Search

Tao Liu,* Zhongqing Ji,* Shaik Mohammed Ahsan, Yu Zhang, Peng Zhang, Zhihai Fan, Yixin Shen Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objectives: To investigate the distribution and function of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) following lumbar puncture (LP) transplantation in mouse spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods: OECs were transplanted by LP at level L3–5, 1 week after transected SCI at T8 vertebra. Mice were killed at 3, 21, and 56 days after LP transplantation, and the relative distribution of cells at T8 vertebra was quantitated. The injured spine was also tested by immunohistochemistry to assess neuron regeneration and scar bridging at 8 weeks posttransplantation. Motor functions of mice were evaluated during the observation period using the Basso Mouse Scale.Results: OECs were examined and confirmed by studying cell morphology under phase contrast and immunostaining of NGFR p75. LP-transplanted OECs could be detected just 3 days after transplantation (p75+ area: 0.16 mm2) and accumulated to 0.31 and 0.30 mm2 at 21 and 56 days postengraftment, respectively. The number of endogenous neurons, −400 to +400 µm, far from the epicenter, in OEC-transplanted mice was more than that in SCI mice without engraftment. SCI lesion of mice in the control group (164.3±3.97 µm) was much longer than that in OEC-grafted group (116.7±3.60 µm). Grafts of OECs induced significant functional improvement in mice that underwent T8 vertebral transection, just from 3 days after cell injection.Conclusion: LP is a minimally invasive method for OEC transplantation to treat SCI. This is the first study to visualize the distribution and functions of LP-transplanted OECs in the intact and injured spinal cord. Keywords: olfactory ensheathing cells, spinal cord injury, intrathecal transplantation, lumbar puncture, neuron regeneration, scar bridging

Bioelectrochemical CO2-reducing rate at high potential was limited by poor bacteria-nanowire interface resulting from an inhospitable alkaline local environment. Tuning the bulk electrolyte pH and increasing its buffering capacity mitigated this issue and supported the formation of a close-packed nanowire-bacteria cathode. The resulting close-packed biohybrid operated with a CO2-reducing current density of 0.65 ± 0.11 mA cm−2 at ∼−1.2 V versus standard hydrogen electrode and enabled solar-powered CO2 fixation with solar-to-acetate efficiency of ∼3.6% over 1 week.

Photosynthetic semiconductor biohybrids integrate the best attributes of biological whole-cell catalysts and semiconducting nanomaterials. Enzymatic machinery enveloped in its native cellular environment offers exquisite product selectivity and low substrate activation barriers while semiconducting nanomaterials harvest light energy stably and efficiently. In this Review Article, we illustrate the evolution and advances of photosynthetic semiconductor biohybrids focusing on the conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals. We begin by considering the potential of this nascent field to meet global energy challenges while comparing it to alternate approaches. This is followed by a discussion of the advantageous coupling of electrotrophic organisms with light-active electrodes for solar-to-chemical conversion. We detail the dynamic investigation of photosensitized microorganisms creating direct light harvesting within unicellular organisms while describing complementary developments in the understanding of charge transfer mechanisms and cytoprotection. Lastly, we focus on trends and improvements needed in photosynthetic semiconductor biohybrids in order to address future challenges and enhance their widespread adoption for the production of solar chemicals.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate longer-term efficacy over a two-year follow-up of coblation nucleoplasty treatment for protruded lumbar intervertebral disc.Methods: Forty-two cases of protruded lumbar intervertebral disc treated by coblation nucleoplasty followed-up for two years were analysed. Relief of low back pain, leg pain and numbness after the operation were assessed by visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Function of lower limb and daily living of patients were evaluated by the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).Results: Operations were performed successfully in all cases. Three patients had recurrence within a week of the procedure. Evaluation of the 42 patients demonstrated significant improvement rate of VAS: defined as 66.2% in back pain, 68.1% in leg pain, and 85.7% in numbness at one-week after the operation; 53.2%, 58.4%, 81.0% at one-year; and 45.5%, 50.7%, 75.0% at two-year follow-up. One week after the operation, obvious amelioration occurred in all the patients, but the tendency decreased. Before operation, the mean value of ODI was 68.2 ± 10.9%. The value at one week was 28.6 ± 8.2%; one-year at 35.8 ± 6.5%; and two-years at 39.4 ± 5.8%.Conclusion: Coblation nucleoplasty may have satisfactory clinical outcomes for treatment of protruded lumbar intervertebral disc for as long as two-year follow-up, but longer-term benefit still needs verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The S2 subunit of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a heavily glycosylated protein that can impact various characteristics of the virus. It is currently known that N-glycosylation modifications are predominantly located on the S2 subunit. However, the exact role of their N-glycosylation modification remains undisclosed. To elucidate the function of these N-glycosylation sites, we identified 14 common sites distributed on the S2 subunit of the 5 genotypes of IBV in present study. Subsequently, we selected 7 sites to generate mutants and assessed their impact on viral virulence, replication ability, and antigenicity. Our finding revealed that only 2 substitutions, N545S and K717N, increased the viral replication titer and antigenicity, and ultimately the pathogenicity in chicks. To delve into the mechanisms underlying this increased pathogenicity, we discovered that K717N can change the structure of antigenic epitopes. The N545S substitution not only influenced antigenic epitope structure, but also enhanced the ability of the virus to enter CEKs during the early stages of viral replication. These results suggest that the enhanced viral pathogenicity associated with N545S and K717N substitutions is multifaceted, with acceleration of the viral membrane fusion process and alterations in epitope structure representing crucial factors in the capability of N-glycosylation modifications to boost viral virulence. These insights provide valuable guidance for the efficient development of live attenuated vaccines., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dental implant is a commonly used therapeutic option for reconstruction of edentulous space. Adequate peri-implant soft tissue is crucial for preventing biological and esthetic complications. Peri-implant soft-tissue phenotypes including supracrestal tissue height, mucosa thickness and keratinized mucosa width could reflect the quality and quantity of peri-implant soft tissue. Different soft-tissue phenotypes might impact the stability of implant restoration through altering the tissue remodeling or inflammatory response. This review will discuss the influence of peri-implant soft-tissue phenotypes on tissue remodeling and inflammatory response after implant placement.

