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Yihong Tai,1,* Haonan Wang,1,* Yinghong Dai,2,* Liang Yu1,3 1Department of Exercise Physiology, School of Sport Science, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China; 2Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China; 3Engineering Research Center of Strength and Conditioning Training Key Core Technology Integrated System and Equipment of Ministry of Education, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Liang Yu, Engineering Research Center of Strength and Conditioning Training Key Core Technology Integrated System and Equipment of Ministry of Education, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 1062967640, Email yuliang@bsu.edu.cnBackground: Sleep disorders and low grip strength often co-occur clinically and are geriatric symptoms that cause significant socioeconomic burden. Previous observational studies have found an association between sleep behaviors and grip strength, but the causal relationship remains unclear.Purpose: With the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, the study aimed to determine the causal association between sleep traits (sleep duration, insomnia, daytime napping, sleep-wake disorders, chronotype) and low grip strength.Methods: The study used genetic variants from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) archived in UK Biobank and FinnGen. We assessed the potential causal relationship between sleep behaviors and grip strength using inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median (WM), and MR-Egger. Additionally, we performed sensitivity analyses using Cochran’s Q test, MR Egger Intercept test, funnel plots, and leave-one-out method.Results: We found that sleep duration is causally negatively associated with low grip strength (OR = 0.618, 95% CI = 0.424– 0.900, P = 0.012). Sleep-wake disorders have a positive association with low grip strength (OR = 1.018, 95% CI = 1.002– 1.034, P = 0.029). Reversely, high low grip strength risk was causally associated with increased daytime napping (OR = 1.018, 95% CI = 1.004– 1.032, P = 0.011).Conclusion: The study revealed causal associations between sleep duration, sleep-wake disorders, and low grip strength. Understanding their relationship helps in early clinical intervention to improve the life quality of the elderly.Keywords: sleep, low grip strength, Mendelian randomization

Qi Zhou,1 Lili Yu,2 Chunping Yin,1 Qi Zhang,3 Yanlei Tai,1 Lian Zhu,4 Jiangtao Dong,5 Qiujun Wang1 1Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Hebei Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Orthopaedics, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Joint Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qiujun Wang, Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China, Email wangqiujunsy@163.comPurpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether transauricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) could reduce the incidence of rebound pain in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) under general anesthesia combined with preoperative femoral nerve block.Methods: In total, 78 patients were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, double-blind, and sham-controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups (n=39): Group taVNS received taVNS (1h /1time, 6times) within the first 12 h after surgery; Group SS received sham stimulation (SS) in the same manner. Pain scores at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 h after surgery were assessed with Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS). The incidence, duration and onset of rebound pain were recorded. In addition, additional analgesic requirements and side effects in the first 48 h postoperatively, as well as sleep disturbance on the night of surgery, were examined.Results: The incidence and duration of rebound pain were lower in the taVNS group than in the SS group (P=0.025 and P=0.015, respectively). Pain scores at 8 h and 12 h postoperatively were significantly lower in the taVNS group compared with the SS group (P< 0.05). The number of times to press the patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump and the number of patients requiring additional analgesic were significantly lower in the taVNS group than in the SS group until 12 h after surgery (P=0.021 and P=0.004, respectively). The number of patients with sleep disturbance in the taVNS group was lower than that in the SS group (P=0.030).Conclusion: The taVNS exerts beneficial effect on rebound pain after femoral nerve block in patients undergoing ACLR, which reduces the incidence and duration of rebound pain, the need for postoperative additional analgesic, and the number of complications.Keywords: rebound pain, transauricular vagus nerve stimulation, femoral nerve block, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Ruoyao Xu,1 Jie Wang,1 Huimin Nie,1 Danyi Zeng,1 Chengyu Yin,1 Yuanyuan Li,1 Huina Wei,1 Boyu Liu,1 Yan Tai,2 Qimiao Hu,1 Xiaomei Shao,1 Jianqiao Fang,1 Boyi Liu1 1Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of China; 2Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Boyi Liu; Jianqiao Fang, Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of China, Email boyi.liu@foxmail.com; fangjianqiao7532@163.comBackground: Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is common among patients receiving major surgeries. CPSP produces suffering in patients, both physically and mentally. However, the mechanisms underlying CPSP remain elusive. Here, a genome-wide expression profiling of ipsilateral spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) was performed to identify potential genes related with CPSP.Methods: A rat skin/muscle incision and retraction (SMIR) model was established to induce CPSP. Immunostaining was used to study glial cell and neuron activation in ipsilateral SCDH of SMIR model rats. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), combined with bioinformatics analysis, was undertaken to explore gene expression profiles. qPCR was applied to validate the expression of some representative genes.Results: The SMIR model rats developed persistent mechanical allodynia in ipsilateral hindpaw for up to 14 days. Ipsilateral SCDH of SMIR rats showed remarkable glial cell and neuron activation. A number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in ipsilateral SCDH of SMIR rats by RNA-Seq. qPCR confirmed expression of some representative DEGs. Bioinformatics indicated that chemical synaptic transmission, sensory perception of pain and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction were predominant functions. We compared our dataset with human pain-related genes and found that several genes exclusively participate in pain modulation and mechanisms.Conclusion: Our study provided novel understandings of the molecular mechanisms possibly contributing to CPSP. These findings may offer new targets for future treatment of CPSP.Keywords: postsurgical pain, spinal cord dorsal horn, RNA-Seq, microglia, genome

Huimin Nie,1,&ast; Boyu Liu,1,&ast; Chengyu Yin,1 Ruixiang Chen,1 Jie Wang,1 Danyi Zeng,1 Yan Tai,2 Jingdun Xie,3 Dongwei He,4 Boyi Liu1 1Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of China; 2Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People’s Republic of China; 4Laboratory of Pathology, Hebei Cancer Institute, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Boyi LiuDepartment of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310053, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail boyi.liu@zcmu.edu.cnDongwei HeLaboratory of Pathology, Hebei Cancer Institute, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050000, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail dongweihe@hebmu.edu.cnBackground: Mirror-image pain (MIP), which develops from the healthy body region contralateral to the actual injured site, is a mysterious pain phenomenon accompanying many chronic pain conditions, such as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). However, the pathogenesis of MIP still remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to perform an expression profiling to identify genes related to MIP in an animal model of CRPS-I.Methods: We established a rat chronic post-ischemic pain (CPIP) model to mimic human CRPS-I. RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), bioinformatics, qPCR, immunostaining, and animal behavioral assays were used to screen potential genes in the contralateral dorsal root ganglia (DRG) that may be involved in MIP.Results: The CPIP model rats developed robust and persistent MIP in contralateral hind paws. Bilateral DRG neurons did not exhibit obvious neuronal damage. RNA-Seq of contralateral DRG from CPIP model rats identified a total 527 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) vs sham rats. The expression changes of several representative DEGs were further verified by qPCR. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the immune system process, innate immune response, and cell adhesion were among the mostly enriched biological processes, which are important processes involved in pain sensitization, neuroinflammation, and chronic pain. We further identified DEGs potentially involved in pain mechanisms or enriched in small- to medium-sized sensory neurons or TRPV1-lineage nociceptors. By comparing with published datasets summarizing genes enriched in pain mechanisms, we sorted out a core set of genes which might contribute to nociception and the pain mechanism in MIP.Conclusion: We provided by far the first study to profile gene expression changes and pathway analysis of contralateral DRG for the studying of MIP mechanisms. This work may provide novel insights into understanding the mysterious mechanisms underlying MIP.Keywords: RNA-Seq, pain, CRPS-I, dorsal root ganglia, inflammation, cytokine

Jingru Ma,1 Yuling Tai,2 Mengmeng Fan,3 Zhansheng Wang4 1Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shenyang Medical College, Shenyang, 110035, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Tongliao City Hospital, Tongliao, 028000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cardiology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, 453000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Cardiology, Fourth People’s Hospital of Shenyang, Shenyang, 110034, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jingru MaThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Shenyang Medical College, No. 64 Qishan West Road, Huanggu District, Shenyang, 110035, Liaoning Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel + 86-18002453999Email majingru00@126.comBackground: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been associated with improved cardiac function in cardiovascular diseases. Our aim was to explore the factors associated with cardiac function and CR.Methods: This prospective cohort study had 473 STEMI patients admitted for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) who were divided into a CR group (group A, n = 104) and a non-CR group (group B, n = 369) based on whether they could complete CR. Patients’ clinical features, such as age, hyperlipidemia, family history of premature coronary heart disease (FHPCHD), smoking history, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), number of diseased vessels, arrhythmia during PCI, N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) at 6 months after PCI were compared. Then, the clinical characteristics of patients were further analyzed according to those with MACEs (n = 78) and those without MACEs (n = 395).Results: After CR of 6 months, NT-proBNP levels (p = 0.027), 6-MWD (meter, P = 0.000), LVEF (P = 0.000) were significantly improved in group A compared to group B, but not for SMWA (P = 0.875). Multivariate analysis indicated that even though patients in group A (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.132– 8.274, p = 0.03) have a higher incidence of hyperlipidemia, their MACEs (OR 0.191, 95% CI 0.038– 0.961, p = 0.05) at 6 months were significantly lower than in group B, mainly because the average patient low age (< 65 years, OR 0.917, 95% CI 0.859– 0.979, p = 0.01) and significant improvement of 6-MWD (OR 7.999, 95% CI 4.342– 14.737, P = 0.00) and the LVEF at 6 months (OR 1.112, 95% CI 1.072– 1.154, p = 0.00). Further analysis based on the MACES outcomes showed that there were 6 factors associated with the occurrence of MACEs, they were age > 65 years (OR 1.032, 95% CI 1.009– 1.009, p = 0.007), smoking history (OR 0.485, 95% CI 0.238– 0.989, p = 0.046), education level (OR 2.646, 95% CI 1.370– 5.108, p = 0.004), 6-MWD (OR 1.688, 95% CI 1.104– 2.811, p = 0.044), LVEF (OR 0.958, 95% CI 0.926– 0.991, p = 0.013) and CR (OR 6.271, 95% CI 2.236– 17.590, p = 0.000).Conclusion: CR, including exercise rehabilitation, is a beneficial option to reduce MACEs in STEMI patients treated with primary PCI.Keywords: rehabilitation, ST-elevation myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, major adverse cardiac events

Shiro Ono,1 Chikara Kurata,2 Nobushiro Nishimura,1 Hiromasa Kawashima,1 Ryo Yoneima,1 Yoshiaki Tai,1 Emiko Tatsumi,1 Makiko Miyamoto,1 Noritaka Yada,1 Kiyomi Yoshimoto,1 Kenji Nishio1 1Department of General Medicine, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Nara Medical University, Nara, JapanCorrespondence: Kenji NishioDepartment of General Medicine, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-Cho, Kashihara City, Nara 634-8522, JapanTel +81-744-29-8905Fax +81-744-24-5739Email knishio@naramed-u.ac.jpAbstract: The macroenzyme form of aspartate aminotransferase (macro-AST) is formed by the binding of AST with immunoglobulins. Macro-AST excretion from serum is prolonged because of its high molecular weight, leading to increased AST activities. Because of the difficulty in detecting macro-AST through routine laboratory tests, affected patients often undergo repeated examinations, with associated anxiety. We report a case in which macro-AST was detected by assaying the patient’s serum after refrigeration at 4ºC for 3 days. The sample showed progressive loss of AST activity compared with that frozen in the refrigerator, indicating the presence of macro-AST, which was confirmed as a complex with IgG-κ. The cold storage method was validated using many samples obtained from several patients. Use of this simple method to detect macro-AST may avoid unnecessary examinations and patient anxiety even at primary care facilities.Keywords: isolated elevation of aspartate aminotransferase, macroenzyme, macro-AST, cold storage method

Yang Tai,1,* Lin-Hao Zhang,1,* Jin-Hang Gao,1,2 Chong Zhao,2 Huan Tong,1 Cheng Ye,1 Zhi-Yin Huang,1 Rui Liu,2 Cheng-Wei Tang1,21Laboratory of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gastroenterology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: Biomarkers are lacking in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and its metabolites play crucial roles in the process of inflammation-tumor transformation. This study was aimed to detect COX-2 expression in HCC tissues and evaluate the effects of a COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib, on biological behaviors of HCC cell lines in vitro.Methods: COX-2 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry on a human HCC tissue microarray. The correlations of COX-2 expression with tumor clinicopathological variables and overall survival were analyzed. The proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, invasion capacity, and related signaling molecules of HCC cells after incubated with COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib were evaluated in vitro.Results: Expression levels of COX-2 in HCC tissues were significantly higher than those in paracancerous tissues. The TNM stage III-IV, tumor size >5 cm, lymphovascular invasion and distant metastasis was higher in high COX-2 expression group compared with that in low COX-2 expression group. Patients with low COX-2 expression achieved better 5-year overall survival than those with high COX-2 expression. Treatment with celecoxib was sufficient to inhibit cell proliferation, promote apoptosis, and induce G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in HCC cells with concentration- and time-dependent manners. Celecoxib up-regulated E-cadherin protein through inhibiting COX-2-prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)-PGE2 receptor 2 (EP2)-p-Akt/p-ERK signaling pathway to suppress HCC cells migration and invasion.Conclusion: High COX-2 expression was associated with advanced TNM stage, larger tumor size, increased lymphovascular invasion and short survival. Targeting inhibition of COX-2 by celecoxib exhibited anti-tumor activities by suppressing proliferation, promoting apoptosis, and inhibiting the aggressive properties of HCC cells.Keywords: cyclooxygenase-2, hepatocellular carcinoma, celecoxib, survival

