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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important seed cells for cell therapy and tissue engineering because of their multidirectional differentiation potential, high proliferative capacity, low immunogenicity, and immunomodulatory ability. In this study, we successfully isolated and cultured a population of mesenchymal stem-like cells from pediatric urethra (PU-MSLCs). The cells had a spindle-shaped fibroblast-like morphology, similar to MSCs derived from other tissues. The PU-MSLCs highly expressed MSC surface markers CD29, CD73, CD90, and CD105 but were negative for leukocyte common antigen CD45, and MHC class II-encoded molecule HLA-DR. After in vitro induction, the PU-MSLCs had the potential to differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes. The PU-MSLCs maintained a normal karyotype and showed no tumorigenicity during long-term cultivation. We thus demonstrated that the mesenchymal stem/stromal cell-like population obtained from pediatric urethra tissue is capable of self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation, has promising application prospects for cell therapy and tissue engineering, and is expected to contribute to urethral tissue reconstruction.

Background Ureteroscopy is widely applied in pregnant women with renal colic, but such patients are easy to experience uterine contraction after surgery. There are many factors which may affect uterine contraction, this study aims to explore the risk factors of uterine contraction triggered by ureteroscopy in pregnant women with renal colic. Methods One hundred and one pregnant women were retrospectively analyzed, the patients were hospitalized because of severe renal colic. All patients received ureteroscopy during which double J catheters were inserted into ureters for drainage. Patients received other medical treatments individually according to their condition and uterine contractions were detected by EHG within 12 h after operation. Patients were classified as group A (uterine contraction) and group B (no uterine contraction) according to the presence or absence of continuously regular uterine contraction. Clinical characteristics were collected for further analysis, including history of childbirth, anesthesia method, application of phloroglucinol or not, operation time, Oxygen inhalation or not, pain relief or not after surgery, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) occurred or not. A binary logistic regression analysis model was established to explore whether such clinical characteristics were relevant to uterine contraction after ureteroscopy. Results Continuously regular uterine contraction presented in 46 pregnant women within 12 h after ureteroscopy, making the incidence of uterine contraction as high as 45.54%. The presence of uterine contraction was related to the following factors(P Conclusion Continuously regular uterine contraction is easy to occur within 12 h after ureteroscopy in pregnant women. SIRS occurred after surgery is a risk factor for uterine contraction; on the contrary, no history of childbirth, shorter operation time, application of phloroglucinol, pain relief after surgery are protective factors.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 4-1 (IGFBP4-1), a new long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), has been reported to contribute to tumorigenesis and has been suggested to be a poor prognostic marker in human lung cancer. However, there still lacks basic studies that investigated the biological role of IGFBP4-1 in bladder urothelial carcinoma to date. In this study, we investigated the relationship between IGFBP4-1 expression and prognosis in patients with bladder cancer. Cell proliferation, cell cycle and cell apoptosis assays were performed to assess IGFBP4-1 function by up-regulating or down-regulating IGFBP4-1 in bladder cancer cells. A xenograft mice model was used to validate the in vitro results. Blockade of Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway (JAK/STAT) was used to evaluate JAK/STAT signaling activity. The results showed that IGFBP4-1 was overexpressed in bladder cancer tissues compared with that in normal bladder tissues, and its expression level was positively correlated with poor prognosis in bladder cancer patients. Overexpression of IGFBP4-1 markedly promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and inhibited cell apoptosis, while knockdown of IGFBP4-1 notably suppressed the proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Mechanistically, we revealed that IGFBP4-1 promotes the activation of the JAK/STAT pathway in bladder cancer cells. Moreover, the JAK/STAT inhibitor dramatically blocked the tumor-promoting activity of IGFBP4-1. Tumor growth in vivo was also suppressed by knocking down of IGFBP4-1. In conclusion, IGFBP4-1 promoted bladder cancer progression by activating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. These findings suggest that IGFBP4-1 exhibits an oncogenic role in the development of human bladder cancer.