Exposure to anthropogenic aerosols has been associated with a variety of adverse health effects, increased morbidity, and premature death. Although cigarette smoke poses one of the most significant public health threats, the cellular toxicity of particulate matter contained in cigarette smoke has not been systematically interrogated in a size-segregated manner. In this study, we employed a refined particle size classification to collect cigarette aerosols, enabling a comprehensive assessment and comparison of the impacts exerted by cigarette aerosol extract (CAE) on SH-SY5Y, HEK293T, and A549 cells. Exposure to CAE reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, with organic components having a greater impact and SH-SY5Y cells displaying lower tolerance compared to HEK293T and A549 cells. Moreover, CAE was found to cause increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increased levels of apoptosis, pyroptosis, and autophagy, leading to increased cell death. Furthermore, we found that rutin, a phytocompound with antioxidant potential, could reduce intracellular reactive oxygen species and protect against CAE-triggered cell death. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of antioxidant drugs in mitigating the adverse effects of cigarette aerosol exposure for better public health outcomes.

This study compares the skin structures of Rana kukunoris with two different skin colors living in the same area of Haibei in the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The skin thickness of the khaki R. kukunoris was significantly greater than that of the brown R. kukunoris (P < 0.01), and significantly more mucous and granular glands were present on the dorsal skin of the khaki frog (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the melanocytes on the dorsal skin of the brown frog were significantly larger than those on the khaki one (P < 0.05). Morphological changes in the expansion and aggregation of melanocytes seemed to deepen the skin color of R. kukunoris. Moreover, transcriptome sequencing identified tyrosine metabolism, melanogenesis, and riboflavin metabolism as the main pathways involved in melanin formation and metabolism in brown R. kukunoris. TYR, MC1R was upregulated as the skin color of R. kukunoris was deepened and contributed to melanin production and metabolism. In contrast, the khaki frog had significantly more upregulated genes and metabolic pathways related to autoimmunity. The khaki frog appeared to defend against ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced damage by secreting mucus and small molecular peptides, whereas the brown frog protected itself by distributing a large amount of melanin. Hence, the different skin colors of R. kukunoris might represent different adaptation strategies for survival in the intense UV radiation environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

