Security analysis on an electronic voting scheme based on a quantum ring signature

Recently, Qiu et al. proposed a quantum voting scheme based on the ring signature (International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 60: 1550–1555(2021)), in which the signer and verifier only need measure the received particles with Z-basis and perform some classical simple encryption/decryption operations on the classical message. Although their scheme is very efficient, it cannot resist against the eavesdropping attacks and forgery attack. In this paper, first, the eavesdropping attacks on Qiu et al.’s scheme are proposed. Second, we show the forgery attack on their scheme. According to the security analysis, it follows that, when desiring the quantum ring signature scheme, we should carefully analysis its security against eavesdropping attacks and forgery under chosen message attack

Nao-Xue-Shu Oral Liquid Improves Aphasia of Mixed Stroke

Objective. The objective is to observe whether the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Nao-Xue-Shu oral liquid improves aphasia of mixed stroke. Methods. A total of 102 patients with aphasia of mixed stroke were divided into two groups by a single blind random method. The patients treated by standard Western medicine plus Nao-Xue-Shu oral liquid ( = 58) were assigned to the treatment group while the remaining patients treated only by standard Western medicine ( = 58) constituted the control group. Changes in the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and hemorheology parameters were assessed to evaluate the effects of the treatments. Results. Excluding the patients who dropped out, 54 patients in the treatment group and 51 patients in the control group were used to evaluate the effects. Significant and persistent improvements in the WAB score, specifically comprehension, repetition, naming, and calculating, were found in the treatment group when the effects were evaluated at the end of week 2 and week 4, respectively, compared with baseline. The naming and writing scores were also improved at the end of week 4 in this group. The comprehension and reading scores were improved at the end of week 4 in the control group compared with the baseline, but the improvements were smaller than those in the treatment group. The percentages of patients at the 0-1 range of mRS were increased at the end of week 2 and week 4 in both groups, but the improvements in the treatment group were much larger than those in the control group. Greater improvements in the NIHSS scores and the hemorheology parameters in the treatment group were also observed compared with the control group at the end of week 2 and week 4. Conclusion. Nao-Xue-Shu oral liquid formulation improved aphasia in mixed stroke patients and thus might be a potentially effective drug for treating stroke aphasia

The effects of (+)-Gossypol on 11β-HSD and the concentration of corticosterone and dehydrocorticosterone in mice serum and tissues

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) plays an important part in mediating glucocorticoid action, catalyzing the interconversion of corticosterone (B) and dehydrocorticosterone (A) in rodents. The aim of our study is to investigate the effects of (+)-gossypol (G+) on 11β-HSD. Adult ICR mice were given B and B + (G+) by intraperitoneal injection. The activity of 11β-HSD was evaluated by measuring the ratio of A and B, meanwhile the effects of (+)-gossypol on the conversion rate of B to A was determined with HPLC. Serum A/B levels of the B+(G+) group decreased by 2.42, 7.32, 17.85, 31.39, and 40.02 % compared to the B group at each measured time interval. A/B levels at 1 h for the B + (G+) group decreased by 43.78, 21.29 and 34.47% in liver, kidney and adrenal glands, respectively, in comparison to the B group. However, (+)-gossypol had no effect on brain and testis. (+)-Gossypol was an inhibitor of 11β-HSD.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

The effects of (+)-Gossypol on 11β-HSD and the concentration of corticosterone and dehydrocorticosterone in mice serum and tissues

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) plays an important part in mediating glucocorticoid action, catalyzing the interconversion of corticosterone (B) and dehydrocorticosterone (A) in rodents. The aim of our study is to investigate the effects of (+)-gossypol (G+) on 11β-HSD. Adult ICR mice were given B and B + (G+) by intraperitoneal injection. The activity of 11β-HSD was evaluated by measuring the ratio of A and B, meanwhile the effects of (+)-gossypol on the conversion rate of B to A was determined with HPLC. Serum A/B levels of the B+(G+) group decreased by 2.42, 7.32, 17.85, 31.39, and 40.02 % compared to the B group at each measured time interval. A/B levels at 1 h for the B + (G+) group decreased by 43.78, 21.29 and 34.47% in liver, kidney and adrenal glands, respectively, in comparison to the B group. However, (+)-gossypol had no effect on brain and testis. (+)-Gossypol was an inhibitor of 11β-HSD.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Determination of pantoprazole in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics

A highly sensitive liquid chromatographic mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method for determination of pantoprazole in rat plasma using omeprazole as the internal standard (IS) was developed. Plasma samples were precipitated by acetonitrile and separated on a Zorbax SB-C18 column with gradient profile at a flow of 0.4 mL/min. Detection was carried out by SIM mode on an ion-trap LC-MS/MS system with an electrospray ionization interface. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5 ng/mL. Calibration curve was linear over the range from 5 to 5000 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-run relative standard deviations of the assay were less than 7 %. The mean absolute recoveries determined at the concentrations of 25, 400, and 4000 ng/mL were 87.40 ± 4.40 %, 87.77 ± 3.30 %, and 92.78 ± 5.02 %, respectively. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetic of 15 mg/kg of pantoprazole in six rats.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Interleukin-22 Inhibits Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and fatal fibrotic disease of the lungs with unclear etiology. Recent insight has suggested that early injury/inflammation of alveolar epithelial cells could lead to dysregulation of tissue repair driven by multiple cytokines. Although dysregulation of interleukin- (IL-) 22 is involved in various pulmonary pathophysiological processes, the role of IL-22 in fibrotic lung diseases is still unclear and needs to be further addressed. Here we investigated the effect of IL-22 on alveolar epithelial cells in the bleomycin- (BLM-) induced pulmonary fibrosis. BLM-treated mice showed significantly decreased level of IL-22 in the lung. IL-22 produced γδT cells were also decreased significantly both in the tissues of lungs and spleens. Administration of recombinant human IL-22 to alveolar epithelial cell line A549 cells ameliorated epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and partially reversed the impaired cell viability induced by BLM. Furthermore, blockage of IL-22 deteriorated pulmonary fibrosis, with elevated EMT marker (α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)) and overactivated Smad2. Our results indicate that IL-22 may play a protective role in the development of BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis and may suggest IL-22 as a novel immunotherapy tool in treating pulmonary fibrosis

Determination of tolbutamide and hydroxytolbutamide by LC–MS/MS in rat and its application to assessment of CYP2C9 activity

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method (LC–MS/MS) for the determination of tolbutamide (TB) and its metabolite hydroxytolbutamide (HTB) in rat plasma was developed using carbamazepine as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed by an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 column (150 mmx2.1 mm, 3.5 μm), using the gradient elution of 0.1 % formic acid in water and acetonitrile. Calibration plots were linear over range of 5–1000 ng/mL for TB and 10–2000 ng/mL for HTB in rat plasma. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations of the assay were less than 10 % for both TB and HTB. The validated method is successfully used to analyze the influence of bupropion on cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of TB. The biotransformation rates of TB administered either separately or both simultaneously were compared in this study. The results revealed that bupropion had no significant effect on TB hydroxylation.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Multi-omics analysis reveals the prognostic and tumor micro-environmental value of lumican in multiple cancer types

Background: Lumican (LUM), a proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix, has been reported to be involved in the regulation of immune escape processes, but the data supporting this phenomenon are not sufficient. In this study, we aimed to explore the links among LUM expression, survival, tumor microenvironment (TME), and immunotherapy in 33 cancer types.Methods: Data from several databases, such as UCSC Xena, GTEx, UALCAN, HPA, GEPIA2, TISIDB, PrognoScan, TIMER2, and GEO, as well as published studies, were used to determine the relationship between LUM expression and clinical features, TME, heterogeneity, and tumor stemness.Results: The expression of LUM was statistically different in most tumors versus normal tissues, both at the RNA and protein expression levels. High expression of LUM was typically associated with a poor prognosis in tumors. Additionally, immune scores, six immune cells, four immunosuppressive cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)-associated and immunosuppressive factors, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), DNAss, and RNAss were all significantly associated with LUM. Among them, LUM expression displayed a significant positive correlation with CAFs and their factors, and exhibited immunosuppressive effects in six independent immunotherapy cohorts.Conclusion: Multi-omics analysis suggests that LUM may have been a prognostic marker, contributed to immunosuppression in the TME, and decreased the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors

Simultaneous determination of cortisone and cortisol in serum by HPLC-DAD and application for pharmacokinetics

To develop a high performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of cortisone and cortisol in rat serum and apply it for pharmacokinetics. After addition of pirfenidone as internal standard (IS), a liquid-liquid extraction with ethylacetate was employed for the sample preparation. Samples were separated on Zorbax SB-C18 column at 25 ºC using mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water-0.1 % trifluoroacetic acid with flow rate of 0.9 mL/min, utilizing DAD detection at 246 nm. Excellent liner relationships of the cortisone and cortisol concentrations were obtained from 50 to 6000 ng/mL, with r = 0.9997, 0.9999 respectively, and the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) were both 50 ng/mL. The developed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of cortisone and cortisol in rats following single dose of 20 mg/kg via intraperitoneal injection.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

The effects of (+)-Gossypol on 11β-HSD and the concentration of corticosterone and dehydrocorticosterone in mice serum and tissues

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) plays an important part in mediating glucocorticoid action, catalyzing the interconversion of corticosterone (B) and dehydrocorticosterone (A) in rodents. The aim of our study is to investigate the effects of (+)-gossypol (G+) on 11β-HSD. Adult ICR mice were given B and B + (G+) by intraperitoneal injection. The activity of 11β-HSD was evaluated by measuring the ratio of A and B, meanwhile the effects of (+)-gossypol on the conversion rate of B to A was determined with HPLC. Serum A/B levels of the B+(G+) group decreased by 2.42, 7.32, 17.85, 31.39, and 40.02 % compared to the B group at each measured time interval. A/B levels at 1 h for the B + (G+) group decreased by 43.78, 21.29 and 34.47% in liver, kidney and adrenal glands, respectively, in comparison to the B group. However, (+)-gossypol had no effect on brain and testis. (+)-Gossypol was an inhibitor of 11β-HSD.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire