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The administration of nanodrugs can lead to metabolism related systemic toxicity due to the use of inert carriers in large quantities. Carrier materials that offer therapeutic effects are therefore a promising means of addressing this limitation. Herein, a hyaluronate-based nanocarrier was prepared from hyaluronic acid (HA) and solanesol. Solanesyl thiosalicylate (STS) derived from solanesol has certain antitumor effects and was used to modify HA. The conjugate (HA-STS) self-assembled into nanoparticles acting as a drug carrier. The synthesis of the conjugates was confirmed by

Backgroud To investigate the protective effect of exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment on the intestinal mucosa in scalded rats. Methods Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 12): sham group, scald group and bFGF group (0.5 mg/kg). Intestinal barrier dysfunction was evaluated by permeability of intestinal mucosa to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran and Chiu’s grading system. H&E staining was used to detect the morphological changes of intestinal mucosa. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin. Western blot assay was used to detect the expression of ZO-1, Claudin-1, occludin and myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK). Results The results demonstrated that following bFGF treatment, permeability of the intestinal epithelium barrier of was significantly decreased compared to scald group. H&E staining and Chiu’s grading were consistent with previous result. The expression of ZO-1, Claudin-1, occludin in bFGF group were significantly increased compared to scald group, while MLCK protein was decreased. Conclusions bFGF ameliorates permeability of intestinal mucosa after burns. The possible mechanism may be relate to bFGF could increase the expression level of tight junction proteins (TJPs).

Summary Observational studies on dietary or circulating magnesium and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) stage 1–4 have reported no-to-modest inverse associations. 24 h Urinary magnesium concentration (24 h UMg), an indicator of intestinal magnesium absorption, may provide better insight into the connection of CKD progression. We examined 3179 participants aged 18–74 years with CKD stage 1–4 in the Chinese Cohort Study of Chronic Kidney Disease (C-STRIDE) study, a prospective population-based cohort study. Data were analysed using Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients for all comparisons. We also performed a time-to-event analysis of the data using the Kaplan–Meier survival model, Cox proportional hazard model and competing risk Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard model. During a median follow-up of 4.19 years (interquartile range, 3.43–5.09 years), when modelling end-stage renal disease (ESRD), CVD and death, 24 h UMg was associated with risk of CVD (HR, 1.612 (95% CI, 1.056–2.460)), while no significant association with ESRD and death endpoints could be detected. 24 h UMg risk variants display a modest association with CVD in CKD stage 1–4 patients. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03041987. Registered January 1, 2012. (retrospectively registered) ( https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03041987?term=Chinese+Cohort+Study+of+Chronic+Kidney+Disease+%28C-STRIDE%29&rank=1 ).

The laser scanning method is one of the key factors in the process of selective laser sintering. Laser sintering and invalidating composite (LSIC) scanning method, which is composed of high tensile strength sintering scanning with large-spot and high accuracy invalidating scanning with small-spot, is able to improve the tensile strength, accuracy and fabrication efficiency of SLS parts. In this paper, the principle and implementation of this method were presented, and in order to prove the effectiveness of the method, the conventional scanning method was used to carry out the sintering forming experiments of the coated ceramics, and the relationship between the energy density, the tensile strength and accuracy of the parts was explored. Then based on the conclusion of this experiment, the composite scanning method is used for comparative sintering experiments. The results show that when the sintering process is carried out using the process parameters corresponding to the high tensile strength, a substantial amount of secondary sintered bodies is generated on the surface of the part and the accuracy is destroyed. The conventional scanning method cannot achieve high accuracy forming under this process condition. However, the composite scanning method can effectively eliminate the adverse influence of secondary sintering on accuracy, and achieve high tensile strength and high accuracy parts. Moreover, the method can also improve the fabrication efficiency. Therefore, this method is of great significance to realize high quality sand mould additive manufacturing and enrich the scanning method of SLS.