1,4-Dioxane concentration in most contaminated water is much less than 1 mg/L, which cannot sustain the growth of most reported 1,4-dioxane-metabolizing pure cultures. These pure cultures were isolated following enrichment of mixed cultures at high concentrations (20 to 1,000 mg/L). This study is based on a different strategy: 1,4-dioxane-metabolizing mixed cultures were enriched by periodically spiking 1,4-dioxane at low concentrations (≤1 mg/L). Five 1,4-dioxane-metabolizing pure strains LCD6B, LCD6D, WC10G, WCD6H, and WD4H were isolated and characterized. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the five bacterial strains were related to Dokdonella sp. (98.3%), Acinetobacter sp. (99.0%), Afipia sp. (99.2%), Nitrobacter sp. (97.9%), and Pseudonocardia sp. (99.4%), respectively. Nitrobacter sp. WCD6H is the first reported 1,4-dioxane-metabolizing bacterium in the genus of Nitrobacter . The net specific growth rates of these five cultures are consistently higher than those reported in the literature at 1,4-dioxane concentrations <0.5 mg/L. Compared to the literature, our newly discovered strains have lower half-maximum-rate concentrations (1.8 to 8.2 mg-dioxane/L), lower maximum specific 1,4-dioxane utilization rates (0.24 to 0.47 mg-dioxane/(mg-protein ⋅ d)), higher biomass yields (0.29 to 0.38 mg-protein/mg-dioxane), and lower decay coefficients (0.01 to 0.02 d -1 ). These are characteristics of microorganisms living in oligotrophic environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits copying and redistribution for non-commercial purposes with no derivatives, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Although cigarette aerosol exposure is associated with various adverse health issues, its impact on Parkinson's disease (PD) remains elusive. Here, we investigated the effect of cigarette aerosol extract (CAE) on SH-SY5Y cells for the first time, both with and without α-synuclein (α-Syn) overexpression. We found that α-Syn aggravates CAE-induced cell death, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS) revealed a dual distribution of α-Syn within the cells, with homogeneous regions indicative of monomeric α-Syn and punctated regions, suggesting the formation of oligomers. Moreover, we observed colocalization of α-Syn oligomers with lysosomes along with a reduction in autophagy activity. These findings suggest that α-Syn overexpression exacerbates CAE-induced intracellular cytotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and autophagy dysregulation, leading to elevated cell mortality. Our findings provide new insights into the pathogenic mechanisms linking exposure to cigarette aerosols with neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disease characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort associated with altered bowel habits. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS. Many systematic reviews of acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS have been published in recent years, but their results are not entirely consistent., Objective: To evaluate the methodological, reporting, and evidence quality of systematic reviews of acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS., Search Strategy: Systematic reviews of acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS published before February 20, 2023 were searched in eight databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and China Biology Medicine. The keywords used for literature search were acupuncture, moxibustion, systematic review, meta-analysis, and irritable bowel syndrome., Inclusion Criteria: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture and moxibustion for IBS were included., Data Extraction and Analysis: Relevant information was independently extracted by two investigators. The A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2), Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020), and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) were used to evaluate the methodological quality, reporting quality and evidence quality, respectively., Results: A total of 342 studies were retrieved and 15 systematic reviews were included. The results of AMSTAR 2 showed low methodological quality in 2 studies and very low methodological quality in the remaining 13 studies, with main issues being failure to register a protocol, incomplete search strategy, not providing a list of excluded studies, incomplete consideration of the risk of bias in the included studies, and a failure to assess the publication bias. The results of PRISMA 2020 showed seriously deficient reporting quality of 2 studies, somewhat deficient reporting quality of 12 studies, and relatively complete reporting quality of 1 study, with the main problems being lack of a complete search strategy, non-availability of a list of excluded studies with justification for their exclusion, not conducting heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses, not evaluating the credibility of the evidence, and not registering the protocol. The results of GRADE showed that the quality of the evidence is low or very low., Conclusion: Most included systematic reviews interpreted findings to suggest that acupuncture and moxibustion have benefits for IBS. However, there is a need to improve the methodological, reporting and evidence quality of the systematic reviews. Larger, multicenter, rigorously designed randomized controlled trials and high-quality systematic reviews are required to obtain more robust evidence., Please Cite This Article as: Ma YY, Hao Z, Chen ZY, Shen YX, Liu HR, Wu HG, Bao CH. Acupuncture and moxibustion for irritable bowel syndrome: An umbrella systematic review. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(1): 22-31., (Copyright © 2023 Shanghai Yueyang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The square-root operation can generate novel topological phases, whose nontrivial topological properties are inherited from the parent Hamiltonian. Here we report the acoustic realization of third-order square-root topological insulators by adding additional resonators between the site resonators of original diamond lattice. Due to the square-root operation, multiple acoustic localized modes appear in doubled bulk gaps. The bulk polarizations of the tight-binding models are employed to reveal the topological feature of the higher-order topological states. By tuning the coupling strength, we find the emergence of third-order topological corner states in doubled bulk gaps on tetrahedron-like and rhombohedron-like sonic crystals, respectively. The shape dependence of square-root corner states provides an extra degree of freedom for flexible manipulation on the sound localization. Furthermore, the robustness of the corner states in three-dimensional (3D) square-root topological insulator is well elucidated by introducing random disorders into the irrelevant bulk region of the proposed 3D lattices. This work extends square-root higher-order topological states into 3D system, and may find possible applications in selective acoustic sensors., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF), an endoplasmic reticulum stress-inducible secreting protein, has evolutionarily conserved immune-regulatory function that contributes to the negative regulation of inflammation in macrophages. In this study, we investigated the profiles of MANF in the macrophages of the patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the mice with experimental colitis, which was induced in both myeloid cell-specific MANF knockout mice and wild-type mice by 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) for 7 days. We found that MANF expression was significantly increased in intestinal macrophages from both the mice with experimental colitis and patients with active IBD. DSS-induced colitis was exacerbated in myeloid cell-specific MANF knockout mice. Injection of recombinant human MANF (rhMANF, 10 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 , i.v.) from D4 to D6 significantly ameliorated experimental colitis in DSS-treated mice. More importantly, MANF deficiency in myeloid cells resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of Ly6C hi CX3CR int proinflammatory macrophages in colon lamina propria of DSS-treated mice, and the proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were upregulated as well. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that MANF attenuated Th17-mediated immunopathology by inhibiting BATF2-mediated innate immune response and downregulating CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11 and IL-12p40; MANF functioned as a negative regulator in inflammatory macrophages via inhibiting CHOP-BATF2 signaling pathway, thereby protecting against DSS-induced mouse colitis. These results suggest that MANF ameliorates colon injury by negatively regulating inflammatory macrophage transformation, which shed light on a potential therapeutic target for IBD., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Black carbon (BC), one of the pollutants emitted from fossil fuel combustion, is closely associated with minerals and other hazardous substances. To date, little is known about the mechanisms between BC and magnetic minerals. Accordingly, further investigating the association between magnetic minerals and BC is necessary. In this work, the extraction of BC from fly ash and the magnetic fraction from BC was achieved by flotation and magnetic separation, respectively. The morphology, mineralogical composition, and magnetic properties of BC and magnetic fraction were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDS, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results show that BC and magnetic minerals have similar mineral compositions, rich in quartz, mullite, magnetite, and hematite. The magnetic minerals have prominent spherical characteristics and are distributed on the surface and inside the pores of BC with irregular honeycomb features. The VSM and XRD analyses show that Fe 3 O 4 is the primary magnetic material. Moreover, large amounts of C, O, and Fe around and on the surface of magnetic spheres were detected by EDS, indicating that the spherical particles may be the structure of BC-coated Fe 3 O 4 . Pyrolysis experiments showed that the yield of the magnetic fraction in the pyrolysis product reached 60 %, far exceeding the theoretical yield of 12 % based on 5 % of doped Fe. This further proves that Fe 3 O 4 was combined with a large number of organics during its formation, which may be due to coating and chemical adsorption. Quantum chemical calculations also confirmed this chemical adsorption between Fe 3 O 4 with BC based on density flooding theory, in which adsorption energies ranged from -213.374 KJ/mol to -827.741 KJ/mol., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The deposits of human islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), also called amylin, in the pancreas have been postulated to be a factor of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and is one of the common pathological hallmarks of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, it is imperative to gain an in-depth understanding of the formation of these aggregates. In this study, we demonstrate a rationally-designed strategy of an environmentally sensitive near-infrared (NIR) molecular rotor utilizing thioflavin T (ThT) as a scaffold for IAPP deposits. We extended the π delocalized system not only to improve the viscosity sensitivity but also to prolong the emission wavelength to the NIR region. A naphthalene moiety was also introduced to adjust the sensitivity of our designed probes to differentiate the binding microenvironment polarity of different targeted proteins. As a result, a novel NIR fluorogenic probe toward IAPP aggregates, namely AmySP-4-Nap-Ene, was first developed. When attached to different protein aggregates, this probe exhibited distinct fluorescence emission profiles. In a comparison with ThT, the fluorescence emission of non-ionic AmySP-4-Nap-Ene exhibits a significant difference between the presence of non-fibrillar and fibrillar IAPP and displays a higher binding affinity toward IAPP fibrils. Further, the AmySP-4-Nap-Ene can be utilized to monitor IAPP accumulating process and image fibrils both in vitro and in living cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The virulence of avian gamma-coronavirus infectious bronchitis viruses (IBV) for the kidney has led to high mortality in dominant-genotype isolations, but the key sites of viral protein that determine kidney tropism are still not fully clear. In this study, the amino acid sequences of the S2 subunit of IBVs with opposing adaptivity to chicken embryonic kidney cells (CEKs) were aligned to identify putative sites associated with differences in viral adaptability. The S2 gene and the putative sites of the non-adapted CN strain were introduced into the CEKs-adapted SczyC30 strain to rescue seven mutants. Analysis of growth characteristics showed that the replacement of the entire S2 subunit and the L1089I substitution in the S2 subunit entirely abolished the proliferation of recombinant IBV in CEKs as well as in primary chicken oviduct epithelial cells. Pathogenicity assays also support the decisive role of this L1089 for viral nephrotropism, and this non-nephrotropic L1089I substitution significantly attenuates pathogenicity. Analysis of the putative cause of proliferation inhibition in CEKs suggests that the L1089I substitution affects neither virus attachment nor endocytosis, but instead fails to form double-membrane vesicles to initiate the viral replication and translation. Position 1089 of the IBV S2 subunit is conservative and predicted to lie in heptad repeat 2 domains. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the L1089I substitution alters the nephrotropism of parent strain by affecting virus-cell fusion. These findings provide crucial insights into the adaptive mechanisms of IBV and have applications in the development of vaccines and drugs against IB., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is recommended for locally advanced esophageal cancer, but the optimal strategy remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) followed by minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)., Patients and Methods: Eligible patients staged as cT3-4aN0-1M0 ESCC were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to the nCRT or nCT group stratified by age, cN stage, and centers. The chemotherapy, based on paclitaxel and cisplatin, was administered to both groups, while concurrent radiotherapy was added for the nCRT group; then MIE was carried out. The primary endpoint was 3-year overall survival. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03001596)., Results: A total of 264 patients were eligible for the intention-to-treat analysis. By 30 November 2021, 121 deaths had occurred. The median follow-up was 43.9 months (interquartile range 36.6-49.3 months). The overall survival in the intention-to-treat population was comparable between the nCRT and nCT strategies [hazard ratio (HR) 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58-1.18; P = 0.28], with a 3-year survival rate of 64.1% (95% CI 56.4% to 72.9%) versus 54.9% (95% CI 47.0% to 64.2%), respectively. There were also no differences in progression-free survival (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.59-1.16; P = 0.27) and recurrence-free survival (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.71-1.60; P = 0.75), although the pathological complete response in the nCRT group (31/112, 27.7%) was significantly higher than that in the nCT group (3/104, 2.9%; P < 0.001). Besides, a trend of lower risk of recurrence was observed in the nCRT group (P = 0.063), while the recurrence pattern was similar (P = 0.802)., Conclusions: NCRT followed by MIE was not associated with significantly better overall survival than nCT among patients with cT3-4aN0-1M0 ESCC. The results underscore the pending issue of the best strategy of neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced bulky ESCC., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors have declared no conflicts of interest. Data sharing Deidentified individual participant data (including a data dictionary) that underlie the results reported in this article will be shared beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following publication. Investigators who wish to use the data for individual patient data meta-analysis can direct their proposal to the corresponding author (tan.lijie@zs-hospital.sh.cn). Data will be made available via an appropriate data archive., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Hepatic steatosis plays a detrimental role in the onset and progression of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is an evolutionarily conserved protein related to the unfolded protein response. Recent studies have demonstrated that MANF plays an important role in liver diseases. In this study, we investigated the role of MANF in ethanol-induced steatosis and the underlying mechanisms. We showed that the hepatic MANF expression was markedly upregulated in mouse model of ALD by chronic-plus-single-binge ethanol feeding. Moreover, after chronic-plus-binge ethanol feeding, hepatocyte-specific MANF knockout (HKO) mice displayed more severe hepatic steatosis and liver injury than wild-type (WT) control mice. Immunoprecipitation-coupled MS proteomic analysis revealed that arginosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1), a rate-limiting enzyme in the urea cycle, resided in the same immunoprecipitated complex with MANF. Hepatocyte-specific MANF knockout led to decreased ASS1 activity, whereas overexpression of MANF contributed to enhanced ASS1 activity in vitro. In addition, HKO mice displayed unique urea cycle metabolite patterns in the liver with elevated ammonia accumulation after ethanol feeding. ASS1 is known to activate AMPK by generating an intracellular pool of AMP from the urea cycle. We also found that MANF supplementation significantly ameliorated ethanol-induced steatosis in vivo and in vitro by activating the AMPK signaling pathway, which was partly ASS1 dependent. This study demonstrates a new mechanism in which MANF acts as a key molecule in maintaining hepatic lipid homeostasis by enhancing ASS1 activity and uncovers an interesting link between lipid metabolism and the hepatic urea cycle under excessive alcohol exposure., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Pharmacological Society.)

