Desferrioxamine Enhances 5-Aminolaevulinic Acid- Induced Protoporphyrin IX Accumulation and Therapeutic Efficacy for Hypertrophic Scar.

Hypertrophic scar is a common problem after skin burns or trauma which brings physical, psychological, and cosmetic problems to patients. Photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a promising therapy for hypertrophic scar. However, clinical applications of 5-ALA are limited because of the low permeability of 5-ALA in the skin stratum corneum and the rapid binding of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) with iron ions, which lead to insufficient PpIX production in target tissues.

Prognostic Nutritional Index and Major Cardiovascular Events in Patients Undergoing Invasive Coronary Angiography: A Clinical Retrospective Study.

We aimed to examine whether prognostic nutritional index (PNI) could serve as an auxiliary predictor for major cardiovascular events (MCEs) in patients undergoing invasive coronary angiography (ICA). A total of 485 participants were enrolled, divided into low-PNI (≥47.40) and high-PNI (<47.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Hyaluronic Acid Complexes Enhance Skin Retention of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and Therapeutic Efficacy in the Treatment of Hypertrophic Scar.

Hypertrophic scar is a serious skin disorder, which reduces the patient's quality of life. 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-mediated photodynamic therapy has been used to treat patients with hypertrophic scar. However, the poor skin retention of 5-ALA limited the therapeutic effect.

The Inverse Association of Leg Fat Mass and Osteoporosis in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Independent of Lean Mass.

Purpose: Recent studies revealed that high levels of thigh fat were independently associated with better glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as lower risk of hypertension and cardiometabolic disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between leg fat mass (FM) and osteoporosis (OP) in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Patients And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1,259 individuals aged 50 years or older with T2DM (female 536, male 723) were included.

Predictive value of the prognostic nutritional index for the severity of coronavirus disease 2019.

Objectives: Malnutrition plays a critical role in the onset and progress of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of the present study was to explore the association of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) score with the severity of COVID-19 and its predictive value of the severe form of COVID-19.

Methods: Clinical data were collected from 122 patients infected with COVID-19 and hospitalized at the Sixth People's Hospital of Wenzhou, China, a specialized infectious hospital affiliated with the Wenzhou Central Hospital.

Duration of reproductive years and time since menopause were associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal parous women of Chinese ancestry.

Objective: Although duration of reproductive years and time since menopause were previously implicated in the metabolic syndrome, the evidence is more limited. Few of the previous studies were able to take into account related reproductive variables simultaneously. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of these two reproductive factors on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal parous women from Southeast China.

Ordered Coimmobilization of a Multienzyme Cascade System with a Metal Organic Framework in a Membrane: Reduction of CO to Methanol.

Enzymatic reduction of CO is of great significant, which involves an efficient multienzyme cascade system (MECS). In this work, formate dehydrogenase (FDH), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and reduced pyridine nucleotide (NADH) (FDH&GDH&NADH), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FalDH), GDH, and NADH (FalDH&GDH&NADH), and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), GDH, and NADH (ADH&GDH&NADH) were embedded in ZIF-8 (one kind of metal organic framework) to prepare three kinds of enzymes and coenzymes/ZIF-8 nanocomposites. Then by dead-end filtration these nanocomposites were sequentially located in a microporous membrane, which was combined with a pervaporation membrane to timely achieve the separation of product methanol.

Robust Photodynamic Therapy Using 5-ALA-Incorporated Nanocomplexes Cures Metastatic Melanoma through Priming of CD4CD8 Double Positive T Cells.

Advanced melanoma can rarely be cured. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) readily eradicates the primary melanoma but has limited ability to destroy the spreading tumor cells unless supported by other combinative interventions to augment systemic antitumor immunity. Based on the previously synthesized penetration-enhancing biomaterials, a topically administered nanoformulation is developed, which profoundly assists 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) in circumventing skin barrier to be selectively delivered to tumor cells.

Association of serum copper, zinc and selenium levels with risk of metabolic syndrome: A nested case-control study of middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

Trace elements, such as copper, zinc and selenium, have been linked to the development of metabolic syndrome. However, previous studies concerning these trace elements in association with metabolic syndrome have presented conflicting results in different countries. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between serum copper, zinc and selenium concentrations and the risk of metabolic syndrome among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

Peripheral Arterial Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Is Associated with an Increase in Fibrinogen Levels.