Chengyu Yin,1,2,* Qimiao Hu,1,* Boyu Liu,1,* Yan Tai,3 Xiaoli Zheng,1 Yuanyuan Li,1 Xuaner Xiang,1 Ping Wang,4 Boyi Liu11Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Life Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: Complex regional pain syndrome type-I (CRPS-I) is a progressive and devastating pain condition, which remains clinically challenging. The mechanisms of CRPS-I still remain largely unknown. We aim to identify transcriptome profiles of genes relevant to pain mechanisms and major pathways involved in CRPS-I.Methods: A rat model of chronic post-ischemia pain (CPIP) was established to mimic CRPS-I. RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to profile transcriptome of L4-6 dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) of a rat model of CRPS-I.Results: CPIP model rats developed persistent mechanical/thermal hyperalgesia in ipsilateral hind paw. RNA-Seq identified a total of 295 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 195 up- and 100 downregulated, in ipsilateral DRGs of CPIP rats compared with sham rats. The expression of several representative genes was confirmed by qPCR. Functional analysis of DEGs revealed that the most significant enriched biological processes of upregulated genes include response to lipopolysaccharide, inflammatory response and cytokine activity, which are all important mechanisms mediating pain. We further screened DEGs implicated in pain progress, genes enriched in small- to medium-sized sensory neurons and enriched in TRPV1-lineage nociceptors. By comparing our dataset with other published datasets of neuropathic or inflammatory pain models, we identified a core set of genes and pathways that extensively participate in CPIP and other neuropathic pain states.Conclusion: Our study identified transcriptome gene changes in DRGs of an animal model of CRPS-I and could provide insights into identifying promising genes or pathways that can be potentially targeted to ameliorate CRPS-I.Keywords: RNA-Seq, pain, CRPS-I, dorsal root ganglion, neuropathic pain

Tai Y, Zhang LH, Gao JH, et al. Cancer Manag Res. 2019;11:2831–2848. The authors have advised due to an error that occurred inadvertently at the time of figure assembly, Figure 7A on page 2842 is incorrect. The correct Figure 7 is shown in Download Article. Figure 7 Celecoxib up-regulated E-cadherin via inhibition of COX-2–PGE2–EP2–p-Akt/p-ERK in Bel7402 cells. Compared with DMSO-treated and empty plasmid-transfected Bel7402 cells, overexpression of COX-2 by using COX-2 ORF plasmid induced reduction of E-cadherin expression and increase of p-Akt and p-ERK expression determined by IF (A) and Western blot (D). Compared with DMSO-treated cells, the expression of E-cadherin quantified by IF (B and C) and Western blot (E and F) was upregulated by EP2 inhibitor AH6809, Akt inhibitor MK2206, and ERK inhibitor AZD6244, but down-regulated by PGE2, which could be reversed by AH6809. Meanwhile, the expression of p-Akt and p-ERK was significantly suppressed by treatment with celecoxib and AH6809 but was enhanced by treatment with PGE2, which could be inhibited by AH6809 (E). Scale bar =50 μm for IF. The authors apologize for these errors and advise they do not affect the interpretation of data or the conclusion of the study. Read the original article