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as transcripts of more than 200 nucleotides that have little or no coding potential. LncRNAs function as key regulators in diverse physiological and pathological processes. However, the roles of lncRNAs in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) are still elusive. In this study, we report the roles of lncRNA Gm26917 induced by LPS in modulating liver inflammation. As key components of the innate immune system, macrophages play critical roles in the initiation, progression and resolution of ALI. Our studies demonstrated that Gm26917 localized in the cytoplasm of hepatic macrophages and globally regulated the expression of inflammatory genes and the differentiation of macrophages. In vivo study showed that lentivirus-mediated gene silencing of Gm26917 attenuated liver inflammation and protected mice from LPS-induced ALI. Furthermore, mechanistic study showed that the 3'-truncation of Gm26917 interacted with the N-terminus of Annexin A1, a negative regulator of the NF-κB signaling pathway. We also found that Gm26917 knockdown suppressed NF-κB activity by decreasing the ubiquitination of Annexin A1 and its interaction with NEMO. In addition, expression of Gm26917 in inflammatory macrophages was regulated by the transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FOXM1). LPS treatment dramatically increased the binding of FOXM1 to the promoter region of Gm26917 in macrophages. In summary, our findings suggest that lncRNA Gm26917 silencing protects against LPS-induced liver injury by regulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in macrophages., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, Sheng, Wang, Wang, Liu, Zhang, Ke, Chen, Pang, Yong, Ding, Shen, Shen and Shao.)