Background: Ureteroscopy is widely applied in pregnant women with renal colic, but such patients are easy to experience uterine contraction after ureteroscopy, There are many factors which may result to uterine contraction, this study aims to explore the risk factors of uterine contraction triggered by ureteroscopy in pregnant women with renal colic. Methods: 101 pregnant women were retrospectively analyzed, all patients were hospitalized because of severe renal colic. All patients received ureteroscopy during which double J catheters were inserted into ureters for drainage. Patients received medical treatment individually according to their condition and the uterine contractions were detected by EHG within 12 hours after operation. Patients were classified as group A (uterine contraction, n=46) and group B (no uterine contraction, n=55) according to the presence or absence of continuously regular uterine contraction. Clinical characteristics were collected for further analysis, including history of deliveries, anesthesia methods, application of phloroglucinol or not, surgical time, Oxygen inhalation or not, pain relief or not after surgery, systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS) occurred or not. A binary logistic regression analysis model was established to explore whether such clinical characteristics were relevant to uterine contraction after ureteroscopy. Results: The incidence of continuously regular uterine contraction occurred within 12 hours after ureteroscopy in pregnant women was 45.54%, and the presence of uterine contraction was related to the following factors(PConclusion: Continuously regular uterine contraction is easy to occur within 12 hours after ureteroscopy in pregnant women. SIRS occurred after surgery is a risk factor for uterine contraction; on the contrary, no history of childbirth, shorter surgical time, application of phloroglucinol, pain relief after surgery are protective factors.

CRISPR-CasRx technology provides a new and powerful method for studying cellular RNA in human cancer. Herein, the pattern of expression of long noncoding RNA 00341 (LINC00341) as well as its biological function in bladder cancer were studied using CRISPR-CasRx. qRT-PCR was employed to quantify the levels of expression of LINC00341 in tumor tissues along with the matched non-tumor tissues. sgRNA targeting LINC00341 or the sgRNA negative control were transiently transfected into the T24 as well as 5,637 human bladder cancer cell lines. CCK-8, ELISA as well as wound healing methods were employed to explore cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration, respectively. The tumorigenicity experiment in nude mice also performed to detect cell proliferation. The expression of p21, Bax as well as E-cadherin were assayed using western blot. The results demonstrated that LINC00341 was overexpressed in bladder cancer in contrast with the healthy tissues. The LINC00341 expression level in high-grade tumors was higher in contrast with that in low-grade tumors. The expression of linc00341 was higher relative to that of non-invasive tumors. In T24 as well as 5637-cell lines harboring LINC00341-sgRNA, inhibition of cell proliferation (in vitro and in vivo), elevated apoptosis rate and diminished migration ability. Moreover, silencing LINC00341 upregulated the expressions of p21, Bax as well as E-cadherin. Knockout of these genes could eliminate the phenotypic changes caused by sgRNA targeting LINC00341. Our data demonstrate that LINC00341 has a carcinogenic role in human bladder cancer.

Sr x Ca 1−x AlSiN 3 : Eu 2+ phosphors were prepared by using the high temperature solid state reaction in a 1.1 Mpa N 2 atmosphere. The phase structures, photoluminescence (PL) properties, and chromaticity properties of the phosphors affected by Sr/Ca Substitution have been investigated in detail. With increasing Sr content (x value), the crystal grain became bigger and the average grain size increased from 5 µm to 10 µm. PL emission bands of Sr x Ca 1−x AlSiN 3 : Eu 2+ showed a blue-shift from 660 (x=0) to 617 nm (x=0.8), the shoulder of the excitation spectra around 550 nm showed a slightly blue-shift and decay lifetime shortened from 776.96 (x=0.2) to 642.35 ns (x=0.8). Both the emission and excitation intensity of peak position increased with Sr content increased. The ideal white light with high CRI (Ra>88) can be obtained by mixing the Sr x Ca 1−x AlSiN 3 : Eu 2+ phosphors and commercial green phosphors with appropriate proportion of the components.

BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5 and 2) phosphors were synthesized by high temperature solid-state reaction. The effect of Ba2+ doping on the thermal stability and reliability properties of the phosphors were investigated. The photoluminescence (PL) emission bands of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ showed blue shift from 576 to 508 nm with increasing Ba content under excited at 460 nm. As x value is more than 1, the thermal stability of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphor is decreased significantly. As the temperature increases from 300 to 500 K, PL intensity of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphor decreases by 91.32, 80.26, 64.80, 69.91 and 94.12 % of the initial PL intensity for x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2, respectively. The thermal cycling testing results show that the relative PL intensity of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphor decrease to 84.08, 85.99, 90.18, 92.59, 94.89, 90.88 and 85.42 % with x value is 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5 and 2 after storing the phosphors into an ambient condition of 120 °C for 1 h and −40 °C for 1 h by turns for five times. Reliability test results show that the relative PL intensity of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphor decrease to 83.90, 92.36, 93.88, 95.89, 95.85, 93.47 and 85.03 % with x value is 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5 and 2 after the ambient condition of 85 °C/RH 85 % for the exposure time of 168 h; The relative PL intensity of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphor decrease to 75.23, 83.63, 85.76, 89.58, 88.28, 85.03 and 70.97 % with x value is 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5 and 2 after soaking into boiled water for 3 h. It can be summarized that the addition of Ba with the x value less than 1 could increase the thermal stability largely and enhance the reliability of BaxSr2−xSiO4:0.02Eu2+ phosphors remarkably.

