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Background/Aims: The bradykinin B2 receptor (BDKRB2) +9/-9 gene polymorphisms have been shown to be associated with the susceptibility and severity of osteoarthritis (OA); however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we investigated the correlation between the BDKRB2 +9/-9 polymorphisms and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in OA and the molecular mechanisms involved. Methods: A total of 156 patients with primary knee OA and 121 healthy controls were enrolled. The BDKRB2 +9/-9 polymorphisms were genotyped. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were determined using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and TLR-4 mRNA levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The basal and bradykinin-stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in human OA synoviocytes and the involvement of TLR-2 and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were investigated. Results: The presence of -9 bp genotype is associated with higher TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 levels and higher TLR-2 expression in OA patients. The basal and bradykinin-induced TLR-2 expressions in human OA synoviocytes were significantly reduced by specific inhibitors of p38, JNK1/2, and ERK1/2. Both the B2 receptor antagonist MEN16132 and TLR-2 silencing inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in human OA synoviocytes. Conclusion: The data suggested that the BDKRB2 +9/-9 polymorphisms influence pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in knee osteoarthritis by altering TLR-2 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal catalytic hydrogen production driven by the full spectrum of outdoor solar radiation, represents a highly promising and efficient approach for hydrogen generation. This method is widely anticipated by researchers due to its potential to enhance photon utilization efficiency at the reaction source. However, limited attention has been devoted to the variations in photothermal conversion performance of particle reaction suspensions caused by objective fluctuations of solar irradiation, especially when the morphology of the nanostructure changes, which is a crucial factor for practical applications in hydrogen production. Based on this bottleneck, we prepared the typical photo-responsive TiO 2 @Go composite with varied dimensions (i.e., nanosphere TiO 2 @Go, nanorod TiO 2 @Go, nanosheet TiO 2 @Go) as research models, and systematically investigated their thermal conversion and sensible heat conversion performance under different working conditions. The results showed that at low nanofluid concentration, nanosphere TiO 2 @Go and nanosheet TiO 2 @Go exhibit better sensible heat conversion. As the particle concentration increases, the sensible heat conversion efficiency of all nanofluids decreases. It can also be found that the latent heat conversion efficiency tends to increase with the increase of concentration, but the nanorod TiO 2 @Go show the opposite, which should be closely related to the uniformity of the particle size in different directions. In addition, for the sensible heat storage properties of nanofluids, smaller particle size and abundant porosity due to particles aggregation were found to be more beneficial for varied shapes. The underlying functional mechanisms were elucidated associated with the analysis of particle structures, interfacial properties, and optical characteristics. We contend that our research could provide valuable insights for the large-scale implementation of solar photothermal hydrogen production and a reasonable selection of photothermal material morphology for outdoor working conditions., 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 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the change of the femoral offset and hip center of rotation (COR) after using Jumbo cups in total hip arthroplasty (THA) revision., Methods: The clinical data of 23 patients who underwent THA revision using Jumbo cups between January 2010 and May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Morselized bone graft was performed on 8 cases, morselized bone graft combined with structural bone graft on 10 cases. There were 10 males and 13 females, aged 65.4 years on average (range, 51-77 years). The disease duration was 1-24 years (mean, 8.57 years). The reasons for revision included aseptic loosening in 21 cases and periprosthetic infection in 2 cases. The Harris hip score and visual analogue scale (VAS) were 43.04±5.05 and 5.70±0.97 before operation respectively. According to the Paprosky acetabular defect classification, there were 5 cases of type I, 5 cases of type II A, 3 cases of type II B, 6 cases of type II C, and 4 cases of type III A. The X-ray films showed that the femoral offset was (40.65±4.09) mm for normal side and was (44.04±5.08) mm for affected side at preoperation, showing significant difference ( t =4.098, P =0.000). Ten patients underwent femoral offset reconstruction (43.48%) but 13 patients did not (56.52%) before operation. The COR was reconstructed in 10 cases (43.48%); COR elevation was observed in 11 cases (47.83%), and COR decline in 2 cases (8.69%) before operation., Results: Primary healing of incision was obtained in all patients, with no complication of infection, vascular injury, deep vein thrombosis, dislocation of the joint, or fracture around prosthesis. All the patients were followed up 12-76 months (mean, 22.48 months). The Harris hip score and VAS were 82.09±4.53 and 0.74±0.62 at 1 year after operation respectively, showing significant differences when compared with preoperative scores ( t =37.831, P =0.000; t =22.318, P =0.000). The X-ray films showed that the femoral offset was (43.87±3.57) mm for affected side at 1 year after operation, showing no significant difference when compared with preoperative one ( t =0.250, P =0.805), but significant difference was found between affected side and normal side ( t =5.591, P =0.000). The femoral offset was restored in 16 patients (69.57%) and was not restored in 7 patients (30.43%) after operation. The COR was restored in 15 patients (65.22%) and was not restored in 8 patients (34.78%)., Conclusion: Using Jumbo cups or combined with morselized or structural bone graft is effective in restoring hip COR and femoral offset at the maximum limit in THA revision, with good short-term outcome and improved stability of acetabular prosthesis.

The bradykinin B2 receptor (BDKRB2) plays a key role in the inflammation process of osteoarthritis. Nitric oxide has also long been considered to be a catabolic factor that contributes to inflammatory response and the osteoarthritis disease pathology. Several studies have reported that the BDKRB2 +9/-9 bp polymorphisms are associated with transcription of the receptor. However, the roles of BDKRB2 polymorphisms in inflammation in osteoarthritis remain unclear. This study enrolled 156 subjects with primary knee osteoarthritis and 58 healthy volunteers. BDKRB2 polymorphisms were genotyped, and the mRNA and protein levels of BDKRB2 in synovial tissues from osteoarthritis patients were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. Nitric oxide production in serum from patients with osteoarthritis was measured using a nitric oxide assay kit. We found that the mean BDKRB2 mRNA levels were significantly higher in Kallgren-Lawrence grade-4 osteoarthritis patients than patients with lower grade osteoarthritis. The +9/-9 bp polymorphisms significantly affected the BDKRB2 mRNA and protein expression levels in synovial tissues from osteoarthritis subjects. Osteoarthritis patients with +9/-9 and -9/-9 genotypes had higher BDKRB2 expression levels in synovial tissue and nitric oxide production in serum. Moreover, positive correlation was found between the BDKRB2 levels in synovial tissue and nitric oxide production. Compared with health controls, significant increases of nitric oxide production in osteoarthritis were detected which were associated with increasing severity of osteoarthritis. Multiple linear regression analysis (adjusted for gender and age) showed serum nitric oxide level was positively associated with BDKRB2 polymorphism and Kallgren-Lawrence grade and was inversely associated with obesity. Our findings showed that the BDKRB2 +9/-9 bp polymorphisms affected the gene expression and nitric oxide production, which were associated with radiographic severity of osteoarthritis, suggesting that the BDKRB2 +9/ -9 bp polymorphisms may act as a genetic modulator of osteoarthritis, and play an essential role in inflammatory process in osteoarthritis.