The H9N2 subtype of avian influenza virus (H9N2 AIV) has caused significant losses in chicken flocks throughout China. Our previous research has shown that field isolates of H9N2 underwent antigenic drift to evolve into distinct groups with significant antigenic divergence from the commercially available vaccines. The present study sought to identify which single mutations that have naturally appeared in isolates from the past 5 years have driven antigenic drift. Six high-frequency mutation sites in/near the receptor binding site region were screened by comparing amino acid alignments of the H9N2 AIVs isolated from China between 2014 and 2019. Two substitutions (A168N and D201G) were demonstrated to have a significant impact on the antigenicity but did not change the growth kinetics of the virus. It is worth noting that the D201G substitution not only significantly changed the antigenicity but also caused immune escape against the parental virus. In conclusion, A168N and D201G substitution are newly discovered determinants that can significantly change the antigenicity of H9N2 AIV, which should be tracked during outbreaks., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The four-point kneeling exercise is a core stabilization exercise that provides the spine with dynamic stability and neuromuscular control. In the traditional Chinese exercise Wuqinxi, deer play is performed in a hand-foot kneeling (HFK) position, which is remarkably similar to the four-point hand-knee kneeling (HKK) position. However, the differences in spinal function promotion between these two positions are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate muscle activation patterns and spinal kinematics during specific core stabilization training to provide evidence for selecting specific exercises. A total of 19 healthy adults were recruited to perform HFK and HKK. The rotation angle of the C7-T4 vertebra and the surface EMG signals of abdominal and lumbar muscles on both sides were collected. The paired t -test showed that the vertebral rotation angles were significantly higher during HKK than HFK, and the intra-group differences mainly occurred at the level of the thoracic vertebra. The muscle activation of both sides of the rectus abdominis and external oblique in HFK was significantly higher than in HKK when the upper limb was lifted ( p < 0.05). The activation of the ipsilateral lumbar multifidus and erector spinae muscles was significantly higher during the HKK position than during HFK when the lower limb was lifted ( p < 0.05). HFK provided more training for strengthening abdominal muscles, while HKK could be recommended for strengthening lumbar muscles and increasing spine mobility. These findings can be used to help physiotherapists, fitness coaches, and others to select specific core exercises and develop individualized training programs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chang, Chen, Shen, Wang, Huang, Qi and Niu.)

This study develops a TEMH (thermoelectric energy micro harvester) chip utilizing a commercial 0.18 μm CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process. The chip contains a TEMH and temperature sensors. The TEMH is established using a series of 54 thermocouples. The use of the temperature sensors monitors the temperature of the thermocouples. One temperature sensor is set near the cold part of the thermocouples, and the other is set near the hot part of the thermocouples. The performance of the TEMH relies on the TD (temperature difference) at the CHP (cold and hot parts) of the thermocouples. The more the TD at the CHP of the thermocouples increases, the higher the output voltage and output power of the TEMH become. To obtain a higher TD, the cold part of the thermocouples is designed as a suspended structure and is combined with cooling sheets to increase heat dissipation. The cooling sheet is constructed of a stack of aluminum layers and is mounted above the cold part of the thermocouple. A finite element method software, ANSYS, is utilized to compute the temperature distribution of the TEMH. The TEMH requires a post-process to obtain the suspended thermocouple structure. The post-process utilizes an RIE (reactive ion etch) to etch the two sacrificial materials, which are silicon dioxide and silicon substrate. The results reveal that the structure of the thermocouples is completely suspended and does not show any injury. The measured results reveal that the output voltage of the TEMH is 32.5 mV when the TD between the CHP of the thermocouples is 4 K. The TEMH has a voltage factor of 8.93 mV/mm 2 K. When the TD between the CHP of the thermocouples is 4 K, the maximum output power of the TEMH is 4.67 nW. The TEMH has a power factor of 0.31 nW/mm 2 K 2 .

Catalytic CO 2 conversion to renewable fuel is of utmost importance to establish a carbon-neutral society. Bioelectrochemical CO 2 reduction, in which a solid cathode interfaces with CO 2 -reducing bacteria, represents a promising approach for renewable and sustainable fuel production. The rational design of biocatalysts in the biohybrid system is imperative to effectively reduce CO 2 into valuable chemicals. Here, we introduce methanol adapted Sporomusa ovata ( S. ovata ) to enhance the slow metabolic activity of wild-type microorganisms to our semiconductive silicon nanowires (Si NWs) array for efficient CO 2 reduction. The adapted whole-cell catalysts enable an enhancement of CO 2 fixation with a superior faradaic efficiency on the poised Si NWs cathode. The synergy of the high-surface-area cathode and the adapted strain achieves a CO 2 -reducing current density of 0.88 ± 0.11 mA/cm 2 , which is 2.4-fold higher than the wild-type strain. This new generation of biohybrids using adapted S. ovata also decreases the charge transfer resistance at the cathodic interface and facilitates the faster charge transfer from the solid electrode to bacteria.

Solar-driven bioelectrosynthesis represents a promising approach for converting abundant resources into value-added chemicals with renewable energy. Microorganisms powered by electrochemical reducing equivalents assimilate CO 2 , H 2 O, and N 2 building blocks. However, products from autotrophic whole-cell biocatalysts are limited. Furthermore, biocatalysts tasked with N 2 reduction are constrained by simultaneous energy-intensive autotrophy. To overcome these challenges, we designed a biohybrid coculture for tandem and tunable CO 2 and N 2 fixation to value-added products, allowing the different species to distribute bioconversion steps and reduce the individual metabolic burden. This consortium involves acetogen Sporomusa ovata , which reduces CO 2 to acetate, and diazotrophic Rhodopseudomonas palustris , which uses the acetate both to fuel N 2 fixation and for the generation of a biopolyester. We demonstrate that the coculture platform provides a robust ecosystem for continuous CO 2 and N 2 fixation, and its outputs are directed by substrate gas composition. Moreover, we show the ability to support the coculture on a high-surface area silicon nanowire cathodic platform. The biohybrid coculture achieved peak faradaic efficiencies of 100, 19.1, and 6.3% for acetate, nitrogen in biomass, and ammonia, respectively, while maintaining product tunability. Finally, we established full solar to chemical conversion driven by a photovoltaic device, resulting in solar to chemical efficiencies of 1.78, 0.51, and 0.08% for acetate, nitrogenous biomass, and ammonia, correspondingly. Ultimately, our work demonstrates the ability to employ and electrochemically manipulate bacterial communities on demand to expand the suite of CO 2 and N 2 bioelectrosynthesis products.

Objectives: The efficacy of tivantinib may have some potential in treating MET-high hepatocellular carcinoma, and we aim to compare tivantinib with placebo for the treatment of MET-high hepatocellular carcinoma., Methods: Several databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EBSCO, and EMbase have been systematically searched through March 2022, and we included studies regarding the treatment of MET-high hepatocellular carcinoma by using tivantinib versus placebo., Results: We finally include three RCTs. In comparison with placebo for MET-high hepatocellular carcinoma, tivantinib reveals no significant influence on overall survival ( P =0.21), progression-free survival ( P =0.13), time to progression ( P =0.38), or grade ≥3 anemia ( P =0.50) but increases the incidence of grade ≥3 neutropenia ( P =0.04)., Conclusions: Tivantinib may provide no additional benefits for MET-high hepatocellular carcinoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of Interest., (Copyright © 2022 Guang-li Luo et al.)

