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Background Peripheral facial paralysis (PFP) results in functional disorder and social dysfunction, when it is under a severe condition at onset, long-term poor outcomes do occur. Different acupuncture methods have been reported to be potentially effective for shortening the disease course and reducing the occurrence of sequelae when they are applied at an early stage. Neuro edema is a common pathological feature in the acute phase, and many clinical studies have suggested its effect of reducing facial nerve edema. It is of value to estimate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment at the onset, and to assess the most suitable acupuncture method for the acute period. Methods and analysis All the RCTs and quasi-RCTs on acupuncture therapy for patients who is during acute stage of PFP will be included. The recovery rate of facial function, the time it takes to restore facial function and the odds of sequelae occurring will be the key parts we focus on. Psychological well-being and quality of life will also be evaluated. Literature searching will be conducted until December 31th, 2022 from eight databases systematically. Two reviewers will screen the literature and extract the data independently. RevMan software will be used for data analysis, and the version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2) will be used to assess the certainty of evidence. Forest plots and summary findings will be generated. If data permits, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Ethics and dissemination Since this study will not involve clinical treatment of patients, ethics approval is not required. The result of this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication and as a proposal for clinical practice and further study on acupuncture treatment at the early stage of PFP. Discussion This review will summarize the evidence on the different type of acupuncture therapy for acute Bell’s palsy and Ramsay-Hunt syndrome. We anticipate that it would be safe and effective when applied to the acute phase of PFP, and some specific suitable acupuncture methods would be found resulting from this review. Systematic review registration International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) number CRD42020205127

The influence of cooling rate on microstructural evolution and precipitation behavior in Ti, Ti–Nb and Ti–Mo low-carbon steels during the continuous cooling process was studied by dilatometer method, optical microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that austenite transformation temperature decreased with the increasing cooling rate in three steels. The addition of Nb and Mo promoted bainite and martensite transformation and improved the hardenability of steels. In addition, precipitates formed in deformed austenite and ferrite can be observed simultaneously. Deformation in the austenite non-recrystallization zone can introduce a large number of deformation bands, and then, the precipitates preferentially nucleated in these deformation bands. In the following process, randomly distributed precipitates and interphase precipitates will be formed in ferrite. The precipitates formed in deformed austenite obey Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship with the matrix, while the precipitates formed in ferrite obey Baker–Nutting orientation relationship with the matrix. The addition of Nb and Mo in Ti-bearing steels decreased the precipitates size and increased the number density of precipitates and then improved the precipitation hardening. And the effect of Mo addition is more obvious than that of Nb addition.

This paper adopts wavelet analysis to explore the time–frequency comovement and causality between the exchange rates and the interest rate differentials in China (compared to the USA) over the period from February 1999 to March 2018. While the existing literature in general treats the relationship between the two variables as being symmetric, this paper attempts to detect possible asymmetric patterns by extending the standard wavelet analysis to an asymmetric analysis. In addition, given that the relationship might be affected by exchange rate expectations and foreign exchange interventions, we further employ the partial wavelet tools to filter out the effects of the two controlled variables. The results show that the general pattern of the comovement and causality does not change. The comovement is intensified at the low frequency after the exchange rate reform in 2005. Moreover, exchange rates are found to positively comove with interest rate differentials, and the former leads the latter. More importantly, we provide robust evidence of meaningful asymmetry and substantial time and frequency variations in the comovement and causality between the two variables. These findings provide important implications for improving the transmission of monetary policy in China.