Fang Gao,1 Qi Zhang,2 Yanan Li,1 Yanlei Tai,1 Xi Xin,3 Xiuli Wang,1 Qiujun Wang1 1Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Children’s Hospital of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Third Central Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients with silent lacunar infarct and preliminarily to determine the relationship among TEAS, blood–brain barrier (BBB), neuroinflammation, and POD.Patients and methods: Sixty-four-old patients with silent lacunar infarct were randomly divided into two groups: group TEAS and control group (group C). Patients in the group TEAS received TEAS (disperse-dense waves; frequency, 2/100 Hz) on acupoints Hegu and Neiguan of both sides starting from 30 minutes before induction of anesthesia until the end of surgery, and the intensity was the maximum current that could be tolerated. In group C, electrodes were placed on the same acupoints before anesthesia induction, but no current was given. At 0 minute before the treatment of TEAS, 30 minutes after skin incision, and after completion of surgery (T1–3), blood samples were extracted to detect the concentration of serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and S100β. We assessed patients for delirium and coma twice daily in the first 3 postoperative days using the Confusion Assessment Method for the intensive care unit and the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale.Results: This study preliminarily suggests that TEAS can reduce the development of POD in elderly patients with silent lacunar infarction (6.3% vs 25.0%; P=0.039). Compared with the baseline value at T1, the serum concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, MMP-9, and S100β were significantly increased at T2–3 in both the groups (P

Chung-King Hsu1,2, Mei-Hsiu Liao3, Yu-Tyng Tai4, Shing-Hwa Liu5, Keng-Liang Ou6, Hsu-Wei Fang7, I-Jung Lee8, Ruei-Ming Chen2,31Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 2Cell Physiology and Molecular Image Research Center, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Medical Center, 3Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Taipei Medical University, 4Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Medical Center, 5Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 6Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Taipei Medical University, 7Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 8Division of Information and Herbarium, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Taipei, TaiwanAbstract: Our previous study showed that Gusuibu (Drynaria fortunei J. Sm.) can stimulate osteoblast maturation. This study was further designed to evaluate the effects of nanoparticles prepared from the water extract of Gusuibu (WEG) on osteoblast survival and maturation. Primary osteoblasts were exposed to 1, 10, 100, and 1000 µg/mL nanoparticles of WEG (nWEG) for 24, 48, and 72 hours did not affect morphologies, viability, or apoptosis of osteoblasts. In comparison, treatment of osteoblasts with 1000 µg/mL WEG for 72 hours decreased cell viability and induced DNA fragmentation and cell apoptosis. nWEG had better antioxidant bioactivity in protecting osteoblasts from oxidative and nitrosative stress-induced apoptosis than WEG. In addition, nWEG stimulated greater osteoblast maturation than did WEG. Therefore, this study shows that WEG nanoparticles are safer to primary osteoblasts than are normal-sized products, and may promote better bone healing by protecting osteoblasts from apoptotic insults, and by promoting osteogenic maturation.Keywords: Gusuibu, nanoparticles, cell protection, osteoblast maturation

Hardware has become an increasingly attractive target for attackers, yet we still largely lack tools that enable us to analyze large designs for security flaws. Information flow tracking (IFT) models provide an approach to verifying a hardware design's adherence to security properties related to isolation and reachability. However, existing precise IFT models are usually too complex to actually use. Queries may fail to finish even for small designs when verifying relatively simple properties. It is possible to create less complex models, but these come at the cost of a severe loss of precision - -they frequently indicate a property fails when in fact it passes, which means verification requires extensive additional manual investigation. We present a new method to bridge the chasm between precision and complexity in a finer-grained, controlled, and disciplined manner. Our method allows using the most appropriate precision/complexity tradeoff for the design size and available computing resources, meaning it is now possible to create models that are not too complex to be usable, but which offer more precision (fewer false positives) than was previously possible.