Y3Al5−xGaxO12:0.05Ce3+ (x = 0–2) phosphors have been prepared by using the high temperature solid state reaction in a reducing H2 atmosphere. The phase structures, photoluminescence (PL) properties, and chromaticity properties of the phosphors have been investigated in detail. SEM image shows the phosphors exhibits well-developed crystal faces with the crystal size is about 50 μm. The two PLE excitation bands attributed to the 4f–5d 1 and 4f–5d 2 transitions showed shift in opposite directions as x increasing. PL emission bands of Y3Al5−xGaxO12:0.05Ce3+ showed a blue-shift tendency gradually from 560 to 520 nm with increasing Ga content (x value). The PL measurement combined with blue light and CIE chromaticity diagram show that ideal white light with high CRI can be obtained by mixing the Y2.95Al3.5Ga1.5O12:0.05Ce (or Y2.95Al3Ga2O12:0.05Ce) phosphors and commercial red phosphors with appropriate proportion of the components.

Bone tissue engineering is an exciting research area that develops functional strategies for the most challenging bone related clinical issues. Among the numerous materials used in this area, biomimetic materials have been developed amazingly over the past decades. In this study, biomimetic gelatin methacrylamide (Bio-GelMA) hydrogel scaffolds have been fabricated to mimic both the physical architecture and chemical composition of the natural bone extracellular matrix (ECM) by using the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) technique, to provide three-dimensional templates and extracellular matrix microenvironments. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) also play a pivotal role in osteogenesis when co-cultured with Bio-GelMA at days 7, 14, and 21. The effects of cell–biomaterial interactions such as adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation were systematically investigated. The results showed that Bio-GelMA significantly enhanced cell attachment and viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and mineral deposition, as well as mRNA expression levels of osteogenic genes of ADSCs. In a subcutaneous model, H&E staining and dual immunofluorescent staining differed significantly. More importantly, in a critical-size rat calvarial bone defect model, the results of Micro-CT, H&E staining and Masson trichrome staining confirmed that the combination of the Bio-GelMA and ADSCs could enhance osteogenesis significantly. Altogether, the observations prove that the Bio-GelMA scaffolds can act as cell carriers for ADSCs, promote greater osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs and may have great potential in future clinical applications.

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RLP) is 1 method for treating ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in children, but reports are more common in children than in infants younger than 2 years old. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of RLP for infants with UPJO. From January 2015 to December 2017, a retrospective analysis of 22 infants aged 2 to 24 (11.95 ± 6.00) months with UPJO who were treated with RLP in our hospital was performed. During the same period, 14 infants who underwent conventional transperitoneal laparoscopic pyeloplasty (TLP) were compared with those who underwent RLP. Postoperative recovery and complications, including bleeding, infection, urinary leakage and anastomotic stenosis, postoperative resumption of oral feeding, postoperative hospitalization time and surgical success rate were evaluated. Drainage and function were assessed with isotope scan at 6 months and later during the yearly follow-up and by intravenous urography (IVU) and mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) renography. Both groups underwent successful surgery. The operative time in the RLP group was 88 to 205 (120.59 ± 24.59) min, and there was no significant difference compared with the TLP group (P = .767). The estimated intraoperative blood loss was 2 to 10 (3.75 ± 1.59) ml, which was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P = .386). In the RLP group, the mean postoperative resumption of oral feeding was faster than that in the TLP group (3.55 ± 0.74 vs 5.50 ± 0.85 hour, P

This study examined the association of pregnancy with urolithiasis and provided new insights into urolithiasis in pregnancy. A total of 462 subjects were studied from January 2004 to December 2009 in Foshan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, China. Among the 462 subjects, 162 cases of urolithiasis during pregnancy (UPG) were selected as the observation group, 150 cases of no urolithiasis during pregnancy (NUPG) served as pregnancy control group, and 150 cases of no pregnancy (NPG) at reproductive age who took part in physical examination were randomly assigned into non-pregnant control group. At the same time, the patients in observation group were divided into the following sub-groups: no symptomatic urinary calculus (NSUC) and symptomatic urinary calculus (SUC) groups; SUC group was further divided into surgical intervention (SI) and conservative management (CM) groups. The general information and the data of blood and urine were collected and compared among the groups. The results showed that the incidence of urinary calculi in pregnant women was lower than that in non-pregnant women, the formation of urinary stone was associated with the change of metabolism of protein and sugar in pregnant women, and the surgical intervention was a practicable alternative to treat the clinical intractable symptomatic urinary calculi in pregnancy.