With the change in environment and lifestyle, the number of diabetic patients is increasing rapidly. Diabetes has become one of the most important chronic diseases affecting the health of the Chinese people, and complications, disability, death and treatment costs caused by diabetes have placed a heavy burden on families and society. If the high-risk population of diabetes can be identified and the adverse lifestyle can be changed as soon as possible, the incidence of diabetes can be reduced or the onset of diabetes can be slowed down. Risk prediction model can accurately predict the risk of disease and has been widely used in the field of health management and medical care. This study was based on the special occupational group of steel workers, the risk prediction model of type 2 diabetes was established by using convolutional neural network, and the feasibility of the model was discussed. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of the established model in the training set, verification set, and test set is relatively high, which is 94.5%, 91.0%, and 89.0%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.950 (95 CI 0.938–0.962), 0.916 (95 CI 0.888–0.945), and 0.899 (95 CI 0.899–0.939), respectively, indicating that the model can accurately predict the risk of type 2 diabetes among steel workers, provide a basis for self-health management of steel workers, facilitate the rational allocation of medical and health resources and the development of health services, and provide a basis for government departments to make decisions.

Background Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is an angiographic finding of abnormal coronary dilatation. Inflammation plays a major role in all phases of atherosclerosis. We investigated the relationship between CAE and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels to test our hypothesis that patient age is associated with the efficacy of anti-inflammatory therapy for CAE. Methods We conducted a prospective analysis of 217 patients with CAE treated at the Department of Cardiology, Shanghai East Hospital, Ji’an Campus and the Baoshan People’s Hospital, from January 1, 2015 to July 30, 2019. Baseline data of patients, including sex; age; and history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, were collected from patient medical records. Study participants were grouped by age as follows: CAE-A (n = 60, age ≤ 50 years), CAE-B (n = 83, 50 years n = 74, age > 70). Additionally, there was a control (NC) group (n = 73) with normal coronary arteries. Results All patients received oral rosuvastatin therapy (10 mg, QN quaque nocte) when they were diagnosed with CAE and maintained good follow-up, with a loss rate of 0.0% at the end of the 6-month follow-up. The NC group received regular symptom-relieving treatments and rosuvastatin therapy. Of these four groups, the inflammatory markers, hs-CRP and IL-6, were significantly higher in patients with CAE than in the NCs (p P = 0.048, P = 0.025). Logistic regression analysis showed that hs-CRP (OR = 1.782, 95% CI: 1.124–2.014, P = 0.021) and IL-6 (OR = 1.584, 95% CI: 1.112–1.986, P = 0.030) were independent predictors of CAE. The inflammatory markers were higher in the CAE-A group than in the CAE-B group and higher in the CAE-B group than in the CAE-C group. Follow-up after 6 months of rosuvastatin therapy showed a significantly greater reduction in hs-CRP and IL-6 levels in the CAE-A group than in the CAE-B group, which again were greater in the CAE-B group than in the CAE-C group. Conclusions Anti-inflammatory therapy using rosuvastatin was more effective in younger CAE patients, indicating the need for early statin therapy in CAE.

Background The atherogenicity of remnant cholesterol (RC) has been underlined by recent guidelines, which was linked to coronary artery disease (CAD), especially for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This study aimed to examine the prognostic value of plasma RC in the patients with CAD under different glucose metabolism status. Methods Fasting plasma RC were directly calculated or measured in 4331 patients with CAD. Patients were followed for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and categorized according to both glucose metabolism status [DM, pre-DM, normoglycemia (NG)] and RC levels. Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals. Results During a mean follow-up of 5.1 years, 541 (12.5%) MACEs occurred. The risk for MACEs was significantly higher in patients with elevated RC levels after adjustment for potential confounders. No significant difference in MACEs was observed between pre-DM and NG groups (p > 0.05). When stratified by combined status of glucose metabolism and RC, highest levels of calculated and measured RC were significant and independent predictors of developing MACEs in pre-DM (HR: 1.64 and 1.98; both p Conclusions In this large-scale and long-term follow-up cohort study, data firstly demonstrated that higher RC levels were significantly associated with the worse prognosis in DM and pre-DM patients with CAD, suggesting that RC may be a target for patients with impaired glucose metabolism.