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an urgent respiratory disease without effective treatment. Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF)has been demonstrated to play a suppressive role in some inflammatory conditions. However, the effect of MANF on ALI has not yet been reported. In this study, we collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from the patients with or without pulmonary inflammation, and used lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce mice ALI model. Mono-macrophage-specific MANF knockout (MKO) mice were constructed and recombinant human MANF protein was used to ALI mice. We found that the endogenous MANF protein in both human BALF and mice lung tissues was increased in inflammatory conditions. MANF level in the macrophages of inflammatory lung was higher than that in normal controls in both human and mice. MANF deficiency in macrophages induced lung inflammation and aggravated LPS-induced lung injury. MANF lowered LPS-induced lung injury, inhibited macrophage polarization to M1 functional type. Meanwhile, MANF inhibited-LPS induced activation of NF-κB signal pathway by down regulating phosphorylated p65in lung tissue and macrophages. These results indicate that MANF acts as a suppressor in ALI via negatively regulating NF-κB activation and macrophages polarization, which may be a novel potential target and shed light on ALI therapy., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To construct an edaravone-encapsulated liposomes (EDV-LIPs) formulation against acute ischemic stroke. Methods: EDV-LIPs were prepared by the film dispersion method. The biosafety was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo by flow cytometry and the histological staining method. Biodistribution and therapeutic effect of EDV-LIPs against acute ischemic stroke was investigated by fluorescent imaging, the behavior test, laser speckle imaging and triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Results: The nanoliposomes had a long circulation time and could accumulate in the brain lesion region in ischemic stroke rats. EDV-LIPs show good biosafety. EDV-LIPs could restore more cerebral blood flow, reduce infarct volume and decrease neuronal apoptosis. Conclusion: EDV-LIPs provide an effective alternative for drug-targeted delivery against acute ischemic stroke.

The accumulation of β-sheet-rich α-synuclein (α-Syn) protein in human brain cells is a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, it has been reported that familial PD mutations (A30P, E46K, H50Q, G51D, and A53T) accumulate at an accelerated rate both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, accumulations of various C-terminal α-Syn truncations, such as C-terminal-truncated N103 α-synuclein (N103), were found in an aggregated form in the brain tissue of PD patients. Fluorescent protein-tagged wild-type α-Syn, A30P, E46K, H50Q, G51D, A53T, and N103 were transfected into HEK293T and SHSY5Y cells, and their diffusion behaviors were investigated with a custom-built fluorescence microscope system. Based on our experimental results, the oligomerization of α-Syn is a time-dependent process in both HEK293T and SHSY5Y cells, and the oligomer state approaches a plateau after 48 h of transfection. The change in the oligomeric state of E46K, H50Q, and G51D exhibited a similar trend to the wild type at a lower concentration but became intense at a higher concentration. A53T and N103 possess smaller diffusion coefficients than wild-type α-synuclein and other family PD mutations, indicating that these two mutants could form higher oligomeric states or stronger interactions in HEK293T and SHSY5Y cells. In contrast, the smallest oligomer and the lowest intracellular interaction among all investigated α-Syn variants were found for A30P. These phenomena indicated the presence of different pathogeneses among familial PD mutants and C-terminal α-Syn truncations.

Many post-transcriptional mRNA processing steps play crucial roles in tumorigenesis and the progression of cancers, such as N6-methyladenosine (m 6 A) modification and alternative splicing. Upregulation of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), the catalytic core of the m 6 A methyltransferase complex, increases m 6 A levels and results in significant effects on the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, alternative splicing of METTL3 has not been fully investigated, and the functions of its splice variants remain unclear. Here, we analyzed both our and online transcriptomic data, obtaining 13 splice variants of METTL3 in addition to canonical full-length METTL3-A in HCC cell lines and tissues. Validated by RT-qPCR and Western blotting, we found that METTL3-D, one of the splice variants expressing a truncated METTL3 protein, exhibits higher levels than METTL3-A in normal human livers but lower levels than METTL3-A in HCC tumor tissues and cell lines. Further functional assays demonstrated that METTL3-D expression decreased cellular m 6 A modification, inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells, and was negatively associated with the malignancy of patient tumors, exhibiting functions opposite to those of full-length METTL3-A. This study demonstrates that the METTL3-D splice variant is a tumor suppressor that could potentially be used as a target for HCC therapy.

Functional language has been used in many multinational corporations (MNCs) as a way to overcome the problems caused by the coexistence of multiple languages in the workplace. The existing literature has explored the importance, adoption, and effectiveness of functional language. Yet, how functional language shapes host country employees' moral cognition and behavior is insufficiently researched. Guided by the Social Identity Theory, this manuscript shows that host country employees' functional language proficiency (i.e., English) enhances their unethical pro-organizational behavior through their linguistic group identification and moral disengagement. We tested our predictions using the data collected from 309 full-time host country employees through an online survey, and the results generally supported our hypotheses. The findings make contributions to both international management and language literature and organizational moral behavior literature., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Shen, Zhang, Zuo, Zhou, Deng and Zhang.)