Objective: Our study sought to investigate the clinicopathologic features and renal prognosis of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) in different age groups. Methods: A total of 315 patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN were enrolled and divided into three groups by age: the Youth group (≤44 years old), the Middle-aged group (45 to 59 years old), and the Elderly group (≥60 years old). Results: The Youth group, Middle-aged group, and Elderly group accounted for 19.05% (60/315), 59.37% (187/315), and 21.59% (68/315) of the patients in our study, respectively. The patients in the Youth group had a higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease–Epidemiology collaboration formula) (P .05). Conclusion: This study indicated that there were different clinicopathologic features among Chinese DN patients in different age groups. Although the Youth group had a relatively lower rapid kidney disease progression rate, there were no significant differences in renal survival rate among the three groups, which calls more attention to early supervision and prevention for younger DN patients. Abbreviations: CKD = chronic kidney disease; DN = diabetic nephropathy; DR = diabetic retinopathy; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; ESRD = end-stage renal disease; GY IFTA = interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy; T2DM = type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abdominal obesity is a risk factor of diabetes and hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between excessive abdominal fat and renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease.Thirty-five patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease who were followed up on for at least 1 year were enrolled. Visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat area were assessed by computed tomography to evaluate the degree of abdominal fat. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Patients in group 1 had a ratio of visceral fat area to subcutaneous fat area (V/S ratio)0.70 (n=16), and those in group 2 had a V/S ratio ≥0.70 (n=19) according to the second quartile. Renal outcome was defined as end-stage renal disease and initiation of renal replacement therapy.At baseline, patients with a high V/S ratio had higher levels of triglycerides (p=0.060) and C-reactive protein (p=0.028), but lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p=0.006). Strong correlations between V/S ratio and C-reactive protein (r=0.521, p=0.015) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=-0.576, p0.001) were observed. Univariate Cox regression indicated the higher the V/S ratio, the greater the risk for a poor renal outcome (hazard ratio, 3.536; 95% confidence interval, 1.140 to 10.960; p=0.029). However, multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that a higher V/S ratio was not an independent risk factor for progression to end-stage renal disease (hazard ratio, 2.212; 95% confidence interval, 0.543 to 9.005; p=0.268) when adjustments were made for important clinical variables.The V/S ratio was positively correlated with C-reactive protein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The higher V/S ratio was associated with a greater risk for progression to end-stage renal disease, although it did not emerge as an independent predictor of diabetic kidney disease progression.

Objective: To explore the relationship between serum bilirubin concentration and clinicopathologic features and renal outcome in biopsy-diagnosed diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: In this retrospective study, 118 patients with DN were enrolled. Participants were divided into two groups according to their median baseline serum bilirubin concentration: Group 1 (serum bilirubin ≤7.5 μmol /L); Group 2 (serum bilirubin >7.5 μmol /L). Basic clinical parameters were measured at the time of renal biopsy, and the relationships between serum bilirubin and the clinicopathologic features and renal outcome were analyzed. Results: Patients in Group 1 often had inferior renal function. Compared with Group 2, the glomerular classification and interstitial inflammation were more severe in subjects of Group 1, while arteriolar hyalinosis and interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) were comparable between the groups. Serum bilirubin was negatively correlated with the severity of the glomerular classification, interstitial inflammation, and IFTA. In the prognostic analysis, higher serum bilirubin level was associated with a lower risk of progression to end-stage renal disease, which was independent of the effects of age, gender, duration of diabetes, anemia, serum glucose, and hypertension but not of estimated glomerular filtration rate (hazard ratio, 0.406; 95% confidence interval, 0.074 to 2.225; P = .299). Conclusion: Our study showed a negative correlation between serum bilirubin level and renal pathologic lesions in patients with DN; serum bilirubin showed an inverse association with DN progression, but this was not independent. Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; CKD = chronic kidney disease; DM = diabetes mellitus; DN = diabetic nephropathy; DR = diabetic retinopathy; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; ESRD = end-stage renal disease; HbA1c = glycated hemoglobin; HO-1 = heme oxygenase 1; HR = hazard ratio; IFTA = interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy; log-BIL = log-transformed baseline serum bilirubin; T2DM = type 2 diabetes mellitus

The submerged gate filling processes were investigated through the use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements, numerical simulation and castings production. The results showed that the submerged gate filling can improve the mold filling conditions, which may reduce the occurrence of inclusion defects during casting production. The liquid free surface in the mold rose slowly and smoothly during the filling process, which could reduce the occurrence of oxide film inclusion defects. The flow velocity decreased from the gate to the mold, which may reduce the severity of the liquid impingement that causes sand wash defects. The liquid flow inside the mold, with the exception of the flow path region, was primarily quiescent and the distance from the submerged gate to the free surface was relatively small. Therefore, low density slag in the liquid could be carried to the liquid free surface by the fluid flow and by the slag’s buoyancy.

