Blockage of the NLRP3 inflammasome by MCC950 improves anti-tumor immune responses in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a critical innate immune pathway responsible for producing active interleukin (IL)-1β, which is associated with tumor development and immunity. However, the mechanisms regulating the inflammatory microenvironment, tumorigenesis and tumor immunity are unclear. Herein, we show that the NLRP3 inflammasome was over-expressed in human HNSCC tissues and that the IL-1β concentration was increased in the peripheral blood of HNSCC patients. Additionally, elevated NLRP3 inflammasome levels were detected in tumor tissues of Tgfbr1/Pten 2cKO HNSCC mice, and elevated IL-1β levels were detected in the peripheral blood serum, spleen, draining lymph nodes and tumor tissues. Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation using MCC950 remarkably reduced IL-1β production in an HNSCC mouse model and reduced the numbers of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Moreover, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation increased the numbers of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in HNSCC mice. Notably, the numbers of exhausted PD-1⁺ and Tim3⁺ T cells were significantly reduced. A human HNSCC tissue microarray showed that NLRP3 inflammasome expression was correlated with the expression of CD8 and CD4, the Treg marker Foxp3, the MDSC markers CD11b and CD33, and the TAM markers CD68 and CD163, PD-1 and Tim3. Overall, our results demonstrate that the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway promotes tumorigenesis in HNSCC and inactivation of this pathway delays tumor growth, accompanied by decreased immunosuppressive cell accumulation and an increased number of effector T cells. Thus, inhibition of the tumor microenvironment through the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway may provide a novel approach for HNSCC therapy.     

南方丝绸之路对大理的影响及当前的对策

大理历史悠久,文化灿烂,风光秀丽,古道纵横。过去南方丝绸之路对大理的经济、政治、交通、文化、宗教等有较大的影响,今天在国家"一带一路"的大战略背景下,大理应该怎么办,大理学院应该怎么办,这是当代学人的新课题。以古代南方丝绸之路为出发点,建议今天大理的"一带一路"定位为交往之路、人情之路。     

上海黄浦江两支流河流甲烷含量研究

甲烷是一种重要的温室气体,虽然目前大气中含量远小于二氧化碳,但排放增长率却大于后者.研究区域为上海市黄浦江支流苏州河和淀浦河,通过实验数据对比城郊春夏的甲烷排放的差异,探讨甲烷产生的机制及其与环境因子的关系,这将有助于研究河流甲烷排放对于环境变化的影响.研究结果认为河流甲烷主要来源于水中沉积物,其产生与水质、温度等因素相关;同时甲烷摩尔浓度与硝酸根离子质量体积比存在负相关性,与铵根离子质量体积比和有机碳质量分数存在正相关性.     

Study on the Centralization Strategy of the Blood Allocation Among Different Departments within a Hospital

By far, the researches on how to distribute blood products among different departments in hospital have not been further studied, though the problem of blood shortage and wastage that caused by improper blood allocation is severe, which may endanger patient’s lives and impose considerable costs on hospitals. In order to solve this problem, this paper mainly studies on how to distribute the blood items among different departments within a hospital and investigates the allocation approach with the novel management method by centralizing the inventory of several different departments. By integrating the blood inventory requirements of some departments, the hospital could reduce the rate of blood shortage and wastage effectively, release the pressure of the occupancy of resources and reduce the bullwhip effect of blood products. This paper illustrates the centralization principle in hospital and formulates the mixed integer programming model to work out the optimal allocation network scheme and the optimal inventory setting for every department. And the results of the numerical example demonstrate that this centralization method could considerably reduce blood shortage and wastage in hospital by about 72% and 90% respectively. Furthermore, it could decrease the total cost by about 108,540 RMB a month on blood supply chain management in the hospital and improve the effect of some certain surgeries by transfusing the fresh blood to patients.     

Synopsis of ‘onychocellid’ cheilostome bryozoan genera

Genera assigned to the cheilostome bryozoan family Onychocellidae are revised based on the skeletal morphology of the type species and, when possible, the type material of these species. All genera are illustrated using scanning electron micrographs, some for the first time. Onychocellidae, which ranges from the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous to the Recent, has been a particularly troublesome family because of poorly defined generic concepts correlating at least in part with a paucity of morphological characters. Thirty-five genera are described in this review. Of these, two are recognised as subjective synonyms of other onychocellid genera (Rhebasia and Semieschara), one cannot be sufficiently characterised from the type material (Collura), and two are new: Aechmellina gen. nov. (type species Aechmella falcifera) and Kamilocella gen. nov. (type species Eschara latilabris). A neotype is chosen for Rhagasostoma hexagonum, the type species of Rhagasostoma. A key is provided to assist in the identification of onychocellid genera. Phylogenetic relationships between genera remain obscure and are unlikely to be fully resolved based on skeletal morphology alone. The family as an entity is loosely circumscribed and almost certainly paraphyletic, containing stem genera of other anascan familes such as Lunulitidae, Coscinopleuridae and Aspidostomatidae.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:org:pub:63A31AD2-F049-42CB-A45B-557014DC286E     

基于稳健协方差矩阵的ADS-B压制式干扰抑制

压制式干扰是广播式自动相关监视(automatic dependent surveillance broadcast, ADS-B)系统面临的最常见且最有威胁的干扰之一。提出基于稳健协方差矩阵估计的ADS-B压制式干扰抑制算法。首先,考虑了ADS-B信号的脉冲特性,将协方差矩阵的求解转化成凸优化问题。然后,利用求解凸优化问题得到的稳健协方差矩阵设计最优权矢量。最后,对观测信号进行空域滤波,完成ADS-B的压制式干扰抑制,并对抑制结果进行性能分析。提供的仿真实验结果也验证了算法的有效性,该方法不需要知道ADS-B信号来向,且在非高斯噪声情况下同样有效。     

Reconsideration on Homogeneous Quadratic Riemann Boundary Value Problem

The homogeneous quadratic Riemann boundary value problem (1) with Hoelder continuous coefficients for the normal case was considered by the author in 1997. But the solutions obtained there are incomplete. Here its general method of solution is obtained.