The past decades have witnessed great efforts in the on-demand ultrasonic field design in which the time reversal technology was widely used in the whole-space acoustic hologram. In practice, the acoustic field of interest is usually bounded in a finite region with flexible distribution. Here, the use of prolate spheroidal wave functions to generate an arbitrary ultrasonic field in a finite region is proposed. The prolate spheroidal functions, which form a complete set of band limited functions and are orthogonal in the infinite and finite regions, can be efficiently reconstructed by the sampling theorem. To display the validation of the proposed method, two types of functional ultrasonic fields are numerically simulated. One type is the ultrasound standing wave field for which six nodes and two nodes are separately realized for two different types of standing waves in the limited range of (-2λ, 2λ). In addition, a composite standing wave field is stimulated with more complicated nodal distributions. The other type is the ultrasound focusing field, where three focal spots with the mainlobe sizes of λ, 0.5λ, and 0.35λ are demonstrated. It is worth noting that the nontrivial side lobes for super-oscillation focusing are designed to be about 3λ away from the central focal spot (the mainlobe size 0.35λ). This work has much significance in the applications of acoustic tweezing, ultrasonic imaging, and treatment.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common pathology often resulting in permanent loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic function. Numerous studies in which stem cells have been transplanted in biomaterial scaffolds into animals have demonstrated their considerable potential for recovery from SCI. In the present study, a three-dimensional porous silk fibroin (SF) scaffold with a mean pore size of approximately 383 μm and nanofibrous structure was fabricated, the silk scaffold enabling the enhanced attachment and proliferation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Investigation of its therapeutic potential was conducted by implantation of the nanofibrous SF scaffold seeded with BMSCs into a transected spinal cord model. Recovery of the damaged spinal cord was significantly improved after 2 months, compared with a non-nanofibrous scaffold, in combination with decreased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression and improved axonal regeneration at the site of injury. Furthermore, elevated Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores indicated greatly improved hindlimb movement. Together, these results demonstrate that transplantation of neural scaffolds consisting of nanofibrous SF and BMSCs is an attractive strategy for the promotion of functional recovery following SCI.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the elderly and is characterized by the progressive degeneration of articular cartilage. It is necessary to study the molecular pathology of OA. This study aimed to explore the role and mechanism of BLNK in regulating interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced chondrocyte injury and OA progression., Methods: GSE1919 (5 normal samples and 5 OA samples) was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The limma package in R software was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between control and OA-affected cartilage. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses of the differentially expressed genes were also performed. Apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. An OA rat model was established, and the relative expression of BLNK was assessed by real time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining. The expression of collagen II, MMP9, p65 and p-p65 was measured by Western blot analysis. Moreover, inflammatory factors (TNF-α and IL-18) were assessed by ELISA. The NF-κB inhibitor JSH-23 was used to assess the impact of BLNK on the NF-κB signaling pathway., Results: In total, 1318 DEGs were identified between normal and OA-affected cartilage according to the criteria (P-value <0.05 and |logFC > 1|). These DEGs were mainly enriched in the NF-κB pathway. BLNK was highly expressed in OA cartilage tissue and injured chondrocytes. Silencing BLNK significantly downregulated the IL-1β-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes. Silencing BLNK partially increased collagen II expression and downregulated MMP13 expression. Moreover, silencing BLNK partially decreased TNF-α and IL-18 expression. BLNK silencing inhibited the activation of NF-κB in OA. Silencing BLNK delayed OA progression through the NF-κB signaling pathway., Conclusion: Silencing BLNK delayed OA progression and IL-1β-induced chondrocyte injury by regulating the NF-κB pathway., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Acoustic tweezing and contactless object manipulation are significant and has become a research hotspot. Here, we present a prototype of retroreflection tweezer based on the metagratings, which can be used for implementing particle levitation and contactless movement. Different from previous tweezers, where the standing wave was typically generated from normal incidence, the retroreflection tweezer proposed here operates for the oblique incidence case that provides more degrees of freedom for real-time observation. We also give the exact relation between the metagrating geometries and retroreflection angles in a wide range based on the grating theory and optimization algorithm. Experiments are conducted to show the retroreflection at a preset angle on the designed metagrating, where levitation and contactless movement of particles are demonstrated., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Combined organic and inorganic fouling is a primary barrier constraining the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. In this work, we conducted a systematic study focusing on the synergetic fouling effects of silica and humic acid (HA) in RO process, and found the critical silica concentration where the fouling pattern changed qualitatively. When the silica concentration was lower than 6 mM at a typical HA concentration of 50 mg·L -1 , no severe fouling was observed, while silica reaching this critical point could cause severe synergetic fouling with HA. Concentrated silica above the critical point acted as the prior foulant with marginal fouling effect caused by HA. A variety of solutions and surface-based characterizations were performed to elucidate the synergistic fouling responsibility for silica and HA. Our study suggests that the carboxylic groups from HA formed hydrogen bonds with silica hydrate, inducing silica adsorption onto HA aggregates at low silica particle concentrations. The HA network was bridged together to form large foulants due to the silica-silica interaction above the silica critical concentration. These mechanisms were further confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. This study provides an in-depth insight into the combined organic-inorganic fouling and can serve as a guideline to optimize feed conditions in order to mitigate fouling of RO in wastewater reusing industry., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB), a highly contagious disease hazardous to the poultry industry, is caused by an etiological agent called the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Some IBV strains (IBVs) alone usually do not cause high mortality in field conditions if not with secondary pathogens including Escherichia coli (E. coli). Herein, we established an IBV and E. coli co-infection model to evaluate the protective efficacy of two IBV vaccine strains against a new emerging genotype GVI-1 with mild virulence in experimental conditions. Chickens were inoculated with IBV field isolate ZQX (genotype GVI-1) and challenged 4 dlater with the E. coli strain MS160427 (serotype O8). Subsequently, these chickens were euthanized at seven days postchallenge (d.p.c.) with E. coli. An autopsy revealed that lesions in the IBV plus E. coli co-infection group were more severe than those in the IBV-infected group. This pathological model was used to assess the protective effect of two commonly used vaccine strains (H120 and 4/91) against the IBV ZQX strain, and a significantly better protective efficacy was observed for 4/91 compared with H120. Thus, IBV and E. coli co-infection could be employed in assessing the protective efficacy of IBV vaccines., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To investigate the biomechanical effects of different bone cement diffusion patterns in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures., Methods: One volunteer with L1 osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture was selected, male, aged 68 years old, heighed 172 cm, weighted 60 kg, and healthy before. CT scans were used from T 10 -L 5 , CT data was extracted with Mimics software, and Geomagic wrap and Solidworks were used to model, and the three-dimensional finite element model (T 12 -L 2 ) of preoperative osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in the thoracolumbar segment was established. Similarly, the situations of bone cement dispersion in vertebroplasty were simulated (the situations of bone cement dispersion had the three kinds, including the bone cement not contacts with upper and lower endplates, the bone cement only contacts with upper endplates, and the bone cement contacts with upper and lower endplates). According to different diffusion situations, five types of loads were applied to the model:upright, upright plus forward flexion, upright plus backward extension, upright plus left bending, upright plus right rotation. Meanwhile, the model was compared with the cementless lumbar spine model, and the deformation and stress distribution of each model under load were recorded and compared., Results: After the establishing the finite element model of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture in the thoracolumbar segment, it was found that the deformation of three different bone cement distribution models above was not significantly different. In L 1 cancellous bone, the Von Mises stress of the cementless lumbar spine group was significantly higher than that of the cemented group. Among the three groups of different bone cement injection situations, the Von Mises stress in the group of bone cement contacts with upper and lower endplates was the lowest, followed by the group of bone cement only contacts with upper endplates, and the highest Von Mises stress was the group that bone cement contacts neither the upper or lower endplates. In the comparison of bone cement stress, the Von Mises stress in the group of bone cement contacts with upper and lower endplates was significantly higher than the other two groups (upright 12.375 MPa, upright plus forward flexion 16.411 MPa, upright plus backward extension 16.801 MPa, upright plus left bending 13.425 MPa, upright plus right rotation 13.014 MPa), and the Von Mises stress in the group of bone cement does not contact with upper and lower endplates was the lowest., Conclusion: The bone cement contact with both upper and lower endplates can effectively absorb and transfer the stress level brought by the load, reduce the stress level of cancellous bone, and reduce the possibility of refracture of the operative vertebral body.

