A real-world exploratory study on the feasibility of vonoprazan and tetracycline dual therapy for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in special populations with penicillin allergy or failed in previous amoxicillin-containing therapies

Background

The treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a challenge for those who cannot use amoxicillin.

Objective

To evaluate the eradication rate and adverse effects of vonoprazan and tetracycline dual therapy as first-line and rescue treatment regimens used in special populations with penicillin allergy or failed in previous amoxicillin-containing therapies.

Design

Patients enrolled were those who were H. pylori-positive with selected conditions: (1) allergic to penicillin, either naïve to treatment or had failed before; or (2) failed in previous amoxicillin-containing therapies. All enrolled patients accepted 14-day vonoprazan and tetracycline dual therapy (VT dual therapy) as follows: vonoprazan (20 mg b.i.d.) and tetracycline (500 mg t.i.d. [body weight < 70 kg] or 500 mg q.i.d. [body weight ≥ 70 kg]). H. pylori status was evaluated by ¹³C-urease breath test 6 weeks after treatment. All adverse effects were recorded. Some patients underwent bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Results

A total of 62 patients were enrolled; 18 of them received VT dual therapy as first-line treatment, 44 patients received VT dual therapy as rescue treatment. Overall, 58 of 62 patients achieved successful eradication (93.5%), while all involved (100%,18/18) succeeded in the first-line treatment group and 40 cases (90.9%, 40/44) succeeded in the rescue treatment group. Sixty-one (61/62, 98.4%) patients completed the whole course of treatment. Adverse events occurred in 6 patients (6/62, 9.7%), while one patient quit because of skin rash. All adverse effects were mild and relieved spontaneously after H. pylori treatment. Five patients achieved successful H. pylori culture, and all strains isolated were sensitive to tetracycline.

Conclusions

For the treatment of H. pylori infection in special populations with penicillin allergy or failed in previous amoxicillin-containing therapies, a 14-day vonoprazan and tetracycline dual therapy was effective and safe as first-line and rescue treatment in our study. Further study is warranted to verify its efficacy, especially for those who cannot use amoxicillin.     

Phosphorene as Cathode Material for High‐Voltage,Anti‐Self‐Discharge Zinc Ion Hybrid Capacitors

Output voltage and self‐discharge rate are two important performance indices for supercapacitors, which have long been overlooked, though these play a very significant role in their practical application. Here, a zinc anode is used to construct a zinc ion hybrid capacitor. Expanded operating voltage of the hybrid capacitor is obtained with novel electrolytes. In addition, significantly improved anti‐self‐discharge ability is achieved. The phosphorene‐based zinc ion capacitor exploiting a “water in salt” electrolyte with a working potential can reach 2.2 V, delivering 214.3 F g^?1 after 5000 cycles. The operating voltage is further extended to 2.5 V through the use of an organic solvent as the electrolyte; the solvent is prepared by adding 0.2 m ZnCl₂ into the tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in propylene carbonate (Et₄NBF₄/PC) solvent, and it exhibits 105.9 F g^?1 even after 9500 cycles. More importantly, the phosphorene‐based capacitors possess excellent anti‐self‐discharge performance. The capacitors retain 76.16% of capacitance after resting for 300 h. The practical application of the zinc ion capacitor is demonstrated through a flexible paper‐based printed microcapacitor. It is believed that the developed zinc ion capacitor can effectively resolve the severe self‐discharge problem of supercapacitors. Moreover, high‐voltage zinc ion capacitors provide more opportunities for the application of supercapacitors.     

In Situ Electrochemical Synthesis of MXenes without Acid/Alkali Usage in/for an Aqueous Zinc Ion Battery

The traditional method to fabricate a MXene based energy storage device starts from etching MAX phase particles with dangerous acid/alkali etchants to MXenes, followed by device assembly. This is a multistep protocol and is not environmentally friendly. Herein, an all‐in‐one protocol is proposed to integrate synthesis and battery fabrication of MXene. By choosing a special F‐rich electrolyte, MAX V₂AlC is directly exfoliated inside a battery and the obtained V₂CT_X MXene is in situ used to achieve an excellent battery performance. This is a one‐step process with all reactions inside the cell, avoiding any contamination to external environments. Through the lifetime, the device experiences three stages of exfoliation, electrode oxidation, and redox of V₂O₅. While the electrode is changing, the device can always be used as a battery and the performance is continuously enhanced. The resulting aqueous zinc ion battery achieves outstanding cycling stability (4000 cycles) and rate performance (97.5 mAh g^?1 at 64 A g^?1), distinct from all reported aqueous MXene‐based counterparts with pseudo‐capacitive properties, and outperforming most vanadium‐based zinc ion batteries with high capacity. This work sheds light on the green synthesis of MXenes, provides an all‐in‐one protocol for MXene devices, and extends MXenes’ application in the aqueous energy storage field.     