Structure and electrocatalytic reactivity of cobalt mono-phosphosulfide nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes are investigated. Employing two different synthetic methods, we successfully synthesize cobalt mono-phosphosulfide nanoparticles adopting either the CoP crystal structure (CoP|S with the S/P ratio

Low density parity check code (LDPC) is a linear block code whose performance is close to Shannon’s limit. Compared with other decoding algorithms, it has low decoding complexity and flexible structure. So it becomes people’s research hotspots. In recent years, LDPC code codec algorithm has been improved, and is widely used in deep space communications, optical fiber communications, mobile communications and underwater and other fields. Using chaotic sequence single-layer mapping plus pixel scrambling can complete chaotic image encryption, because some chaotic sequence is poor robust, in the process of channel transmission, it is difficult to ensure that the information can be destroyed after the attack In this paper, LDPC codes are introduced, and in the chaotic image encryption, block coding is used to form error protection to improve the stability of the image transmission process and improve the transmission quality.

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a self-organizing adaptive network composed of infinite sensor nodes which can collect the data information, process the data information and transmit mutual data information. However, its node power is very limited. The main responsibility of its routing protocol is to find the scientific and correct forwarding path for the data transmission using the least amount of energy. The routing protocol of WSN focuses on energy-first, data-centric and application-dependent. In this paper, we mainly study cluster routing protocol in the wireless sensor network, and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of LEACH protocol, pointed out the problem. We aiming at the problems existing in the original LEACH protocol, the cluster head election, the special node processing and inter cluster routing problem were improved respectively, and then an improved protocol called LEACH-Impt was proposed. With MATLAB simulation, we compare its performance with the LEACH in the number of survival points and the transmission efficiency of the data. In the last, we compare the existing time and work efficiency between the old and new LEACH protocol in the hardware system.

The precipitation behavior of nanometer-sized carbides in ferrite in Nb–V-bearing low-carbon steel was studied by electron microscopy and nanoindentation hardness measurements. The results indicated that interphase precipitation and random precipitation could occur simultaneously for the specimen isothermally treated at 700 °C for 60 min, while in other specimens, only random precipitation was observed. This phenomenon might be explained by mass balance criterion during the diffusional phase transformation. Nanohardness result indicated that the average hardness of the specimens isothermally held at 600 °C for 20 min was 3.87 GPa. For the specimen isothermally holding at 650 °C for 20 min, the average hardness was 4.10 GPa and the distribution of the nanohardness was in a narrower range compared with that of the specimen isothermal holding at 600 °C for 20 min. These implied that the carbides in the specimens isothermal treated at 650 °C were more uniformly dispersed, and the number density of the carbides was greater than that treated at 600 °C. Using Ashby–Orowan model, the contribution of precipitation strengthening to yield strength was estimated to be ~110 MPa for the specimen isothermally treated at the temperature of 650 °C for 20 min.

Despite promising characteristics such as high specific energy and low cost, current Li–S batteries fall short in cycle life. Improving the cycling stability of S cathodes requires immobilizing the lithium polysulfide (LPS) intermediates as well as accelerating their redox kinetics. Although many materials have been explored for trapping LPS, the ability to promote LPS redox has attracted much less attention. Here, we report for the first time on transition metal phosphides as effective host materials to enhance both LPS adsorption and redox. Integrating MoP-nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes with S deposited on graphene oxide, we enable Li–S battery cathodes with substantially improved cycling stability and rate capability. Capacity decay rates as low as 0.017% per cycle over 1,000 cycles can be realized. Stable and high areal capacity (>3 mAh·cm−2) can be achieved under high mass loading conditions. Comparable electrochemical performance can also be achieved with analogous material structures based on CoP, demonstrating the potential of metal phosphides for long-cycle Li–S batteries.