Background: The present study is undertaken to investigate the fibrinogen levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its relation to peripheral artery disease (PAD) based on a more accurate and applied noninvasive measurements of duplex ultrasonography.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 1096 T2DM patients (474 males and 622 females). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented to show the association between PAD and fibrinogen in the subjects divided by fibrinogen levels quarterly.

Effects of acupuncture on vascular dementia (VD) animal models: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia that causes cognitive dysfunction. Acupuncture, an ancient therapy, has been mentioned for the treatment of vascular dementia in previous studies. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of acupuncture in animal models of vascular dementia.

Glutamine addiction activates polyglutamine-based nanocarriers delivering therapeutic siRNAs to orthotopic lung tumor mediated by glutamine transporter SLC1A5.

Many human cancer cells exhibit an oncogenetic-driven addiction to glutamine (Gln) as rapidly proliferating cancer cells consume Gln at a dramatically increased rate compared to normal cells. Tumor cells, therefore, compete with host cells for Gln, which causes Gln to flux from normal tissues to the tumor. We have developed and characterized a Gln macromolecular analog polyglutamine (PGS) for the delivery of gene regulators, such as siRNAs, in our previous works.

A Glutamine-Rich Carrier Efficiently Delivers Anti-CD47 siRNA Driven by a "Glutamine Trap" To Inhibit Lung Cancer Cell Growth.

It is not efficient enough using the current approaches for tumor-selective drug delivery based on the EPR effect and ligand-receptor interactions, and they have largely failed to translate into the clinic. Therefore, it is urgent to explore an enhanced strategy for effective delivery of anticancer agents. Clinically, many cancers require large amounts of glutamine for their continued growth and survival, resulting in circulating glutamine extraction by the tumor being much greater than that for any organs, behaving as a "glutamine trap".

Involvement of BDNF/TrkB and ERK/CREB axes in nitroglycerin-induced rat migraine and effects of estrogen on these signals in the migraine.

Migraine is a highly prevalent headache disorder, especially in women. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor tropomyosin receptor kinases (TrkB), as well as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and its downstream target c-AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) are strongly associated with the transmission of nociceptive information. However, the involvement of these substances in migraine has rarely been examined.

Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.

Suboptimal temperature stress often causes heavy yield losses of vegetables by suppressing plant growth during winter and early spring. Gibberellin acid (GA) has been reported to be involved in plant growth and acquisition of mineral nutrients. However, no studies have evaluated the role of GA in the regulation of growth and nutrient acquisition by vegetables under conditions of suboptimal temperatures in greenhouse.

Association of Serum Magnesium Level with Odds of Prediabetes and Diabetes in a Southern Chinese Population: a Prospective Nested Case-Control Study.

Although emerging clinical evidence supports that magnesium deficiency is a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, there are sparse studies concerning the dynamic change of serum magnesium with the risk of diabetes and its early stages. In this nested case-control study, we performed a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test or a standardized steamed bread meal test in 178 subjects with incident glucose metabolism impairment (33 with type 2 diabetes and 145 with prediabetes) and 178 matched controls at baseline and at 3-year follow-up and determined the associations between baseline serum magnesium levels as well as changes in serum magnesium levels at follow-up and odds of prediabetes and diabetes. After adjusting for potential confounders, the odds ratios of risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in the highest quartile of serum magnesium levels were 0.

Waist-to-height ratio is an appropriate index for identifying cardiometabolic risk in Chinese individuals with normal body mass index and waist circumference.

Background: The waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), a novel index that has been reported to correlate more strongly than body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with cardiometabolic risk factors, has not been studied in Chinese individuals with normal body mass index and waist circumference. The present study compared the predictive power of WHtR with those of BMI and WC for such factors in non-obese Chinese, and to define optimal cutoffs of WHtR in this population.

Methods: A total of 2137 subjects aged 40-75 years were recruited.

Identification of a newly isolated erythritol-producing yeast and cloning of its erythrose [corrected] reductase genes.

A new erythritol-producing yeast (strain BH010) was isolated in this study. Analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA sequence, the ITS/5.8S rDNA sequence [corrected] and the 18S rDNA sequence allowed the taxonomic position of strain BH010 to be discussed, [corrected] and it was identified and named Moniliella sp.