Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide, with no effective and safe treatment to date. This study is the first to co-conjugate the natural compound cinchonain Ia, which has promising anti-inflammatory activity, and L-asparaginase (ASNase), which has anticancer potential, to manufacture nanoliposomal particles (CALs). The CAL nanoliposomal complex had a mean size of approximately 118.7 nm, a zeta potential of -47.00 mV, and a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.120. ASNase and cinchonain Ia were encapsulated into liposomes with approximately 93.75% and 98.53% efficiency, respectively. The CAL complex presented strong synergistic anticancer potency, with a combination index (CI) < 0.32 in two-dimensional culture and 0.44 in a three-dimensional model, as tested on NTERA-2 cancer stem cells. Importantly, the CAL nanoparticles demonstrated outstanding antiproliferative efficiency on cell growth in NTERA-2 cell spheroids, with greater than 30- and 2.5-fold increases in cytotoxic activity compared to either cinchonain Ia or ASNase liposomes, respectively. CALs also presented extremely enhanced antitumor effects, reaching approximately 62.49% tumor growth inhibition. Tumorized mice under CALs treatment showed a survival rate of 100%, compared to 31.2% in the untreated control group (p < 0.01), after 28 days of the experiment. Thus, CALs may represent an effective material for anticancer drug development.

BACKGROUND: The optimal therapeutic window to start intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for Kawasaki disease (KD) is highly debatable. We aimed to summarize the existing literature to evaluate the therapeutic window of IVIG treatment and its correlation with clinical outcomes in KD patients.
METHODS: We searched the databases from inception to August 26, 2022, without language restrictions. The primary outcomes were initial IVIG resistance and coronary artery lesions (CALs) in acute phase. Secondary outcome was CALs during 1-2 months of follow-up.
RESULTS: 27 studies involving 41,139 patients were included in this study. Very low-quality evidence showed that the earlier IVIG treatment within 4 days had a higher IVIG-resistance rate (RR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.50-2.15; P < .00001; I2 = 75%) than the late treatment. Very low-quality evidence showed that IVIG treatment for more than 7 days was associated with a higher risk of CALs in acute phase(RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.40-0.80; P = .001; I2 = 76%). There was a lower risk of CALs during 1-2 months follow-up for those who started IVIG administration within 10 days from the onset.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, IVIG treatment within 7 days of illness seems to be the optimal therapeutic window of IVIG. IVIG treatment within 7 days is found to be effective for reducing the risk of coronary artery lesions and cardiac sequelae in KD patients. The early IVIG treatment within 4 days should be vigilant for the IVIG resistance although large multi-center randomized trials with well design are needed.

Nurses are often the first responders to in-hospital cardiac arrest in postoperative cardiac surgical patients. Poor clarity about role expectations and responsibilities can hinder nurses\' performance during cardiac advanced life support (CALS) procedures.
To seek expert consensus on nurses\' roles and responsibilities in CALS for patients in postoperative cardiac surgical patients.
A two-round modified eDelphi survey. Delphi items were informed by guideline literature, an audit of resuscitation records and expert interviews. Panellists, drawn from a single site of a large tertiary health service in metropolitan Melbourne, included nurses, doctors and surgeons familiar with the management of cardiac arrest in post-operative cardiac surgical patients.
The two rounds of the modified eDelphi generated 55 responses. A consensus of >80% agreement was reached for 24 of the 41 statements in Round 2. All items related to nurses\' roles and responsibilities during nurses pre- and post-arrest phases reached consensus. In contrast, only 29% (n = 4/14) of items related to peri-arrest, and 36% of those related to nurse scope of practise in CALS arrest (n = 4/11) reached consensus.
The study\'s aim was only partially achieved. Findings indicate high agreement about nurses\' roles and responsibilities before and immediately after a cardiac arrest, but limited clarity about nurses\' roles when implementing the CALS protocol, such as resternotomy and internal cardiac massage. There is an urgent need to address uncertainty about nurses\' roles and scope of practice in CALS, which is essential to the recognition of nurses\' contribution to the cardiac specialty workforce.
Uncertainty about nurses \'roles and responsibilities when implementing the CALS protocol may hinder their performance to their full scope of practice, leading to poor patient outcomes.