Our study explored the effects of SOST gene silencing on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration of human osteosarcoma cells through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Fresh tissues were obtained from 108 patients with osteosarcoma and 46 patients with osteochondroma. Human osteosarcoma cells (MG-63, U2-OS, HOS, and Saos-2) and normal osteoblast (hFoB1.19) were selected and cultured. Osteosarcoma cells were grouped randomly into the blank group, the scrambled control group, and the SOST-siRNA group. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were tested by flow cytometry. Transwell and scratch test were performed to determine cell invasion and migration. The qRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect mRNA and protein expression level of sclerostin, Wnt1, β-catenin, C-Myc, Cyclin D1, and MMP-7. The activity of caspase-3 was assessed by immunocytochemistry. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was measured using P-nitrophenylphosphate as a substrate. Low SOST mRNA and sclerostin protein expression levels were observed in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. Compared with the blank and scrambled control groups, sclerostin expression, apoptotic cells, ALP activity, and caspase-3 activity were down-regulated, while the proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities of osteosarcoma cells were evidently enhanced in the SOST-siRNA group. After SOST gene silencing, the mRNA and protein expression levels of Wnt1, β-catenin, C-Myc, Cyclin D1, and MMP-7 in osteosarcoma cells and β-catenin protein expression levels in the nucleus and cytoplasm were significantly elevated. SOST gene silencing promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration, and inhibits apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Potato white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is an important plant disease occurring in many potato-producing areas worldwide. This disease causes considerable yield losses in a large number of potato fields of Hamedan province, Iran. Although several non-chemical methods have been suggested against the pathogen, application of chemicals is considered a major method employed by the growers in Hamedan fields leading to considerable pollution of underground water. Therefore, it is necessary to find techniques to help growers make a more timely decision for chemical application. In this research, a pair of PCR primers was designed according to the nucleotide sequence of a region of DNA amplified by the primer M13. This primer set amplified a 352-bp fragment from all isolates of S. sclerotiorum collected from Hamedan, Iran, and Hangzhou, China. However, this situation was not observed in other tested fungi. A real-time PCR assay was conducted to detect early infection of the pathogen on potato petals. This real-time PCR assay is suggested for growers to make timely decisions on chemical application.

Using a bootstrap Granger full-sample causality test and a sub-sample rolling window estimation, this paper examines the causal link between inflation and inflation uncertainty in China. The results show that high inflation leads to high inflation uncertainty, supporting Friedman-Ball’s hypothesis (1992) and Holland’s theory (J Money Credit Bank 27:827–837, 1995). Furthermore, significant feedback exists from inflation uncertainty to inflation in some periods, supporting Holland’s theory (J Money Credit Bank 27:827–837, 1995) that inflation uncertainty has a negative effect on inflation. We find that the relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty varies across time. The Chinese monetary authority needs to ensure a quick and effective policy response to inflation development because doing so will help reduce inflation, eliminate many of the costs associated with high inflation and therefore minimize the marginal effect of inflation on inflation uncertainty. However, quantitative tools for China’s monetary policy are also warranted. In the long term, the importance of keeping inflation low, stable, and predictable cannot be overemphasized.

We have studied here the impact of finish cooling temperature on the microstructural evolution and precipitation behavior in Nb-V-Ti microalloyed steel through thermo-mechanical simulation in the context of newly developed ultrafast cooling system. The microstructural evolution was studied in terms of morphology and crystallography of precipitates using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. At finish cooling temperature of 933 K and 893 K (660 °C and 620 °C), the microstructure primarily consisted of polygonal ferrite, together with a small amount of wedge-shaped acicular ferrite and lamellar pearlite, while, at 853 K and 813 K (580 °C and 540 °C), the microstructure consisted of lath bainite with fine interlath cementite and granular bainite with martensite/austenite (M/A) constituent. In all the finish cooling temperatures studied, the near-spherical precipitates of size range ~2 to 15 nm were randomly dispersed in ferrite and bainite matrix. The carbide precipitates were identified as (Nb,V)C with NaCl-type crystal structure. With a decrease in the finish cooling temperature, the size of the precipitates was decreased, while the number density first increased with a peak at 893 K (620 °C) and then decreased. Using Ashby–Orowan model, the contribution of the precipitation strengthening to yield strength was ~149 MPa at the finish cooling temperature of 893 K (620 °C).

Patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer often experience disease recurrence after standard therapies, a critical factor in determining their five-year survival rate. Recent reports indicated that long-term or short-term survival is associated with varied gene expression of cancer cells. Thus, identification of novel prognostic biomarkers should be considered. Since the mouse genome is similar to the human genome, we explored potential prognostic biomarkers using two groups of mouse ovarian cancer cell lines (group 1: IG-10, IG-10pw, and IG-10pw/agar; group 2: IG-10 clones 2, 3, and 11) which display highly and moderately aggressive phenotypes in vivo. Mice injected with these cell lines have different survival time and rates, capacities of tumor, and ascites formations, reflecting different prognostic potentials. Using an Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array, a total of 181 genes were differentially expressed (P

Lentivirus vectors encoding Wnt10b gene (LV-Wnt10b) or luciferase gene (LV-luc) were constructed to determine whether Wnt10b overexpression improved fracture healing in a rat atrophic non-union model. After fracture, rats were injected with LV-Wnt10b or LV-luc. Luciferase signals were clearly detected. At 2 and 4 weeks, LV-Wnt10b group had 107 and 98% more proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive cells, respectively, and promoted expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in the callus compared with controls. LV-Wnt10b injection significantly increased bone mass density and bone mineral content: 46-84 and 96-193%, respectively, at the site of fracturein the LV-Wnt10b group compared with controls. At 8 weeks, fractured femora were healed in the LV-Wnt10b group compared with atrophic non-unions formed in controls. Thus, Wnt10b overexpression associated with lentiviral gene therapy is effective in healing atrophic non-unions in rats.

Fungal infection remains a major problem worldwide, yet treatment options are limited owing to the lack of effective drugs, the significant toxicity of available compounds, and the emergence of drug resistance. The low toxicity of calcofluor white (CFW) is an attractive antifungal compound for its known inhibitive effects on trichophyton rubrum and candida albicans growth. However, the efficacy of CFW is limited in most cases. In order to search for effective means to improve its efficacy, using saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model, we have used microarrays to examine the cell’s response when treated with CFW on the genome scale. We found that both the PKC-SLT2 (i.e, protein kinase C-mitogen activated protein kinase) and the glycogen metabolic pathways are activated upon CFW treatment. These results suggest that the key components in these pathways could be targeted by other drugs to counter the cell’s compensative response, thus to further substantiate the inhibitive effect of CFW on fungal growth, which may lead to treatment regimens with improved efficacy of this compound in clinical applications.

Genetic studies in human and mice have pinpointed an essential role of Notch signaling in osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation during skeletal development and bone remodeling. However, the factors and pathways regulating Notch activation in bone cells remain largely unknown. In this in vitro study, we have provided evidence that two of the TspanC8 subfamily members of tetraspanins, Tspan-5 and Tspan-10, are up-regulated during osteoclast differentiation and knockdown of their expression by shRNAs dramatically inhibits osteoclastogenesis. Loss of Tspan-5 and Tspan-10 in osteoclast lineage cells results in attenuation of ADAM10 maturation and Notch activation. Therefore, these two tetraspanins play a critical role in osteoclast formation, at least in part, by modulating Notch signaling pathway.

With the increasing longevity and the growing size of the aging population, China is among the developing countries with the greatest burden of osteoporotic fractures (OFs). Identification of individuals at high fracture risk to provide early treatment in developing countries with limited resources remains a challenge. Our aim was to calculate the FRAX® values in a selected mainland Chinese population the day before the occurrence of an OF and to compare the results with the Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) thresholds. To define a population at high fracture risk, we selected patients in the orthopedic emergency cohort from Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, China. To calculate the FRAX® the day before the actual OF, the actual fracture was not considered as a previous fracture. Subjects with a FRAX® value lower than the NOF thresholds were not considered at high risk. One-hundred ninety-eight patients were included with a mean age of 69.9 ± 10.1 years old, and 78.8 % were female. Major fracture sites included hip (41.9 %), proximal humerus (22.2 %), forearm (27.8 %), spine (6.6 %), and pelvis (1.5 %). Overall, only two (1.0 %) patients had a 10-year major fracture probability ≥20 %, and 84 (42.4 %) patients had a 10-year hip fracture probability ≥3 %. More than half of the population was not identified to be at high risk by the FRAX® BMI (body mass index). For age groups 55-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80-90 years old, respectively, the mean FRAX® BMI values (major OF/hip fracture) were 3.5/0.7, 5.7/1.8, 8.2/4.7, and 8.6/4.8 %. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was available for 58 patients, and 41.2 % had a T-score ≤ -2.5 standard deviation (lumbar spine and/or femoral neck and/or total hip). Only six (17.6 %) patients with a normal or osteopenic BMD were classified at high risk by the FRAX® BMD (bone mineral density). The NOF thresholds could only identify fewer than half of the studied population to be at high risk the day before an actual OF, and the 10-year hip fracture probability seemed to perform better than the 10-year major fracture probability. Prospective population-based studies are needed to validate the prediction of Chinese FRAX® model and to establish ideal thresholds.