The chiral light field has attracted great attention owing to its interaction with chiral matter. The generation of chiral light fields with rich structures has become crucial as it can expand application scenarios. Herein, we introduce a chiral optical vortex lattice. As a whole, the optical vortex lattice has a chiral intensity distribution, with each spiral arm having sub-vortices (chiral phase). By using an expansion factor to adjust the involute of a circular lattice, this helical optical vortex lattice can be continuously varied from a circular lattice. The chirality of intensity and phase can be controlled independently. Furthermore, the optical tweezers using the lattice demonstrate the capability of sub-vortices to manipulate particle movement, with the chiral intensity determining the trajectory of particle motion. As the lattice possesses both intensity and phase chirality, it may also find potential applications in tasks such as chiral structure microfabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroPET II is a second-generation animal PET scanner designed for high-resolution imaging of small laboratory rodents. The system consists of 90 scintillation detector modules arranged in three contiguous axial rings with a ring diameter of 16.0 cm and an axial length of 4.9 cm. Each detector module consists of a 14 x 14 array of lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) crystals coupled to a multi-channel photomultiplier tube (MC-PMT) through a coherent optical fibre bundle. Each LSO crystal element measures 0.975 mm x 0.975 mm in cross section by 12.5 mm in length. A barium sulphate reflector material was used between LSO elements leading to a detector pitch of 1.15 mm in both axial and transverse directions. Fused optical fibre bundles were made from 90 mum diameter glass fibres with a numerical aperture of 0.56. Interstitial extramural absorber was added between the fibres to reduce optical cross talk. A charge-division readout circuit was implemented on printed circuit boards to decode the 196 crystals in each array from the outputs of the 64 anode signals of the MC-PMT. Electronics from Concorde Microsystems Inc. (Knoxville, TN) were used for signal amplification, digitization, event qualification, coincidence processing and data capture. Coincidence data were passed to a host PC that recorded events in list mode. Following acquisition, data were sorted into sinograms and reconstructed using Fourier rebinning and filtered backprojection algorithms. Basic evaluation of the system has been completed. The absolute sensitivity of the microPET II scanner was 2.26% at the centre of the field of view (CFOV) for an energy window of 250-750 keV and a timing window of 10 ns. The intrinsic spatial resolution of the detectors in the system averaged 1.21 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) when measured with a Na-22 point source 0.5 mm in diameter. Reconstructed image resolution ranged from 0.83 mm FWHM at the CFOV to 1.47 mm FWHM in the radial direction, 1.17 mm FWHM in the tangential direction and 1.42 mm FWHM in the axial direction at 1 cm offset from the CFOV. These values represent highly significant improvements over our earlier microPET scanner (approximately fourfold sensitivity increase and 25-35% improvement in linear spatial resolution under equivalent operating conditions) and are expected to be further improved when the system is fully optimized.

In order to create a cost-effective Zr alloy with superior overall characteristics, Zr-xFe (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 at.%) binary alloys were prepared by a vacuum arc furnace system. The microstructure of these alloys was examined utilizing various techniques such as optical microscope, X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the addition of Fe effectively refined α-Zr slats, and the Zr3Fe compound phase was dispersed throughout the alloy. However, the composition line of the alloying elements in the phase diagram intersected with the Zr2Fe and β-Zr eutectic lines when the Fe content exceeded 6 at.%. Zr–Fe alloys were transformed from monocrystalline-eutectoid to eutectic-eutectoid reactions. The Zr3Fe compound phase accumulated inside the grain and at the grain boundary as a result of the eutectic reaction, which stabilized the microstructure of the Zr–Fe alloys. This seriously affected the mechanical and corrosion properties of the alloys. The mechanical and corrosion properties of the alloys were assessed by universal testing machine, dynamic microhardness tester, Vickers hardness tester, and electrochemical workstation. The mechanical and corrosion properties of Zr–2Fe were excellent due to the coupling effect of Zr3Fe and grain refinement. The surface of the Zr–Fe alloy was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, revealing the presence of passivation film components ZrO2 and Fe2O3.

Structured light has been exploited as an important tool for particle manipulation along a desired complex path. However, generating the required structured light illumination for the creation of an arbitrary shape without an analytic expression as a guide is challenging, specifically for designing a structured beam by mapping the shape of an arbitrary object. To address this issue, we propose an effective scheme to customize structured light freely and precisely by modifying the epicycle model in astrophysics. Predesigned structured beams can be identified with or without explicit analytic expressions of the desired shapes. Moreover, we study the roles and relationships between the number of epicycles and the number of key points. The local stretching and transformation of a specific structured beam are also analyzed. The advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated by conducting dynamic manipulation experiments using polystyrene particles. This method is simple and intuitive and provides an effective toolkit for the design of structured light for more complex tasks, thus facilitating advanced applications in optical manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information flow analysis can effectively model the security behavior and security properties of hardware design. However, the existing gate level information flow analysis methods cannot deal with large-scale designs due to computing power and verification effectiveness, and the register transfer level (RTL) information flow analysis methods require formal languages to rewrite hardware designs. This paper proposes a RTL hardware design information flow modeling and security verification method. Based on the RTL functional model, this method develops an information flow tracking logical model to model security behavior and security properties of RTL hardware designs from the perspective of information flow. This method can be integrated into EDA flows and uses EDA testing and verification tools to capture security property violations and detect security vulnerabilities based on non-interference security policy. The results on experiments with Trust-Hub hardware Trojan benchmarks show that the proposed method can effectively detect hardware Trojans.