UNASSIGNED: Recent studies have shown that red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has emerged as a novel predictor of cardiovascular diseases. We aim to investigate the association between RDW and the risk of coronary artery lesions (CALs) in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease (KD).
UNASSIGNED: KD patients were classified as the CALs group (patients with CALs) and non-CALs group (patients without CALs). Differences among the groups were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square analysis. The independent risk factors of CALs were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis, followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to calculate the optimal cut-off value.
UNASSIGNED: The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and C-reactive protein were significantly higher in the CALs group than those in the non-CALs group (p < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that RDW (OR = 5.2, 95% CI, 4.064 to 6.654) was independent risk factors of CALs in KD patients (p < 0.01). The subgroup analysis also confirmed that the high level of RDW was an independent risk factor for the development of CALs in patients with complete and incomplete KD. The ROC analysis showed the optimal cut-off value of RDW for predicting CALs was >13.86%, with a sensitivity of 75.79% and specificity of 92.81% (AUC = 0.869, 95% CI = 0.844-0.892; p < 0.0001).
UNASSIGNED: RDW is an independent predictor with high sensitivity and specificity to predict CALs in KD patients. The elevation in RDW level (>13.86%) may be used as novel biomarkers for early predicting CALs in KD patients during the acute phase.

CONCLUSIONS: Identification of CalS genes in seven Rosaceae species and functional characterization of PbrCalS5 in pear pollen tube growth by regulating callose deposition. Callose exists widely in angiosperms and has significant functions in a range of developmental processes. Callose is synthesized by callose synthase (CalS). However, the members of the callose synthase gene family and their evolutionary profiles, along with their biological functions, in species of the Rosaceae remain unknown. In this study, a total of 69 members of the CalS gene family in seven Rosaceae species (Fragaria vesca, Malus × domestica, Prunus avium, Pyrus bretschneideri, Prunus mume, Prunus persica and Rubus occidentalis) were identified and divided into six clades. Different types of gene duplication events contributed to the expansions of the CalS gene family in the seven species, with purifying selection playing a key role in the evolution of the CalS genes. Tissue-specific expression patterns analysis revealed that PbrCalS5 was highly expressed in the pear pollen tube and was selected for further functional analysis. Subcellular localization indicated that PbrCalS5 was localized in the plasma membrane and cell wall. Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) assays resulted in the inhibition of PbrCalS5 expression, leading to the decreased callose deposition in the pollen tube wall and subsequent inhibition of pear pollen tube growth. These results provide the theoretical basis for exploring the functional roles of CalS genes in pear pollen tube growth.

UNASSIGNED: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. After the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), some children infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) showed clinical symptoms similar to KD, indicating a close relationship between KD and SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, we designed this retrospective study to analyze the characteristics of KD patients before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: We retrospectively collected demographic and laboratory data of KD patients in Yuying Children\'s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020. Yuying Children\'s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University is located in eastern China and is the largest pediatric heart disease center in the region, which includes a population of nearly 10 million. We studied the characteristics of KD patients and analyzed the changes in these characteristics before and after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in this area.
UNASSIGNED: The analysis revealed the following novel features: (1) Under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the onset age of Kawasaki disease became younger. (2) After the occurrence of COVID-19, the hospitalization days of KD patients were shorter than before the pandemic. (3) After the occurrence of COVID-19, the albumin of KD patients was higher than before the pandemic. (4) The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant effect on the incidence of coronary artery lesions (CALs) in Kawasaki disease.
UNASSIGNED: After the COVID-19 outbreak, the characteristics of KD patients showed a younger trend of age, shorter hospitalization days and higher levels of albumin, but the incidence of CALs did not change significantly.

In this work, the excision of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was studied from an aqueous solution using the chemically modified arecanut leaf sheath (CALS) as a novel bio-adsorbent. The as-prepared adsorbent was characterized by using instrumental methods including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The effect of several factors, including solution pH, contact time, and sorbent dosages were examined to identify the optimum condition for the sorption ability. The optimal pH of Cr(VI) biosorption was 2.0, and equilibrium was reached in 150 min. Adsorption was shown to be pseudo-second-order in kinetic investigations, and the Langmuir isotherm with maximal adsorption efficiency was determined as 109.89 mg/g. The spent biosorbent can be easily regenerated and reused. For the biosorption of oxyanions of chromium, both electrostatic attraction and ligand exchange mechanism play critical roles. From the results, the CALS appears to be a potential low-cost effective sorbent to remove Cr (VI) from water.

Callose plays a critical role in different biological processes including development as well as in the response to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we characterized the callose deposition in cotyledons of different Brassica napus varieties post-inoculated with different Leptosphaeria maculans isolates. Further, members of the callose synthase gene were identified from the whole genome of B. napus using the 12 Arabidopsis thaniana callose synthase protein sequences, and were then classified into three groups based on their phylogenetic relationships. Chromosomal location and duplication patterns indicated uneven distribution and segmental duplication patterns of BnCalS genes in the B. napus genome. Subsequently, gene structures, conserved domains analysis, and protein properties were analyzed for BnCalS genes. In addition, 12 B. napus orthologs of the AtCalS were selected for investigating the tissue expression pattern, indicating diverse expression patterns for these BnCalS genes. Responses of the selected 12 orthologs and all the BnCalS genes were characterized in the different types (AvrLm1-Rlm1, AvrLm4-Rlm4, AvrLepR1-LepR1) of B. napus⁻L. maculans interactions and B. napus-Leptosphaeria biglobosa interactions, implying their potential roles in response to Leptosphaeria infection.

Schistosomiasis, one of the neglected tropical diseases, is endemic in more than 70 countries. However, the clinical diagnosis of patients with a low degree of infection is an unsolved technical problem. In areas endemic for schistosomiasis japonica, proctoscopy detection of eggs has been one method used for clinical diagnosis. However, it is often a challenge to find typical live eggs and it is difficult to distinguish live eggs from large numbers of partially degraded and/or completely degraded eggs within colon biopsy tissue. To address this problem, we tested six different morphological and biochemical/molecular markers (ALP; morphological characteristics of egg; CalS (calcified substance); AOS (antioxidase); SDHG (succinic dehydrogenase) and SjR2 mRNA (retrotransposons 2 of S.japonicum genome mRNA)), including four new markers (CalS; AOS; SDHG and SjR2 mRNA.), to determine the viability of S. japonicum eggs deposited in human and mouse colon tissues. Our ultimate aim is to obtain a new method that is more sensitive, practical and accurate to clinically diagnose schistosomiasis.
Tissue samples were collected from mice at six different time points during S. japonicum infection with or without treatment with praziquantel (PZQ). Four new biochemical or molecular markers were used for the detection of egg viability from mouse liver and intestinal samples: CalS; AOS; SDHG and SjR2 mRNA. Subsequently, all markers were employed for the detection and analysis of eggs deposited in biopsy materials from patients with suspected schistosomiasis japonica for clinical evaluation. Microscopic examination of the egg morphology, worm burden in vivo and ALP (alkaline phosphatase) levels were used as a reference standard to evaluate the sensitivity and reliability of four new markers detecting egg viability.
The results of the study showed that the morphology of S. japonicum eggs deposited in tissues of hosts with schistosomiasis, especially cases with chronic schistosomiasis, is complex and egg viability is difficult to judge morphologically, particularly eggs with a fuzzy structure or partially modified eggs. We found that the majority of the viable schistosome eggs determined by four new markers (CalS, AOS, SDHG and SjR2 mRNA) were morphologically difficult to identify.
Among the markers, the most sensitive and specific method was the detection of SjR2 mRNA and the most simple, rapid and practical method was the detection of SDHG. Therefore, the detection of SDHG is the most practical for clinical application and its use could improve the accuracy in diagnosing active schistosome infection.

Acetohydroxyacid synthase, a thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme, can condense either two pyruvate molecules to form acetolactate for synthesizing L-valine and L-leucine or pyruvate with 2-ketobutyrate to form acetohydroxybutyrate for synthesizing L-isoleucine. Because the key reaction catalyzed by acetohydroxyacid synthase in the biosynthetic pathways of branched-chain amino acids exists in plants, fungi, archaea, and bacteria, but not in animals, acetohydroxyacid synthase becomes a potential target for developing novel herbicides and antimicrobial compounds. In this article, the evolution, structure, and catalytic mechanism of acetohydroxyacid synthase are summarized.