An isolate of hippeastrum chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRV) named HLS1-2, causing necrotic spots on leaves of spider lily, was obtained and characterized in China. The complete S RNA and M RNAs of the HLS1-2 isolate are 2724 nt and 4741 nt in length, respectively. The HLS1-2 S RNA sequence is most closely related to that of HCRV, with 99 % identity. Viral proteins encoded by the M RNA are closely related to those of tomato yellow ring virus (TYRV), polygonum ringspot virus (PolRSV) and iris yellow spot virus (IYSV). Phylogenetic trees for the four viral proteins encoded by the S and M RNAs placed HCRV-HLS1-2 in a distinct cluster with IYSV, TYRV and PolRSV and provided further support for the subdivision of tospoviruses into American and Eurasian groups.

La(1−x)Mg x Ni4.25Al0.75 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) alloys for tritium storage were prepared by a method of electromagnetic induction melting. The crystal structure and hydrogen storage performance of the as-cast alloys were investigated. The results showed that a single phase of LaNi4Al was in the alloys with x = 0.0 and 0.1 and that LaNi4Al and second phase of (La,Mg)Ni3 and AlNi3 were in the alloys with x = 0.2 and 0.3. On the other hand, the plateau pressures of P–C isotherms of the alloys were increased with the rise of the x value from 0.2 to 0.3 and the hydrogen storage capacity was obviously degraded simultaneously. It was found that the alloy had faster absorption kinetics as the proportion of Mg increased from 0.1 to 0.3.

Background High levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in leukocyte- and platelet-rich plasma (L-PRP) may activate the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway to counter the beneficial effect of the growth factors on bone regeneration. However, to date, no relevant studies have substantiated this. Methods L-PRP and pure platelet-rich plasma (P-PRP) were isolated. The in vitro effects of L-PRP and P-PRP on the proliferation, viability and migration of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs) and EaHy926, tube formation of EaHy926, and osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs were assessed by cell counting, flow cytometry, scratch assay, tube formation assay, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting and Alizarin red staining, respectively. The in vitro effects of L-PRP and P-PRP on the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65, mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, and production of prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxid were assessed by western blotting, RT-PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Griess reaction, respectively. The in vivo effects of L-PRP or P-PRP preprocessed β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) on the calvarial defects in rats were assessed by histological and immunofluorescence examinations. Results P-PRP, which had similar platelet and growth factors concentrations but significantly lower concentrations of leukocytes and pro-inflammatory cytokines compared with L-PRP, promoted the proliferation, viability and migration of HBMSCs and EaHy926, tube formation of EaHy926 and osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs in vitro, compared with L-PRP. The implantation of P-PRP preprocessed β-TCP also yielded better histological results than the implantation of L-PRP preprocessed β-TCP in vivo. Moreover, L-PRP treatment resulted in the activation of the NF-κB pathway in HBMSCs and EaHy926 in vitro while the postoperative delivery of caffeic acid phenethyl ester, an inhibitor of NF-κB activation, enhanced the histological results of the implantation of L-PRP preprocessed β-TCP in vivo. Conclusions Leukocytes in L-PRP may activate the NF-κB pathway via the increased pro-inflammatory cytokines to induce the inferior effects on bone regeneration of L-PRP compared with P-PRP. Hence, P-PRP may be more suitable for bone regeneration compared with L-PRP, and the combined use of P-PRP and β-TCP represents a safe, simple, and effective alternative option for autogenous bone graft in the treatment of bone defects.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic stress-induced liver disease that is closely related not only to genetic susceptibility but also to insulin resistance and highly linked with metabolic syndrome. In recent years, the prevalence of NAFLD has increased rapidly, paralleling the epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity leading to cardiovascular disease. It has been demonstrated that NAFLD is highly associated with atherosclerosis. With recently gained knowledge, it appears that NAFLD may induce insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, inflammation, and fluctuation of adipokines associated with atherosclerosis. In this review, we aimed to summarize recent discoveries related to both NAFLD and atherosclerosis, and to identify possible mechanisms linking them.