For decades, the edible mushroom Pleurotus eryngii (P. eryngii) has been cultivated as important raw materials for food and pharmaceutical industries in most of Asian countries, especially in China. Unfortunately, the generation and improvement of new cultivars are very difficult since there are many barriers which have not been solved thoroughly by gene editing tools, even though the CRISPR-Cas9 technique has been widely applied in other species. In this study, we identified the point-mutated variant of the endogenous sdhB gene (cbxr) as a more stable selection marker than hygromycin B resistance gene (hph) in P. eryngii. Furthermore, using a codon-optimized Cas9, a predicted native U6 promoter-guided sgRNA, as well as an optimized protoplast transformation system, a highly efficient pyrG gene editing system was established in P. eryngii, that incorporated varied insertions and deletions (indels) by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homology-directed repair (HDR). Findings for a successful targeted gene editing strategy in the edible mushroom P. eryngii may open a new chapter for the improvement of edible mushroom cultivars.

The additive manufactured coated sand products had obvious staircases on the surface and lots of small holes inside. The alcohol based refractory coating and the water based refractory coating were applied to improve the surface of the samples. The polygonal samples were used to check the effects of the coatings on reducing the surface roughness. The “8” shape samples were used to compare the effect of dipping time on the moisture content and the tensile strength of samples and the coating thickness. Results showed that the surface of samples could be improved by both alcohol based refractory and water based refractory coating. By the alcohol based refractory coating, the moisture content and the coating thickness increased and the tensile strength decreased with the dipping time obviously. By the water based refractory coating, the moisture content, the tensile strength of samples and the coating thickness kept approximately changeless with the increment of dipping time, which meant it could have enough time to dip to assure the coating’s quality on the surface of the samples. In conclusion, it was suitable to apply water based refractory coating and the dipping process to improve the surface of additive manufactured coated sand products.

The sprue gate is submerged to a certain distance below the surface of the molten metal in the mold during the filling process. This is a digital casting technology, which is highly integrated with CAD/CAE, process detection and control technology. The 3D models of the casting (corresponding to the mold cavity) and the ladle are cut into slices to obtain the sectional information for the iterative calculation. The relative displacement of the gate is calculated by iteration. The ladle or mold is moved up and down by the elevator to ensure that the gate submerges below the molten metal surface to a specified distance. It can be seen from the numerical simulation and experimental results that this method can avoid the need for a complex filling system, which is convenient for designing, manufacturing and assembling the mold. Additionally, it has advantages of stable filling and full feeding.

Flexible forming using plasma arc (FFUPA) is a newly developed method of sheet metal forming. It makes the forming by means of thermal stress and thermal strain without mould and die, and is recognized as a promising forming method in developing new products. In this paper, the mechanism and features of FFUPA have been studied. Two basic forms of flexible forming, bending towards and away from plasma arc, have been analyzed and discussed. In order to provide the basis of simulation analysis of thermal stress and thermal strain during FFUPA, a mathematical model for heat transfer of FFUPA has been developed. Computational analysis has been performed for thermo-physical parameters of the sheet metal, scanning speeds, arc powers and cooling conditions. The influence of these factors on temperature field distribution was calculated and analyzed. The results indicate that thermo-physical parameters influence the distribution of temperature field primarily and the sheet metal with small heat transfer coefficient is easy to be formed. Within the given surface temperature of sheet metal, the higher scanning speed can perform the better forming effect. Under specified arc power, material and scanning speed, the shapeable sheet metal has a thickness limit. With the cooling system, distribution of temperature field can be adjusted and hence final shape can be controlled.