推进生物多样性保护与人类健康的共同发展——One Health

随着新冠肺炎(COVID-19)的暴发, 野生动物、生物多样性和人类健康的关系再次引起广泛讨论。近20年来, 国际社会对于生物多样性与健康的研究日益增多, 并将它作为生物多样性保护与研究的重要方向之一。One Health作为一个新的理念框架, 通过交叉学科的研究和行动来推动包括人、所有其他动物及环境的健康。这个理念被不同国家、国际组织及协定所接纳及推广, 包括《生物多样性公约》等。本文通过总结近些年生物多样性对健康的影响方式、One Health的定义与发展历史、进入生物多样性议程的过程, 提出中国应用One Health改进相关野生动物管理以降低公共卫生危机的可能性的建议, 以及One Health框架内增强生物多样性保护所需的研究方向。One Health在中国的应用与发展应重视生物多样性研究和保护在其中的作用, 利用在景观生态学、群落内物种关系动态变化、气候变化影响、土地利用变化模式与趋势的研究, 与人类健康相结合, 提高One Health在应对公共健康和环境健康风险方面的准确性与及时性。同时, 需要加强我国在野生动物管理方面的投入和力度, 增强生物多样性保护与公共健康的联系, 将预警与干预措施前移, 减少疾病暴发带来的社会经济成本。     

三江源区生态系统和土壤保持服务对未来气候变化的响应特征

气候变化条件下的生态系统响应特征对生态系统服务的提升和生态环境保护具有重要意义。现有气候变化评估多以全球或区域大尺度研究为主,不适合局地小尺度。以2015年为基准,根据局地特征改进了综合顺序分类系统（CSCS）,模拟了未来不同温室气体排放模式下三江源地区自然植被分布,同时分析了植被覆盖度及土壤保持功能的时空变化。研究结果表明：①在2080年的不同排放情境下,三江源地区的降水和气温增长主要发生在生长季（5—9月）和半湿润地区,其中,高排放情境的增幅最大（42.21 mm和4.93℃）;②三江源地区潜在自然植被主要由草地转化为森林,植被覆盖度和土壤保持服务在不同排放情境下均呈现由西北向东南增加的趋势,与水热规律一致,其中高排放情境的增幅最大,低排放最小;③ 利用三江源地区原生裸地演替特点和多年NPP改进的CSCS模型,模拟精度提高了24%。研究成果为局地小尺度生态系统气候响应特征提供了必要的手段和规律认识。     

大比例尺土壤保持服务制图分级方法研究

科学地编制生态系统服务空间分布图,有助于识别生态系统优先保护热点及空缺,能够为国土安全规划提供基础信息。但由于缺乏统一科学的生态系统服务分级方法,生态系统服务分布图的展示效果和制图效率都受到限制。不恰当的分级制图会误导决策者对生态系统服务空间分布特征的判断,增加生态保护决策的不确定性。以构建生态服务制图分级标准为目标,对我国6个典型县区的土壤保持服务数据展开1：25万比例尺制图分级案例研究。采用分级精度、面积均衡性、极差一致性、空间自相关一致性4个分级质量评价指标评价并比较了目前地图编制中常用的自然断点法、几何间隔法、累积比例法、等差法、分位数法5种分级算法的分级制图效果。结果表明,6个县区有相似的土壤保持服务分布特征：低值区覆盖面积大,高值区覆盖面积小。各县区土壤保持服务制图最优分级方法有差异：延庆区、丰满区最优分级方法为自然断点法;永靖县、天山区、安宁市最优分级方法为累积比例法;富阳区最优分级方法为几何间隔法。各分级方法中,累积比例法在6个县区综合制图效果最优或接近最优,适用性最好,能够较好的刻画各县区的土壤保持服务空间分布特征。本文提出的分级评价方法及其结果,可为生态系统土壤保持服务制图规范化和自动化提供科学依据。     

Exosomal miR-21-5p derived from cisplatin-resistant SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells promotes glycolysis and inhibits chemosensitivity of its progenitor SKOV3 cells by targeting PDHA1

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a common reason for gynecologic cancer death. Standard treatments of OC consist of surgery and chemotherapy. However, chemoresistance should be considered. Exosomal miR-21-5p has been shown to regulate the chemosensitivity of cancer cells through regulating pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 subunit alpha 1 (PDHA1). However, the role of miR-21-5p/PDHA1 in OC is unclear. The levels of miR-21-5p and PDHA1 in clinical samples and cells were investigated. Exosomes derived from SKOV3/cisplatin (SKOV3/DDP) cells (DDP-Exos) were isolated and used to treat SKOV3 cells to test DDP-Exos effects on SKOV3 cells. Extracellular acidification rate and oxygen consumption rate were tested with a Seahorse analyzer. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by a flow cytometer. PDHA1 was overexpressed and miR-21-5p was silenced in SKOV3 cells to study the underlying mechanism of miR-21-5p in OC. Quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblots were applied to measure gene expression at mRNA and protein levels. The levels of PDHA1 in DDP-resistant SKOV3 or tumor tissues were significantly decreased while the levels of miR-21-5p were remarkably upregulated. miR-21-5p in DDP-Exos was sharply increased compared to that of Exos. Data also indicated that DDP-Exos treatment suppressed the sensitivity of SKOV3 cells to DDP and promoted cell viability and glycolysis of SKOV3 cells through inhibiting PDHA1 by exosomal miR-21-5p. miR-21-5p derived from DDP-resistant SKOV3 OC cells promotes glycolysis and inhibits chemosensitivity of its progenitor SKOV3 cells by targeting PDHA1. Our data highlights the important role of miR-21-5p/PDHA1 axis in OC and sheds light on new therapeutic development.     

The role of IL-6 in bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) proliferation and chondrogenesis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common degenerative arthritic cartilage and represents a disease where the prospect of stem cell therapy offers considerable hope. Currently, bone marrow (BM) represents the major source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cell therapy. In the pathology of RA, the pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) play a pivotal role. To investigate the direct role of IL-6 in the chondrogenic differentiation of murine MSCs (mMSCs), we isolate MSCs from the murine bone marrow, and induce MSCs chondrogenesis with different concentrations of IL-6 in vitro. Through detecting the histological and histochemical qualities of the aggregates, we demonstrate that IL-6 inhibited the differentiation of MSCs into chondrocytes in the dose-dependence manner. These findings suggest that possible strategies for improving the clinical outcome of cartilage repair procedures.