Inspired by the self-polymerization and strong adhesion characteristics of dopamine in aqueous conditions, a novel hydrophilic nanofiltration (NF) membrane was fabricated by simply dipping polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) substrate in dopamine solution. The changes in surface chemical composition and morphology of membranes were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experimental results indicated that the self-polymerized dopamine formed an ultrathin and defect-free barrier layer on the PSf UF membrane. The surface hydrophilicity of membranes was evaluated through water contact angle measurements. It was found that membrane hydrophilicity was significantly improved after coating a polydopamine (pDA) layer, especially after double coating. The dyes filtration experiments showed that the double-coated membranes were able to reject completely the dyes of brilliant blue, congo red and methyl orange with a pure water flux of 83.7 L/(m2·h) under 0.6 MPa. The zeta potential determination revealed the positively-charged characteristics of PSf/pDA composite membrane in NF process. The salt rejection of the membranes was characterized by 0.01 mmol/L of salts filtration experiment. It was demonstrated that the salts rejections followed the sequence: NaCl < Na2SO4 < MgSO4 < MgCl2 < CaCl2, and the rejection to CaCl2 reached 68.7%. Moreover, the composite NF membranes showed a good stability in water-phase filtration process.

Background Previous studies including our group have indicated the effects of ezetimibe on increased plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) concentration, while the rapid expression in different organs and the potential molecular mechanisms for this impact have not been carefully evaluated. Methods Thirty rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 15 for each), which were orally administrated with ezetimibe (10 mg/kg/day) or normal saline. Blood samples were obtained at day 3 after orally administration, and the PCSK9 levels were determined by ELISA. We further analyzed the mRNA expression of PCSK9, low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), sterol regulator element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2), and hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha (HNF-1α) by real-time PCR, as well as the protein expression by western blot, in liver, intestine and kidney respectively. Results Ezetimibe significantly increased plasma PCSK9 levels compared with control group, while there was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to lipid profile at day 3. Moreover, ezetimibe remarkably increased the expression of PCSK9, LDLR, SREBP2 and HNF-1α in liver. Enhanced expression of PCSK9, LDLR and SREBP2 protein were found in intestine and kidney, while no changes in the expression of HNF-1α were observed in intestine and kidney of rats with ezetimibe treatment. Conclusions The data demonstrated that ezetimibe increased PCSK9 expression through the SREBP2 and HNF-1α pathways in different organs, subsequently resulting in elevated plasma PCSK9 levels prior to the alterations of lipid profile in rats.

A novel approach to treat post-menopausal osteoporosis is proposed by engineering cell lines for the secretion of human calcitonin (hCT) and which would then be suitable for implantation in different allogeneic hosts. Mouse myoblast were transfected with the cDNA for hCT using the liposome-based gene delivery technique and clones secreting of human calcitonin were isolated. Human calcitonin expression was detected by ELISA. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses also confirmed the plasmid, pcDNA3-hCT, had been transfected into the cells. Upon enclosure in microcapsules, which are biocompatible membranes that permit exit of therapeutic proteins but not entry of immune mediators, the myoblasts continued to secrete human calcitonin into the culture medium. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using these encapsulated recombinant myoblasts to deliver human calcitonin and the potential of allergenic gene therapy for postmenopausal osteoporosis.