Background: Liver injury is common in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), although its effect on patient outcomes has not been well studied. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of liver injury on the prognosis and treatment of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia., Methods: In this retrospective, single-center study, data on 109 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were extracted and analyzed. The primary composite end-point event was the use of mechanical ventilation or death., Results: At admission, of the 109 patients enrolled, 56 patients (51.4%) were diagnosed with severe disease, and 39 (35.8%) presented with liver injury, which mainly manifested as elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) accompanied simultaneously by an increase in the level of γ-glutamyl transferase. A primary composite end-point event occurred in 21 patients (19.3%). Liver injury was more prevalent in patients with severe disease than in those with non-severe disease (46.4% vs. 24.5%, P=0.017). However, there was no significant difference found between severe and non-severe patients in the use of mechanical ventilation, mortality, hospital stay, or use and dosage of glucocorticoids between individuals with and without liver injury (all P>0.05). The degree of disease severity (OR =7.833, 95% CI, 1.834-31.212, P=0.005) and presence of any coexisting illness (OR =4.736, 95% CI, 1.305-17.186, P=0.018) were predictable risk factors for primary composite end-point events, whereas liver injury had no significance in this aspect (OR =0.549, 95% CI, 0.477-5.156, P=0.459)., Conclusions: Liver injury was more common in severe cases of COVID-19 pneumonia than in non-severe cases. However, liver injury had no negative effect on the prognosis and treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-4850). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficiency of propofol versus isoflurane anesthesia interventions in treating elderly patients with postoperative cognitive dysfunction., Methods: We performed an in-depth search in the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chongqing VIP, WanFang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and SinoMed. Additionally, we reviewed the reference lists of included studies. Two independent authors examined the quality of the study and the quality of the extracted data. Regarding the dichotomous outcomes, we stated the results as relative risk, with 95% confidence intervals. We further expressed incessant outcomes as mean difference with a confidence level of 95%., Results: The findings of the study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal., Conclusion: Findings of this study will help in providing insight to establish if propofol is a suitable intervention to treat postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients., Systematic Review Registration Number: INPLASY202090042.

The etiology of osteoarthritis (OA) has been discussed widely, but the molecular mechanisms beneath OA aggravation have not yet been investigated in detail. This study focused on the role of lncRNA RMRP (RMRP) on OA progression. We found that the expression of RMRP was significantly increased in cartilage tissues of patients with OA. CCK-8 and colony formation assays showed that RMRP knockdown promoted proliferation of chondrocytes treated with IL-1β. Flow cytometry and caspase-3 activity analysis indicated that RMRP silence inhibited apoptosis of chondrocytes treated with IL-1β. Moreover, luciferase reporter, RNA pull-down and RIP assays showed that RMRP competing with miR-206. Additionally, CDK9 acted as a direct target of miR-206. Moreover, rescue assays indicated that miR-206 inhibitor or pcDNA-CDK9 reversed the effects of RMRP suppression on the proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes. Taken together, our results indicated that RMRP knockdown could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in OA chondrocytes via the miR-206/CDK9 axis.

Acoustic metamaterials with artificial microstructures are attractive to realize intriguing functions, including efficient waveguiding, which requires large impedance mismatches to realize total side reflection with negligible transmission and absorption. While large impedance mismatch can be readily realized in an air environment, acoustic waveguiding in an underwater environment remains elusive due to insufficient impedance mismatch of state-of-the-art metamaterials. Here, a superhydrophobic acoustic metasurface of microstructured poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane, referred to as a "meta-skin" insulator, which is able to confine acoustic waves in an all-angle and wide spectrum range due to tremendous impedance mismatch at stable air/water interfaces, viz., the Cassie-Baxter state is demonstrated. By utilizing the meta-skin insulator with broadband and high throughput, orbital-angular-momentum multiplexing at a high spectral efficiency and binary coding along large-angle bending channels for bit-error-free acoustic data transmission in an underwater environment are demonstrated. Very different from optical and/or electrical cable communications, acoustic waves can be simply and effectively coupled into remote meta-skin acoustic fibers from free space, which is technologically significant for long-haul and anti-interference communication. This work can enlighten many fluidic applications based on efficient waveguiding, such as in vivo ultrasound medical treatment and imaging., (© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The glycoprotein from Schisandra chinensis was obtained with alkali extraction and acid precipitation, purified with DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow and Superdex G-75 column. The molecular composition structure and antifatigue activities of glycoprotein were studied. SCGP's molecular weight was approximately 10 KDa, and it consisted of a carbohydrate component (52.94%) and protein component (47.06%). SCGP comprised mannose, galactoside, rhamnose, glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, and fucose, its molar ratio was 2.14 : 1.43 : 1.59 : 8.17 : 8.99 : 3.18 : 18.51 : 1, and it contained 16 kinds of amino acids. SCGP could obviously extend the swimming time in mice by increasing LDH, SOD level, GSH-Px activity, and liver glycogen and decreasing the contents of BUN and MDA. The antioxidant activity of SCGP is a potential mechanism of its antifatigue effect. In vitro antioxidant test showed that SCGP scavenged DPPH and OH radicals in a dose-dependent manner (IC 50 was 0.91 mg/ml and 0.72 mg/ml)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Shuai Shao et al.)