changes in Inner Mongolia have experienced three stages from 1982 to 2015: the vegetation activity kept a continuous improvement from 1982–1999, then downward between 1999–2009, and upward from 2009 to 2015. On the whole, the general trend is increasing. Several areas even witnessed significant vegetation increases: in the east and south of Tongliao and Chifeng, north of Xing’anmeng, north and west of Hulunbir, and in the west of Inner Mongolia. Based on monthly scale data, one-year and half-year cycles exist in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and temperature but only a one-year cycle in precipitation. Finally, based on the one-year cycle, the relationship between NDVI and climatic were studied; NDVI has a significant positive correlation with temperature and precipitation, and temperature has a greater effect in promoting vegetation growth than precipitation. Moreover, based on a half-year changing period, NDVI is only affected by temperature in the study region. Those findings can serve as a critical reference for grassland managers or policy makers to make informed decisions on grassland management.

Most of the previous researches indicated depression and anxiety were potential risk factors for suicide, and they were also highly correlated. However, few studies have explored their combined effects on suicide and the dimensions which really work. A total of 392 suicide cases aged 15–34 years and 416 community controls of the same age range were investigated. The results showed that after controlling confounding factors, people with low depression and high anxiety, with high depression and low anxiety, with high depression and high anxiety were at 2.46, 26.32, 54.77 times more risk for suicide (all P<0.05), compared with subjects with low depression and low anxiety. Only two of seven dimensions of depression (including cognitive disturbance, helplessness, excluding anxiety dimension) and one of two dimensions of STAI anxiety (anxiety dimension, not depression dimension) were risk factors for suicide (all OR>1). Our main findings was that combined effects of depression and anxiety on suicide was complicated, and the effects of anxiety dimension of depression and depression dimension of anxiety must be cautiously evaluated, avoiding overlapping inclusion.

The correlation between the crystal structure and the optoelectrical property of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) is investigated by measuring the optical absorption and the photoluminescence spectra of a microsized single-crystal MAPbI3 plate (MSCMP) up to 20.43 GPa with confocal μ-spectroscopy. The pressure-induced phase transitions of an MSCMP are identified by the absorption edges of the absorption spectrum and the fluorescence peaks of the PL spectrum. A tetragonal–cubic phase transition is confirmed under a pressure within the range of 0.23 to 0.46 GPa. The optical property of the cubic phase is dominated by the competition between Pb–I bond contraction and PbI6 octahedron tilt up to 2.72 GPa. Furthermore, the MAPbI3 plate experiences an isostructural cubic phase transition with a unique optical behavior below 3.90 GPa. Little amount of nonradiative high-pressure phase presents a radiative emission mixed with a radiative low-pressure phase, which originates from the diffusion and recombination of excitons within the mixed-phase state. Finally, the reversibility is evaluated by comparing the absorption and PL spectra while the samples are compressed before and after 4.17 and 20.43 GPa, respectively. These results help us to understand the pressure-induced phase transition and the electron–hole recombination mechanism of MAPbI3 under high pressure in detail. It provides us a new perspective to engineer and optimize the optoelectrical devices of high performance based on organic–inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskite.

Background: Ligustrazine injection has been widely used as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) during the past decades in China, but its clinical efficacy is not yet well confirmed. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of ligustrazine injection as adjunctive therapy for ACI.Methods: Databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Cochrane Library, Embase, Sino-Med, Wanfang Database, and Chinese Science Citation Database were systematically searched for the published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on ligustrazine injection in the treatment of ACI until November 2020. Meta-analysis was performed on the primary outcome measure (i.e., clinical effective rate) and the secondary outcome measure [i.e., neurological deficit score (NDS), fibrinogen, low shear blood viscosity (LBV), and high shear blood viscosity (HBV)]. The quality of the included RCTs was assessed according to the M scoring system (the refined Jadad scale). Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted according to the methodological quality, years of publication, and sample size.Results: Nineteen RCTs, containing 2022 patients, were included in this study. Meta-analysis indicated that ligustrazine injection combined with Western medicine could achieve a better effect in the treatment of ACI than using Western medicine alone in terms of clinical effective rate (RR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.19–1.29), NDS (MD = −3.88; 95%CI, −4.51 to −3.61), fibrinogen (MD = −0.59; 95% CI, −0.76 to −0.42), LBV (MD = −2.11; 95% CI, −3.16 to −1.06), and HBV (MD = −0.88; 95% CI, −1.20 to −0.55).Conclusions: This research indicated that ligustrazine injection as adjunctive therapy seemed to be more effective than using western medicine alone in treating ACI. However, more evidence is required to confirm the efficacy of ligustrazine injection due to the low methodological quality of the included RCTs.

Epidemiologic study has suggested that arsenic exposure is positively related to increased blood pressure. However, the underlying mechanism concerning interaction between genetic polymorphisms and arsenic exposure remains unclear. In present study, within 395 Chinese, the effects of interaction between arsenic exposure and CCM3 gene polymorphisms on elevation of blood pressure were probed by multiple Logistic regression models after adjusting for confounding factors. Firstly, we found that serum arsenic was positively associated with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and C-reactive protein. Then, adjusted for confounding factors of age, gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI and degree of education, arsenic exposure incurred the hazard of increased systolic pressure and diastolic pressure, with odds ratios (ORs) being 1.725 and 1.425, respectively. Distinctly, we found that interactions between rs3804610* rs9818496, rs6784267*rs9818496, and rs3804610* rs6784267 variant genotype can increase significantly risks of SBP. Additionally, interactions between rs9818496, rs3804610 and rs6784267 genotypic variantions and arsenic exposure boosted the hazard of increased systolic pressure, with ORs being 1.496, 1.496 and 1.312. In conclusion, our fingdings suggest that As exposure of population can assist CCM3 polymorphism in elevating SBP.

This study proposes a modified vegetation-dependent temperature-vegetation dryness index (TVDI) model for analyzing regional drought disasters in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Region (BTHMR) of China. First, MODIS monthly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature (LST) data and land use/cover data (Land cover type2) were pre-processed as a consistent big dataset. The land use/cover data were modified and integrated into six primary types. Then, these land types were used as the base data layer to calculate the TVDI by parameterizing the relationship between the MODIS NDVI and LST data. By emphasizing different types of land uses, this study was able to compare and analyze the differences of the TVDI indices between the entire study area (no consideration of the land types) and the six classified land uses. The soil moisture data were used to validate the modified TVDI values based on different land uses, which confirmed that the modified model more effectively reflected drought conditions. Finally, the aforementioned model was used to analyze the temporal and spatial variation of drought experienced by vegetation cover from 2000 to 2014. The results of the modified model were validated with the synchronized soil moisture and precipitation data. The case study clearly demonstrated that the modified TVDI model, which is based on different vegetation indexes, could better reflect the drought conditions of the study area.